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Sample records for normal mammalian tissue

  1. Media Compositions for Three-Dimensional Mammalian Tissue Growth under Microgravity Culture Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwin, Thomas J. (Inventor)

    1998-01-01

    Normal mammalian tissue and the culturing process has been developed for the three groups of organ, structural and blood tissue.The cells are grown in vitro under microgravity culture conditions and form three dimensional cells aggregates with normal cell function. The microgravity culture conditions may be microgravity or simulated microgravity created in a horizontal rotating wall culture vessel.

  2. Media Compositions for Three Dimensional Mammalian Tissue Growth Under Microgravity Culture Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwin, Thomas J. (Inventor)

    1998-01-01

    Normal mammalian tissue and the culturing process has been developed for the three groups of organ, structural and blood tissue. The cells are grown in vitro under microgravity culture conditions and form three dimensional cells aggregates with normal cell function. The microgravity culture conditions may be microgravity or simulated microgravity created in a horizontal rotating wall culture vessel.

  3. Effects of pions on normal tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tokita, N.

    1981-01-01

    Verification of the uniform biological effectiveness of pion beams of various dimensions produced at LAMPF has been made using cultured mammalian cells and mouse jejunum. Normal tissue radiobiology studies at LAMPF are reviewed with regard to biological beam characterization for the therapy program and the current status of acute and late effect studies on rodents

  4. Telomere length in normal and neoplastic canine tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cadile, Casey D; Kitchell, Barbara E; Newman, Rebecca G; Biller, Barbara J; Hetler, Elizabeth R

    2007-12-01

    To determine the mean telomere restriction fragment (TRF) length in normal and neoplastic canine tissues. 57 solid-tissue tumor specimens collected from client-owned dogs, 40 samples of normal tissue collected from 12 clinically normal dogs, and blood samples collected from 4 healthy blood donor dogs. Tumor specimens were collected from client-owned dogs during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures at the University of Illinois Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, whereas 40 normal tissue samples were collected from 12 control dogs. Telomere restriction fragment length was determined by use of an assay kit. A histologic diagnosis was provided for each tumor by personnel at the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Illinois. Mean of the mean TRF length for 44 normal samples was 19.0 kilobases (kb; range, 15.4 to 21.4 kb), and the mean of the mean TRF length for 57 malignant tumors was 19.0 kb (range, 12.9 to 23.5 kb). Although the mean of the mean TRF length for tumors and normal tissues was identical, tumor samples had more variability in TRF length. Telomerase, which represents the main mechanism by which cancer cells achieve immortality, is an attractive therapeutic target. The ability to measure telomere length is crucial to monitoring the efficacy of telomerase inhibition. In contrast to many other mammalian species, the length of canine telomeres and the rate of telomeric DNA loss are similar to those reported in humans, making dogs a compelling choice for use in the study of human anti-telomerase strategies.

  5. Functional Amyloid Formation within Mammalian Tissue.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2005-11-01

    Full Text Available Amyloid is a generally insoluble, fibrous cross-beta sheet protein aggregate. The process of amyloidogenesis is associated with a variety of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer, Parkinson, and Huntington disease. We report the discovery of an unprecedented functional mammalian amyloid structure generated by the protein Pmel17. This discovery demonstrates that amyloid is a fundamental nonpathological protein fold utilized by organisms from bacteria to humans. We have found that Pmel17 amyloid templates and accelerates the covalent polymerization of reactive small molecules into melanin-a critically important biopolymer that protects against a broad range of cytotoxic insults including UV and oxidative damage. Pmel17 amyloid also appears to play a role in mitigating the toxicity associated with melanin formation by sequestering and minimizing diffusion of highly reactive, toxic melanin precursors out of the melanosome. Intracellular Pmel17 amyloidogenesis is carefully orchestrated by the secretory pathway, utilizing membrane sequestration and proteolytic steps to protect the cell from amyloid and amyloidogenic intermediates that can be toxic. While functional and pathological amyloid share similar structural features, critical differences in packaging and kinetics of assembly enable the usage of Pmel17 amyloid for normal function. The discovery of native Pmel17 amyloid in mammals provides key insight into the molecular basis of both melanin formation and amyloid pathology, and demonstrates that native amyloid (amyloidin may be an ancient, evolutionarily conserved protein quaternary structure underpinning diverse pathways contributing to normal cell and tissue physiology.

  6. Functional amyloid formation within mammalian tissue.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Douglas M Fowler

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Amyloid is a generally insoluble, fibrous cross-beta sheet protein aggregate. The process of amyloidogenesis is associated with a variety of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer, Parkinson, and Huntington disease. We report the discovery of an unprecedented functional mammalian amyloid structure generated by the protein Pmel17. This discovery demonstrates that amyloid is a fundamental nonpathological protein fold utilized by organisms from bacteria to humans. We have found that Pmel17 amyloid templates and accelerates the covalent polymerization of reactive small molecules into melanin-a critically important biopolymer that protects against a broad range of cytotoxic insults including UV and oxidative damage. Pmel17 amyloid also appears to play a role in mitigating the toxicity associated with melanin formation by sequestering and minimizing diffusion of highly reactive, toxic melanin precursors out of the melanosome. Intracellular Pmel17 amyloidogenesis is carefully orchestrated by the secretory pathway, utilizing membrane sequestration and proteolytic steps to protect the cell from amyloid and amyloidogenic intermediates that can be toxic. While functional and pathological amyloid share similar structural features, critical differences in packaging and kinetics of assembly enable the usage of Pmel17 amyloid for normal function. The discovery of native Pmel17 amyloid in mammals provides key insight into the molecular basis of both melanin formation and amyloid pathology, and demonstrates that native amyloid (amyloidin may be an ancient, evolutionarily conserved protein quaternary structure underpinning diverse pathways contributing to normal cell and tissue physiology.

  7. Comparison of radiosensitivity between tumor and normal tissue in terms of cell population kinetics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sugahara, Tsutomu; Utsumi, Hiroshi

    1975-01-01

    Puck and Marcus in 1956 established the in vitro colony formation of mammalian cells and demonstrated a dose-survival curve of mammalian cells well fitted to the target theory. Since then almost all of the work on the radiosensitivity of malignant and normal cells has been based on the reproductive integrity of cells. However, in the author's laboratory, a recent work was done on the effect of ionizing radiation on the differentiative trait, using clonal cell cultures developed by Coon (1966) in chick embryonic cartilage cells. This work demonstrated clearly that the differentiative trait is more radiosensitive than is reproduction. Based on this finding a new compartment model is proposed for a cell renewal system which demonstrates the difference between normal and malignant tissue. (author)

  8. The effects of simultaneous application of ultrasound and ionizing radiation on cultured mammalian cells and normal tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujita, Shozo

    1976-01-01

    The influence of therapeutic ultrasound on ionizing radiation effects was studied. Cultured mammalian cells, FM3A, and normal tissues, auricle and kidney of rabbits, were irradiated with ionizing radiation alone, ultrasound alone and both simultaneously. The biological experiments were conducted on the basis of the investigations about the physical and the chemical aspects of ultrasound. The results obtained from such a systematic study were as follows. It was considered that so called ''cavitation'' with bubble formation played an important role on the chemical effects of ultrasound. The chemical effect showed an intensity threshold in the range from 0.5 to 1 W/cm 2 . In the biological studies of ultrasound, the following must be considered; (1) the inhomogeneity of ultrasound intensity on the same plane (2) the distance between ultrasound transducer and sample. At a distance of 3 cm, the radiosensitizing effect due to simultaneous irradiation of x-rays and ultrasound on cells in suspension was detected at intensities above 2 W/cm 2 . The KI starch system in solution also showed a similar tendency. The irreversible tissue destruction was observed in the auricle irradiated with 690 R of 60 Co gamma-rays with simultaneous ultrasound at an intensity of 3 W/cm 2 for 15 minutes. However, no irreversible damage was recognized in the separate treatments with a dose four times of the combined irradiation. The interstitial nephritis was found in the kidney irradiated with 200 R of gamma-rays with simultaneous ultrasound for 5 minutes. No histological change was detectable in the separate treatments with a dose three times of the combined irradiation. The results seem to indicate that the ionizing radiation effects are enhanced by therapeutic ultrasound. (auth.)

  9. Nanoscale X-Ray Microscopic Imaging of Mammalian Mineralized Tissue

    OpenAIRE

    Andrews, Joy C.; Almeida, Eduardo; van der Meulen, Marjolein C.H.; Alwood, Joshua S.; Lee, Chialing; Liu, Yijin; Chen, Jie; Meirer, Florian; Feser, Michael; Gelb, Jeff; Rudati, Juana; Tkachuk, Andrei; Yun, Wenbing; Pianetta, Piero

    2010-01-01

    A novel hard transmission X-ray microscope (TXM) at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Light-source operating from 5 to 15 keV X-ray energy with 14 to 30 µm2 field of view has been used for high-resolution (30–40 nm) imaging and density quantification of mineralized tissue. TXM is uniquely suited for imaging of internal cellular structures and networks in mammalian mineralized tissues using relatively thick (50 µm), untreated samples that preserve tissue micro- and nanostructure. To test this...

