Early MRI findings in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

We describe the MRI changes preceding the onset of myoclonus in two patients whose post-mortem examination confirmed the diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). MRI showed changes in the striatum early in the course of CJD (2–6 months after the onset of apathy, interpreted as depression, and 1–2 months before the onset of further clinical symptoms). Only in one patient did electroencephalography record the typical triphasic sharp-waves, 1 month after MRI.     

Soluble CD40 ligand plasma levels in lung cancer.

PURPOSE: Tumor-induced platelet activation may cause the release of various cytokines, including CD40 ligand (CD40L). Activation of the CD40/CD40L pathway in human tumors may result in thrombin generation, which is known to be involved in angiogenesis. Thus, we investigated whether soluble (s)CD40L levels are increased in patients with lung cancer as a result of platelet and/or coagulation activation. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Citrated plasma samples were obtained from 120 patients with different stages and histotypes of lung cancer and 60 age- and sex-matched control subjects. sCD40L, sP-selectin (marker of platelet activation), prothrombin fragment 1 + 2, and thrombin-antithrombin III complex levels (both markers of coagulative activation) were measured in all samples. RESULTS: Patients with lung cancer had median sCD40L levels higher than in control subjects (0.46 versus 0.13 ng/ml; P < 0.0001), although correlation with the stage of disease was not evident. Nonetheless, sCD40L levels were significantly higher in squamous cancer compared with adenocarcinoma (0.75 versus 0.27 ng/ml; P < 0.05). Moreover, median sCD40L levels were higher in stage IV compared with nonmetastatic squamous lung cancer (1.02 versus 0.61 ng/ml; P < 0.05). sCD40L levels significantly correlated with sP-selectin (P < 0.001), prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 (P < 0.001), or thrombin-antithrombin III complex (P < 0.05) in squamous lung cancer, but only sP-selectin (P = 0.011) was independently related to sCD40L. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that elevated sCD40L levels can be preferentially found in patients with advanced squamous cancer and provide evidence that increased levels of this cytokine are associated to the occurrence of in vivo platelet activation.     

Frequent loss of expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(Kip1) in estrogen-related Endometrial adenocarcinomas.

PURPOSE: p27(Kip1) is a member of the Cip1/Kip1 family of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors and is a potential tumor suppressor gene. Low levels of p27 are associated with poor prognosis in a variety of gynecological tumors, including breast, ovarian, and cervical carcinomas. The role of p27 in endometrial cancer remains controversial. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: In the present study, p27 protein expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry in a series of 217 endometrial adenocarcinomas and, where present, in synchronous normal endometrium, simple and complex hyperplasia (with or without atypia), and cystic atrophy. The relationship between p27 expression and clinical outcome was also evaluated. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis revealed a significant loss of p27 expression from normal (33%) through hyperplastic endometrium (50%) to endometrial adenocarcinomas (71%; P 相似文献   

Structural basis of eukaryotic cell targeting by type III secretion system (T3SS) effectors

Type III secretion systems (T3SS) are macromolecular complexes that translocate a wide number of effector proteins into eukaryotic host cells. Once within the cytoplasm, many T3SS effectors mimic the structure and/or function of eukaryotic proteins in order to manipulate signaling cascades, and thus play pivotal roles in colonization, invasion, survival and virulence. Structural biology techniques have played key roles in the unraveling of bacterial strategies employed for mimicry and targeting. This review provides an overall view of our current understanding of structure and function of T3SS effectors, as well as of the different classes of eukaryotic proteins that are targeted and the consequences for the infected cell.     

Diet and nutrition in cancer causation

Some 30 randomly selected men, aged 50–59 years, were in vestigated in each of 4 areas — Copenhagen, Them (rural Denmark), Helsinki, and Parikkala (rural Finland) — to determine the relationship of diet, gut transit time, fecal bulk, fecal bacteriology, bile acid concentration, and urinary volatile phenol production to large bowel cancer risk.

Average daily fat intake was found to be high in all 4 areas, and no differences emerged between areas. Saturated fatty acid consumption was higher in low‐incidence areas than in high‐incidence areas. Intakes of nonstarch polysaccharides (the main component of dietary fiber), carbohydrate, and protein (mainly milk) were higher in the low‐incidence area of Parikkala than in the high‐incidence area of Copenhagen. The fecal bile acid concentration was higher in the high‐incidence area than in the low‐incidence area, with the other 2 areas having intermediate values. Fecal bulk showed an inverse association with colorectal cancer incidence. No differences were observed with regard to fecal bacteriology or mutagenic activity of the foods.

These results indicate that a population can have a low risk of colorectal cancer despite a high intake of dietary fat, protein, and meat. Dietary carbohydrate and fiber may be considered protective. One mechanism limiting colorectal cancer risk could be the increase in fecal bulk resulting from such intakes, since increased fecal bulk dilutes the increased colonic bile acid concentrations of subjects on high‐fat diets.