Autocrine and Paracrine Mechanisms Promoting Chemoresistance in Cholangiocarcinoma.

Resistance to conventional chemotherapeutic agents, a typical feature of cholangiocarcinoma, prevents the efficacy of the therapeutic arsenal usually used to combat malignancy in humans. Mechanisms of chemoresistance by neoplastic cholangiocytes include evasion of drug-induced apoptosis mediated by autocrine and paracrine cues released in the tumor microenvironment. Here, recent evidence regarding molecular mechanisms of chemoresistance is reviewed, as well as associations between well-developed chemoresistance and activation of the cancer stem cell compartment.

Leukemia inhibitory factor protects cholangiocarcinoma cells from drug-induced apoptosis via a PI3K/AKT-dependent Mcl-1 activation.

Cholangiocarcinoma is an aggressive, strongly chemoresistant liver malignancy. Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), an IL-6 family cytokine, promotes progression of various carcinomas. To investigate the role of LIF in cholangiocarcinoma, we evaluated the expression of LIF and its receptor (LIFR) in human samples.

A three-year prospective longitudinal cohort study of medical students' attitudes toward anatomy teaching and their career aspirations.

Today's medical students are faced with numerous learning needs. Continuously developing curricula have reduced time for basic science subjects such as anatomy. This study aimed to determine the students' views on the relevance of anatomy teaching, anatomical knowledge, and the effect these have on their career choices.

Accuracy of tobramycin levels obtained from central venous access devices in patients with cystic fibrosis is technique dependent.

Objective: Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) frequently require prolonged aminoglycoside antibiotic therapy administered via central venous access devices (CVADs). Therefore, the effect of the volume of saline flush used prior to drawing blood on tobramycin levels obtained from CVADs was investigated to determine the potential for inappropriate drug dosing decisions.

Patients And Methods: This was a prospective study comparing tobramycin levels in blood samples obtained simultaneously from CVADs and from venipuncture.

Human intrahepatic biliary epithelial cell lineages: studies in vitro.

The human intrahepatic biliary epithelium is composed of a morphologically heterogeneous population of epithelial cells. During liver cirrhosis, new biliary ductular structures develop at the portal margins that express markers of immaturity such as CD56 and Bcl-2. These markers are also expressed transiently on immature biliary duct precursors during embryological development; thus their reappearance during cirrhosis suggests a recapitulation of ontogenesis during some liver conditions.