Antitumor activity of sorafenib in FLT3-driven leukemic cells

Activating internal tandem duplication (ITD) insertions in the juxtamembrane domain of the FLT3 tyrosine kinase are found in about one fourth of patients with acute myeloid leukemia and have been shown to be an independent negative prognostic factor for survival. We show that sorafenib (BAY 43-9006, Nexavar) potently inhibits FLT3 enzymatic and signaling activities. In HEK293 cells stably transfected with FLT3-WT or FLT3-ITD, sorafenib blocked basal and ligand dependent FLT3-mediated tyrosine autophosphorylation as well as extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 and Stat5 phosphorylation. In leukemia cell lines MV4-11 and EOL-1, sorafenib treatment resulted in decreased cell proliferation and inhibition of FLT3 signaling. The growth of the FLT3-independent RS4-11 cell line was only weakly inhibited by sorafenib. Cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis were observed upon treatment with sorafenib in MV4-11 and EOL-1 cells. The antitumor efficacy of sorafenib was evaluated against the MV4-11 leukemia grown subcutaneously in NCr nu/nu mice. Doses of 3 and 10 mg/kg administered orally for 14 days resulted in six and nine out of 10 animals with complete responses, respectively. The demonstration that sorafenib exhibits potent target inhibition and efficacy in FLT3-driven models suggests that this compound may have a therapeutic benefit for patients with FLT3-driven leukemias.

Abdominal obesity, systolic blood pressure, and microalbuminuria in normotensive and euglycemic Korean men

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the relationship between abdominal obesity and microalbuminuria (MA) in normotensive, euglycemic Korean men.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study at a health screening center.

SUBJECTS

A total of 1321 healthy, normotensive Korean men, aged 20-78 years, with a fasting plasma glucose level <100 mg/dl.

MEASUREMENTS

Height, weight, and waist; systolic blood pressure (SBP); diastolic blood pressures (DBP); urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR); fasting glucose, insulin, lipids, C-reactive protein (CRP), and white blood cell count. Waist circumference (WC) was used to indicate abdominal obesity and a single measurement of ACR was used to estimate MA. We also calculated body mass index (BMI) based on weight and height.

RESULTS

Mean BMI, WC, and SBP were significantly higher in subjects with MA than in those without (24.8+/-4.1 vs 23.8+/-2.7 kg/m2, 86+/-9 vs 83+/-8 cm, and 115+/-5 vs 112+/-7 mmHg, respectively). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that only WC and SBP were independent predictors of MA.

CONCLUSION

WC and SBP were positively associated with MA in normotensive and euglycemic Korean men.

Idiopathic epilepsy in dogs: owners' perspectives on management with phenobarbitone and/or potassium bromide

OBJECTIVES

To explore seizure management from the perspective of the owners of dogs with idiopathic epilepsy.

METHODS

Questionnaires were mailed to owners of 29 dogs under management for suspected or diagnosed idiopathic epilepsy through the clinics of the Small Animal Hospital of the University of Glasgow Veterinary School, using either phenobarbitone or potassium bromide alone or in combination.

RESULTS

The postal survey had an 86 per cent response rate. Analysis of the responses demonstrated that "the dog's quality of life", "adequate seizure frequency" and "acceptable side effects of antiepileptic drugs" were the three greatest concerns for owners; 52 per cent of owners strongly agreed that the seizure management for their dog was adequate, though the seizure frequency reported varied within this group; the majority of owners did not consider the administration of medication a nuisance. However, approximately 60 per cent of owners reported that caring for an epileptic dog had an effect on the organisation of their free time, though this was not dependent on perception of seizure control. Opinions as to the value of further diagnostic procedures, in particular intracranial imaging, were significantly affected by having pet health insurance.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

From the owners' perspective, adequacy of seizure control is determined by the balance between "the dog's quality of life", "adequate seizure frequency" and "acceptable side effects of antiepileptic drugs". A frequency of less than one seizure every three months is associated with the perception by owners of adequate seizure control.

Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging features of nasopharyngeal lymphoma in two cats with concurrent intracranial mass

Lymphoma is reported to be the most common nasal and second most common intracranial neoplasm in cats. Intracranial lymphoma may occur as a primary central nervous system lymphoma or as part of multi-centric disease. Two cats were presented with histopathologically confirmed nasopharyngeal lymphoma and concurrent mass within the middle fossa of the cranial cavity, with magnetic resonance imaging suggestive of direct communication. Both cats demonstrated evidence of bilateral oculomotor nerve deficits and upper respiratory tract noise. In one cat, bilateral optic nerve deficits were also present. The magnetic resonance imaging features were similar in both cases and demonstrated a contrast-enhancing intracranial mass on the ventral aspect of the middle fossa of the cranial cavity and an adjacent mass arising from the dorsal aspect of the nasopharynx. Lymphoma should be included as an important differential diagnosis in cats presented with middle cranial fossa syndrome (in particular ophthalmoplegia) and stertor.

