Antitumor resistance activation in mice: can the immunological memory cells enhance resistance?

Immunization of adult animals with the Ehrlich ascytic cancer cells homogenate three months prior to an experiment, did not affect either tumor transplantation or the progress of cancerogenesis induced by injection of 20-methylcholanthrene oil solution into the femoral muscle. All consequences of adult animal vaccination disappeared in 30-40 days following antigen administration. Quite different consequences were observed after immunization of the newborn mice. The same antigen (Ehrlich cancer cells homogenate) injected to newborn mice on days 1 and 3 after birth in a dose that failed to develop tolerance not only significantly increased the ascytic tumor transplantation threshold (by nearly 200 times for sarcoma 37 cells and by nearly 400 times for Ehrlich cancer cells) in adult animals but also led to almost 50% inhibition of cancerogenesis (induced by injection of 20-methylcholanthrene oil solution in the femoral muscle of mature mouse) after three and even after 12 months following immunization. The MTT-analysis did not reveal any noticeable differences in the number and activity of the cytotoxic lymphocytes in populations of splenocytes obtained from the intact mice (control) and from the adult animals which had been exposed to postnatal immunization (experiment).However, after a new vaccination such differences were found. In the populations of splenocytes obtained from control animals, the cytotoxic activity measured on day 10 after vaccination had increased 2.86-fold mainly at the expense of an increased number of effector cells. In the populations of splenocytes obtained from the experimental group of animals the activation was much greater (25.8-fold), being accomplished not only at the expense of an increased number of the effector cells, as observed in the control group, but also at the expense of their higher activity. The kinetic analysis of a mechanism of effector cells/target cells interaction has led to derive equations for estimation of the limiting rates of such interaction and of the equilibrium constants for interacting cells. Analysis of a generally accepted mechanism of the cytotoxic lymphocytes formation, with an account of the kinetic analysis data, has shown that a major reason of low antitumor resistance of animal organism is the negligible population of resting cells--the precursors of antitumor cytotoxic lymphocytes. Newborn mice vaccination does not produce any increase in the number of resting cells of the necessary type. This circumstance explains both, increase of the ascytic tumor transplantation threshold and increase of the resistance to 20-methylcholanthrene action in adulthood. Adult animal immunization does not possess such action. Analysis of the problem leads to the conclusion that the system of organism's antitumor resistance becomes effective only in those cases when, owing to antigen activation of resting cells, the concentration of cytotoxic lymphocytes rises to such an extent that the rate of tumor cell destruction becomes greater than the rate of target cells reproduction.     

Nifekalant versus lidocaine for in-hospital shock-resistant ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia

Objective

To compare the efficacy and safety of nifekalant, a pure class III anti-arrhythmic drug, and lidocaine in patients with shock-resistant in-hospital ventricular fibrillation (VF) or ventricular tachycardia (VT).

Patients and methods

Between August 2005 and March 2008, we conducted a prospective, two-arm, cluster observational study, in which participating hospitals were pre-registered either to the nifekalant arm or the lidocaine arm. Patients were enrolled if they had in-hospital VF or VT resistant to at least two defibrillation shocks. Congenital or drug-induced long QT syndrome was excluded. The primary end-point was termination of VF or VT with/without additional shock. The secondary end-points were return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), 1-month survival and survival to hospital discharge. We also assessed the frequency of adverse events, including asystole, pulseless electrical activity and torsade de pointes.

Results

In total, 55 patients were enrolled. After nifekalant, 22 of 27 patients showed termination of VF or VT, as compared with 15 of 28 patients treated with lidocaine with/without additional shock (odds ratio (OR): 3.8; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1-13.0; P = 0.03). Twenty-three of 27 patients given nifekalant showed ROSC, as compared with 15 of 28 patients given lidocaine (OR: 5.0; 95% CI: 1.4-18.2; P = 0.01). There was no difference in 1-month survival or survival to hospital discharge between the nifekalant and lidocaine arms. There was a higher incidence of asystole with lidocaine (7 of 28 patients) than with nifekalant (0 of 27 patients) (P = 0.005). Torsade de pointes was not observed.

