[Surgical treatment and prognostic factors in colorectal cancer]

AIM

The aim of this study was to make a contribution to improve the care of patients with colorectal cancer by optimizing times and methods of the follow-up; particular attention is given to factors which may be important for the prognosis and for the quality of life in the immediate postoperative period.

METHODS

The study includes all the patients with colorectal cancer who underwent laparotomic surgical treatment from 1996 to 2003. The total number of patients was 226 with an average age of 65 years; male to female ratio was 1.57:1. According to the stage of tumor, an adjuvant radiotherapeutic and/or chemiotherapeutic treatment was associated to surgery.

RESULTS

On the basis of the preoperative staging and tumor localization, our patients underwent: 3 total colectomies, 57 right hemicolectomies, 137 left hemicolectomies, 6 Hartmann resections, 19 Miles resections, 4 transverse resections.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained show that the 5-year overall survival is particularly influenced by the stage and the factors which directly or indirectly affect the primary tumor; thus the prognostic factors which should be considered for the survival and in the follow-up of these patients are: stage, grading and nodal involvement of the tumor.

High-resolution ROMA CGH and FISH analysis of aneuploid and diploid breast tumors

Combining representational oligonucleotide microarray analysis (ROMA) of tumor DNA with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of individual tumor cells provides the opportunity to detect and validate a wide range of amplifications, deletions, and rearrangements directly in frozen tumor samples. We have used these combined techniques to examine 101 aneuploid and diploid breast tumors for which long-term follow-up and detailed clinical information were available. We have determined that ROMA provides accurate and sensitive detection of duplications, amplifications, and deletions and yields defined boundaries for these events with a resolution of <50 kbp in most cases. We find that diploid tumors exhibit fewer rearrangements on average than aneuploids, but rearrangements occur at the same locations in both types. Diploid tumors reflect at least three consistent patterns of rearrangement. The reproducibility and frequency of these events, especially in very early stage tumors, provide insight into the earliest chromosomal events in breast cancer. We have also identified correlations between certain sets of rearrangement events and clinically relevant parameters such as long-term survival. These correlations may enable novel prognostic indicators for breast and other cancers as more samples are analyzed.

[Geriatric questionnaire assessment in the sanitary district 50 of the ASL NA1]

In this study it has been estimated the prevalence of the disability in the over 65 population, resident in the sanitary district 50 of the ASL NA1. The aim is an appropriate nursing planning based on the needs of the population. The used geriatric questionnaire is provided by law (ex art. 70 comma 1 lettera a. del DPR 270/2000). The general practitioners of the district filled in 6014 questionnaires. The elders that resulted as self-reliant at the ADL and self-sufficient at the IADL are 86.9% and 80.2% respectively. 54.9% of the elders are free from slight or heavy depression. 81.7% are not going to have mental worst damage. Depression is statistically related to a low income and to a low level of self-reliance and self-sufficiency at the ADL and IADL questionnaire. The study evaluated important formative needs of the elders and pointed out some issues regarding the questionnaire structure and its filling in.

Plasma glucose level decreases as collateral effect of fermented papaya preparation use

AIM

Fermented Papaya Preparation (FPP) is a natural healthy drug that has been commercially sold in Japan and Philippines. This nutricetive, bio-normalizer product has antioxidant action, inhibitory effect on oxidative DNA damage and tissue injury, being a potent OH scavanger. The wide use of FPP, expecially by elderly people, made us note an unknown collateral effect, i.e., blood sugar level dropping signs especially in the afternoon. The aim of the present work was to scientifically verify the possibility that individuals, who are taking the nutriceutical FPP, might have a decrease of plasma sugar levels.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

For this purpose, 50 subjects, divided in two groups, were enrolled. The first group was made of 25 patients: 13 females and 12 males affected by type-2 diabetes mellitus under treatment with the oral antidiabetic drug, glybenclamide. The control group included 25 clinically-healthy subjects: 16 females and 9 males, matching in age. All subjects were given 3 grams of FPP daily, during lunch, for two months.

RESULTS

The results of this study confirmed the empirical experience that FPP use can induce a significant decrease in plasma sugar levels in both healthy subjects and type 2 diabetic patients. This hypoglycaemic effect, associated with clinical signs, induced the diabetic patients to reduce the dosage of their antidiabetic oral therapy (in one patient the therapy was really suspended).

CONCLUSIONS

In accordance with these results, the FPP administration is suggested as an adjuvant drug to join the oral antidiabetic therapy in type 2 diabetes meltus.

Sexuality in aging male

A high percentage of men aged 60 or older have satisfactory sexual activity, even if reduced sexual desire, frequency of intercourses and erections, impaired satisfaction with sex and difficulty with orgasm, and decreased semen volume frequently occur. The present report analyses the following issues: erectile dysfunction, fertility, the role of hormones in influencing libido and erection mechanisms, and the therapeutic strategies suggested.