  10. Endogenous retrovirus sequences expressed in male mammalian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objectives: To review the research findings on the expression of endogenous retroviruses and retroviral-related particles in male mammalian reproductive tissues, and to discuss their possible role in normal cellular events and association with disease conditions in male reproductive tissues. Data sources: Published ...

  11. TRANSPLANTATION AND POTENTIAL IMMORTALITY OF MAMMALIAN TISSUES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loeb, L

    1926-06-20

    1. Serial transplantation of tumors made it possible in 1901 and following years to draw the conclusion that various mammalian tissues have potential immortality. Serial transplantations of normal tissues did not succeed at first, because the homoioreaction on the part of the lymphocytes and connective tissue of the host injures the transplant. 2. In continuation of these experiments we found that cartilage of the rat can be transplanted serially to other rats at least for a period of 3 years. At the end of that time great parts of the transplanted cartilage and perichondrium are alive. 3. Not only the cartilage of young rats can be homoiotransplanted, but also the cartilage of very old rats which are nearing the end of life. By using such animals we have been able to obtain cartilage and perichondrium approaching an age of 6 years which is almost double the average age of a rat. 4. We found that cartilage can be homoiotransplanted more readily than other tissues for the following reasons: (a) While in principle the homoioreaction towards cartilage is the same as against other tissues, cartilage elicits this reaction with less intensity; (b) cartilage is better able to resist the invasion of lymphocytes and connective tissue than the majority of other tissues; (c) a gradual adaptation between transplant and host seems to take place in the case of cartilage transplantation, as a result of which the lymphocytic reaction on the part of the host tissue decreases progressively the longer the cartilage is kept in the strange host. 5. At time of examination we not only found living transplanted cartilage tissue, but also perichondrial tissue, which in response to a stimulus apparently originating in the necrotic central cartilage, had been proliferating and replacing it. These results suggest that it may perhaps be possible under favorable conditions to keep cartilage alive indefinitely through serial transplantations. 6. At the same time these experiments permit the

  12. DEOXYRIBONUCLEASE IV: A NEW EXONUCLEASE FROM MAMMALIAN TISSUES*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindahl, Tomas; Gally, Joseph A.; Edelman, Gerald M.

    1969-01-01

    An exonuclease which specifically degrades double-standard DNA has been isolated from rabbit tissues. The enzyme has an approximate molecular weight of 42,000, requires a divalent metal ion as cofactor, and attacks DNA at the 5′-terminal ends, thereby liberating 5′-mononucleotides. It degrades several synthetic polydeoxynucleotides of single repeating base sequences more rapidly than DNA from natural sources. The specificity of this mammalian enzyme resembles that of several microbial enzymes (phage λ exonuclease and DNA polymerase) which appear to be required for repair and recombination of DNA. PMID:5256235

  13. Single molecule approaches for quantifying transcription and degradation rates in intact mammalian tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahar Halpern, Keren; Itzkovitz, Shalev

    2016-04-01

    A key challenge in mammalian biology is to understand how rates of transcription and mRNA degradation jointly shape cellular gene expression. Powerful techniques have been developed for measuring these rates either genome-wide or at the single-molecule level, however these techniques are not applicable to assessment of cells within their native tissue microenvironment. Here we describe a technique based on single molecule Fluorescence in-situ Hybridization (smFISH) to measure transcription and degradation rates in intact mammalian tissues. The technique is based on dual-color libraries targeting the introns and exons of the genes of interest, enabling visualization and quantification of both nascent and mature mRNA. We present a software, TransQuant, that facilitates quantifying these rates from smFISH images. Our approach enables assessment of both transcription and degradation rates of any gene of interest while controlling for the inherent heterogeneity of intact tissues. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Thicker three-dimensional tissue from a "symbiotic recycling system" combining mammalian cells and algae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haraguchi, Yuji; Kagawa, Yuki; Sakaguchi, Katsuhisa; Matsuura, Katsuhisa; Shimizu, Tatsuya; Okano, Teruo

    2017-01-31

    In this paper, we report an in vitro co-culture system that combines mammalian cells and algae, Chlorococcum littorale, to create a three-dimensional (3-D) tissue. While the C2C12 mouse myoblasts and rat cardiac cells consumed oxygen actively, intense oxygen production was accounted for by the algae even in the co-culture system. Although cell metabolism within thicker cardiac cell-layered tissues showed anaerobic respiration, the introduction of innovative co-cultivation partially changed the metabolism to aerobic respiration. Moreover, the amount of glucose consumption and lactate production in the cardiac tissues and the amount of ammonia in the culture media decreased significantly when co-cultivated with algae. In the cardiac tissues devoid of algae, delamination was observed histologically, and the release of creatine kinase (CK) from the tissues showed severe cardiac cell damage. On the other hand, the layered cell tissues with algae were observed to be in a good histological condition, with less than one-fifth decline in CK release. The co-cultivation with algae improved the culture condition of the thicker tissues, resulting in the formation of 160 μm-thick cardiac tissues. Thus, the present study proposes the possibility of creating an in vitro "symbiotic recycling system" composed of mammalian cells and algae.

  15. Masticatory loading, function, and plasticity: a microanatomical analysis of mammalian circumorbital soft-tissue structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jasarević, Eldin; Ning, Jie; Daniel, Ashley N; Menegaz, Rachel A; Johnson, Jeffrey J; Stack, M Sharon; Ravosa, Matthew J

    2010-04-01

    In contrast to experimental evidence regarding the postorbital bar, postorbital septum, and browridge, there is exceedingly little evidence regarding the load-bearing nature of soft-tissue structures of the mammalian circumorbital region. This hinders our understanding of pronounced transformations during primate origins, in which euprimates evolved a postorbital bar from an ancestor with the primitive mammalian condition where only soft tissues spanned the lateral orbital margin between frontal bone and zygomatic arch. To address this significant gap, we investigated the postorbital microanatomy of rabbits subjected to long-term variation in diet-induced masticatory stresses. Rabbits exhibit a masticatory complex and feeding behaviors similar to primates, yet retain a more primitive mammalian circumorbital region. Three cohorts were obtained as weanlings and raised on different diets until adult. Following euthanasia, postorbital soft tissues were dissected away, fixed, and decalcified. These soft tissues were divided into inferior, intermediate, and superior units and then dehydrated, embedded, and sectioned. H&E staining was used to characterize overall architecture. Collagen orientation and complexity were evaluated via picrosirius-red staining. Safranin-O identified proteoglycan content with additional immunostaining performed to assess Type-II collagen expression. Surprisingly, the ligament along the lateral orbital wall was composed of elastic fibrocartilage. A more degraded organization of collagen fibers in this postorbital fibrocartilage is correlated with increased masticatory forces due to a more fracture-resistant diet. Furthermore, the lack of marked changes in the extracellular composition of the lateral orbital wall related to tissue viscoelasticity suggests it is unlikely that long-term exposure to elevated masticatory stresses underlies the development of a bony postorbital bar. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  16. Neutron RBE for normal tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Field, S.B.; Hornsey, S.

    1979-01-01

    RBE for various normal tissues is considered as a function of neutron dose per fraction. Results from a variety of centres are reviewed. It is shown that RBE is dependent on neutron energy and is tissue dependent, but is not specially high for the more critical tissues or for damage occurring late after irradiation. (author)

  17. Thicker three-dimensional tissue from a “symbiotic recycling system” combining mammalian cells and algae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haraguchi, Yuji; Kagawa, Yuki; Sakaguchi, Katsuhisa; Matsuura, Katsuhisa; Shimizu, Tatsuya; Okano, Teruo

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we report an in vitro co-culture system that combines mammalian cells and algae, Chlorococcum littorale, to create a three-dimensional (3-D) tissue. While the C2C12 mouse myoblasts and rat cardiac cells consumed oxygen actively, intense oxygen production was accounted for by the algae even in the co-culture system. Although cell metabolism within thicker cardiac cell-layered tissues showed anaerobic respiration, the introduction of innovative co-cultivation partially changed the metabolism to aerobic respiration. Moreover, the amount of glucose consumption and lactate production in the cardiac tissues and the amount of ammonia in the culture media decreased significantly when co-cultivated with algae. In the cardiac tissues devoid of algae, delamination was observed histologically, and the release of creatine kinase (CK) from the tissues showed severe cardiac cell damage. On the other hand, the layered cell tissues with algae were observed to be in a good histological condition, with less than one-fifth decline in CK release. The co-cultivation with algae improved the culture condition of the thicker tissues, resulting in the formation of 160 μm-thick cardiac tissues. Thus, the present study proposes the possibility of creating an in vitro “symbiotic recycling system” composed of mammalian cells and algae. PMID:28139713

