Value of three-dimensional power Doppler to predict clinical and histological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced cervical carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

Platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical hysterectomy is an alternative therapeutic strategy for locally advanced cervical carcinoma but variables used to predict chemotherapy response are not well defined. We investigated the potential of three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler in predicting response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

METHODS

We enrolled 61 eligible patients with locally advanced cervical carcinoma who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery or radiation. Before the initial chemotherapy, we measured 3D power Doppler vascular indices, including vascularization index (VI), flow index (FI) and vascularization flow index (VFI), of the whole cervical carcinoma. We also measured two-dimensional (2D) hemodynamic parameters, such as resistance index and pulsatility index, at three random spots inside the tumor. The associations of all parameters with clinical and histological responses to chemotherapy were evaluated through univariable and multiple logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

The clinical and histological response rates to chemotherapy were 70.5% and 70.7%, respectively. Univariable logistic regression analysis showed that VI, FI and VFI were significantly higher in clinical responders than in non-responders (P < 0.05), and that FI was significantly higher in histological responders (P = 0.012). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that FI was the only significant factor associated with both clinical and histological responses. The best FI cut-off values were 35.3 and 37.3 for clinical response and histological response, respectively (with sensitivity 86.0% and 73.2%, and specificity 72.2% and 64.7%). Interestingly, none of the 2D hemodynamic parameters was significantly correlated with either response.

CONCLUSION

FI is a potential marker for predicting both clinical and histological responses to chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced cervical carcinoma.

Assessment of site conditions for disposal of low- and intermediate-level radioactive wastes: a case study in southern China

Near surface disposal of low- and intermediate-level radioactive wastes (LILW) requires evaluating the field conditions of the candidate site. However, assessment of the site conditions may be challenging due to the limited prior knowledge of some remote sites, and various multi-disciplinary data requirements at any given site. These situations arise in China as in the rest of the industrialized world, particularly since a regional strategy for LILW disposal has been implemented to protect humans and the environment. This paper presents a demonstration of the site assessment process through a case study focusing mainly on the geologic, hydrogeologic and geochemical characteristics of the candidate site. A joint on-site and laboratory investigation, supplemented by numerical modeling, was implemented in this assessment. Results indicate that no fault is present in the site area, although there are some minor joints and fractures, primarily showing a north-south trend. Most of the joints are filled with quartz deposits and would thus function hydraulically as impervious barriers. Investigation of local hydrologic boundaries has shown that the candidate site represents an essentially isolated hydrogeologic unit, and that little or no groundwater flow occurs across its boundaries on the north or east, or across the hilly areas to the south. Groundwater in the site area is recharged by precipitation and discharges primarily by evapo-transpiration and surface flow through a narrow outlet to the west. Groundwater flows slowly from the hilly area to the foot of the hills and discharges mainly into the inner brooks and marshes. Some groundwater circulates in deeper granite in a slower manner. The vadose zone in the site was investigated specially for their significant capability for restraining the transport of radionuclides. Results indicate that the vadose zone is up to 38m in thickness and is made up of alluvial clay soils and very highly weathered granite. The vadose zone has low saturated hydraulic conductivities on the order of 10(-5)cm/s and in this respect is well-suited for the disposal of LILW. The saturated formations are primarily made up of silt and moderately-to-slightly weathered granite, which exhibit even lower hydraulic conductivities, on the order of 10(-6)cm/s, also favorable for restraining the transport of radionuclides. Chemical analyses indicate that the groundwaters at the site are of the HCO(3)-Na · Ca and HCO(3) · SO(4)-Na · Ca types and are weakly corrosive to concrete and steel. Geochemical analyses indicate that the rock and soil materials (particularly weathered granite) at the site contain very small fractions of colloidal particles and exhibit low Cation Exchange Capacities (CEC), and would therefore have limited capacity for sorption of radionuclides. Groundwater flow and solute transport models of the candidate site have been developed using MODFLOW and MT3DMS, incorporating the data obtained during the assessment program. Calibration was based on the available measured groundwater level fluctuations and tracer concentrations from in situ dispersion tests. The longitudinal dispersion coefficient as determined in calibration is equal to 5.0 × 10(-3) m(2)/d. Numerical sensitivity analyses indicate that the hydraulic conductivity and the longitudinal dispersion coefficient are the key parameters controlling the transport of radionuclides, while the numerical model is not sensitive to changes in the effective porosity and the specific yield. Preliminary predictions have been performed with the calibrated model both for the natural setting of the site and the graded site in which the valleys of the site are backfilled with low permeable materials. Results indicate that the proposed site grading increases the safety of the site for disposal of LILW by reducing both the groundwater level and the hydraulic gradient and that radionuclide transport would not likely be a problem or cause groundwater contamination. Although there are some problems remaining to be addressed in future work, the conclusion of the assessment is that the conditions at this site are appropriate for LILW disposal. This study provides an example of the procedures necessary in an assessment of site conditions relevant to the safe disposal of LILW. Such an assessment is crucial to the site selection process and to subsequent environmental impact assessment.

