Edible plant-derived essential oils synergistically enhance the Th1, Th2 and anti-inflammatory cytokines in neonatal cord blood monocytic cell line

Edible medicinal plants Curcuma longa, Kaempferia galanga and Zingiber officinale are considered to be suitable for pregnant mother and neonates. Their essential oils are claimed to have therapeutic effects, yet its immunomodulatory activities need to be investigated. To validate the immunomodulatory effect, cord blood monocyte cells (CBMCs) treated with different concentrations of essential oils ranging from 0 to 40 µg/ml. K. galanga oil at 40 µg/ml concentrations upregulated IFN-γ at 49.23?pg/ml, while C. longa oil downregulated the IL-10 at 10.45?pg/ml showing immunostimulant activity on CBMCs. However, Z. officinale oil showed no significant result at any concentration. K. galanga and C. longa oils also showed an increase in lymphocyte proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. The present study was aimed to evaluate the immunomodulatory potentialities of essential oils which will attract the interest of researchers and pharmaceutical industries for clinical studies and other applications in the therapy of diseases related to neonatal infections.     

Immunoprophylactic evaluation of recombinant gametocyte 22 antigen of Eimeria tenella in broiler chickens

Parasitology Research - Gametocyte proteins are being explored as potential vaccine candidates against Eimeria sp. in chicken since they are the components of the resilient oocyst wall. The aim of...     

Impact of radiation dose on locoregional control and survival on squamous cell carcinoma of anal canal

Purpose

To perform a systematic analysis of clinical data of presentation, treatment, outcome, toxicity, survival and other associated prognostic factors of the patients of anal canal who received treatment at our hospital.

Methods and materials

The medical records of 257 patients treated with radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy from the year 1985 to 2005 were studied.

Results

Median follow-up was 36 months. Complete clinical response after radiotherapy was 74.4% in the whole group. The 5 years overall (OAS) and disease-free (DFS) survival for the whole group was 71.5% and 61%, respectively. Patients with T1-2 tumors which received the radiation dose between 55 and 60 Gy had superior locoregional control, DFS and OAS. Similarly T3-4 tumors receiving radiation dose more than 60 Gy independently improved the locoregional control, DFS and OAS irrespective of the nodal status and addition of chemotherapy.

Conclusions

Radiation dose of 56-60 Gy for T1 and T2 and 65 Gy for T3 and T4 tumors along with concurrent chemotherapy is required to achieve better local control, disease-free survival and overall survival, with acceptable toxicity.     

Generation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies against Klebsiella pneumoniae

The present work was undertaken with the aim to generate highly specific monoclonal antibodies (MAb) targeted against Klebsiella pneumoniae that could be incorporated into a highly sensitive and simple ELISA (plate and dot) based system for the rapid identification of K. pneumoniae strains. Four murine monoclonal antibodies (KP-1, KP-2, KP-3, and KP-4) reactive to K. pneumoniae were generated and stabilized. Monoclonal antibodies KP-1 and KP-2 were of IgM type and KP-3 and KP-4 were of IgG type. All of the MAbs were found to be specific to K. pneumoniae strain, as they did not show any cross reactivity when tested with 22 different species and stains of members of the Enterobacteriaceae group. In Western blotting with whole cell lysate antigens of K. pneumoniae, KP-3 and KP-4 were found to react with 70 to 110 kDa regions. The nature of the epitope recognized by all four monoclonal antibodies was carbohydrate as determined by periodate and trypsin treatment of antigens. The monoclonal antibodies were further evaluated on 20 biochemical identified K. pneumoniae strains. The KP-3 and KP-4 monoclonal antibodies produced strong reactions with 19 and 18 strains, respectively, by dot-ELISA. KP-1 and KP-2 (IgM) did not show reaction in dot-ELISA but by agglutination test these could detect 11 and 13 strains, respectively.     