  18. Oxygen delivery in irradiated normal tissue

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kiani, M.F.; Ansari, R. [Univ. of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN (United States). School of Biomedical Engineering; Gaber, M.W. [St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN (United States)

    2003-03-01

    Ionizing radiation exposure significantly alters the structure and function of microvascular networks, which regulate delivery of oxygen to tissue. In this study we use a hamster cremaster muscle model to study changes in microvascular network parameters and use a mathematical model to study the effects of these observed structural and microhemodynamic changes in microvascular networks on oxygen delivery to the tissue. Our experimental observations indicate that in microvascular networks while some parameters are significantly affected by irradiation (e.g. red blood cell (RBC) transit time), others remain at the control level (e.g. RBC path length) up to 180 days post-irradiation. The results from our mathematical model indicate that tissue oxygenation patterns are significantly different in irradiated normal tissue as compared to age-matched controls and the differences are apparent as early as 3 days post irradiation. However, oxygen delivery to irradiated tissue was not found to be significantly different from age matched controls at any time between 7 days to 6 months post-irradiation. These findings indicate that microvascular late effects in irradiated normal tissue may be due to factors other than compromised tissue oxygenation. (author)

  19. Radiogenomics: predicting clinical normal tissue radiosensitivity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alsner, Jan

    2006-01-01

    Studies on the genetic basis of normal tissue radiosensitivity, or  'radiogenomics', aims at predicting clinical radiosensitivity and optimize treatment from individual genetic profiles. Several studies have now reported links between variations in certain genes related to the biological response...... to radiation injury and risk of normal tissue morbidity in cancer patients treated with radiotherapy. However, after these initial association studies including few genes, we are still far from being able to predict clinical radiosensitivity on an individual level. Recent data from our own studies on risk...

  20. Apparatus for enhancing tissue repair in mammals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwin, Thomas J. (Inventor); Parker, Clayton R. (Inventor)

    2007-01-01

    An apparatus is disclosed for enhancing tissue repair in mammals, with the apparatus comprising: a sleeve for encircling a portion of a mammalian body part, said sleeve comprising an electrically conductive coil capable of generating an electromagnetic field when an electrical current is applied thereto, means for supporting the sleeve on the mammalian body part; and means for supplying the electrically conductive coil with a square wave time varying electrical current sufficient to create a time varying electromagnetic force of from approximately 0.05 gauss to 0.05 gauss within the interior of the coil in order that when the sleeve is placed on a mammalian body part and the time varying electromagnetic force of from approximately 0.05 gauss to 0.05 gauss is generated on the mammalian body part for an extended period of time, tissue regeneration within the mammalian body part is increased to a rate in excess of the normal tissue regeneration rate that would occur without application of the time varying electromagnetic force.

  1. Chitinase mRNA Levels Determined by QPCR in Crab-Eating Monkey (Macaca fascicularis) Tissues: Species-Specific Expression of Acidic Mammalian Chitinase and Chitotriosidase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uehara, Maiko; Tabata, Eri; Ishii, Kazuhiro; Sawa, Akira; Ohno, Misa; Sakaguchi, Masayoshi; Matoska, Vaclav; Bauer, Peter O; Oyama, Fumitaka

    2018-05-09

    Mice and humans express two active chitinases: acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) and chitotriosidase (CHIT1). Both chitinases are thought to play important roles in specific pathophysiological conditions. The crab-eating monkey ( Macaca fascicularis ) is one of the most frequently used nonhuman primate models in basic and applied biomedical research. Here, we performed gene expression analysis of two chitinases in normal crab-eating monkey tissues by way of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) using a single standard DNA molecule. Levels of AMCase and CHIT1 messenger RNAs (mRNAs) were highest in the stomach and the lung, respectively, when compared to other tissues. Comparative gene expression analysis of mouse, monkey, and human using monkey⁻mouse⁻human hybrid standard DNA showed that the AMCase mRNA levels were exceptionally high in mouse and monkey stomachs while very low in the human stomach. As for the CHIT1 mRNA, we detected higher levels in the monkey lung when compared with those of mouse and human. The differences of mRNA expression between the species in the stomach tissues were basically reflecting the levels of the chitinolytic activities. These results indicate that gene expression of AMCase and CHIT1 differs between mammalian species and requiring special attention in handling data in chitinase-related studies in particular organisms.

  2. A compendium of canine normal tissue gene expression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph Briggs

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Our understanding of disease is increasingly informed by changes in gene expression between normal and abnormal tissues. The release of the canine genome sequence in 2005 provided an opportunity to better understand human health and disease using the dog as clinically relevant model. Accordingly, we now present the first genome-wide, canine normal tissue gene expression compendium with corresponding human cross-species analysis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The Affymetrix platform was utilized to catalogue gene expression signatures of 10 normal canine tissues including: liver, kidney, heart, lung, cerebrum, lymph node, spleen, jejunum, pancreas and skeletal muscle. The quality of the database was assessed in several ways. Organ defining gene sets were identified for each tissue and functional enrichment analysis revealed themes consistent with known physio-anatomic functions for each organ. In addition, a comparison of orthologous gene expression between matched canine and human normal tissues uncovered remarkable similarity. To demonstrate the utility of this dataset, novel canine gene annotations were established based on comparative analysis of dog and human tissue selective gene expression and manual curation of canine probeset mapping. Public access, using infrastructure identical to that currently in use for human normal tissues, has been established and allows for additional comparisons across species. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These data advance our understanding of the canine genome through a comprehensive analysis of gene expression in a diverse set of tissues, contributing to improved functional annotation that has been lacking. Importantly, it will be used to inform future studies of disease in the dog as a model for human translational research and provides a novel resource to the community at large.

  3. DNA-repair, cell killing and normal tissue damage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dahm-Daphi, J.; Dikomey, E.; Brammer, I.

    1998-01-01

    Background: Side effects of radiotherapy in normal tissue is determined by a variety of factors of which cellular and genetic contributions are described here. Material and methods: Review. Results: Normal tissue damage after irradiation is largely due to loss of cellular proliferative capacity. This can be due to mitotic cell death, apoptosis, or terminal differentiation. Dead or differentiated cells release cytokines which additionally modulate the tissue response. DNA damage, in particular non-reparable or misrepaired double-strand breaks are considered the basic lesion leading to G1-arrest and ultimately to cell inactivation. Conclusion: Evidence for genetic bases of normal tissue response, cell killing and DNA-repair capacity is presented. However, a direct link of all 3 endpoints has not yet been proved directly. (orig.) [de

  4. Normal tissue dose-effect models in biological dose optimisation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alber, M.

    2008-01-01

    Sophisticated radiotherapy techniques like intensity modulated radiotherapy with photons and protons rely on numerical dose optimisation. The evaluation of normal tissue dose distributions that deviate significantly from the common clinical routine and also the mathematical expression of desirable properties of a dose distribution is difficult. In essence, a dose evaluation model for normal tissues has to express the tissue specific volume effect. A formalism of local dose effect measures is presented, which can be applied to serial and parallel responding tissues as well as target volumes and physical dose penalties. These models allow a transparent description of the volume effect and an efficient control over the optimum dose distribution. They can be linked to normal tissue complication probability models and the equivalent uniform dose concept. In clinical applications, they provide a means to standardize normal tissue doses in the face of inevitable anatomical differences between patients and a vastly increased freedom to shape the dose, without being overly limiting like sets of dose-volume constraints. (orig.)

  5. Radiation-induced normal tissue damage: implications for radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prasanna, Pataje G.

