The transcription factor GATA-3 is necessary and sufficient for Th2 cytokine gene expression in CD4 T cells

CD4 T cells potentiate the inflammatory or humoral immune response through the action of Th1 and Th2 cells, respectively. The molecular basis of the differentiation of these cells from naive T cell precursors is, however, unclear. We found that GATA-3 was selectively expressed in Th2 cells. GATA-3 is expressed at a high level in naive, freshly activated T cells and Th2 lineage cells, but subsides to a minimal level in Th1 lineage cells as naive cells commit to their Th subset. Antisense GATA-3 inhibited the expression of all Th2 cytokine genes in the Th2 clone D10. GATA-3 directly activated an IL-4 promoter-luciferase reporter gene in M12 cells. In transgenic mice, elevated GATA-3 in CD4 T cells caused Th2 cytokine gene expression in developing Th1 cells. Thus, GATA-3 is necessary and sufficient for Th2 cytokine gene expression.

Antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds in selected herbs

The antioxidant capacities (oxygen radical absorbance capacity, ORAC) and total phenolic contents in extracts of 27 culinary herbs and 12 medicinal herbs were determined. The ORAC values and total phenolic contents for the medicinal herbs ranged from 1.88 to 22.30 micromol of Trolox equivalents (TE)/g of fresh weight and 0.23 to 2.85 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g of fresh weight, respectively. Origanum x majoricum, O. vulgare ssp. hirtum, and Poliomintha longiflora have higher ORAC and phenolic contents as compared to other culinary herbs. The ORAC values and total phenolic content for the culinary herbs ranged from 2.35 to 92.18 micromol of TE/g of fresh weight and 0.26 to 17.51 mg of GAE/g of fresh weight, respectively. These also were much higher than values found in the medicinal herbs. The medicinal herbs with the highest ORAC values were Catharanthus roseus, Thymus vulgaris, Hypericum perforatum, and Artemisia annua. A linear relationship existed between ORAC values and total phenolic contents of the medicinal herbs (R = 0.919) and culinary herbs (R = 0.986). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with diode-array detection was used to identify and quantify the phenolic compounds in selected herbs. Among the identified phenolic compounds, rosmarinic acid was the predominant phenolic compound in Salvia officinalis, Thymus vulgaris, Origanum x majoricum, and P. longiflora, whereas quercetin-3-O-rhamnosyl-(1 --> 2)-rhamnosyl-(1 --> 6)-glucoside and kaempferol-3-O-rhamnosyl-(1 --> 2)-rhamnosyl-(1 --> 6)-glucoside were predominant phenolic compounds in Ginkgo biloba leaves.

Alcohol, tobacco and breast cancer--collaborative reanalysis of individual data from 53 epidemiological studies, including 58,515 women with breast cancer and 95,067 women without the disease

Alcohol and tobacco consumption are closely correlated and published results on their association with breast cancer have not always allowed adequately for confounding between these exposures. Over 80% of the relevant information worldwide on alcohol and tobacco consumption and breast cancer were collated, checked and analysed centrally. Analyses included 58,515 women with invasive breast cancer and 95,067 controls from 53 studies. Relative risks of breast cancer were estimated, after stratifying by study, age, parity and, where appropriate, women's age when their first child was born and consumption of alcohol and tobacco. The average consumption of alcohol reported by controls from developed countries was 6.0 g per day, i.e. about half a unit/drink of alcohol per day, and was greater in ever-smokers than never-smokers, (8.4 g per day and 5.0 g per day, respectively). Compared with women who reported drinking no alcohol, the relative risk of breast cancer was 1.32 (1.19-1.45, P<0.00001) for an intake of 35-44 g per day alcohol, and 1.46 (1.33-1.61, P<0.00001) for >/=45 g per day alcohol. The relative risk of breast cancer increased by 7.1% (95% CI 5.5-8.7%; P<0.00001) for each additional 10 g per day intake of alcohol, i.e. for each extra unit or drink of alcohol consumed on a daily basis. This increase was the same in ever-smokers and never-smokers (7.1% per 10 g per day, P<0.00001, in each group). By contrast, the relationship between smoking and breast cancer was substantially confounded by the effect of alcohol. When analyses were restricted to 22 255 women with breast cancer and 40 832 controls who reported drinking no alcohol, smoking was not associated with breast cancer (compared to never-smokers, relative risk for ever-smokers=1.03, 95% CI 0.98-1.07, and for current smokers=0.99, 0.92-1.05). The results for alcohol and for tobacco did not vary substantially across studies, study designs, or according to 15 personal characteristics of the women; nor were the findings materially confounded by any of these factors. If the observed relationship for alcohol is causal, these results suggest that about 4% of the breast cancers in developed countries are attributable to alcohol. In developing countries, where alcohol consumption among controls averaged only 0.4 g per day, alcohol would have a negligible effect on the incidence of breast cancer. In conclusion, smoking has little or no independent effect on the risk of developing breast cancer; the effect of alcohol on breast cancer needs to be interpreted in the context of its beneficial effects, in moderation, on cardiovascular disease and its harmful effects on cirrhosis and cancers of the mouth, larynx, oesophagus and liver.

