Oxytocin receptor genetic alterations in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the leading causes of cancer-related deaths with a very poor prognosis. Consequently, there is an urgent need for better understanding the molecular mechanisms, novel prognostic biomarkers, and more effective treatment options. There is an emerging link between oxytocin (OXT), the oxytocin receptor (OXTR), and cancer.

Oxytocin and oxytocin receptor alterations, decreased survival, and increased chemoresistance in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Background: Oxytocin (OXT) and its receptor (OXTR) is associated with cancer. The present study was to investigate the correlation between the genetic expression alterations of OXT and OXTR and the outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer (PC).

Methods: Information regarding OXT and OXTR genetic alterations and changes in gene expression were retrieved from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases and analyzed using the cBioPortal online tool.

Emergence of neural regulatory mechanisms in carcinogenesis.

Emerging data indicate that the nervous system plays an important role in carcinogenesis. However, more studies are required to help further elucidate the mechanisms involved in the neural regulation of carcinogenesis. Some recent findings describing the neural regulatory mechanisms of action in prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma are discussed, with a focus on the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and sensory neuronal elements of the nervous system.

Mechanisms of hepatocellular carcinoma progression.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy of the liver. It is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with a very poor prognosis. In the United States, there has been only minimal improvement in the prognosis for HCC patients over the past 15 years.

Oxytocin and cancer: An emerging link.

The neuropeptide hormone oxytocin, which is released from the posterior pituitary gland, is involved in a number of physiological processes. Understanding of its effects is gradually increasing due to new research in this area. While mostly recognized as a reproductive system hormone, oxytocin also regulates other organ systems such as the brain and cardiovascular system.

A spectroscopic survey of substituted indoles reveals consequences of a stabilized 1Lb transition.

Although tryptophan is a natural probe of protein structure, interpretation of its fluorescence emission spectrum is complicated by the presence of two electronic transitions, (1)L(a) and (1)L(b). Theoretical calculations show that a point charge adjacent to either ring of the indole can shift the emission maximum. This study explores the effect of pyrrole and benzyl ring substitutions on the transitions' energy via absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, and anisotropy and lifetime measurements.