    2014-01-01

    Radiotherapy is an important treatment modality for many malignancies, either alone or as a part of combined modality treatment. However, despite technological advances in physical treatment delivery, patients suffer adverse effects from radiation therapy due to normal tissue damage. These side effects may be acute, occurring during or within weeks after therapy, or intermediate to late, occurring months to years after therapy. Minimizing normal tissue damage from radiotherapy will allow enhancement of tumor killing and improve tumor control and patients quality of life. Understanding mechanisms through which radiation toxicity develops in normal tissue will facilitate the development of next generation radiation effect modulators. Translation of these agents to the clinic will also require an understanding of the impact of these protectors and mitigators on tumor radiation response. In addition, normal tissues vary in radiobiologically important ways, including organ sensitivity to radiation, cellular turnover rate, and differences in mechanisms of injury manifestation and damage response. Therefore, successful development of radiation modulators may require multiple approaches to address organ/site-specific needs. These may include treatments that modify cellular damage and death processes, inflammation, alteration of normal flora, wound healing, tissue regeneration and others, specifically to counter cancer site-specific adverse effects. Further, an understanding of mechanisms of normal tissue damage will allow development of predictive biomarkers; however harmonization of such assays is critical. This is a necessary step towards patient-specific treatment customization. Examples of important adverse effects of radiotherapy either alone or in conjunction with chemotherapy, and important limitations in the current approaches of using radioprotectors for improving therapeutic outcome will be highlighted. (author)

  6. Pathologic evaluation of normal and perfused term placental tissue

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maroun, Lisa Leth; Mathiesen, Line; Hedegaard, Morten

    2014-01-01

    This study reports for the 1st time the incidence and interobserver variation of morphologic findings in a series of 34 term placentas from pregnancies with normal outcome used for perfusion studies. Histologic evaluation of placental tissue is challenging, especially when it comes to defining...... "normal tissue" versus "pathologic lesions." A scoring system for registration of abnormal morphologic findings was developed. Light microscopic examination was performed independently by 2 pathologists, and interobserver variation was analyzed. Findings in normal and perfused tissue were compared...... and selected findings were tested against success parameters from the perfusions. Finally, the criteria for frequent lesions with fair to poor interobserver variation in the nonperfused tissue were revised and reanalyzed. In the perfused tissue, the perfusion artefact "trophoblastic vacuolization," which...

  7. Existence of carcinine, a histamine-related compound, in mammalian tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Flancbaum, L.; Brotman, D.N.; Fitzpatrick, J.C.; Van Es, Theodorus; Kasziba, E.; Fisher, H.

    1990-01-01

    Carcinine (β-alanylhistamine) was synthesized in vitro from histamine and β-alanine. It was detected quantitatively using an HPLC method previously described for the quantification of the related compounds histamine, histidine, carnosine and 3-methylhistamine. Carcinine was identified in several tissues of the rat, guinea pig, mouse and human, and was then shown to be metabolically related in vivo to histamine, histidine, carnosine and 3-methylhistamine through radioisotopic labeling. The results demonstrate that carcinine may be concurrently quantitated using the same HPLC method as that used to measure histamine, histidine, carnosine and 3-methylhistamine. These findings suggest a role for carcinine in the carnosine-histidine-histamine metabolic pathway and the mammalian physiologic response to stress

  8. Apparatus and method for enhancing tissue repair in mammals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwin, Thomas J. (Inventor); Parker, Clayton R. (Inventor)

    2009-01-01

    An apparatus is introduced for the use of enhancing tissue repair in mammals. The apparatus includes a sleeve; an electrically conductive coil; a sleeve support; an electrical circuit configured to supply the coil with a square wave time varying electrical current sufficient to create approximately 0.05 gauss to 0.5 gauss. When in use, the sleeve of the apparatus is placed on a mammalian body part and the time varying electromagnetic force of from approximately 0.05 gauss to 0.5 gauss is generated on the mammalian body for an extended period of time so that the tissue is encouraged to be regenerated in the mammalian body part at a rate in excess of the normal tissue regeneration rate relative to regeneration without application of the time varying electromagnetic force.

  9. Intrinsic control of electroresponsive properties of transplanted mammalian brain neurons

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hounsgaard, J; Yarom, Y

    1985-01-01

    The present study presents the first analysis of neurons in mammalian brain transplants based on intracellular recording. The results, obtained in brain slices including both donor and host tissue, showed that neuronal precursor cells in embryonic transplants retained their ability to complete...... their normal differentiation of cell-type-specific electroresponsive properties. Distortions in cell aggregation and synaptic connectivity did not affect this aspect of neuronal differentiation....

  10. TISSUES 2.0: an integrative web resource on mammalian tissue expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palasca, Oana; Santos, Alberto; Stolte, Christian; Gorodkin, Jan; Jensen, Lars Juhl

    2018-01-01

    Physiological and molecular similarities between organisms make it possible to translate findings from simpler experimental systems—model organisms—into more complex ones, such as human. This translation facilitates the understanding of biological processes under normal or disease conditions. Researchers aiming to identify the similarities and differences between organisms at the molecular level need resources collecting multi-organism tissue expression data. We have developed a database of gene–tissue associations in human, mouse, rat and pig by integrating multiple sources of evidence: transcriptomics covering all four species and proteomics (human only), manually curated and mined from the scientific literature. Through a scoring scheme, these associations are made comparable across all sources of evidence and across organisms. Furthermore, the scoring produces a confidence score assigned to each of the associations. The TISSUES database (version 2.0) is publicly accessible through a user-friendly web interface and as part of the STRING app for Cytoscape. In addition, we analyzed the agreement between datasets, across and within organisms, and identified that the agreement is mainly affected by the quality of the datasets rather than by the technologies used or organisms compared. http://tissues.jensenlab.org/

  11. Radiobiology in clinical radiation therapy - Part III: Normal tissue damage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Travis, Elizabeth L.

    1996-01-01

    Objective: This is the third part of a course designed for residents in radiation oncology preparing for their boards. This part of the course will focus on the mechanisms underlying damage in normal tissues. Although conventional wisdom long held that killing and depletion of a critical cell(s) in a tissue was responsible for the later expression of damage, histopathologic changes in normal tissue can now be explained and better understood in terms of the new molecular biology. The concept that depletion of a single cell type is responsible for the observed histopathologic changes in normal tissues has been replaced by the hypothesis that damage results from the interaction of many different cell systems, including epithelial, endothelial, macrophages and fibroblasts, via the production of specific autocrine, paracrine and endocrine growth factors. A portion of this course will discuss the clinical and experimental data on the production and interaction of those cytokines and cell systems considered to be critical to tissue damage. It had long been suggested that interindividual differences in radiation-induced normal tissue damage was genetically regulated, at least in part. Both clinical and experimental data supported this hypothesis but it is the recent advances in human and mouse molecular genetics which have provided the tools to dissect out the genetic component of normal tissue damage. These data will be presented and related to the potential to develop genetic markers to identify sensitive individuals. The impact on clinical outcome of the ability to identify prospectively sensitive patients will be discussed. Clinically it is well-accepted that the volume of tissue irradiated is a critical factor in determining tissue damage. A profusion of mathematical models for estimating dose-volume relationships in a number of organs have been published recently despite the fact that little data are available to support these models. This course will review the

  12. Isolation of Lysosomes from Mammalian Tissues and Cultured Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguado, Carmen; Pérez-Jiménez, Eva; Lahuerta, Marcos; Knecht, Erwin

    2016-01-01

    Lysosomes participate within the cells in the degradation of organelles, macromolecules, and a wide variety of substrates. In any study on specific roles of lysosomes, both under physiological and pathological conditions, it is advisable to include methods that allow their reproducible and reliable isolation. However, purification of lysosomes is a difficult task, particularly in the case of cultured cells. This is mainly because of the heterogeneity of these organelles, along with their low number and high fragility. Also, isolation methods, while disrupting plasma membranes, have to preserve the integrity of lysosomes, as the breakdown of their membranes releases enzymes that could damage all cell organelles, including themselves. The protocols described below have been routinely used in our laboratory for the specific isolation of lysosomes from rat liver, NIH/3T3, and other cultured cells, but can be adapted to other mammalian tissues or cell lines.

  13. De novo reconstitution of a functional mammalian urinary bladder by tissue engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oberpenning, F; Meng, J; Yoo, J J; Atala, A

    1999-02-01

    Human organ replacement is limited by a donor shortage, problems with tissue compatibility, and rejection. Creation of an organ with autologous tissue would be advantageous. In this study, transplantable urinary bladder neo-organs were reproducibly created in vitro from urothelial and smooth muscle cells grown in culture from canine native bladder biopsies and seeded onto preformed bladder-shaped polymers. The native bladders were subsequently excised from canine donors and replaced with the tissue-engineered neo-organs. In functional evaluations for up to 11 months, the bladder neo-organs demonstrated a normal capacity to retain urine, normal elastic properties, and histologic architecture. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that successful reconstitution of an autonomous hollow organ is possible using tissue-engineering methods.

  14. Immunolocalization of transforming growth factor alpha in normal human tissues

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, M E; Poulsen, Steen Seier

    1996-01-01

    anchorage-independent growth of normal cells and was, therefore, considered as an "oncogenic" growth factor. Later, its immunohistochemical presence in normal human cells as well as its biological effects in normal human tissues have been demonstrated. The aim of the present investigation was to elucidate...... the distribution of the growth factor in a broad spectrum of normal human tissues. Indirect immunoenzymatic staining methods were used. The polypeptide was detected with a polyclonal as well as a monoclonal antibody. The polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies demonstrated almost identical immunoreactivity. TGF......-alpha was found to be widely distributed in cells of normal human tissues derived from all three germ layers, most often in differentiated cells. In epithelial cells, three different kinds of staining patterns were observed, either diffuse cytoplasmic, cytoplasmic in the basal parts of the cells, or distinctly...

