Odontogenic myxoma has variable radiographic appearances on conventional radiographs. This classification system helps us better understand the radiographic appearances of odontogenic myxoma on conventional radiographs.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSESteroids prevent and reverse salbutamol-induced b2-adrenoceptor tolerance in human small airways. This study examines the effects of the long-acting b2 agonists (LABAs) formoterol and salmeterol, and the ability of budesonide to prevent desensitization. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHLong-acting b2 agonists in the presence and absence of budesonide were incubated with human precision-cut lung slices containing small airways. Tolerance was deduced from measurements of reduced bronchodilator responses to isoprenaline and correlated with b2-adrenoceptor trafficking using a virally transduced, fluorescent-tagged receptor. The ability of the LABAs to protect airways against muscarinic-induced contraction was also assessed. KEY RESULTSFollowing a 12 h incubation, both formoterol and salmeterol attenuated isoprenaline-induced bronchodilatation to a similar degree and these effects were not reversible by washing. Pre-incubation with budesonide prevented the desensitization induced by formoterol, but not that induced by salmeterol. Formoterol also protected the airways from carbachol-induced bronchoconstriction to a greater extent than salmeterol. In the epithelial cells of small airways, incubation with formoterol promoted receptor internalization but this did not appear to occur following incubation with salmeterol. Budesonide inhibited the formoterol-induced reduction in plasma membrane b2-adrenoceptor fluorescence. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONSAlthough both formoterol and salmeterol attenuate isoprenaline-induced bronchodilatation, they appear to induce b2-adrenoceptor tolerance via different mechanisms; formoterol, but not salmeterol, enhances receptor internalization. Budesonide protection against b2-adrenoceptor tolerance was correlated with the retention of receptor fluorescence on the plasma membrane, thereby suggesting a mechanism by which steroids alter b2-adrenoceptor function. AbbreviationsCCh, carbachol; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; LABA, long-acting b2-agonist; PCLS, precision-cut lung slice; SABA, short-acting b2-agonist; YFP, yellow fluorescent protein BJP British Journal of Pharmacology

Thyroid hormone receptor (TR) functions as part of multiprotein complexes that also include retinoid X receptor (RXR) and transcriptional coregulators. We have found that both the TR CoR box and ninth heptad are required for RXR interaction and in turn for interaction with corepressor proteins N-CoR and SMRT. Remarkably, the recruitment of RXR to repression-defective CoR box and ninth-heptad mutants via a heterologous dimerization interface restores both corepressor interaction and repression. The addition of thyroid hormone obviates the CoR box requirement for RXR interaction, provided that the AF2 activation helix at the C terminus of TR is intact. These results indicate that RXR differentially recognizes the unliganded and liganded conformations of TR and that these differences appear to play a major role in the recruitment of corepressors to TR-RXR heterodimers.Thyroid hormone receptor (TR) is a multifunctional protein. It is a transcriptional repressor in the absence of ligand and a transcriptional activator in the presence of thyroid hormone (T3). Repression is mediated by interaction with a family of corepressor proteins, including N-CoR and SMRT (10,17,34,45). A ligand-induced conformational change causes dissociation of the corepressor and recruitment of a transcriptional coactivator to the DNA-bound TR. TR binds DNA most effectively as a heterodimer with retinoid X receptor (RXR) (6,19,22,23,25,44,47). Although RXR itself is a retinoid receptor (24), its main function in TR action does not appear to require retinoid binding (14). The TR-RXR interaction is stable in solution in both the presence and absence of ligand, and it has previously been suggested that the primary role of RXR is to increase the affinity and specificity of TR for T3 response elements, which often consist of two TR half-sites separated by 4 bp (39).The primary region of importance for the TR-RXR interaction in solution is the region which is generally known as the ninth heptad, corresponding to helices 10 and 11 of the crystal structure of the TR ligand binding domain (LBD) (40). The importance of this domain explains why C-terminal deletions of TR and the C-terminal variant TR␣2 do not interact with RXR in solution (31, 42). Interestingly, although the interaction between TR and RXR is ligand independent, two groups have previously described TR ninth-heptad point mutants which interact with RXR only in the presence of T3 (1, 28). Although the TR LBD structure has been solved only in the presence of ligand, a comparison with the unliganded RXR suggests that one of the effects of ligand binding is conformational change in the region between helices 10 and 11 in addition to the turning back of the amphipathic AF2 helix (helix 12) towards the core of the TR (5, 40).In contrast to the importance of C-terminal domains for RXR interaction, previous studies of TR interaction with NCoR and SMRT have focused on the CoR box within the hinge region of TR (10, 17). Like the ninth heptad, the CoR box is highly conserved among receptors that int...

