Oxygen plasma surface modification enhances immobilization of simvastatin acid

Simvastatin acid (SVA) has been reported to stimulate bone formation with increased expression of BMP-2. Therefore, immobilization of SVA onto dental implants is expected to promote osteogenesis at the bone tissue/implant interface. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immobilization behavior of SVA onto titanium (Ti), O(2)-plasma treated titanium (Ti + O(2)), thin-film coatings of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO), and O(2)-plasma treated HMDSO (HMDSO + O(2)) by using the quartz crystal microbalance-dissipation (QCM-D) technique. HMDSO surfaces were activated by the introduction of an OH group and/or O(2)-functional groups by O(2)-plasma treatment. In contrast, titanium surfaces showed no appreciable compositional changes by O(2)-plasma treatment. The QCM-D technique enabled evaluation even at the adsorption behavior of a substance with a low molecular weight such as simvastatin. The largest amount of SVA was adsorbed on O(2)-plasma treated HMDSO surfaces compared to untreated titanium, HMDSO-coated titanium, and O(2)-plasma treated titanium. These findings suggested that the adsorption of SVA was enhanced on more hydrophilic surfaces concomitant with the presence of an OH group and/or O(2)-functional group resulting from the O(2)-plasma treatment, and that an organic film of HMDSO followed by O(2)-plasma treatment is a promising method for the adsorption of SVA in dental implant systems.     

Relation between benign prostatic hyperplasia and obesity and estrogen

PURPOSE: There have been few reports on correlations between resection volume of benign prostatic hyperplasia, body mass index (BMI) and estrogen. This study was undertaken to evaluate the correlations. METHOD: In this study, we considered 50 patients who had benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and underwent suprapubic prostatectomy (SPP). Men with prostate cancer or prior prostate surgery were excluded. The relationship between prostate resection volume and BMI was examined. Additionally, patients were divided into two groups according to BMI: less than 25, and more than 25. The two groups were evaluated according to stained estrogen receptors. RESULTS: BMI was correlated positively with prostate volume (p < 0.01). However, positive rates of estrogen receptors showed no significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: This was a study describing the relationship between BMI and prostate volume. Obesity has been hypothesized to be associated with BPH because of the endocrine changes in men that occur with age, including increased estrogen and decreased testosterone. Our findings suggest that estrogen may play a pathophysiologic role in benign prostatic hyperplasia. Further studies of large populations are needed to validate this assumption.     

Induction of hRAD9 is required for G2/M checkpoint signal transduction in gastric cancer cells.

DNA damage triggers the activation of checkpoints that delay cell cycle progression to allow for DNA repair. Loss of G2 checkpoints provides a growth advantage for tumor cells undergoing aberrant mitosis. However, the precise mechanisms of G2 checkpoints acting in gastric cancer are unknown. Here, we analyzed the G2 checkpoint function in two gastric cancer cells, MKN-28 cells containing a mutant p53 gene and MKN-45 cells which have wild-type p53. Two agents damaging DNA, camptothecin (CPT) or ultraviolet light (UV), were utilized to trigger a G2 phase cell cycle checkpoint response in these tumor cells. Both CPT and UV inhibited the growth of MKN-45 cells, whereas they did not affect the growth of MKN-28 cells. CPT induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and enhanced the expression of human RAD9 (hRAD9) in MKN-45 cells. In addition, hRAD9 showed perinuclear staining and similar localization with Bcl-2 in MKN-45 cells but not in MKN-28 cells after having applied CPT or UV light. These results suggest that besides p53 activity, the induction of hRAD9 is required for G2/M checkpoint signal transduction in gastric cancer cells.     

The uptake and degradation of DNA is impaired in macrophages and dendritic cells from NZB/W F(1) mice

DNA/anti-DNA Ab immune complexes seem to play the critical roles in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, little is known about the removal of DNA by MPhi and DC. We found that elicited peritoneal MPhis and BM-derived DCs from a lupus-prone strain of New Zealand Black/White F(1) (NZB/W) mice showed impaired DNA uptake and degradation compared with those from control ICR mice. The impairment was mainly observed as the reduced degradation of DNA probably in endosomal compartment and this impaired DNA degradation might, at least in part, result from the reduced DNA uptake in these phagocytic cells. In addition, these impairments was not related to the disease progression since the cells from diseased, 6-month-old NZB/W mice as well as the cells from prediseased, 5-week-old NZB/W mice also exhibited the similar impairment. We also found that the MPhis and DCs of diseased NZB/W mice showed reduced DNA binding at 4 degrees C. However, this reduced DNA binding could be restored to the control level by pretreatment with DNase. Interestingly, this pretreatment had little effect on the DNA uptake in MPhis and DCs of diseased NZB/W mice at 37 degrees C. Hence, the present results imply an impaired function of lupus MPhis and DCs of NZB/W mice to cause retained DNA clearance.     

