Meloxicam inhibits the growth of colorectal cancer cells

Cyclooxygenase-2 has been reported to play an important role in colorectal carcinogenesis. The effects of meloxicam (a COX-2 inhibitor) on the growth of two colon cancer cell lines that express COX-2 (HCA-7 and Moser-S) and a COX-2 negative cell line (HCT-116) were evaluated. The growth rate of these cells was measured following treatment with meloxicam. HCA-7 and Moser-S colony size were significantly reduced following treatment with meloxicam; however, there was no significant change in HCT-116 colony size with treatment. In vivo studies were performed to evaluate the effect of meloxicam on the growth of HCA-7 cells when xenografted into nude mice. We observed a 51% reduction in tumor size after 4 weeks of treatment. Analysis of COX-1 and COX-2 protein levels in HCA-7 tumor lysates revealed a slight decrease in COX- 2 expression levels in tumors taken from mice treated with meloxicam and no detectable COX-1 expression. Here we report that meloxicam significantly inhibited HCA-7 colony and tumor growth but had no effect on the growth of the COX-2 negative HCT-116 cells.      

Rare neurological complications associated with critically ill pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis—a report of two cases

International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries - This case series highlights rare reversible neurological complications encountered in two children who presented with diabetic...     

Diarrhea, CD4 counts and enteric infections in a hospital – based cohort of HIV-infected patients around Varanasi, India

Background  

As most of the studies in HIV patients with diarrhea were cross sectional, focusing on the etiological agents, we are reporting data on the rate of diarrhea, associations between diarrhea and CD4 counts and variation in frequency of identifying a pathogen with consistency of diarrhea and duration in a prospective hospital based study.     

A20 deletion is associated with copy number gain at the TNFA/B/C locus and occurs preferentially in translocation‐negative MALT lymphoma of the ocular adnexa and salivary glands

The genetic basis of MALT lymphoma is largely unknown. Characteristic chromosomal translocations are frequently associated with gastric and pulmonary cases, but are rare at other sites. We compared the genetic profiles of 33 ocular adnexal and 25 pulmonary MALT lymphomas by 1 Mb array–comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and revealed recurrent 6q23 losses and 6p21.2–6p22.1 gains exclusive to ocular cases. High‐resolution chromosome 6 tile‐path array–CGH identified NF‐κB inhibitor A20 as the target of 6q23.3 deletion and TNFA/B/C locus as a putative target of 6p21.2–22.1 gain. Interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that A20 deletion occurred in MALT lymphoma of the ocular adnexa (8/42 = 19%), salivary gland (2/24 = 8%), thyroid (1/9 = 11%) and liver (1/2), but not in the lung (26), stomach (45) and skin (13). Homozygous deletion was observed in three cases. A20 deletion and TNFA/B/C gain were significantly associated (p < 0.001) and exclusively found in cases without characteristic translocation. In ocular cases, A20 deletion was associated with concurrent involvement of different adnexal tissues or extraocular sites at diagnosis (p = 0.007), a higher proportion of relapse (67% versus 37%) and a shorter relapse‐free survival (p = 0.033). A20 deletion and gain at TNFA/B/C locus may thus play an important role in the development of translocation‐negative MALT lymphoma. Copyright © 2008 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.