A multi-throughput multi-organ-on-a-chip system on a plate formatted pneumatic pressure-driven medium circulation platform

This paper reports a multi-throughput multi-organ-on-a-chip system formed on a pneumatic pressure-driven medium circulation platform with a microplate-sized format as a novel type of microphysiological system. The pneumatic pressure-driven platform enabled parallelized multi-organ experiments (i.e. simultaneous operation of multiple multi-organ culture units) and pipette-friendly liquid handling for various conventional cell culture experiments, including cell seeding, medium change, live/dead staining, cell growth analysis, gene expression analysis of collected cells, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of chemical compounds in the culture medium. An eight-throughput two-organ system and a four-throughput four-organ system were constructed on a common platform, with different microfluidic plates. The two-organ system, composed of liver and cancer models, was used to demonstrate the effect of an anticancer prodrug, capecitabine (CAP), whose metabolite 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) after metabolism by HepaRG hepatic cells inhibited the proliferation of HCT-116 cancer cells. The four-organ system, composed of intestine, liver, cancer, and connective tissue models, was used to demonstrate evaluation of the effects of 5-FU and two prodrugs of 5-FU (CAP and tegafur) on multiple organ models, including cancer and connective tissue.

All-optical observation and reconstruction of spin wave dispersion

To know the properties of a particle or a wave, one should measure how its energy changes with its momentum. The relation between them is called the dispersion relation, which encodes essential information of the kinetics. In a magnet, the wave motion of atomic spins serves as an elementary excitation, called a spin wave, and behaves like a fictitious particle. Although the dispersion relation of spin waves governs many of the magnetic properties, observation of their entire dispersion is one of the challenges today. Spin waves whose dispersion is dominated by magnetostatic interaction are called pure-magnetostatic waves, which are still missing despite of their practical importance. Here, we report observation of the band dispersion relation of pure-magnetostatic waves by developing a table-top all-optical spectroscopy named spin-wave tomography. The result unmasks characteristics of pure-magnetostatic waves. We also demonstrate time-resolved measurements, which reveal coherent energy transfer between spin waves and lattice vibrations.

Updated results from GEST study: a randomized, three-arm phase III study for advanced pancreatic cancer

PURPOSE

The GEST study showed non-inferiority of S-1 but not superiority of gemcitabine plus S-1 (GS) to gemcitabine alone for overall survival with the data by the cut-off date of 31st July in 2010 for chemo-naïve patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. We considered it important to determine whether S-1 maintains non-inferiority after a long-term follow-up in the GEST study and to obtain a firm positive conclusion. In addition, it may be an interesting challenge to explore the efficacious profile of GS in the long-term follow-up study. Using the data from the follow-up period, background and efficacy in patients from Taiwan and Japan, as well as the rates of tumor shrinkage in locally advanced and metastatic patients (Waterfall plot) were also analyzed.

METHODS

The results of the primary analysis were reconfirmed, and subset analysis of overall survival and progression-free survival was performed based on the overall survival data updated by the cut-off date of 31st July in 2011.

RESULTS

The median follow-up period was 29.8 months, and 795 deaths occurred (95.6%). The median overall survival was 8.8 months for gemcitabine, 9.7 months for S-1 (hazard ratio [HR], 0.96; 97.5% confidence interval [CI], 0.79-1.17), and 9.9 months for GS (HR 0.91; 97.5% CI 0.75-1.11). In patients with performance status (PS) 0, the median overall survival was 9.8 months for gemcitabine, 10.9 months for S-1, and 10.5 months for GS. In patients with PS 1, the median overall survival was 6.2 months for gemcitabine, 6.3 months for S-1, and 9.6 months for GS.

CONCLUSION

Our survey reconfirmed the non-inferiority of S-1 to gemcitabine and showed S-1 can be used as one of the standard treatment options for advanced pancreatic cancer.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00498225.

Randomised phase II trial of irinotecan plus S-1 in patients with gemcitabine-refractory pancreatic cancer

Background:

We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of irinotecan/S-1 (IRIS) therapy with S-1 monotherapy in patients with gemcitabine-refractory pancreatic cancer.

Methods:

Patients were treated with oral S-1 (80–120 mg for 14 days every 4 weeks) plus intravenous irinotecan (100 mg m⁻² on days 1 and 15 every 4 weeks; IRIS group) or oral S-1 group (80–120 mg daily for 28 days every 6 weeks). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS).

Results:

Of 137 patients enrolled, 127 were eligible for efficacy. The median PFS in the IRIS group and S-1 monotherapy group were 3.5 and 1.9 months, respectively (hazard ratio (HR)=0.77; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.53–1.11; P=0.18), while the median overall survival (OS) were 6.8 and 5.8 months, respectively (HR=0.75; 95% CI, 0.51–1.09; P=0.13). Response rate was significantly higher in the IRIS group than in the S-1 monotherapy group (18.3% vs 6.0%, P=0.03). Grade 3 or higher neutropenia and anorexia occurred more frequently in the IRIS group.

