Advances in tumor markers of ovarian cancer for early diagnosis

Ovarian cancer often occurs in perimenopausal women. The mortality of ovarian cancer is in the first place among gynecological cancers because of no obvious early symptoms and the lack of effective diagnostic approach. Gene chips, proteomics, immunohistochemistry and other methods have become hot topics for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer. However, due to the variety of pathology and not clear enough of mechanism and etiology, there is still no ideal tumor markers with both high specific and sensitivity, which can be applied into clinical early diagnosis for ovarian cancer. Therefore, a new systematic method with high sensitivity and specificity for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer and new tumor markers need to be identified. We should make an examination of ovarian cancer in the early period in the crowd for early diagnosis and early treatment to further improve life quality of patients. This paper reviewed the recent advancements of tumor markers for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

Stem Cell-Soluble Signals Enhance Multilumen Formation in SMG Cell Clusters

Saliva plays a major role in maintaining oral health. Patients with salivary hypofunction exhibit difficulty in chewing and swallowing foods, tooth decay, periodontal disease, and microbial infections. At this time, treatments for hyposalivation are limited to medications (e.g., muscarinic receptor agonists: pilocarpine and cevimeline) that induce saliva secretion from residual acinar cells as well as artificial salivary substitutes. Therefore, advancement of restorative treatments is necessary to improve the quality of life in these patients. Our previous studies indicated that salivary cells are able to form polarized 3-dimensional structures when grown on growth factor-reduced Matrigel. This basement membrane is rich in laminin-III (L1), which plays a critical role in salivary gland formation. Mitotically inactive feeder layers have been used previously to support the growth of many different cell types, as they provide factors necessary for cell growth and organization. The goal of this study was to improve salivary gland cell differentiation in primary cultures by using a combination of L1 and a feeder layer of human hair follicle-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hHF-MSCs). Our results indicated that the direct contact of mouse submandibular (mSMG) cell clusters and hHF-MSCs was not required for mSMG cells to form acinar and ductal structures. However, the hHF-MSC conditioned medium enhanced cell organization and multilumen formation, indicating that soluble signals secreted by hHF-MSCs play a role in promoting these features.

Antiemesis effect and brain fMRI response of gastric electrical stimulation with different parameters in dogs

BACKGROUND

The aims of this study were to investigate the effect of gastric electrical stimulation (GES) with different parameters on emesis induced by apomorphine, and possible center mechanisms by brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

METHODS

Six dogs implanted with electrodes on gastric serosa were used in this study. Part 1: Apomorphine was injected in the control session and GES sessions. GESs with different parameters were applied in GES session. Gastric slow waves and emesis and behaviors suggestive of nausea were recorded in each session. Part 2: Each dog was anesthetized and given GESs with different parameters or sham stimulation for 15 min after baseline (5 min), respectively. The location of cerebral activation induced by GES was investigated by fMRI.

KEY RESULTS

Apomorphine induced emesis and behaviors suggestive of nausea, and gastric dysrhythmia. The emesis frequency in control session was 5.5 ± 0.99, and symptoms score was 22.17 ± 1.01. GES with short pulse and long pulse could not improve emesis and symptoms induced by apomorphine. The emesis frequency (4.5 ± 0.76 in short pulse and 6.33 ± 1.05 in long pulse) and symptoms scores had no significant difference compared to control session (each p > 0.05). GES with trains of short pulse reduced emesis time frequency (3.83 ± 0.7, p = 0.042 vs control) and symptoms score (p = 0.037 vs control) obviously. Brain fMRI showed that GES with short pulse and long pulse activated brain stem region, and trains of short pulse made amygdala and occipital lobe activation.

CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES

Apomorphine induced emesis and gastric dysrhythmia. GES with trains of short pulses relieves emetic responses through activation of amygdala region.