A device to study the effect of space radiation on photosynthetic organisms

This research concerns the study of the effects of ionising space radiation on the oxygen-evolving activity of algae and cyanobacteria, focusing our attention on Photosystem II (PS-II), the oxygen-evolving complex. These microorganisms as higher plants, can use light energy to split water molecules and evolve oxygen in a process that produce storable energy-rich products from atmospheric carbon dioxide. Algae and cyanobacteria which can grow in the presence of nutrients and carbonate are expected to be utilised to maintain an oxygen-atmosphere and to constitute biomass in space shuttles. Irradiation was performed in gamma 60Co-sources of different activities; fluorescence techniques in vivo and SDS-PAGE analysis in vitro were used to determine PS-II efficiency during radiation stress. We determined the radiation target on PS-II by immunoblot. We built a miniaturised growth box that preserves constant pressure and temperature to measure automatically photosynthetic activity by a fluorescence sensor, directly in space during a mission in an ASI balloon.

A bio-dosemeter that utilises isolated enzymes to detect ionising radiation

The development of a biosensor for the detection of ionising radiation (biodosemeter) utilising the advantageous properties of the photosystem II (PSII) complex and its response to ionising radiation is reported. The transducer signal for this biosensor can be fluorescence, which is dependent on photosynthetic activity. Exposure of biological material to ionising radiation leads to a loss of function due to the destruction of critical structures. Radiation target theory predicts an exponential decrease in biochemical activity that is dependent on the absorbed radiation energy and directly proportional to the mass of the individual molecules possessing this activity. The activity is lost whenever the protein is hit since very high energy is transferred through the chain. Several approaches were used to optimise the immobilisation of PSII complexes to improve the sensitivity of the bio-dosemeter.

[Comparison between integrated 24-hour concentrations of growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor I and prolactin in acromegalic patients treated with octreotide and patients treated with octreotide LAR]

The current therapeutic options for acromegalic patients (surgery, radiation therapy and/or pharmacological treatment) do not always lead to a definitive resolution of the disorder. Recently, octreotide (OC) and, more recently, octreotide LAR (OC-LAR), a new slow-release formulation of the long-acting somatostatin analog, have been regarded as the primary treatment for acromegaly. This study reports our observations of the integrated 24-hour concentrations of GH, IGF-I and prolactin (PRL) in acromegalic patients treated with octreotide (OC) and octreotide LAR (OC-LAR), highlighting lower percentages of apparent remissions.

A role for initiation codon context in chloroplast translation

To study the role of initiation codon context in chloroplast protein synthesis, we mutated the three nucleotides immediately upstream of the initiation codon (the -1 triplet) of two chloroplast genes in the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. In prokaryotes, the -1 triplet has been proposed to base pair with either the 530 loop of 16S rRNA or the extended anticodon of fMet-tRNA. We found that in vivo, none of the chloroplast mutations affected mRNA stability. However, certain mutations did cause a temperature-sensitive decrease in translation and a more dramatic decrease at room temperature when combined with an AUU initiation codon. These mutations disrupt the proposed extended base pairing interaction with the fMet-tRNA anticodon loop, suggesting that this interaction may be important in vivo. Mutations that would still permit base pairing with the 530 loop of the 16S rRNA also had a negative effect on translation, suggesting that this interaction does not occur in vivo. Extended base pairing surrounding the initiation codon may be part of a mechanism to compensate for the lack of a classic Shine-Dalgarno rRNA interaction in the translation of some chloroplast mRNAs.

Protein and DNA requirements of the bacteriophage HP1 recombination system: a model for intasome formation

A fundamental step in site-specific recombination reactions involves the formation of properly arranged protein-DNA structures termed intasomes. The contributions of various proteins and DNA binding sites in the intasome determine not only whether recombination can occur, but also in which direction the reaction is likely to proceed and how fast the reaction will go. By mutating individual DNA binding sites and observing the effects of various mixtures of recombination proteins on the mutated substrates, we have begun to categorize the requirements for intasome formation in the site-specific recombination system of bacteriophage HP1. These experiments define the binding site occupancies in both integrative and excessive recombination for the three recombination proteins: HP1 integrase, HP1 Cox and IHF. This data has allowed us to create a model which explains many of the biochemical features of HP1 recombination, demonstrates the importance of intasome components on the directionality of the reaction and predicts further ways in which the role of the intasome can be explored.

