Polyunsaturated fatty acids, phytosterols and cholesterol metabolism in the Mediterranean diet

The objective of this work was to review nutritional components of the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet is not a specific diet plan or diet program but a collection of eating habits that are traditionally followed by the people of the Mediterranean region. There are at least 16 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea and food habits vary between these countries according to culture, ethnic background and religion. The Mediterranean diet, containing olive oil, fish, fruits and vegetable is associated with a low rate of cardivascular and cancer diseases. This diet is rich in phytosterols, squalene, dietary fibre, antioxidants, phenolic substances and polyunsaturated acids.     

Moustache reconstruction in patients with cleft lip: (final aesthetic touches in clefts-part ii)

Men with clefts often have limited or even missing moustache growth in scar areas or in the upper lip prolabium. However the histological testing showed the absence or at least the inactive form of androgenic receptor in hair follicle of cleft site, transplantation of autologous grafts harvested from hair was successful in all six cases either into scars or the prolabium. A more natural effect was achieved by using micrografts. The positive reaction of patients proved there is a need for detailed treatment in highly outgoing individuals.     

Eye complications of cetuximab therapy

Skin toxicity is the most important side effect of cetuximab administration, but little is known about the eye toxicity, including periorbital skin. We present here four cases of patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma treated with the combination of cetuximab, irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin who had manifestation of complications in the eye or periorbital skin. These manifestations consisted of erythematous eruptions in the periorbital skin with blepharitis and conjunctivitis in three patients and trichomegaly in one patient. The symptoms were controlled with local therapy including corticosteroids and antibiotics. The skin toxicity in the periorbital region is more important than in other skin areas because of the impact on the social activity of the patient and the vision. The manifestations of eye toxicity of cetuximab may be controlled by local therapy, and the management of these patients requires the collaboration of medical oncologist and ophthalmologist.     

Intima-media thickness,myocardial perfusion and laboratory risk factors of atherosclerosis in patients with breast cancer treated with anthracycline-based chemotherapy

An increased incidence of complications of atherosclerosis has been noted in cancer survivors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate, in patients with breast carcinoma, the effect of antracycline-based chemotherapy on carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), myocardial perfusion, assessed by single-photon emission tomography (SPECT) and laboratory parameters associated with the risk of atherosclerosis. Thirty-six patients with breast cancer were evaluated before and after anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Retinol, alpha-tocopherol, glycosylated hemoglobin and urinary neopterin were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Peripheral blood cell count, D-dimers, fibrinogen, antithrombin, glucose, magnesium, creatinine, uric acid, albumin, C-reactive protein, lipoprotein (a), cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, homocysteine, urinary albumin and N-acetyl-beta-d-glucosaminidase (NAG) were determined with routine methods. No significant differences were observed between patients and 16 controls. Compared to the measurement before the start of therapy, peripheral blood leukocyte and platelet count, hemoglobin, creatinine, HDL cholesterol, retinol, albumin, urinary albumin and NAG decreased, and total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, neopterin and mean IMT increased significantly after the treatment. Of the 36 patients who had SPECT after treatment, perfusion defects were noted only in two cases, including the patient who had perfusion defects at baseline examination and a patient who did not have a baseline SPECT. In conclusion, a significant increase in carotid IMT, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and urinary neopterin and a decrease of peripheral blood leukocyte and platelet counts, hemoglobin, creatinine, HDL cholesterol, retinol, albumin and NAG were observed after the treatment.     

CD5 levels define functionally heterogeneous populations of naïve human CD4+ T cells

Studies in murine models show that subthreshold TCR interactions with self-peptide are required for thymic development and peripheral survival of naïve T cells. Recently, differences in the strength of tonic TCR interactions with self-peptide, as read-out by cell surface levels of CD5, were associated with distinct effector potentials among sorted populations of T cells in mice. However, whether CD5 can also be used to parse functional heterogeneity among human T cells is less clear. Our study demonstrates that CD5 levels correlate with TCR signal strength in human naïve CD4⁺ T cells. Further, we describe a relationship between CD5 levels on naïve human CD4⁺ T cells and binding affinity to foreign peptide, in addition to a predominance of CD5^hi T cells in the memory compartment. Differences in gene expression and biases in cytokine production potential between CD5^lo and CD5^hi naïve human CD4⁺ T cells are consistent with observations in mice. Together, these data validate the use of CD5 surface levels as a marker of heterogeneity among human naïve CD4⁺ T cells with important implications for the identification of functionally biased T- cell populations that can be exploited to improve the efficacy of adoptive cell therapies.     

