BACKGROUND & AIMS: The mammalian transcription factor LSF (CP2/LBP-1c) binds cellular promoters modulated by cell growth signals. We demonstrate here that LSF-DNA-binding activity is strikingly regulated by induction of cell growth in human peripheral T lymphocytes. Within 15 min of mitogenic stimulation of these cells, the level of LSF-DNA-binding activity increased by a factor of five. The level of LSF protein in the nucleus remained constant throughout this interval. However, a rapid decrease in the electrophoretic mobility of LSF, attributable to phosphorylation, correlated with the increase in DNA-binding activity. pp44 (ERK1) phosphorylated LSF in vitro on the same residue that was phosphorylated in vivo, specifically at amino acid position 291, as indicated by mutant analysis. As direct verification of the causal relationship between phosphorylation and DNA-binding activity, treatment in vitro of LSF with phosphatase both increased the electrophoretic mobility of the protein and decreased LSF-DNA-binding activity. This modulation of LSF-DNA-binding activity as T cells progress from a resting to a replicating state reveals that LSF activity is regulated during cell growth and suggests that LSF regulates growth-responsive promoters.

背景与目标： 哺乳动物转录因子LSF (CP2/LBP-1c) 结合由细胞生长信号调节的细胞启动子。我们在此证明，LSF-DNA结合活性通过诱导人外周血T淋巴细胞中的细胞生长而显着调节。在有丝分裂刺激这些细胞的15分钟内，lsf-dna结合活性水平增加了5倍。在整个间隔内，细胞核中LSF蛋白的水平保持恒定。然而，由于磷酸化，LSF的电泳迁移率迅速降低与DNA结合活性的增加有关。pp44 (ERK1) 在体内磷酸化的相同残基上体外磷酸化LSF，具体地在氨基酸位置291，如突变体分析所示。作为磷酸化与DNA结合活性之间因果关系的直接验证，用磷酸酶体外处理LSF既增加了蛋白质的电泳迁移率，又降低了LSF-DNA结合活性。随着T细胞从静止状态发展为复制状态，LSF-DNA结合活性的这种调节表明LSF活性在细胞生长过程中受到调节，并表明LSF调节生长反应性启动子。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Etanercept is a recombinant human soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) receptor fusion protein that inhibits TNF-alpha, a major mediator in the pathogenesis of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The purpose of our study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of etanercept therapy in 21 patients with steroid-refractory acute GVHD (aGVHD) (n = 13) and chronic GVHD (cGVHD) (n = 8). Etanercept 25 mg was given subcutaneously twice weekly for 4 weeks followed by 25 mg weekly for 4 weeks. At the time of initiation of etanercept, 14 patients had skin, 13 had gastro-intestinal, 5 had liver, 5 had pulmonary, and 4 had oral involvement. Twelve patients (57%) completed 12 doses of therapy. Overall, 11 of 21 patients (52%) responded to the treatment with etanercept, including 6 patients (46%) with aGVHD [n = 4 complete response (CR), n = 2 partial response (PR)] and 5 patients (62%) with cGVHD (n = 1 CR, n = 4 PR). Clinical responses were most commonly seen in patients with refractory gut aGVHD with 55% of the patients having a CR and 9% having a PR. CMV reactivation occurred in 48% of patients, bacterial infections in 14% of patients, and fungal infections in 19% of patients. Fourteen patients (67%) were alive after a median follow-up of 429 days (range 71-1007 days) since initiation of etanercept. Seven patients died, 3 of infections, 2 of refractory aGVHD, and 2 of disease progression. In conclusion, our preliminary data indicate that etanercept is well tolerated and can induce a high response rate in patients with steroid-refractory aGVHD and cGVHD, particularly in the setting of GI involvement.

