Upregulation of fecal cytokeratin 19 is associated with prognosis in older colorectal cancer patients.

The upregulation of fecal cytokeratin 19 (CK19) correlates with age and metastatic status in human colorectal cancer (CRC). To further explore its clinical significance in older patients (>60 years), their fecal CK19 was measured by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Differences in CK19 transcripts were compared using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test.

Clinical meaning of age-related expression of fecal cytokeratin 19 in colorectal malignancy.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of malignant death worldwide. Because young age of onset is often considered a poor prognostic factor for CRC, it is important to identify the poor outcomes of CRC in a younger population and to consider an aggressive approach by implementing early treatment. Our aim was to specifically quantify the fecal cytokeratin 19 (CK19) transcript from CRC patients and investigate its correlation with clinical stage, tumor malignancy, and age.

Overexpression of protein kinase Calpha mRNA may be an independent prognostic marker for gastric carcinoma.

Background And Objectives: The variability of the prognosis of gastric carcinoma drives extensive researches for novel prognostic markers. The aims of this study were to correlate the expression of protein kinase Calpha (PKCalpha) mRNA with clinicopathological parameters and to evaluate the significant value of PKCalpha in gastric carcinoma prognosis.

Methods: PKCalpha mRNA levels were analyzed in tumor/non-tumor pairs of gastric tissues from surgical specimens of 41 patients with gastric carcinoma employing quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Large early gastric cancers treated by endoscopic submucosal dissection with an insulation-tipped diathermic knife.

It is difficult to remove a large early gastric cancer (> or = 3 cm) in one-piece resection using conventional endoscopic mucosal resection. We tried to use an insulation-tipped (IT) diathermic knife to dissect these lesions. IT-endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) was performed in four aging patients with gastric malignancy.

Premedication with pronase or N-acetylcysteine improves visibility during gastroendoscopy: an endoscopist-blinded, prospective, randomized study.

Aim: To assess the efficacy of premedicaton with pronase or N-acetylcysteine (NAC) at 20 min before upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy and to determine whether pronase or NAC pretreatment influences the reliability of the rapid urease test.

Methods: A total of 146 patients were prospectively and randomly assigned into the study groups according to different premedications before endoscopy. One endoscopist assessed mucosal visibility (MV) with scores ranged from 1 to 4 at four sites in the stomach.

Protective effects of Ginkgo biloba extract on the ethanol-induced gastric ulcer in rats.

Aim: To evaluate the preventive effect of Ginkgo biloba extract (GbE) on ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injuries in rats.

Methods: Female Wistar albino rats were used for the studies. We randomly divided the rats for each study into five subgroups: normal control, experimental control, and three experimental groups.

Deformity of duodenal bulb, gastric metaplasia of duodenal regenerating mucosa and recurrence of duodenal ulcer: a correlated study.

Aim: To investigate the correlation among the presence and degree of gastric metaplasia of duodenal regenerating mucosa, the deformity of bulb and the recurrence of duodenal ulcer.

Methods: A total of 99 patients with duodenal ulcer were treated with H(2)-antagonist with or without antimicrobial therapy. All patients received follow-up endoscopic examinations 6 wk after treatment.

Anti-Helicobacter pylori therapy significantly reduces Helicobacter pylori -induced gastric mucosal damage in Mongolian gerbils.

Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of 4 d' anti-Helicobacter pylori therapy on the H pylori-infected Mongolian gerbils based on physiological and pathological changes.

Methods: We used 6-wk-old male gerbils orally inoculated with H pylori (ATCC43504, 2X10(8) CFU/mL). Seven weeks after H pylori inoculation, the animals of study group received 4 d' anti-H pylori triple therapy (H pylori-eradicated group).

Eradication of Helicobacter pylori significantly reduced gastric damage in nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-treated Mongolian gerbils.