A novel lentivirus for quantitative assessment of gene knockdown in stem cell differentiation

Loss of gene function is a valuable tool for screening genes in cellular processes including stem cell differentiation differentiation. However, the criteria for evaluating gene knockdown are usually based on end-point analysis and real-time, dynamic information is lacking. To overcome these limitations, we engineered a shRNA encoding LentiViral Dual Promoter vector (shLVDP) that enabled real-time monitoring of mesenchymal stem (MSC) differentiation and simultaneous gene knockdown. In this vector, the activity of the alpha-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) promoter was measured by the expression of a destabilized green fluorescent protein, and was used as an indicator of myogenic differentiation; constitutive expression of discosoma red fluorescent protein was used to measure transduction efficiency and to normalize αSMA promoter activity; and shRNA was encoded by a doxycycline (Dox)-regulatable H1 promoter. Importantly, the normalized promoter activity was independent of lentivirus titer allowing quantitative assessment of gene knockdown. Using this vector, we evaluated 11 genes in the TGF-β1 or Rho signaling pathway on SMC maturation and on MSC differentiation along the myogenic lineage. As expected, knockdown of genes such as Smad2/3 or RhoA inhibited myogenic differentiation, while knocking down the myogenic differentiation inhibitor, Klf4, increased αSMA promoter activity significantly. Notably, some genes for example, Smad7 or KLF4 showed differential regulation of myogenic differentiation in MSC from different anatomic locations such as bone marrow and hair follicles. Finally, Dox-regulatable shRNA expression enabled temporal control of gene knockdown and provided dynamic information on the effect of different genes on myogenic phenotype. Our data suggests that shLVDP may be ideal for development of lentiviral microarrays to decipher gene regulatory networks of complex biological processes such as stem cell differentiation or reprogramming.

CC chemokine ligand 21 enhances the immunogenicity of the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 upon assistance of TLR2

CC chemokine ligand 21 (CCL21) is a known attractant for CCR7-positive (CCR7+) cells, but its additional role in the immunogenicity of CCR7+ cells remains poorly understood. This study explored the effects of CCL21-CCR7 ligation on cancer immunogenicity and related antitumor immune response, in the presence and absence of mitomycin C (MMC) treatment. CCL21-CCR7 binding upregulated human leukocyte antigen class I-restricted tumor antigen presentation with increased expression of human leukocyte antigen class I and transporter associated with antigen processing-1. In addition, CCL21 restrained the tumor-derived immunosuppressive factors FasL and transforming growth factor-β. Consequently, CCL21 facilitated cancer-educated lymphocytes reaction in vitro. In the tumor-bearing mouse, CCL21 inhibited tumor growth and prolonged mouse survival via lymphocytes, especially in CCR7+ cancer cells. Furthermore, Toll-like receptor 2 activation of lymphocytes assisted the tumor-suppression functions of CCL21, in vitro and in vivo. This study implies that CCL21 improved the immunogenicity of the CCR7+ breast cancer cell line even with MMC treatment and triggered antitumor response by lymphocytes. These findings provide a new insight into the research and application of CCL21-associated antitumor response.

Glucose regulated proteins 78 protects insulinoma cells (NIT-1) from death induced by streptozotocin, cytokines or cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis plays an important role in the destruction of pancreatic beta-cell, and contributes to the development of type 1 diabetes. The chaperone molecule, glucose regulated proteins 78 (GRP78), is required to maintain ER function during toxic insults. In this study, we investigated the effect of GRP78 on the beta-cell apoptosis. We first measured GRP78 protein expression in different phase of streptozotocin-affected beta-cell by immunoblotting analysis. An insulinoma cell line, NIT-1, transfected with GRP78 was established, named NIT-GRP78, and used to study apoptosis, which was induced by streptozotocin or inflammatory cytokines. Apoptosis of NIT-1 or NIT-GRP78 cells was detected by flow cytometry, the transcription of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) was monitored by real-time PCR, the concentration of nitric oxide and the activity of superoxide dismutase were measured by colorimetric method. We found that, in comparison to NIT-1 cells, NIT-GRP78 cells responded to the streptozotocin or cytokines treatments with decreased concentration of nitric oxide, but increased activity of superoxide dismutase. In addition, the level of CHOP was also decreased in the NIT-GRP78 cells, which may mediate the resistance of the GRP78 overexpressed NIT-1 cells from apoptosis. Finally, we found that NIT-GRP78 cells were also more resistant than NIT-1 cells to cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) specific killing detected by flow cytometry through target cells expressing green fluorescent protein cultured with effector cells and finally stained with propidium iodide. The data suggest that modulating GRP78 expression could be useful in preventing pancreatic beta-cell from the immunological destruction in type 1 diabetes individuals.

