Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is documented as the important etiologic agent of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) but the mechanism of development and pathogenesis induced by EBV is presently unclear. Hypermethylation of epithelial-cadherin (E-cadherin) promoter has been shown to be induced in NPC cell line by EBV LMP1 via DNA methyltransferase activation. EBV genomes and hypermethylation of E-cadherin promoter were investigated in NPC tissues to evaluate the role of EBV in the hypermethylation and pathogenesis of NPC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOsteoblastic differentiation from human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSCs) is an important step of bone formation. We studied the in vitro induction of hMSCs by using strontium ranelate, a natural trace amount in water, food and human skeleton. The mRNA synthesis of various osteoblast specific genes was assessed by means of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTreatment of human promyelocytic leukemia cell HL60 with 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) induces growth arrest, differentiation towards the monocyte/macrophage lineage, and expression of cell cycle-regulating genes cyclin D1 and p21Waf1. First, we demonstrated that p21Waf1 expression was increased by TPA in other leukemia cell lines also, including THP-1, U937, and KG-1, which differentiate into monocytes/macrophages by TPA. Secondly, we demonstrated the signal transduction pathways of cyclin D1 and p21Waf1 expressions in TPA-treated HL60 cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe encountered a case of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) after treatment for portal hypertension due to pancreatic arteriovenous malformation (PAVM). A 75-year-old man was admitted for the treatment of esophageal varices. Diffuse PAVM and aneurysm in the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries were detected via abdominal computed tomography and angiography.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdipocytes secrete a variety of bioactive molecules that affect the insulin sensitivity of other tissues. We now show that the abundance of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) mRNA in adipose tissue and the plasma concentration of MCP-1 were increased both in genetically obese diabetic (db/db) mice and in WT mice with obesity induced by a high-fat diet. Mice engineered to express an MCP-1 transgene in adipose tissue under the control of the aP2 gene promoter exhibited insulin resistance, macrophage infiltration into adipose tissue, and increased hepatic triglyceride content.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBone marrow (BM) histology of 102 myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients was analyzed retrospectively. All the cases were reclassified according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification. Karyotype study was conducted for all except one.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRunx2 regulates the target genes characteristic of osteoblastic phenotypes, while exerting diverse and sometimes controversial effects on osteoblastic cells depending on their differentiation stage. Receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB (RANK) ligand (RANKL) is a membrane bound cytokine essential for osteo(chondro)clastogenesis. During endochondral ossification, while Runx2-positive hypertrophic chondrocytes express RANKL, the steady-state expression of the RANKL gene in osteoblastic cells is, at later stages, kept at a relatively low level to sustain the established bone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe simulated refraction contrast imaging in overlapping objects using the ray tracing method. The easiest case, in which two columnar objects (blood vessels) with a density of 1.0 [g/cm3], run at right angles in air, was calculated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBased on developmental fate and function, cartilage tissue is broadly classified into transient cartilage (e.g. growth plate, GP) and permanent cartilage (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Programmed death-1 (PD-1) mediates a negative signal and introduces tolerance for lymphocytes. Dysfunction of the PD-1 pathway is thought to result in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To investigate the role of the PD-1/PD-L system in the pathology of Sjögren's syndrome (SS), we examined the expression of PD-1 and its ligand PD-L1 in salivary lymphocytes and salivary glands from patients with SS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNerve growth factor and its high-affinity receptor TrkA are thought to be involved in the progression of various cancers. This study investigated the mechanism that regulates aberrant or increased TrkA expression in various cancer cell lines and in the course of pancreatic cancer progression. We found that the negative cis-acting AP-1-like sequence TGAGCGA was located in the 5'-untranslated region of the TrkA gene.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMatrix Gla protein (MGP) is a crucial inhibitor of vessel and cartilage calcification. We investigated the association of T-138C MGP promoter polymorphism with the degree of atherosclerosis, vascular calcification and patients' clinical background including calcification of the trachea and costal cartilage. Analysis of 108 autopsy cases was carried out by polymorphism-specific PCR on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: We discuss the usefulness of the refraction contrast method using highly parallel X-rays as a new approach to minute lung cancer detection. The advantages of refraction contrast images are discussed in terms of contrast, and a comparison is made with absorption images.
Materials And Methods: We simulated refraction contrast imaging using globules with the density of water in air as models for minute lung cancer detection.
Phospholipase Cepsilon is a novel class of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C, identified as a downstream effector of Ras and Rap small GTPases. We report here the first genetic analysis of its physiological function with mice whose phospholipase Cepsilon is catalytically inactivated by gene targeting. The hearts of mice homozygous for the targeted allele develop congenital malformations of both the aortic and pulmonary valves, which cause a moderate to severe degree of regurgitation with mild stenosis and result in ventricular dilation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAltered regulation of insulin secretion by glucose is characteristic of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus, although the mechanisms that underlie this change remain unclear. We have now generated mice that lack the lambda isoform of PKC in pancreatic beta cells (betaPKClambda(-/-) mice) and show that these animals manifest impaired glucose tolerance and hypoinsulinemia. Furthermore, insulin secretion in response to high concentrations of glucose was impaired, whereas the basal rate of insulin release was increased, in islets isolated from betaPKClambda(-/-) mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report a case of a primary pulmonary myxoma. The patient was a 69-year-old previously healthy human. Computed tomographic scan demonstrated a well-circumscribed tumor with a diameter of approximately 13 mm in the right upper lobe.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMutational activation of the ras proto-oncogenes is frequently found in skin cancers. However, the nature of downstream signaling pathways from Ras involved in skin carcinogenesis remains poorly understood. Recently, we and others identified phospholipase C (PLC) epsilon as an effector of Ras.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: 1 alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) rapidly and transiently suppressed OPG gene expression both by accelerating the degradation of mRNA and by suppressing promoter activity. The latter process was mediated through the AP-1 binding site by a reduction in the proportion of phospho-c-Jun in a JNK-independent manner.
Introduction: Osteoclastogenesis is regulated by an integrated network of numerous bone metabolic factors, among which 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1 alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3)] promotes osteoclastogenesis by reciprocally upregulating the expression of RANKL and downregulating that of osteoprotegerin (OPG).
In this study, we observed bone specimens of the mouse using a very high coherence beam and high spatial resolution detector (zooming tube: approximately 0.7 micron resolution) and successfully obtained images of the Haversian canal, osteocytes, and osteoclasts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBone fracture healing takes place through endochondral ossification where cartilaginous callus is replaced by bony callus. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a requisite for endochondral ossification, where blood vessel invasion of cartilaginous callus is crucial. Heparanase is an endoglucuronidase that degrades heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) and releases heparin-binding growth factors including VEGF as an active form.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo our knowledge, only five cases of malignant changes in small-bowel duplication have been reported previously in the English-language literature, and these were found only in ileal duplications. We describe a unique case of adenocarcinoma arising in a tubular duplication of the jejunum; this is the oldest patients in whom malignant tumor of alimentary tract duplication has been reported. A 73-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of lower abdominal pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe developed micro blood vessel diameter measurement algorithm for angiography using refraction contrast by monochromatic X-ray of the 3rd generation synchrotron radiation with the high degree parallel beam. The accuracy is evaluated using the actually obtained image.
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