Aim: To examine the effect of eradication of Helicobacter pylori prior to usage of NSAIDs, by investigating gastric inflammatory activity, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, prostaglandin (PG) E2 synthesis in H pylori-infected, and H pylori-eradicated gerbils followed by administration of indomethacin and rofecoxib.

Methods: Six-week-old male gerbils were orally inoculated with H pylori. Seven weeks later, anti-H pylori triple therapy and vehicle were given to gerbils respectively and followed by oral indomethacin (2 mg/kg.

Thiol antioxidant and thiol-reducing agents attenuate 15-deoxy-delta 12,14-prostaglandin J2-induced heme oxygenase-1 expression.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is induced as a beneficial and adaptive response in cells and tissues exposed to oxidative stress. Herein we examined how various eicosanoids affect the induction of HO-1, and the possible mechanism underlying 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)- prostaglandin J(2) (15d-PGJ(2))-induced HO-1 expression. PGH(2), PGD(2) and its metabolites of the PGJ(2) series, and PGA(1) markedly induced the protein expression of HO-1.

Development of multifocal duodenal erosions after anti-Helicobacter pylori triple therapy.

Background And Purpose: Anti-Helicobacter pylori triple therapy is effective for healing duodenal ulcer (DU) diseases and reducing disease recurrence. However, multifocal duodenal erosions or shallow ulcers may develop after triple therapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence and outcome of duodenal erosions that developed after triple therapy.

Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (gelatinase B) in gouty arthritis and stimulation of MMP-9 by urate crystals in macrophages.

To investigate the relevance of gelatinase-B (matrix metalloproteinase 9, MMP-9) in gouty arthritis (GA), we tested the occurrence of MMP-9 in GA patients and cell culture system. Gelatinolytic activity in the synovial fluid (SF) of patients with different kinds of arthritis was assessed by gelatin zymography. A predominant 92-kDa MMP-9 gelatinolytic activity was evident in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and GA samples, but no activity was observed in osteoarthritis (OA) samples.

Acute cholangitis secondary to a common bile duct adenoma.

We report a case of distal common bile duct adenoma presenting with acute cholangitis. A 47-year-old woman suffered from right upper abdominal pain with persistent fever for 4 days. Abdominal ultrasonography showed mild dilatation of common bile duct and bilateral intrahepatic ducts.

Involvement of c-jun N-terminal kinase activation in 15-deoxy-delta12,14-prostaglandin J2-and prostaglandin A1-induced apoptosis in AGS gastric epithelial cells.

Cyclopentenone prostaglandins (CyPGs), derivatives of arachidonic acid, have been suggested to exert growth-inhibitory activity through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Here we examined various eicosanoids for growth inhibition and found that the terminal derivative of prostaglandin (PG) J(2) metabolism, 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)-PGJ(2) (15d-PGJ(2)), and PGA(1) markedly inhibited the growth and induced apoptosis in AGS gastric carcinoma cells. There were no significant increases in cell death and DNA-fragmentation in the cells with overexpression of PPARalpha or PPARgamma, indicating the possibility that 15d-PGJ(2) and PGA(1) induced apoptosis through PPAR-independent pathway.

It is difficult to eradicate Helicobacter pylori from dental plaque by triple therapy.

Background: Dental plaque has been suggested as a permanent reservoir of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and a potential source of reinfection. The aims of this study were to investigate the presence of H.

Involvement of both extracellular signal-regulated kinase and c-jun N-terminal kinase pathways in the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced upregulation of p21(Cip1) in colon cancer cells.

Protein kinase C (PKC), a family of serine-threonine kinases, has been implicated in the regulation of colon tumorigenesis. However, the specific isoform of PKC involved in this process is not clear. In the present study, we found that treatment of the cultured human colon cancer cell line COLO-205 with a PKC agonist, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), resulted in cell-cycle arrest at the G(0)/G(1) phase, decrease in cell number, PKCgamma isoform translocation, and upregulation of p21(Cip1) protein.