Expression of the type III TGF-beta receptor is negatively regulated by TGF-beta.

The type III transforming growth factor-beta receptor (TbetaRIII or betaglycan) is a ubiquitously expressed transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily coreceptor with essential roles in embryonic development. Recent studies have defined a role for TbetaRIII in the pathogenesis of human cancers, with frequent loss of TbetaRIII expression at the message and protein level. Mechanisms for the loss of TbetaRIII expression remain to be fully defined.

Echinopines A and B: sesquiterpenoids possessing an unprecedented skeleton from Echinops spinosus.

Echinopines A (1) and B (2), novel sesquiterpenoids with an unprecedented rearranged skeleton named echinopane, were isolated from the roots of Echinops spinosus. The structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis. The relative configuration of 1 was assigned by a combination of NOESY correlations and a simulation analysis.

Phosphorus sorption capacities and physicochemical properties of nine substrate materials for constructed wetland.

Constructed wetland (CW) is a promising technique for removal of pollutants from wastewater and agricultural runoff. The performance of a CW to remove pollutants, however, hinges on the use of suitable substrate materials. This study examined the physicochemical properties and phosphorus (P) sorption capacities of nine different CW substrate materials using both batch experiments and the Freundlich as well as the Langmuir isotherm.

TbetaRIII suppresses non-small cell lung cancer invasiveness and tumorigenicity.

The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily has essential roles in lung development, regulating cell proliferation, branching morphogenesis, differentiation and apoptosis. Although most lung cancers become resistant to the tumor suppressor effects of TGF-beta, and loss or mutation of one of the components of the TGF-beta signaling pathway, including TbetaRII, Smad2 and Smad4 have been reported, mutations are not common in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here we demonstrate that the TGF-beta superfamily co-receptor, the type III TGF-beta receptor (TbetaRIII or betaglycan) is lost in the majority of NSCLC specimens at the mRNA and protein levels, with loss correlating with increased tumor grade and disease progression.

[Clinical features and treatment outcomes of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, unspecified: a report of 78 cases].

Objective: To summarize the clinical features and treatment outcomes of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, unspecified (PTCL-US).

Methods: The medical records of 78 patients with PTCL-US classified according to the revised European and American lymphoma (REAL) or WHO criteria, 58 males and 20 females, aged 39 (9 - 75), 46 of them (59%) being at the stages III/VI and 40 cases (51.2%) with extranodal involvement), treated from Jan 1994 to Dec 2004 in the Cancer Hospital/Institute, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, were retrospectively analyzed.

Loss of type III transforming growth factor beta receptor expression increases motility and invasiveness associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition during pancreatic cancer progression.

Epithelial to mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) contribute to increases in cellular motility and invasiveness during embryonic development and tumorigenesis. The transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) signaling pathway is a key regulator of EMT. The TGF-beta superfamily coreceptor, the type III TGF-beta receptor (TbetaRIII or betaglycan), is required for EMT during embryonic heart development and palate fusion.

[Non-taxoid chemical constituents from leaves of Taxus mairei].

Objective: To study the non-taxoids in the leaves of Taxus mairei.

Method: The chemical constituents were isolated by chromatography and identified by spectral data.

Result: Five compounds, taxamairin A (1), taxamairin B (2), sciadopitysin (3), ( - ) matairesinol (4), ponasterone A (5) were isolated and identified.

Perceptions of oral illness among Chinese immigrants in Montreal: a qualitative study.

Providing culturally competent care has been a growing concern for health care professionals in recent years. Being culturally competent means taking into account the culture of patients in order to provide high-quality services. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to better understand how oral illness was perceived by the largest visible minority group in Canada: Chinese immigrants.

Strain-specific homeostatic responses during early stages of Azoxymethane-induced colon tumorigenesis in mice.

Identifying molecular changes that predict the risk for developing colon cancer is critical for designing effective prevention strategies. In the present study, we determined early-stage molecular alterations within the colonic epithelium of A/J and AKR/J mice that are sensitive and resistant to Azoxymethane (AOM)-initiated tumor development, respectively. Six week-old male mice were injected intraperitoneally with AOM (10 mg/kg body weight) once a week for six weeks.

Three new taxanes with the 10-alkoxy group from the heartwood of Taxus cuspidata.

Three novel taxanes with the 10-alkoxy group were isolated from heartwood of Taxus cuspidata. The structures were identified as 2alpha,14beta-diacetoxy-10beta-ethoxytaxa-11,4(20)-dien-5alpha-ol (1), 2alpha,14beta-diacetoxy-10beta-methoxytaxa-11,4(20)-dien-5alpha-ol (2), and 2alpha-acetoxy-10beta-ethoxytaxa-11,4(20)-diene-5alpha,14beta-diol (3) on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. These are the first taxanes with an alkoxy moiety on the skeleton.

New 14-hydroxy-taxane and 2alpha,20-epoxy-11(15-->1)abeotaxane from the needles of Taxus canadensis.

Two new taxanes were isolated from the needles of Taxus canadensis. Their structures were established as 10beta,13alpha-diacetoxytaxa-4(20),11-diene-5alpha,9alpha,14beta-triol (1) and 4alpha,13alpha-diacetoxy-2alpha,20-epoxy-11(15-->1)abeotaxa-11,15-diene-5alpha,7beta,9alpha,10beta-tetraol (2) on the basis of a spectroscopic analysis.

