Natural history and imaging of subtalar and midfoot joint disease in rheumatoid arthritis.

Foot involvement is not uncommon and occurs early in the disease course of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Inflammation and ongoing synovitis of foot joints lead to joint destruction and instability, tendon dysfunction, and eventually collapse of the medial longitudinal arch and pes planovalgus that contributes to difficulty in walking and gait abnormalities. This article reviews foot-related problems in patients with RA, focusing on the prevalence, natural history and role of imaging in both diagnosis and management of midfoot and subtalar joint disease in RA.

Role of MIF/CXCL8/CXCR2 signaling in the growth of nasopharyngeal carcinoma tumor spheres.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and CXCL8 (also named IL-8) are strongly expressed in the tissues of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, their role in the growth of NPC has not been fully examined. This study aims to evaluate the functions of MIF and CXCL8 on the growth of NPC tumor spheres.

Highly selective mitochondria-targeting amphiphilic silicon(IV) phthalocyanines with axially ligated rhodamine B for photodynamic therapy.

Two axially ligated rhodamine-Si(IV)-phthalocyanine (Rh-SiPc) conjugates, bearing one and two rhodamine B, were synthesized and their linear and two-photon photophysical, subcellular localization and photocytotoxic properties were studied. These Rh-SiPc conjugates exhibited an almost exclusive mitochondrial localizing property in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (HK-1) cells and human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cells. Strong photocytotoxic but low dark cytotoxic properties were also observed for the two Rh-SiPc conjugates toward the HK-1 cells.

An amphiphilic ruthenium(II)-polypyridyl appended porphyrin as potential bifunctional two-photon tumor-imaging and photodynamic therapeutic agent.

An amphiphilic porphyrin appended with a Ru(II)-polypyridyl complex (Ru-P) showing a moderate two-photon absorption cross-section (178.0+/-26.8GM), high singlet oxygen quantum yield and rapid cellular uptake was synthesized.

Targeted inhibition of the EGFR pathways enhances Zn-BC-AM PDT-induced apoptosis in well-differentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a receptor often expressed in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells, is one of the recently identified molecular targets in cancer treatment. In the present study, the effects of combined treatment of Zn-BC-AM PDT with an EGFR inhibitor AG1478 were investigated. Well-differentiated NPC HK-1 cells were subjected to PDT with 1 microM of Zn-BC-AM and were irradiated at a light dose of 1 J/cm(2) in the presence or absence of EGFR inhibitor AG1478.

Nitric oxide down-regulates caveolin-1 expression in rat brains during focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion injury.

As a signalling molecule of the integral membrane protein family, caveolin participates in cellular signal transduction via interaction with other signalling molecules. The nature of interaction between nitric oxide (NO) and caveolin in the brain, however, remains largely unknown. In this study we investigated the role(s) of NO in regulating caveolin-1 expression in rat ischemic brains with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).