[Autotrophic denitrification of groundwater by electrochemical process]

An autotrophic denitrification process and its reactor for removing nitrate from groundwater was investigated in this paper. Using activated carbon fiber(ACF) as electrodes, the electrochemical reactions could produce hydrogen as the donor for autotrophic denitrification. In the process, nitrate was removed effectively and no accumulation of nitrite in the effluent. The results in this study proved that some key factors, such as the applied current density, flow rate of water, oxidation-reduction potential and the nitrate concentration in raw water, influenced the electrochemically denitrifying effect. When the concentration of NO3(-)-N was 28.8 mg/L in inlet water, the optimum applied density was 9 mA, the highest hydraulic load of the reactor was 35 ml/h, and the reactor performed a practical buffering capacity to pH. After applying electricity to the reactor for 1 h, the oxidation-reduction potential decreased to below--200 mA, so an adaptable reductive environment could be provided in the reactor for denitrification.

[Biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by a preponderant brevibacterium]

A preponderant brevibacterium was isolated from the sludge contaminated by coke-plantwaste water for a long time. The bacterium was effective on the degradation and transformation of anthracene, phenanthrene and pyrene. The degradation process can be accelerated by ferric ions. 10 hours after aeration, the removing rates of anthracene, phenanthrene and pyrene by the brevibacterium were about 75%, 87% and 62% respectively. 106 hours after aeration, the removing rates of total organic carbon (TOC) caused by anthracene, phenanthrene and pyrene were 50%, 90%, and 50% respectively.

High efficiencies of gene transfer with immobilized recombinant retrovirus: kinetics and optimization

We used a combination of mathematical modeling and experiments to investigate the rate-limiting steps of retroviral transduction on surface-bound fibronectin (FN) and identify the conditions that maximize the efficiency of gene transfer. Our results show that fibronectin-assisted gene transfer (FAGT) is a strong function of the time and temperature of virus incubation in FN-coated plates. Gene transfer increases sharply at short times, reaches a maximum at intermediate times, and eventually declines as a result of loss of retroviral activity. The maximum transduction efficiency and the time at which this is attained increase with decreasing temperature of virus incubation. Depending on the temperature and the type of target cells, the initial rate of gene transfer increases by 3- to 10-fold and the maximum transduction efficiency increases by 2- to 4-fold as compared to traditional transduction (TT). Interestingly, Polybrene (PB) inhibits FAGT in a dose-dependent manner by inhibiting binding of retrovirus to FN. In contrast to traditional transduction, FAGT yields higher than 10-fold transduction efficiencies with concentrated retrovirus stocks. Gene transfer is directly proportional to the concentration of the virus-containing medium with no sign of saturation for the range of concentrations tested. These results suggest that immobilization of recombinant retrovirus can be rationally optimized to yield high efficiency of gene transfer to primary cells and improve the prospect of gene therapy for the treatment of human disease.

Di- and Trinuclear Complexes with the Mono- and Dianion of 2,6-Bis(phenylamino)pyridine: High-Field Displacement of Chemical Shifts Due to the Magnetic Anisotropy of Quadruple Bonds