背景与目标： : 依那西普是一种重组人可溶性肿瘤坏死因子 (TNF-α) 受体融合蛋白，可抑制TNF-α，TNF-α 是移植物抗宿主病 (GVHD) 发病机理中的主要介质。我们研究的目的是评估依那西普治疗21例类固醇难治性急性GVHD (aGVHD) (n = 13) 和慢性GVHD (cGVHD) (n = 8) 患者的安全性和有效性。依那西普25 mg，每周皮下注射两次，持续4周，然后每周注射25 mg，持续4周。在开始使用依那西普时，14例患者有皮肤，13例有胃肠道，5例有肝脏，5例有肺部，4例有口腔受累。12名患者 (57%) 完成12剂治疗。总体而言，21例患者中有11例 (52%) 对依那西普治疗有反应，其中6例 (46% 例) aGVHD [n = 4完全缓解 (CR)，n = 2部分缓解 (PR)] 和5例 (62%) cGVHD (n = 1 CR，n = 4 PR)。临床反应最常见于难治性肠道aGVHD患者，其中55% 患者具有CR，9% 患者具有PR。48% 患者发生CMV再激活，14% 患者发生细菌感染，19% 患者发生真菌感染。自依那西普开始以来，中位随访429天 (范围71-1007天) 后，有14名患者 (67%) 还活着。7例患者死亡，3例感染，2例难治性aGVHD，2例疾病进展。总之，我们的初步数据表明，依那西普具有良好的耐受性，并且可以在类固醇难治性aGVHD和cGVHD患者中诱导高反应率，尤其是在GI受累的情况下。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The present study was designed to elucidate the neurotransmitters involved in activation of the noradrenergic nucleus, locus coeruleus, by distention of the distal colon. Locus coeruleus spontaneous discharge rate was recorded from halothane-anesthetized rats before, during and after distention of the colon produced by inflation of a balloon catheter with varying volumes of water. Locus coeruleus activation by colon distention was volume-dependent and reversible. Activation of cortical electroencephalographic activity was temporally correlated with locus coeruleus activation during colon distention and prolonged distention (greater than 2 min) resulted in tachyphalaxis to both locus coeruleus and cortical electroencephalographic activation. The corticotropin-releasing factor antagonist, DPheCRF(12-41), administered intracerebroventricularly (3 microg) or microinfused into the locus coeruleus (10 ng) significantly attenuated locus coeruleus activation produced by lower, but not higher magnitudes of colon distention, implicating corticotropin-releasing factor afferents to the locus coeruleus in this response. Consistent with this, prior exposure to 30 min of footshock stress, which desensitizes locus coeruleus neurons to corticotropin-releasing factor, produced a similar attenuation of locus coeruleus activation by low, but not high magnitudes of distention. Kynurenic acid, administered intracerebroventricularly (5 micromol), significantly antagonized locus coeruleus activation by all magnitudes of colon distention. However, this excitatory amino acid antagonist was ineffective when administered directly into the locus coeruleus (0.3 nmol). Together, these findings suggest that low magnitudes of colon distention activate the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system via corticotropin-releasing factor release within the locus coeruleus and that excitatory amino acid neurotransmission at a site distal to the locus coeruleus is necessary for this response. Activation of the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system during colon distention may serve as a cognitive limb of the peripheral parasympathetic response. This activation may also play a role in disorders characterized by comorbidity of colonic and psychiatric symptoms, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

背景与目标： 本研究旨在阐明通过远端结肠扩张而激活去甲肾上腺素能核蓝斑的神经递质。记录了氟烷麻醉大鼠的蓝斑自然放电速率，该速率是在通过气囊导管充满不同体积的水而产生的结肠扩张之前，期间和之后。结肠扩张对蓝斑的激活是体积依赖性和可逆的。在结肠扩张期间，皮质脑电图活动的激活与蓝斑轨迹的激活在时间上相关，而长时间的扩张 (大于2分钟) 导致蓝斑轨迹和皮质脑电图激活均出现心动过速。促肾上腺皮质激素释放因子拮抗剂DPheCRF(12-41) 在脑室内给药 (3 microg) 或微注入蓝斑 (10 ng) 显着减弱了由较低但不是较高程度的结肠扩张产生的蓝斑激活，在这种反应中，促肾上腺皮质激素释放因子传入蓝斑。与此一致的是，先前暴露于30分钟的脚休克应激，使蓝斑基因座神经元对促肾上腺皮质激素释放因子脱敏，通过低但不高的扩张幅度产生了类似的蓝斑基因座激活衰减。脑室内给药 (5 micromol) 的犬尿酸可通过所有程度的结肠扩张显着拮抗蓝斑的激活。然而，当直接给予蓝斑 (0.3 nmol) 时，这种兴奋性氨基酸拮抗剂是无效的。总之，这些发现表明，低程度的结肠扩张通过在蓝斑内释放促肾上腺皮质激素释放因子来激活蓝斑-去甲肾上腺素能系统，并且在蓝斑远端的兴奋性氨基酸神经传递是这种反应所必需的。结肠扩张期间蓝斑-去甲肾上腺素能系统的激活可能是周围副交感神经反应的认知肢体。这种激活也可能在以结肠和精神症状合并症为特征的疾病中发挥作用，例如肠易激综合征。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Differential killing of the patient's cancer cells versus normal cells is a necessity for chemotherapy. Advantage can be taken of close regulations of gene expression and of enzyme activity that are essential for normal cell functioning, and that are altered during tumor progression. Summarized here is our research on four such progression changes of cancer cells; some deregulate proliferation control and others decrease programmed death (apoptosis). These processes will be illustrated with examples of potential chemotherapies based on them. Methods for discovery of such changes include Differential Display and microarrays.

