Elevated Serum Cytokines and Trichomonas vaginalis Serology at Diagnosis Are Not Associated With Higher Gleason Grade or Lethal Prostate Cancer

Background

Inflammation and infections have been associated with prostate cancer progression. We assessed whether elevated serum cytokines or T. vaginalis seropositivity at the time of diagnosis was associated with higher grade or lethal prostate cancer.

Granulysin: A Novel Host Defense Molecule

Granulysin is a novel cationic molecule present in the granules of cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes have long been associated with graft destruction in transplant rejection. Recent studies implicate granulysin in cell-mediated cytotoxicity, chemoattraction, immune activation and as a potential diagnostic biomarker for transplant rejection.     

Comparison of anatomical location of squamous cell carcinoma within the oral cavity and oropharynx with the incidence of in vitro hyperdiploidy

The anatomical location of the squamous cell carcinoma (SCCA) within the oral cavity and oropharynx influenced the association of SCCA with the biomarker in vitro hyperdiploidy in human dermal fibroblast cultures (IVH). There was a strong association of IVH with the occurrence of SCCA in the anterior 2/3 of the tongue, floor of the mouth and lower alveolar ridge of the oral cavity and in the base of the tongue and pharyngeal wall of the oropharynx. There was a lower association of SCCA with IVH in the tonsillar region of the oropharynx. IVH showed no association with SCCA located in other anatomical parts of the oral region. The patient group whose diagnosis of SCCA in the anterior 2/3 of the tongue occurred prior to the age of 50 years were invariably IVH-, whereas those diagnosed after the age of 50 years were IVH+, providing evidence for heterogeneity. There was no such correlation of biomarker subgrouping with age of diagnosis demonstrated for SCCA at any other anatomical location within the oral cavity or oropharynx.     

Quantitation of aberrant interlocus T-cell receptor rearrangements in mouse thymocytes and the effect of the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid

Small studies in human populations have suggested a correlation between the frequency of errors in antigen receptor gene assembly and lymphoid malignancy risk. In particular, agricultural workers exposed to pesticides have both an increased risk for lymphoma and an increased frequency of errors in antigen receptor gene assembly. In order to further investigate the potential of such errors to serve as a mechanistically based biomarker of lymphoid cancer risk, we have developed a sensitive PCR assay for quantifying errors of V(D)J recombination in the thymocytes of mice. This assay measures interlocus rearrangements between two T-cell receptor loci, V-gamma and J-beta, located on chromosomes 13 and 6, respectively. The baseline frequency in four strains of mice was determined at several ages (2-8 weeks of age) and was found to be stable at approximately 1.5 x 10(-5) per thymocyte. Strain AKR, which has a high susceptibility to T-cell lymphomas, did not show an elevated frequency of aberrant V(D)J events. We used this assay to examine the effects of the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) on the frequency of these events. Female B6C3F1 mice, 27 days of age, were exposed to 2,4-D by gavage at doses of 0, 3, 10, 30, and 100 mg/kg/day for 4 successive days and sacrificed on day 5. Thymus DNA was isolated and examined for illegitimate V(D)J recombination-mediated gene rearrangements. In addition, pregnant mice were exposed to 2,4-D and thymocytes from the offspring examined at 2 weeks of age. No significant increase in aberrant V(D)J rearrangements was found, indicating that under these conditions 2,4-D does not appear to effect this important mechanism of carcinogenesis.