No abstract

CD10 is a cell surface neutral endopeptidase that is not consistently expressed in the stromal cells of the normal breast. Expression of CD10 is sometimes observed in the stromal cells of invasive ductal carcinoma, but its clinical significance has never been studied. Immunohistochemical examination of CD10 was performed in 123 cases of breast cancer. The median follow-up period of all patients was 8.0 years, and univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the prognostic significance of stromal CD10 expression. There was no staining in the stromal cells of 13 non-invasive ductal carcinomas or normal breast tissue. Of 110 invasive ductal carcinomas, 20 cases (18%) in which more than 10% of the stromal cells stained positive throughout the cancer tissue were judged "positive". The frequency of positive stromal staining was significantly higher in the cases with axillary lymph-node metastasis ( P=0.038), but there were no correlations between stromal CD10 expression and age, tumor size, histologic grade, or clinical stage. The patients whose tumors contained CD10-positive stromal cells had a shorter metastasis-free interval ( P=0.0008). Univariate analysis demonstrated that patients with lymph-node metastasis also had a significantly shorter metastasis-free interval (metastasis vs no metastasis; P=0.0318). In the multivariate analysis, only CD10 remained a significant predictor for time to recurrence ( P=0.0059), and CD10 was the single significant prognostic factor for overall survival in the univariate analysis ( P=0.0021). These results suggest that stromal expression of CD10 in breast cancer is an important novel prognostic factor.

Although microorganisms play a role in gut inflammation, it remains uncertain which epithelial genes are expressed in response to luminal flora and whether these molecules are also involved in pathologic mucosal inflammation. Germ-free mice were orally challenged with a bacterial suspension prepared from conventionally housed mice (bacterial reconstitution). Thereafter, the differential gene expression in gut epithelial cells was identified by differential display. The expression of the identified genes was also examined in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis and human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) epithelial cells. Regenerating gene III (Reg III) was strongly induced in gut epithelial cells following bacterial reconstitution, as well as in the colitis initiated by DSS. The mRNA expression of hepatocarcinoma-intestine-pancreas/pancreatic associated protein (HIP/PAP), a human counterpart of Reg III, was enhanced in colonic epithelial cells of patients with IBD. Reg III mRNA expression was localized in the epithelial cells including goblet cells and columnar cells in mice; on the other hand, HIP/PAP-expressing cells were correlated with Paneth cell metaplasia in human colon. Epithelial expression of Reg III or HIP/PAP was induced under mucosal inflammation initiated by exposure to commensal bacteria or DSS as well as inflamed IBD colon.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a key anticancer drug that for its broad antitumor activity, as well as for its synergism with other anticancer drugs, has been used to treat various types of malignancies. In chemotherapeutic regimens, 5-FU has been combined with oxaliplatin, irinotecan and other drugs as a continuous intravenous infusion. Recent clinical chemotherapy studies have shown that several of the regimens with oral 5-FU drugs are not inferior compared to those involving continuous 5-FU infusion chemotherapy, and it is probable that in some regimens continuous 5-FU infusion can be replaced by oral 5-FU drugs. Historically, both the pharmaceutical industry and academia in Japan have been involved in the development of oral 5-FU drugs, and this review will focus on the current knowledge of 5-FU anabolism and catabolism, and the available information about the various orally-administrable 5-FU drugs, including UFT, S-1 and capecitabine. Clinical studies comparing the efficacy and adverse events of S-1 and capecitabine have been reported, and the accumulated results should be utilized to optimize the treatment of cancer patients. On the other hand, it is essential to elucidate the pharmacokinetic mechanism of each of the newly-developed drugs, to correctly select the drugs for each patient in the clinical setting, and to further develop optimized drug derivatives.