25-Hydroxy vitamin-D, obesity, and associated variables as predictors of breast cancer risk and tamoxifen benefit in NSABP-P1

Observational studies suggest that host factors are associated with breast cancer risk. The influence of obesity, vitamin-D status, insulin resistance, inflammation, and elevated adipocytokines in women at high risk of breast cancer is unknown. The NSABP-P1 trial population was used for a nested case-control study. Cases were drawn from those who developed invasive breast cancer and controls selected from unaffected participants (≤4 per case) matched for age, race, 5 year Gail score, and geographic location of clinical center as a surrogate for latitude. Fasting serum banked at trial enrolment was assayed for 25-hydroxy vitamin-D (25OHD), insulin, leptin (adipocytokine), and C-reactive protein (CRP, marker of inflammation). Logistic regression was used to test for associations between study variables and the risk of invasive breast cancer. Two hundred and thirty-one cases were matched with 856 controls. Mean age was 54, and 49% were premenopausal. There were negative correlations for 25OHD with body mass index (BMI), insulin, CRP, and leptin. BMI ≥ 25 kg/m(2) was associated with higher breast cancer risk (odds ratio [OR] 1.45, p = 0.02) and tamoxifen treatment was associated with lower risk (OR = 0.44, p < 0.001). Suboptimal 25OHD (<72 nmol/l) did not influence breast cancer risk (OR = 1.06, p = 0.76). When evaluated as continuous variables, 25OHD, insulin, CRP, and leptin levels were not associated with breast cancer risk (all p > 0.34). In this high risk population, higher BMI was associated with a greater breast cancer risk. Serum levels of 25OHD, insulin, CRP, and leptin were not independent predictors of either breast cancer risk or tamoxifen benefit.     

HIV infection and invasive cervical cancers, treatment with radiation therapy: toxicity and outcome.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To determine the effect of radiotherapy in HIV seropositive cervical cancer patients, tumour response and toxicity and compliance of patients to the treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study is a retrospective review of 42 HIV seropositive patients diagnosed with carcinoma cervix, between 1997 and 2003 at the Tata Memorial Hospital. The age and symptoms of presentation, clinical stage, response, compliance and tolerance to radiotherapy were studied. RESULTS: Mean age at presentation was 41 years. All patients presented with the symptoms of cervical disease. Of these patients 31(74%) patients had 'Karnofsky Performance Scale' (KPS) more than 80%. Twenty-one (50%) of the patients were of Stage IIIb-IVa. Thirty-two (76%) were started on radiotherapy with radical intent. Compliance to radiotherapy was poor with 24% patients discontinuing after few fractions of radiotherapy. Seven (17%) patients were given palliative radiotherapy. Twenty-two patients completed prescribed radical radiotherapy and 50% of these achieved complete response. Grade III-IV acute gastrointestinal toxicity was seen in 14% of the patients, and grade III acute skin toxicity was seen in 27% of patients, leading to treatment delays. There was good relief of symptoms in patients treated with palliative intent. CONCLUSIONS: Radiotherapy is effective in this set of patients. Palliative fractionation schedules are effective for patients with poor performance status and locally advanced cancers in relieving the symptoms related to carcinoma cervix. An emphasis should be given to the increased acute mucosal and skin toxicity and to improving compliance and clinical outcome of these patients.     

Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the nasopharynx: prognostic factors and outcome of 113 Indian patients