背景与目标： : 对患者癌细胞与正常细胞的差异杀伤是化疗的必要条件。可以利用基因表达和酶活性的密切调节，这些调节对于正常细胞功能至关重要，并且在肿瘤进展过程中会发生改变。这里总结了我们对癌细胞四种此类进展变化的研究; 一些放松增殖控制，另一些减少程序性死亡 (凋亡)。这些过程将通过基于它们的潜在化学疗法的示例进行说明。发现这种变化的方法包括差分显示和微阵列。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: CD4+ anti-tumor T cells reactive with rat adenocarcinoma 13762 kill tumor in vitro and cause regression of tumor in vivo. The role of various host immune cells in CD4+ T-cell-mediated tumor elimination in vivo was investigated by adoptive transfer of anti-tumor T cell clones to recipients that were selectively depleted of individual immune cell types. By these means, macrophages and NK cells were found to be required for tumor killing. Depletion of host CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, or neutrophils was without effect on tumor elimination by anti-tumor T cells. An essential role for antigen receptor-negative NK cells is likely dependent upon secretion of IFN-gamma from NK cells since treatment of tumor recipients with anti-IFN-gamma antibody prior to adoptive transfer and tumor challenge abrogated T cell killing, resulting in progressive tumor growth. Viability of adenocarcinoma 13762 or anti-tumor T cells was unaffected by treatment with either IFN-gamma or anti-IFN-gamma antibody in vitro, but cell surface MHC class II expression was induced in tumor cells by exposure to IFN-gamma. In addition, tumor cells were isolated from tumor-bearing animals by absorption using anti-MHC class II antibody, demonstrating that 13762 tumor expresses cell surface MHC class II antigens in situ. However, if hosts were depleted of NK cells before tumor challenge, MHC class II+ tumor was not recovered. Collectively these results suggest that adenocarcinoma 13762 is eliminated by MHC class II-restricted CD4+ T cells by direct tumor killing.