KSHV antibodies among Americans, Italians and Ugandans with and without Kaposi's sarcoma

A major controversy regarding Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV or HHV8) is whether or not it is a ubiquitous infection of humans. Immunoassays based on KSHV- and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-coinfected cell lines show that most US AIDS-KS patients have specific antibodies to KSHV-related antigens. We have developed a sensitive indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) based on an EBV-negative, KSHV-infected cell line, BCP-1. When we used this IFA assay, KSHV-related antibodies were found in 71-88% of serum samples from US, Italian and Ugandan AIDS-KS patients, as well as all serum samples examined from HIV-seronegative KS patients. Although none of the US blood donors examined were KSHV seropositive by IFA, intermediate and high seroprevalence rates were found in Italian and Ugandan control populations. Antibody kinetics showed that more than half of the AIDS-KS patients who were examined IgG-seroconverted before KS development, and antibody levels did not decline after seroconversion. For these patients, seropositivity rates increased linearly with time, suggesting that the rate of infection was constant and that the risk of developing KS once infected with KSHV is not highly dependent on the duration of infection. These data strongly suggest that KSHV is not ubiquitous in most populations and that the virus may be under strict immunologic control in healthy KSHV-infected persons.

In vitro selection and characterization of a highly efficient Zn(II)-dependent RNA-cleaving deoxyribozyme

A group of highly efficient Zn(II)-dependent RNA-cleaving deoxyribozymes has been obtained through in vitro selection. They share a common motif with the '8-17' deoxyribozyme isolated under different conditions, including different design of the random pool and metal ion cofactor. We found that this commonly selected motif can efficiently cleave both RNA and DNA/RNA chimeric substrates. It can cleave any substrate containing rNG (where rN is any ribo-nucleotide base and G can be either ribo- or deoxy-ribo-G). The pH profile and reaction products of this deoxyribozyme are similar to those reported for hammerhead ribozyme. This deoxyribozyme has higher activity in the presence of transition metal ions compared to alkaline earth metal ions. At saturating concentrations of Zn(2+), the cleavage rate is 1.35 min(-1)at pH 6.0; based on pH profile this rate is estimated to be at least approximately 30 times faster at pH 7.5, where most assays of Mg(2+)-dependent DNA and RNA enzymes are carried out. This work represents a comprehensive characterization of a nucleic acid-based endonuclease that prefers transition metal ions to alkaline earth metal ions. The results demonstrate that nucleic acid enzymes are capable of binding transition metal ions such as Zn(2+)with high affinity, and the resulting enzymes are more efficient at RNA cleavage than most Mg(2+)-dependent nucleic acid enzymes under similar conditions.

