The impact of activated p-AKT expression on clinical outcomes in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a clinicopathological study of 262 cases

BACKGROUND

Oncogenic phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/serine-threonine kinase (PI3K/AKT) pathway plays a critical role in cell proliferation and growth. Phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT) has been reported to be abnormally overexpressed and to have poor prognostic impact in solid tumors.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

To define the clinical implications of p-AKT expression in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), we calculated arbitrary units (AUs) by multiplying the intensity and the proportion of p-AKT expression and investigated the impact of p-AKT expression on clinical outcomes. We assessed 262 patients with DLBCL. Based on a cutoff value of the upper limit of the third quartile of AUs, 56 patients were classified as high p-AKT and the remaining 206 patients were classified as low p-AKT.

RESULTS

The high p-AKT group was closely associated with more advanced stage (stage III-IV, P = 0.02), two or more extranodal involvement (P = 0.03), lactic dehydrogenase elevation (P = 0.03), higher International Prognostic Index risk groups (high intermediate/high, P = 0.02), and the presence of B-symptoms (P = 0.01). The high p-AKT group showed substantially worse overall survival (OS) (median OS, 115.0 months versus not reached, P = 0.004) and progression-free survival (PFS) (median PFS, 25.5 versus 105.8 months, P = 0.019) compared with the low p-AKT group. Multivariate analysis revealed that high p-AKT expression retained its significant poor prognostic impact for OS (hazard ratio 1.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-2.7; P = 0.031). The subgroup with high p-AKT expression and concurrent Epstein-Barr virus positivity showed worst prognosis with the median OS and PFS of 15.2 and 7.4 months.

CONCLUSION

DLBCL patients with high p-AKT expression showed distinct clinical features and followed a more rapidly deteriorating clinical course with worse OS and PFS. Thus, a more effective treatment option should be developed for this subset of DLBCL patients, and targeting PI3K/AKT pathway may be a promising therapeutic strategy.

Midinfrared frequency combs from coherent supercontinuum in chalcogenide and optical parametric oscillation

We observe the coherence of the supercontinuum generated in a nanospike chalcogenide-silica hybrid waveguide pumped at 2 μm. The supercontinuum is shown to be coherent with the pump by interfering it with a doubly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) that is itself coherent with the shared pump laser. This enables coherent locking of the OPO to the optically referenced pump frequency comb, resulting in a composite frequency comb with wavelengths from 1 to 6 μm.

Gene expression profile of dermal mesenchymal stem cells from patients with psoriasis

BACKGROUND

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are likely involved in pathological processes of immune-related diseases, including psoriasis because of their immunoregulatory and pro-angiogenic effects, and the vascular proliferation, angiectasis and perivascular lymphocyte infiltration are known to be predominantly responsible for the pathological alterations in psoriasis.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the gene expression profile of dermal MSCs from patients with psoriasis.

METHODS

We isolated and expanded dermal MSCs from psoriatic patients and normal controls by using the attachment assay and conducted mRNA expression profile and gene ontology analyses using microarray.

RESULTS

The gene expression profile of MSCs from psoriatic derma was markedly different from the normal derma-derived MSCs; the angiogenesis-related genes such as vascular endothelial growth factor A, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-5, and GATA6 showed significant differential expression.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that MSCs from the derma of psoriasis patients might be involved in the early development of psoriasis because of their pro-angiogenic potential as well as the immunoregulatory effect.

Role of HER3 expression and PTEN loss in patients with HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer (MBC) who received taxane plus trastuzumab treatment

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER3) and PTEN expression in patients with HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

METHODS

One hundred twenty-five MBC patients who were treated with taxane plus trastuzumab chemotherapy as first-line therapy were included in this analysis. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining with HER3 and PTEN antibodies were conducted retrospectively.

RESULTS

Patients who had negative HER3 staining (62.4%) had a better progression-free survival (PFS) than did those who had positive HER3 staining (P=0.001; median PFS, 21 vs 11 months). Patients who had a PTEN score >20 (78.1%) showed longer PFS than did those with a PTEN score ≤20 (P=0.006; median PFS, 13 vs 9 months). Patients who had a PTEN score >20 exhibited a longer overall survival (OS) than did those with a PTEN score ≤20 (P=0.005; median OS, 48 vs 25 months). HER3 negativity and PTEN loss were identified as independent risk factors for PFS. PTEN loss was identified as an independent risk factor for OS.