背景与目标： 与大鼠腺癌反应的CD4 + 抗肿瘤T细胞13762在体外杀伤肿瘤并在体内引起肿瘤的消退。通过将抗肿瘤T细胞克隆过继转移到选择性耗尽个体免疫细胞类型的受体，研究了各种宿主免疫细胞在体内CD4 T细胞介导的肿瘤消除中的作用。通过这些方法，发现巨噬细胞和NK细胞是杀死肿瘤所必需的。宿主CD4 T细胞，CD8 T细胞或中性粒细胞的耗竭对抗肿瘤T细胞消除肿瘤没有影响。抗原受体阴性NK细胞的重要作用可能取决于NK细胞中IFN-γ 的分泌，因为在过继转移和肿瘤挑战之前用抗IFN-γ 抗体治疗肿瘤接受者消除了T细胞杀伤，导致进行性肿瘤生长。腺癌13762或抗肿瘤T细胞的活力在体外不受IFN-γ 或抗IFN-γ 抗体治疗的影响，但细胞表面mhcii类表达通过暴露于IFN-γ 在肿瘤细胞中诱导。此外，通过使用抗MHC II类抗体吸收从荷瘤动物中分离肿瘤细胞，证明13762肿瘤原位表达细胞表面MHC II类抗原。但是，如果宿主在肿瘤激发之前耗尽了NK细胞，则MHC II类肿瘤将无法恢复。这些结果共同表明，通过直接杀伤肿瘤，MHC II类限制性CD4 T细胞消除了腺癌13762。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: PURPOSE:A phase II trial of Photofrin-mediated i.p. photodynamic therapy shown in a previous report limited efficacy and significant acute, but not chronic, toxicity. A secondary aim of this trial and the subject of this report is to determine Photofrin uptake in tumor and normal tissues. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN:Patients received Photofrin, 2.5 mg/kg, i.v., 48 hours before debulking surgery. Photofrin uptake was measured by spectroflurometric analysis of drug extracted from tumor and normal tissues removed at surgery. Differences in drug uptake among these tissues were statistically considered using mixed-effects models. RESULTS:Photofrin concentration was measured in 301 samples collected from 58 of 100 patients enrolled on the trial. In normal tissues, drug uptake significantly (P<0.0001) differed as a function of seven different tissue types. In the toxicity-limiting tissue of intestine, the model-based mean (SE) Photofrin level was 2.70 ng/mg (0.32 ng/mg) and 3.42 ng/mg (0.24 ng/mg) in full-thickness large and small intestine, respectively. In tumors, drug uptake significantly (P=0.0015) differed as a function of patient cohort: model-based mean Photofrin level was 3.32 to 5.31 ng/mg among patients with ovarian, gastric, or small bowel cancer; 2.09 to 2.45 ng/mg among patients with sarcoma and appendiceal or colon cancer; and 0.93 ng/mg in patients with pseudomyxoma. Ovarian, gastric, and small bowel cancers showed significantly higher Photofrin uptake than full-thickness large and/or small intestine. However, the ratio of mean drug level in tumor versus intestine was modest (

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Wild-type (WT) sequence p53 peptides are attractive candidates for broadly applicable cancer vaccines. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of a WT p53-based immunotherapeutic approach for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Circulating CD8+ T cells specific for WT p53(149-157) and WT p53(264-272) HLA-A*0201 restricted epitopes were directly identified in the peripheral blood by the use of peptide/HLA-A2.1 tetramers in 24 HCC patients. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity after WT p53 peptide-specific stimulation was assessed by analysis of granzyme B and interferon-gamma mRNA transcription, using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. Tumor immunophenotyping was performed to evaluate the p53 status, the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and costimulatory molecules in freshly isolated tumor cells. HCC patients exhibited significantly higher frequencies of WT p53-specific memory CD8+ T cells and stronger WT p53-specific CTL activity, when compared with healthy controls. Increased frequencies of p53-specific CD8+ T cells and their activity correlated with selective HLA-A2 allele loss and reduced costimulatory molecule expression of tumor cells. Moreover, augmented numbers of p53-specific T cells coincided with high MHC class II expression in tumor cells but were inversely related to the T status of the tumor node metastasis staging system. Our results indicate the existence of natural immunosurveillance and tumor immune evasion, involving a T cell response against WT p53 tumor antigen in patients with HCC. These findings may have important implications for the future development of cancer vaccines.

