藏家臻藏

乾隆彩墨长8.2cm,宽1.8cm,厚0.6cm墨在文房四宝中排行老二,足见墨在文人墨客心目中的重要地位。明清时期的老墨,因难以保管,成本昂贵等特性存世量极为稀少。此墨系乾隆年间制品,色彩绚丽多彩且纯净典雅,改变了以往人们对墨只有黑色的传统认识。经久不变色的特点,也使其成为绘画的绝佳材料。精制的工艺,丰富的形制,同样具有不可低估的历史文物价值,值得把玩珍藏。端溪古砚长19.7cm,宽13.6cm,厚2cm1.砚盖有金农(百二砚翁)自题诗。2.砚首有伊秉绶观刻款,砚背有汤贻汾、朱坚观、释达受刻款。

A Mutant of PlxyCSP1 Protein in Plutella xylostella

[Objective] This study aimed to explore the effects of cysteine （Cys58） on the characteristics of PlxyCSP1 in P. Iostella combined with pesticide compounds. [Method] Cys58 of PlxyCSP1 was mutated into Trp58 by using overlap extension PCR method, and PlxyCSP1-M2 mutant was obtained. Expression vector was con- structed and the protein was detected by western blot. [Result] Expression vector pET32a-PlxyCSP1-M2 was constructed to express the 35kDa weight protein. [Conclusion] PlxyCSP1 mutant protein has been expressed successfully in prokaryotic ex- pression system.

The role of nitric oxide in cancer

Nitric oxide (NO) is a pleiotropic regulator, critical to numerous biological processes, including va-sodilatation, neurotransmission and macrophage-mediated immunity. The family of nitric oxide synthases(NOS) comprises inducible NOS (iNOS), endothelial NOS (eNOS), and neuronal NOS (nNOS). Interest-ingly, various studies have shown that all three isoforms can be involved in promoting or inhibiting theetiology of cancer. NOS activity has been detected in tumour cells of various histogenetic origins and hasbeen associated with tumour grade, proliferation rate and expression of important signaling componentsassociated with cancer development such as the oestrogen receptor. It appears that high levels of NOSexpression (for example, generated by activated macrophages) may be cytostatic or cytotoxic for tumorcells, whereas low level activity can have the opposite effect and promote tumour growth. Paradoxicallytherefore, NO (and related reactive nitrogen species) may have both genotoxic and angiogenic properties.Increased NO-generation in a cell may select mutant p53 cells and contribute to tumour angiogenesis byupregulating VEGF. In addition, NO may modulate tumour DNA repair mechanisms by upregulating p53,poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK). An understand-ing at the molecular level of the role of NO in cancer will have profound therapeutic implications for thediagnosis and treatment of disease.

Expression of VEGF, b-FGF, and their receptors after injection of VEGF on ischemic heart muscle

Objective: To study the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF) and their receptors after injection of external VEGF on ischemic heart muscle and to investigate the mechanism of therapeutic myocardial angiogenesis of VEGF. Methods: Standard experimental pigs underwent placement of a left circumflex artery ameroid occluder. Six weeks later, the animals in the experimental group were treated with VEGF (20 μg) by direct epicardial injection (n=8) and other animals in the control group did not receive any treatment (n=8). Four weeks after therapy, the animals were evaluated with regard to mRNA and protein expression of VEGF and b-FGF and their receptors by RT-PCR and Western blotting. Results: The mRNA expression of VEGF and b-FGF and their receptors by RT-PCR expressing as percentage of density ratio to the GAPDH control was increased in experimental group versus control group. The protein expression of VEGF and b-FGF and their receptors by Western blot expressing as percentage of density ratio to the Commassie Blue control was increased in experimental group versus control Group. Conclusion: Exogenous VEGF can induce the expression of endogenous VEGF, b-FGF, and their receptors; b-FGF may play a role in the angiogenesis of VEGF.