Clinicopathological significant and prognostic influence of cadherin-17 expression in gastric cancer

Cadherin-17 (CDH17), also called liver–intestine cadherin, is a structurally unique member of the cadherin superfamily. Our serial analysis of gene expression demonstrated that CDH17 was one of the most up-regulated genes in advanced gastric carcinomas. CDH17 expression is known to be regulated by Cdx2. In the present study, we examined the expression of CDH17 in primary gastric carcinoma tissues by immunohistochemistry, and analyzed the correlation of CDH17 expression with clinicopathological characteristics and patients prognosis. CDH17 expression was detected in 63/94 (67%) of gastric adenocarcinomas in addition to intestinal metaplasia. The expression of CDH17 tended to be associated with intestinal type carcinoma, and carcinomas with CDH17 expression was significantly more frequent in advanced stage cases (80%) than in early stage (53%). The prognosis of patients with positive CDH17 expression was significantly poorer than that of the negative cases (P=0.0314). However, multivariate analysis revealed that CDH17 was not an independent prognostic factor. Six of seven cases that showed positive expression of Cdx2 simultaneously expressed CDH17 protein. These results suggested that the expression of CDH17 was characteristic of the advanced gastric carcinoma that is associated with poor prognosis.     

Effect of skin temperature on the ion reabsorption capacity of sweat glands during exercise in humans

The effect of skin temperature on the ion reabsorption capacity of sweat glands during exercise in humans is unknown. In this study, eight healthy subjects performed a 60-min cycling exercise at a constant intensity (60% VO_2max) under moderate (25°C) and cool (15°C) ambient temperatures at a constant relative humidity of 40%. The sweating rate (SR), index of sweat ion concentration (ISIC) by using sweat conductivity, esophageal temperature (Tes), mean skin temperature, and heart rate (HR) were measured continuously under both ambient temperatures. The SR and ISIC were significantly lower at the cool ambient temperature versus the moderate temperature. There were no significant differences in the changes in HR and esophageal temperature between these ambient temperature conditions, while the mean skin temperature was significantly lower at the cool ambient temperature by almost 3°C (P<0.05). The slopes of the relationships between Tes and the SR and ISIC were significantly lower and the thresholds of these relationships were significantly higher at the cool ambient temperature (P<0.05). The ion reabsorption capacity of the sweat glands was significantly lower (P<0.05) in a cool environment (0.21±0.04 vs. 0.52±0.06 mg/cm²/min at 15 and 25°C, respectively) as evaluated using the relationships for SR and ISIC. The results suggest that the ion reabsorption capacity of the sweat glands is influenced by skin temperature during exercise in humans.     

Protective Effects of Radon Inhalation on Carrageenan-Induced Inflammatory Paw Edema in Mice

We assessed whether radon inhalation inhibited carrageenan-induced inflammation in mice. Carrageenan (1% v/v) was injected subcutaneously into paws of mice that had or had not inhaled approximately 2,000 Bq/m³ of radon for 24 h. Radon inhalation significantly increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities and significantly decreased lipid peroxide levels in mouse paws, indicating that radon inhalation activates antioxidative functions. Carrageenan administration induced paw edema and significantly increased tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and nitric oxide in serum. However, radon inhalation significantly reduced carrageenan-induced paw edema. Serum TNF-α levels were lower in the radon-treated mice than in sham-treated mice. In addition, SOD and catalase activities in paws were significantly higher in the radon-treated mice than in the sham-treated mice. These findings indicated that radon inhalation had anti-inflammatory effects and inhibited carrageenan-induced inflammatory paw edema.     

Expression of RHOC is associated with metastasis of gastric carcinomas.

OBJECTIVES: RHOC, a member of the RAS-related small GTPase protein family, regulates cytoskeletal structures and has the potential to transform cultured cells. It has recently been reported that RHOC contributes to the metastatic phenotype of melanoma cells. The purpose of this study was to clarify its biological relevance to gastric carcinogenesis and metastasis. METHODS: We examined the expression of RHOC by quantitative RT-PCR in 51 cases of gastric carcinoma tissues from prior surgical cases (intestinal type: 24 cases, diffuse type: 27 cases) and in 8 gastric carcinoma cell lines. RESULTS: RHOC expression levels in primary tumors were significantly higher in cases with metastasis than in those without metastasis (p = 0.0202; Mann-Whitney U test). RHOC expression levels in primary tumor and their metastatic tumors were significantly higher than their corresponding nonneoplastic mucosa (p = 0.0357, and 0.0173, respectively; Wilcoxon signed rank test). RHOC mRNA expression was confirmed in the gastric carcinoma cell lines. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that elevated expression of the RHOC gene may be involved in the metastasis of gastric carcinomas and may be a good genetic marker for the prediction of a metastatic potential.     

Characterization of adenocarcinoma of the lung in a familial adenomatous polyposis patient

The incidence of several extracolonic tumors, such as duodenal carcinoma, is higher in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) patients than in the general population, but there is little information about lung carcinoma in FAP. A 43-year-old woman presented with a lung tumor 17 years after total colectomy for FAP. Pathohistological analysis of the lung tumor demonstrated mixed adenocarcinoma consisting of a papillary adenocarcinoma component and a bronchioloalveolar carcinoma component. Sequencing analysis indicated a germline APC mutation from TCA to TGA (stop) at codon 1110, but no pathogenic germline MYH mutations. The other APC allele in the lung carcinoma was not inactivated by somatic mutations, promoter methylation, or chromosomal deletion. No somatic mutations in any of the coding regions of the p53 gene or in the mutation hot spot regions of the K-ras or EGFR genes were detected in the carcinoma. Amplification, however, of three chromosome regions, 5p, 8q, and 12q14-12q21, was identified in the carcinoma on genome-wide high-resolution single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray. The present results suggest that the chromosomal copy number alterations detected on SNP microarray were involved in the carcinogenesis of the adenocarcinoma of the lung in the present FAP patient.