An interspecific hybrid as a tool to study phylogenetic relationships in plants using the GISH technique

We established a new auxiliary phylogenetic approach based on genomic in situ hybridization technique (GISH). We used an interspecific hybrid Silene latifolia × Silene viscosa to compare two different genomes simultaneously on one slide. By using GISH with genomic DNA from another closely related species as a probe, we directly compared the level of relatedness between the genomes of the studied species and parental species. This experimental design enabled us to approximately estimate evolutionary relationships between the genome of tested plant species and genomes of both parental species of the hybrid by using the ratio of intensities of fluorescence signals. We tested this technique in various Silene species and the results were in accordance with the topology of the phylogenetic tree we constructed based on rDNA sequences. The results were also well correlated with phylogenetic distances between species that we estimated from an rDNA-based phylogenetic tree. Our experimental approach could help to improve tree topology and serve as a useful complementary tool in molecular phylogenetic studies in related species.     

Serum retinol, alpha-tocopherol and systemic inflammatory response in metastatic colorectal carcinoma patients treated with combination chemotherapy and cetuximab

Cetuximab is a chimeric antibody registered for the therapy of advanced colorectal carcinoma. Cancer and anticancer therapy are associated with oxidative stress, and disorders of antioxidant balance may be involved in the toxicity associated with anticancer treatment. The aim of the present study was to investigate the changes of serum retinol, alpha-tocopherol and C-reactive protein during the first month of treatment with cetuximab and chemotherapy. Twenty-five consecutive patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma treated with a combination of chemotherapy and cetuximab were included in the present study. Serum retinol and alpha-tocopherol were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and serum C-reactive protein was determined using commercial kits. Significant correlation was observed between baseline concentrations of retinol and C-reactive protein (r(s)=-0.54, p<0.01). Median survival of patients who had baseline serum retinol below 1.25 μmol/L was 10 mo compared to 18 mo for patients who had serum retinol equal or above 1.25 μmol/L (p<0.05); median survival of patients who had serum C-reactive protein below 24 mg/L was significantly longer compared to patients with C-reactive protein levels equal or above 24 mg/L (18 vs. 7 mo, p<0.05), but no difference in survival was observed based on alpha-tocopherol levels. Twenty-two patients had evaluation of retinol, alpha-tocopherol and C-reactive protein at least once during the follow up. Serum concentration of alpha-tocopherol decreased significantly during the therapy, but retinol and C-reactive protein concentrations remained unchanged. In conclusion, a significant correlation was observed between serum retinol and C-reactive protein. Serum alpha-tocopherol decreased significantly during the first month of combination therapy with cetuximab. Low retinol and high C-reactive protein concentrations were predictive of poor prognosis in this patient population.     

Ischemic preconditioning in chronically hypoxic neonatal rat heart

Rat hearts isolated on d 1, 4, 7, and 10 of postnatal life were perfused (in Langendorff mode) with Krebs-Henseleit solution at constant pressure, temperature, and stimulation rate. Recovery of the contractile function after global ischemia was measured by an isometric force transducer and analyzed using an online computer. Ischemic preconditioning (IP) was induced by three 3-min periods of global ischemia, each separated by a 5-min period of reperfusion. Prenatal hypoxia was induced by exposure of pregnant mothers to intermittent high altitude (IHA), simulated in a barochamber (8 h/d, 5000 m) from d 15 to 20 of pregnancy. Postnatal hypoxia was simulated by the identical procedure from postnatal d 1 to 6 and 9. Prenatal exposure to IHA failed to improve ischemic tolerance on d 1, but postnatal exposure to IHA improved recovery of the developed force after ischemia on d 7 (33 +/- 3% versus 43 +/- 4%) and 10 (39 +/- 2% versus 54 +/- 2%). Combination of IHA and IP induced higher protective effects in all age groups, including postnatal d 1 (48 +/- 2% versus 56 +/- 3%), whereas IHA and IP applied separately failed to improve ischemic tolerance. Neither the mitochondrial K(ATP) channel blocker 5-hydroxydecanoate nor the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester abolished protection by IP in normoxic animals, but they decreased significantly protection by IHA hypoxia. The final recovery was even lower than the corresponding normoxic values. It seems likely that mitochondrial K(ATP) channels and nitric oxide may be involved in the protective mechanisms of adaptation to chronic hypoxia but not to that of IP, at least in neonates.