Int J Med Sci
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Endothelial cell-specific molecule 1 (ESM1) is a major prognostic marker of several tumor types, but its value as a marker for prostate cancer is unknown. The purpose of the present study was to measure the relationship of ESM1 expression with androgen receptor (AR) expression and with Gleason score in human prostate carcinoma tissue. ⋯ ESM1 expression was also greater in prostate tissues with higher Gleason score and Gleason grade (p < 0.001 for both comparisons), and also correlated with AR expression (R = 0.727, p < 0.001). In conclusion, our results demonstrated that ESM1 should be considered as a marker for the diagnosis of prostate cancer.
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Objectives: To determine whether the soluble programmed cell death ligand 1 (sPD-L1) levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) are associated with the clinical features of the disease and the efficacy of treatment, including interferon (IFN)-α. Methods: We investigated the sPD-L1 levels in the sera of 80 genotype 1b Japanese patients with CHC who underwent 12 weeks of telaprevir (TVR)- or simeprevir (SMV)-based triple therapy followed by 12 weeks of dual therapy with pegylated IFN-α plus ribavirin. Serum was also obtained from 22 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and from 10 healthy donors (HC). ⋯ Although immortalized hepatocytes do not express PD-L1, we confirmed that PD-L1 expression was induced after stimulation with IFN-γ. Conclusions: In this study, we first found that sPD-L1 was increased in patients with CHC. Our results indicate that the level of serum sPD-L1 might be associated with the progression of CHC and the generation of hepatocellular carcinoma.
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Objective: Radiosensitisation caused by titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) is investigated using phantoms (PRESAGE® dosimeters) and in vitro using two types of cell lines, cultured human keratinocyte (HaCaT) and prostate cancer (DU145) cells. Methods: Anatase TiO2-NPs were synthesised, characterised and functionalised to allow dispersion in culture-medium for in vitro studies and halocarbons (PRESAGE® chemical compositions). PRESAGE® dosimeters were scanned with spectrophotometer to determine the radiation dose enhancement. ⋯ This difference is attributed to biochemical effects, specifically the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydroxyl radicals (•OH), which are only manifested in aqueous environments of cells and are non-existent in case of phantoms. Conclusions: This research shows that TiO2-NPs improve the efficiency of dose delivery, which has implications for future radiotherapy treatments. Literature shows that Ti2O3-NPs can be used as imaging agents hence with these findings renders these NPs as theranostic agents.
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Background: Electrolytically-generated acid functional water (FW) is obtained by electrolyzing low concentrations of saline. Although it has been widely used in clinical practice with various purposes, the underlying mechanisms of action involved have not been fully elucidated so far. We used the human cervical cancer-derived fibroblastic cell line (HeLa), to examine the cytokine secretion profile following FW treatment in the present study. ⋯ The results indicated that EMMPRIN inhibited bFGF-induced NF-κB p65 phosphorylation. Conclusions: These findings suggest that bFGF can induce IL-6 secretion in MC3T3-E1 cells through NF-κB activation. As EMMPRIN inhibited bFGF-induced IL-6 secretion by reducing the p65 subunit phosphorylation, it might be concluded that bFGF and EMMPRIN crosstalk in their respective signaling pathways.
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N-nitrosamines (NAms), which can arise as byproducts of disinfection agents, are reportedly found in drinking water, and their potential carcinogenicity is a concern; however, little research exists regarding the genotoxicity or carcinogenicity of NAms exposure as a low-dose mixture. The three most common NAms components in China's drinking water are N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) and N-nitrosomethylethylamine (NMEA). Thus, we measured the genotoxic and carcinogenic potential of these compounds and measured the cell cycle and gene expression. ⋯ Furthermore, P53, CDK1, P38, CDC25A and CyclinB expressions were down-regulated in the NAms-mixture exposure group; however, P21 and GADD45A genes were up-regulated. Interestingly, the CHK1/CHK2 and CDC25A genes had two responses, depending on the NAms concentrations. Thus, we observed mutagenic, genotoxic and carcinogenic effects after a low-dose NAms-mixture exposure in drinking water, and DNA repair and apoptosis pathways may contribute to these adverse effects.