  15. Measurement of human normal tissue and tumour responses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ross, G.; Yarnold, J.R.

    1988-01-01

    The scarcity of quantitative measures of normal tissue damage and tumour response in patients undergoing radiotherapy is an obstacle to the clinical evaluation of new treatment strategies. Retrospective studies of complications in critical normal tissues taught important lessons in the past concerning the potential dangers of hypofractionation. However, it is unethical to use serious complications as planned end-points in prospective studies. This paper reviews the desirable characteristics of clinical end-points required to compare alternative treatments employing radiotherapy, with emphasis on simple scales applied by clinicians or even the patients themselves

  16. Extravascular transport in normal and tumor tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, R K; Gerlowski, L E

    1986-01-01

    The transport characteristics of the normal and tumor tissue extravascular space provide the basis for the determination of the optimal dosage and schedule regimes of various pharmacological agents in detection and treatment of cancer. In order for the drug to reach the cellular space where most therapeutic action takes place, several transport steps must first occur: (1) tissue perfusion; (2) permeation across the capillary wall; (3) transport through interstitial space; and (4) transport across the cell membrane. Any of these steps including intracellular events such as metabolism can be the rate-limiting step to uptake of the drug, and these rate-limiting steps may be different in normal and tumor tissues. This review examines these transport limitations, first from an experimental point of view and then from a modeling point of view. Various types of experimental tumor models which have been used in animals to represent human tumors are discussed. Then, mathematical models of extravascular transport are discussed from the prespective of two approaches: compartmental and distributed. Compartmental models lump one or more sections of a tissue or body into a "compartment" to describe the time course of disposition of a substance. These models contain "effective" parameters which represent the entire compartment. Distributed models consider the structural and morphological aspects of the tissue to determine the transport properties of that tissue. These distributed models describe both the temporal and spatial distribution of a substance in tissues. Each of these modeling techniques is described in detail with applications for cancer detection and treatment in mind.

  17. Computer modeling the boron compound factor in normal brain tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gavin, P.R.; Huiskamp, R.; Wheeler, F.J.; Griebenow, M.L.

    1993-01-01

    The macroscopic distribution of borocaptate sodium (Na 2 B 12 H 11 SH or BSH) in normal tissues has been determined and can be accurately predicted from the blood concentration. The compound para-borono-phenylalanine (p-BPA) has also been studied in dogs and normal tissue distribution has been determined. The total physical dose required to reach a biological isoeffect appears to increase directly as the proportion of boron capture dose increases. This effect, together with knowledge of the macrodistribution, led to estimates of the influence of the microdistribution of the BSH compound. This paper reports a computer model that was used to predict the compound factor for BSH and p-BPA and, hence, the equivalent radiation in normal tissues. The compound factor would need to be calculated for other compounds with different distributions. This information is needed to design appropriate normal tissue tolerance studies for different organ systems and/or different boron compounds

  18. A Cancer-Indicative microRNA Pattern in Normal Prostate Tissue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thorsten Schlomm

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available We analyzed the levels of selected micro-RNAs in normal prostate tissue to assess their potential to indicate tumor foci elsewhere in the prostate. Histologically normal prostate tissue samples from 31 prostate cancer patients and two cancer negative control groups with either unsuspicious or elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA levels (14 and 17 individuals, respectively were analyzed. Based on the expression analysis of 157 microRNAs in a pool of prostate tissue samples and information from data bases/literature, we selected eight microRNAs for quantification by real-time polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCRs. Selected miRNAs were analyzed in histologically tumor-free biopsy samples from patients and healthy controls. We identified seven microRNAs (miR-124a, miR-146a & b, miR-185, miR-16 and let-7a & b, which displayed significant differential expression in normal prostate tissue from men with prostate cancer compared to both cancer negative control groups. Four microRNAs (miR-185, miR-16 and let-7a and let-7b remained to significantly discriminate normal tissues from prostate cancer patients from those of the cancer negative control group with elevated PSA levels. The transcript levels of these microRNAs were highly indicative for the presence of cancer in the prostates, independently of the PSA level. Our results suggest a microRNA-pattern in histologically normal prostate tissue, indicating prostate cancer elsewhere in the organ.

  19. Differentiating cancerous from normal breast tissue by redox imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, He N.; Tchou, Julia; Feng, Min; Zhao, Huaqing; Li, Lin Z.

    2015-02-01

    Abnormal metabolism can be a hallmark of cancer occurring early before detectable histological changes and may serve as an early detection biomarker. The current gold standard to establish breast cancer (BC) diagnosis is histological examination of biopsy. Previously we have found that pre-cancer and cancer tissues in animal models displayed abnormal mitochondrial redox state. Our technique of quantitatively measuring the mitochondrial redox state has the potential to be implemented as an early detection tool for cancer and may provide prognostic value. We therefore in this present study, investigated the feasibility of quantifying the redox state of tumor samples from 16 BC patients. Tumor tissue aliquots were collected from both normal and cancerous tissue from the affected cancer-bearing breasts of 16 female patients (5 TNBC, 9 ER+, 2 ER+/Her2+) shortly after surgical resection. All specimens were snap-frozen with liquid nitrogen on site and scanned later with the Chance redox scanner, i.e., the 3D cryogenic NADH/oxidized flavoprotein (Fp) fluorescence imager. Our preliminary results showed that both NADH and Fp (including FAD, i.e., flavin adenine dinucleotide) signals in the cancerous tissues roughly tripled to quadrupled those in the normal tissues (pcancerous tissues than in the normal ones (pcancer and non-cancer breast tissues in human patients and this novel redox scanning procedure may assist in tissue diagnosis in freshly procured biopsy samples prior to tissue fixation. We are in the process of evaluating the prognostic value of the redox imaging indices for BC.

  20. T lymphocytes and normal tissue responses to radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaue, Dörthe; McBride, William H.

    2012-01-01

    There is compelling evidence that lymphocytes are a recurring feature in radiation damaged normal tissues, but assessing their functional significance has proven difficult. Contradictory roles have been postulated in both tissue pathogenesis and protection, although these are not necessarily mutually exclusive as the immune system can display what may seem to be opposing faces at any one time. While the exact role of T lymphocytes in irradiated normal tissue responses may still be obscure, their accumulation after tissue damage suggests they may be critical targets for radiotherapeutic intervention and worthy of further study. This is accentuated by recent findings that pathologically damaged “self,” such as occurs after exposure to ionizing radiation, can generate danger signals with the ability to activate pathways similar to those that activate adoptive immunity to pathogens. In addition, the demonstration of T cell subsets with their recognition radars tuned to “self” moieties has revolutionized our ideas on how all immune responses are controlled and regulated. New concepts of autoimmunity have resulted based on the dissociation of immune functions between different subsets of immune cells. It is becoming axiomatic that the immune system has the power to regulate radiation-induced tissue damage, from failure of regeneration to fibrosis, to acute and chronic late effects, and even to carcinogenesis. Our understanding of the interplay between T lymphocytes and radiation-damaged tissue may still be rudimentary but this is a good time to re-examine their potential roles, their radiobiological and microenvironmental influences, and the possibilities for therapeutic manipulation. This review will discuss the yin and yang of T cell responses within the context of radiation exposures, how they might drive or protect against normal tissue side effects and what we may be able do about it.

  1. Role of endothelium in radiation-induced normal tissue damages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milliat, F.

    2007-05-01

    More than half of cancers are treated with radiation therapy alone or in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy. The goal of radiation therapy is to deliver enough ionising radiation to destroy cancer cells without exceeding the level that the surrounding healthy cells can tolerate. Unfortunately, radiation-induced normal tissue injury is still a dose limiting factor in the treatment of cancer with radiotherapy. The knowledge of normal tissue radiobiology is needed to determine molecular mechanisms involved in normal tissue pathogenic pathways in order to identify therapeutic targets and develop strategies to prevent and /or reduce side effects of radiation therapy. The endothelium is known to play a critical role in radiation-induced injury. Our work shows that endothelial cells promote vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration and fibro-genic phenotype after irradiation. Moreover, we demonstrate for the first time the importance of PAI-1 in radiation-induced normal tissue damage suggesting that PAI-1 may represent a molecular target to limit injury following radiotherapy. We describe a new role for the TGF-b/Smad pathway in the pathogenesis of radiation-induced damages. TGF-b/Smad pathway is involved in the fibro-genic phenotype of VSMC induced by irradiated EC as well as in the radiation-induced PAI-1 expression in endothelial cells. (author)

  2. Human normal tissue reactions in radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taniike, Keiko

    1990-01-01

    Acute and late normal tissue reactions in radiotherapy have not been considered to be major problems with conventional fractionation. But they may cause certain problems when newer schedules such as hyperfractionation or accelerated fractionation are used. In opposing parallel radiotherapy, the dose fractionation of skin or subcutaneous connective tissue are different between in one portal and two portals daily. So we examined acute skin erythema and late connective tissue fibrosis in the two groups (one and two portals) of the patients with uterus cancer. Acute skin erythema and late connective tissue fibrosis were slightly stronger in case of one portal daily. In relation to the anatomical site of skin, acute skin erythema was stronger at the buttocks than the lower abdomen, but late fibrosis was reverse to that. So the degree of acute skin erythema did not predict the degree of late connective tissue fibrosis. The number of Time Dose Fractionation Factor could roughly estimate the degree of erythema and fibrosis. Late fibrosis in 36 fractions increased with an increase of abdominal thickness, but acute erythema did not. (author)

  3. Analytical formulae in fractionated irradiation of normal tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozubek, S.

