Seaweeds: Nature's super therapeutics? Immunomodulatory and anti-viral properties of sulfated rhamnoxyloglucuronan isolated from Ulva fasciata Delile.

Green seaweeds, which make up a major population of total seaweed worldwide, possess various therapeutic properties. The aim of the study directed at isolating a (1 → 4) linked sulfated rhamno xyloglucuronan, designated as UFP-2, from the edible green seaweed Ulva fasciata Delile, and to evaluate its efficacy in modulating immune responses and inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 (Delta variant) infection. Anti-inflammatory potential of UFP-2 was demonstrated through the regulation of key cytokines involved in inflammatory responses triggered by viral infections, including interferons (IFN-α/γ), interleukin (IL-1β/12/33), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α).

Are intra-articular injections of Hylan G-F 20 efficacious in painful osteoarthritis of the knee? A systematic review & meta-analysis.

Aim: To systematically review evidence and perform a meta-analysis of the efficacy of intra-articular (IA) injections of Hylan G-F 20 for the treatment of painful osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee.

Methods: Systematic review of the Embase and PubMed databases up to July 2013 of randomised placebo-controlled trials studying the effect of Hylan G-F 20 in patients with painful knee OA, with a meta-analysis of trials reporting visual analogue scores (VAS) for weight-bearing pain in the knees of patients followed up for a minimum of 6 months.

Results: Six placebo-controlled randomised trials were identified on systematic review of which two studies met criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis.

Long-term results of a total knee prosthesis utilising an all polyethylene tibial component.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the long-term performance of a cemented total knee replacement utilising an All Polyethylene Tibial (APT) component and in addition to perform an engineering analysis of any failures to help refine surgical technique.

Materials And Methods: A total of 26 patients had a total knee replacement performed using a cemented Depuy Press Fit Condylar (PFC) APT component and a cruciate retaining femoral component. At final review all patients were assessed using The Knee Society Score together with radiographs.

Reactive astrocytes promote the metastatic growth of breast cancer stem-like cells by activating Notch signalling in brain.

Brain metastasis of breast cancer profoundly affects the cognitive and sensory functions as well as morbidity of patients, and the 1 year survival rate among these patients remains less than 20%. However, the pathological mechanism of brain metastasis is as yet poorly understood. In this report, we found that metastatic breast tumour cells in the brain highly expressed IL-1β which then 'activated' surrounding astrocytes.

miR-7 suppresses brain metastasis of breast cancer stem-like cells by modulating KLF4.

Despite significant improvement in survival rates of patients with breast cancer, prognosis of metastatic disease is still dismal. Cancer stem-like cells (CSC) are considered to play a role in metastatic progression of breast cancer; however, the exact pathologic role of CSCs is yet to be elucidated. In this report, we found that CSCs (CD24(-)/CD44(+)/ESA(+)) isolated from metastatic breast cell lines are significantly more metastatic than non-CSC populations in an organ-specific manner.

Elevated lipogenesis in epithelial stem-like cell confers survival advantage in ductal carcinoma in situ of breast cancer.

Upregulation of lipogenesis is a hallmark of cancer and blocking the lipogenic pathway is known to cause tumor cell death by apoptosis. However, the exact role of lipogenesis in tumor initiation is as yet poorly understood. We examined the expression profile of key lipogenic genes in clinical samples of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of breast cancer and found that these genes were significantly upregulated in DCIS.

Osteochondral avulsion fracture of the femoral origin of the anterior cruciate ligament in an 11-year-old child.

Although tibial end avulsions of the anterior cruciate ligament are relatively common in clinical practice, avulsions of the femoral end of this ligament are by comparison rare. We present the case of an 11-year-old boy with a bony avulsion injury, which was presumed to have arisen from the tibial insertion of the anterior cruciate ligament but turned out instead to be an osteochondral avulsion fracture of the femoral origin. This unexpected finding that was not detected during preoperative workup resulted in the first attempt at surgical fixation being aborted.

N-myc downstream regulated gene 1 modulates Wnt-β-catenin signalling and pleiotropically suppresses metastasis.

Wnt signalling has pivotal roles in tumour progression and metastasis; however, the exact molecular mechanism of Wnt signalling in the metastatic process is as yet poorly defined. Here we demonstrate that the tumour metastasis suppressor gene, NDRG1, interacts with the Wnt receptor, LRP6, followed by blocking of the Wnt signalling, and therefore, orchestrates a cellular network that impairs the metastatic progression of tumour cells. Importantly, restoring NDRG1 expression by a small molecule compound significantly suppressed the capability of otherwise highly metastatic tumour cells to thrive in circulation and distant organs in animal models.

Bone morphogenetic protein 7 in dormancy and metastasis of prostate cancer stem-like cells in bone.