The monoanion of 2,6-bis(phenylamino)pyridine (HBPAP(-)) has been found to support quadruply bonded Cr(2)(4+) and Mo(2)(4+) units in Cr(2)(HBPAP)(4) (1) and Mo(2)(HBPAP)(4) (2). The corresponding dianion BPAP(2)(-) was able to stabilize the trinuclear complexes, (TBA)(2)Cr(3)(BPAP)(4) (3) and (TBA)(2)Ni(3)(BPAP)(4) (4), where TBA is the tetrabutylammonium cation. The dinuclear complexes have the typical paddlewheel configuration with Cr-Cr distances of about 1.87 A and a Mo-Mo distance of 2.0813(5) A and exhibit a high-field displacement of the corresponding N-H signals caused by the magnetic anisotropy of the quadruple bonds. For the trinuclear complexes, 3 has a linear chain of three chromium atoms arranged in an unsymmetrical fashion with two chromium atoms paired to give a quadruply bonded unit (Cr-Cr distance: 1.904(3) A) and an isolated, square planar Cr(II) unit at 2.589(3) A from the dimetal unit. On the other hand, the three nickel atoms in 4 are evenly spaced, having Ni.Ni distances of 2.3682(8) A. The trinuclear compounds show a twisted conformation with an overall torsion angle of about 30 degrees.

Crystal structure of an anti-carbohydrate antibody directed against Vibrio cholerae O1 in complex with antigen: molecular basis for serotype specificity

The crystal structure of the murine Fab S-20-4 from a protective anti-cholera Ab specific for the lipopolysaccharide Ag of the Ogawa serotype has been determined in its unliganded form and in complex with synthetic fragments of the Ogawa O-specific polysaccharide (O-SP). The upstream terminal O-SP monosaccharide is shown to be the primary antigenic determinant. Additional perosamine residues protrude outwards from the Ab surface and contribute only marginally to the binding affinity and specificity. A complementary water-excluding hydrophobic interface and five Ab-Ag hydrogen bonds are crucial for carbohydrate recognition. The structure reported here explains the serotype specificity of anti-Ogawa Abs and provides a rational basis toward the development of a synthetic carbohydrate-based anti-cholera vaccine.

On the antigenic determinants of the lipopolysaccharides of Vibrio cholerae O:1, serotypes Ogawa and Inaba

Monoclonal, murine IgG1s S-20-4, A-20-6, and IgA 2D6, directed against Vibrio cholerae O:1 Ogawa-lipopolysaccharide exhibited the same fine specificities and similar affinities for the synthetic methyl alpha-glycosides of the (oligo)saccharide fragments mimicking the Ogawa O-polysaccharide (O-PS). They did not react with the corresponding synthetic fragments of Inaba O-PS. IgG1s S-20-4 and A-20-6 have absolute affinity constants for synthetic Ogawa mono- to hexasaccharides of from approximately 10(5) to approximately 10(6) M-1. For IgG1s S-20-4, A-20-6, and IgA 2D6, the nonreducing terminal residue of Ogawa O-PS is the dominant determinant, accounting for approximately 90% of the maximal binding energy shown by these antibodies. Binding studies of derivatives of the Ogawa monosaccharide and IgGs S-20-4 and A-20-6 revealed that the C-2 O-methyl group fits into a somewhat flexible antibody cavity and that hydrogen bonds involving the oxygen and, respectively, the OH at the 2- and 3-position of the sugar moiety as well as the 2'-position in the amide side chain are required. Monoclonal IgA ZAC-3 and IgG3 I-24-2 are specific for V. cholerae O:1 serotypes Ogawa/Inaba-LPS.1 The former did not show binding with members of either series of the synthetic ligands related to the O-antigens of the Ogawa or Inaba serotypes, in agreement with its reported specificity for the lipid/core region (1). Inhibition studies revealed that the binding of purified IgG3 I-24-2 to Ogawa-LPS might be mediated by a region in the junction of the OPS to the lipid-core region of the LPS. cDNA cloning and analysis of the anti-Ogawa antibodies S-20-4, A-20-6, and 2D6 revealed a very high degree of homology among the heavy chains. Among the light chains, no such homology between S-20-4 and A-20-6 on the one hand, and 2D6 on the other hand, exists. For the anti-Inaba/Ogawa antibodies I-24-2 and ZAC-3, their heavy chains are completely different, with some homology among the light chains.