Phytochemicals of black bean seed coats: isolation, structure elucidation, and their antiproliferative and antioxidative activities.

Bioactivity-guided fractionation of black bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seed coats was used to determine the chemical identity of bioactive constituents, which showed potent antiproliferative and antioxidative activities. Twenty-four compounds including 12 triterpenoids, 7 flavonoids, and 5 other phytochemicals were isolated using gradient solvent fractionation, silica gel and ODS columns, and semipreparative and preparative HPLC. Their chemical structures were identified using MS, NMR, and X-ray diffraction analysis.

Loss of betaglycan expression in ovarian cancer: role in motility and invasion.

The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily members, TGF-beta, activin, and inhibin, all have prominent roles in regulating normal ovarian function. Betaglycan, or the type III TGF-beta receptor, is a coreceptor that regulates TGF-beta, activin, and inhibin signaling. Here, we show that betaglycan expression is frequently decreased or lost in epithelial derived ovarian cancer at both the mRNA and protein level, with the degree of loss correlating with tumor grade.

Effect of parenteral glutamine supplementation in premature infants.

Background: Glutamine, proposed to be conditionally essential for critically ill patients, is not added routinely to parenteral amino acid formulations for premature infants and is provided in only small quantities by the enteral route when enteral feeding is low. Parenteral feeding is the basic way of nutrition in the first days of life of premature infants. In this study, we evaluated the effects of glutamine supplemented parenteral nutrition for premature infants on growth and development, feeding toleration, and infective episodes.

A comparative investigation of Co2+ and Mn2+ incorporation into aluminophosphates by in situ XAS and DFT computation.

The incorporation processes of Mn2+ and Co2+ into the framework of aluminophosphate molecular sieve AlPO4-5, at the onset of crystallization, were investigated by in situ synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and density functional theory (DFT) computation. The results indicated that the syntheses of MnAPO-5 and CoAPO-5 were different in the incorporation mechanism of metal ions. For the synthesis of CoAPO-5, Co2+ transferred from an octahedral into tetrahedral structure with crystal formation, while, for MnAPO-5, the Mn2+ transition to the tetrahedral structure was much more difficult and it occurred after the appearance of long-range ordered microporous structure.

Ramosetron versus ondansetron in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced gastrointestinal side effects: A prospective randomized controlled study.

Background: This study observed and compared the preventive effects of ramosetron and ondansetron on gastrointestinal side effects caused by cisplatin-containing chemotherapy.

Methods: Fifty patients with malignant tumors undergoing their first chemotherapy were randomly divided into two groups, and each group received 0.3 mg of ramosetron and 16 mg of ondansetron in a prospective crossover comparison study.

The type III TGF-beta receptor suppresses breast cancer progression.

The TGF-beta signaling pathway has a complex role in regulating mammary carcinogenesis. Here we demonstrate that the type III TGF-beta receptor (TbetaRIII, or betaglycan), a ubiquitously expressed TGF-beta coreceptor, regulated breast cancer progression and metastasis. Most human breast cancers lost TbetaRIII expression, with loss of heterozygosity of the TGFBR3 gene locus correlating with decreased TbetaRIII expression.

[Therapeutic effect of three dimensional conformal radiotherapy in patients aged 65 years and older with non-small cell lung cancer].

Background: Three dimensional conformal radiotherapy is one of the important treatment methods for patients aged 65 and older with inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of three dimensional conformal radiotherapy in elderly patients with inoperable NSCLC.

Methods: Thirty-one patients aged 65 and older with stage II and III NSCLC were treated by three dimensional conformal radiotherapy.

Evidence of apoptosis in the subventricular zone and rostral migratory stream in the MPTP mouse model of Parkinson disease.

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is commonly used to create animal models of Parkinson disease. There is conflicting evidence on the occurrence of apoptosis induced by MPTP in the mouse substantia nigra pars compacta. We demonstrated that a single acute injection of MPTP induced apoptosis in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and rostral migratory stream (RMS) in the adult C57BL/6 mouse brain.

Tilmicosin and tylosin have anti-inflammatory properties via modulation of COX-2 and iNOS gene expression and production of cytokines in LPS-induced macrophages and monocytes.

Macrolides have been reported to modify the host immune and inflammatory responses both in vivo and in vitro. We examined the in vitro effect of the macrolides tilmicosin and tylosin, which are only used in the veterinary clinic, on the production of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) and cytokines by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and mouse peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).

[Characteristics of anorectal motility spectrum and preliminary approach to treatment of functional constipation in children].

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of anorectal motility spectrum in children with functional constipation in comparison with healthy children and determine the efficacy of treatment measures based on the results of anorectal manometry.

Methods: Anorectal manometric indexes were detected by the multi-functional manometry in eight patients with functional constipation aged (11.4 +/- 4.

c-fos modulates brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA expression in mouse hippocampal CA3 and dentate gyrus neurons.

Excess neuronal excitation by glutamate induces neuron cell death, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of acute brain injuries and neurodegenerative diseases. Our previous studies using a mouse with hippocampal c-fos gene deletion showed that c-fos regulates neuronal excitability and excitotoxicity. Moreover, a delayed induction of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein expression in response to kainic acid (KA) treatment was found in c-fos mutant mice compared to wildtype controls, suggesting that c-fos is important in the temporal control of BDNF induction.