Optimization of the Purification Methods for Recovery of Recombinant Growth Hormone from Paralichthys olivaceus

This study aimed to optimize the purification of recombinant growth hormone from Paralichthys olivaceus. Recombinant flounder growth hormone （r-fGH） was expressed by Escherichia coli in form of inclusion body or as soluble protein under different inducing conditions. The inclusion body was renatured using two recovery methods, i.e., dilution and dialysis. Thereafter, the refolded protein was purified by Glutathione Sepharase 4B affinity chromatography and r-fGH was obtained by cleavage of thrombin. For soluble products, r-fGH was directly purified from the lysates by Glutathione Sepharase 4B affinity chromatography. ELISA-receptor assay demonstrated that despite its low receptor binding activity, the r-fGH purified from refolded inclusion body had a higher yield （2.605 mg L^-1） than that from soluble protein （1.964 mg L^-l）. Of the tested recovery methods, addition of renaturing buffer （pH 8.5） into denatured inclusion body yielded the best recovery rate （17.9%）. This work provided an optimized purification method for high recovery of r-fGH, thus contributing to the application of r-fGH to aquaculture.

Expression of HER2 and bradykinin B_1 receptors in precursor lesions of gallbladder carcinoma

AIM： To determine the expression of HER2 and bradykinin B1 receptors （B1R） in the two pathogenic models of gallbladder cancer： the metaplasia dysplasia carcino ma and the adenoma carcinoma pathways.METHODS： Receptor proteins were visualized by immunohistochemistry on 5-μm sections of paraffin-embedded tissue. Expression of both receptors was studied in biopsy samples from 92 patients （6 males and 86 females; age ranging from 28 to 86 years, mean 56 years）. High HER2 expression in specimens was additionally investigated by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Cell proliferation in each sample was assessed by using the Ki-67 proliferation marker.RESULTS： HER2 receptor protein was absent in adenomas and in normal gallbladder epithelium. On the contrary, there was intense staining for HER2 on the basolateral membrane of epithelial cells of intestinal metaplasia （22/24; 91.7%） and carcinoma in situ （9/10; 90%）, the lesions that displayed a significantly high proliferation index. Protein up-regulation of HER2 in the epithelium with metaplasia or carcinoma in s/tu was not accompanied by HER2 gene amplification. A similar result was observed in invasive carcinomas （0/12）. The B1R distribution pattern mirrored that of HER2 except that B1R was additionally observed in the adenomas. The B1R appeared either as cytoplasmic dots or labeling on the apical cell membrane of the cells composing the epithelia with intestinal metaplasia （24/24; 100%） and carcinoma in situ （10/10; 100%） and in the epithelial cells of adenomas. In contrast, both HER2 （4/12; 33%） and B1R （1/12; 8.3%） showed a low expression in inva- sive gallbladder carcinomas.CONCLUSION： The up-regulation of HER2 and B1R in precursor lesions of gallbladder carcinoma suggests cross-talk between these two receptors that may be of importance in the modulation of cell proliferation in gallbladder carcinogenesis,

Overexpression of TLR3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

AIM: To investigate the expression of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry were used to analyze the expression of TLR3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 mRNA and protein in samples from 87 esophageal cancer patients consisting of both tumor and normal tissue. RESULTS: A significant increase in TLR3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 mRNA levels was detected in ESCC samples. Tumors exhibited high TLR protein expression, (70.1%, 72.4%, 66.7% and 78.2% for TLR3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9, respectively, P < 0.05). Nevertheless, a significant percentage of tumors also exhibited TLR4 expression in mononuclear inflammatory cells (48.3%) and TLR9 expression in fibroblast-like cells (60.9%). Tumors with high TLR3 expression in tumor cells or high TLR4 expression in mononuclear inflammatory cells were significantly associated with a higher probability of lymph node metastasis and increased depth of invasion. However, tumors with high TLR9 expression in fibroblast-like cells were associated with low probabilities of invasion and metastasis. There was no significant variation between the expression of TLR3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 among different ethnic groups. CONCLUSION: TLR3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 expression appears important to the biological pathogenesis of ESCC. TLRs may represent therapeutic targets for ESCC.