背景与目标： : 野生型 (WT) 序列p53肽是广泛适用的癌症疫苗的有吸引力的候选者。这项研究的目的是评估WT p53-based免疫治疗方法对肝细胞癌 (HCC) 患者的潜力。通过在24例HCC患者中使用肽/HLA-A2.1四聚体，在外周血中直接鉴定了对WT p53(149-157) 和WT p53(264-272) hla-a * 0201限制性表位特异性的循环CD8 + T细胞。使用定量实时聚合酶链反应测定法，通过分析颗粒酶B和干扰素-γ mRNA转录来评估WT p53肽特异性刺激后的细胞毒性T淋巴细胞 (CTL) 活性。进行肿瘤免疫表型分析以评估新鲜分离的肿瘤细胞中的p53状态，主要组织相容性复合物 (MHC) 和共刺激分子的表达。与健康对照组相比，HCC患者表现出明显更高的WT p53-specific记忆CD8 + T细胞频率和更强的WT p53-specific CTL活性。p53-specific CD8 + T细胞的频率增加及其活性与肿瘤细胞的选择性HLA-A2等位基因丢失和共刺激分子表达降低相关。此外，p53-specific T细胞数量的增加与肿瘤细胞中高MHC II类表达相吻合，但与肿瘤淋巴结转移分期系统的T状态成反比。我们的结果表明存在自然免疫监视和肿瘤免疫逃避，涉及HCC患者针对WT p53肿瘤抗原的T细胞反应。这些发现可能对癌症疫苗的未来发展具有重要意义。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :The hypoxic environment in tumor is reported to play an important role in pancreatic cancer progression. The interaction between stromal and cancer cells also contributes to the malignant behavior of pancreatic cancer. In the present study, we investigated whether hypoxic stimulation affects stromal as well as pancreatic cancer cells. Our findings demonstrated that hypoxia remarkably elevated the HIF-1alpha expression in both pancreatic cancer (PK8) and fibroblast cells (MRC5). Hypoxic stimulation accelerated the invasive activity of PK8 cells, and invasiveness was thus further accelerated when the hypoxic PK8 cells were cultured with conditioned medium prepared from hypoxic MRC5 cells (hypoxic conditioned medium). MMP-2, MMP-7, MT1-MMP and c-Met expressions were increased in PK8 cells under hypoxia. Hypoxic stimulation also increased the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) secretion from MRC5 cells, which led to an elevation of c-Met phosphorylation in PK8 cells. Conversely, the elevated cancer invasion, MMP activity and c-Met phosphorylation of PK8 cells were reduced by the removal of HGF from hypoxic conditioned medium. In immunohistochemical study, the HIF-1alpha expression was observed in surrounding stromal as well as pancreatic cancer cells, thus indicating hypoxia exists in both of cancer and stromal cells. Moreover, the stromal HGF expression was found to significantly correlate with not only the stromal HIF-1alpha expression but also the c-Met expression in cancer cells. These results indicate that the hypoxic environment within stromal as well as cancer cells activates the HGF/c-Met system, thereby contributing to the aggressive invasive features of pancreatic cancer.

背景与目标： : 据报道，肿瘤中的低氧环境在胰腺癌的进展中起重要作用。基质细胞和癌细胞之间的相互作用也有助于胰腺癌的恶性行为。在本研究中，我们调查了缺氧刺激是否会影响基质细胞以及胰腺癌细胞。我们的发现表明，缺氧显着提高了胰腺癌 (PK8) 和成纤维细胞 (MRC5) 的HIF-1alpha表达。低氧刺激加速了PK8细胞的侵袭活性，因此，当用低氧MRC5细胞制备的条件培养基 (低氧条件培养基) 培养低氧PK8细胞时，其侵袭能力进一步加快。缺氧条件下PK8细胞MMP-2、MMP-7、MT1-MMP和c-Met表达增加。低氧刺激还增加了MRC5细胞的肝细胞生长因子 (HGF) 分泌，导致PK8细胞中c-Met磷酸化升高。相反，通过从低氧条件培养基中去除HGF，可以降低PK8细胞的癌症侵袭，MMP活性和c-Met磷酸化水平。在免疫组织化学研究中，在周围基质以及胰腺癌细胞中观察到HIF-1alpha表达，因此表明癌症和基质细胞中都存在缺氧。此外，发现基质HGF表达不仅与癌细胞中的基质HIF-1alpha表达显着相关，而且与c-Met表达显着相关。这些结果表明，基质和癌细胞内的缺氧环境激活了HGF/c-Met系统，从而有助于胰腺癌的侵袭性特征。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Tumor-infiltrating stroma cells (TISC) as well as tumors themselves are thought to be involved in tumor-related immunosuppression, which is one of the critical mechanisms of tumor escape from immune surveillance. However, preparation of TISC is difficult because of the small proportion of TISC in established tumors. Thus, the cells thought to be involved in tumor-related immunosuppression are generally prepared from spleens or draining lymph nodes in tumor-bearing mice. In this study, we developed a method for directly preparing TISC from established tumors in order to analyze their function. Using green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic (Tg) mice and C57BL/6 mice transplanted with bone marrow (BM) cells of GFPTg mice, we detected three subpopulations of TISC: one is compatible with immature myeloid cells (ImC) derived from BM and the two other subpopulations, CD11b(+) cells and CD11b(-) cells, do not originate from BM. The TISC including these subpopulations but not each subpopulation independently after culturing with tumors in the presence of GM-CSF could suppress T cell proliferation induced by anti-CD3. In our system, tumors did not inhibit T cell responses directly, but unknown factors from tumors affected immunosuppression by TISC.

