Analysis of the oligosaccharide chain of human serum immunoglobulin g in patients with localized or metastatic cancer.

A quantitative imbalance between matrix metalloproteinases produced by cancer cells and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases produced by fibroblasts and other types of cells has been demonstrated to be a causative factor in invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. On the other hand, it is reported that sugar chains of adhesion molecules such as integrins and CD44 also influence the metastasis of cancer cells. Here, alterations of serum IgG oligosaccharide chain structure were investigated during tumor progression using the new method of fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (FACE).

Nitric oxide released from iNOS in polymorphonuclear leukocytes makes them deformable in an autocrine manner.

The objective of this study was to determine whether endogenous nitric oxide (NO) derived from reaction catalyzed by the inducible isoform of NO synthase (iNOS: NOS II) in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) makes the PMNs deformable. Previous studies have shown that NO increases the deformability of PMNs and decreases the sequestration of PMNs in the lungs. However, there was little information regarding the effect of PMN-derived NO on the cells' deformability.