Expression of CXCL9, -10, -11, and CXCR3 increased in the tear film and ocular surface of patients with dry eye syndrome, especially in those with Sjögren's syndrome. CXCL11 levels correlated significantly with various tear film and ocular surface parameters. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00991679.).

The antioxidative capacity of 4 Lactobacillus strains, isolated from a milk product, was evaluated by measuring total antioxidative ability (TAA) and resistance to reactive oxygen species (ROS). Both intact cells and intracellular cell‐free extracts of Lactobacillus casei KCTC 3260 demonstrated the highest antioxidative activity and inhibited lipid peroxidation by 46.2% and 72.9%, respectively. To evaluate the resistance of 4 Lactobacillus strains to ROS, we tested the survival under conditions of 1 mM hydrogen peroxide, 0.4 mM hydroxyl radicals, and 10 mM paraquat‐induced superoxide anions. L. casei KCTC 3260 was viable even after 8 h in the presence of 1 mM hydrogen peroxide and after 7 h in 0.4 mM hydroxyl radicals. Moreover, this strain was not influenced by superoxide anions, indicating that it has resistance to superoxide anions. To define the antioxidative mechanism, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and metal ion chelating activity were determined. All tested strains did not possess detectable SOD activity except Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, but L. casei KCTC 3260 had the higher level of chelating activity for both Fe2+ and Cu2+ ions at 10.6 ppm and 21.8 ppm, respectively. These results suggested that the antioxidative capacity of L. casei KCTC 3260 may be caused by chelating metal ions instead of SOD activation.

Sputum cytology is a non-invasive test for evaluating lung cancer. But, its sensitivity is yet lower than other tests. ThinPrep (TP) is an automated cytopreparatory method that has mucolytic and hemolysing effects. We compared 955 sputum specimens that were prepared by both TP and conventional preparation (CP). The nuclear details were more preserved on the TP slides, while the obscuring materials were more eliminated on the TP slides as compared with the CP. The cytologic rates of TP were 2.7% unsatisfactory, 4.7% normal, 81.0% benign, 2.4% suspicious, and 9.1% malignancy. The rates of CP were 7.9% unsatisfactory, 1.6% normal, 84.8% benign, 1.8% suspicious, and 4.0% malignancy. The false negative rates, relative to the histologic data for 352 cases which the tissue diagnosis was available, were 49.6% (TP) and 69.4% (CP). Sputum cytology using the TP method improves the diagnostic accuracy for evaluating lung cancer by reducing the unsatisfactory and false-negative rates.

It has been reported that p53 mutation may contribute to upregulate cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression that is observed in malignant tissues. These molecules are involved in carcinogenesis by affecting tumor cell proliferation. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between COX-2 or p53 expression and clinico-pathological characteristics including tumor cell proliferation in gastric cancer. COX-2 and p53 expressions were investigated with immunostaining, in tissue specimens obtained from 119 patients who underwent surgery for gastric cancer. The Ki-67 labeling index (LI) was counted by Ki-67 immunostaining. COX-2 and p53 expressions correlated significantly with depth of tumor invasion. However, there was no association between COX-2 or p53 expression and survival. p53 expression did not correlate with COX-2 expression. There was no significant difference in various clinicopathological variables between Ki-67 LI subgroups. The mean Ki-67 LI value of COX-2 positive tumors was significantly higher than that of negative tumors. The mean Ki-67 LI value of p53 positive tumors was not significantly higher than that of negative tumors. The mean Ki-67 LI value of both COX-2 and p53 positive tumors was significantly higher than that of both negative tumors. These results imply that COX-2 expression is associated with tumor cell proliferation of gastric cancer.

These findings suggest that CDX-2 expression in stomach cancer may be a marker of the progression of gastric carcinogenesis, and that its activation may represent an early event.

Background :Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKI), including p21, p27 and p57 of the KIP family, are negative regulators of cell cycle progression and potentially act as tumor suppressors. The expression of p21 is induced by tumor suppressor gene p53. Mutations of p53 are common and found in various human cancers. Thus, the function of p21 as a tumor suppressor may be not retained after p53 mutation in human cancers. The aim of our study was to evaluate the tumor suppressive activity of p21 and p53 in human gastric cancer.Methods :One hundred and two patients who underwent surgery for gastric cancer at Chonnam National University Hospital were selected retrospectively for this study. The primary selection criteria were the availability of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded blocks and sufficient clinical follow-up for tumor-specific survival analysis. In this study, we examined the expression of p21 and p53 in human gastric cancer tissue by immunohistochemistry and the correlation between their expression and clinicopathological variables.Results :p21 and p53 immunoreactivities were localized in the nuclei of carcinoma cells. Positive nuclear expression of p21 and p53 was demonstrated in 63.7 and 33.3% of cancer tissues, respectively. No apparent correlation was noted between p21 and p53 expression. Negative expression of p21 correlated with advanced stage and lymph node metastasis (p=0.028 and 0.017, respectively). Moreover, negative expression of p21 correlated with poor survival (p=0.037). Positive expression of p53 correlated with depth of tumor invasion (p=0.029). However, no significant correlation could be observed between the status of p53 expression and survival. Combined analysis of p21 and p53 status showed that p21 negative and p53 positive tumors had a poorer survival than other group tumors (p=0.026).Conclusion :These results suggest that the status of p21 and p53 expression may help in predicting the aggressive behavior of gastric cancer. However, further studies are warranted to clarify the impact of p53 on the function of p21 as a tumor suppressor.

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These data suggest that CpG island methylation in hMSH2 and MGMT, but not hMLH1, is closely related to carcinogenesis in colorectal carcinomas presenting with a conventional adenoma-carcinoma sequence. Therefore, the detection of hMSH2 and MGMT methylation may have clinical significance in the evaluation of colon cancer patients and in tumor-specific management of the disease.