Upregulated WEE1 protects endothelial cells of colorectal cancer liver metastases

Surgical resection of colorectal cancer liver metastases (CLM) can be curative, yet 80% of patients are unsuitable for this treatment. As angiogenesis is a determinant of CLM progression we isolated endothelial cells from CLM and sought a mechanism which is upregulated, essential for angiogenic properties of these cells and relevant to emerging therapeutic options. Matched CLM endothelial cells (CLMECs) and endothelial cells of normal adjacent liver (LiECs) were superficially similar but transcriptome sequencing revealed molecular differences, one of which was unexpected upregulation and functional significance of the checkpoint kinase WEE1. Western blotting confirmed that WEE1 protein was upregulated in CLMECs. Knockdown of WEE1 by targeted short interfering RNA or the WEE1 inhibitor AZD1775 suppressed proliferation and migration of CLMECs. Investigation of the underlying mechanism suggested induction of double-stranded DNA breaks due to nucleotide shortage which then led to caspase 3-dependent apoptosis. The implication for CLMEC tube formation was striking with AZD1775 inhibiting tube branch points by 83%. WEE1 inhibitors might therefore be a therapeutic option for CLM and could be considered more broadly as anti-angiogenic agents in cancer treatment.

Orai3 Surface Accumulation and Calcium Entry Evoked by Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) acts, in part, by triggering calcium ion (Ca²⁺) entry. Here, we sought understanding of a Synta66-resistant Ca²⁺ entry pathway activated by VEGF.

Targeting the endoplasmic reticulum mediates radiation sensitivity in colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Radiotherapy is an established treatment modality for early and locally advanced rectal cancer as part of short course radiotherapy and long course chemoradiotherapy. The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a cellular stress response pathway often activated in human solid tumours which has been implicated in resistance to both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This research has investigated whether the UPR pathway is upregulated in ex-vivo samples of human colorectal cancer and characterised the interaction between radiotherapy and UPR activation in two human colorectal cancer cell lines in vitro.

METHODS

In vitro UPR expression was determined in response to clinical doses of radiotherapy in both the human colorectal adenocarcinoma (HT-29) cell line and a radio-resistant clone (HT-29R) using western blotting and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The UPR was induced using a glucose deprivation culture technique before irradiation and radiosensitivity assessed using a clonogenic assay. Ex-vivo human colorectal cancer tissue was immuno-histochemically analysed for expression of the UPR marker glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP-78).

RESULTS

The UPR was strongly up regulated in ex-vivo human colorectal tumours with 36 of 50 (72.0%) specimens demonstrating moderate to strong staining for the classic UPR marker GRP-78. In vitro, therapeutic doses of radiotherapy did not induce UPR activation in either radiosensitive or radioresistant cell lines. UPR induction caused significant radiosensitisation of the radioresistant cell line (HT-29R SF2Gy=0.90 S.E.M. +/-0.08; HT-29RLG SF2Gy=0.69 S.E.M. +/-0.050).

CONCLUSION

This suggests that UPR induction agents may be potentially useful response modifying agents in patients undergoing therapy for colorectal cancer.

Sex differences and similarities in job attribute preferences: a meta-analysis

Many researchers have studied sex differences in job attribute preferences. The authors meta-analyzed 242 samples collected from 321,672 men and boys and 316,842 women and girls in the United States between 1970 and 1998. Findings indicated significant (p < .05) sex differences on 33 of 40 job attribute preferences examined. The effect sizes were small. Of the 33 significant differences, 26 had average effect sizes of magnitude .20 or less. The directions of the differences were generally consistent with gender roles and stereotypes. Many job attributes became relatively more important to women and girls in the 1980s and 1990s compared with the 1970s, indicating that women's aspirations to obtain job attributes rose as gender barriers to opportunity declined.

Spreading the word: Teaching health promotion to students from disciplines other than health

Intersectoral collaboration has gained acceptance as a strategic approach in promoting health, based on the assumption that the main determinants of health are social, physical and politico-economic factors and not medical care utilization. However, the difficulties of collaborating intersectorally for better health have become apparent over the last two decades. This paper describes an attempt to address these difficulties through an awareness-raising educational initiative devised for undergraduate university students from disciplines other than health. The course aims to raise students' appreciation of the ways in which their future occupations could have an impact on the health of others through intersectoral collaboration and the creation of environments that are supportive of health. The evaluation of the course, which comprised a peer-review process, a questionnaire seeking student feedback, and a task exploring students' ideas on how they could influence the health of others, demonstrated that students recognized the value of working intersectorally for better health. If intersectoral collaboration is really expected to be the way forward that many public health theorists claim, then this small but effective contribution should best be seen as one of a series of incremental building blocks leading to the desired effects.

Reflections on prevention in dieting-induced disorders

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this article is to reflect on current approaches to the prevention of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

METHOD

The literature on preventing those disorders was examined within the context of the published literatures concerned with preventive interventions for adolescent drug-taking and alcohol-related behaviors.

RESULTS

Our review revealed that those involved in preventing eating disorders maintain the traditional distinction between primary and secondary prevention, although the fruitfulness of that categorization is now uncertain.

DISCUSSION

It is argued that interventions for dieting-induced disorders ought to be generic, and target the gamut of transitional risk behaviors among adolescents. Programs for dieting, cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and safe sex within the health and social development curricula in schools must be sustained by comprehensive efforts within the broader context of societal and systemic change.

Fabrication of Conducting Polymer Interconnects

A nonmechanical approach to the construction of complex three-dimensional interconnect arrays has been developed with the use of conducting polymer dendrites. Electrically independent connections between pairs of wires in an array were successfully grown through alternating-current electrochemical polymerization of poly(3-methylthiophene), without mechanical or optical masking steps. The electrically active links were insulated by subsequent electropolymerization of 4-vinylpyridine or 2-methylthiophene or by the dip-coating of the connections in a polystyrene solution.

Keeping australians healthy: the challenge to physiotherapy practice posed by the concept of the new public health

This Keynote Address considers issues around 'The Healthy Australian', the theme of the 1988 APA National Conference. The concept of the New Public Health requires physiotherapists to review the role they traditionally have held in health care delivery, and to address some key issues in order to meet the needs of their patients and clients more effectively. These issues include developing the most appropriate client/professional relationship, and considering the main elements in education for health and in supporting clients achieve effective coping skills. This paper also addresses some practicalities in legitimizing physiotherapists' involvement in disease prevention and health promotion, and in working with clients in ways that allow a balance of responsibility to be shared appropriately by both parties.