Application of 62Cu-diacetyl-bis (N4-methylthiosemicarbazone) PET imaging to predict highly malignant tumor grades and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α expression in patients with glioma

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Hypoxic tissue evaluation in glioma is important for predicting treatment response and establishing antihypoxia therapy. In this preliminary study, (62)Cu-ATSM PET was used to determine its validity as a biomarker for distinguishing tumor grade and tissue hypoxia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

(62)Cu-ATSM PET was performed in 22 patients with glioma, and the (62)Cu-ATSM SUV(max) and T/B ratio were semiquantitatively evaluated. (62)Cu-ATSM uptake distribution was qualitatively evaluated and compared with MR imaging findings. HIF-1α expression, a hypoxia marker, was compared with (62)Cu-ATSM uptake values.

RESULTS

The (62)Cu-ATSM SUV(max) and T/B ratio were significantly higher in grade IV than in grade III gliomas (P = .014 and .018, respectively), whereas no significant differences were found between grade III and grade II gliomas. At a T/B ratio cutoff threshold of 1.8, (62)Cu-ATSM uptake was predictive of HIF-1α expression, with 92.3% sensitivity and 88.9% specificity. The mean T/B ratio was also significantly higher in HIF-1α-positive glioma tissue than in HIF-1α-negative tissue (P = .001). Using this optimal threshold of T/B ratio, (62)Cu-ATSM PET showed regional uptake in 61.9% (13/21) of tumors within the contrast-enhanced region on MR imaging, which was significantly correlated with presence of a necrotic component (P = .002).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results demonstrated that (62)Cu-ATSM uptake is relatively high in grade IV gliomas and correlates with the MR imaging findings of necrosis. Moreover, the (62)Cu-ATSM T/B ratio showed significant correlation with HIF-1α expression. Thus, (62)Cu-ATSM appears to be a suitable biomarker for predicting highly malignant grades and tissue hypoxia in patients with glioma.

A new model of gastric bleeding induced in rats by aspirin plus clopidogrel under stimulation of acid secretion. Prophylactic effects of antiulcer drugs

We set up a new model of gastric bleeding induced by the luminal perfusion of aspirin (ASA) in rats pretreated with clopidogrel under conditions where acid secretion is stimulated, and examined the effect of antiulcer drugs on the bleeding. Under urethane anesthesia, acid secretion was stimulated by i.v. infusion of histamine (8 mg/kg/h), and two catheters were inserted into the stomach, one from the esophagus and another from the duodenum. The stomach was perfused with 25 mM ASA at a rate of 0.1 ml/min using an infusion pump, and gastric bleeding was measured as hemoglobin concentration in the perfusate collected every 15 min. Clopidogrel (30 mg/kg) was given orally 24 h before the perfusion. Various antiulcer drugs were given intraduodenally 30 min before the ASA treatment. Perfusion of the stomach with ASA provoked little gastric bleeding or damage even when acid secretion was stimulated. Pretreatment with clopidogrel significantly increased the bleeding and damage caused by ASA. The bleeding and lesions produced by ASA plus clopidogrel were significantly prevented by pretreatment with famotidine and omeprazole. Mucosal protective drugs such as rebamipide, irsogladine and teprenone also prevented gastric bleeding response to ASA/clopidogrel under conditions of acid secretion, although the effect was less pronounced than that of the antisecretory drugs. We conclude that clopidogrel increases gastric bleeding induced by ASA when acid secretion is stimulated. Both antisecretory and mucosal protective drugs are effective in reducing gastric bleeding under such conditions. This model is useful for the screening of drugs that protect against gastric bleeding.

Adsorption and Acidic Properties of Clays Pillared With Oxide Sols

Interlayers of montmorillonite were pillared with TiO2, SiO2-TiO2and SiO2-Fe2O3sols. The pillared structures were thermally stable at least up to 500°C and retained unusually large basal spacings in the range of 24–45Å and surface areas as high as 300–500 m2/g. The TiO2pillared clay showed Type IV adsorption isotherm for nitrogen. Although SiO2-TiO2and SiO2-Fe2O3pillared clays had basal spacings much larger than that of TiO2pillared clay, these mixed oxide pillared clays had small pores and exhibited Type I isotherm. The acidic strength distributions were determined by a titration method using n-butylamine and Hammett indicators. All of the pillared clays had large acidities, but the acidic strength decreased in the following order: TiO2- SiO2» SiO2-Fe2O3pillared clays. Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) spectra of ammonia were measured and interpreted in relation to the acidity distribution. Infrared spectra of pyridine adsorbed on TiO2pillared clay indicated that the acidity predominantly arises from Lewis acid sites.

