Microglia through MFG-E8 signaling decrease the density of degenerating neurons and protect the brain from the development of cortical infarction after stroke.

Neuronal loss is a hallmark of stroke and other neurodegenerative diseases, and as such, neuronal loss caused by microglia has been thought to be a contributing factor to disease progression. Here, we show that microglia indeed contribute significantly to neuronal loss in a mouse model of stroke, but this microglial-dependent process of neuronal clearance specifically targets stressed and degenerating neurons in the ischemic cortical region and not healthy non-ischemic neurons. Nonspecific stimulation of microglia decreased the density of neurons in the ischemic cortical region, whereas specific inhibition of MFG-E8 signaling, which is required for microglial phagocytosis of neurons, had the opposite effect.

TAT peptide at treatment-level concentrations crossed brain endothelial cell monolayer independent of receptor-mediated endocytosis or peptide-inflicted barrier disruption.

The peptide domain extending from residues 49 to 57 of the HIV-1 Tat protein (TAT) has been widely shown to facilitate cell entry of and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability to covalently bound macromolecules; therefore, TAT-linked therapeutic peptides trafficked through peripheral routes have been used to treat brain diseases in preclinical and clinical studies. Although the mechanisms underlying cell entry by similar peptides have been established to be temperature-dependent and cell-type specific and to involve receptor-mediated endocytosis, how these peptides cross the BBB remains unclear. Here, using an in vitro model, we studied the permeability of TAT, which was covalently bound to the fluorescent probe fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), and evaluated whether it crossed the "in vitro BBB", a monolayer of brain endothelial cells, and whether the mechanisms were similar to those involved in TAT entry into cells.

Evans blue dye as an indicator of albumin permeability across a brain endothelial cell monolayer in vitro.

An increase in the brain endothelial (BEnd) cell permeability of blood albumin is often seen as an early sign of blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption and can precede increases in the BEnd permeability of small molecules and other plasma proteins in the course of brain disease. Therefore, Evans blue dye (EBD), an albumin-binding fluorescent tracer that is simple to detect and quantify, has been widely utilized for studying BEnd permeability during BBB disruption. Here, we investigated whether EBD is a suitable indicator of albumin permeability across mouse BEnd cell monolayers, alone or cocultured with mouse cortical astrocytes, in an in-vitro permeability assay; given the strong affinity of EBD for albumin, we further asked whether EBD can affect albumin permeability and vice versa.

Humoral response to p53 is associated with conserved domains II and IV mutations in human colorectal cancer: a case-control study in Taiwan.

To explore the relationship between mutations of the p53 gene, p53 protein accumulation in tumor tissues and the presence of anti-p53 antibodies (Ab) in sera, a matched case-control study with 63 colorectal cancer patients positive for p53-Ab was carried out. These control patients were matched for age, gender, as well as tumor site and stage with 63 colorectal cancer patients positive for p53-Ab. The study was designed to analyze their p53 gene mutations in exons 4-9 by the single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) followed by direct sequencing, as well as measuring p53 protein accumulation by immunohistochemistry.

Colorectal cancer without high microsatellite instability and chromosomal instability--an alternative genetic pathway to human colorectal cancer.

At least two forms of genomic instability have been described in colorectal cancers (CRCs): microsatellite instability (MIN), which is characterized by a high frequency of microsatellite instability (MSI-H) and chromosomal instability (CIN), which is characterized by losses and gains of chromosomes (aneuploidy), as well as chromosome rearrangements. Morphological and molecular heterogeneity within MIN(-) CRCs have been described, but the distinctions between MIN(-) tumors with CIN and those without CIN remain largely unknown. We studied 179 colorectal cancers to elucidate the clinicopathological characteristics and molecular events in CRCs arising along these pathways.