Twenty‐one esophageal cancer cell lines (KYSE series) have been established from the resected specimens of patients with esophageal cancer. Three lines, KYSE‐30, KYSE‐50, and KYSE‐70, were derived from the implanted tumor of nude mice (initial passage); others were derived from resected specimens. Each cell line was morphologically distinct. Detailed cytogenetic analysis indicated that each cell line was karyotypically unique, and DNA fingerprint analysis showed no cross‐contamination among cells. Doubling time ranged from 13.7 to 75.5 hours, and modal chromosome numbers ranged from 46 to 120. Most cell lines grew in monolayer, but two cell lines (KYSE‐50 and KYSE‐360) grew as floating cell aggregates. No correlation was demonstrated between the establishment of cell lines and cell differentiation. These cell lines are the first reported to be homogeneous and individually unique and may provide a useful model for the study of human esophageal cancer.

The very rapid worldwide increase in mobile phone use in the last decade has generated considerable interest in the possible health effects of exposure to radio frequency (RF) fields. A multinational case-control study, INTERPHONE, was set-up to investigate whether mobile phone use increases the risk of cancer and, more specifiBaruch Modan is deceased. 123Eur J Epidemiol (2007) 22: 647-664 DOI 10.1007/s10654-007-9152-z cally, whether the RF fields emitted by mobile phones are carcinogenic. The study focused on tumours arising in the tissues most exposed to RF fields from mobile phones: glioma, meningioma, acoustic neurinoma and parotid gland tumours. In addition to a detailed history of mobile phone use, information was collected on a number of known and potential risk factors for these tumours. The study was conducted in 13 countries. Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the UK using a common core protocol. This paper describes the study design and methods and the main characteristics of the study population. INTERPHONE is the largest case-control study to date investigating risks related to mobile phone use and to other potential risk factors for the tumours of interest and includes 2,765 glioma, 2,425 meningioma, 1,121 acoustic neurinoma, 109 malignant parotid gland tumour cases and 7,658 controls. Particular attention was paid to estimating the amount and direction of potential recall and participation biases and their impact on the study results.

The atmospheric dispersion of bacteria over long distances is an important facet of microbial ecology. Certain groups of dispersed bacteria can adapt to their new location and affect established ecosystems. Aeolian dust particles are known to be carriers of microbes but further research is needed to expand our understanding of this field of microbiology. Here we showed the potential of aeolian dust to global migration of bacterial cells. We demonstrated the presence of microbial cells on dust particles directly by bio-imaging. Bacterial abundance on dust particles declined from 10 5 to less than 10 3 cells/m 3 as the dust event subsided. Taxonomically diverse bacteria were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and some of these bacteria retained growth potential. Our results confirm that bacteria can attach to aeolian dust particles and they have the potential to migrate globally during dust events and thus can contribute to the diversity of downwind ecosystems.

A total of 386 patients who underwent complete resection of hepatocellular carcinoma over an 8-year period were assessed retrospectively for tumour recurrence. Some 219 (56.7 per cent) of the patients developed recurrence. Patients with a greater degree of cirrhosis showed a longer interval to recurrence; the median (range) interval until recurrence was 7.9 (1.8-84.2) months in patients with a normal liver, 13.4 (2.0-79.5) months in those with chronic hepatitis and 16.7 (1.5-73.1) months in those with cirrhosis. Intrahepatic recurrence was observed more frequently in either the same (26.4 per cent) or the adjacent (24.8 per cent) Healey segment than in the lobe contralateral to the primary tumour (17.8 per cent). The presence of portal venous invasion and/or intrahepatic metastasis, underlying liver cirrhosis and perioperative blood transfusion were determined to be independent predictors of recurrence by multivariate analysis. Because intrahepatic spread of hepatocellular carcinoma occurs in a segment-by-segment manner, surgeons should use an anatomically wide resection within the hepatic functional reserve.

Many extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase substrates have been identified, but the diversity of ERK-mediated processes suggests the existence of additional targets. Using a phosphoproteomic approach combining the steroid receptor fusion system, IMAC, 2D-DIGE and phosphomotif-specific antibodies, we detected 38 proteins showing reproducible phosphorylation changes between ERK-activated and ERK-inhibited samples, including 24 new candidate ERK targets. ERK directly phosphorylated at least 13 proteins in vitro. Of these, Nup50 was verified as a bona fide ERK substrate. Notably, ERK phosphorylation of the FG repeat region of Nup50 reduced its affinity for importin-beta family proteins, importin-beta and transportin. Other FG nucleoporins showed a similar functional change after ERK-mediated phosphorylation. Nuclear migration of importin-beta and transportin was impaired in ERK-activated, digitonin-permeabilized cells, as a result of ERK phosphorylation of Nup50. Thus, we propose that ERK phosphorylates various nucleoporins to regulate nucleocytoplasmic transport.

A total of 386 patients who underwent complete resection of hepatocellular carcinoma over an 8-year period were assessed retrospectively for tumour recurrence. Some 219 (56.7 per cent) of the patients developed recurrence. Patients with a greater degree of cirrhosis showed a longer interval to recurrence; the median (range) interval until recurrence was 7.9 (1.8-84.2) months in patients with a normal liver, 13.4 (2.0-79.5) months in those with chronic hepatitis and 16.7 (1.5-73.1) months in those with cirrhosis. Intrahepatic recurrence was observed more frequently in either the same (26.4 per cent) or the adjacent (24.8 per cent) Healey segment than in the lobe contralateral to the primary tumour (17.8 per cent). The presence of portal venous invasion and/or intrahepatic metastasis, underlying liver cirrhosis and perioperative blood transfusion were determined to be independent predictors of recurrence by multivariate analysis. Because intrahepatic spread of hepatocellular carcinoma occurs in a segment-by-segment manner, surgeons should use an anatomically wide resection within the hepatic functional reserve.

Molecular chaperone-like activity for protein refolding was investigated using nanogels of self-assembly of cholesterol-bearing pullulan. Nanogels e¡ectively prevented protein aggregation (i.e. carbonic anhydrase and citrate synthase) during protein refolding from GdmCl denaturation. Enzyme activity recovered in high yields upon dissociation of the gel structure in which the proteins were trapped, by the addition of cyclodextrins. The nanogels assisted protein refolding in a manner similar to the mechanism of molecular chaperones, namely by catching and releasing proteins. The nanogels acted as a host for the trapping of refolded intermediate proteins. Cyclodextrin is an e¡ector molecule that controls the binding ability of these host nanogels to proteins. The present nanogel system was also e¡ective at the renaturation of inclusion body of a recombinant protein of the serine protease family.

No abstract