Setting a minimum age for juvenile justice jurisdiction in California

Purpose Despite the existence of minimum age laws for juvenile justice jurisdiction in 18 US states, California has no explicit law that protects children (i.e. youth less than 12 years old) from being processed in the juvenile justice system. In the absence of a minimum age law, California lags behind other states and international practice and standards. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In this policy brief, academics across the University of California campuses examine current evidence, theory, and policy related to the minimum age of juvenile justice jurisdiction. Findings Existing evidence suggests that children lack the cognitive maturity to comprehend or benefit from formal juvenile justice processing, and diverting children from the system altogether is likely to be more beneficial for the child and for public safety. Research limitations/implications Based on current evidence and theory, the authors argue that minimum age legislation that protects children from contact with the juvenile justice system and treats them as children in need of services and support, rather than as delinquents or criminals, is an important policy goal for California and for other national and international jurisdictions lacking a minimum age law. Originality/value California has no law specifying a minimum age for juvenile justice jurisdiction, meaning that young children of any age can be processed in the juvenile justice system. This policy brief provides a rationale for a minimum age law in California and other states and jurisdictions without one.

Androgen-driven prostate epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation in vivo involve the regulation of p27

Androgens control both growth and differentiation of the normal prostate gland. However, the mechanisms by which androgens act upon the cell cycle machinery to regulate these two fundamental processes are largely unknown. The cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitor p27 is a negative cell cycle regulator involved in differentiation-associated growth arrest. Here, we investigate the role and regulation of p27 in the testosterone proprionate (TP)-stimulated regeneration of the ventral prostate (VP) of castrated rats. Continuous TP administration to castrated rats triggered epithelial cell proliferation, which peaked at 72 h, and then declined despite further treatment. Castration-induced atrophy of the VP was associated with a significant increase in p27 expression as compared with the VP of intact animals. Twelve hours after the initiation of androgen treatment, total p27 levels as well as its fraction bound to cdk2, its main target, significantly dropped in the VP of castrated rats. Thereafter, concomitantly to the induction of epithelial cell proliferation, the glandular morphology of VP was progressively restored at 48-96 h of TP treatment. During this period of the regenerative process, whereas both proliferating basal and secretory epithelial cells did not express p27, the protein was selectively up-regulated in the nonproliferating secretory epithelial compartment. This up-regulation of p27 expression was coincident with an increase in its association with, and presumably inhibition of, cdk2. At each time point of TP treatment, p27 abundance in the VP was inversely correlated with the level of its proteasome-dependent degradation activity measured in vitro in VP lysates, whereas only slight changes in the amount of p27 transcripts were detected. In addition, the antiandrogen flutamide blocked maximal TP-induced p27 degradation completely. Finally, the expression of skp2, the ubiquitin ligase that targets p27 for degradation, was seen to increase with androgen administration, preceding maximal proliferation and concomitantly to augmented p27 degradation activity. Taken together, our data indicate that androgens mediate both proliferation and differentiation signals in normal prostate epithelial cells in vivo, through regulation of p27.

Role of the Cdc25A phosphatase in human breast cancer

The phosphatase Cdc25A plays an important role in cell cycle regulation by removing inhibitory phosphates from tyrosine and threonine residues of cyclin-dependent kinases, and it has been shown to transform diploid murine fibroblasts in cooperation with activated Ras. Here we show that Cdc25A is overexpressed in primary breast tumors and that such overexpression is correlated with higher levels of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (Cdk2) enzymatic activity in vivo. Furthermore, in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7, Cdc25A activity is necessary for both the activation of Cdk2 and the subsequent induction of S-phase entry. Finally, in a series of small (< 1 cm) breast carcinomas, overexpression of Cdc25A was found in 47% of patients and was associated with poor survival. These data suggest that overexpression of Cdc25A contributes to the biological behavior of primary breast tumors and that both Cdc25A and Cdk2 are suitable therapeutic targets in early-stage breast cancer.

Loss of PTEN expression in paraffin-embedded primary prostate cancer correlates with high Gleason score and advanced stage

The tumor suppressor gene PTEN/MMAC-1/TEP-1 (referred to hereafter as PTEN) maps to chromosome 10q23 and encodes a dual specificity phosphatase. The PTEN protein negatively regulates cell migration and cell survival and induces a G1 cell cycle block via negative regulation of the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase/protein kinase B/Akt signaling pathway. PTEN is frequently mutated or deleted in both prostate cancer cell lines and primary prostate cancers. A murine polyclonal antiserum was raised against a glutathione S-transferase fusion polypeptide of the COOH terninus of PTEN. Archival paraffin tissue sections from 109 cases of resected prostate cancer were immunostained with the antiserum, using DU145 and PC-3 cells as positive and negative controls, respectively. PTEN expression was seen in the secretory cells. Cases were considered positive when granular cytoplasmic staining was seen in all tumor cells, mixed when areas of both positive and negative tumor cell clones were seen, and negative when adjacent benign prostate tissue but not tumor tissue showed positive staining. Seventeen cases (15.6%) of prostate cancer were positive, 70 cases (64.2%) were mixed, and 22 cases (20.2%) were negative. Total absence of PTEN expression correlated with the Gleason score (P = 0.0081) and correlated more significantly with a Gleason score of 7 or higher (P = 0.0004) and with advanced pathological stage (American Joint Committee on Cancer stages T3b and T4; P = 0.0078). Thus, loss of PTEN protein is correlated with pathological markers of poor prognosis in prostate cancer.