Biomarker responses in fish exposed to sediments from northern Taihu Lake

Our study investigated multiple biomarker responses of goldfish exposed to sediments collected from northern Taihu Lake. The activities of acetylcholinesterase, 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, glutathione-S-transferase and superoxide dismutase did not differ significantly from controls following exposure to sediment from the center of the lake. However, sediment collected from the northern bays did significantly alter enzymatic activities. An integrated biomarker response (IBR) was calculated and used to evaluate the impact of pollutants from different stations. The results indicated that Mashan in Meiliang Bay and Xiaogongshan in Gong Bay were the most stressful places for fish. Sediment polychlorinated biphenyl and polybrominated diphenyl ether concentrations were associated with IBR variation.

Conserved haplotype blocks within the sheep MHC and low SNP heterozygosity in the Class IIa subregion

This report describes single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the sheep major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II and class III regions and provides insights into the internal structure of this important genomic complex. MHC haplotypes were deduced from sheep family trios based on genotypes from 20 novel SNPs representative of the class II region and 10 previously described SNPs spanning the class III region. All 30 SNPs exhibited Hardy-Weinberg proportions in the sheep population studied. Recombination within an extended sire haplotype was observed within the class II region for 4 of 20 sheep chromosomes, thereby supporting the presence of separated IIa and IIb subregions similar to those present in cattle. SNP heterozygosity varied across the class II and III regions. One segment of the class IIa subregion manifested very low heterozygosity for several SNPs spanning approximately 120 Kbp. This feature corresponds to a subregion within the human MHC class II region previously described as a 'SNP desert' because of its paucity of SNPs. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) was reduced at the junction separating the putative class IIb and IIa subregions and also between the class IIa and the class III subregions. The latter observation is consistent with either an unmapped physical separation at this location or more likely a boundary characterized by more frequent recombination between two conserved subregions, each manifesting high within-block LD. These results identify internal blocks of loci in the sheep MHC, within which recombination is relatively rare.

A novel gene with a vWD domain and three Kazal-type domains: molecular cloning and expression in the ovary of the oriental river prawn, Macrobrachium nipponense

A novel gene encoding avon Willebrand factor D (vWD) domain and three Kazal-type domains was firstly indentified from the ovary of the oriental river prawn Macrobrachium nipponense and this gene was named as MnvWD-Kazal. Bioinformatics analyses showed that this gene encodes a protein of 857 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 92.7 kDa. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-QPCR) analyses revealed that the level of MnvWD-Kazal mRNA expression varied in the developing ovary and substantially differed between other tissues. In the ovary, the level of MnvWD-Kazal expression gradually increased from the perinucleolus (PN) stage to the yolk granule (YG) stage, and then abruptly decreased at the sexual maturation (MA) stage. The maximum expression occurred in the YG stage and the minimum was at the paracmasis (PM) stage. The expression level of MnvWD-Kazal in the intestine was much higher than that in other tissues. The differential expressions of MnvWD-Kazal at different stages of the ovary suggest that this novel gene may play a critical role in the oocyte maturation of M. nipponense.

Glargine promotes proliferation of breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7 via AKT activation

Glargine is widely used as a long-acting insulin analogue in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. However, this insulin analogue has been recently suspected to be associated with an increased risk of cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of glargine on proliferation of breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7) and its possible mechanism. Effects of glargine and regular human insulin on the cell proliferation were tested in ER-positive MCF-7 cells by MTT assay. Apoptosis in MCF-7 cells was measured by flow cytometry. The protein levels of p-AKT, Bcl-2, and Bax were also determined by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The result showed that glargine (100, 200 nmol/l) stimulated proliferation of ER-positive MCF-7 cells compared with regular human insulin. At the same time, glargine decreased the percentage of early apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. Otherwise, glargine (100 nmol/l) stimulated the p-AKT in a time-dependent manner in MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, we found that glargine downregulated the level of Bax protein and upregulated that of Bcl-2 (p <0.05). These data show that glargine promote the proliferation of breast adenocarcinoma cells in vitro, probably by preventing apoptosis.

Nitric oxide in enteric nervous system mediated the inhibitory effect of vasopressin on the contraction of circular muscle strips from colon in male rats

BACKGROUND

Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is widely used in the treatment of critical diseases with hypotension, but the reports about its effect on gastrointestinal motility are controversial. The purpose of this study was to characterize the role of AVP in the regulation of colonic motility and the underlying mechanism.