Expression pattern of leptin and leptin receptor (OB-R) in human gastric cancer

AIM: To examine the expression of leptin and its receptor, OB-R, in normal gastric mucosa and neoplasia. METHODS: By immunohistochemical staining using specifi c antibodies, we evaluated the expression of leptin and OB-R in 207 gastric carcinomas (100 early and 107 advanced carcinomas) and analyzed their relationship with clinicopathological features. RESULTS: Both normal gastric epithelium and carci- noma cells expressed a significant level of leptin. In cases with OB-R staining, carcinoma cells showed OB-R- positive expression, but the intensity was weaker than that in normal mucosa. The expression of OB-R showed a signifi cant correlation with the level of leptin expres- sion. The expression levels of both leptin and OB-R tend- ed to increase as the depth of tumor invasion or TMN stage increased (P < 0.01). Lymph node metastasis was detected in 49.5% (47/95) of leptin-strong cases and in 50.5% (48/95) of OB-R-positive cases, and the rate was 33% (37/112) in leptin-weak cases and 17% (19/112) in OB-R-negative cases. Both venous and lymphatic inva- sion also tended to be observed frequently in positive tumors as compared with negative tumors. Interestingly, in the 96 leptin- or OB-R-positive tumors, hematogenous metastasis was detected preoperatively in 3 (3.1%) pa- tients. In contrast, none of the carcinomas that lacked expression of leptin and OB-R showed hematogenous metastasis. CONCLUSION: Overexpression of leptin and expres- sion of OB-R may play a positive role in the process of progression in gastric cancer. Functional upregulation of leptin/OB-R may have a positive role in the development and initial phase of progression in gastric cancer.

Effects of CPG ODN on biological behavior of PANC-1 and expression of TLR9 in pancreatic cancer

AIM:To determine the expression of toll-like receptor 9(TLR9) in pancreatic tumor and the effects of cytosine phosphate-guanosine oligodeoxynucleotides 2216(CPG ODN2216) on biological behavior of pancreatic carcinoma cell line PANC-1 and explore their clinical significance.METHODS:The immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to determine the expression of TLR9 protein in pancreatic cancer tissues,and immunofluorescence staining was performed to detect the TLR9 protein expression in pancreatic carcinoma cell line PANC-1.To assess the effects of CPG ODN2216 on the invasive property of Panc-1 cells,in vitro cell adhesion,wound-healing scrape,and invasion and cell colony formation were evaluated.RESULTS:TLR9 was highly expressed in pancreaticcancer tissues and PANC-1 cells.The percentage of positive cells expressing TLR9 protein in human pancreatic tissues,paracancerous tissues and normal tissues were 73.3%,33.3% and 20.0%,respectively,and the protein expression level of TLR9 was gradually descending(P < 0.05).In vitro tests in wound-healing scrape,cell adhesion,colony formation and matrigel invasion showed that the adhesion and motility of PANC-1 cells in CPG ODN 2216 treatment group were signif icantly lower than in the control group(P < 0.05).The cell growth assay showed that the proliferative ability of PANC-1 cells in treatment group was significantly decreased and CPG ODN2216 had an inhibitive effect in the growth of Panc-1 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner(P < 0.05).CONCLUSION:The gene of TLR9 is correlated with the invasive and metastatic potential of human pancreatic carcinoma,and CPG ODN2216 induces the inhibition of migration and invasion of Panc-1 cells.

Overexpression of decoy receptor 3 in hepatocellular carcinoma and its association with resistance to Fas ligand-mediated apoptosis

AIM： To characterize the expression and genomic amplification of decoy receptor 3 （DcR3） in hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） and to evaluate the role of DcR3 in apoptosis.METHODS： We examined 48 cases of HCC for DcR3 expression by RT-PCR and DcR3 gene amplification by quantitative genomic PCR. DcR3 protein was detected by immunohistochemistry. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP digoxigenin nick and labeling （TUNEL） was used to identify the apoptosis cells in tissues. Primary hepatoma cell culture and MTT test were used to evaluate the protection against FasL- and chemicalinduced apoptosis by DcR3 expression. RESULTS： DcR3 mRNA overexpression was detected in 60% HCC （29/48） patients. The occurrence of HCC was not associated with amplification of the gene. One sample base substitution was found in three sites as a sequence in Genbank. The expression of DcR3 in HCC was associated with the apoptotic index （0.067±0.04 vs 0.209±0.12, P〈0. 01）, size of mass, stage, and infiltration or metastasis （41.2% vs71.0%, 40% vs75%, 51.8% vs84.6%, P〈0. 05）. DcR3 expression could protect hepatoma cells against apoptosis induced by FasL, but not by chemicals. CONCLUSION： These data suggest that in addition to gene amplification there may be another mechanism underlying DcR3 overexpression. The effect of overexpression of DcR3 on the apoptosis of cancer cells may have direct therapeutic implications for the management of HCC.