Validity and reproducibility of the food frequency questionnaire used in the Shanghai Women's Health Study

To evaluate the validity and reliability of the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) used in the Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS), 200 SWHS participants were recruited for a dietary calibration study. Study participants completed an FFQ at baseline and 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDR) twice per month consecutively for 12 months. At the end of the study, a second FFQ was administered. Of the 200 study participants, 196 completed 24 or more days of 24-h dietary recalls, 191 completed two FFQs from whom the results of this report were based. The FFQ included the foods that accounted for 86% of the foods recorded in the 24-HDR surveys. Validity of the FFQ was evaluated by comparing intake levels of major nutrients and foods obtained from the second FFQ with those derived from the multiple 24-HDR. The median intake for major nutrients, rice, poultry and meat derived from the second FFQ and the 24-HDR was similar, with the differences ranging from 1.3 to 12.1%. The FFQ tended to overestimate the intake level of total vegetables and total fruits, and the differences were explained mainly by over-reporting seasonal vegetables and fruits consumption in the FFQ. Nutrient and food intake assessed by the FFQ and the multiple 24-HDR correlated very well, with the correlation coefficients being 0.59-0.66 for macronutrients, 0.41-0.59 for micronutrients, and 0.41-0.66 for major food groups. The reliability of the FFQ was assessed by comparing the correlation and median intake of nutrients and food groups obtained from the two FFQs that were administered approximately 2 y apart. The median intake levels for selected nutrients and food groups derived from the two FFQs were similar with differences below 10%. At the individual level, the intake levels of these dietary variables obtained from two FFQs also correlated well. When nutrient and food group intakes were categorized into quartiles, FFQ and 24-HDR produced exact agreement rates between 33 and 50%. Misclassification to adjacent quartile was common, ranging from 34-48%, while misclassification to an extreme quartile was rare (1-6%). These data indicate that the SWHS FFQ can reliably and accurately measure usual intake of major nutrients and food groups among women in Shanghai.

Acquired neuromyotonia: evidence for autoantibodies directed against K+ channels of peripheral nerves

Acquired neuromyotonia is characterized by hyperexcitability of motor nerves leading to muscle twitching, cramps, and weakness. The symptoms may improve following plasma exchange, and injection of immunoglobulin G (IgG) from 1 neuromyotonia patient into mice increased the resistance of neuromuscular transmission to d-tubocurarine. Here we examine nerves and muscle in vitro from mice injected with plasma or purified IgG from 6 neuromyotonia patients or pooled control subjects, and cultured dorsal root ganglion cells after treatment with IgG. Three of the patients had antibodies against human voltage-gated potassium channels labeled with 125I-alpha-dendrotoxin. The quantal release of acetylcholine (quantal content) at end-plates in diaphragms from mice treated with neuromyotonia IgG preparations was increased by 21% relative to control values (p = 0.0053). With one IgG preparation, the duration of the superficial peroneal nerve compound action currents was increased by 93%. The dorsal root ganglion cells treated with this IgG showed a marked increase in repetitive firing of action potentials. All effects were similar to those obtained with aminopyridines. We conclude that at least some patients with acquired neuromyotonia have antibodies directed against aminopyridine- or alpha-dendrotoxin-sensitive K+ channels in motor and sensory neurons, and they are likely to be implicated in the disease process.

Stabilization of cationic liposome-plasmid DNA complexes by polyamines and poly(ethylene glycol)-phospholipid conjugates for efficient in vivo gene delivery

Stable complexes of cationic liposomes with plasmid DNA were prepared by (1) including a small amount of poly(ethylene glycol)-phospholipid conjugate or (2) condensing the DNA with polyamines prior to the formation of liposome-plasmid complexes. These preparations were stable for months at 4 degrees C and gave reproducible high transfection activity for in vivo gene delivery after intravenous injection in mice. Under these conditions, the expression of marker gene (luciferase) was primarily in the lungs (reaching values up to 3 ng expression per mg tissue protein), but also in other tissues to a lesser extent. Non-stabilized formulations lost all their transfection activity in 4 days. In these formulations cholesterol, not dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine, was the helper lipid effective for sustaining high transfection activity in vivo. These new developments in formulation technology should enhance the potential for liposome-mediated gene therapy.