A role for initiation codon context in chloroplast translation

To study the role of initiation codon context in chloroplast protein synthesis, we mutated the three nucleotides immediately upstream of the initiation codon (the -1 triplet) of two chloroplast genes in the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. In prokaryotes, the -1 triplet has been proposed to base pair with either the 530 loop of 16S rRNA or the extended anticodon of fMet-tRNA. We found that in vivo, none of the chloroplast mutations affected mRNA stability. However, certain mutations did cause a temperature-sensitive decrease in translation and a more dramatic decrease at room temperature when combined with an AUU initiation codon. These mutations disrupt the proposed extended base pairing interaction with the fMet-tRNA anticodon loop, suggesting that this interaction may be important in vivo. Mutations that would still permit base pairing with the 530 loop of the 16S rRNA also had a negative effect on translation, suggesting that this interaction does not occur in vivo. Extended base pairing surrounding the initiation codon may be part of a mechanism to compensate for the lack of a classic Shine-Dalgarno rRNA interaction in the translation of some chloroplast mRNAs.

[Somatostatin receptor genes expression and effects of octreotide on orbital fibroblasts from Graves' ophthalmopathy]

BACKGROUND

Recent data demonstrated that somatostatin (SRIH) analogues octreotide is effective in Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO), but their mechanism of action in GO is still unclear. In this study we investigated the expression of SRIH receptor (sst1-5) genes and the effect of octreotide treatment on primary cultures of fibroblasts established from retroorbital tissue of GO patients and of control subjects.

METHODS

Retro-orbital connective tissue was obtained from 10 patients with GO and from 6 control subjects undergoing eye surgery. Fibroblasts were established in MEM with 5-10% FCS. The expression of sst1-5 genes was studied by RT-PCR using specific primers and GAPDH as internal control. Cells were treated with octreotide (10-8M, 10-9M) for 48-72-96 h to evaluate cell growth by MTT, cAMP accumulation by RIA and apoptosis by TUNEL techniques.

RESULTS

All primary cultures expressed one or more ssts genes that have a high affinity for the two analogues (class 1 sst). The sst2 transcript was found in 9, sst3 in 5 and sst5 in 8 out of 10 GO cell cultures. sst2 was detected in all 6, and sst3 in 4 of the 6 control cell cultures. Octreotide (10-6 and 10-7M) significantly inhibited cell growth (p<0,01-0,05), significantly decreased forskolin-induced-cAMP accumulation, and determined apoptosis (10-18%).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrated that sst transcripts are expressed and functional in cultured retroorbital fibroblasts. The presence of class 1 sst in GO tissue and the inhibition exerted by octreotide on retroorbital cell growth and activity in vitro may account for the effects of SRIH analogue administration in vivo in GO.

The cytoplasmic and transmembrane domains of the p75 and Trk A receptors regulate high affinity binding to nerve growth factor

Ligand-induced receptor oligomerization is an established mechanism for receptor-tyrosine kinase activation. However, numerous receptor-tyrosine kinases are expressed in multicomponent complexes with other receptors that may signal independently or alter the binding characteristics of the receptor-tyrosine kinase. Nerve growth factor (NGF) interacts with two structurally unrelated receptors, the Trk A receptor-tyrosine kinase and p75, a tumor necrosis factor receptor family member. Each receptor binds independently to NGF with predominantly low affinity (K(d) = 10(-9) m), but they produce high affinity binding sites (K(d) = 10(-11) m) upon receptor co-expression. Here we provide evidence that the number of high affinity sites is regulated by the ratio of the two receptors and by specific domains of Trk A and p75. Co-expression of Trk A containing mutant transmembrane or cytoplasmic domains with p75 yielded reduced numbers of high affinity binding sites. Similarly, co-expression of mutant p75 containing altered transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains with Trk A also resulted in predominantly low affinity binding sites. Surprisingly, extracellular domain mutations of p75 that abolished NGF binding still generated high affinity binding with Trk A. These results indicate that the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of Trk A and p75 are responsible for high affinity site formation and suggest that p75 alters the conformation of Trk A to generate high affinity NGF binding.

Estrogen receptor beta expression in human prostate tissue

Estrogen receptor subtype beta (ERbeta) is highly expressed in rat prostate epithelium, but its presence in human prostate needs to be confirmed. Here we investigated the expression of ERbeta in five benign (normal and/or hyperplastic) and 10 malignant (Gleasons' score 2-7) prostate tissue specimens using immunohistochemistry. Immunohistochemistry was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections, using a commercially available ERbeta polyclonal antibody developed against the C-terminal amino acid residue. Nuclear ERbeta expression was found in the nuclei of glandular epithelium of benign prostate tissue specimens; faint nuclear ERbeta positivity was also present in a few stromal cells around normal epithelium. Nuclear ERbeta specific immunostaining was undetectable in all prostate cancer sections.