CONCLUSION

HER3 and PTEN expressions may be predictive markers, and PTEN expression may be a predictive and prognostic biomarker for trastuzumab treatment in HER2-positive MBCs.

Combined soliton pulse compression and plasma-related frequency upconversion in gas-filled photonic crystal fiber

We numerically investigate self-frequency blueshifting of a fundamental soliton in a gas-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. Because of the changing underlying soliton parameters, the blueshift gives rise to adiabatic soliton compression. Based on these features, we propose a device that enables frequency shifting over an octave and pulse compression from 30 fs down to 2.3 fs.

Tunneling spectroscopy of quasiparticle bound states in a spinful Josephson junction

The spectrum of a segment of InAs nanowire, confined between two superconducting leads, was measured as function of gate voltage and superconducting phase difference using a third normal-metal tunnel probe. Subgap resonances for odd electron occupancy-interpreted as bound states involving a confined electron and a quasiparticle from the superconducting leads, reminiscent of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states-evolve into Kondo-related resonances at higher magnetic fields. An additional zero-bias peak of unknown origin is observed to coexist with the quasiparticle bound states.

Mid-infrared supercontinuum generation in As2S3-silica "nano-spike" step-index waveguide

Efficient generation of a broad-band mid-infrared supercontinuum spectrum is reported in an arsenic trisulphide waveguide embedded in silica. A chalcogenide "nano-spike", designed to transform the incident light adiabatically into the fundamental mode of a 2-mm-long uniform section 1 µm in diameter, is used to achieve high launch efficiencies. The nano-spike is fully encapsulated in a fused silica cladding, protecting it from the environment. Nano-spikes provide a convenient means of launching light into sub-wavelength scale waveguides. Ultrashort (65 fs, repetition rate 100 MHz) pulses at wavelength 2 µm, delivered from a Tm-doped fiber laser, are launched with an efficiency ~12% into the sub-wavelength chalcogenide waveguide. Soliton fission and dispersive wave generation along the uniform section result in spectral broadening out to almost 4 µm for launched energies of only 18 pJ. The spectrum generated will have immediate uses in metrology and infrared spectroscopy.

Raman-free nonlinear optical effects in high pressure gas-filled hollow core PCF

The effective Kerr nonlinearity of hollow-core kagomé-style photonic crystal fiber (PCF) filled with argon gas increases to ~15% of that of bulk silica glass when the pressure is increased from 1 to 150 bar, while the zero dispersion wavelength shifts from 300 to 900 nm. The group velocity dispersion of the system is uniquely pressure-tunable over a wide range while avoiding Raman scattering-absent in noble gases-and having an extremely high optical damage threshold. As a result, detailed and well-controlled studies of nonlinear effects can be performed, in both normal and anomalous dispersion regimes, using only a fixed-frequency pump laser. For example, the absence of Raman scattering permits clean observation, at high powers, of the interaction between a modulational instability side-band and a soliton-created dispersive wave. Excellent agreement is obtained between numerical simulations and experimental results. The system has great potential for the realization of reconfigurable supercontinuum sources, wavelength convertors and short-pulse laser systems.

Characteristics of diagnosis and therapy of adolescent malignant ovarian tumors

BACKGROUND

To improve the early diagnosis rate of adolescent malignant ovarian tumors, avoid misdiagnosis, select proper therapy, avoid excessive therapy, and render therapy more tolerable.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A comprehensive review of adolescent malignant ovarian tumors, such as types, difficulties of early diagnosis, therapeutic principles, prognosis, fertility preserving through the authors' clinical experience, with reference to Chinese and international literatures.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

The majority of adolescent malignant tumors are malignant germ cell, the malignancy is high and it is difficult to diagnose in the early stage, likely to be ignored. Their diagnosis is therefore fundamental, while selecting the most appropriate therapeutic approach that also considers fertility-sparing without compromising prognosis and avoiding over-treatment.

