The development of a rural breast reconstruction service: patient reported outcomes and benefits.

Background: In 2021, breast cancer was one of the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia. While a mastectomy remains a treatment of choice, only a small percentage of women have access to a breast reconstruction after. Women living in a rural area are less likely to have a breast reconstruction; compared to their metropolitan counterparts.

Monocyclic Quinone Structure-Activity Patterns: Synthesis of Catalytic Inhibitors of Topoisomerase II with Potent Antiproliferative Activity.

The monocyclic 1,4-benzoquinone, HU-331, the direct oxidation product of cannabidiol, inhibits the catalytic activity of topoisomerase II but without inducing DNA strand breaks or generating free radicals, and unlike many fused-ring quinones exhibits minimal cardiotoxicity. Thus, monocyclic quinones have potential as anticancer agents, and investigation of the structural origins of their biological activity is warranted. New syntheses of cannabidiol and (±)-HU-331 are here reported.

Intracellular Calcium Mobilization in Response to Ion Channel Regulators via a Calcium-Induced Calcium Release Mechanism.

Free intracellular calcium ([Ca]), in addition to being an important second messenger, is a key regulator of many cellular processes including cell membrane potential, proliferation, and apoptosis. In many cases, the mobilization of [Ca] is controlled by intracellular store activation and calcium influx. We have investigated the effect of several ion channel modulators, which have been used to treat a range of human diseases, on [Ca] release, by ratiometric calcium imaging.

HNF1B variants associate with promoter methylation and regulate gene networks activated in prostate and ovarian cancer.

Two independent regions within HNF1B are consistently identified in prostate and ovarian cancer genome-wide association studies (GWAS); their functional roles are unclear. We link prostate cancer (PC) risk SNPs rs11649743 and rs3760511 with elevated HNF1B gene expression and allele-specific epigenetic silencing, and outline a mechanism by which common risk variants could effect functional changes that increase disease risk: functional assays suggest that HNF1B is a pro-differentiation factor that suppresses epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in unmethylated, healthy tissues. This tumor-suppressor activity is lost when HNF1B is silenced by promoter methylation in the progression to PC.

Quantitative Expression and Co-Localization of Wnt Signalling Related Proteins in Feline Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Feline oral squamous cell carcinoma (FOSCC) is an aggressive neoplasm in cats. Little is known about the possible molecular mechanisms that may be involved in the initiation, maintenance and progression of FOSCC. Wnt signalling is critical in development and disease, including many mammalian cancers.

Targets of Wnt/ß-catenin transcription in penile carcinoma.

Penile squamous cell carcinoma (PeCa) is a rare malignancy and little is known regarding the molecular mechanisms involved in carcinogenesis of PeCa. The Wnt signaling pathway, with the transcription activator ß-catenin as a major transducer, is a key cellular pathway during development and in disease, particularly cancer. We have used PeCa tissue arrays and multi-fluorophore labelled, quantitative, immunohistochemistry to interrogate the expression of WNT4, a Wnt ligand, and three targets of Wnt-ß-catenin transcription activation, namely, MMP7, cyclinD1 (CD1) and c-MYC in 141 penile tissue cores from 101 unique samples.

Clonogenicity: holoclones and meroclones contain stem cells.

When primary cultures of normal cells are cloned, three types of colony grow, called holoclones, meroclones and paraclones. These colonies are believed to be derived from stem cells, transit-amplifying cells and differentiated cells respectively. More recently, this approach has been extended to cancer cell lines.

Quantitative analysis of BTF3, HINT1, NDRG1 and ODC1 protein over-expression in human prostate cancer tissue.

Prostate carcinoma is the most common cancer in men with few, quantifiable, biomarkers. Prostate cancer biomarker discovery has been hampered due to subjective analysis of protein expression in tissue sections. An unbiased, quantitative immunohistochemical approach provided here, for the diagnosis and stratification of prostate cancer could overcome this problem.

Function of mutant and wild-type plexinb1 in prostate cancer cells.

Background: Semaphorins act as chemotactic cues for cell movement via their transmembrane receptors, plexins. Somatic missense mutations in the plexinB1 gene coupled with overexpression of the protein frequently occur in prostate tumors, indicating a role for plexinB1 in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer. However, the effect of semaphorin/plexin signaling is highly context dependent and whether plexinB1 acts as an inducer or inhibitor of prostate tumor progression in this context is not known.

Synthesis and evaluation of 11C-LY2795050 as a κ-opioid receptor antagonist radiotracer for PET imaging.

Unlabelled: Kappa-opioid receptors (KOR) are believed to be involved in the pathophysiology of depression, anxiety disorders, drug abuse, and alcoholism. To date, only 1 tracer, the KOR agonist (11)C-GR103545, has been reported to be able to image KOR in primates. The goal of the present study was to synthesize the selective KOR antagonist (11)C-LY2795050 and evaluate its potential as a PET tracer to image KOR in vivo.