Lung cancer among Chinese women

A case-control study involving interviews with 672 female lung cancer patients and 735 population-based controls was conducted to investigate the high rates of lung cancer, notably adenocarcinoma, among women in Shanghai. Cigarette smoking was a strong risk factor, but accounted for only about one-fourth of all newly diagnosed cases of lung cancer. Most patients, particularly with adenocarcinoma, were life-long non-smokers. The risks of lung cancer were higher among women reporting tuberculosis and other pre-existing lung diseases. Hormonal factors were suggested by an increased risk associated with late menopause and by a gradient in the risk of adenocarcinoma with decreasing menstrual cycle length, with a 3-fold excess among women who had shorter cycles. Perhaps most intriguing were associations found between lung cancer and measures of exposure to cooking oil vapors. Risks increased with the numbers of meals cooked by either stir frying, deep frying or boiling; with the frequency of smokiness during cooking; and with the frequency of eye irritation during cooking. Use of rapeseed oil, whose volatiles following high-temperature cooking may be mutagenic, was also reported more often by the cancer patients. The findings thus confirm that factors other than smoking are responsible for the high risk of lung cancer among Chinese women and provide clues for further research, including the assessment of cooking practices.

Paternal cigarette smoking and the risk of childhood cancer among offspring of nonsmoking mothers

BACKGROUND

Cigarette smoking has been shown to increase oxidative DNA damage in human sperm cells. Assessment of the role of cigarette smoking in the etiology of childhood cancer has focused primarily on the effect of maternal smoking. Similar studies in relation to paternal smoking, however, have been inconclusive. Few studies have evaluated the effect of paternal smoking in the preconception period, and most of these could not disentangle the effects of paternal from maternal smoking.

PURPOSE

We investigated the relationship of paternal smoking, particularly in the preconception period, with childhood cancer among offspring of the nonsmoking mothers.

METHODS

We conducted a population-based, case-control study in Shanghai, People's Republic of China, where the prevalence of smoking is high among men but extremely low among women. The study included 642 childhood cancer case patients (<15 years of age) and their individually matched control subjects. Information concerning parental smoking, alcohol drinking, and other exposures of the index child was obtained by direct interview of both parents of the study subjects. Odds ratios (ORs), derived from conditional logistic regression models, were used to measure the association between paternal smoking and risk of childhood cancers.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Paternal preconception smoking was related to a significantly elevated risk of childhood cancers, particularly acute leukemia and lymphoma. The risks rose with increasing pack-years of paternal preconception smoking for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) (P for trend = .01), lymphoma (P for trend = .07), and total cancer (P for trend = .006). Compared with children whose fathers had never smoked cigarettes, children whose fathers smoked more than five pack-years prior to their conception had adjusted ORs of 3.8 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.3-12.3) for ALL, 4.5 (95% CI = 1.2-16.8) for lymphoma, 2.7 (95% CI = 0.8-9.9) for brain tumors, and 1.7 (95% CI = 1.2-2.5) for all cancers combined. Statistically significant increased risks of cancer were restricted to children under the age of 5 years at diagnosis or those whose fathers had smoked during all of the 5 years prior to conception.

IMPLICATIONS

Further studies are needed to confirm the association of paternal smoking with increased risk of cancer in offspring, to clarify the pattern of risks in relation to the timing of cigarette smoking, and to elucidate the biologic mechanism involved in predisposing the offspring to cancer. For example, it may be that paternal smoking induces prezygotic genetic damage that, in turn, acts as the predisposing factor.

CYP3A4 allelic variants with amino acid substitutions in exons 7 and 12: evidence for an allelic variant with altered catalytic activity

OBJECTIVE

To determine the existence of mutant and variant CgammaP3A4 alleles in three racial groups and to assess functions of the variant alleles by complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) expression.

METHODS

A bacterial artificial chromosome that contains the complete CgammaP3A4 gene was isolated and the exons and surrounding introns were directly sequenced to develop primers to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplify and sequence the gene from lymphocyte DNA. DNA samples from Chinese, black, and white subjects were screened. Mutating the affected amino acid in the wild-type cDNA and expressing the variant enzyme with use of the baculovirus system was used to functionally evaluate the variant allele having a missense mutation.

