Anticancer properties of panduratin A isolated from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Boesenbergia pandurata</Emphasis> (Zingiberaceae)

Extract of Boesenbergia pandurata (Kaempferia pandurata) (Zingiberaceae) has been used as a replacement for K. rotunda, the main ingredient of a popular traditional tonic called “jamu” especially for women in Indonesia. From our previous study, ethanolic extract of B. pandurata showed strong inhibitory effects on the growth of cancer cells, similar to ethanolic extract of Curcuma longa. C. longa and its bioactive compound, curcumin, have shown potential anticancer activity in in vitro and in vivo studies and have undergone clinical trials. Panduratin A, a chalcone derivative isolated from B. pandurata, was found to inhibit the growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer and HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cells with an IC₅₀ of 3.75 and 6.56 μg/ml, respectively. Panduratin A arrested cancer cells labelled with Annexin-V and propidium iodide in the G0/G1 phase and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. In an animal model study, male Sprague–Dawley rats were fed with AIN diet containing ethanolic extracts prepared from the equivalent of 4% by weight of dried rhizomes of B. pandurata and C. longa. Aberrant crypt foci (ACFs) were induced by two subcutaneous doses (15 mg/kg body weight) of azoxymethane (AOM) 1 week apart. The rats were killed 10 weeks later, and the ACFs were assessed in the colon. At the dose given to rats, it appeared that the extracts were not toxic. Total ACFs were slightly reduced by B. pandurata extract compared to control group but not significantly different. Extract of B. pandurata may have a protective effect against colon cancer but additional studies using different models, such as a breast cancer model, need to be carried out.     

变异结肠腺窝病灶

变异结肠腺窝病灶(ACF)是目前结直肠癌发生过程中可在光镜下观察到的最小最早期的大肠黏膜病变,ACF存在组织病理学、分子遗传学、生物化学及免疫组织化学方面的改变,现在普遍认为ACF是癌前病变。在临床及抗肿瘤药物筛选等方面具有重要意义。     

Aberrant left pulmonary artery with tracheal stenosis without vascular sling

Summary We report a case of abnormal origin of the left pulmoanry artery from the right pulmonary artery, associated with tracheal stenosis but with no vascular sling. This is the first such case, to our knowledge, without vascular sling.     

Single coronary artery originating from the right pulmonary artery

Summary An infant with a single coronary artery originating from the right pulmonary artery branch is the subject of this report. He survived to the age of one month possibly because of the association of two ventricular septal defects. While the pulmonary vascular resistance remained high, perfusion of the heart muscle was accomplished due to the pulmonary hypertension. The electrocardiogram did not show typical signs of infarction, but poor left ventricular contractility was observed by echocardiogram. The diagnosis was made postmortem. This specific coronary malformation has not been previously described and needs to be included in the classification of congenital coronary arteries anomalies.     

A gastric duplication cyst with an aberrant pancreatic ductal system: report of a case

We report an extremely rare case of a gastric duplication cyst together with an aberrant pancreatic ductal system, which communicated with the stomach rather than the pancreatic ductal system with no evidence of pancreatitis. A 46-year-old woman developed severe abdominal pain after a 10-year history of occasional mild abdominal pain. Upper gastrointestinal barium radiography showed a rigidity of the stomach wall, and gastroscopy revealed a fistula orifice at a greater curvature of the gastric body. Subsequent endoscopic suction of mucous secretion from within the fistula provided immediate pain relief. Abdominal computed tomography and ultrasonography showed a cystic mass contiguous with the stomach wall. Surgical exploration revealed an uncommon anomaly of a gastric duplication cyst with the aberrant pancreatic lobe. The patient made an uneventful recovery and remains well 4 years after surgery. We also herein review ten other similar cases of this uncommon congenital anomaly reported in the literature. Received: August 20, 2001 / Accepted: January 8, 2002     

The MAGE-A1 gene expression is not determined solely by methylation status of the promoter region in hematological malignancies

Tumor antigens such as MAGE-A1 are aberrantly expressed in many human tumors and could be recognized by CTL. Thus, they could be targets for cancer immunotherapy. It is presently considered that the expression of the MAGE-A1 gene is regulated by methylation of its promoter region. To estimate the possibility of activating the MAGE-A1 gene with demethylating agents with a view toward clinical use, we assessed the methylation status of its CpG-rich promoter by sodium bisulfite mapping both of samples that express the gene and those that do not. Cell lines and samples from patients with hematological malignancies were examined. Surprisingly, the methylation status of the MAGE-A1 gene did not clearly correlate with the expression of the gene. Our results indicate that the MAGE-A1 gene expression is not determined solely by the methylation status of the promoter region in hematological malignancies.     

Subcellular localization of β-catenin and APC proteins in colorectal preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions

Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) is a tumor suppressor gene whose main function is the destabilization of β-catenin, a key effector of the Wnt signaling pathway. This gene is defective in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), a dominantly inherited disease, but inactivation of APC has been reported also in most sporadic colorectal tumors and it is considered an early event in colorectal tumorigenesis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the intracellular ultrastructural distribution of β-catenin and APC proteins in epithelial cells of normal colorectal mucosa, aberrant crypt foci (ACF, an early premalignant lesion) and cancer. We used the immunogold electron microscopic method to identify both proteins. Normal colonic epithelial cells showed a strong membranous expression of β-catenin and lacked cytoplasmic and nuclear expression. Normal cells showed APC localization pattern characterized by diffuse nuclear expression and along the plasma membrane. In ACF and in carcinoma an absent or reduced membranous expression of β-catenin was associated with an increased nuclear and cytoplasmatic expression. In aberrant crypt foci and carcinoma, APC was evident inside the nucleus and at the level of cell-cell junctions, but it was decreased in the cytoplasm. This method allowed the accurate localization of proteins of the Wnt signaling pathway in the early steps of colorectal carcinogenesis. The similar pattern of subcellular distribution of APC and β-catenin in dysplastic ACF and colorectal cancer suggests that ACF are precursor lesions of sporadic and FAP-associated colorectal carcinoma.