METHODS

The contraction of the circular muscle strips (CM) of colon in male rats was monitored by a polygraph. The expressions of cytoplasmic inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), I-κB, and the nuclear P65 in proximal colon were measured by Western blot. The V(1) receptors (V(1) Rs) and iNOS were localized by immunohistochemistry. The content of nitric oxide (NO) in the colon was measured by Griess reagent at the absorbance of 560 nm.

KEY RESULTS

Arginine vasopressin (10(-10) -10(-6) mol L(-1)) caused a concentration-dependent inhibition on CM contraction. Pretreatment with one of the following chemicals, including V-1880 (10(-7) mol L(-1)), TTX (10(-5) mol L(-1)), L-NAME (10(-4) mol L(-1)), NPLA (10(-7) mol L(-1)), SMT (10(-3) mol L(-1)), and PDTC (10(-3) mol L(-1)), attenuated the inhibitory effect of AVP on CM contraction. Arginine vasopressin increased the expression of iNOS and the content of NO in proximal colon. These effects were attenuated by pretreatment with PDTC (10(-3) mol L(-1)). Following AVP administration, the amount of cytoplasmic I-κB decreased, but that of nuclear P65 increased. Double immunofluorescence labeling revealed that V(1) Rs and iNOS were co-localized on the cells of myenteric plexus in proximal colon.

CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES

Arginine vasopressin inhibited the contraction of CM in proximal colon. This effect was mediated by NO produced from NF-κB-iNOS pathway and neuronal NOS activation in myenteric plexus.

CvhSlicer: an interactive cross-sectional anatomy navigation system based on high-resolution Chinese visible human data

We introduce the design and implementation of an interactive system for the navigation of cross-sectional anatomy based on Chinese Visible Human (CVH) data, named CvhSlicer. This system is featured in real-time computation and rendering of high-resolution anatomical images on standard personal computers (PCs) equipped with commodity Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). In order to load the whole-body dataset into the memory of a common PC, several processing steps are first applied to compress the huge CVH data. Thereafter, an adaptive CPU-GPU balancing scheme is performed to dynamically distribute rendering tasks among CPU and GPU based on parameters of computing resources. Experimental results demonstrate that our system can achieve real-time performance and has great potential to be used in anatomy education.

Abstract P2-09-21: Effect of MDR1 Gene Polymorphisms and Haplotypes on Taxanes-Based Chemotherapy Responses in Chinese Han Patients with Breast Cancer

Background: In recent years, taxanes play an important role in chemotherapy of breast cancer patients, and its response rate is about 50%. Taxanes is primarily metabolized by CYP450 in liver microsome, and it also is a substrate for P-glycoprotein (the coded product of MDR1 gene). The interindividual heterogeneity in drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters has contributed to the variability on anti-cancer efficacy of taxanes in breast cancer patients. Several studies showed that the pharmacokinetics of taxanes was influenced by the MDR1 polymorphisms. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between MDR1 gene polymorphisms and taxanes-based chemotherapy responses, and provides useful information for clinical personalized medicine and prognostic judgment.

Material and Methods: Genotyping of MDR1 variants was determined in the blood samples from 142 Chinese Han patients with breast cancer, by PCR-RFLP. The association of the gene polymorphisms of MDR1 C1236T at exon 12, G2677T/A at exon 21 and C3435T at exon 26 with chemotherapy responses was analyzed on the 63 patients, who received taxanes-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy [56 cases with TA (taxanes and anthracycline), 7 cases with TAC (C: cyclophosphamide)] and had the intact treatment follow-up information.

Results: In the 142 breast cancer patients, the frequencies of C1236T, G2677T, G2677A and C3435T variant alleles was 70.7%,52.1%,2.5% and 46.5%, respectively, and the frequency of 3435T allele was significantly higher in comparison with that in healthy subjects (34.7%). In the 63 patients with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the overall clinical response rate (CR+PR) to chemotherapy was 66.7%. 3435TT genotype was showed to be related to taxanes-based chemotherapy, and its efficient rate was 23.1%, significantly lower than that of patients carrying C allele (73.5%; x2 = 9.125, P=0.003). The 3 SNPs were in linkage disequilibrium, and the 4 haplotypes TTT, TGC, CGC and TTC were 90.6 % of all. The patients who carrying 2677G-3435C haplotype showed better response to chemotherapy compared with those with the other haplotypes combined (72.1% vs 40.0%;x2=9.125, P=0.003). The response rate of the patients with 2677T-3435T haplotype or 1236T-3435T haplotype (54.3% or 54.9%) were lower than that of the patients harboring the other haplotypes (82.4% or 91.7%;x2=4.128 and x2=4.118, P =0.042 for both) respectively, and the efficient rate of the patients with 1236T-2677T-3435T (54.3%) were also lower than that of the patients with other haplotypes combined (82.4%;x2=4.128, P=0.042).