    1982-01-01

    The new conception of the modeling of the cell tissue kinetics after fractionated irradiation is proposed. The formulae given earlier are compared with experimental data on various normal tissues and further adjustments are considered. The tissues are shown to exhibit several general patterns of behaviour. The repopulation, if it takes place, seems to start after some time, independently of fractionation in first approximation and can be treated as simple autogenesis. The results are compared with the commonly used NSD conception and the well-known Cohen cell tissue kinetic model

  4. Comparative study of radiosensitivity of normal and regenerating tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samokhvalova, H.S.; Popova, M.F.

    1983-01-01

    A comparative study of radiosensitivity of cells of normal and regenerating tissues of bone marrow and spleen has demonstrated that single exposure to X-rays produces a lesser damaging effect on regenerating tissues than on normal ones. The data obtained indicate that the increase in radioresistance of the organism during active regeneration of the haemopoietic organs is due not merely to the increase in the dividing cell pool of these organs but also to qualitative changes in their functional state

  5. DNA Double-Strand Break Rejoining in Complex Normal Tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruebe, Claudia E.; Dong, Xiaorong; Kuehne, Martin; Fricke, Andreas; Kaestner, Lars; Lipp, Peter; Ruebe, Christian

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: The clinical radiation responses of different organs vary widely and likely depend on the intrinsic radiosensitivities of their different cell populations. Double-strand breaks (DSBs) are the most deleterious form of DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation, and the cells' capacity to rejoin radiation-induced DSBs is known to affect their intrinsic radiosensitivity. To date, only little is known about the induction and processing of radiation-induced DSBs in complex normal tissues. Using an in vivo model with repair-proficient mice, the highly sensitive γH2AX immunofluorescence was established to investigate whether differences in DSB rejoining could account for the substantial differences in clinical radiosensitivity observed among normal tissues. Methods and Materials: After whole body irradiation of C57BL/6 mice (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 Gy), the formation and rejoining of DSBs was analyzed by enumerating γH2AX foci in various organs representative of both early-responding (small intestine) and late-responding (lung, brain, heart, kidney) tissues. Results: The linear dose correlation observed in all analyzed tissues indicated that γH2AX immunofluorescence allows for the accurate quantification of DSBs in complex organs. Strikingly, the various normal tissues exhibited identical kinetics for γH2AX foci loss, despite their clearly different clinical radiation responses. Conclusion: The identical kinetics of DSB rejoining measured in different organs suggest that tissue-specific differences in radiation responses are independent of DSB rejoining. This finding emphasizes the fundamental role of DSB repair in maintaining genomic integrity, thereby contributing to cellular viability and functionality and, thus, tissue homeostasis

  6. β class II tubulin predominates in normal and tumor breast tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dozier, James H; Hiser, Laree; Davis, Jennifer A; Thomas, Nancy Stubbs; Tucci, Michelle A; Benghuzzi, Hamed A; Frankfurter, Anthony; Correia, John J; Lobert, Sharon

    2003-01-01

    Antimitotic chemotherapeutic agents target tubulin, the major protein in mitotic spindles. Tubulin isotype composition is thought to be both diagnostic of tumor progression and a determinant of the cellular response to chemotherapy. This implies that there is a difference in isotype composition between normal and tumor tissues. To determine whether such a difference occurs in breast tissues, total tubulin was fractionated from lysates of paired normal and tumor breast tissues, and the amounts of β-tubulin classes I + IV, II, and III were measured by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Only primary tumor tissues, before chemotherapy, were examined. Her2/neu protein amplification occurs in about 30% of breast tumors and is considered a marker for poor prognosis. To gain insight into whether tubulin isotype levels might be correlated with prognosis, ELISAs were used to quantify Her2/neu protein levels in these tissues. β-Tubulin isotype distributions in normal and tumor breast tissues were similar. The most abundant β-tubulin isotypes in these tissues were β-tubulin classes II and I + IV. Her2/neu levels in tumor tissues were 5–30-fold those in normal tissues, although there was no correlation between the Her2/neu biomarker and tubulin isotype levels. These results suggest that tubulin isotype levels, alone or in combination with Her2/neu protein levels, might not be diagnostic of tumorigenesis in breast cancer. However, the presence of a broad distribution of these tubulin isotypes (for example, 40–75% β-tubulin class II) in breast tissue, in conjunction with other factors, might still be relevant to disease progression and cellular response to antimitotic drugs

  7. Late effects of normal tissues (lent) scoring system: the soma scale

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mornex, F.; Pavy, J.J.; Denekamp, J.

    1997-01-01

    Radiation tolerance of normal tissues remains the limiting factor for delivering tumoricidal dose. The late toxicity of normal tissues is the most critical element of an irradiation: somatic, functional and structural alterations occur during the actual treatment itself, but late effects manifest months to years after acute effects heal, and may progress with time. The optimal therapeutic ratio ultimately requires not only complete tumor clearance, but also minimal residual injury to surrounding vital normal tissues. The disparity between the intensity of acute and late effects and the inability to predict the eventual manifestation of late normal tissue injury has made radiation oncologists recognize the importance of careful patient follow-up. There is so far no uniform toxicity scoring system to compare several clinical studies in the absence of a 'common toxicity language'. This justifies the need to establish a precise evaluation system for the analysis of late effects of radiation on normal tissues. The SOMA/LENT scoring system results from an international collaboration. European Organization Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) have created subcommittees with the aim of addressing the question of standardized toxic effects criteria. This effort appeared as a necessity to standardize and improve the data recording, to then describe and evaluate uniform toxicity at regular time intervals. The current proposed scale is not yet validated, and should be used cautiously. (authors)

  8. Pathway-specific differences between tumor cell lines and normal and tumor tissue cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tozeren Aydin

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cell lines are used in experimental investigation of cancer but their capacity to represent tumor cells has yet to be quantified. The aim of the study was to identify significant alterations in pathway usage in cell lines in comparison with normal and tumor tissue. Methods This study utilized a pathway-specific enrichment analysis of publicly accessible microarray data and quantified the gene expression differences between cell lines, tumor, and normal tissue cells for six different tissue types. KEGG pathways that are significantly different between cell lines and tumors, cell lines and normal tissues and tumor and normal tissue were identified through enrichment tests on gene lists obtained using Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM. Results Cellular pathways that were significantly upregulated in cell lines compared to tumor cells and normal cells of the same tissue type included ATP synthesis, cell communication, cell cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, purine, pyrimidine and pyruvate metabolism, and proteasome. Results on metabolic pathways suggested an increase in the velocity nucleotide metabolism and RNA production. Pathways that were downregulated in cell lines compared to tumor and normal tissue included cell communication, cell adhesion molecules (CAMs, and ECM-receptor interaction. Only a fraction of the significantly altered genes in tumor-to-normal comparison had similar expressions in cancer cell lines and tumor cells. These genes were tissue-specific and were distributed sparsely among multiple pathways. Conclusion Significantly altered genes in tumors compared to normal tissue were largely tissue specific. Among these genes downregulation was a major trend. In contrast, cell lines contained large sets of significantly upregulated genes that were common to multiple tissue types. Pathway upregulation in cell lines was most pronounced over metabolic pathways including cell nucleotide metabolism and oxidative

  9. Comparison of effective atomic numbers of the cancerous and normal kidney tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manjunatha, H.C.