Match criteria for human cell line authentication: where do we draw the line?

Continuous human cell lines have been used extensively as models for biomedical research. In working with these cell lines, researchers are often unaware of the risk of cross-contamination and other causes of misidentification. To reduce this risk, there is a pressing need to authenticate cell lines, comparing the sample handled in the laboratory to a previously tested sample.

Evaluation in vitro and in animals of a new 11C-labeled PET radioligand for metabotropic glutamate receptors 1 in brain.

Purpose: Two allosteric modulators of the group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1 and mGluR5) were evaluated as positron emission tomography (PET) radioligands for mGluR1.

Methods: LY2428703, a full mGluR1 antagonist (IC(50) 8.9 nM) and partial mGluR5 antagonist (IC(50) 118 nM), and LSN2606428, a full mGluR1 and mGluR5 antagonist (IC(50) 35.

CD49f is an efficient marker of monolayer- and spheroid colony-forming cells of the benign and malignant human prostate.

Stem cells may play a role in the development and maintenance of proliferative diseases of the prostate such as prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Cell membrane protein markers, CD49f, CD133 and CD44, have been shown to identify putative prostate stem cells, but a lack of consensus exists with regards to the most efficient marker(s) for stem-like cell identification. This study aimed to determine whether previously reported markers had equal capacity to select monolayer and spheroid colony-forming cells (CFCs), which were used as surrogate readouts of stem-like cells, and to characterize the expression of CD49f, CD44 and CD133 by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry.

Effect of cancer-associated mutations in the PlexinB1 gene.

Background: Semaphorins act as chemotactic cues for cell movement via their transmembrane receptors, plexins. Somatic missense mutations in the plexinB1 gene coupled with overexpression of the protein frequently occur in prostate tumours, indicating a role for plexinB1 in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer.

Results: Two specific mutations found in prostate cancer enhance RhoD binding and one other mutation results in loss of inhibition of Rac-dependent Pak1 phosphorylation and lamellipodia formation and in impairment of trafficking of plexinB1 to the membrane.

Biochemical relapse following radical prostatectomy and miR-200a levels in prostate cancer.

Background: Radical prostatectomy cures the majority of men with clinically localized disease, but up to 30% of men relapse with rising serum PSA levels. Stage, Gleason grade, and pre-operative PSA levels are associated with outcome but do not accurately predict which individuals will relapse. MicroRNA (miRNA) levels are altered in cancer and are associated with progression of disease.

Prostate cancer proteomics.

Proteomics has offered the hope of biomarker discovery to improve the management of prostate cancer. Markers are needed for screening and diagnosis, distinguishing latent from aggressive disease, defining the men who will benefit from therapy, differentiating localized from metastatic disease, predicting outcome and identifying new targets for therapy. There are many potential sources of proteins derived from the prostate, including urine, prostatic fluid (expressed or ejaculate), serum, and plasma or tissue, each with distinct advantages and limitations.

Recommendation of short tandem repeat profiling for authenticating human cell lines, stem cells, and tissues.

Cell misidentification and cross-contamination have plagued biomedical research for as long as cells have been employed as research tools. Examples of misidentified cell lines continue to surface to this day. Efforts to eradicate the problem by raising awareness of the issue and by asking scientists voluntarily to take appropriate actions have not been successful.

A novel role for Wnt/Ca2+ signaling in actin cytoskeleton remodeling and cell motility in prostate cancer.

Wnt signaling is a critical regulatory pathway in development and disease. Very little is known about the mechanisms of Wnt signaling in prostate cancer, a leading cause of death in men. A quantitative analysis of the expression of Wnt5A protein in human tissue arrays, containing 600 prostate tissue cores, showed >50% increase in malignant compared to benign cores (p<0.

Detection of Mycoplasma in cell cultures.

Mycoplasma is a prokaryotic organism that is a frequent and occult contaminant of cell cultures. This organism can modify many aspects of cell physiology, rendering experiments that are conducted with contaminated cells worthless. Because of their small size, Mycoplasmas can pass through filters used to prevent bacterial and fungal contamination and potentially spread to all the cultures in a laboratory.

PAK4: a pluripotent kinase that regulates prostate cancer cell adhesion.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is associated with tumour progression and increases the invasiveness of prostate carcinoma cells. Migration and invasion require coordinated reorganisation of the actin cytoskeleton and regulation of cell-adhesion dynamics. Rho-family GTPases orchestrate both of these cellular processes.

Check your cultures! A list of cross-contaminated or misidentified cell lines.

Continuous cell lines consist of cultured cells derived from a specific donor and tissue of origin that have acquired the ability to proliferate indefinitely. These cell lines are well-recognized models for the study of health and disease, particularly for cancer. However, there are cautions to be aware of when using continuous cell lines, including the possibility of contamination, in which a foreign cell line or microorganism is introduced without the handler's knowledge.