BackgroundThe hematopoietic system is especially sensitive to total body irradiation (TBI), and myelosuppression is one of the major effects of TBI. Astaxanthin (ATX) is a powerful natural anti-oxidant with low toxicity. In this study, the effect of ATX on hematopoietic system injury after TBI was investigated.MethodsFlow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), expression of cytochrome C, cell apoptosis, and NRF2-related proteins. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect Nrf2 translocation. Western blot analysis was used to evaluate the expression of apoptotic-related proteins. Enzymatic activities assay kits were used to analyze SOD2, CAT, and GPX1 activities.ResultsCompared with the TBI group, ATX can improve radiation-induced skewed differentiation of peripheral blood cells and accelerate hematopoietic self-renewal and regeneration. The radio-protective effect of ATX is probably attributable to the scavenging of ROS and the reduction of cell apoptosis. These changes were associated with increased activation of Nrf2 and downstream anti-oxidative proteins, and regulation of apoptotic-related proteins.ConclusionsThis study suggests that ATX could be used as a potent therapeutic agent to protect the hematopoietic system against TBI-induced bone marrow suppression.

M agnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a widely used diagnostic tool for breast imaging in daily practice, with its high sensitivity to detect primary, recurrent, and residual breast cancer. Breast MRI serves as a reliable problem-solving tool in case of inconclusive mammography and ultrasonography (US) findings. It can be used to monitor the results of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and it may also contribute to preoperative evaluation of known lesions. With increasing use of MRI, number of breast lesions visible only on MRI and need for MRI-guided breast biopsy have increased (1). Second-look US can also be used for re-evaluation of these lesions; because US-guided biopsy is an easier, cheaper, and faster method if these lesions are visible on second-look US. According to a recently published meta-analysis, lesion detection rates with second-look US are variable in the literature (22.6%-82.1%). Mass lesions and malignant lesions were more likely to be detected at second-look US; average detection rates were 66% for masses, 29% for non-mass-like enhancement (NME) (2, 3). However, focal or NME lesions, which are less detectable than masses on second-look US, require MRI-guided biopsy in the majority of cases. According to the MRI-guided biopsy series in the literature, approximately 25%-35% of these lesions are diagnosed as malignant (4-9).Within this context, the aim of the present study is to assess the effectiveness of MRI-guided 10 Gauge (G) vacuum-assisted breast biopsies (VABB) performed at our institution and to examine the relationship between lesion characteristics and histopathologic results. B R E A S T I MAG I N G O R I G I N A L A R T I C L E PURPOSEWe aimed to assess the effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VABB), evaluate and compare the characteristics and histopathologic findings of lesions, and overview the follow-up results of benign lesions. METHODSMRI findings and histopathologic results of breast lesions biopsied by MRI-guided VABB between 2013 and 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. MRI findings closely related with malignancy were investigated in particular. Follow-up results of benign lesions were evaluated. RESULTSMRI-guided VABB was applied to 116 lesions of 112 women. Of the lesions, 75 (65%) were benign, while 41 (35%) were malignant. Segmental (94%), clustered (89%), and clustered ring (67%) nonmass-like enhancement patterns were found to be more related with malignancy. False-negative rate of MRI-guided VABB was 12%, underestimation rate was 21%. One of the 54 followed-up benign lesions had a malignant result. CONCLUSION MRI-guided VABB is a reliable method for the diagnosis of breast lesions that are positive only on MRI. Follow-up results show that cancer detection rate is low for radio-pathologically concordant lesions. Further multicenter studies with larger patient population are needed to elucidate these results.You may cite this article as: Taşkın F, Soyder A, Tanyeri A, Öztürk VS, Ünsal A. Lesion characteristics, histopathologic r...

Methyltransferase-like 1 (METTL1) is a transfer RNA and microRNA modifying enzyme. However, its role in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of METTL1 in LUAD and determine the association between METTL1 expression and prognosis of patients with LUAD. The expression profile of METTL1 in LUAD tissues was downloaded from public cancer databases and analyzed using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis database and UALCAN online software. In addition, the association between METTL1 expression and prognosis of patients with LUAD was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier Plotter software. The effect of METTL1 in the A549 cell line was determined in vitro via overexpression and knockdown experiments. The results demonstrated that METTL1 was upregulated in LUAD tissues, and its increased expression was associated with unfavorable prognosis. Furthermore, METTL1 promoted proliferation and colony formation of A549 cells, and inhibited autophagy via the AKT/mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 signaling pathway. Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that METTL1 acts as an oncogene in LUAD, thus may be a potential prognostic predictor and therapeutic target for LUAD.

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Cajal bodies (CBs) are specialized and dynamic compartments in nucleus that are involved in small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) biogenesis. Because of the dynamic and multifunctional roles of CBs, it is of great interest to identify components in CBs to better understand their functions. We performed a genome-wide screen to identify proteins that co-localize with Coilin, the CB marker protein. In this study, we identified and characterized Fam118B as a novel component of CBs. Fam118B is widely expressed in a variety of cell lines derived from various origins. Overexpression of Fam118B changes the canonical morphology of CBs, whereas depletion of Fam118B disrupts the localization of CB components, including Coilin, the survival of motor neuron protein (SMN) and the Sm protein D1 (SmD1). Moreover, depletion ofFam118B reduces splicing capacity and inhibits cell proliferation. In addition, Fam118B associates with Coilin and SMN proteins. Fam118B depletion reduces symmetric dimethylarginine modification of SmD1, which in turn diminishes SMN binding to this Sm protein. Taken together, these data indicate that Fam118B, by regulating SmD1 symmetric dimethylarginine modification, plays an important role in CB formation, snRNP biogenesis and cell viability.

We examined whether consumption of hydrogen-rich water (HW) could ameliorate hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) injury in mice with total body irradiation (TBI). The results indicated that HW alleviated TBI-induced HSC injury with respect to cell number alteration and to the self-renewal and differentiation of HSCs. HW specifically decreased hydroxyl radical (∙OH) levels in the c-kit+ cells of 4 Gy irradiated mice. Proliferative bone marrow cells (BMCs) increased and apoptotic c-kit+ cells decreased in irradiated mice uptaken with HW. In addition, the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of γ-H2AX and percentage of 8-oxoguanine positive cells significantly decreased in HW-treated c-kit+ cells, indicating that HW can alleviate TBI-induced DNA damage and oxidative DNA damage in c-kit+ cells. Finally, the cell cycle (P21), cell apoptosis (BCL-XL and BAK), and oxidative stress (NRF2, HO-1, NQO1, SOD, and GPX1) proteins were significantly altered by HW in irradiated mouse c-kit+ cells. Collectively, the present results suggest that HW protects against TBI-induced HSC injury.

A simple and efficient AlCl(3)-mediated C-C coupling reaction between readily available alpha-hydroxyketene-S,S-acetals and various arenes via direct substitution of the hydroxy group in alcohols has been developed. On the basis of this C-C coupling reaction, a series of bio- and pharmacologically important 3,4-disubstituted dihydrocoumarins, difficult to obtain by other methods, were prepared in high yields by a sequential Friedel-Crafts alkylation and intramolecular annulation reaction of alpha-hydroxyketene acyclic-S,S-acetals with phenols under mild conditions.