Synthesis of four glycosides of a disaccharide fragment representing the terminus of the O-polysaccharide of Vibrio cholerae O:1, serotype Inaba, bearing aglycons suitable for linking to proteins

Methyl 4-azido-3-O-benzyl-4,6-dideoxy-alpha-D-mannopyranoside was converted into the crystalline 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl 4-azido-2-O-benzoyl-3-O-benzyl-4,6-dideoxy-alpha-D-mannopyranoside. Debenzoylation of the latter, followed by glycosylation of the resulting 2-hydroxy derivative with 2-O-acetyl-4-azido-4,6-dideoxy-alpha-D-mannopyranosyl chloride, gave the 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl glycoside of the corresponding disaccharide (8). Deacetylation of 8, followed by reduction of the resulting 4-azido-2-hydroxy derivative with H2S, gave the corresponding amine 10. The latter was treated with 4-O-benzyl-3-deoxy-L-glycero-tetronic acid to give, after debenzylation and acetylation, the fully protected 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl alpha-glycoside of the disaccharide fragment of the O-PS of Vibrio cholerae O:1, serotype Inaba (13). Compound 13 was transformed into the corresponding 1-trichloroacetimidate which was treated, separately, with methyl 6-hydroxy-hexanoate and 2-(2-methoxycarbonylethylthio)ethanol, to give two analogs of 13 possessing a differing linkage arm, namely the methyl esters 16 and 17. Each of 16 and 17 was treated with aqueous sodium hydroxide, followed by a cation-exchange resin, to give the two corresponding carboxylic acids (19 and 22). Alternately, treatment of 16 and 17 with hydrazine hydrate gave the acid hydrazides 20 and 23.

Synthesis of the methyl alpha-glycosides of a di-, tri-, and a tetra-saccharide fragment mimicking the terminus of the O-polysaccharide of Vibrio cholerae O:1, serotype Ogawa

Methyl 4-(3-deoxy-L-glycero-tetronamido)-4,6-dideoxy-2-O-methyl-alpha-D- mannopyranoside was acetylated, and the fully protected methyl glycoside was treated with dichloromethyl methyl ether-ZnCl2 (DCMME-ZnCl2) reagent to give 3-O-acetyl-4-(2,4-di-O-acetyl-3- deoxy-L-glycero-tetronamido)-4,6-dideoxy-2-O-methyl-alpha-D-mannop yranosyl chloride (3). Condensation of 3 with methyl 3-O-acetyl-4-(2,4-di-O-acetyl-3-deoxy-L-glycero-tetronamido)-4,6- dideoxy-alpha-D-mannopyranoside (4) gave the fully acetylated disaccharide 5, which was deacetylated yielding the methyl alpha-glycoside of title disaccharide. The disaccharide glycosyl donor required for the blockwise synthesis of the title tri- and the tetra-saccharide, 3-O-acetyl-4-(2,4-di-O-acetyl-3-deoxy-L-glycero-tetronamido)-4,6-d ideoxy-2-O- methyl-alpha-D-mannopyranosyl-(1-->2)-3-O-acetyl-4- (2,4-di-O-acetyl-3-deoxy-L-glycero-tetronamido)-4,6-dideoxy-alpha- D- mannopyranosyl chloride (12), was obtained by condensation of 3 with the 1-O-acetyl analog of 4, followed by treatment of the disaccharide formed with DCMME-ZnCl2. The synthesis of the methyl alpha-glycoside of the title trisaccharide involved a condensation of 12 with 4, followed by deacetylation. Similarly, the condensation of 12 with 15, the latter being the analog of 5 having a free HO-2, followed by deacetylation, gave the methyl alpha-glycoside of the title tetrasaccharide. All glycosylation reactions were mediated by silver trifluoromethanesulfonate in the presence of 2,4,6-trimethylpyridine. 4-(3-Deoxy-L-glycero-tetronamido)-4,6-dideoxy-2-O-methyl-alpha,bet a-D- mannopyranose was prepared for the first time. It was characterized by NMR spectroscopy, and via its crystalline per-O-acetyl derivative. It is the saccharide whose alpha-form constitutes the terminal, non-reducing end-group of the O-PS of V. cholerea O:1, serotype Ogawa.