Changes in ovarian function in premenopausal women with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant TC (docetaxel and cyclophosphamide) chemotherapy during a brief period of amenorrhea around the last chemotherapy cycle.

Purpose: Docetaxel, a chemotherapeutic agent, induces high rates of transient chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea (CIA) when used as adjuvant chemotherapy for premenopausal women with breast cancer. Clinical laboratory data to assess the hormonal environment implicated in inducing transient CIA was assessed.

Methods: An observational study was conducted in 35 premenopausal women with hormone-responsive breast cancer who were receiving adjuvant docetaxel/cyclophosphamide (TC) chemotherapy.

Prognostic value of matrix Gla protein in breast cancer.

To assess the prognostic value of matrix Gla protein (MGP) expression in cases of breast cancer, 9 samples from patients diagnosed with breast cancer who were followed up for more than 10 years were microdissected and then analyzed using Affymetrix U133 Plus 2.0 Arrays. Genes that exhibited significant differences in expression between patients with a good prognosis and those with a poor prognosis were identified.

Effect of xenon binding to a hydrophobic cavity on the proton pumping cycle in bacteriorhodopsin.

To understand the functional role of apolar cavities in bacteriorhodopsin, a light-driven proton pump found in Halobacterium salinarum, we investigated the crystal structure in pressurized xenon or krypton. Diffraction data from the P622 crystal showed that one Xe or Kr atom binds to a preexisting hydrophobic cavity buried between helices C and D, located at the same depth from the membrane surface as Asp96, a key residue in the proton uptake pathway. The occupation fraction of Xe or Kr was calculated as approximately 0.

Structural role of bacterioruberin in the trimeric structure of archaerhodopsin-2.

Archaerhodopsin-2 (aR2), a retinal protein-carotenoid complex found in the claret membrane of Halorubrum sp. aus-2, functions as a light-driven proton pump. In this study, the membrane fusion method was utilized to prepare trigonal P321 crystals (a=b=98.

Crystal structures of archaerhodopsin-1 and -2: Common structural motif in archaeal light-driven proton pumps.

Archaerhodopsin-1 and -2 (aR-1 and aR-2) are light-driven proton pumps found in Halorubrum sp. aus-1 and -2, which share 55-58% sequence identity with bacteriorhodopsin (bR), a proton pump found in Halobacterium salinarum. In this study, aR-1 and aR-2 were crystallized into 3D crystals belonging to P4(3)2(1)2 (a = b = 128.

De novo insG619 mutation in PAX2 gene in a Japanese patient with papillorenal syndrome.

Purpose: To describe a Japanese patient with papillorenal syndrome (PRS) and to identify the genetic defect responsible for the disease.

Design: Interventional case report.

Methods: Complete ophthalmologic and systemic examinations were performed, and direct genomic sequencing of the PAX2 gene.