Use of DNA microarray and small animal positron emission tomography in preclinical drug evaluation of RAF265, a novel B-Raf/VEGFR-2 inhibitor.

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has become a useful tool for assessing early biologic response to cancer therapy and may be particularly useful in the development of new cancer therapeutics. RAF265, a novel B-Raf/vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 inhibitor, was evaluated in the preclinical setting for its ability to inhibit the uptake of PET tracers in the A375M(B-Raf(V600E)) human melanoma cell line. RAF265 inhibited 2-deoxy-2-[(18)F]fluoro-d-glucose (FDG) accumulation in cell culture at 28 hours in a dose-dependent manner.

Skeletogenesis in the swell shark Cephaloscyllium ventriosum.

Extant chondrichthyans possess a predominantly cartilaginous skeleton, even though primitive chondrichthyans produced bone. To gain insights into this peculiar skeletal evolution, and in particular to evaluate the extent to which chondrichthyan skeletogenesis retains features of an osteogenic programme, we performed a histological, histochemical and immunohistochemical analysis of the entire embryonic skeleton during development of the swell shark Cephaloscyllium ventriosum. Specifically, we compared staining properties among various mineralizing tissues, including neural arches of the vertebrae, dermal tissues supporting oral denticles and Meckel's cartilage of the lower jaw.