Ferroportin and iron regulation in breast cancer progression and prognosis.

Ferroportin and hepcidin are critical proteins for the regulation of systemic iron homeostasis. Ferroportin is the only known mechanism for export of intracellular non-heme-associated iron; its stability is regulated by the hormone hepcidin. Although ferroportin profoundly affects concentrations of intracellular iron in tissues important for systemic iron absorption and trafficking, ferroportin concentrations in breast cancer and their influence on growth and prognosis have not been examined.

The effects of low-frequency ultrasound (35 kHz) on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in vitro.

Scanning electron microscopy study results support an in vitro bactericidal effect of low-frequency ultrasound (LFU) delivered at 40 kHz on bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The purpose of this in vitro study was to determine the effects of LFU delivered at 35 kHz on bacterial viability, cell wall structure, and colony characteristics, including antibiotic resistance on vegetative forms of MRSA. A known MRSA isolate from a patient lower extremity wound was subcultured, plated, and grown on sheep blood agar (SBA).

Clarithromycin delays progression of bronchial epithelial cells from G1 phase to S phase and delays cell growth via extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase suppression.

The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been shown to support cytoprotection of cells by shifting cells toward a quiescent state (G(0)/G(1)). Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) is required for cells to pass from G(1) phase into S phase, and macrolide antibiotics can inhibit ERK1/2 phosphorylation. However, previous reports suggest that macrolide antibiotics do not affect cell growth in bronchial epithelial cells.

Perillyl alcohol-mediated inhibition of lung cancer cell line proliferation: potential mechanisms for its chemotherapeutic effects.

Perillyl alcohol (POH) is currently being tested in clinical trials as an anticancer agent, though its mechanism of action has not been definitively established. We treated two human lung cancer cell lines, H322 and H838, with POH to determine its antitumor properties. A sulforhodamine B (SRB) cell proliferation assay was used to determine the effects of POH after 1 and 5 days of treatment with 0.

Absence of HER2 overexpression in metastatic malignant melanoma.

Background And Objectives: Currently available systemic therapies for malignant melanoma produce low response rates in patients, and more effective treatment modalities are clearly needed. Trastuzumab (Herceptin), the antibody to the HER2 oncoprotein, has had a significant impact on therapy for patients with HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer. This study examined the incidences of HER2 protein overexpression and HER2 gene amplification in metastatic malignant melanoma, which remain unclear in the literature.

Loss of expression of tropomyosin-1, a novel class II tumor suppressor that induces anoikis, in primary breast tumors.

Suppression of tropomyosins (TMs), a family of actin-binding, microfilament-associated proteins, is a prominent feature of many transformed cells. Yet it is unclear whether downregulation of TMs occur in human tumors. We have investigated the expression of tropomyosin-1 (TM1) in human breast carcinoma tissues by in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence.