Six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of prostate 4 (STEAP4) is expressed on monocytes/neutrophils, and is regulated by TNF antagonist in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVES

Human six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of prostate 4 (STEAP4) is one of the STEAP family as a homologue of mouse tumour necrosis factor-α-induced adipose-related protein (TIARP). Recently, we reported that the TIARP gene expression was remarkably increased in spleen and joints of glucose-6-phosphate isomerise (GPI)-induced arthritis model, suggesting pivotal association to arthritis. The aim of the present study was to assess the expression, localisation and function of STEAP4 in peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

METHODS

Peripheral blood was obtained from seven patients with RA, the surface expression of STEAP4 was detected by flow cytometry. The number of neutrophils was compared with the expression of STEAP4 mRNA derived from peripheral blood of patients with RA. Neutrophils were introduced by HL60 with retinoic acid, and were transfected with GFP-STEAP4 plasmid DNA, then the migration of neutrophil-like HL60 was determined by transwell assay. In addition, the fluctuation of STEAP4 mRNA was analysed before and after treatment with infliximab in 40 patients with RA.

RESULTS

STEAP4 was expressed on monocytes and neutrophils in peripheral blood in RA. The number of neutrophils and expression of STEAP4 mRNA was positively correlated. Migration of neutrophil-like HL60 was down-regulated by over-expression of STEAP4. Expression of STEAP4 Mrna was significantly decreased after infliximab treatment in patients with RA, especially in good responders.

CONCLUSIONS

STEAP4 is expressed on monocytes and neutrophils in peripheral blood, regulates cell migration, is down-regulated by TNF antagonist, and might be a possible predictor of response to TNF antagonist.

TGF-β drives epithelial-mesenchymal transition through δEF1-mediated downregulation of ESRP

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial event in wound healing, tissue repair and cancer progression in adult tissues. We have recently shown that transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-induced EMT involves isoform switching of fibroblast growth factor receptors by alternative splicing. We performed a microarray-based analysis at single exon level to elucidate changes in splicing variants generated during TGF-β-induced EMT, and found that TGF-β induces broad alteration of splicing patterns by downregulating epithelial splicing regulatory proteins (ESRPs). This was achieved by TGF-β-mediated upregulation of δEF1 family proteins, δEF1 and SIP1. δEF1 and SIP1 each remarkably repressed ESRP2 transcription through binding to the ESRP2 promoter in NMuMG cells. Silencing of both δEF1 and SIP1, but not either alone, abolished the TGF-β-induced ESRP repression. The expression profiles of ESRPs were inversely related to those of δEF1 and SIP in human breast cancer cell lines and primary tumor specimens. Further, overexpression of ESRPs in TGF-β-treated cells resulted in restoration of the epithelial splicing profiles as well as attenuation of certain phenotypes of EMT. Therefore, δEF1 family proteins repress the expression of ESRPs to regulate alternative splicing during TGF-β-induced EMT and the progression of breast cancers.

Characterization of nanoscale mechanical heterogeneity in a metallic glass by dynamic force microscopy

We report nanoscale mechanical heterogeneity of a metallic glass characterized by dynamic force microscopy. Apparent energy dissipation with a variation of ~12%, originating from nonuniform distribution of local viscoelasticity, was observed. The correlation length of the heterogeneity was measured to be ~2.5 nm, consistent with the dimension of shear transformation zones for plastic flow. This study provides the first experimental evidence on the nanoscale viscoelastic heterogeneity in metallic glasses and may fill the gap between atomic models and macroscopic glass properties.

Structure and nano-mechanical characteristics of surface oxide layers on a metallic glass

Owing to their low elastic moduli, high specific strength and excellent processing characteristics in the undercooled liquid state, metallic glasses are promising materials for applications in micromechanical systems. With miniaturization of metallic mechanical components down to the micrometer scale, the importance of a native oxide layer on a glass surface is increasing. In this work we use TEM and XPS to characterize the structure and properties of the native oxide layer grown on Ni(62)Nb(38) metallic glass and their evolution after annealing in air. The thickness of the oxide layer almost doubled after annealing. In both cases the oxide layer is amorphous and consists predominantly of Nb oxide. We investigate the friction behavior at low loads and in ambient conditions (i.e. at T = 295 K and 60% air humidity) of both as-cast and annealed samples by friction force microscopy. After annealing the friction coefficient is found to have significantly increased. We attribute this effect to the increase of the mechanical stability of the oxide layer upon annealing.

Nanocrystalline TiAl Compacts Prepared by Hddr and Hot Pressing

Nanocrystalline TiAl powder was formed by the modified HDDR (hydrogenation-disproportion-dehydrogenaton-recombination) method utilizing ball milling in a hydrogen atmosphere. That is, TiAl compound powder decomposed into TiH2 and Al-rich TiAl powders by mechanical grinding in a hydrogen atmosphere (HD process). Dehydrogenaton-recombination (realloying) resulted in the formation of nanocrystalline TiAl powder when heated to about 700 K in an argon atmosphere (DR process). Almost fully dense nanocrystalline TiAl compacts were prepared by a combination of HDDR and hot-pressing at 873 K which is lower than the usual consolidation temperature by about 300 K. The TiAl compact thus made was brittle in the as-pressed state but showed compressive ductility after annealing.

Volume Effects in Bulk Metallic Glass Formation

Atomic volume effects in amorphous alloys obtained by rapid solidification and in bulk glasses are briefly reviewed. It is recalled that at high undercoolings, the release at the growth fronts, of the volume corresponding to the reduction of the molar volume upon solidification can sharply accelerate crystal growth in the melt through viscosity reduction. A method is then proposed for estimating the volume of mixing ΔVmix which is negative for elemental additions to glass-forming liquid alloy. It is argued that negative ΔVmix reduces atomic mobility in easy glass-forming alloys thus allowing the suppression during cooling, of nucleation and growth of crystallites. The ZrCuNi system is used as an example for applying this reasoning. It is shown that Al or Ti addition to ZrNiCu alloys lead to strongly negative ΔVmix and expected sharp drops in diffusion-controlled crystal growth kinetics in the melt.

Synthesis and Properties of Ferromagnetic Bulk Amorphous Alloys

Since an amorphous phase in Au-Si system was synthesized for the first time by rapid solidification in 1960[1], a large number of amorphous alloys have been prepared by various rapid solidification techniques. As the main amorphous alloy systems, one can list up the noble metal-, Fe-, Co-, Ni-, Ti-, Zr-, Nb-, Mo-, lanthanide(Ln)-, Al- and Mg-based alloys. Among these alloy systems, Fe-[2], Co-[2] and Al-[3]based amorphous alloys have been used in application fields of magnetic and high specific-strength materials. Thus, Fe- and Co-based amorphous alloys have gained the most important position as engineering amorphous alloys. When special attention is paid to Fe-based amorphous alloys, Fe-P-C alloys were synthesized in 1967[4] as the first Febased amorphous alloy. Subsequently, engineering important (Fe,Co)-Si-B amorphous alloys have been developed in 1974[5][6], followed by the formation of (Fe,Co,Ni)-(Cr,Mo,W)-C in 1978[7], (Fe,Co,Ni)-(Zr,Hf) in 1980[8] and then (Fe,Co,Ni)-(Zr,HfNb)-B amorphous alloys in 1981[9]. The (Fe,Co)-Si-B amorphous alloys have been used in many application fields as soft magnetic materials[2]. However, after 1981, nobody have succeeded in finding a new amorphous alloy in Fe- and Co-based systems by rapid solidification from liquid phase. Besides, all these amorphous alloys have serious disadvantages that high cooling rates above 105 K/s are required for glass formation and the resulting sample thickness is limited to less than about 50 μm[ 10]. Great efforts have been devoted to find Fe- and Co-based amorphous alloys with a high thermal stability of supercooled liquid against crystallization and a high glass-forming ability (GFA). Very recently, we have succeeded in finding new ferromagnetic bulk amorphous alloys with critical sample thicknesses ranging from I to 15 mm in Fe-(AI,Ga)-(P,C,B,Si)[11]-[14], (Fe,Co,Ni)-(Zr,IHf,Nb)- B[15]-[17], (Fe,Co)-(Zr,Hf)-(Nb,Ta)-(Mo,W)-B[18], (Fe,Co)-Ln-B[19] (Ln=lanthanide metal) and (Nd,Pr)-Fe-Al[20]-[22] systems. In this review, we present the formation, thermal stability, mechanical strength and magnetic properties of these new ferromagnetic bulk amorphous alloys.

Oxygen Distribution in Zr-Based Metallic Glasses

This paper reports the atom probe analysis results of the oxygen dissolved in the as-cast amorphous and crystallized Zr65Cu15Al10Pd10 and Zr65Cul17.5Ni10Al17.5 alloys. Impurity oxygen ranging from 0.1 to 1 at.% is dissolved uniformly in the as-quenched Zr65Cu15A110Pd10 and Zr65Cu17.5Ni10Al7.5 amorphous alloys even though the oxygen is not added intentionally. When the Zr65Cu15Al10Pd10 alloy is crystallized, oxygen redistribution occurs; it is rejected from the primary Zr2 (Cu, Pd) crystals and partitioned in the subsequently crystallized phases. Oxygen atoms are enriched in some of the crystalline phases up to approximately 4 at.%, and virtually no oxygen is dissolved in the remaining amorphous phase. In the partially crystallized Zr65Cu17.5Ni10Al7.5 alloy, fine oxygen enriched particles containing ∼ 15 at.%O have been detected in direct contacted with crystalline grains. This work demonstrates that oxygen redistribution occurs during the crystallization reaction, thereby influencing the kinetics of crystallization.

In-Situ Electron Diffraction Study of Structural Change in the Super-Cooled Liquid Region in Amorphous La-Al-Ni Alloy

Atomic structures of an amorphous La55A125Ni20 alloy in the supercooled liquid state have been investigated by in-situ electron diffraction using a specimen-heating stage in TEM and the imaging-plate intensity recording. From the analysis of atomic pair distribution functions, changes in interatomic distances and coordination numbers were clearly observed at temperatures in the supercooled liquid state. From the reverse Monte Carlo simulations, structural units (icosahedral, Archimedean anti-prism and trigonal prism atomic clusters) typical of the metallic glass structure were found and increased in the supercooled liquid region. In addition, the deformation behavior was investigated using tensile test. The superplastic elongation was confirmed at optimum strain rates in the supercooled liquid region. From the TEM observation of tensile tested specimens with superplastic elongation, β-La (fcc) nano precipitates in the amorphous matrix were confirmed. The superplasticity in this alloy is thought to originate in viscous flow due to the glassy structure formation but is closely related to an additional flow mode with the microcrystalline precipitation from the amorphous state during the deformation.

Development Of High-Strength Aluminum-Based Alloys By Synthesis Of New Multicomponent Quasicrystals

By the control of composition, clustered atomic configuration and stability of the supercooled liquid in the rapid solidification and powder metallurgy processes, high-strength Al-based bulk alloys containing nanoscale nonperiodic phases were produced in AI-Ln-LTM, AI-ETM-LTM and Al-(V, Cr, Mn)-LTM (Ln=lanthanide metal, LTM=VII and VIII group metals, ETM=IV to VI group metals) alloys containing high Al contents of 92 to 95 at%. The nonperiodic phases are composed of amorphous or icosahedral (I) phase. In particular, the Al-based bulk alloys consisting of nanoscale I particles surrounded by Al phase exhibit much better mechanical properties as compared with commercial Al base alloys. The success of producing the Al-based alloys with good engineering properties by use of I phase is important for future development of I-based alloys as practical materials.

Seasonal changes of PFOS and PFOA concentrations in Lake Biwa water

A survey on seasonal concentration changes of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was performed for surface water in Lake Biwa (14 sites) from February to November in 2009. The concentrations of PFOS and PFOA were 0.8-1.6 and 7.0-10 ng/L in northern basin of Lake Biwa (eight sites), 0.9-1.7 and 8.3-13 ng/L in southern basin of Lake Biwa except Akanoi Bay (four sites), 1.4-2.8 and 9.1-17 ng/L in Akanoi Bay (8C) and 2.4-5.3 and 12-26 ng/L in Akanoi Bay (168), respectively. Seasonal changes were recognized for both of PFOS and PFOA in the two sites of Akanoi Bay but not in the other sites of the southern and northern basins of Lake Biwa. Monthly detailed surveys in the surface water were performed on the changes of PFOS and PFOA concentrations from June in 2009 to May in 2010 and further on the changes of conductivity values. The changes of PFOS and PFOA concentrations were well consistent with those of conductivity values.

Image quality of multiplanar reconstruction of pulmonary CT scans using adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction

OBJECTIVE

We investigated the image quality of multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) using adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR).

METHODS

Inflated and fixed lungs were scanned with a garnet detector CT in high-resolution mode (HR mode) or non-high-resolution (HR) mode, and MPR images were then reconstructed. Observers compared 15 MPR images of ASIR (40%) and ASIR (80%) with those of ASIR (0%), and assessed image quality using a visual five-point scale (1, definitely inferior; 5, definitely superior), with particular emphasis on normal pulmonary structures, artefacts, noise and overall image quality.

RESULTS

The mean overall image quality scores in HR mode were 3.67 with ASIR (40%) and 4.97 with ASIR (80%). Those in non-HR mode were 3.27 with ASIR (40%) and 3.90 with ASIR (80%). The mean artefact scores in HR mode were 3.13 with ASIR (40%) and 3.63 with ASIR (80%), but those in non-HR mode were 2.87 with ASIR (40%) and 2.53 with ASIR (80%). The mean scores of the other parameters were greater than 3, whereas those in HR mode were higher than those in non-HR mode. There were significant differences between ASIR (40%) and ASIR (80%) in overall image quality (p<0.01). Contrast medium in the injection syringe was scanned to analyse image quality; ASIR did not suppress the severe artefacts of contrast medium.

CONCLUSION

In general, MPR image quality with ASIR (80%) was superior to that with ASIR (40%). However, there was an increased incidence of artefacts by ASIR when CT images were obtained in non-HR mode.

Pseudomonas putida Which Can Grow in the Presence of Toluene

A Pseudomonas putida strain able to grow in the presence of more than 50% toluene was isolated from soil. The strain was tolerant of other toxic solvents, including aliphatic hydrocarbons, alicyclic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, and ethers. The stability of the solvent tolerance of strain IH-2000 was stimulated by addition of Mg and Ca to the medium containing toluene.

Factors affecting efficacy in patients with genotype 2 chronic hepatitis C treated by pegylated interferon alpha-2b and ribavirin: reducing drug doses has no impact on rapid and sustained virological responses

Reducing the dose of drug affects treatment efficacy in pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN) and ribavirin combination therapy for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of drug exposure, as well as the baseline factors and the virological response on the treatment efficacy for genotype 2 patients. Two-hundred and fifty patients with genotype 2 HCV who were to undergo combination therapy for 24 weeks were included in the study, and 213 completed the treatment. Significantly more patients who achieved a rapid virological response (RVR), defined as HCV RNA negativity at week 4, achieved a sustained virological response (SVR) (92%, 122/133) compared with patients who failed to achieve RVR (48%, 38/80) (P < 0.0001). Multivariate logistic-regression analysis showed that only platelet counts [odds ratio (OR), 1.68; confidence interval (CI), 1.002-1.139] and RVR (OR, 11.251; CI, 5.184-24.419) were independently associated with SVR, with no correlation being found for the mean dose of Peg-IFN and ribavirin for RVR and SVR. Furthermore, in the stratification analysis of the timing of viral clearance, neither mean dose of Peg-IFN (P = 0.795) nor ribavirin (P = 0.649) affected SVR in each group. Among the patients with RVR, the lowest dose group of Peg-IFN (0.77 +/- 0.10 microg/kg/week) and ribavirin (6.9 +/- 0.90 mg/kg/day) showed 100% and 94% of SVR. Hence, RVR served as an important treatment predictor, and drug exposure had no impact on both SVR and RVR in combination therapy for genotype 2 patients.

Does migraine-associated vertigo share a common pathophysiology with Meniere's disease? Study with vestibular-evoked myogenic potential

To clarify if migraine-associated vertigo (MAV) and Meniere's disease (MD) share a common pathophysiology, vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) were measured in 11 patients with MAV, 11 with unilateral MD and eight healthy subjects. As acoustic stimuli, tone bursts (TB; 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz) were presented. In healthy subjects, 500-Hz TB evoked the largest amplitude. To quantify this tendency, 500-1000 VEMP slope was calculated, and 500-1000 VEMP slope was the smallest on the affected side of MD patients. Among the 11 MD patients, five had significantly decreased 500-1000 VEMP asymmetry (shift of the tuning to 1000 Hz). Three of the 11 MAV patients also showed a significantly decreased 500-1000 VEMP slope. This finding suggests that MAV might share a common pathophysiology with MD. In addition to this finding, four of the other eight MAV patients showed prolonged p13 latencies. This suggests that MAV could consist of patients with different lesion sites.

Randomized phase II trial of weekly paclitaxel combined with carboplatin versus standard paclitaxel combined with carboplatin for elderly patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

The optimal platinum doublet regimen in elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still uncertain. We conducted a randomized phase II study to compare the efficacy and safety of weekly paclitaxel combined with carboplatin with those of the standard schedule.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Elderly patients (age > or =70 years) with advanced NSCLC were randomly assigned to either the weekly arm {70 mg/m(2) paclitaxel on days 1, 8, and 15 and carboplatin [area under the curve (AUC) = 6] on day 1} or the standard arm [200 mg/m(2) paclitaxel and carboplatin (AUC = 6) on day 1]. The primary end point was the overall response rate (ORR).

RESULTS

Eighty-two patients were enrolled. The ORR and median progression-free survival were 55% and 6.0 months for the weekly arm and 53% and 5.6 months for the standard arm. Grade 3/4 neutropenia and peripheral neuropathy were observed in 41% and 0% of the patients in the weekly arm and in 88% and 25% in the standard arm, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first randomized study that compares the platinum doublet designed specifically for the elderly. Regarding the safety, the weekly regimen was less toxic than the standard regimen and seems to be preferable for elderly patients with advanced NSCLC.