Suitability of human juvenile pancreatic islets for clinical use

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

The limited availability of deceased donor pancreases suitable for pancreas and islet transplantation calls for a broader utilisation of donor tissue for transplantation purposes. Young donors, representing, fortunately, a minor but significant pool of individuals, have been largely under-employed, mainly because of anatomical and functional incompatibilities with potential recipients. For islet transplantation, the isolation of pancreatic islets from young donors rarely occurs, because of technical problems. As a result of the peculiar characteristics of young donor pancreases, the standard isolation procedure does not allow efficient separation of the islets from the surrounding exocrine tissue, and favours the generation of mantled islets. Nonetheless, young donor islets offer high qualitative and clinically appealing characteristics.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

We standardised a modified methodology to obtain purified and mantle-free human islets from young donors. This method principally involves efficient delivery of isolation enzyme with reduced mechanical disruption of the pancreas combined with additional filtration steps.

RESULTS

We were able to obtain purified and mantle-free human islets from donors as young as 6 months of age with good morphological and functional properties. The good qualitative characteristics of the islets, evidenced in vitro, were proven in vivo, as they were qualitatively superior to islets of older donors in transplantation studies.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

This study justifies the utilisation of islets derived from young donors for islet transplantation.

Assessment of hemodynamics properties of a new-type artificial heart valve prosthesis using catheterization and echocardiography

OBJECTIVE

The objectives of this study were to assess the hemodynamic properties of the newly developed artificial heart valve prosthesis experimentally in laboratory simulation, in an animal model, and clinically in a human model and to compare the results measured by catheterization and echocardiography.

METHODS

(1) Laboratory simulation. The prosthesis was tested using a pulsatile flow simulator in the aortic position. Hydrodynamics parameters were automatically analyzed through a custom-designed data processing program. (2) Animal experiment. Six sheep subjected to mitral replacement with 21-mm-valve prosthesis were measured by open cardiac catheterization intraoperatively. Doppler echocardiography and open cardiac catheterization under dobutamine stress were performed in two sheep subjected to implantation 2.5 years ago. (3) Clinical patient observation. Observations were carried out on 14 patients with aortas replacement and 10 patients with bicuspid replacement using both doppler echocardiography and open cardiac catheterization.

RESULTS

(1) Laboratory simulation. The results showed that the value of the transvalvular gradient (DeltaP) decreased with the increase of heart rate, and the values were not greater that 10 mm Hg at any given tissue annulus diameter. (2) Animal experiment. The mean DeltaP value of the six sheep was 5.2 +/- 1.7 mm Hg intraoperatively, while the corresponding DeltaP value of the two sheep 2.5 years after implantation was 6.1 +/- 0.3 mm Hg measured by open cardiac catheterization. (3) Clinical patient observation. The mean DeltaP values in the aortic position measured by catheterization and echocardiography were 6.26 approximately 4.10 and 9.42 approximately 7.48 mm Hg, respectively. The gradients in the mitral position were 2.10 approximately 1.9 and 5.28 approximately 4.10 mm Hg, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The results demonstrate that the new-type bileaflet heart valve prosthesis only generates a relatively low transvalvar gradient and thus has good hemodynamic properties.

Methotrexate used in combination with aminolaevulinic acid for photodynamic killing of prostate cancer cells

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) using 5-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) to drive production of an intracellular photosensitiser, protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), is a promising cancer treatment. However, ALA-PDT is still suboptimal for thick or refractory tumours. Searching for new approaches, we tested a known inducer of cellular differentiation, methotrexate (MTX), in combination with ALA-PDT in LNCaP cells. Methotrexate alone promoted growth arrest, differentiation, and apoptosis. Methotrexate pretreatment (1 mg l⁻¹, 72 h) followed by ALA (0.3 mM, 4 h) resulted in a three-fold increase in intracellular PpIX, by biochemical and confocal analyses. After exposure to 512 nm light, killing was significantly enhanced in MTX-preconditioned cells. The reverse order of treatments, ALA-PDT followed by MTX, yielded no enhancement. Methotrexate caused a similar relative increase in PpIX, whether cells were incubated with ALA, methyl-ALA, or hexyl-ALA, arguing against a major effect upon ALA transport. Searching for an effect among porphyrin synthetic enzymes, we found that coproporphyrinogen oxidase (CPO) was increased three-fold by MTX at the mRNA and protein levels. Transfection of LNCaP cells with a CPO-expressing vector stimulated the accumulation of PpIX. Our data suggest that MTX, when used to modulate intracellular production of endogenous PpIX, may provide a new combination PDT approach for certain cancers.

