Duodenal gastrointestinal stromal tumor: clinical, pathologic, immunohistochemical characteristics, and surgical prognosis.

Objective: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) occur rarely in the duodenum. The characteristics of duodenal GIST have not been well clarified. The aim of this study is to clarify the characteristics and surgical prognosis of patients with primary duodenal GIST.

Symptomatic adult annular pancreas: report of two cases and a review of the literature.

Background: Annular pancreas in adults is a rare embryologic abnormality detected after development of complications. Embryology, diagnosis and treatment strategies for symptomatic adult annular pancreas remain controversial. In this paper we reevaluated these problems in view of the technological and theoretical advances.

Triptolide affects the differentiation, maturation and function of human dendritic cells.

Triptolide is a purified component from a traditional Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F. It has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive activities by its inhibitory effect on T cells. But the effect of triptolide on dendritic cells (DC) is unknown.

Identification of genes differentially expressed in monocyte-derived dendritic cells with 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 using cDNA arrays.

In order to study the molecular mechanism of the inhibitory effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) on dendritic cells, experiments were performed using Atlas cDNA expression arrays from Clonetech to identify the differentially expressed genes of dendritic cells by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3). Analysis of cDNA arrays revealed changes in the expression of 9 genes, including those involved in DNA binding and transcription, extracellular cell signaling and communication, intracellular transducers, as well as cell adhesions. The results indicated that a multiple molecular network is involved in the inhibitory role of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) on dendritic cells.