Loss of estrogen receptor beta expression in malignant human prostate cells in primary cultures and in prostate cancer tissues

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) beta and alpha genes in normal (N) and malignant (C) primary cultures of human prostate epithelial cells (PEC) and fibroblasts (PFC) and in the prostate tissue donors. Both ERbeta and ERalpha messenger ribonucleic acids were found by RT-PCR analysis in six NPECs and normal prostate tissues and in only one of six CPECs and in the respective cancer tissue donor. The other five CPECs and related cancer tissue donors and all normal and cancer PFCs expressed ERalpha messenger ribonucleic acid alone. Immunoblot analysis, using a polyclonal anti-ERbeta (C-terminal) antibody, demonstrated ERbeta protein in all NPEC lysates and in one of the six CPECS: ERalpha protein was expressed in both NPECs and CPECs when a polyclonal antibody directed against the ERalpha N-terminal domain was used. In contrast, ERalpha protein was not detected in two of the six CPEC lysates when ERalpha C-terminal monoclonal antibodies were used. Using a set of primers designed to amplify the region from exons 6-8, RT-PCR analysis demonstrated the absence of the expected transcript in these cells. The present study shows that the ERbeta gene is expressed together with ERalpha in normal prostates and NPECs, whereas it is barely detectable in prostate cancer and CPECS: Moreover, in some CPECs, the ERalpha gene may be transcribed in a changed protein, resulting from the expression of a deletion variant. Together, these data suggest that prostate malignancy is associated with a potential disorder of ER-mediated pathways.

Structural characterization of the N-terminal oligomerization domain of the bacterial chromatin-structuring protein, H-NS

The H-NS protein plays a key role in condensing DNA and modulating gene expression in bacterial nucleoids. The mechanism by which this is achieved is dependent, at least in part, on the oligomerization of the protein. H-NS consists of two distinct domains; the N-terminal domain responsible for protein oligomerization, and the C-terminal DNA binding domain, which are separated by a flexible linker region. We present a multidimensional NMR study of the amino-terminal 64 residues of H-NS (denoted H-NS1-64) from Salmonella typhimurium, which constitute the oligomerization domain. This domain exists as a homotrimer, which is predicted to be self-associated through a coiled-coil configuration. NMR spectra show an equivalent magnetic environment for each monomer indicating that the polypeptide chains are arranged in parallel with complete 3-fold symmetry. Despite the limited resonance dispersion, an almost complete backbone assignment for 1H(N), 1H(alpha), 15N, 13CO and 13C(alpha) NMR resonances was obtained using a suite of triple resonance experiments applied to uniformly 15N-, 13C/15N- and 2H/13C/15N-labelled H-NS1-64 samples. The secondary structure of H-NS1-64 has been identified on the basis of the analysis of 1H(alpha), 13C(alpha), 13Cbeta and 13CO chemical shifts, NH/solvent exchange rates, intra-chain H(N)-H(N) and medium-range nuclear Overhauser enhancements (NOEs). Within the context of the homotrimer, each H-NS1-64 protomer consists of three alpha-helices spanning residues 2-8, 12-20 and 22-53, respectively. A topological model is presented for the symmetric H-NS1-64 trimer based upon the combined analysis of the helical elements and the pattern of backbone amide group 15N nuclear relaxation rates within the context of axially asymmetric diffusion tensor. In this model, the longest of the three helices (helix 3, residues 22-53) forms a coiled-coil interface with the other chains in the homotrimer. The two shorter N-terminal helices fold back onto the outer surface of the coiled-coil core and potentially act to stabilise this configuration.

A nucleus-encoded suppressor defines a new factor which can promote petD mRNA stability in the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Mutations in the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii nuclear gene MCD1 specifically destabilize the chloroplast petD mRNA, which encodes subunit IV of the cytochrome b6/f complex. The MCD1 gene product is thought to interact with the mRNA 5' end to protect it from degradation by a 5' --> 3' exoribonuclease and may also have a role in translation initiation. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a semidominant, allele-specific, nucleus-encoded suppressor of the mcd1-2 mutation. The suppressor mutation, which defines a new locus MCD2, allows accumulation of 10% of the wild-type level of petD mRNA and as much as 50% of the wild-type subunit IV level. Taken together, these results suggest the suppressor mutation restores photosynthetic growth by stabilizing petD mRNA. In addition, it may promote increased translational efficiency, an inference supported by direct measurements of the subunit IV synthesis rate. Thus, both MCD1 and MCD2 may participate in both chloroplast RNA stability and translation initiation.

Detecting gene copy number fluctuations in tumor cells by microarray analysis of genomic representations

In this work, we explore the use of representations in conjunction with DNA microarray technology to measure gene copy number changes in cancer. We demonstrate that arrays of DNA probes derived from low-complexity representations can be used to detect amplifications, deletions, and polymorphic differences when hybridized to representations of genomic DNA. The method is both reproducible and verifiable, and is applicable even to microscopic amounts of primary tumors. We also present a mathematical model for array performance that is useful for designing and understanding DNA microarray hybridization protocols. The future applications and challenges of this approach are discussed.