Excellent survival of pediatric dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans in Taiwanese

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Background: Pedicatric dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (PDFSP) was a rare disease. We reported our institutional experience with PDFSP treated from 1977–2002. Methods: Twelve patients with PDFSP diagnosed before age 18 years were treated in our institute from 1977–2002 according to institutional cancer registry. After approved by institutional research ethic committee (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00173355 ), active patient contact and linkage with National Residency Registry was done to survey the disease status. Results: There were 6 boys and 6 girls in this study. The median age at diagnosis were 16 years (range: 3 months ∼18 years). The disease sites were diverse, from scalp to knee. Nine of them underwent wide excision in our hospital for their primary disease; the other 3 patients underwent wide excision in our hospital for local recurrent disease. None of them underwent neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy. All of them had low grade T1a (≤ 5cm in size, superficially located) disease except T staging was not available in two patients. Negative margin was obtained in all in the operation of our instituion except close margin in one patient, who had uncontrolled recurrence and died of progressive disease later. The clinical follow-up (FU) period range from 1 to 214 months (median: 30). Active patients contact via telephone followed by twice postcard invitation was done. No evidence of disease (NED) was revealed by medical FU for three patients and by telephone FU for three patients. For the remaining six patients who had no response after telephone and postcards contact, data from linkage with National Residency Registry was used. Death was noted in one patient and aliveness was noted in five patients (all of them were NED in their last FU in our hospital). The 10-year/15-year progression free and overall survival rates were 100%/75% and 100%/83% respectively without obvious complications. Conclusion: The prognosis of PDFSP in Taiwanese was excellent when adequate surgical margin was obtained.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Crystal structure of methylammonium 4′,7-dimethoxyisoflavone- 3′-sulfonate monohydrate, (CH3NH3)(C17H13O4SO3) · H2O

C18H21NO8S, monoclinic, P121/c1 (no. 14), a = 21.069(5) Å, b = 11.494(3)Å, c = 7.996(2)Å, β = 97.257(3)°, V = 1920.9Å3, Z = 4, Rgt(F) = 0.044, wRref(F2) = 0.124, T = 298 K.

Viewing the functional consequences of traumatic brain injury by using brain SPECT

High-resolution brain SPECT is increasingly benefiting from improved image processing software and multiple complementary display capabilities. This enables detailed functional mapping of the disturbances in relative perfusion occurring after TBI. The patient population consisted of 26 cases (ages 8-61 years)between 3 months and 6 years after traumatic brain injury.A very strong case can be made for the routine use of Brain SPECT in TBI. Indeed it can provide a detailed evaluation of multiple functional consequences after TBI and is thus capable of supplementing the clinical evaluation and tailoring the therapeutic strategies needed. In so doing it also provides significant additional information beyond that available from MRI/CT. The critical factor for Brain SPECT's clinical relevance is a carefully designed technical protocol, including displays which should enable a comprehensive description of the patterns found, in a user friendly mode.

DNA vaccination with an insulin construct and a chimeric protein binding to both CTLA4 and CD40 ameliorates type 1 diabetes in NOD mice

Type 1 diabetes (T1D), a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease, could be attributed to many defects in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, including deficient expressions of costimulatory molecules that impair antigen presentation. Thus, this deficient antigen presentation may result in a reduced ability to induce a tolerogenic response through negative selection/regulation of autoreactive T cells. Improperly activated T cells seem to be able to induce autoimmune responses causing diabetes. To re-establish tolerance to autoantigens by modulating costimulation, we constructed and tested a new type of DNA vaccine encoding a membrane-bound preproinsulin (mbPPI) and a chimeric gene vector encoding mutant B7.1/CD40L (mB7.1/CD40L) fusion protein. This mutant B7.1 binds CTLA4 but not CD28. We report that young NOD mice immunized with mbPPI along with mB7.1/CD40L DNA vectors significantly reduced diabetes incidence while treatment with CTLA4/IgG1 exacerbated diabetes. In conclusion, the combination of mbPPI and mB7.1/CD40L was able to protect against autoimmunity and diabetes in NOD mice possibly by promoting a more efficient presentation of autoantigen PPI and inducing specific tolerance to PPI by negatively regulating autoreactive T cells.