RESULTS

To investigate the existence of mutant and variant CgammaP3A4 alleles in humans, all 13 exons and the 5'-flanking region of the human CgammaP3A4 gene in three racial groups were sequenced and four alleles were identified. An A-->G point mutation in the 5'-flanking region of the human CgammaP3A4 gene, designated CgammaP3A4*1B, was found in the three different racial groups. The frequency of this allele in a white population was 4.2%, whereas it was 66.7% in black subjects. The CgammaP3A4*1B allele was not found in Chinese subjects. A second variant allele, designated CgammaP3A4*2, having a Ser222Pro change, was found at a frequency of 2.7% in the white population and was absent in the black subjects and Chinese subjects analyzed. Baculovirus-directed cDNA expression revealed that the CYP3A4*2 P450 had a lower intrinsic clearance for the CYP3A4 substrate nifedipine compared with the wild-type enzyme but was not significantly different from the wild-type enzyme for testosterone 6beta-hydroxylation. Another rare allele, designated CgammaP3A4*3, was found in a single Chinese subject who had a Met445Thr change in the conserved heme-binding region of the P450.

CONCLUSIONS

These are the first examples of potential function polymorphisms resulting from missense mutations in the CgammaP3A4 gene. The CgammaP3A4*2 allele was found to encode a P450 with substrate-dependent altered kinetics compared with the wild-type P450.

Association of menstrual and reproductive factors with breast cancer risk: results from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study

The incidence of breast cancer among women in Shanghai, a traditionally low-risk population, has increased substantially over the past 20 years. To evaluate the association of menstrual and reproductive factors with breast cancer risk and the influence of these factors on the temporal trend of breast cancer incidence, we analyzed data from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study, a population-based case-control study of breast cancer recently completed among Chinese women in urban Shanghai. In-person interviews were completed for 1,459 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer between ages 25 and 64 and for 1,556 controls frequency-matched to cases by age. Unconditional logistic regression was employed to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) related to menstrual and reproductive factors. Earlier menarcheal age, nulliparity, and later age at first live birth were associated with increased risk of breast cancer among both pre- and post-menopausal women, while never having breast-fed and later age at menopause were associated with elevated risk only among post-menopausal women. Among controls, 32% of younger women (</=40 years) and 24% of older women (>40 years) reported starting menarche at age of 13 or younger, and this factor contributed to 44% of cases diagnosed among younger women and 26% to 28% of cases in older women. Older age at first live birth or at menopause explained a considerable portion of cases diagnosed in older, but not younger, women. Our study suggests that the changes in menstrual and reproductive patterns among women in Shanghai have contributed to the recent increase in breast cancer incidence, particularly among younger women.

Municipal drinking water nitrate level and cancer risk in older women: the Iowa Women's Health Study

Nitrate contamination of drinking water may increase cancer risk, because nitrate is endogenously reduced to nitrite and subsequent nitrosation reactions give rise to N-nitroso compounds; these compounds are highly carcinogenic and can act systemically. We analyzed cancer incidence in a cohort of 21,977 Iowa women who were 55-69 years of age at baseline in 1986 and had used the same water supply more than 10 years (87% > 20 years); 16,541 of these women were on a municipal supply, and the remainder used a private well. We assessed nitrate exposure from 1955 through 1988 using public databases for municipal water supplies in Iowa (quartile cutpoints: 0.36, 1.01, and 2.46 mg per liter nitrate-nitrogen). As no individual water consumption data were available, we assigned each woman an average level of exposure calculated on a community basis; no nitrate data were available for women using private wells. Cancer incidence (N = 3,150 cases) from 1986 through 1998 was determined by linkage to the Iowa Cancer Registry. For all cancers, there was no association with increasing nitrate in drinking water, nor were there clear and consistent associations for non-Hodgkin lymphoma; leukemia; melanoma; or cancers of the colon, breast, lung, pancreas, or kidney. There were positive associations for bladder cancer [relative risks (RRs) across nitrate quartiles = 1, 1.69, 1.10, and 2.83] and ovarian cancer (RR = 1, 1.52, 1.81, and 1.84), and inverse associations for uterine cancer (RR = 1, 0.86, 0.86, and 0.55) and rectal cancer (RR = 1, 0.72, 0.95, and 0.47) after adjustment for a variety of cancer risk/protective factors, agents that affect nitrosation (smoking, vitamin C, and vitamin E intake), dietary nitrate, and water source. Similar results were obtained when analyses were restricted to nitrate level in drinking water from 1955 through 1964. The positive association for bladder cancer is consistent with some previous data; the associations for ovarian, uterine, and rectal cancer were unexpected.

A study on alkaline heat treated Mg-Ca alloy for the control of the biocorrosion rate

To reduce the biocorrosion rate by surface modification, Mg-Ca alloy (1.4wt.% Ca content) was soaked in three alkaline solutions (Na(2)HPO(4), Na(2)CO(3) and NaHCO(3)) for 24h, respectively, and subsequently heat treated at 773K for 12h. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy results revealed that magnesium oxide layers with the thickness of about 13, 9 and 26microm were formed on the surfaces of Mg-Ca alloy after the above different alkaline heat treatments. Atomic force microscopy showed that the surfaces of Mg-Ca alloy samples became rough after three alkaline heat treatments. The in vitro corrosion tests in simulated body fluid indicated that the corrosion rates of Mg-Ca alloy were effectively decreased after alkaline heat treatments, with the following sequence: NaHCO(3) heated<Na(2)HPO(4) heated<Na(2)CO(3) heated. The cytotoxicity evaluation revealed that none of the alkaline heat treated Mg-Ca alloy samples induced toxicity to L-929 cells during 7days culture.

Resonance Rayleigh scattering study of the interaction of heparin with some basic diphenyl naphthylmethane dyes

In a near-neutral medium, a combination of heparin with some basic diphenyl naphthylmethane dyes such as victoria blue 4R (VB4R), victoria blue B (VBB), or night blue (NB) can result in a significant enhancement of resonance. Rayleigh scattering (RRS) and their maximum scattering wavelengths lambdamax appear at 523, 534, and 540 nm for VB4R, VBB, and NB, respectively. The characteristics of RRS spectra of the heparin-dye complexes, the influencing factors, and the optimum conditions of these reactions have been investigated. The RRS intensity is directly proportional to the concentration of heparin in the range of approximately 0 to 0.4 microg/mL for all systems. The methods exhibit high sensitivities, and the detection limits for heparin are 3.35 ng/mL for the VB4R system, 6.62 ng/ mL for the VBB system, and 6.29 ng/mL for the NB system. Because the VB4R system is the most sensitive, it was taken as an example to study the selectivity of the method. A new method for the determination of trace amounts of heparin based on RRS technique has been developed. Moreover, the enhancement reasons of RRS and the relationship between RRS spectral characteristics of the heparin-dye complex and its absorption spectra have been primarily discussed.

Diagnostic potential of near-infrared Raman spectroscopy in the stomach: differentiating dysplasia from normal tissue

Raman spectroscopy is a molecular vibrational spectroscopic technique that is capable of optically probing the biomolecular changes associated with diseased transformation. The purpose of this study was to explore near-infrared (NIR) Raman spectroscopy for identifying dysplasia from normal gastric mucosa tissue. A rapid-acquisition dispersive-type NIR Raman system was utilised for tissue Raman spectroscopic measurements at 785 nm laser excitation. A total of 76 gastric tissue samples obtained from 44 patients who underwent endoscopy investigation or gastrectomy operation were used in this study. The histopathological examinations showed that 55 tissue specimens were normal and 21 were dysplasia. Both the empirical approach and multivariate statistical techniques, including principal components analysis (PCA), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), together with the leave-one-sample-out cross-validation method, were employed to develop effective diagnostic algorithms for classification of Raman spectra between normal and dysplastic gastric tissues. High-quality Raman spectra in the range of 800-1800 cm(-1) can be acquired from gastric tissue within 5 s. There are specific spectral differences in Raman spectra between normal and dysplasia tissue, particularly in the spectral ranges of 1200-1500 cm(-1) and 1600-1800 cm(-1), which contained signals related to amide III and amide I of proteins, CH(3)CH(2) twisting of proteins/nucleic acids, and the C=C stretching mode of phospholipids, respectively. The empirical diagnostic algorithm based on the ratio of the Raman peak intensity at 875 cm(-1) to the peak intensity at 1450 cm(-1) gave the diagnostic sensitivity of 85.7% and specificity of 80.0%, whereas the diagnostic algorithms based on PCA-LDA yielded the diagnostic sensitivity of 95.2% and specificity 90.9% for separating dysplasia from normal gastric tissue. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves further confirmed that the most effective diagnostic algorithm can be derived from the PCA-LDA technique. Therefore, NIR Raman spectroscopy in conjunction with multivariate statistical technique has potential for rapid diagnosis of dysplasia in the stomach based on the optical evaluation of spectral features of biomolecules.

Well-done meat intake and the risk of breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Heterocyclic amines, mutagens formed in meats cooked at high temperatures, have been demonstrated as mammary carcinogens in animals. We conducted a nested, case-control study among 41836 cohort members of the Iowa Women's Health Study to evaluate the potential role of heterocyclic amines and intake of well-done meat in the risk for human breast cancer.

METHODS

A questionnaire was mailed to individuals in the cohort who had breast cancer diagnosed during the period from 1992 through 1994 and a random sample of cancer-free cohort members to obtain information on usual intake of meats and on meat preparation practices. Color photographs showing various doneness levels of hamburger, beefsteak, and bacon were included. Multivariate analysis was performed on data from 273 case subjects and 657 control subjects who completed the survey.

RESULTS

A dose-response relationship was found between doneness levels of meat consumed and breast cancer risk. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for very well-done meat versus rare or medium-done meat were 1.54 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.96-2.47) for hamburger, 2.21 (95% CI=1.30-3.77) for beef steak, and 1.64 (95% CI=0.92-2.93) for bacon. Women who consumed these three meats consistently very well done had a 4.62 times higher risk (95% CI=1.36-15.70) than that of women who consumed the meats rare or medium done. Risk of breast cancer was also elevated with increasing intake of well-done to very well-done meat.

CONCLUSIONS

Consumption of well-done meats and, thus, exposures to heterocyclic amines (or other compounds) formed during high-temperature cooking may play an important role in the risk of breast cancer.

Effect of plant growth temperature on antioxidant capacity in strawberry

The influence of four day/night growing temperature combinations (18/12, 25/12, 25/22, and 30/22 degrees C) on phenolic acid, flavonol, and anthocyanin content and their antioxidant activities against peroxyl radicals (ROO(*)), superoxide radicals (O(2)(*)(-)), hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), hydroxyl radicals (OH(*)), and singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)) in fruit juice of Earliglow and Kent strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) cultivars was studied. Pelargonidin-based anthocyanins such as pelargonidin 3-glucoside (291.3-945.1 microg/g fresh wt.), pelargonidin 3-rutinoside (24.7-50.9 microg/g fresh wt.), and pelargonidin 3-glucoside-succinate (62.2-244.0 microg/g fresh wt.) were the predominant anthocyanins in strawberry fruit juice. The content of cyanidin-based anthocyanins, cyanidin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-glucoside-succinate, was much lower than that of pelargonidin-based anthocyanins. Strawberry growth in high temperature conditions significantly enhanced the content of p-coumaroylglucose, dihydroflavonol, quercetin 3-glucoside, quercetin 3-glucuronide, kaempferol 3-glucoside, kaempferol 3-glucuronide, cyanidin 3-glucoside, pelargonidin 3-glucoside, pelargonidin 3-rutinoside, cyanidin 3-glucoside-succinate, and pelargonidin 3-glucoside-succinate in strawberry juice. Plants grown in the cool day and cool night temperature (18/12 degrees C) generally had the lowest phenolic acid, flavonols, and anthocyanins. An increase in night temperature from 12 to 22 degrees C, with the day temperature kept constant at 25 degrees C, resulted in a significant increase in phenolic acid, flavonols, and anthocyanins. These conditions also resulted in a significant increase in antioxidant capacity. The highest day/night temperature (30/22 degrees C) yielded fruit with the most phenolic content as well as ROO(*), O(2)(*)(-), H(2)O(2), OH(*), and (1)O(2) radical absorbance capacity. Fruit of Kent cv. strawberry had higher values of phenolic acid, flavonols, anthocyanins, and antioxidant capacities than fruit of Earliglow cv. strawberry under all temperature regimes.

A population-based case-control study of childhood leukemia in Shanghai

A population-based case-control interview study of 309 childhood leukemia cases and 618 healthy population control children was conducted in urban Shanghai, China. Like some studies in other countries, excess risks for both acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) were associated with intrauterine and paternal preconception diagnostic x-ray exposure, and with maternal employment in the chemical and agricultural industries during pregnancy. ANLL was linked to maternal occupational exposure to benzene during pregnancy, whereas both ALL and ANLL were significantly associated with maternal exposure to gasoline and the patient's prior use of chloramphenicol. New findings, previously unsuspected, included an association of ANLL with younger maternal age at menarche (odds ratio [OR] = 4.3; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.3-13.9); a protective effect for long-term (greater than 1 year) use of cod liver oil containing vitamins A and D for both ALL (OR = 0.4; 95% CI = 0.2-0.9) and ANLL (OR = 0.3; 95% CI = 0.1-1.0); and excess risks of ANLL among children whose mothers were employed in metal refining and processing (OR = 4.6; 95% CI = 1.3-17.2) and of ALL associated with maternal occupational exposure to pesticides (OR = 3.5; 95% CI = 1.1-11.2). No relationships were found with late maternal age, certain congenital disorders, or familial occurrence, which have been related to childhood leukemia in other studies. In contrast with other reports, an excess of leukemia, primarily ANLL, occurred among second or later-born rather than firstborn children.

Cell injury releases endogenous adjuvants that stimulate cytotoxic T cell responses

General immunostimulants (adjuvants) are essential for generating immunity to many antigens. In bacterial infections, adjuvants are provided by components of the microorganism, e.g., lipopolysaccharide. However, it is unclear what provides the adjuvant effect for immune responses that are generated to tumors and many viruses. Here we show that cell injury and death of tumor or even normal cells provide a potent adjuvant effect for the stimulation of cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses. This adjuvant activity is constitutively present in the cytoplasm of cells and is increased in the cytoplasm of cells dying by apoptosis. The release of these components stimulates immune responses both locally and at a distance, and provides a simple mechanism to alert the immune system to potential danger in almost all pathological situations.

Prospective study of diet and ovarian cancer

Evidence on dietary risk factors for ovarian cancer is inconsistent, but some studies have suggested positive associations with dietary fat, lactose, and cholesterol and negative associations with green and yellow vegetable intake. By using information from the Iowa Women's Health Study, the authors investigated the association of epithelial ovarian cancer with dietary factors in a prospective study of 29,083 postmenopausal women. Dietary information was ascertained via a food frequency questionnaire mailed to participants in 1986. During 10 years of follow-up (1986-1995), 139 of the women developed incident epithelial ovarian cancer. Incidence of the disease was not associated with dietary fat intake. Lactose and cholesterol showed moderately elevated risks. Multivariable-adjusted relative risks for the lowest to highest quartiles of lactose intake were 1.00, 1.38, 1.25, and 1.60 (p for trend = 0.12). For cholesterol, the corresponding values were 1.00, 1.34, 1.86, and 1.55 (p for trend = 0.06). Consumption of eggs was also associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer. Multivariable-adjusted relative risks for increasing frequency of egg consumption were 1.00 (<1/week), 1.12 (1/week), 2.04 (2-4/week), and 1.81 (>4/week) (p for trend = 0.04). Total vegetable intake was modestly and inversely associated with the risk of ovarian cancer (p for trend = 0.21). Green leafy vegetable intake was more strongly associated with a decreased risk: multivariable-adjusted relative risks for the lowest to highest intake levels were 1.00, 0.80, 0.87, and 0.44 (p = 0.01). These findings are generally in agreement with the results from previous, mostly case-control studies of diet and epithelial ovarian cancer.