    2015-01-01

    The effective atomic number (Z eff ) and electron density (N e ) of normal kidney and cancerous kidney have been computed for total and partial photon interactions by computing the molecular, atomic, and electronic cross section in the wide energy range of 1 keV-100 GeV using WinXCOM. The mean Z eff and N e of normal kidney and cancerous kidney in the various energy ranges and for total and partial photon interactions are tabulated. The variation of effective N e with energy is shown graphically for all photon interactions. In addition to this computer tomography (CT), numbers of normal kidney and cancerous kidney for photon interaction and energy absorption is also computed. The role of Z eff in the dual-energy dividing radiography is also discussed. The values of Z eff and N e for cancerous kidney are higher than normal kidney. This is due to the levels of elements K, Ca, Fe, Ni, and Se are lower and those of the elements Ti, Co, Zn, As, and Cd are higher in the cancer tissue of kidney than those observed in the normal tissue. The soft tissue and cancerous tissue are very similar, but their atomic number differs. The cancerous tissue exhibits a higher Z eff than the normal tissue. This fact helps in the dual-energy dividing radiography which enables to improve the diagnosis of the kidney cancer. Hence, the computed values may be useful in the diagnosis of the kidney cancer. CT numbers for normal kidney are higher than cancerous kidney. (author)

  10. An obligatory role of mind bomb-1 in notch signaling of mammalian development.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bon-Kyoung Koo

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available The Notch signaling pathway is an evolutionarily conserved intercellular signaling module essential for cell fate specification that requires endocytosis of Notch ligands. Structurally distinct E3 ubiquitin ligases, Neuralized (Neur and Mind bomb (Mib, cooperatively regulate the endocytosis of Notch ligands in Drosophila. However, the respective roles of the mammalian E3 ubiquitin ligases, Neur1, Neur2, Mib1, and Mib2, in mammalian development are poorly understood.Through extensive use of mammalian genetics, here we show that Neur1 and Neur2 double mutants and Mib2(-/- mice were viable and grossly normal. In contrast, conditional inactivation of Mib1 in various tissues revealed the representative Notch phenotypes: defects of arterial specification as deltalike4 mutants, abnormal cerebellum and skin development as jagged1 conditional mutants, and syndactylism as jagged2 mutants.Our data provide the first evidence that Mib1 is essential for Jagged as well as Deltalike ligand-mediated Notch signaling in mammalian development, while Neur1, Neur2, and Mib2 are dispensable.

  11. MRI characterization of brown adipose tissue in obese and normal-weight children

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deng, Jie; Rigsby, Cynthia K.; Shore, Richard M. [Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children' s Hospital of Chicago, Department of Medical Imaging, 225 E. Chicago Ave., Box 9, Chicago, IL (United States); Northwestern University, Department of Radiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL (United States); Schoeneman, Samantha E. [Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children' s Hospital of Chicago, Department of Medical Imaging, 225 E. Chicago Ave., Box 9, Chicago, IL (United States); Zhang, Huiyuan [John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Collaborative Research Unit, Chicago, IL (United States); Kwon, Soyang [Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children' s Hospital of Chicago, Stanley Manne Children' s Research Institute, Chicago, IL (United States); Northwestern University, Department of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL (United States); Josefson, Jami L. [Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children' s Hospital of Chicago, Division of Endocrinology, Chicago, IL (United States); Northwestern University, Department of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL (United States)

    2015-10-15

    Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is identified in mammals as an adaptive thermogenic organ for modulation of energy expenditure and heat generation. Human BAT may be primarily composed of brown-in-white (BRITE) adipocytes and stimulation of BRITE may serve as a potential target for obesity interventions. Current imaging studies of BAT detection and characterization have been mainly limited to PET/CT. MRI is an emerging application for BAT characterization in healthy children. To exploit Dixon and diffusion-weighted MRI methods to characterize cervical-supraclavicular BAT/BRITE properties in normal-weight and obese children while accounting for pubertal status. Twenty-eight healthy children (9-15 years old) with a normal or obese body mass index participated. MRI exams were performed to characterize supraclavicular adipose tissues by measuring tissue fat percentage, T2*, tissue water mobility, and microvasculature properties. We used multivariate linear regression models to compare tissue properties between normal-weight and obese groups while accounting for pubertal status. MRI measurements of BAT/BRITE tissues in obese children showed higher fat percentage (P < 0.0001), higher T2* (P < 0.0001), and lower diffusion coefficient (P = 0.015) compared with normal-weight children. Pubertal status was a significant covariate for the T2* measurement, with higher T2* (P = 0.0087) in pubertal children compared to prepubertal children. Perfusion measurements varied by pubertal status. Compared to normal-weight children, obese prepubertal children had lower perfusion fraction (P = 0.003) and pseudo-perfusion coefficient (P = 0.048); however, obese pubertal children had higher perfusion fraction (P = 0.02) and pseudo-perfusion coefficient (P = 0.028). This study utilized chemical-shift Dixon MRI and diffusion-weighted MRI methods to characterize supraclavicular BAT/BRITE tissue properties. The multi-parametric evaluation revealed evidence of morphological differences in brown

  12. MRI characterization of brown adipose tissue in obese and normal-weight children

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deng, Jie; Rigsby, Cynthia K.; Shore, Richard M.; Schoeneman, Samantha E.; Zhang, Huiyuan; Kwon, Soyang; Josefson, Jami L.

    2015-01-01

    Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is identified in mammals as an adaptive thermogenic organ for modulation of energy expenditure and heat generation. Human BAT may be primarily composed of brown-in-white (BRITE) adipocytes and stimulation of BRITE may serve as a potential target for obesity interventions. Current imaging studies of BAT detection and characterization have been mainly limited to PET/CT. MRI is an emerging application for BAT characterization in healthy children. To exploit Dixon and diffusion-weighted MRI methods to characterize cervical-supraclavicular BAT/BRITE properties in normal-weight and obese children while accounting for pubertal status. Twenty-eight healthy children (9-15 years old) with a normal or obese body mass index participated. MRI exams were performed to characterize supraclavicular adipose tissues by measuring tissue fat percentage, T2*, tissue water mobility, and microvasculature properties. We used multivariate linear regression models to compare tissue properties between normal-weight and obese groups while accounting for pubertal status. MRI measurements of BAT/BRITE tissues in obese children showed higher fat percentage (P < 0.0001), higher T2* (P < 0.0001), and lower diffusion coefficient (P = 0.015) compared with normal-weight children. Pubertal status was a significant covariate for the T2* measurement, with higher T2* (P = 0.0087) in pubertal children compared to prepubertal children. Perfusion measurements varied by pubertal status. Compared to normal-weight children, obese prepubertal children had lower perfusion fraction (P = 0.003) and pseudo-perfusion coefficient (P = 0.048); however, obese pubertal children had higher perfusion fraction (P = 0.02) and pseudo-perfusion coefficient (P = 0.028). This study utilized chemical-shift Dixon MRI and diffusion-weighted MRI methods to characterize supraclavicular BAT/BRITE tissue properties. The multi-parametric evaluation revealed evidence of morphological differences in brown

  13. Radiosensitization effects of nicotinamide on malignant and normal mouse tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jonsson, G.G.; Kjellen, E.; Pero, R.W.; Cameron, R.

    1985-01-01

    Inhibitors of the chromatin-associated enzyme adenosine diphosphate ribosyltransferase have been found to inhibit DNA strand rejoining and to potentiate lethality of DNA-damaging agents both in vivo and in vitro. The authors have in this work examined the radiosensitizing potential of one such inhibitor, nicotinamide, on tumor tissue by using transplanted C3H mouse mammary adenocarcinomas and on normal tissue in a tail-stunting experiment using BALB/cA mice. The data indicate a radiosensitizing effect of nicotinamide on tumor cells as well as on normal tissue. The data indicate a possible role of adenosine diphosphate ribosyltransferase inhibitors as a sensitizing agent in the radiotherapy of malignant tumors

  14. Potential clinical impact of normal-tissue intrinsic radiosensitivity testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bentzen, Soeren M.

    1997-01-01

    A critical appraisal is given of the possible benefit from a reliable pre-treatment knowledge of individual normal-tissue sensitivity to radiotherapy. The considerations are in part, but not exclusively, based on the recent experience with in vitro colony-forming assays of the surviving fraction at 2 Gy, the SF 2 . Three strategies are reviewed: (1) to screen for rare cases with extreme radiosensitivity, so-called over-reactors, and treat these with reduced total dose, (2) to identify the sensitive tail of the distribution of 'normal' radiosensitivities, refer these patients to other treatment, and to escalate the dose to the remaining patients, or (3) to individualize dose prescriptions based on individual radiosensitivity, i.e. treating to isoeffect rather than to a specific dose-fractionation schedule. It is shown that these strategies will have a small, if any, impact on routine radiotherapy. Screening for over-reactors is hampered by the low prevalence of these among otherwise un-selected patients that leads to a low positive predictive value of in vitro radiosensitivity assays. It is argued, that this problem may persist even if the noise on current assays could be reduced to (the unrealistic value of) zero, simply because of the large biological variation in SF 2 . Removing the sensitive tail of the patient population, will only have a minor effect on the dose that could be delivered to the remaining patients, because of the sigmoid shape of empirical dose-response relationships. Finally, individualizing dose prescriptions based exclusively on information from a normal-tissue radiosensitivity assay, leads to a nearly symmetrical distribution of dose-changes that would produce a very small gain, or even a loss, of tumor control probability if implemented in the clinic. From a theoretical point of view, other strategies could be devised and some of these are considered in this review. Right now the most promising clinical use of in vitro radiosensitivity