Influence of timing jitter on nonlinear dynamics of a photonic crystal fiber ring cavity

We demonstrate that timing jitter has a strong influence on supercontinua generated in a photonic crystal fiber ring cavity synchronously pumped by 140 fs pulses. The global dynamics with respect to cavity detuning is analyzed both numerically and experimentally by tracking the cavity pulse energy. The results show that low-frequency timing jitter, induced by both the pump oscillator and the external cavity, masks the fine underlying bifurcation structure of the system. Numerical simulations in the absence of timing jitter reveal that the system dynamics fall into four qualitatively different regimes. The existence of these regimes is experimentally observed in first-return diagrams.

The expression and clinical significance of pSTAT3, VEGF and VEGF-C in pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a central cytoplasmic transcription factor and regulates a number of pathways important in tumorigenesis including cell cycle progression, apoptosis, tumor angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis.This study aims to investigate the expression of pSTAT3, VEGF and VEGF-C in pancreatic adenocarcinoma and their relations to the clinicopathological features, tumor angiogenesis and prognosis. In the present study, the expression of pSTAT3, VEGF and VEGF-C and microvascular density (MVD) were examined via immunohistochemistry. The clinicopathological information was collected and patients were regularly followed up. The relationship between the parameters and the clinicopathological features were analyzed, and the univariate and multivariate prognostic factors were also analyzed. The expression of pSTAT3 in tumor tissues was significantly higher in contrast to that in normal tissues, and pSTAT3 was related to VEGF and VEGF-C expression, MVD, tumor size, lymphogenous status and TNM staging (P<0.05). Survival analysis suggested that tumor size, TNM staging, pSTAT3 and VEGF expression were risk factors of prognosis, but no independent factors were found. We concluded that pSTAT3, which was a risk factor of prognosis, was abnormally expressed in pancreatic adenocarcinoma and related to tumor size, TNM staging and lymphatic metastasis. pSTAT3 may promote tumor angiogenesis via up-regulating VEGF on protein and even gene levels, and enhance the early lymphatic metastasis through VEGF-C. Better understanding of STAT3 signaling pathways in angiogenesis may contribute to the development of novel therapeutic strategies in angiogenesis and metastasis of pancreatic cancer.

Fabry-Perot interferometry with fractional charges

Resistance oscillations in electronic Fabry-Perot interferometers near fractional quantum Hall (FQH) filling factors 1/3, 2/3, 4/3, and 5/3 in the constrictions are compared to those near integer quantum Hall (IQH) filling factors in the same devices and at the same gate voltages. Two-dimensional plots of resistance versus gate voltage and magnetic field indicate that all oscillations are Coulomb dominated. A charging-model analysis of gate-voltage periods yields an effective tunneling charge e* ≈ e/3 for all FQH states and e* ≈ e for IQH states. Temperature decay of the oscillations appears exponential, qualitatively consistent with a recent prediction, and the surprising filling-factor dependence of the associated energy scale may shed light on edge structure.

Hemodynamic changes in patients with arteriovenous malformations assessed using high-resolution 3D radial phase-contrast MR angiography

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Arteriovenous malformations have a high lifetime risk of hemorrhage; however, treatment carries a significant risk of morbidity and mortality, including permanent neurologic sequelae. WSS and other hemodynamic parameters are altered in patients with symptomatic AVMs, and analysis of hemodynamics may have value in stratifying patients into different risk groups. In this study, we examined hemodynamic data from patients with stable symptoms and those who presented with acute symptoms to identify trends which may help in risk stratification.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Phase-contrast MRA using a radial readout (PC-VIPR) is a fast, high-resolution technique that can acquire whole-brain velocity-encoded angiograms with scan times of approximately 5 minutes. Ten patients with AVMs were scanned using PC-VIPR; velocity, area, flow, and WSS in vessels feeding the AVMs and normal contralateral vessels were calculated using velocity data from the phase-contrast acquisition.

RESULTS

Patients with an asymptomatic presentation or mild symptoms (n = 4) had no significant difference in WSS in feeding vessels compared with normal contralateral vessels, whereas patients presenting with hemorrhage, severe headaches/seizures, or focal neurologic deficits (n = 6) had significantly higher WSS in feeding vessels compared with contralateral vessels.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, we demonstrate that estimates of WSS and other hemodynamic parameters can be obtained noninvasively in patients with AVMs in clinically useful imaging times. Variation in WSS between feeders and normal vessels appears to relate to the clinical presentation of the patient. Further analysis of hemodynamic changes may improve characterization and staging of AVM patients, when combined with existing risk factors.