This single institutional study evaluated the prognostic factors and treatment outcome of 113 Indian patients with primary nasopharyngeal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. At presentation, 28% had stage I and 62% had stage II disease. Treatment comprised of a combination of chemotherapy (CTh) and radiotherapy (RT) in the majority of the patients (76%). After a median follow-up of 56 months, the 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) for the whole group were 55.8% and 57.9%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that; age > 30 years [hazard ratio (HR) = 6.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.59 - 16.7, P < 0.0001], WHO performance score > or = 2 (HR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.01 - 5.46, P = 0.050), T-cell lymphomas (HR = 2.81, 95% CI = 1.14 - 6.96, P < 0.001) and the presence of B symptoms (HR = 3.65, 95% CI = 1.77 - 7.53, P = 0.025), had a negative influence on survival. Patients treated with a combination of CTh and RT had a significantly better outcome than those treated with CTh alone (OS: 69%vs. 31%, P < 0.00001). HR for death in the CTh alone group was 3.73 (95% CI = 1.95 - 7.13). The CR (P = 0.01), DFS (P = 0.01) and OS (P = 0.03) rates were significantly better for patients receiving a RT dose of > or =4500 cGy. HR in the subgroup that received a RT dose of <4500 cGy was 2.51 (95% CI = 1.04 - 6.06). These results suggest that combined modality treatment, comprising of CTh and RT (with an RT dose of > or =4500 cGy), results in satisfactory outcome in patients with this rare neoplasm.     

Amenorrhea in premenopausal women on the doxorubicin-and-cyclophosphamide-followed-by-docetaxel arm of NSABP B-30 trial

The NSABP B-30 trial addresses whether amenorrhea after adjuvant chemotherapy increases survival. Preliminary to the trial outcome analysis, we examined the incidence of amenorrhea and its relationship to symptoms and quality of life (QOL) in the standard-care arm of this adjuvant breast cancer trial. Premenopausal women treated on the doxorubicin-and-cyclophosphamide-followed-by-docetaxel arm were included. Questionnaires assessing menstrual history, QOL, and symptoms were administered at baseline, day 1 of cycle 4 (or 9 weeks from start of chemotherapy for those who stopped chemotherapy early), and at 6, 12, and 24 months. Seven hundred and eight patients were evaluable for the analysis, with median potential follow-up of 57.5 months. Of these, 321 patients also participated in the QOL substudy. Of the 708 patients, 83% reported ≥1 episode of amenorrhea for ≥6 months. The estimated rate of resumption of menses at 24 months was 45.3% for women <40 years, 10.9% for women 40–50, and 3.2% for women >50 years. Those treated with tamoxifen were more likely to become amenorrheic (p = 0.003). Menstrual status was not significantly associated with QOL or symptoms. Prolonged amenorrhea is associated with a regimen that contains doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and docetaxel, and is age dependent and impacted by tamoxifen use. Vasomotor symptoms are common in this patient population but are not associated with menstrual status. These results can be used to inform premenopausal women about the risk and time course of amenorrhea associated with this common adjuvant therapy regimen, along with the effects on symptoms and QOL. This work represents original research by the authors. Previously presented at ASCO 2005 as a poster (abstr # 537).     

Mouse mammary tumor-like virus is associated with p53 nuclear accumulation and progesterone receptor positivity but not estrogen positivity in human female breast cancer.

PURPOSE: The purpose is to compare the presence of proteins with known associations with breast cancer-progesterone receptor (PgR), estrogen receptor, and p53, with the prevalence of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV)-like DNA sequences in human female breast cancers. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: A cohort of 128 Australian female breast cancers were screened for MMTV-like DNA sequences using PCR. The presence of PgR, estrogen receptor, and nuclear accumulation of p53 protein was assessed in the same samples using immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: Nuclear accumulation of p53 was significantly more prevalent (P = 0.05) in archival human breast cancers containing MMTV-like DNA sequences. The presence of progesterone receptor was significantly higher in MMTV-positive than MMTV-negative breast cancers (P = 0.01). No correlation between estrogen receptor and MMTV-like DNA sequences was found. CONCLUSIONS: MMTV causes breast cancer in mice, and hormones up-regulate expression of virus in mice mammary tissue. It is unknown if this is the case in human breast cancers shown to contain DNA of MMTV-like viruses. The positive association between MMTV-like DNA sequences and PgR indicates hormones and MMTV may play a role in human breast cancer. Mutations of the tumor suppressor gene p53 are common in human breast cancer and are associated with higher grades of cancer. The association of MMTV-like DNA sequences with higher grades of cancer, and the positive association between p53 and MMTV-like DNA sequences clearly warrant additional investigation.