Variations in the detection of ZAP-70 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Comparison with IgV(H) mutation analysis

Lack of immunoglobulin heavy chain genes (IgV(H)) mutation in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is associated with rapid disease progression and shorter survival. The zeta-chain (T-cell receptor) associated protein kinase 70 kDa (ZAP-70) has been reported to be a surrogate marker for IgV(H) mutation status, and its expression in leukemic cells correlates with unmutated IgV(H). However, ZAP-70 detection by flow cytometry varies significantly dependant on the antibodies used, the method of performing the assay, and the condition of the cells in the specimen. The clinical value of ZAP-70 testing when samples are shipped under poorly controlled conditions is not known. Furthermore, testing in a research environment may differ from testing in a routine clinical laboratory. We validated an assay for ZAP-70 by comparing results with clinical outcome and the mutation status of the IgV(H). Using stored samples, we show significant correlation between ZAP-70 expression and clinical outcome as well as IgV(H) mutation at a cut-off point of 15%. While positive samples (>15% positivity) remain positive when kept in the laboratory environment for 48 h after initial testing, results obtained from samples from CLL patients tested after shipping at room temperature for routine testing showed no correlation with IgV(H) mutation status when 15% cut-off was used. In these samples, cut-point of 10% correlated with the IgV(H) mutation (P = 0.0001). This data suggests that although ZAP-70 positivity correlates with IgV(H) mutation status and survival, variations in sample handling and preparation may influence results. We show that IgV(H) mutation results, unlike ZAP-70 remain correlated with CD38 expression and beta-2 microglobulin in shipped samples, and ZAP-70 testing should not be used as the sole criterion for stratifying patients for therapy.

Increased cytoplasmic level of migfilin is associated with higher grades of human leiomyosarcoma

AIMS

Leiomyosarcomas (LMS) are malignant neoplasms composed of cells that exhibit distinct smooth muscle differentiation. The molecular and cytogenetic features of LMS are complex and no consistent aberrations have been reported to date. Mitogen inducible gene-2 (Mig-2), kindlin and migfilin are recently identified cell-matrix adhesion proteins. The aim was to determine the expression and distribution of these proteins in human smooth muscle tumours of somatic soft tissue.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Immunohistochemistry was performed on a human LMS tissue microarray and on sections of human leiomyomas (LM) and normal smooth muscle. Migfilin was barely detectable in normal smooth muscle cells, whereas increased levels of migfilin were observed in the majority of LM and LMS. Furthermore, the cytoplasmic level of migfilin was strongly associated with higher tumour grades. Additionally, the cytoplasmic levels of migfilin and Mig-2 were correlated with each other, suggesting an association between the two in the cytoplasm. Kindlin was expressed in normal smooth muscle, LM and LMS, and its level did not correlate with tumour grade.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest a role for cytoplasmic migfilin in the progression of LMS and identify cytoplasmic migfilin as a potentially important biological marker for human LMS progression.

Cushing’s syndrome in a clinic population with diabetes

BACKGROUND

A recent report has suggested that occult Cushing's syndrome (CS) may be present in a significant number of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to determine whether any patients in our clinic population with diabetes had this condition.

METHODS

One hundred and seventy-one consecutive overweight attendees at the diabetic clinic were enrolled in a study to assess the presence of occult CS. The initial screen was with the 1 mg overnight dexamethasone suppression test and follow-up testing, where indicated was with a 24 h collection for urine-free cortisol.

RESULTS

Thirty-one of 171 patients had a positive result from the overnight dexamethasone suppression test. Follow-up testing with 24 h urine-free cortisol reduced the number of patients with positive results to 3. Two of these were shown to have alcoholic pseudo-CS. The third patient has had several high urine-free cortisol results, in the presence of normal scans of pituitary and adrenals. He has no stigmata of CS and is being observed.

CONCLUSION

Based on the results of our study, there would appear to be little value in screening type 2 diabetics for CS, in the absence of clinical suspicion.

Lock method using sodium hydroxide solution to clear occluded central venous access devices

Occlusion of central venous access devices (CVADs) is not an uncommon problem duringlong-term parenteral nutrition. A number of techniques have been developed to deal with obstructed CVADs. This study investigated the effectiveness of the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) lock method for gradual CVAD occlusion. When a progressively declining flow was noticed, 0.1 N NaOH solution was injected into the CVAD and locked. Nineteen CVAD occlusions in 11 home parenteral nutrition patients were treated Sixteen of 19 trials cleared the occlusions, whereas 3 of 19 failed. One of the failures was due to a mechanical occlusion and the other two were able to be restored by using ethanol. There were no significant complications. The benefits of this method are: (1) a shorter treatment time and a lower dose than NaOH infusion therapy, (2) it does not require hospital admission and (3) it does not result in bursting of the catheter.