Dental pulp cells for induced pluripotent stem cell banking

Defined sets of transcriptional factors can reprogram human somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. However, many types of human cells are not easily accessible to minimally invasive procedures. Here we evaluated dental pulp cells (DPCs) as an optimal source of iPS cells, since they are easily obtained from extracted teeth and can be expanded under simple culture conditions. From all 6 DPC lines tested with the conventional 3 or 4 reprogramming factors, iPS cells were effectively established from 5 DPC lines. Furthermore, determination of the HLA types of 107 DPC lines revealed 2 lines homozygous for all 3 HLA loci and showed that if an iPS bank is established from these initial pools, the bank will cover approximately 20% of the Japanese population with a perfect match. Analysis of these data demonstrates the promising potential of DPC collections as a source of iPS cell banks for use in regenerative medicine.

[Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma in the thymus with multiple amyloid nodules in the both lungs]

Here, we present a case of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma in the thymus with multiple amyloid nodules in both lung. A 66-year-old woman was incidentally found to have an abnormal shadow on mass-screening chest roentgenogram. A chest computed tomography (CT) demonstrated a mass of 50 mm in diameter with a smooth margin adjacent to the heart in the anterior mediastinum and multiple small nodules in both lung. As a differential diagnosis, thymic carcinoma with multiple lung metastases was firstly considered from these clinical informations. To make a definite diagnosis, the operation via a thoracoscopy was done. As a result, it turned out that pulmonary nodules were amyloidosis and the thymic tumor was MALT lymphoma. Postoperative course was uneventful and she was treated with chemoradiotherapy. In addition, she was diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome 1 and half years later. Four years later the patient has been well without recurrence.

[Metastatic ectopic cervical thymoma with prolonged survival; report of a case]

A 60-year-old woman presented with a palpable and painful nodule of her neck. Physical examination revealed that the anterior neck mass was enlarged without other positive findings. The tumor was not diagnosed with a fine needle aspiration biopsy, so that the excision of the tumor was underwent. The diagnosis at permanent section analysis revealed a non-invasive thymoma. The patient did not receive adjunctive postoperative therapy. For the duration of 6.5-year follow-up, metastasis of the left lobe of thyroid and right upper lobe of lung in twice have been sequentially detected and resected, and now she has been healthy with no known recurrence of the tumor. The recurrence of a non-invasive cervical ectopic thymoma has been reported as extremely rare, and this case indicates that the surgical control for recurrence lesion of cervical ectopic thymoma is effective when the tumor is resectable.

A resonating broken symmetry configuration interaction approach for double-exchange magnetic systems

The correct description for ion-radical systems has recently attracted much attention from density functional theory (DFT) researchers. Although several hybridization schemes using exact (Hartree-Fock) exchange and DFT exchange-correlation functionals have been proposed, it has been reported that such treatments do not work for the description of ion-radical systems. In this study we show that combining the exact exchange term in the Kohn-Sham DFT (or the Hartree-Fock equation) with the following resonating configuration interaction method is effective for the description of double-exchange type molecular magnetic interactions. The results are analyzed in relation to the 'many-electron self-interaction' concept that was recently proposed by DFT researchers.

[Pulmonary metastasis of metachronous triple cancer occurring in a young patient]

A 24-year-old patient who developed pulmonary metastasis of metachronous triple cancer was presented. She had undergone surgery and combined chemotherapy for osteosarcoma of the right humerus in 1993. Then, she was followed-up without any sign of recurrence. She felt accidentally a lump of the right breast so she had visited a hospital for a work-up in 2004. The detailed examination proved that the right breast mass was primary breast cancer so the right mastectomy was carried out. Moreover, the left mastectomy was also carried out for the primary breast cancer in 2005. Additionally, a solitary nodule shadow was detected by computed tomography in 2007 so she had thoracoscopic partial resection of right middle lobe. Histopathologically, the tumor was diagnosed metastasis from the left breast cancer. It is unlikely that familial cancer disease was the underlying cause because she had no family history of cancer. A more likely explanation is that there is the influence of combined chemotherapy during puberty.

Induction of pluripotent stem cells from mouse fibroblasts by four transcription factors

Pluripotent stem cells, such as embryonic stem cells (ESCs), proliferate rapidly while maintaining pluripotency, namely, the ability to differentiate into various types of cells. Embryonic stem cells are promising donor sources for cell transplantation therapies. However, human ESCs are also associated with ethical issues regarding the use of human embryos and rejection reactions after allogenic transplantation. It may be possible to overcome these issues by generating pluripotent stem cells directly from a patient's somatic cells. That somatic cell nuclei acquire an embryonic stem-like status by fusion with ESCs suggests the existence of 'pluripotency-inducing' factors. Previous studies have recently shown that retrovirus-mediated transfection with four transcription factors (Oct-3/4, Sox2, KLF4 and c-Myc), which are highly expressed in ESCs, into mouse fibroblasts has resulted in generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. iPS cells are similar to ESCs in morphology, proliferation, and pluripotency, judged by teratoma formation and chimaera contribution. If iPS cells can be derived from human somatic cells, then such cells may thus lead to important drug discoveries and advances in regenerative medicine.