Intramuscular epithelioid hemangioma of the parapharyngeal space

A clinical case of epithelioid hemangioma of the scalene muscle that occupied the parapharyngeal space is reported. The patient was a 34 year old man with a 2-month history of sensation of pharyngeal foreign body and mild dysphagia. The exploration revealed a tumor of the posterior and lateral wall of the oropharynx that extended from the rhinopharynx to the hypopharynx. The diagnostic sequence included CT, MRI, Doppler echography, and arteriography, which identified a right post-styloid tumor located behind and medial to the jugular vein, internal carotid artery, and vagal nerve, but did not affect arterial blood flow. The patient underwent surgical treatment consisting of lateral cervicotomy, tumor excision, and histological study.     

Multicellular bladder tumor spheroids in coculture with human endothelial cell monolayers

Multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) are avascular spherical tumors grown systematically out of single cells in vitro. The coculture of MCTS of the human bladder carcinoma cell line J 82 with confluent human endothelial cell layers serves as a model to study cell-cell interactions as an important feature in hematogenous tumor spread. Basic information is obtained by phase contrast microscopy and histochemistry. More detailed information is given by the application of scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Immunohistochemistry helps to differentiate endothelial cells from tumor cells (factor VIII-related antigen). The application of this coculture model and of the various methods of evaluation enables us to study cell-to-cell contact phenomena systematically.     

Positive correlation between peripheral blood granulocyte oxidative status and level of anxiety in mice

Oxidative stress is involved in many acute and chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. We studied the relationship between the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species in peripheral granulocytes and the estimated anxiety level of mice using the behavioral light/dark choice test. Our results indicate a linear and significant relationship between the intracellular redox status of peripheral blood granulocytes and different parameters of anxiety-related behavior including latency time (R(2)=0.737, P<0.001), cumulative time spent in the lit box (R(2)=0.612, P<0.01) and number of entries into the lit box (R(2)=0.661, P<0.01). These results suggest a positive relationship between peripheral oxidative status and level of anxiety in mice.     

The histone deacetylase inhibitor Suberoylanilide Hydroxamic Acid (SAHA) as a therapeutic agent in rhabdomyosarcoma

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is an aggressive childhood sarcoma with two distinct subtypes, embryonal (ERMS) and alveolar (ARMS) histologies. More effective treatment is needed to improve outcomes, beyond conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy. The pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor, Suberoylanilide Hydroxamic Acid (SAHA), has shown promising efficacy in limited preclinical studies. We used a panel of human ERMS and ARMS cell lines and xenografts to evaluate the effects of SAHA as a therapeutic agent in both RMS subtypes. SAHA decreased cell viability by inhibiting S-phase progression in all cell lines tested, and induced apoptosis in all but one cell line. Molecularly, SAHA-treated cells showed activation of a DNA damage response, induction of the cell cycle inhibitors p21^Cip1 and p27^Kip1 and downregulation of Cyclin D1. In a subset of RMS cell lines, SAHA promoted features of cellular senescence and myogenic differentiation. Interestingly, SAHA treatment profoundly decreased protein levels of the driver fusion oncoprotein PAX3-FOXO1 in ARMS cells at a post-translational level. In vivo, SAHA-treated xenografts showed increased histone acetylation and induction of a DNA damage response, along with variable upregulation of p21^Cip1 and p27^Kip1. However, while the ARMS Rh41 xenograft tumor growth was significantly inhibited, there was no significant inhibition of the ERMS tumor xenograft RD. Thus, our work shows that, while SAHA is effective against ERMS and ARMS tumor cells in vitro, it has divergent in vivo effects . Together with the observed effects on the PAX3-FOXO1 fusion protein, these data suggest SAHA as a possible therapeutic agent for clinical testing in patients with fusion protein-positive RMS.     

Caractérisation et bioévaluation des polyphénols: nouveaux domaines d’application en santé et nutrition

In the present study, we have shown that plums protected granulocyte cells from oxidative stress by their potential to inhibit the intracellular reactive oxygen species accumulation. The consumption of 100 g of fresh plums can provide antioxidants equivalent to 613.98–2137.59 mg of vitamin C. The major polyphenols in plums were identified and quantified using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which revealed that neochlorogenic acid was the predominant polyphenol. Plums are a source of polyphenols with dual effects: antioxidant and anxiolytic, like chlorogenic acid, which may provide health-promoting advantages to the consumer.     

Chronic myeloid leukemia associated with mitoxantrone treatment in a patient with MS

We report the first case of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosed within two years of receiving mitoxantrone therapy. Previously only acute forms of leukemia particularly acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) have been associated with mitoxantrone treatment in MS. This underscores the need for only using mitoxantrone in severe treatment-unresponsive cases of MS.