Attenuated Expression of SLCO2A1 Caused by DNA Methylation in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background: SLCO2A1 encodes a prostaglandin (PG) transporter, and autosomal recessive pathogenic variants of this gene cause chronic enteropathy associated with SLCO2A1. It is unclear whether a heterozygous pathogenic variant of SLCO2A1 has a role in the pathogenesis of other types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study, we investigated the possible involvement of a local epigenetic alteration in SLCO2A1 in patients with a heterozygous pathogenic variant.

S100A7 Co-localization and Up-regulation of Filaggrin in Human Sinonasal Epithelial Cells.

Objective: Filaggrin (FLG) is a protein expressed in the epidermis and involved in the maintenance of the epidermal barrier. However, the expression and localization of FLG in the upper airway remain controversial. The present study aimed to determine the significance of FLG and the effect of S100A7 on FLG expression in the upper respiratory mucosa.

Effect of aging on the tendon structure and tendon-associated gene expression in mouse foot flexor tendon.

To evaluate the biological changes in tendons during the aging process, the present study examined the effect of aging on the tendon structure, distribution of collagen types I and III, and expression of tendon-associated genes, using flexor tendons in a mouse model. Histological assessment of the tendon structure and distribution of collagen types I and III were performed, and the expression of tendon-associated genes was evaluated in flexor digitorium longus tendons of young (8 weeks) and aged (78 weeks) female C57BL/6 mice. The results indicated that the Soslowsky score, based on the analysis of cellularity, fibroblastic changes, and collagen fiber orientation and disruption, was significantly increased, or worsened, in the tendons of the aged group compared with those in the young group.

GATA6-positive lung adenocarcinomas are associated with invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma morphology, hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α expression, and KRAS mutations.

Aims: GATA6 is known to play a role in lung development. However, its role in the carcinogenesis of lung cancer is not well studied. The aim of this study was to analyse GATA6 expression in lung adenocarcinomas (LAs) by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in order to define its association with clinicopathological characteristics.

Evaluating the effectiveness of RNA in-situ hybridization for detecting lung adenocarcinoma with anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangement.

Aims: An easy and rapid assay for detecting mRNA in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples [RNA in-situ hybridization (ISH)] has been reported recently. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of RNA ISH in detecting lung adenocarcinoma (LA) with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangement.

Methods And Results: We tested ALK RNA ISH on 11 resected LAs for which ALK fusion was confirmed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and/or fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH).

Immunohistochemical Antibody Panel for the Differential Diagnosis of Pancreatic Ductal Carcinoma From Gastrointestinal Contamination and Benign Pancreatic Duct Epithelium in Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration.

Objectives: The diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) can be challenging to distinguish tumor cells from benign epithelium (BE). The aim of the present study was to set a minimal antibody panel to differentiate PDAC from contaminated BE in EUS-FNA specimens.

Methods: Immunohistochemistry using claudin 4, EZH2, Ki-67, maspin, p53, and S100P was performed on tissue microarray sections containing 53 PDACs and 33 BE as well as cell blocks of EUS-FNA including 53 PDACs and 22 BE.

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumor of the descending colon mimicking a gastrointestinal stromal tumor: a case report.

Background: We present a case of perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa), which clinically and histologically mimics a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST).

Case Presentation: A 42-year-old woman was found to have a mass in the left flank during her annual medical checkup. Computed tomography examination revealed a submucosal tumor of the descending colon.

Clinical outcomes of prostate cancer patients in Yokosuka City, Japan: A comparative study between cases detected by prostate-specific antigen-based screening in Yokosuka and those detected by other means.

Objectives: To investigate whether prostate-specific antigen-based screening reduced the prostate cancer mortality rate in Yokosuka, Japan.

Methods: We carried out a cohort study, in which we compared clinical outcomes between patients detected by prostate-specific antigen-based screening (S group n = 524) versus those detected by other means (NS group n = 1044). Clinical and pathological factors were evaluated using Cox regression analyses and the Kaplan-Meier method.

