HLA-G and IL-10 might play an important role in cancer progression of the cervix. High HLA-G mRNA expression may be related to early carcinogenesis since it was associated with early-stage cervical cancer.

Our results have demonstrated that serum PTH is an independent determinant of carotid IMT in postmenopausal women. This result suggests that serum PTH, even in the reference range, might be associated with the development of atherosclerosis or cardiovascular diseases in postmenopausal women. Further study is necessary in males and premenopausal women to fully elucidate the clinical significance of this finding.

Prenatal treatment of dexamethasone, a synthetic stress hormone, leads to low birth weight and affects adult pathophysiology. Because fetal growth and survival are critically dependent on successful placental development, we aimed to investigate the effects of prenatal dexamethasone exposure on placental growth and function, particularly focusing on issues surrounding the time of stress exposure in a developmental context. Dexamethasone was administered at a dosage of 1 mg/kg BW (DEX1) or 10 mg/kg BW (DEX10) intraperitoneally at gestational d 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5 in pregnant mice. Placentas were then dissected at gestational d 11.5 and 18.5. Placental size and weight were reduced at d 11.5 in a dose-dependent manner (P = 0.11 for saline vs. DEX1 and P < 0.001 for DEX1 vs. DEX10 in size; P = 0.34 for saline vs. DEX1 and P < 0.01 for DEX1 vs. DEX10 in weight). In contrast, a considerable heterogeneity was shown at d 18.5, especially in DEX10-treated mice. Some placentas were small and malformed whereas some were enlarged with structural abnormalities in spongiotrophoblasts and labyrinth layers. Although placental overgrowth under such condition seemed to compromise fetal demand for nutrient supply, disorganized cell structure with reduced fetal vasculature observed in large placentas suggests that prenatal stress exposure during the early gestational period negatively affects placental development and efficiency.

15067 Background: The change of cell cycle is one of the characteristics of cancer. The various proteins related to the cell cycle have been revealed and their expression in ovarian carcinoma has been demonstrated. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the expression of cyclin B1, D1 and evaluate the relationship between cyclin B1, D1 and clinical prognostic factors in patients with ovarian carcinoma. Methods: 41 fresh ovarian tissue samples including 36 ovarian carcinomas and 5 normal ovarian tissues were surgically obtained at YUMC from May 2002 to February 2005. Cyclin B1, D1 expression were detected using the quantitative real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. For clinical prognostic factors, age, stage, grade, histopathology, LN metastasis, residual tumor size, CA 125 and DNA flow cytometry were evaluated. Results: By quantitative real time RT-PCR, the mean 2−ΔΔCT value of cyclin B1 and D1 mRNA in ovarian carcinoma was 5.83 ± 12.03, 17.60 ± 22.20, slightly higher than that of the control. (p = 0.67, 0.07). The mean value of relative protein levels of cyclin B1 and D1 in Western blot analysis was also higher in ovarian carcinoma (1.30 ± 0.73, 1.81 ± 1.28, respectively) (p = 0.76, 0.06). No significant relationship of cyclin B1, D1 expression and clinical prognostic factors was observed. Conclusions: The expression of cyclin B1, D1 in ovarian carcinoma was higher than that of the control, although there was no statistical significance. This suggests that cyclin B1, D1 might be involved in the tumorigenesis and the progression of malignancy. Even though there was no significant correlation between cyclin expression and prognostic factors, further studies are needed assessing the relationship between cyclin expression and survival rate to elucidate the role of cyclin as a prognostic factor in ovarian carcinoma. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

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