REG4 Is Highly Expressed in Mucinous Ovarian Cancer: A Potential Novel Serum Biomarker.

Preoperative diagnostics of ovarian neoplasms rely on ultrasound imaging and the serum biomarkers CA125 and HE4. However, these markers may be elevated in non-neoplastic conditions and may fail to identify most non-serous epithelial cancer subtypes. The objective of this study was to identify histotype-specific serum biomarkers for mucinous ovarian cancer.

Comparative cellular toxicity of hydrophilic and hydrophobic microcystins on Caco-2 cells.

Microcystins (MC), cyanobacterial peptide hepatotoxins, comprise more than 100 different variants. They are rather polar molecules but some variants contain hydrophobic amino acid residues in the highly variable parts of the molecule. In MC-LF and MC-LW, the more hydrophobic phenylalanine (F) and tryptophan (W), respectively, have replaced arginine (R) in MC-LR.

Screening for cyanobacterial hepatotoxins, microcystins and nodularin in environmental water samples by reversed-phase liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry.

Water samples taken from 93 freshwater and brackish water locations in Aland (SW Finland) in 2001 were analysed for biomass-bound microcystins and nodularin, cyanobacterial peptide hepatotoxins, by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in selected ion recording (SIR) and multiple reaction monitoring modes, HPLC-UV, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The extracted toxins were separated on a short C18 column with a gradient of acetonitrile and 0.5% formic acid, and quantified on a Micromass Quattro Micro triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer with an electrospray ion source operated in the positive SIR or scan mode.

Interaction between microcystins of different hydrophobicities and lipid monolayers.

Microcystins (MC) are a group of amphiphatic peptide hepatotoxins and protein phosphatase inhibitors produced by certain cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Microcystins are believed to require an active transport mechanism to penetrate the plasma membranes of animal cells. In this study the surface barostat technique showed that two more hydrophobic microcystins MC-LF, containing Leu and Phe, and MC-LW, containing Leu and Trp, had a higher surface activity on an egg phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol (7:3, molar ratio) monolayer as compared to that of a more hydrophilic variant MC-LR, containing Leu and Arg.