The Killer Cell Ig-like Receptor 2DL4 Expression in Human Mast Cells and Its Potential Role in Breast Cancer Invasion.

The killer-cell Ig-like receptor (KIR) 2DL4 (CD158d) acts as a receptor for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G and is expressed on almost all human natural killer (NK) cells. The expression and function of KIR2DL4 in other hematopoietic cells is poorly understood. Here, we focused on human mast cells, which exhibit cytotoxic activity similar to that of NK cells.

An inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor exhibiting immunoreactivity to KIT: a case report focusing on a diagnostic pitfall.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are both spindle cell tumors, and occur rarely in the wall of the urinary bladder. In general, immunostaining allows differentiation of IMTs and GISTs. Most IMTs are positive for anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and negative for KIT, whereas most GISTs are ALK-negative and KIT-positive.

Intraductal tubulopapillary neoplasm with expansile invasive carcinoma of the pancreas diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration: a case report.

Intraductal tubulopapillary neoplasm (ITPN) of the pancreas, a novel entity included in the World Health Organization 2010 classification, accounts for <1% of all pancreatic exocrine neoplasms and the number of reported cases is limited in the English literature. Herein we describe the cytologic features of ITPN with invasive carcinoma showing expansile growth on endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) cytology. A 74-year-old male patient is presented with a 6.

[Utility of rapid on-site cytology in endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration of pancreatic masses].

Background: Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is a safe and effective method for obtaining samples for cytological diagnosis. Pancreatic cancer is extremely serious and often extremely aggressive, so early detection and diagnosis is important. Therefore, we actively perform EUS FNA for pathological diagnosis of cancer of digestive organs, especially the pancreas.

Monoclonal antibody against protein-bound glutathione: use of glutathione conjugate of acrolein-modified proteins as an immunogen.

Acrolein shows a facile reactivity with the ε-amino group of lysine to form N(ε)-(3-formyl-3,4-dehydropiperidino)lysine (FDP-lysine) as the major product. In addition, FDP-lysine generated in the acrolein-modified protein could function as an electrophile, reacting with thiol compounds, to form an irreversible thioether adduct. In the present study, to establish the utility of this irreversible conjugate, we attempted to use it as an immunogen to raise a monoclonal antibody (mAb), which specifically recognized protein-bound thiol compounds.

Rapid multiple immunocytochemical staining method using microwave irradiation for intraoperative cytology.

Objective: To develop a more rapid and accurate staining procedure for intraoperative cytology through an assessment of a rapid multiple immunocytochemical staining method using microwave irradiation.

Study Design: A preliminary test of a triple immunostaining method using microwave irradiation was performed to determine optimal incubating conditions for primary antibodies against MOC-31, BerEP4 and carcinoembryonic antigen. The test samples were adenocarcinoma cells obtained by washings from 10 resected colorectal cancer specimens.

Evaluation of the effect of glucosamine on an experimental rat osteoarthritis model.

Aims: To investigate the in vivo effect of glucosamine on articular cartilage in osteoarthritis (OA), we evaluated serum biomarkers such as CTX-II (type II collagen degradation) and CPII (type II collagen synthesis) as well as histopathological changes (Mankin score, toluidine blue staining of proteoglycans in an experimental OA model using rats.

Main Methods: OA was surgically induced in the knee joint by anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) in rats. Animals were divided into three groups: sham-operated group (Sham), ACLT group without GlcN administration (-GlcN) and ACLT group with oral administration of glucosamine hydrochloride (+GlcN; 1000mg/kg/day for 56days).

Mutated ras induced PLD1 gene expression through increased Sp1 transcription factor.

The underlying mechanisms of oncogene-induced phospholipase D (PLD) activation have not been fully elucidated. The effect of the mutated-ras on PLD mRNA was examined using colon cancer cell lines as well as mock- and mutated ras-transfected NIH3T3 cells. Ras-mutation and activation were correlated, and cells with enhanced ras-activation showed increased PLD1 mRNA and protein.

