Metastasis gene expression analyses of choriocarcinoma and the effect of silencing metastasis-associated genes on metastatic ability of choriocarcinoma cells

OBJECTIVE

Obtaining choriocarcinoma metastasis-associated genes and identifying the role and mechanism of VEGF-B in the progression of human choriocarcinoma.

STUDY DESIGN

(1) cDNA microarray technique was used to compare the transcriptional profiles between highly metastatic JEG-3 cells and lowly metastatic JAR cells; (2) An inhibitory effect of VEGF-B shRNA was demonstrated by RT-PCR; (3) The effect of VEGF-B shRNA on invasion of JEG-3 cells in vitro was detected by Matrigel invasion assay.

RESULTS

(1) In upregulated genes, 51 genes were correlated with the cell metastasis ability, and FN, MMP-2, uPA, CAV-1 and VEGF-B were the first five genes; (2) Afterwards transfected VEGF-B shRNA, VEGF-B mRNA expression decreased obviously; (3) VEGF-B shRNA transfection significantly downregulated invasion level of JEG-3 cells in vitro (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

VEGF-B plays an important role in the metastatic capability of human choriocarcinoma. Reducing the expression of VEGF-B can help weaken the invasion ability of human choriocarcinoma.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder: a disorder of pessimal (non-functional) motor behavior

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether in addition to repetitiveness, the motor rituals of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) involve reduced functionality due to numerous and measurable acts that are irrelevant and unnecessary for task completion.

METHOD

Comparing motor rituals of OCD patients with behavior of non-patient control individuals who were instructed to perform the same motor task.

RESULTS

Obsessive-compulsive disorder behavior comprises abundant acts that were not performed by the controls. These acts seem unnecessary or even irrelevant for the task that the patients were performing, and therefore are termed 'non-functional'. Non-functional acts comprise some 60% of OCD motor behavior. Moreover, OCD behavior consists of short chains of functional acts bounded by long chains of non-functional acts.

CONCLUSION

The abundance of irrelevant or unnecessary acts in OCD motor rituals represents reduced functionality in terms of task completion, typifying OCD rituals as pessimal behavior (antonym of optimal behavior).

Diffuse nonepidermolytic palmoplantar keratoderma caused by a recurrent nonsense mutation in DSG1

BACKGROUND

Mutations in genes coding for 2 desmosomal proteins, desmoglein 1 and desmoplakin, have been shown to cause autosomal dominant keratoderma palmoplantaris striata.

OBSERVATIONS

We describe a family affected with a diffuse nonstriated form of palmoplantar keratoderma. Histopathologic examination of skin biopsy specimens disclosed cell-cell disadhesion in the suprabasal layers of the epidermis, as previously described in keratoderma palmoplantaris striata. We therefore genotyped all family members using microsatellite markers encompassing 3 keratoderma palmoplantaris striata-associated loci. Haplotype analysis suggested linkage of the disease to 18q12.1, which harbors the DSG1 gene, encoding desmoglein 1. Mutation analysis eventually led to the identification of a causative recurrent nonsense mutation in this gene.

CONCLUSIONS

Mutations in DSG1 are not exclusively associated with striated palmoplantar keratoderma. The present study illustrates the efficacy of an integrative diagnostic approach to palmoplantar keratodermas involving clinical assessment, pathologic examination, microsatellite marker screening, and mutational analysis.