背景与目标： : 肿瘤浸润的基质细胞 (TISC) 以及肿瘤本身被认为与肿瘤相关的免疫抑制有关，这是肿瘤逃避免疫监视的关键机制之一。然而，由于TISC在已建立的肿瘤中的比例较小，因此很难制备TISC。因此，被认为与肿瘤相关的免疫抑制有关的细胞通常是从荷瘤小鼠的脾脏或引流淋巴结中制备的。在这项研究中，我们开发了一种从已建立的肿瘤中直接制备TISC的方法，以分析其功能。使用绿色荧光蛋白 (GFP) 转基因 (Tg) 小鼠和C57BL/6小鼠移植了GFPTg小鼠的骨髓 (BM) 细胞，我们检测到了TISC的三个亚群: 一个与BM衍生的未成熟髓样细胞 (ImC) 相容，另外两个亚群，CD11b(+) 细胞和CD11b(-) 细胞不起源于BM。在gm-csf存在下用肿瘤培养后，包括这些亚群但不是每个亚群的TISC可以抑制anti-CD3诱导的T细胞增殖。在我们的系统中，肿瘤没有直接抑制T细胞反应，但是肿瘤的未知因素会影响TISC的免疫抑制。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :The Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin has previously been implicated as the major virulence factor in necrotic enteritis in chickens, although definitive proof has not been reported. In this study an alpha-toxin mutant was constructed in a virulent chicken isolate and shown to retain full virulence in a chicken disease model. These results demonstrated that alpha-toxin is not an essential virulence factor in the pathogenesis of necrotic enteritis in chickens.

背景与目标： : 尽管尚未报道明确的证据，但以前曾将产气荚膜梭菌 α 毒素作为鸡坏死性肠炎的主要毒力因子。在这项研究中，在强毒鸡分离株中构建了一个 α 毒素突变体，并显示在鸡疾病模型中保留了完全的毒力。这些结果表明，在鸡坏死性肠炎的发病机理中，α-毒素不是必需的毒力因子。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: BACKGROUND:We examined loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the P53 gene in bladder cancer, and investigated the role of the P53 gene on malignant progression of papillary tumors. In addition, the clonality of recurrent bladder cancer was examined. METHODS:LOH of the P53 gene was analyzed in 67 bladder cancers from 47 patients. DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues, amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at 3 polymorphic loci in the P53 gene, and analyzed with nonradioisotopic single-strand conformation polymorphism (Non-RI SSCP) analysis. RESULTS:Out of 40 informative samples, LOH was detected in 13 samples, containing 4 of 7 in grade 3 (57%), 9 of 23 in grade 2 (39%), and none of 10 in grade 1 (10%). Statistical significance was observed between the LOH in grades 1 and 2, and in grades 1 and 3. An analysis of 5 cases showing malignant progression revealed that 3 (60%) showed an LOH in the primary tumor, and 2 showed LOH in recurrent tumors, in contrast to LOH found in 3 cases of 19 (16%) not showing malignant progression. Four cases with metachronous recurrence exhibited LOH; 2 at recurrent tumors, 1 only at the initial tumor, and 1 at both tumors. CONCLUSIONS:The alterations of the P53 gene were considered to correlate with tumor grade, and contribute to the malignant progression of bladder cancer. LOH in the P53 gene may serve as a clinical indicator for prognosis in superficial bladder cancer.