Transcriptional regulation of neutral sphingomyelinase 2 gene expression of a human breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, induced by the anti-cancer drug, daunorubicin.

Mg(2+)-dependent neutral SMases (NSMases) have emerged as prime candidates for stress-induced ceramide production. Among isoforms identified, previous reports have suggested the importance of NSMase2. However, its activation mechanism has not been precisely reported.

p27 deregulation by Skp2 overexpression induced by the JAK2V617 mutation.

Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) V617F mutation has been regarded as the major cause of myeloproliferative disorders (MPD). However, the mechanisms of abnormal cell growth by JAK2V617F have not been elucidated. In this study, cell cycle regulatory protein expression was analyzed using JAK2V617F-Ba/F3 and mock-Ba/F3.

GATA-1 and GATA-2 binding to 3' enhancer of WT1 gene is essential for its transcription in acute leukemia and solid tumor cell lines.

Although oncogenic functions and the clinical significance of Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) have been extensively studied in acute leukemia, the regulatory mechanism of its transcription still remains to be determined. We found a significant correlation among the amounts of WT1, GATA-1 and GATA-2 mRNAs from leukemia and solid tumor cell lines. Overexpression and small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection experiments of GATA-1 and GATA-2 showed that these GATA transcription factors could induce WT1 expression.

[Multi-center trial on the early effects of silodosin on lower urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia].

Silodosin (URIEF), a new so-called 3rd generation alpha-1 blocker, is widely expected to be effective and useful for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), due to its high specificity to alpha-1A receptor. We evaluated the efficacy of Silodosin, on 187 males 50 years old or over with the diagnosis of BPH. Silodosin significantly improved the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and quality of life (QOL) score from the day after administration was started.

v-Src oncogene product increases sphingosine kinase 1 expression through mRNA stabilization: alteration of AU-rich element-binding proteins.

Sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1) is overexpressed in solid tumors and leukemia. However, the mechanism of SPHK1 overexpression by oncogenes has not been defined. We found that v-Src-transformed NIH3T3 cells showed a high SPHK1 mRNA, SPHK1 protein and SPHK enzyme activity.

[Five-year results of prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening in Yokosuka City--comparative study between PSA-screened group and non-screened group].

A mass screening of subjects for prostate specific antigen (PSA) was conducted to investigate whether this method is effective in detection of early stage prostate cancer. From 2001 to 2005, 1022 patients in Yokosuka City with pathologically diagnosed prostate cancer by using prostate needle biopsy were divided into screened (S: 276 patients) and non-screened (NS: 746 patients) groups. Clinical factors (mean age, PSA at diagnosis, clinical stage, Gleason score, WHO classification, cases of radical prostatectomy) were evaluated and analyzed.

Implications of sphingosine kinase 1 expression level for the cellular sphingolipid rheostat: relevance as a marker for daunorubicin sensitivity of leukemia cells.

We recently reported increased sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1) and decreased neutral sphingomyelinase 2 (NSMase2) gene expression in myelodysplastic syndromes and acute leukemia. This alteration is supposed to change the cellular sphingolipid metabolites; however, positive correlations were observed between daunorubicin (DA)-IC50 and the SPHK1 message but not between DA-IC50 and NSMase2 messages, when 16 different leukemia cell lines were used to analyze the relationship between gene expressions and chemosensitivity against DA. Using two cell lines with either the highest or lowest SPHK1 expression, cellular ceramides and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) were quantified by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

[Etiology of nocturia and clinical efficacy of naftopidil on nocturia in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia--analysis of frequency volume charts].

The etiology of nocturia in 70 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) who had nocturia of two or more times were examined based on frequency volume charts (FVC). Nocturia was classified into four groups: nocturnal polyuria, low capacity, combined nocturia, and no evidence of abnormality. Nearly half of the cases had nocturnal polyuria only.