No abstract

Lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin) tolerance is well described in monocytes and macrophages, but is less well characterized in endothelial cells. Because intestinal microvascular endothelial cells exhibit a strong immune response to LPS challenge and play a critical regulatory role in gut inflammation, we sought to characterize the activation response of these cells to repeated LPS exposure. Primary cultures of human intestinal microvascular endothelial cells (HIMEC) were stimulated with LPS over 6–60 h and activation was assessed using U937 leukocyte adhesion, expression of E-selectin, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, IL-6, IL-8, manganese superoxide dismutase, HLA-DR, and CD86. Effect of repeat LPS stimulation on HIMEC NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation, generation of superoxide anion, and Toll-like receptor 4 expression was characterized. LPS pretreatment of HIMEC for 24–48 h significantly decreased leukocyte adhesion after subsequent LPS stimulation. LPS pretreatment inhibited expression of E-selectin, VCAM-1, IL-6, and CD86, while ICAM-1, IL-8, and HLA-DR were not altered. Manganese superoxide dismutase expression increased with repeated LPS stimulation, with a reduction in intracellular superoxide. NF-κB activation was transiently inhibited by LPS pretreatment for 6 h, but not at later time points. In contrast, p44/42 MAPK, p38 MAPK, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation demonstrated inhibition by LPS pretreatment 24 or 48 h prior. Toll-like receptor 4 expression on HIMEC was not altered by LPS. HIMEC exhibit endotoxin tolerance after repeat LPS exposure in vitro, characterized by diminished activation and intracellular superoxide anion concentration, and reduced leukocyte adhesion. HIMEC possess specific mechanisms of immunoregulatory hyporesponsiveness to repeated LPS exposure.

Obesity is one of the fastest growing major diseases in developed and developing countries [1]. Modifying fat balance is a key to therapy for obesity [2]. Triglyceride is an important carrier of blood lipid and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) strongly controls triglyceride metabolism. Lipoprotein lipase is an enzyme that hydrolyses triglycerides of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins into non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and glycerol. The NEFA generated as a result of these enzymatic reactions can be used for metabolic fuel in tissues such as muscle but also serve as substrate for re-esterification to triglyceride in adipose tissue. The balance of these competing effects could determine whether increased LPL activity will lead to reduced rate of weight gain (through greater disposal of ingested fats as metabolic fuel) or increased adiposity through increased rates of adipose tissue storage of triglycer- Diabetologia (2000) Abstract Aims/hypothesis. Fat balance is critical in the aetiology of obesity and related diseases. Lipoprotein lipase is of major importance in lipid metabolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effects of the lipoprotein lipase activator, NO-1886, on substrate utilisation, adiposity and insulin action in rats fed a high-fat diet. Methods. Male, Sprague-Dawley rats were fed for 10 weeks on a chow diet or a high-fat diet with, or without, NO-1886 (50 mg × kg ±1 × day ±1). Weight gain, fat accumulation and both hormone-sensitive and lipoprotein, lipase activities were measured. Insulin action was assessed by the euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp and metabolic rate/substrate utilisation by open-circuit respirometry. Results. Compared with chow-fed controls, a high-fat diet increased weight gain, an effect lessened by NO-1886 [weight gain (g): chow, 37 ± 3, high-fat, 222 ± 9; high-fat + NO-1886, 109 ± 6, all groups differed p < 0.001]. A similar pattern existed for fat accumulation [visceral fat (g): chow, 35.9 ± 3.2; high-fat, 81.9 ± 6.6; high-fat + NO-1886, 52.3 ± 4.7, p < 0.01 high-fat vs the other groups]. A high-fat diet induced wholebody insulin resistance (clamp glucose infusion rate: 4.8 ± 1.3 mg × kg ±1 × min ±1 vs 10.6 ± 1.1 for the chow group, p < 0.01) with NO-1886 lessening this effect (8.3 ± 0.5, p < 0.05 vs high-fat). The 24-h respiratory quotient was lower in the high-fat + NO-1886 group (0.825 ± 0.010) compared with high-fat alone (0.849 ± 0.004, p < 0.05). A high-fat diet increased lipoprotein and hormone-sensitive, lipase activities in epididymal fat, an effect not altered by NO-1886. In myocardium and skeletal muscle a high-fat diet lowered lipoprotein lipase activity, an effect lessened by NO-1886. Conclusion/interpretation: Lipoprotein lipase activators could have potential benefits for the treatment of obesity by increasing fat utilisation. [Diabetologia (2000) 43: 875±880]

Survival of clinically ADM and primary DM was low, mainly due to fatal ILD, compared to primary PM. Establishing therapeutic strategy for ILD may improve the survival in our patient population.