背景与目标：

BACKGROUND & AIMS: BACKGROUND:Brain tumors (BT) are second only to acute lymphoblastic leukemia as the most prevalent form of pediatric cancer, with BT 5-year survival rates approaching 70%. With increased survival, quality of life has emerged as an essential health outcome. This investigation examines the internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Brain Tumor Module. METHODS:The PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales, PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale, and PedsQL Brain Tumor Module were administered to 99 families. The average age of the 56 boys and 43 girls was 9.76 years (range=2-18 years). The sample included children with tumors located in the posterior fossa/brainstem (N=62, 62.6%), supratentorial (N=15, 15.2%), and midline (N=22, 22.2%). Children were on treatment (N=46, 46.5%), off treatment<12 months (N=19, 19.2%), or off treatment>12 months/long-term survivor (N=34, 34.3%). Treatment included radiation (N=61, 61.6%), surgery (N=83, 83.8%), chemotherapy (N=87, 87.9%), and bone marrow transplant (N=5, 5.1%). RESULTS:Internal consistency reliability was demonstrated for the 24-item PedsQL Brain Tumor Module (average alpha=0.78-0.92, parent proxy-report, n=99; average alpha=0.76-0.87, child self-report, n=51). Construct validity for the PedsQL Brain Tumor Module was supported through an analysis of the intercorrelations with the Generic Core Scales and Fatigue Scale. CONCLUSIONS:The findings provide support for the measurement properties of the PedsQL Brain Tumor Module.

背景与目标：

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :In addition to their role in cellular homeostasis, pathways that regulate autophagy affect both tumorigenesis and tumor response to treatment. Therefore, understanding the regulation of autophagy in treated cancer cells is relevant to the discovery of molecular targets for the development of anti-cancer drugs. Our recent report points to radiation-induced inactivation of the mTOR pathway as an underlying mechanism of radiation-induced autophagy in the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Most importantly, radiation-induced inactivation of this pathway was detrimental to cell survival and was associated with reversal of mitochondrial ATPase activity and mitochondrial hyperpolarization, decreased level of eukaryotic initiation factor 4G (eIF4G) and increased phosphorylation of p53. Future analysis of the interrelationship among these events and the role each of them plays in cell survival following radiation will increase our ability to employ the mTOR pathway in anti-cancer therapy.

背景与目标： : 除了它们在细胞内稳态中的作用外，调节自噬的途径还影响肿瘤发生和肿瘤对治疗的反应。因此，了解治疗癌细胞中自噬的调控与发现抗癌药物开发的分子靶标有关。我们最近的报告指出，辐射诱导的mTOR途径失活是辐射诱导的人乳腺癌细胞系MCF-7自噬的潜在机制。最重要的是，辐射诱导的该途径的失活对细胞存活有害，并且与线粒体ATPase活性和线粒体超极化的逆转，真核起始因子4G (eIF4G) 水平降低和p53磷酸化增加有关。对这些事件之间的相互关系以及它们在辐射后的细胞存活中所起的作用的未来分析将提高我们在抗癌治疗中采用mTOR途径的能力。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Diabetes is associated with augmentation of prothrombogenic von Willebrand factor (vWF) content in plasma. Earlier, the author and colleagues have shown that high glucose and insulin do not appreciably influence deposition of vWF into the subendothelial extracellular matrix (SECM) produced by cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In the present work, the author used this model to test the effects of nonenzymatically glycated albumin (Glyc-HSA) and two lectins, concanavalin A (ConA) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), on vWF deposition into the SECM. First-passage HUVECs were seeded into gelatin-coated 96-well plates and cultured for 6 to 7 days. HSA or Glyc-HSA (at concentrations 25, 50, and 100 microg/mL), and WGA or ConA (4, 8, and 16 microg/mL) were added 3 h after seeding. Cell viability was tested by the MTT method. To determine vWF contents in the SECM, HUVECs were detached by treatment with NH4OH and the residual material was used as a solid phase in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-like assay with primary (anti-vWF) and secondary (peroxidase-conjugated) antibodies. Addition of Glyc-HSA did not essentially influence VWF contents in the SECM (A490 was 0.226 versus 0.268 at 0 and 100 microg/mL, respectively; p > .05, n = 16). Cultivation in the presence of WGA led to the deterioration of cell viability, which was accompanied by a significant decrease of vWF in the SECM (0.248 versus 0.128 at 0 and 16 microg/mL, respectively; p < .001, n = 16). ConA did not influence viability of HUVECs, but this lectin at all concentrations consistently increased the deposition of vWF (up to 164% relative to control, p <.001; n = 16). These data indicate that endothelial carbohydrate determinants and corresponding ligands (namely, mannose-specific lectins) may be involved in the regulation of production and deposition of vWF.

