Blue-sensitive cones in the primate retina: microspectrophotometry of the visual pigment

Summary Direct absorbance and bleaching absorbance- difference spectra were obtained using a photon-counting microspectrophotometer from the outer segments of ten blue-sensitive cones of macaque monkeys. The peak wavelength (_max) of the direct measurements was 426±3.4 nm, whereas the _max of the bleaching difference was 434±6.6 nm. We consider these values to be upper and lower bounds since both measurements may be shifted in opposite directions by wavelength-dependent effects. Therefore, the true peak sensitivity must be close to 430 nm.     

Progress in the clinical management of breast cancer: review and presentation of a useful treatment approach

There is growing evidence in the world literature that radiation therapy plus lumpectomy produces survival rates equal to those of mastectomy for stage I and stage II breast cancer. The technique of using an interstitial implant at the time of lumpectomy could improve local control by increasing the accuracy of the interstitial implantation. It will certainly decrease hospital stay, anesthesia, and cost to the patient.     

Succinate links TCA cycle dysfunction to oncogenesis by inhibiting HIF-alpha prolyl hydroxylase

Several mitochondrial proteins are tumor suppressors. These include succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and fumarate hydratase, both enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. However, to date, the mechanisms by which defects in the TCA cycle contribute to tumor formation have not been elucidated. Here we describe a mitochondrion-to-cytosol signaling pathway that links mitochondrial dysfunction to oncogenic events: succinate, which accumulates as a result of SDH inhibition, inhibits HIF-alpha prolyl hydroxylases in the cytosol, leading to stabilization and activation of HIF-1alpha. These results suggest a mechanistic link between SDH mutations and HIF-1alpha induction, providing an explanation for the highly vascular tumors that develop in the absence of VHL mutations.