[Memorandum for the management of clinical trials].

A critical appraisal of the recent legislation on clinical trials is proposed, together with some reflections on the implications on the practice and principles of clinical experimentation. The possible role and contribution of Ethical Committees is discussed.

Expression of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 5 in neuroblastoma cells is regulated at the transcriptional level by c-Myb and B-Myb via direct and indirect mechanisms.

Neuroblastoma (NB), a malignant childhood tumor deriving from the embryonic neural crest, is sensitive to the growth-stimulating effects of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs). Aggressive cases of this disease often acquire autocrine loops of IGF production, but the mechanisms through which the different components of the IGF axis are regulated in tumor cells remain unclear. Upon conditional expression of c-Myb in a NB cell line, we detected up-regulation of IGF1, IGF1 receptor, and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 5 (IGFBP-5) expression.