背景与目标： : 糖尿病与血浆中血栓形成原性血管性假血友病因子 (vWF) 含量增加有关。早些时候，作者和同事已经表明，高糖和胰岛素不会明显影响vWF在培养的人脐静脉内皮细胞 (huvec) 产生的内皮下细胞外基质 (SECM) 中的沉积。在当前工作中，作者使用该模型测试了非酶促糖化白蛋白 (Glyc-HSA) 和两种凝集素，伴刀豆球蛋白A (ConA) 和小麦胚芽凝集素 (WGA) 对vWF沉积到SECM中的影响。将首次通过的huvec接种到明胶涂层的96孔板中，并培养6至7天。接种后3小时加入HSA或Glyc-HSA (浓度为25、50和100微克/毫升) 和WGA或ConA (4、8和16微克/毫升)。通过MTT方法测试细胞活力。为了确定SECM中的vWF含量，通过用NH4OH处理分离HUVECs，并将残留的物质用作一级 (抗-vWF) 和二级 (过氧化物酶结合的) 抗体的酶联免疫吸附测定 (ELISA) 样测定的固相。添加Glyc-HSA基本上不影响SECM中的VWF含量 (分别在0和100微克/毫升时A490为0.226对0.268; p> .05，n = 16)。在WGA存在下的培养导致细胞活力的恶化，其伴随着SECM中vWF的显著降低 (分别在0和16微克/毫升时0.248对0.128; p <.001，n = 16)。ConA不影响huvec的生存能力，但是在所有浓度下，这种凝集素始终增加vWF的沉积 (相对于对照高达164%，p <.001; n = 16)。这些数据表明，内皮碳水化合物决定簇和相应的配体 (即甘露糖特异性凝集素) 可能参与了vWF产生和沉积的调节。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood psychiatric disorder. Despite intensive research efforts, the aetiology of ADHD remains unknown. Current evidence suggests that the aetiology of ADHD is heterogeneous, comprising of multiple factors. Recently, it has been proposed that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a member of the neurotrophic factor family, may be implicated in the pathogenesis of ADHD. This hypothesis is supported by recent genetic studies in ADHD. Drawing on findings from studies into the drugs for ADHD relating to central BDNF expression, hyperactivity in BDNF knockout mice, BDNF effects in midbrain dopaminergic function and the close association between BDNF and the dopamine transporter (an important molecule for ADHD pathogenesis), it is proposed here that decreased central BDNF, particularly in the midbrain region, may play an important role in the pathogenesis ADHD. This hypothesis may have some implications for clinical findings in ADHD (for example, the co-morbidity between ADHD and major depression), and provide a new direction for the development of medication for ADHD treatment.

背景与目标： : 注意力缺陷多动障碍 (ADHD) 是一种常见的儿童精神疾病。尽管进行了大量研究，但ADHD的病因仍然未知。目前的证据表明，ADHD的病因是异质的，由多种因素组成。最近，有人提出，神经营养因子家族的成员脑源性神经营养因子 (BDNF) 可能与ADHD的发病机理有关。该假设得到了ADHD最近的遗传研究的支持。根据对ADHD药物的研究结果，该药物与中枢BDNF表达，BDNF基因敲除小鼠的活动过度，BDNF在中脑多巴胺能功能中的作用以及BDNF与多巴胺转运蛋白 (ADHD发病机理的重要分子) 之间的密切联系有关，在这里提出降低中枢BDNF，特别是在中脑区域，可能在ADHD的发病机理中起重要作用。该假设可能对ADHD的临床发现 (例如，ADHD与重度抑郁症之间的合并症) 具有一定的意义，并为ADHD治疗药物的发展提供了新的方向。