Mast cell density and the context of clinicopathological parameters and expression of p185,estrogen receptor,and proliferating cell nuclear antigen in gastric carcinoma

AIM:To investigate the relationship between the mast cell density(MCD)and the context of clinicopathological parameters and expression of p185,estrogen receptor(ER), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA)in gastric carcinoma. METHODS:Mast cell,p185,ER,and PCNA were detected using immunohistochemical S-P labeling method.Mast cell was counted in tissue of gastric carcinoma and regional lymph nodes respectively,and involved lymph nodes(ILN)were examined as usual. RESULTS:MCD was significantly related to both age and depth of penetration(x^2=4.688,P<0.05 for age and x^2=9.350, P<0.01 for depth of penetration)between MCD>21/0.03 mm^2 and MCD≤21/0.03 mm^2 in 100 patients;MCD in 1-6 ILN group patients was significantly higher than that in 7-15 ILN or>15 ILN group patients(u=6.881,8.055,P<0.01); There were significant differences intergroup in positive expression rate of p185,ER and PCNA between MCD>21/ 0.03 mm^2 and MCD≤21/0.03 mm^2 in 100 patients. CONCLUSION:Mast cell may have effect on inhibiting invasive growth of tumor,especially in the aged patients; The number of mast cells,in certain degree,may predicate the number of involved lymph nodes,which is valuable for assessment of prognosis;MCD was related to the expression of p185,ER,and PCNA in gastric carcinoma.It suggests that mast cell accumulation may inhibit the proliferation and the dissemination of the gastric carcinoma. INTRODUCTION Recently,many studies have reported on the association of mast cell with various tumorst.In several malignancies,mast cell has been found to correlate with growth,penetration and prognosis of tumor.Therefore,our study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the mast cell density (MCD)and the context of clinicopathological parameters and expression of p 185,estrogen receptor(ER),and proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA)in gastric carcinoma.

THE ANGLE ERROR ESTIMATE METHOD IN THE WIDE SWATH SAR BASING ON MULTI-RECEIVER

The wide-swath method based on multi-receiver is a novel and highly accurate wide-swath method, which requires a very precise view angle. The estimated angle has error because of the atmosphere refraction, angle error of view and target height. A method is proposed in this paper to estimate the angle error from the return signal. The method makes use of the relationship between the view angle error and the signal correlation of the subswaths to estimate the angle error. The precision of this method is analyzed by the law of great number and it turns out to be in direct proportion to the root square number of averaging. The simulation result is given and the angle precision is 0.025°.

Induction of hepatitis C virus-specific cytotoxic T and B cell responses by dendritic cells expressing a modified antigen targeting receptor

AIM: To find a novel antigen (Ag) presentation strategy to improve the immune responses induced by dendritic cell (DC)vaccine expressing hepatitis C virus (HCV) core antigen (pcDNA3HCV C-Fc) in Balb/c mice (H-2d).METHODS: pcDNA3HCV C-Fc plasmid and eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3 were injected into mice sc. Immune responses to pcDNA3HCV C-Fc were studied. Meanwhile the effect of pcDNA3HCV C-Fc on anti-translated subcutaneous tumor of SP2/0 cells stably expressing HCV C Ag (SP2/0-HCV C-FC) was also studied. Anti-HCV C in serum was detected by enzyme-linked immunoadsordent assay (ELISA) and HCV specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity was measured by LDH release assay. After 3 wk of DNA immunization,the cells of SP2/0-HCV C-FC were inoculated into mice subcutaneously and tumor growth was measured every 5 d.The survival rate and living time of mice were also calculated.RESULTS: After 4 wk of DC immunization, the A450 nm values of sera in mice immunized with pcDNA3HCV C-Fc-DC and pcDNA3-DC were 0.56±0.17 and 0.12±0.03 respectively. The antibody titres in mice codeliveried with pcDNA3HCV C-Fc with DC were significantly higher than those of mice injected with pcDNA3-DC. The HCV specific CTL activities in mice coinjected with DC and pcDNA3HCV C-Fc or empty expression vectors were(73.2±3.1) % and (24.4±8.8) %, which were significantly higher than those of mice injected with water.The DC vaccine could evidently inhibit tumor growth, prolong the survival time of mice and improve the survival rate of mice and these effects could be improved by HCV C-Fc (pcDNA3HCV C-Fc) gene codelivered.CONCLUSION: DC vaccine has a strong antigenicity in humoral and cellular immunities, which can be promoted by transduced pcDNA3HCV C-Fc expressing HCV C or Fc.Thus, pcDNA3HCV C-Fc-transduced DCs may be a promising candidate for a CTL-based vaccine against HCV.