  15. Screening of the residual normal ovarian tissue adjacent to orthotopic epithelial ovarian carcinomas in nude mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, G H; Wang, S T; Yao, M Z; Cai, J H; Chen, C Y; Yang, Z X; Hong, L; Yang, S Y

    2014-04-16

    The objective of this study was to explore the feasibility and methods of screening the residual normal ovarian tissue adjacent to orthotopic ovarian carcinomas in nude mice. Human epithelial ovarian cancer cells (OVCAR3) were subcutaneously implanted for a tumor source and ovarian orthotopic transplantation. The cancer tissue, proximal paraneoplastic tissue, middle paraneoplastic tissue, remote paraneoplastic tissue, and normal ovarian tissue were removed. CK-7, CA125, p53, survivin, MMP-2, and TIMP-2 expression was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. We obtained 35 paraneoplastic residual ovarian tissues with normal biopsies from 40 cases of an orthotopic epithelial ovarian carcinoma model (87.5%). CK-7, CA125, p53, survivin, MMP-2, and TIMP-2 expression was lower in proximal paraneoplastic tissue than in cancer tissue (P tissue (P tissue as well as among residual normal ovarian tissues with different severity (P > 0.05). In ovarian tissues of 20 normal nude mice, the expression of CK- 7, CA125, p53, survivin, MMP-2, and TIMP-2 was negative. Overall, the expression levels of CK-7, CA125, p53, survivin, MMP-2, TIMP-2, and other molecular markers showed a decreasing trend in the non-cancer tissue direction. The expression levels can be used as standards to screen residual normal ovarian tissue. We can obtain relatively safe normal ovarian tissues adjacent to epithelial ovarian cancer.

  16. Normal tissue complication probability (NTCP), the clinician,s perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yeoh, E.K.

    2011-01-01

    Full text: 3D radiation treatment planning has enabled dose distributions to be related to the volume of normal tissues irradiated. The dose volume histograms thus derived have been utilized to set NTCP dose constraints to facilitate optimization of treatment planning. However, it is not widely appreciated that a number of important variables other than DYH's which determine NTCP in the individual patient. These variables will be discussed under the headings of patient and treatment related as well as tumour related factors. Patient related factors include age, co-morbidities such as connective tissue disease and diabetes mellitus, previous tissue/organ damage, tissue architectural organization (parallel or serial), regional tissue/organ and individual tissue/organ radiosensitivities as well as the development of severe acute toxicity. Treatment related variables which need to be considered include dose per fraction (if not the conventional 1.8012.00 Gy/fraction, particularly for IMRT), number of fractions and total dose, dose rate (particularly if combined with brachytherapy) and concurrent chemotherapy or other biological dose modifiers. Tumour related factors which impact on NTCP include infiltration of normal tissue/organ usually at presentation leading to compromised function but also with recurrent disease after radiation therapy as well as variable tumour radiosensitivities between and within tumour types. Whilst evaluation of DYH data is a useful guide in the choice of treatment plan, the current state of knowledge requires the clinician to make an educated judgement based on a consideration of the other factors.

  17. Photoacoustic spectroscopic differences between normal and malignant thyroid tissues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Li; Xie, Wengming; Li, Hui

    2012-12-01

    The thyroid is one of the main endocrine glands of human body, which plays a crucial role in the body's metabolism. Thyroid cancer mortality ranks only second to ovarian cancer in endocrine cancer. Routine diagnostic methods of thyroid diseases in present clinic exist misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis to varying degrees. Those lead to miss the best period of cancer treatment--early. Photoacoustic spectroscopy technology is a new tool, which provides an effective and noninvasive way for biomedical materials research, being highly sensitive and without sample pretreatment. In this paper, we use photoacoustic spectroscopy technology (PAST) to detect the absorption spectrum between normal and malignant thyroid tissues. The result shows that the photoacoustic spectroscopy technology (PAST) could differentiate malignant thyroid tissue from normal thyroid tissue very well. This technique combined with routine diagnostic methods has the potential to increase the diagnostic accuracy in clinical thyroid cancer diagnosis.

  18. Radon exposure system for mammalian cells in culture: Design, operation, and dosimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seed, T.M.; Kretz, N.D.; Schlenker, R.A.

    1991-01-01

    A novel system for Rn gas exposure of mammalian cells in culture has been designed, constructed, and used to directly assess both the magnitude and the nature of chronic, low-dose Rn/Rn daughter toxicity of exposed vital lung cells isolated from normal pulmonary tissue, propagated and exposed in vitro. Direct correlations between atmospheric Rn concentrations, alpha-particle fluences, and macro- and microdoses of absorbed radiation doses by lung cells provide for a heretofore unavailable assessment of critical doses to vital cells

  19. Statistical validation of normal tissue complication probability models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Xu, Cheng-Jian; van der Schaaf, Arjen; van t Veld, Aart; Langendijk, Johannes A.; Schilstra, Cornelis

    2012-01-01

    PURPOSE: To investigate the applicability and value of double cross-validation and permutation tests as established statistical approaches in the validation of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A penalized regression method, LASSO (least absolute shrinkage

  20. Iso-effect tables and therapeutic ratios for epidermoid cancer and normal tissue stroma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cohen, L.; Creditor, M.

    1983-01-01

    Available literature on radiation injury to normal tissue stroma and ablation of epidermoid carcinoma was surveyed. Computer programs (RAD3 and RAD1) were then used to derive cell kinetic parameters and generate iso-effect tables for the relevant tissues. The two tables provide a set of limiting doses for tolerance of normal connective tissue (16% risk of injury) and for ablation of epidermoid cancer (16% risk of recurrence) covering a wide range of treatment schedules. Calculating the ratios of normal tissue tolerance to tumor control doses for each treatment scheme provides an array of therapeutic ratios, from which appropriate treatment schemes can be selected

  1. Normalization of periodontal tissues in osteopetrotic mib mutant rats, treated with CSF-1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wojtowicz, A.; Yamauchi, M.; Sotowski, R.; Ostrowski, K.

    1998-01-01

    The osteopetrotic mib mutation in rats causes defects in the skeletal bone tissue in young animals. These defects, i.e. slow bone remodelling, changes in both crystallinity and mineral content, are transient and undergo normalization, even without any treatment in 6-wk-old animals. Treatment with CSF-1 (colony stimulating factor-1) accelerates the normalization process in skeletal bones. The periodontal tissues around the apices of incisors show abnormalities caused by the slow remodelling process of the mandible bone tissue, the deficiency of osteoclasts and their abnormal morphology, as well as the disorganization of periodontal ligament fibres. In contrast to the skeletal tissues, these abnormalities would not undergo spontaneous normalization. Under treatment with colony stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1), the primitive bone trabeculae of mandible are resorbed and the normalization of the number of osteoclasts and their cytology occurs. The organization of the periodontal ligament fibres is partially restored, resembling the histological structure of the normal one.

  2. Evaluation of normal tissue responses to high-LET radiations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Halnan, K.E.

    1979-01-01

    Clinical results presented have been analysed to evaluate normal tissue responses to high-LET radiations. Damage to brain, spinal cord, gut, skin, connective tissue and bone has occurred. A high RBE is probable for brain and possible for spinal cord and gut but other reasons for damage are also discussed. A net gain seems likely. Random controlled trials are advocated. (author)

  3. MRI appearance of radiation-induced changes of normal cervical tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noemayr, A.; Lell, M.; Bautz, W.; Sweeney, R.; Lukas, P.

    2001-01-01

    Irradiation causes specific MRI changes in anatomic morphology and signal intensity. To avoid misinterpretation, it is important to consider the potential radiation changes of normal tissue in MRI. The aim of this study was to describe the detected radiation effects on normal cervical tissues in MRI. Pretreatment and posttreatment MRI of 52 patients with primary neck tumors were evaluated retrospectively. The MR imaging was performed before initiating radiotherapy and at the end of the treatment period. Patients underwent follow-up studies within 24 months after the end of irradiation. Edema was the main radiation-induced effect. It was detected in the epiglottis, larynx, pharynx wall, retro- and parapharyngeal space, salivary glands, muscles, and subcutaneous tissue. In some cases the bone marrow of the mandible showed edema, due to osteonecrosis. We additionally detected fluid accumulation in the mastoid cells. Radiation caused volume reduction of the parotid gland, thickening of the pharynx wall, and fatty degeneration of bone marrow. Magnetic resonance imaging is an excellent method of depicting radiation-induced changes of normal tissue. Especially T2-weighted sequences allow the detection of even slight edema. It is important to be aware of the most common radiation-induced changes in MRI and to take them into account when assessing an examination. (orig.)

  4. Raman spectroscopy of normal oral buccal mucosa tissues: study on intact and incised biopsies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deshmukh, