Overexpression/amplification of HER-2/neu is uncommon in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND： Hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） is one of the most prevalent fatal cancers in the world. Despite advances in early diagnosis and improvements in surgical techniques, the survival of patients with HCC even after resection is poor because of the high incidence of recurrences. Therefore, the identification of prognostic factors may be helpful in the development of new treatment protocols. AIMS： To investigate HER-2/neu status in HCC by immunohistochemistry （IHC） and fluorescence in situ hybridisation （FISH）, and to explore the possibility of using trastuzumab in the treatment of HCC. METH ODS： Eight hundred and sixty eight surgical samples from patients with primary HCC were examined for their HER-2/neu status. IHC for HER-2/neu was performed with the HercepTest kit; FISH analysis was performed with the PathVysion HER-2 DNA probe kit. The correlations between HER-2/neu overexpression and clinicopathological characteristics were analysed statistically. RESULTS： HER-2/neu overexpression was detected in 21 （2.42%） of the 868 primary HCCs. Only one specimen showed HER-2/neu gene amplification by FISH. No significant associations were found between HER-2/neu overexpression and the clinicopathological parameters. CONCLUSIONS： There is a low frequency of HER-2/neu overexpression/amplification in HCC. There appears to be no role for HER-2/neu as a prognostic marker and no benefit of anti-HER-2/neu trastuzumab treatment in patients with HCC.     

Hoechst staining and exposure to UV laser during flow cytometric sorting does not affect the frequency of detected endogenous DNA nicks in abnormal and normal human spermatozoa

Controlling the sex of offspring by the separation of X and Y chromosome-bearing spermatozoa using flow cytometry has been reported as a clinical technique aiding prevention of X-linked diseases. Although this technique has resulted in several hundred normal births in animals and at least one human birth, there is still concern over its genetic safety due to the involvement of two potentially mutagenic agents: UV light and the fluorochrome dye, Hoechst 33342 (H33342). Human spermatozoa, particularly those considered abnormal, may be more likely to suffer DNA damage following exposure to mutagenic agents, compared with other mammalian species. The stability of normal fresh and decondensed human spermatozoa were examined after exposure to a range of levels of UV and H33342 staining, using an assay that detects endogenous nicks in the DNA of spermatozoa. The stability of abnormal and normal, fresh and frozen-thawed human spermatozoa was examined following UV laser, H33342 staining and flow cytometry treatments utilizing the same assay. There was an increase in the presence of endogenous nicks when spermatozoa were decondensed compared with fresh spermatozoa. There was no increase in the incidence of nicks in any group of spermatozoa after UV and fluorochrome exposure compared with controls without exposure.      

Early stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma: radiotherapy dose and time factors in tumor control

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate radiotherapy dose and length of treatment in the control of early stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated with a combination of external radiotherapy and brachytherapy, MATERIALS & METHODS: We reviewed the records of 133 patients with early stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (stage I or II, AJC/UICC staging system) who received definitive radiotherapy in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital from 1979 to 1991. The median follow-up time was 7.1 years with a minimum of 2 years. All patients were treated with megavoltage external radiotherapy to the nasopharynx area (63-72 Gy) followed by high dose rate intracavitary brachytherapy (5-16.5 Gy in one to three fractions, spaced 1-2 weeks apart). The median total dose and time of irradiation was 75 Gy (69.8-81.4 Gy) and 11.6 weeks (7.8-20 weeks) respectively. Survival analysis was used to examine the effect of several variables on prognosis. RESULTS: The 5-year rates were 86.4% for local control, 84.7% for disease free survival, 88.5% for actuarial survival and 84.2% for overall survival. The treatment group (combination of time and dose of irradiation) was the most important prognostic factor according to Cox's proportional hazard model. Patients receiving radiation at a total dose of < or = 75 Gy completed in < 12 weeks showed the best prognosis. CONCLUSION: Treatment time and total treatment dose are both important factors in treating early stage NPC. Decreasing the total radiation time to < 12 weeks and not exceeding a radiation dose of 75 Gy gave the best results.      

