Expression of activator proteins of SHH/GLI and PI3K/Akt/mTORC1 signaling pathways in human gliomas is associated with high grade tumors.

Recent findings have demonstrated a synergic crosstalk between SHH/GLI and PI3K/Akt/mTORC1 signaling in glioblastoma progression cells in vitro and in tumors in mice, but it is not known if this also occurs in human gliomas. We then aimed to investigate the expression of key proteins of these pathways in different human gliomas. The expression of PTEN, phospho-Akt (Ser473), phospho-S6K1 (Thr389), SHH, GLI1, GLI2 and GLI3 was assessed by immunohistochemistry in gliomas and in control brain tissues.

A novel method for isolation and culture of primary swine gastric epithelial cells.

Background: Culturing primary epithelial cells has a major advantage over tumor-derived or immortalized cell lines as long as their functional phenotype and genetic makeup are mainly maintained. The swine model has shown to be helpful and reliable when used as a surrogate model for human diseases. Several porcine cell lines have been established based on a variety of tissues, which have shown to extensively contribute to the current understanding of several pathologies, especially cancer.

[Prevalence of Variants in the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) Gene in a General Population of Adults from an Urban Area of Medellin (Antioquia)].

Objective: To determine the allelic and genotype frequencies of apolipoproteine E (APOE) gene in a representative sample of the adult population of Medellin in 2010.

Methods: A representative sample of the adult population of Medellin, was obtained by means of a multi-stage, stratified, conglomerate based sampling method. APOE genotyping was carried out on each of the participants.

Heart, liver and spleen pathology in chronic alcohol and drug users.

Alcohol- and drug-related deaths remain a major problem in the UK. Although the pathological findings of cardio-, hepato- and splenomegaly are frequently and empirically associated with chronic alcohol and drug use, there is limited published evidence available. This study hypothesises that organomegaly is associated with chronic substance use, and may represent a prognostic indicator.