Developmental Changes of IGF-Ⅰ mRNA Expression Level in Sheep Muscle

[ Objective] To detect the mRNA of muscle insulin-like growth factorl （IGF-I） in the early development of Kazak sheep and Xinjiang fine-wool sheep, so as to provide information for the research about the early growth and development of sheep. [ Method] With real-time quan- titative PCR, the muscle IGF-I mRNA level was separately detected in two varieties of sheep at 2, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days old. Then the data was analyzed with SPSS software. [ Result] The IGF-I mRNA in sheep muscle first increased and then decreased with ages, peaking at 30 days old in Kazak sheep and at 60 days old in Xinjiang fine-wool sheep. The IGF-I expression level of Kazak sheep had no significant difference with Xinjiang fine-wool sheep at 2 or 90 days old （ P 〉0.05）, but was lower than that of the latter with extremely significant difference （ P 〈0.01 ） from 30 to 60 days old. [ Conclusion] The male Kazak sheep and Xinjiang fine-wool sheep have similar model of developmental changes of muscular IGF-I mRNA, but the expression level is different between these two species.

Estrogen,male dominance and esophageal adenocarcinoma:Is there a link?

Esophageal adenocarcinoma is a cancer with poor prognosis, and its incidence has risen sharply over recent decades. Obesity is a major risk factor for developing this cancer and there is a clear male gender bias in the incidence that cannot be fully explained by known risk factors. It is possible that a difference in the expression of estrogen, or its signaling axes, may contribute to this gender bias. We undertook a com- prehensive literature search and analyzed the available data regarding estrogen and estrogen receptor expres- sion, and the possible sex-specific links with esopha- geal adenocarcinoma development. Potentially relevant associations between visceral vs subcutaneous fat deposition and estrogen expression, and the effect of crosstalk between estrogen and leptin signaling were identified. We also found limited studies suggesting a role for estrogen receptor 13 expression in esophageal adenocarcinoma development. The current literature supports speculation on an etiological role for estrogen in the male gender bias in esophageal adenocarcino- ma, but further studies are required.

Expression of prolactin receptor and response to prolactin stimulation of human NK cell lines

We have previously shown a critical role of prolactin (PRL) during maturation and anti-tumor effects of murine natural killer (NK) cells in vitro and in vivo. We extended that study by exploring the ability of human NK cell lines (NK-92 and YT cell) to express PRL receptor (PRL-R) and to respond to PRL stimulation in vitro. Both human NK cell lines constitutively expressed PRL-R on membrane and mRNA transcripts,NK-92 cells contained higher level of PRL-R than YT cells,which correlated to the enhanced capacity of the cells to proliferate and to lyse target cells in response to PRL stimulation in the presence of trace amount of IL-2 or IL-15 in vitro. Two differences between IL-2 and IL-15 in functioning on human NK cells were for the first time observed. PRL synergized with IL-15 to improve proliferation of NK cells in a dose-dependent manner without double peak manifesting like IL-2. Although PRL enhanced the cytotoxicity of IL-2 or IL- 15 activated NK cells,it exerted the function through up-regulating gene expression of perforin without influence of FasL in IL-2-stimulated NK cells,while in IL-15-stimulated NK cells,PRL did the function through up-regulating gene expression of both perforin and FasL but not IFNγ. PRL increased expressions of IL-2Rα on membrane and of IL-2 mRNA in cells,indicating that PRL up-regulated NK cell function by improving positive feedback between IL-2 and IL-2R. The similar results were also observed in network between IL-15 and IL-15R. These data indicate a potential role of PRL in human NK cell modulation.

Inhibition of invasiveness and expression of epidermal growth factor receptor in human colorectal carcinoma cells induced by retinoic acid

Human amniotic basement membrane (HABM) model and agarose drop explant method were used to in-vestigate the effects of retinoic acid(RA) on the invasive-ness alld adhesiveness to the basement membrane, and the migration of a highly invassive human colorectal cancer cell line CCL229. Results showed that 5 ×106 MRA markedly reduced the in vitro invasiveness and adhesiveness to the HABM, and the migration of the CCL229 cells. In addi-tion, to elucidate the relation between expression of epider-mal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the invasiveness of the colorectal carcinoma cells, two well-differentiated, but with different invasiveness colorectal cancer cell lines were compared at mRNA level for expressioll of EGFR by using EGFR cDNA probe labeled with digoxigenin (DIG). Expression of EGFR was showll to be markedly higher in the highly invassive CCL229 cells than that in the low in- vasive CX-1 cells. Furthermore, expression of EGFR in RA treated CCL229 cells gradually decreased with time,the level being the lowest on day 6 of the RA treatment.