Conclusion: C1236T, G2677T/A and C3435T of MDR1 gene were polymorphic with different frequency in breast cancer patients. The analyses of MDR1 C3435T genotype and its haplotypes with C1236T or G2677T/A are valuable for predicting the taxanes-based chemotherapy responses in breast cancer patients, which deserve the further study.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-09-21.

Bis{4,4'-[oxalylbis(aza-nedi-yl)]dipyridinium} octa-molybdate

In the crystal structure of the title compound, (C(12)H(12)N(4)O(2))(2)[Mo(8)O(26)], the amino and pyridinium groups of the N(1),N(2)-di(pyridinium-4-yl)oxalamide cations are hydrogen bonded to the O atoms of the centrosymmetric isopolyoxometalate β-[Mo(8)O(26)](4-) anions, forming a three-dimensional supra-molecular architecture.

Study on environmental estrogen pollution in Yangtze River (Nanjing section) by an in vivo bioassay

Estrogenic activities and main causative fractions in three representative sections of Yangtze River (Nanjing section) were determined. The results showed that significant vitellogenin (VTG) and 17beta-estradiol (E(2)) induction and gonad atrophy were observed. Estradiol equivalents of actual water samples from Jiangxinzhou section, Sanchahe section and Daqiao section were 0.3651, 0.1301 and 0.5060 ng L(-1), respectively. Polar contaminants were responsible for the estrogenic activities in Jiangxinzhou section and Daqiao section while mid-polar and nonpolar contaminants resulted in majority of the estrogenic activity in Sanchahe section. To Jiangxinzhou section, Sanchahe section and Daqiao section, good positive correlations between VTG and E(2) (the correlation coefficients were 0.737, 0.690 and 0.817, respectively) and good inverse correlations between VTG and gonado-somatic index (GSI; the correlation coefficients were -0.838, -0.540 and -0.794, respectively) were obtained, whereas the correlations between E(2) and GSI were relatively poor (the correlation coefficients were only -0.557, -0.620 and -0.509, respectively).

Active biomonitoring of complex pollution in Taihu Lake with Carassius auratus

Carassius auratus bred in clean water were selected to conduct active biomonitoring (ABM) exposures in Meiliang and Gong bays in the northern polluted area of Taihu Lake. The biotransformation enzymes 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and glutathione S-transferase (GST), antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GP(X)), reduced glutathione (GSH) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and lipoperoxidation (as TBARS) in liver were determined as biomarkers during the field exposure period. At the same time, the contents of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and heavy metals in the surface sediments of biomonitoring sites were measured. The total PAH concentrations ranged from 248.8 to 375.9microgkg(-1) dry weight, PCB from 1.26 to 2.41microgkg(-1), OCP from 0.15 to 2.06microgkg(-1), and heavy metal from 126.3 to 210.0mgkg(-1). The results indicate that complex pollution by persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals is present in the northern end of Taihu Lake and the in situ exposed organisms were stressed. Moreover, Meilaing Bay is a more stressful place to fish living there. The integrated biomarker response (IBR) was calculated by combining different biomarkers to single value, which can be used to describe the toxically-induced stress level of populations in different areas. Pollutant concentrations were displayed as star plots and compared to IBR star plots. There was a visual correlation between the PCB gradient and the OCP gradient measured in the sediments and the IBR variation.

Studies on protective effects of human paraoxonases 1 and 3 on atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E knockout mice

Paraoxonase (PON) possesses antiatherogenic potentials, but the distinct functions of PON members in alleviating atherosclerosis are not yet clear. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effects of hPON1 and hPON3 against atherosclerosis, and thereby exploring their synergistic mechanism in atherosclerosis development. We generated the recombinant adenovirus AdPON1 and AdPON3, which were capable of expressing hPON1 and hPON3. After AdPON1 and AdPON3 were injected intravenously into 5-week-old apolipoprotein E knockout mice, abundant hPON1 and hPON3 mRNA expression levels were detected. However, increase in serum lactonase activity was detected only in AdPON1-treated mice. Serum antioxidation and anti-inflammation capabilities in AdPON1-treated mice, reflected by malondialdehyde, total antioxidant capability and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels, were greatly enhanced, whereas those in AdPON3-treated mice were not significantly affected. Nevertheless, histological analysis revealed that adenovirus-mediated expression of hPON1, hPON3 or both of them reduced atherosclerotic plaque area to a similar extent. Although no synergistic mechanism was detected in reducing arterial lesion size, hPON1 and hPON3 showed synergistic effects on promoting macrophage cholesterol efflux. In conclusion, hPON1 and hPON3 exhibited similar potentials in reducing arterial lesion size, but they exerted antiatherogenic effects in distinct ways.