Osteopontin: a new facilitating factor in alopecia areata pathogenesis?

Osteopontin (OPN) is a multifunctional glycophosphoprotein secreted by many cell types, including osteoblasts, lymphocites, macrophages, epithelial cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells. It has been implicated in many physiological and pathological processes, such as cell-mediated immunity, inflammation, cell survival, and tumor invasion and metastasis. Osteopontin has multiple emerging roles in cutaneous biology and pathology and OPN involvement has been emphasized in Th1-mediated diseases such as psoriasis.

Clinical pharmacogenetics of methotrexate.

It is well known that interindividual variability can affect the response to many drugs in relation to age, gender, diet, and organ function. Pharmacogenomic studies have also documented that genetic polymorphisms can exert clinically significant effects in terms of drug resistance, efficacy and toxicity by modifying the expression of critical gene products (drug-metabolizing enzymes, transporters, and target molecules) as well as pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters. A growing body of in vitro and clinical evidence suggests that common polymorphisms in the folate gene pathway are associated with an altered response to methotrexate (MTX) in patients with malignancy and autoimmune disease.

Protective effect of citropin 1.1 and tazobactam-piperacillin against oxidative damage and lethality in mice models of gram-negative sepsis.

Background: Gram-negative sepsis ranks as the leading cause of death in intensive care units, and its incidence is increasing steadily and mortality rates has not changed much over recent decades.

Materials And Methods: We investigated the efficacy of the amphibian peptide, citropin 1.1 alone and in combination with tazobactam-piperacillin (TZP) in two experimental mice models of gram-negative sepsis.

Zoledronic acid induces significant and long-lasting modifications of circulating angiogenic factors in cancer patients.

Purpose: The commercial availability of zoledronic acid, a third generation bisphosphonate, prompted us to evaluate the modifications in angiogenic cytokines levels after a single i.v. infusion of this drug.

Requirements for reproducibility, trueness and error of measurement in internal quality control schemes.

Among the various models proposed to meet requirements for metrological performance in clinical laboratory measurements, that most widely used is intra- and inter-biological variation. However, this model has weaknesses: a) in some cases, intra-individual biological variation is so small that requirements based on such data may not be met by routine methods; b) there is great variation among the intra- and inter-individual biological variations themselves. We therefore propose integration between "state-of-the-art" methods to minimize imprecision, and also suggest that requirements calculated on the basis of biological variations should be used in setting requirements for minimizing imprecision.