Expression of Tyrosine-kinase Receptors and Neurotrophins in Human Neuroblastomas

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate mRNA expression of tyrosine-kinase receptors （TRKs） and neurotrophins （NTs） in human neuroblastomas. METHODS Expression of TrkA, TrkB, TrkC and BDNF was quantitatively examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） in 27 cases of neuroblastomas. RESULTS The high and total rates of TrkA were expressed in significantly more tumors in a lower-stage group compared to a higher-stage group （P〈0.05） and the high level of TrkA expression was correlated positively with the 2-year cumulative-survival rate of the patients （P〈 0.01）. The high and total rates of TrkB were expressed in significantly more tumors in a higher-stage group compared to a lower-stage group （P〈0.05）. All 3 rates of BDNF expression between the 2 groups showed no statistical difference （P〉0.05）, but the co-expression ratio of TrkB and BDNF showed a remarkable significance in the higher-stage group more than in the lower-stage group （P〈0.05）. TrkC expression was usually accompanied by TrkA expression, but there was only a non-significant trend between TrkC expression and TrkA expression. CONCLUSION RT-PCR for mRNA expression of TRKs and NTs has important clinical significance relating to the tumor stage and outcome for patients with neuroblastomas.

EGFR antisense RNA blocks expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor and partially reverse the malignant phenotype of human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells

The effects of human EGFR to the malignant phenotype of human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 were investigated experimentally. A retroviral vector containing a 5'1350bp fragment of the human EGFR cDNA in the antisense orientation was transfected into targeted cells by lipofectamine. The effects on cell proliferation, cell cycle and adherent ability to extracellular matrix (ECM) components were studied after the expression of antisense transcripts to EGFR 5'1350bp fragment in target cells. In vitro studies showed that the growth ability of the transfected cells was partialy inhibited in comparison to parental cells and to cells transfected with the plasmid containing the neomycin resistance gene only. It was found that EGF (10ng/ml) had an augmenation effect on the growth of transfected MDA-AS10 cells but not MDA-MB-231 cells.Flow cytometric analysis showed that the cell cycle of the transfected cells was abnormal with a decrease of cells in G2/M and S phases and an increase of cells in G1 phase,indicating a blockage in phase G1. Immunofluorescence of EGFR expression in transfectants stained with an antiEGFR antibody was decreased and their growth in soft agarose was also severely impaired. The transfected cells showed less adherence to laminin (LN) and fibronectin (FN). In short, EGFR antisense RNA decreases the expression of EGFR on MDA-MB-231 cells and partially reverses their malignant phenotype as well.Effects of antisense EGFR on human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells

Significance of glucocorticoid receptor expression in colonic mucosal cells of patients with ulcerative colitis

AIM: Glucocorticoid (GC) resistant ulcerative colitis (UC) remains a serious disease and is difficult to manage. Although the molecular basis of GC insensitivity is still unknown, GC receptors (GRAAA and GRp) may play an important role in it. This study was aimed to investigate the relationship between the expression of GRa and GRp in colonic mucosal cells of patients with UC, the efficacy of GC therapy and the intensity of inflammation. METHODS: Twenty-five cases of UC were classified into: GC sensitive (n = 16) and GC resistant (n - 9) cases. Patients consisted of mild (n = 6), moderate (n = 8) and severe (n = 11) cases. GRa and GRp expression in colonic mucosal specimens were investigated by immunohistochemistry, and compared between GC resistant and sensitive groups, and also among various degrees of inflammation. RESULTS: All cases were positive for GRa and GRp expression. Both positive association between GRa expression and the response of UC to GC and strong negative association between GRp expression and the response of UC to GC were identified. There was no significant association between GRa/GRp expression and the degree of inflammation of UC. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that both GRa and GRp may play an important role in the action of GC, and that GRp functions as a dominant negative inhibitor of GRa. Expression of GRa and GRp in colonic mucosal cells of patients with UC may serve as predictors of glucocorticoid response, but can not function as markers of inflammatory intensity.