Deep conservation of microRNA-target relationships and 3'UTR motifs in vertebrates, flies, and nematodes

microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that posttranscriptionally regulate a large fraction of genes in animal genomes. We have previously published computational miRNA target predictions in five vertebrates, six flies, and three nematodes. Here, we report a comprehensive study of the "deep" conservation of miRNA targets and conserved 3'UTR (untranslated region) motifs in general across vertebrates, flies, and nematodes. Our data indicate that although many miRNA genes and 3'UTR motifs are well-conserved, miRNA-target relationships have diverged more rapidly, and we explicitly assign each gained or lost miRNA-target relationship to one of the three clades. However, we also identify a small but significant number of deeply conserved miRNA targets and show that these are enriched for essential processes related to development. Finally, we provide lists of 3'UTR motifs that are significantly conserved, and thus likely functional, classified by their distribution in the three clades. We find hundreds of such motifs specific to each clade, dozens specific to each pair of clades, and ten shared by vertebrates, flies, and nematodes. These findings suggest that posttranscriptional control has undergone extensive rewiring during metazoan evolution and that many deeply conserved miRNA-target relationships may be vital subunits of metazoan gene regulatory networks.

Effect of aldehydes derived from oxidative deamination and oxidative stress on β-amyloid aggregation; pathological implications to Alzheimer’s disease

Formaldehyde and methylglyoxal are generated via deamination from methylamine and aminoacetone respectively catalyzed by semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO). Malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) are end products of lipid peroxidation due to oxidative stress. These aldehydes are capable of inducing protein cross-linkage. Elevated levels of aldehydes were found in Alzheimer's disease (AD). These reactive metabolites may potentially play important roles in beta-amyloid (Abeta) aggregation related to the pathology of AD. In the present study thioflavin-T (ThT) fluorometry, an immuno-dot-blot assay and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were employed to reveal the effect of aldehydes on Abeta aggregation in vitro. The target on Abeta for interaction with formaldehyde was identified. The results support the involvement of endogenous aldehydes in amyloid deposition related to AD.

Comparative study of photodynamic therapy vs. CO2laser vaporization in treatment of condylomata acuminata, a randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND

Most conventional therapies for condylomata acuminata (CA) are traumatic and have high recurrence rates.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the efficacy and safety of topical application of 5-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the treatment of CA.

METHODS

Sixty-five patients with CA were allocated into the treatment (ALA-PDT) group and treated with 20% ALA solution under occlusive dressing for 3 h followed by irradiation with the helium-neon laser at a dose of 100 J cm(-2) and a power of 100 mW. Another 21 CA patients were allocated into the control group and treated with the CO(2) laser. The treatment was to be repeated 1 week later if the lesion was not completely removed after the first treatment.

RESULTS

After one treatment, the complete removal rate was 95% in the ALA-PDT group and 100% in the control group. After two treatments with ALA-PDT, the complete removal rate in the treatment group was 100%. The recurrence rate for ALA-PDT group was 6.3% which was significantly lower than that in control group (19.1%, P < 0.05). Moreover, the proportion of patients with adverse effects in the ALA-PDT group (13.9%) was also significantly lower than that in control group (100%, P < 0.05). The side-effects in patients treated with ALA-PDT mainly included mild burning and/or stinging restricted to the illuminated area.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study shows that topical application of ALA-PDT is a simpler, more effective and safer therapy with a lower recurrence for treatment of CA compared with conventional CO(2) laser therapy.

High-Level Expression and Purification of an Analgesic Peptide from Buthus martensii Karch

BmK AngM1, a scorpion peptide isolated from Buthus martensii Karch was reported to exhibit potential analgesic effect. But the relative low content of this toxin in crude venom limits its further characterization. In this study, we constructed an expression vector and transformed into E.coli. The BmK AngM1 was expressed as a fusion protein in the soluble fraction and was purified by Nickel affinity chromatography. Subsequently, the purified fusion protein was cleaved by enterokinase and was further purified by reverse-phase HPLC. We purified 25 mg recombinant BmK AngM1 (rBmK AngM1) from 1 L bacterial culture. The molecular weight of rBmK AngM1 determined by ESI-MS was 7240.4 Da which was the expected size for correctly processed. Analgesic bioassay studies of rBmK AngM1 exhibited its potential analgesic effect comparable to that of the natural BmK AngM1 peptide.

Computational modeling of vascular clamping: a step toward simulating surgery

The objective of this study was to simulate clamping of the aorta. It is computationally demanding and involves contact between clamp and aorta, large deformations, and fluid-structure interactions (FSI). Models of the aortic root and clamp were created and solve in ADINA, a Finite Element Analysis package. The tissue model was created using a non-linear material. Fluid-structure interactions (FSI) were modeled. The deformation profile of the simulated aorta matched well with that of the real tissue. Clamping of a fluid-filled pressurized aorta, an important first step towards simulating of surgical procedures, was successfully modeled. The simulation was validated by clamping experiments. The modeling techniques developed are also applicable to pre-operative planning of cardiovascular surgery.

Packing grains by thermal cycling

A long-standing problem in managing the behaviour of a collection of solid grains concerns the nature of the grain packing, a property that is typically controlled by how the grains are poured or shaken. Here we show that a systematic and controllable increase in granular packing can be induced by simply raising and then lowering the temperature, without the input of mechanical energy. This thermal processing may have important practical implications for the handling and storage of granular materials.