Metastatic disease is the major cause of cancer deaths, and recurrent tumors at distant organs are a critical issue. However, how metastatic tumor cells become dormant and how and why tumors recur in target organs are not well understood. In this study, we demonstrate that BMP7 (bone morphogenetic protein 7) secreted from bone stromal cells induces senescence in prostate cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) by activating p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and increasing expression of the cell cycle inhibitor, p21, and the metastasis suppressor gene, NDRG1 (N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1).

Hyaluronan synthase HAS2 promotes tumor progression in bone by stimulating the interaction of breast cancer stem-like cells with macrophages and stromal cells.

The molecular mechanisms that operate within the organ microenvironment to support metastatic progression remain unclear. Here, we report that upregulation of hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2) occurs in highly metastatic breast cancer stem-like cells (CSC) defined by CD44(+)/CD24(-)/ESA(+) phenotype, where it plays a critical role in the generation of a prometastatic microenvironment in breast cancer. HAS2 was critical for the interaction of CSCs with tumor-associated macrophages (TAM), leading to enhanced secretion of platelet-derived growth factor-BB from TAMs, which then activated stromal cells and enhanced CSC self-renewal.

Desmoplastic small round cell tumor of the pancreas: An unusual primary site for an uncommon tumor.

Pancreas is a rare location for desmoplastic small round cell tumor. The present case highlights the dilemma in diagnosis and ascertaining the site of tumor origin. Morphologic and immunohistochemical features were complemented with the molecular markers and tumor origin which was initially nebulous was subsequently confirmed on exploratory laparotomy.

Hypoxia-induced Jagged2 promotes breast cancer metastasis and self-renewal of cancer stem-like cells.

Notch signaling is often and aberrantly activated by hypoxia during tumor progression; however, the exact pathological role of hypoxia-induced Notch signaling in tumor metastasis is as yet poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to define the mechanism of Notch-ligand activation by hypoxia in both primary tumor and bone stromal cells in the metastatic niche and to clarify their roles in tumor progression. We have analyzed the expression profiles of various Notch ligands in 779 breast cancer patients in GEO database and found that the expression of Jagged2 among all five ligands is most significantly correlated with the overall- and metastasis-free survival of breast cancer patients.

KAI1 gene is engaged in NDRG1 gene-mediated metastasis suppression through the ATF3-NFkappaB complex in human prostate cancer.

NDRG1 and KAI1 belong to metastasis suppressor genes, which impede the dissemination of tumor cells from primary tumors to distant organs. Previously, we identified the metastasis promoting transcription factor, ATF3, as a downstream target of NDRG1. Further analysis revealed that the KAI1 promoter contained a consensus binding motif of ATF3, suggesting a possibility that NDRG1 suppresses metastasis through inhibition of ATF3 expression followed by activation of the KAI1 gene.

Resveratrol suppresses growth of cancer stem-like cells by inhibiting fatty acid synthase.

Resveratrol is a natural polyphenolic compound and has been shown to exhibit cardio-protective as well as anti-neoplastic effects on various types of cancers. However, the exact mechanism of its anti-tumor effect is not clearly defined. Resveratrol has been shown to have strong hypolipidemic effect on normal adipocytes and as hyper-lipogenesis is a hallmark of cancer cell physiology, the effect of resveratrol on lipid synthesis in cancer stem-like cells (CD24(-)/CD44(+)/ESA(+)) that were isolated from both ER+ and ER- breast cancer cell lines was examined.

Cacalol, a natural sesquiterpene, induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells by modulating Akt-SREBP-FAS signaling pathway.

We previously isolated cacalol as a free radical-scavenging compound from Cacalia delphiniifolia which is a traditional Asian herbal plant and is believed to have medicinal effects on cancer. In this report, we demonstrated that cacalol has strong anti-proliferation effect on breast cancer cells and induces apoptosis by activating a pro-apoptotic pathway. We also found that a combination of cacalol and other chemotherapeutic drugs (Taxol and cyclophosphamide) synergistically induced apoptosis and partially overcame chemo-resistance.

RhoC promotes metastasis via activation of the Pyk2 pathway in prostate cancer.

RhoC is a member of the Ras-homologous family of genes which have been implicated in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. However, the exact role of RhoC is controversial and is yet to be clarified. We have examined the effect of RhoC on prostate tumor cells and found that RhoC had no effect on cell proliferation in vitro or on tumor growth in mice.

A clinicopathologic study of mantle cell lymphoma in a single center study in India.

We present clinical features, histopathology and results of treatment in cases of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) at our hospital. We had 93 cases (2.1%) of MCL out of total 4301 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in a 4-year period.

Drug development against metastasis-related genes and their pathways: a rationale for cancer therapy.

It is well recognized that the majority of cancer related deaths is caused by metastatic diseases. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of therapeutic intervention specifically targeted to the metastatic process. In the last decade, significant progress has been made in this research field, and many new concepts have emerged that shed light on the molecular mechanism of metastasis cascade which is often portrayed as a succession of six distinct steps; localized invasion, intravasation, translocation, extravasation, micrometastasis and colonization.