The Identification of Multidrug-Resistant Microorganisms including Acquired from the Skin/Prosthetic Interface of Amputees and Their Susceptibility to Medihoney™ and Garlic Extract (Allicin).

Users of prosthetic devices face the accumulation of potentially drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria on the skin/prosthesis interface. In this study, we took surface swabs of the skin/prosthesis interface of eleven disabled athletes to identify microorganisms present. In addition to determining their antimicrobial resistance profile, we assessed their sensitivity to Manuka honey and Garlic extract (allicin).

Deciphering antihormone-induced compensatory mechanisms in breast cancer and their therapeutic implications.

Breast cancer inhibition by antihormones is rarely complete, and our studies using responsive models reveal the remarkable flexibility of breast cancer cells in recruiting alternative signalling to limit maximal anti-tumour effects of oestrogen receptor alpha (ER) blockade. The recruited mechanism involves antihormone-induced expression of oestrogen-repressed signalling genes. For example, epidermal growth factor receptor gene (EGFR) is induced by antioestrogens and maintains residual kinase and ER phosphorylation, cell survival genes, and thereby allows incomplete antihormone response and emergence of resistance.

Do poor-prognosis breast tumours express membrane cofactor proteins (CD46)?

Unlabelled: CD46 or membrane cofactor protein (MCP) is a complement regulatory protein that has been identified on all nucleated cells and which protects them from attack by autologous complement. Breast carcinomas are reported to consistently express CD46.

Aim And Methods: Our previous immunohistochemical study showed that in breast carcinomas, loss of CD59 and CD55 correlated with poor survival.

Analysis of the level of mRNA expression of the membrane regulators of complement, CD59, CD55 and CD46, in breast cancer.

We have examined the relative mRNA expression of the complement (C) regulatory proteins CD59, CD55 and CD46 in RNA isolated from 50 primary breast cancer specimens using a semiquantitative RT-PCR approach. Having normalized the mRNA expression levels of the C regulators relative to actin, we subsequently correlated their expression with estrogen receptor (ER) and various clinical, pathologic and biochemical features of the disease. CD59 and CD46 were detected in all clinical biopsies, while CD55 mRNA was detected in the majority of samples.