Sporadic aggressive fibromatosis of the colon and abdominal wall in an emergency setting.

Aim: Our aim is to present an utterly unique case of sporadic aggressive fibromatosis (AF), infiltrating both the abdominal wall and the colon; and especially, to discuss the usefulness of porcine dermal meshes for the reconstruction of a large parietal gap in contaminated surgery and in an emergency setting.

Case Experience: We report the case of a 40 years old woman affected by sporadic AF, involving both the anterior abdominal wall and the colon, with an effective intestinal stricture. The surgery consisted in removing "en bloc" the portions of the colon and abdominal wall affected by fibromatosis, with no residual tumor (R0), that left an important parietal gap.

Papillary carcinoma of the thyroid: evidence for a role for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in promoting tumour angiogenesis.

The pattern of vascularization of papillary carcinoma was investigated in tumour sections from 31 cases and in primary cultures from 12 cases. Tumour sections were immunostained for von Willebrand Factor (vWF) to visualize blood vessels; for endothelial-specific nitric-oxide-synthase (EC-NOS), as a marker of endothelial cell activation; and for Ki-67 to evaluate endothelial cell proliferation. It was found that endothelial cells lining venous vessels located in peritumoural fibrous tissue were intensely EC-NOS-positive and occasionally Ki-67-positive.

Glutathione plays a key role in the depigmenting and melanocytotoxic action of N-acetyl-4-S-cysteaminylphenol in black and yellow hair follicles.

This study examined the effect of glutathione on the in vivo depigmenting potency of N-acetyl-4-S-cysteaminylphenol (N-acetyl-4-S-CAP) in black and yellow mice after multiple intraperitoneal injections on 10 consecutive days. In black mice (C57BL/6J, a/a), N-acetyl-4-S-CAP showed dose-dependent depigmenting potency (0.5, 1.

Selective in vivo accumulation of N-acetyl-4-S-cysteaminylphenol in B16F10 murine melanoma and enhancement of its in vitro and in vivo antimelanoma effect by combination of buthionine sulfoximine.

In order to develop a new chemotherapeutic agent based on exploitation of the specific metabolic pathway of malignant melanoma, a phenolic thioether, N-acetyl-4-S-cysteaminylphenol (NA-CAP), the substrate of melanin-forming enzyme, tyrosinase was developed. Our previous in vivo studies have clearly shown that this compound has a significant and selective melanocytotoxicity and antimelanoma effect. This study further examined the specificity of the antimelanoma effect of NA-CAP through the study of biodistribution and accumulation of NA-CAP in B16F10 melanoma-bearing mice.

Exploitation of pigment biosynthesis pathway as a selective chemotherapeutic approach for malignant melanoma.

Human malignant melanoma represents a difficult therapeutic challenge to both medical scientists and practicing physicians. However, the biologic uniqueness of the tumor may provide opportunities for exploitation in therapeutics. This study proposed to undertake a systemic approach to the chemotherapy of malignant melanoma based upon the uniqueness of pigment-cell metabolic pathway pertaining to conversion of tyrosine and dopa with subsequent formation of melanin by tyrosinase and its related enzymes.

Regulatory factors of pheo- and eumelanogenesis in melanogenic compartments.

Melanogenesis, i.e., synthesis of melanin and melanosomes, is a "cascade" of event which is channelled by internal and external regulatory factors.

Melanocytotoxicity and antimelanoma effects of phenolic amine compounds in mice in vivo.

A phenolic amine compound, 4-S-cysteaminylphenol (4-S-CAP), is a potent depigmenting agent. To develop more efficacious antimelanoma agents, we synthesized four homologues of 4-S-CAP: N-acetyl-4-S-CAP (N-Ac-4-S-CAP), alpha-methyl-4-S-CAP, 4-S-homo-CAP, and N,N'-dimethyl-4-S-CAP. We tested these five compounds in mice in vivo.