Facial Reactions to Facial Expressions

Previous research has demonstrated that different patterns of facial muscle activity are correlated with different emotional states. In the present study subjects were exposed to pictures of happy and angry facial expressions, in response to which their facial electromyographic (EMG) activities, heart rate (HR), and palmar skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded. It was found that happy and angry faces evoked different facial EMG response patterns, with increased zygomatic region activity to happy stimuli and increased corrugator region activity to angry stimuli. Furthermore, both happy and angry faces evoked HR decelerations and similar SCR magnitudes. The results are interpreted as suggesting that facial EMG recordings provide a method for distinguishing between response patterns to “positive” and “negative” emotional visual stimuli.     

Therapeutic vaccination against fibronectin ED-A attenuates progression of metastatic breast cancer

Therapeutic vaccination targeting self-molecules is an attractive alternative to monoclonal antibody-based therapies for cancer and various inflammatory diseases. However, development of cancer vaccines targeting self-molecules has proven difficult. One complicating factor is that tumor cells have developed strategies to escape recognition by the immune system. Antigens specifically expressed by the tumor vasculature can therefore provide alternative targets. The alternatively spliced extra domain-A and B (ED-A and ED-B) of fibronectin are expressed during vasculogenesis in the embryo, but essentially undetectable under normal conditions in the adult. However, these domains are re-expressed during tumor angiogenesis and matrix remodeling, which renders them highly interesting for targeted cancer therapies.Using the MMTV-PyMT transgenic model of metastatic mammary carcinoma, we show that tumor burden can be significantly decreased by immunization against ED-A in a therapeutic setting. Furthermore, we found that in mice carrying anti-ED-A antibodies the number of metastases was reduced. ED-A immunization increased infiltration of macrophages and compromised tumor blood vessel function. These findings implicate an attack of the tumor vasculature by the immune system, through a polyclonal antibody response. We conclude that tumor vascular antigens are promising candidates for development of therapeutic vaccines targeting growth of primary tumors as well as disseminated disease.     

Expression of cytosolic and group X secretory phospholipase A(2) genes in human colorectal adenocarcinomas

Gene expression of cytosolic phospholipase A(2) (cPLA(2)) and protein level of secretory PLA(2) group X (sPLA(2)-X) are upregulated in human colorectal cancer and provide cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) with arachidonic acid, resulting in increased levels of PGE(2). Mutated ras-genes are suggested to be involved in the regulatory pathway of cPLA(2) in lung cancer cells. We analysed the gene expression of cPLA(2) and sPLA(2)-X in 42 and 38 primary colorectal tumours, respectively, with and without K-ras mutations. We found an up-regulation of cPLA(2) mRNA but the induction in tumour tissues does not correlate with Ras-gene mutations. Moreover, our results cannot consistently reflect an overexpression of sPLA(2)-X gene in colorectal cancer tissues.     

Marital status and cardiovascular risk in French and Swedish automotive industry workers--cross sectional results from the Renault-Volvo Coeur study

OBJECTIVES: To compare the coronary risk profiles in a sample of the French and Swedish automotive industry employees who were married/cohabitant, divorced or single (never married). DESIGN: A cross-sectional study comparison from biological and questionnaire data between the French and Swedish samples. SETTING: Occupational health departments at Renault (employees from the north-west of France) and Volvo (employees from the south-west of Sweden). SUBJECTS: Two random samples of males aged between 45 and 50 years were examined in 1993, from Renault 1000, and from Volvo 1000. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Biological data including cholesterol, blood pressure as well as the Framingham risk index. Self reported information regarding marital status, smoking, exercise, alcohol habits, and work stress assessed by the Karasek method, private social support indices, and type A behaviour according to the Bortner scale. RESULTS: More employees were married/cohabitant and fewer divorced or single at Renault. Apart from waist/hip ratio being marginally lower in Swedish single men, compared with married and divorced, no significant difference in biological cardiac risk factors (total cholesterol, blood pressure or Framingham risk index) was seen between the subgroups from any of the two countries. Compared with married/cohabitant men, it was shown that in men living alone smoking was more prevalent at Renault and Volvo. These men also showed less type A behaviour, a lower work control and a lower work support and fewer close friends. Alcohol consumption was reported in smaller amounts for Volvo employees living alone compared with married or divorced employees. Married/cohabitant and divorced staff showed similar values regarding all measured variables when compared within each country. CONCLUSIONS: Employees living alone in both France (Renault) and Sweden (Volvo) automotive companies seem to have increased nontraditional cardiac risk factors pertaining to life style and social network compared with married or divorced men. These results, in combination with the finding that more Volvo than Renault employees were living alone, suggest a higher risk for coronary heart disease amongst Volvo employees. This hypothesis will be evaluated in the 5 and 10 years follow up study.     

Resistin in human colorectal cancer: increased expression independently of resistin promoter -420C > G genotype

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) -420C > G of the resistin gene was screened in 248 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and 256 controls. No significant difference in genotype distribution was found. However, we found an upregulation in 92% of the samples in the levels of resistin protein in cancer tissue (n = 83). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed heterogenous staining of resistin predominantly in the cancer tissue. Further, resistin induced secretion of MMP-2 and MMP-9 from monocytes. The results of this study suggest that resistin may play a partial role in CRC but that the -420C > G resistin polymorphism is not a potential genetic susceptibility factor.