First trimester maternal serum biochemical markers of aneuploidy in pregnancies with abnormally invasive placentation.

Objective: To examine whether differences exist in routine first trimester maternal serum screening analyte measurements between normal pregnancies, placenta praevia and abnormally invasive placentation (AIP).

Design: Multidisciplinary audit.

Setting: Associated university teaching hospital with 9000 annual deliveries.

Squamous cell carcinoma growth in mice and in culture is regulated by c-Jun and its control of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 expression.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is an invasive malignancy of epidermal keratinocytes. Surgical excision is currently the main treatment; however, this can cause scarring and disfigurement. There is accordingly, an acute need for alternative strategies to treat SCC.

Effect of deoxyribozymes targeting c-Jun on solid tumor growth and angiogenesis in rodents.

Background: The basic region-leucine zipper protein c-Jun has been linked to cell proliferation, transformation, and apoptosis. However, a direct role for c-Jun in angiogenesis has not been shown.

Methods: We used human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) transfected with a DNAzyme targeting the c-Jun mRNA (Dz13), related oligonucleotides, or vehicle in in vitro models of microvascular endothelial cell proliferation, migration, chemoinvasion, and tubule formation, a rat model of corneal neovascularization, and a mouse model of solid tumor growth and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced angiogenesis.