A randomized controlled trial of lycopene treatment on soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products in seminal and blood plasma of normospermic men

Citation
Oborna I, Malickova K, Fingerova H, Brezinova J, Horka P, Novotny J, Bryndova H, Filipcikova R, Svobodova M. A Randomized controlled trial of lycopene treatment on soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products in seminal and blood plasma of normospermic men. Am J Reprod Immunol 2011; 66: 179–184 Problem The aim of present study was to investigate the effects of antioxidant lycopene on soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) levels in blood and seminal plasma in normospermic males. Methods Study included 15 fertile volunteers and 13 normospermic male partners from infertile relationships. The treatment was 12‐week administration of 20 mg of lycopene or placebo followed by crossover and treatment for a further 12 weeks. The ELISA kit Quantikine^® was used to determine sRAGE levels. Results Lycopene administration decreased sRAGE levels in seminal plasma in fertile volunteers (controls) as well as in male partners in the infertile relationships group (P = 0.008 and P = 0.012, respectively). No significant effect of lycopene on sRAGE in blood plasma was found in either group, but seminal plasma sRAGE was significantly suppressed. Conclusion Lycopene decreased sRAGE in seminal, but not in blood plasma. This may be because of selective local uptake of lycopene in the male reproductive tract, namely in prostate. Decreased sRAGE may be caused by lycopene suppression of oxidative stressors and explain in part the putative improvement in fertility reported after lycopene treatment.     

Novel Polymeric Nanoparticles Assembled by Metal Ion Addition

Potentially biodegradable graft polymer core‐shell nanoparticles assembling by addition of metal ions intended to be used for radionuclide and drug delivery purposes are described. With Cu²⁺ ions, the self‐assembly is slow (within minutes) with low efficiency. With Fe³⁺ ions the nanoparticles are formed immediately and are of convenient size for passive tumor accumulation by the enhanced permeation and retention effect. Full in vitro degradation of these particles is achieved with deferoxamine as a model of in vivo transchelation capacity.     

Breast cancer characteristics—Comparison of preoperative and postoperative values

Breast cancer characteristics obtained at the time of diagnosis are important for setting the basic strategy of the treatment. Reliability of preoperative investigation differs for various features of the disease. The aim of this study was to ascertain the agreements and differences between preoperative and postoperative values.     

Wideband Self‐Grounded Bow‐Tie Antenna for Thermal MR

The objective of this study was the design, implementation, evaluation and application of a compact wideband self‐grounded bow‐tie (SGBT) radiofrequency (RF) antenna building block that supports anatomical proton (¹H) MRI, fluorine (¹⁹F) MRI, MR thermometry and broadband thermal intervention integrated in a whole‐body 7.0 T system. Design considerations and optimizations were conducted with numerical electromagnetic field (EMF) simulations to facilitate a broadband thermal intervention frequency of the RF antenna building block. RF transmission (B₁⁺) field efficiency and specific absorption rate (SAR) were obtained in a phantom, and the thigh of human voxel models (Ella, Duke) for ¹H and ¹⁹F MRI at 7.0 T. B₁⁺ efficiency simulations were validated with actual flip‐angle imaging measurements. The feasibility of thermal intervention was examined by temperature simulations (f = 300, 400 and 500 MHz) in a phantom. The RF heating intervention (P_in = 100 W, t = 120 seconds) was validated experimentally using the proton resonance shift method and fiberoptic probes for temperature monitoring. The applicability of the SGBT RF antenna building block for in vivo ¹H and ¹⁹F MRI was demonstrated for the thigh and forearm of a healthy volunteer. The SGBT RF antenna building block facilitated ¹⁹F and ¹H MRI at 7.0 T as well as broadband thermal intervention (234‐561 MHz). For the thigh of the human voxel models, a B₁⁺ efficiency ≥11.8 μT/√kW was achieved at a depth of 50 mm. Temperature simulations and heating experiments in a phantom demonstrated a temperature increase ΔT >7 K at a depth of 10 mm. The compact SGBT antenna building block provides technology for the design of integrated high‐density RF applicators and for the study of the role of temperature in (patho‐) physiological processes by adding a thermal intervention dimension to an MRI device (Thermal MR).     

Isolation and characterization of X chromosome-derived DNA sequences from a dioecious plant Melandrium album

A number of X chromosome DNA sequences have been isolated from a dioecious plant, Melandrium album (syn. Silene latifolia),using chromosome microdissection followed by degenerate oligonucleotide-primed polymerase chain reaction (DOP–PCR) amplification. Six DNA clones were selected and further characterized by DNA/DNA hybridization techniques to check their copy numbers, sex-specific methylation patterns, species specificity and positions on chromosomes. These clones were moderately to highly repetitive (approximately 103–105 copies per haploid genome) and none of them gave a positive signal on Northern blots. One of the clones yielded a sex-specific methylation pattern: its abundant non-methylated CCGG island was found only in males. All the clones also hybridized to two closely related dioecious Melandrium species (M. rubrum and M. dicline). Nucleotide sequences of two X-derived clones showed a number of internal short direct repeats; one of them strikingly resembled a plant conservative telomere sequence (TTTAGGG).None of the clones hybridized to the X chromosome only, but all were localized at the telomeric heterochromatic regions (DAPI C-bands) of both arms of a vast majority of M. album chromosomes using the fluorescencein situ hybridization (FISH) technique. However, the non-homologousarm of the Y chromosome (contrary to the arm homologous to the X chromosome,possessing the pseudoautosomal region) showed neither a DAPI C-banding-stained heterochromatin nor a FISH signal with any of the DNA probes tested,thus indicating its evolutionary diversification. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Induction of MHC class I molecule cell surface expression and epigenetic activation of antigen-processing machinery components in a murine model for human papilloma virus 16-associated tumours

Epigenetic events play an important role in tumour progression and also contribute to escape of the tumour from immune surveillance. In this study, we investigated the up-regulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I surface expression on tumour cells by epigenetic mechanisms using a murine tumour cell line expressing human E6 and E7 human papilloma virus 16 (HPV16) oncogenes and deficient in MHC class I expression, as a result of impaired antigen-presenting machinery (APM). Treatment of the cells with the histone deacetylase inhibitor Trichostatin A, either alone or in combination with the DNA demethylating agent 5-azacytidine, induced surface re-expression of MHC class I molecules. Consequently, the treated cells became susceptible to lysis by specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Further analysis revealed that epigenetic induction of MHC class I surface expression was associated with the up-regulation of APM genes [transporter associated with antigen processing 1 (TAP-1), TAP-2, low-molecular-mass protein 2 (LMP-2) and LMP-7]. The results demonstrate that expression of the genes involved in APM are modulated by epigenetic mechanisms and suggest that agents modifying DNA methylation and/or histone acetylation have the potential to change the effectiveness of antitumour immune responses and therapeutically may have an impact on immunological output.