Arachidonic acid is a precursor for biosynthesis of eicosanoids, including prostaglandins, thromboxanes, leukotrienes, and lipoxins. Cytosolic phospholipase A 2 (cPLA 2 ) plays a key role in the release of arachidonic acid as the substrate of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) or COX-2. We found that the level of cPLA 2 mRNA was markedly elevated in the polyps and correlated with the polyp size in the small intestine of the Apc ⌬716 knockout mouse, a model for human familial adenomatous polyposis. To determine the role of cPLA 2 in intestinal tumorigenesis, we then introduced a cPLA 2 gene mutation into Apc ⌬716 mice. In the compound mutant mice, the size of the small intestinal polyps was reduced significantly, although the numbers remained unchanged. These results provide direct genetic evidence that cPLA 2 plays a key role in the expansion of polyps in the small intestine rather than in the initiation process. In contrast, colonic polyps were not affected in either size or number. Interestingly, group X sPLA 2 was constitutively expressed in the colon at much higher levels than in the small intestine. These results suggest that in the colon, group X sPLA 2 supplies arachidonic acid in both the normal epithelium and the polyps even in the absence of cPLA 2 .

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SBRT was effective and relatively safe for patients with small HCC who were ineligible for resection or ablation therapies.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is an important risk factor of coronary heart disease. A new guidelines for hypertension prevention and management in The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in the United States recommended lifestyle modification or medical treatment for subjects with prehypertension. However, whether prehypertension increases the risk of coronary atherosclerosis in the Japanese population is still unknown. METHODS: A cross-sectional study in a clinical setting was conducted. The subjects were 705 patients (417 males and 288 females) aged 30 years and older who underwent a first-time coronary angiography for suspected or known coronary heart disease at 5 major cardiology departments in the Fukuoka metropolitan area between September 1996 and August 1997. RESULTS: Compared to subjects with normal blood pressure, those with prehypertension had an increased risk of coronary atherosclerosis even after adjusting for other factors. CONCLUSION: Prehypertension may be an important clinical entity which requires treatment in the Japanese population.

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