Correction to: The protean world of non-coding RNAs in glioblastoma

Journal of Molecular Medicine -     

Assessment of Tumor Response in Mice with Ovarian Peritoneal Carcinomatosis using Doppler Ultrasound of the Superior Mesenteric Artery and Celiac Trunk

The goal of the work described here was to assess the performance of Doppler ultrasound (US) of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and celiac trunk (CT) in the evaluation of tumor response in female mice with ovarian peritoneal carcinomatosis treated either with bevacizumab or with carboplatin. Compared with untreated mice, carboplatin-treated mice had a lower weight (23.3 ± 2.0 vs. 27.9 ± 2.9 g, p < 0.001), peritoneal carcinomatosis index (PCI, 11 ± 3 vs. 28 ± 6, p < 0.001), Ki67-positive staining surfaces (p < 0.001), vascular density (p < 0.001), mean blood flow velocity (mBFVel) in the SMA (7.0 ± 1.4 vs. 10.9 ± 1.8 cm/s, p < 0.001) and CT (8.0 ± 1.8 vs. 14.3 ± 4.6 cm/s, p < 0.001) and no ascites. Weight and mBFVel were similar in bevacizumab-treated and untreated mice. The mBFVels in the SMA and CT correlated with the PCI used as an estimation of the tumor burden, R = 0.70 (p < 0.0001) and R = 0.65 (p < 0.0001), respectively. Doppler US allows non-invasive assessment of the effects of anticancer therapy in ovarian peritoneal carcinomatosis-induced mice.     

Germline mutations predisposing to melanoma

Nearly 15% of melanomas occur in patients with a family history and a subset of these patients have a germline mutation in a melanoma predisposing gene. CDKN2A mutations are responsible for the majority of hereditary melanoma, but many other susceptibility genes have been discovered in recent years, including CDK4, TERT, ACD, TERF2IP, POT1, MITF, MC1R, and BAP1. Additionally, melanoma risk is increased in mixed cancer syndromes caused by mutations in PTEN, BRCA2, BRCA1, RB1, and TP53. While early onset, multiple tumors, and family cancer history remain the most valuable clinical clues for hereditary melanoma, characteristic epithelioid cytology of melanocytic tumors may suggest an underlying BAP1 mutation. Herein, we review the clinical and histopathologic characteristics of melanocytic tumors associated with these germline mutations and discuss the role of genetic counseling.     

The role of MSX1 in tooth agenesis in Iranians

INTRODUCTION: MSX1 gene has a critical role in craniofacial development, the aim of this case-control study is to test the hypothesis that MSX1 mutation contributes to congenital tooth agenesis in Iranians. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 20 affected individuals with tooth agenesis of lower second premolars or upper lateral incisors with mean age of 24.6. The control group consisted of 20 unaffected individuals. DNA was extracted from all 40 individuals; the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for MSX1 was carried out with Phenol: Chloroform: Isoamylalchol (PCI) extraction method. Ban II restriction digest and agarose gel electrophoresis of the 20 affected individuals verified the presence of mutation in all 20 affected individuals. The unaffected controls did not show any mutation. Statistical analysis performed by the chi-squared method. RESULTS: Ban II did not digest PCR product (DNA) in the control group (195 bp band on electrophoresis gel) but digested the affected allele (106 bp and 89 bp bands). There is a statistically significant correlation between tooth agenesis and MSX1 mutation (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results indicated that MSX1 gene mutation contributes to tooth agenesis in Iranian individuals. As the timing of tooth calcification can vary, radiographic finding of congenital tooth agenesis can be confirmed by this molecular method during different dental ages to achieve certainty.     

Comparative assessment of the sealing ability of Nd:YAG laser versus a new desensitizing agent in human dentinal tubules: a pilot study

Dentinal hypersensitivity is a painful condition that occurs following periodontal treatment. Many treatment alternatives have been considered for this problem, including treatments with laser and dentinal adhesives. This study compared the sealing ability of Nd:YAG laser versus a new resin in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs. Ten human premolars were sectioned yielding 30 specimens of each premolar, which were randomly divided into three groups. The laser group was irradiated by Nd:YAG laser (1 W, 10 Hz, 60 s), the resin group was treated with the new Seal & Protect resin according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and the third group served as the control group and did not receive any interventions. After preparation and gold coating of the samples, they were photographed by SEM at two magnifications (1500× and 4000×). The number and diameter (μm) of the dentinal tubules were recorded in selected fields, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey tests were used to determine significant differences between groups. The ANOVA results revealed significant differences in both the mean number (P < 0.001) and diameter (P < 0.05) among the three groups. Further statistical analysis showed a significant difference between the laser group and the resin group in both outcome measures (P < 0.05). Thus, both Nd:YAG laser and the new resin reduced the number and diameter of open dentinal tubules, a result that also explains the desensitization mechanism of these interventions. We further conclude that application of the new resin is more effective than Nd:YAG laser in minimizing the number and diameter of exposed dentinal tubules.     

The use of the hairless guinea pig in tattoo research.

The study and optimization of tattoo removal continues to be of importance in the dermatology community. Robust animal models whose skin is physiologically similar to humans and who are easily handled are desirable. To this end, we report on our experience with the hairless guinea pig as a model for tattoo research. This research was conducted as part of a larger study toward increased efficacy of laser tattoo removal. Here we report on procedures for both placement and aftercare of tattoos which result in superior tattoo quality and retention.     

Noninvasive blood glucose monitoring with optical coherence tomography: a pilot study in human subjects

OBJECTIVE: To study the feasibility of noninvasive blood glucose monitoring using optical coherence tomography (OCT) technique in healthy volunteers. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: An OCT system with the wavelength of 1,300 nm was used in 15 healthy subjects in 18 clinical experiments. Standard oral glucose tolerance tests were performed to induce changes in blood glucose concentration. Blood samples were taken from the right arm vein every 5 or 15 min. OCT images were taken every 10-20 s from the left forearm over a total period of 3 h. The slope of the signals was calculated at the depth of 200-600 micro m from the skin surface. RESULTS: A total of 426 blood samples and 8,437 OCT images and signals were collected and analyzed in these experiments. There was a good correlation between changes in the slope of noninvasively measured OCT signals and blood glucose concentrations throughout the duration of the experiments. The slope of OCT signals changed significantly (up to 2.8% per 10 mg/dl) with variation of plasma glucose values. The good correlation obtained between the OCT signal slope and blood glucose concentration is due to the coherent detection of backscattered photons, which allows measurements of OCT signal from a specific tissue layer without unwanted signal from other tissue layers. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study demonstrated the capability of the OCT technique to monitor blood glucose concentration noninvasively in human subjects. Further studies with a larger number of subjects including diabetic subjects are planned to validate these preliminary results.