Immunotherapy that is based on adoptive transfer of T lymphocytes, which are genetically modified to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that recognize tumor-associated antigens, has been demonstrated to be an efficient cancer therapy. Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR-1), a vital molecule involved in tumor growth and angiogenesis, has not been targeted by CAR-modified T lymphocytes. In this study, we generated CAR-modified T lymphocytes with human VEGFR-1 specificity (V-1 CAR) by electroporation. V-1 CAR-modified T lymphocytes were demonstrated to elicit lytic cytotoxicity to target cells in a VEGFR-1-dependent manner. The adoptive transfer of V-1 CAR T lymphocytes delayed tumor growth and formation and inhibited pulmonary metastasis in xenograft models and such efficacies were enhanced by cotransfer of T lymphocytes that expressed interleukin-15 (IL-15). Moreover, V-1 CAR-modified T lymphocytes lysed primary endothelial cells and impaired tube formation, in vitro. These data demonstrated the antitumor and anti-angiogenesis ability of V-1 CAR-modified T lymphocytes. Our study provides the rationale for the clinical translation of CAR-modified T lymphocytes with VEGFR-1 specificity.

Oxidative stress is believed to be an important inducer of cellular senescence and aging. Zinc finger protein 637 (Zfp637), which belongs to the Krüppel-like protein family, has been hypothesized to play a role in oxidative stress. Nevertheless, the precise function of Zfp637 has seldom been reported, and it remains unclear whether Zfp637 is involved in oxidative stress-induced premature senescence. In this study, we show that the endogenous expression levels of Zfp637 and mouse telomerase reverse transcriptase (mTERT) are downregulated during oxidative stress-induced premature senescence and in senescent tissues from naturally aged mice. The overexpression of Zfp637 markedly increases mTERT expression and telomerase activity, maintains telomere length, and inhibits both H2O2 and D-galactose-induced senescence accompanied by a reduction in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In contrast, the knockdown of Zfp637 significantly aggravates cellular senescence by downregulating mTERT and telomerase activity, accelerating telomere shortening, and increasing ROS accumulation. In addition, the protective effect of Zfp637 against premature senescence is abrogated in the absence of mTERT. We further confirm that Zfp637 binds to and transactivates the mTERT promoter (−535/−502) specifically. As a result, the mTERT-mediated telomerase activity and telomere maintenance are responsible for the protective effect of Zfp637 against oxidative stress-induced senescence. We therefore propose that Zfp637 prevents oxidative stress-induced premature senescence in an mTERT-dependent manner, and these results provide a new foundation for the investigation of cellular senescence and aging.

The mandibular condylar osteochondromas may show different growth positions encircling the condyle and exhibit varying shapes on panoramic radiograph. These features will help us to increase cognition of the lesion and make an exact diagnosis.

We have previously shown that platelet factor 4 (PF4), a platelet-specific CXC chemokine, can directly and specifically inhibit human megakaryocyte colony formation. We therefore hypothesized that PF4 might function as a negative autocrine regulator of megakaryocytopoiesis. Herein we present additional studies characterizing the inhibitory effect of CXC chemokines on human megakaryocyte development. We first corroborated our initial studies by showing that recombinant human (rH) PF4, like the native protein, inhibited megakaryocytopoiesis. We then examined the inhibitory properties of other CXC family members. Neutrophil activating peptide-2 (NAP-2), a naturally occurring N-terminally cleaved beta TG peptide, was found to inhibit megakaryocytopoiesis with two to three orders of magnitude greater potency than PF4. Structure function studies showed that an N-terminal mutation, which eliminated NAP-22s neutrophil activating properties (NAP-2E2-->A), also abrogated its ability to inhibit megakaryocyte development. Further investigations of this type demonstrated that a chimeric PF4 protein (AELR/PF4) in which PF42s N- terminus was replaced with the first four amino acids of NAP-2 was also a potent inhibitor of megakaryocytopoiesis. Interleukin (IL)-8, another CXC chemokine, and three CC chemokines (macrophage inhibitory protein-1 alpha [MIP-1 alpha], MIP-1 beta, and C10) also specifically inhibited megakaryocyte colony formation at NAP-2 equivalent doses. CXC and CC chemokine inhibition was additive suggesting that the effects might be mediated through a common pathway. The inhibitory effects of NAP-2 and MIP-1 alpha could not be overcome by adding physiologically relevant amounts of recombinant human megakaryocyte growth and development factor (MGDR) (50 ng/mL) to the cultures. Using Northern blot and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based analyses, we documented mRNA expression of IL-8 receptor isoforms alpha and beta in total platelet RNA and in normal human megakaryocytes, respectively. Based on these results, we hypothesize that chemokines play a physiologic role in regulating megakaryocytopoiesis. Because chemokines are elaborated by ancillary marrow cells, both autocrine and paracrine growth control is suggested, the effects of which might be exerted, in part, through alpha and beta IL-8 receptors.

We investigated the motion of the single ossicle found in the middle ears of four different species of birds. In the avian middle ear, the off centre attachment of the extracolumella to the tympanic membrane and the flexion of the joint between the extracolumella and columella results in rocking of the footplate rather than direct excursion in and out of the vestibule. We postulate that this is a protective mechanism to avoid excessive displacement of the footplate into the vestibule during changes in middle-ear pressure and that it is analogous to the ossicular 'decoupling' observed in the human middle ear in the same circumstances.