Cholesterol efflux capacity of high‐density lipoprotein was not associated with cognitive decline and brain structures in older people with diabetes mellitus

Aims/IntroductionTo examine the association between cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) of serum high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) and cognitive function and brain structures in older people with diabetes mellitus.Materials and MethodsParticipants of a randomized placebo‐controlled trial of 27‐month vitamin B₁₂ supplementation in older people with diabetes mellitus, which showed no effect on cognition, were further followed up at month 72. Cognitive tests included the Clinical Dementia Rating scale, Neuropsychological Test Battery in memory, executive function and psychomotor speed. Brain magnetic resonance imaging scans were carried out in a subset at baseline, month 27 and month 45. Fasting serum at baseline, month 9, month 27 and month 72 were analyzed for adenosine triphosphate‐binding cassette transporter A1‐mediated CEC of HDL and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1).ResultsSerum HDL cholesterol at baseline was associated with better executive and memory function at follow up. Serum ApoA1 was associated with a better memory Z‐score at month 18. Serum CEC and ApoA1 were not associated with Clinical Dementia Rating scale, Neuropsychological Test Battery, hippocampal volume and white matter disease on magnetic resonance imaging at baseline and whole brain atrophy rates. They were also not associated with cognitive function at month 27 and 72 on multilevel modeling. CEC and ApoA1 decreased significantly from baseline to month 27. Faster decliners in CEC had a greater increase in brain peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity.ConclusionsHigher serum HDL cholesterol was associated with more favorable changes in memory and executive function in older people with diabetes mellitus. However, this was not due to CEC or ApoA1. A decline in CEC was associated with small vessel disease in the brain.     

高速逆流色谱在天然产物分离中的应用——紫杉烷类二萜及二萜生物碱的制备分离

高速逆流色谱是一种新发展起来的无载体的液液分配色谱技术。它利用聚四氟乙烯(PTFE)螺旋管的方向性与高速行星式运动相结合,产生一种独特的流体动力学现象,使互不相溶的两相溶液在螺旋管中充分混合,顺序传递,导致样品中各个组分由于分配系数的差别而有效的分离。本文介绍了国产的高速逆流色谱仪及应用该仪器制备分离云南红豆杉中结构相近的三种紫杉烷类二萜及二萜生物碱。     

灰色数列预测模型在成骨细胞体外培养中的应用

目的：灰色模型是运用一定的数学方法使信息不完全明确的系统经数据处理后能得到较明确结果的一种数学预测模型，体外细胞培养的影响因素较多，属于信息不完全明确的灰色系统，故运用灰色GM（1，1）模型对成骨细胞增殖、分化的变化规律进行预测，验证模型在体外细胞培养中的可应用性。方法：实验于2005—11／2006—03在广东医学院药理教研室完成。①实验过程：应用酶序列消化分离培养法培养新生大鼠颅骨成骨细胞；用MTT法测定体外培养成骨细胞在不含血清培养液A值，以了解成骨细胞的增殖情况；对硝基苯磷酸盐法观察体积分数为0．01的胎牛血清培养液对体外培养成骨细胞分泌碱性磷酸酶活性的影响，代表成骨细胞的分化情况。②灰色GM（1，1）模型建立：运用灰色系统理论，通过SAS8．1软件对体外培养成骨细胞MTT值和碱性磷酸酶OT值进行分析和预测。结果：运用灰色系统理论的后验差检验方法对模型进行检验，MTT这一指标的平均相对误差为4．4％，碱性磷酸酶这一指标的平均相对误差为7．04％，后验差比值为0．048和0．315，综合评定该模型为“好”。结论：灰色GM（1，1）模型对体外培养成骨细胞MTT值和碱性磷酸酶的OT值变化的预测精度高，结果可靠。体外培养成骨细胞MTT值和碱性磷酸酶的OT值的变化可用灰色GM（1，1）模型进行预测。