Conclusion

Nifekalant was more effective than lidocaine for termination of arrhythmia and for ROSC in patients with shock-resistant in-hospital VF or VT (umin-CTR No. UMIN 000001781).     

Cardiac disease in pregnancy

Cardiac disease in pregnancy remains the leading cause of maternal mortality. In this review article we discuss our approach to caring for pregnant women with cardiac disease, and how the physiological changes of pregnancy can impact pre-existing conditions. This is illustrated by case discussions and practice points. Multi-disciplinary, individualised care is paramount to optimising outcomes for pregnant women with cardiac disease and their babies.     

Role of ferritin alterations in human breast cancer cells

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Successful treatment of breast cancer relies on a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in breast cancer initiation and progression. Recent studies have suggested a crucial role of perturbations in ferritin levels and tightly associated with this, the deregulation of intracellular iron homeostasis; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms for the cancer-linked ferritin alterations remain largely unknown and often with conflicting conclusions. Therefore, this study was undertaken to define the role of ferritin in breast cancer. We determined that human breast cancer cells with an epithelial phenotype, such as MCF-7, MDA-MB-361, T-47D, HCC70 and cells, expressed low levels of ferritin light chain, ferritin heavy chain, transferrin, transferring receptor, and iron-regulatory proteins 1 and 2. In contrast, expression of these proteins was substantially elevated in breast cancer cells with an aggressive mesenchymal phenotype, such as Hs-578T, BT-549, and especially MDA-MB-231 cells. The up-regulation of ferritin light chain and ferritin heavy chain in MDA-MB-231 cells was accompanied by alterations in the subcellular distribution of these proteins as characterized by an increased level of nuclear ferritin and a lower level of the cellular labile iron pool as compared to MCF-7 cells. We established that ferritin heavy chain is a target of miRNA miR-200b, suggesting that its up-regulation in MDA-MB-231 cells may be triggered by the low expression of miR-200b. Ectopic up-regulation of miR-200b by transfection of MDA-MB-231 cells with miR-200b substantially decreased the level of ferritin heavy chain. More importantly, miR-200b-induced down-regulation of ferritin was associated with an increased sensitivity of the MDA-MB-231 cells to the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin. These results suggest that perturbations in ferritin levels are associated with the progression of breast cancer toward a more advanced malignant phenotype.     

Cloning and characterization of Aplysia neutral endopeptidase, a metallo-endopeptidase involved in the extracellular metabolism of neuropeptides in Aplysia californica

Cell surface metallo-endopeptidases play important roles in cell communication by controlling the levels of bioactive peptides around peptide receptors. To understand the relative relevance of these enzymes in the CNS, we characterized a metallo-endopeptidase in the CNS of Aplysia californica, whose peptidergic pathways are well described at the molecular, cellular, and physiological levels. The membrane-bound activity cleaved Leu-enkephalin at the Gly3-Phe4 bond with an inhibitor profile similar to that of the mammalian neutral endopeptidase (NEP). This functional homology was supported by the molecular cloning of cDNAs from the CNS, which demonstrated that the Aplysia and mammalian NEPs share all the same amino acids that are essential for the enzymatic activity. The protein is recognized both by specific anti-Aplysia NEP (apNEP) antibodies and by the [125I]-labeled NEP-specific inhibitor RB104, demonstrating that the apNEP gene codes for the RB104-binding protein. In situ hybridization experiments on sections of the ganglia of the CNS revealed that apNEP is expressed in neurons and that the mRNA is present both in the cell bodies and in neurites that travel along the neuropil and peripheral nerves. When incubated in the presence of a specific NEP inhibitor, many neurons of the buccal ganglion showed a greatly prolonged physiological response to stimulation, suggesting that NEP-like metallo-endopeptidases may play a critical role in the regulation of the feeding behavior in Aplysia. One of the putative targets of apNEP in this behavior is the small cardioactive peptide, as suggested by RP-HPLC experiments. More generally, the presence of apNEP in the CNS and periphery may indicate that it could play a major role in the modulation of synaptic transmission in Aplysia and in the metabolism of neuropeptides close to their point of release.