Inhibition of development of experimental abdominal aortic aneurysm by c-jun N-terminal protein kinase inhibitor combined with lysyl oxidase gene modified smooth muscle progenitor cells.

Chronic inflammation, imbalance between the extracellular matrix synthesis and degradation, and loss of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) contribute to the development of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the therapy with periaortic incubation of c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase inhibitor SP600125 infused from an osmotic pump and subadventitial injection of lysyl oxidase (LOX) gene modified autologous smooth muscle progenitor cells (SPCs) on treatment of AAA in a rabbit model. Obvious dilation of the abdominal aorta in the control group was caused by periaortic incubation of calcium chloride and elastase.

Activating mutation (V617F) in the tyrosine kinase JAK2 is absent in locally-confined or castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Background: Transcription factor Stat5a/b is highly critical for the viability of human prostate cancer cells in vitro and for prostate tumor growth in vivo. Stat5 is constitutively active in clinical prostate cancers but not in the normal human prostate epithelium. Moreover, Stat5a/b activation in prostate cancer is associated with high histological grade of prostate cancer.

Real-time RT-PCR for quantitation of hepatitis C virus RNA.

A newly developed real-time RT-polymerase chain reaction assay for quantitation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in human plasma and serum was applied. A pair of primers and a probe (molecular beacon) were designed that are specific for the recognition of a highly conservative 5'-non-coding region (5'-NCR) in HCV genome. HCV real-time RT-PCR assay had a sensitivity of 1000 RNA copies per reaction, with a dynamic range of detection between 10(3) and 10(7) RNA copies.