Aberrant expression of sonic hedgehog pathway in colon cancer and melanosis coli.

Objective: To determine the hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway correlated with the development of colon cancer and melanosis coli.

Methods: Protein and mRNA levels of Hh signaling pathway components (sonic hedgehog [Shh], protein patched homolog 1 [Ptch 1], GLI family zinc finger 1 [Gli 1] and suppressor of fused homolog [Drosophila] [Sufu]) in 127 patients with colon cancer, 36 with melanosis coli and 20 adjacent normal mucosal tissues taken from surgical specimens were evaluated using antibody staining and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Results: In adjacent normal tissue Shh and Ptch1, but not Gli1 or Sufu, were weakly expressed and mainly in the lining epithelium of the colonic mucosa.

Methylation of PTCH1a gene in a subset of gastric cancers.

Aim: To establish if PTCH1a transcriptional regulation region (TRR) is methylated in gastric cancer and its influence in gastric tumorigenesis.

Methods: The CpG islands in PTCH1a TRR were analyzed by Methyl Primer Express v1.0 software.

Immune response and protection elicited by DNA immunisation against Taenia cysticercosis.

The study evaluated DNA vaccination in Taenia solium cysticercosis prevention by using cDNA of an antigen (cC1) from T. solium metacestode. pcDNA3-cC1 DNA vaccine was constructed by inserting the cDNA into the eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3.