Successful dieters have increased neural activity in cortical areas involved in the control of behavior

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether dietary restraint, a landmark of successful dieting, is associated with specific patterns of brain responses to the sensory experience of food and meal consumption.

DESIGN AND SUBJECTS

Cross-sectional study of the brain's response to the sensory experience of food and meal consumption in nine successful dieters (age: 38+/-7 years, body fat (%): 28+/-3) and 20 non-dieters (age: 31+/-9 years, body fat (%): 33+/-9), all women.

MEASUREMENTS

Changes in brain activity in response to the sensory experience of food and meal consumption were assessed by using positron emission tomography and (15)O water as a radiotracer. Body fatness was assessed by dual X-ray absorptiometry. Subjective ratings of hunger and fullness were measured by visual analogue scale. Dietary restraint, disinhibition and hunger were assessed by the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Successful dieters had a significantly higher level of dietary restraint compared to non-dieters. In response to meal consumption, successful dieters had a greater activation in the dorsal prefrontal cortex (DPFC), dorsal striatum and anterior cerebellar lobe as compared to non-dieters. In response to the same stimulation, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) was significantly more activated in non-dieters as compared to successful dieters. Dietary restraint was positively correlated with the response in the DPFC and negatively with the response in the OFC. The responses in the DPFC and OFC were negatively intercorrelated.

CONCLUSION

Cortical areas involved in controlling inappropriate behavioral responses, such as the DPFC, are particularly activated in successful dieters in response to meal consumption. The association between the degree of dietary restraint and the coordinated neural changes in the DPFC and OFC raises the possibility that cognitive control of food intake is achieved by modulating neural circuits controlling food reward.

Flux through a hole from a shaken granular medium

We have measured the flux of grains from a hole in the bottom of a shaken container of grains. We find that the peak velocity of the vibration, v max, controls the flux, i.e., the flux is nearly independent of the frequency and acceleration amplitude for a given value of v max. The flux decreases with increasing peak velocity and then becomes almost constant for the largest values of v max. The data at low peak velocity can be quantitatively described by a simple model, but the crossover to nearly constant flux at larger peak velocity suggests a regime in which the granular density near the container bottom is independent of the energy input to the system.

A phase II study of gefitinib as first line treatment for good performance advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in East Asian patients

7167

Background: Gefitinib is an effective treatment for chemotherapy-treated nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in East Asian patients. There were only limited prospective studies on the use of gefitinib in chemonaive advanced or metastatic NSCLC patients. Methods: Eligibility included histological or cytological proven chemonaive stage IIIB/IV NSCLC, measurable disease, ECOG performance status of 0–2, good organ functions and candidate for platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients were treated with 250mg gefitinib per day. Tumor assessments were performed every two months by RECIST criteria. Responding patients were treated until progression. Patients with stable disease more than 2 months may continue treatment or shift to chemotherapy. The primary objective of this study was overall response rate of patients. Secondary objectives included 1-year progression-free survival, overall survival, and ancillary biomarker studies. Simon’s two-stage design was used to aim at a response rate more than 20%. Forty-four patients were planned in stage one and the study will be terminated if 5 or less patients responded to the treatment. A total of 106 patients are planned. Results: The planned interim analysis on the first 44 patients is reported here. There were 13 male and 31 female, median age was 63 (range 39–86), ECOG performance status of 0/1/2 were 0/40/4. 33 patients were nonsmokers. 39 patients had adenocarcinoma. The side effects of the treatment were mild and well accepted by patients. There were 24/9/10/1 patients with PR/SD/PD/NE. Overall response rate was 54.5% and disease control rate was 75%. The response rates for female / adenocarcinoma / nonsmoker were 58%/59%/61% respectively. The response rates for male / non-adenocarcinoma / smoker patients were 46%/20%/36%. The median time to progression for all patients was 6.3 months. Conclusions: Gefitinib is a very effective treatment for East Asian chemonaive advanced or metastatic NSCLC patients. Although the patients’ number was small, the response rates for patients with one unfavorable predictive factor were comparable to the response rates of patients receiving combination chemotherapy. The response rates and duration for 106 patients will be presented in the meeting.

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An approach of encoding for prediction of splice sites using SVM

In splice sites prediction, the accuracy is lower than 90% though the sequences adjacent to the splice sites have a high conservation. In order to improve the prediction accuracy, much attention has been paid to the improvement of the performance of the algorithms used, and few used for solving the fundamental issues, namely, nucleotide encoding. In this paper, a predictor is constructed to predict the true and false splice sites for higher eukaryotes based on support vector machines (SVM). Four types of encoding, which were mono-nucleotide (MN) encoding, MN with frequency difference between the true sites and false sites (FDTF) encoding, Pair-wise nucleotides (PN) encoding and PN with FDTF encoding, were applied to generate the input for the SVM. The results showed that PN with FDTF encoding as input to SVM led to the most reliable recognition of splice sites and the accuracy for the prediction of true donor sites and false sites were 96.3%, 93.7%, respectively, and the accuracy for predicting of true acceptor sites and false sites were 94.0%, 93.2%, respectively.