Conclusions:

There was a trend for better PFS and OS in the IRIS group that could be a treatment arm in the clinical trials for gemcitabine-refractory pancreatic cancer.

Multicenter randomized phase II study of cisplatin and fluorouracil plus docetaxel (DCF) compared with cisplatin and fluorouracil plus Adriamycin (ACF) as preoperative chemotherapy for resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OGSG1003)

BACKGROUND

This phase II trial evaluated the efficacy of cisplatin and fluorouracil (CF)-based combination neoadjuvant chemotherapy on the outcome of patients with resectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We compared the recurrence-free survival (RFS) associated with CF plus Adriamycin (ACF) with that associated with CF plus docetaxel (DCF) to select an alternative regimen in a new phase III trial investigating the optimal neoadjuvant treatment of patients with ESCC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with resectable advanced ESCC were randomly assigned to either ACF (Adriamycin 35 mg/m2, cisplatin 70 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1, fluorouracil 700 mg/m2 continuous infusion for 7 days) every 4 weeks or DCF (docetaxel 70 mg/m2, cisplatin 70 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1, fluorouracil 700 mg/m2 continuous infusion for 5 days) every 3 weeks. Surgery was scheduled after completion of two cycles of chemotherapy. The primary end point was RFS, analyzed by the intention-to-treat.

RESULTS

Between October 2011 and October 2013, 162 patients at 10 institutions were enrolled in the study, all of whom were eligible and randomly assigned to the two groups (81 to the ACF group and 81 to the DCF group). The R0 resection rates for the ACF and DCF groups were equivalent (95.9% versus 96.2%, P = 0.93). The 2-year RFS and overall survival rates for DCF versus ACF were 64.1% versus 42.9% (hazard ratio 0.53, 95% confidence interval 0.33-0.83, P = 0.0057) and 78.6% versus 65.4% (P = 0.08), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Compared with ACF, DCF chemotherapy was associated with prolonged RFS for patients with resectable advanced ESCC. Thus, DCF chemotherapy has potential as a standard neoadjuvant therapy for resectable ESCC.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry of Japan (identification number UMIN000004555/000004616).

Possible de novo clear cell carcinoma in the contralateral ovary 9 years after fertility-sparing surgery for Stage IA clear cell ovarian carcinoma

A patient who underwent fertility-sparing surgery for Stage IA clear cell carcinoma may have developed de novo clear cell carcinoma in the contralateral ovary 9 years later. She underwent fertility-sparing surgery and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for right ovarian carcinoma at 33 years of age (when endometriosis was observed in the contralateral ovary). At the age of 41 years, a tumor was discovered in the left ovary. This was diagnosed pathologically as clear cell carcinoma with clear cell adenofibroma, which may have developed de novo. A consensus is currently taking shape that although fertility-sparing surgery is a therapeutic option for patients with Stage IA clear cell carcinoma, long-term outpatient monitoring is advised to watch for its recurrence or de novo development in the contralateral ovary.

A pneumatic pressure-driven multi-throughput microfluidic circulation culture system

Here, we report a pneumatic pressure-driven microfluidic device capable of multi-throughput medium circulation culture. The circulation culture system has the following advantages for application in drug discovery: (i) simultaneous operation of multiple circulation units, (ii) use of a small amount of circulating medium (3.5 mL), (iii) pipette-friendly liquid handling, and (iv) a detachable interface with pneumatic pressure lines via sterile air-vent filters. The microfluidic device contains three independent circulation culture units, in which human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured under physiological shear stress induced by circulation of the medium. Circulation of the medium in the three culture units was generated by programmed sequentially applied pressure from two pressure-control lines. HUVECs cultured in the microfluidic device were aligned under a one-way circulating flow with a shear stress of 10 dyn cm(-2); they exhibited a randomly ordered alignment under no shear stress and under reciprocating flow with a shear stress of 10 dyn cm(-2). We also observed 2.8- to 4.9-fold increases in expression of the mRNAs of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and thrombomodulin under one-way circulating flow with a shear stress of 10 dyn cm(-2) compared with conditions of no shear stress or reciprocating flow.

Fish collagen is an important panallergen in the Japanese population

Collagen was identified as a fish allergen in early 2000s. Although its allergenic potential has been suggested to be low, risks associated with collagen as a fish allergen have not been evaluated to a greater extent. In this study, we aimed to clarify the importance of collagen as a fish allergen. Our results showed that 50% of Japanese patients with fish allergy had immunoglobulin E (IgE) against mackerel collagen, whereas 44% had IgE against mackerel parvalbumin. IgE inhibition assay revealed high cross-reactivity of mackerel collagen to 22 fish species (inhibition rates: 87-98%). Furthermore, a recently developed allergy test demonstrated that collagen triggered IgE cross-linking on mast cells. These data indicate that fish collagen is an important and very common panallergen in fish consumed in Japan. The high rate of individuals' collagen allergy may be attributable to the traditional Japanese custom of raw fish consumption.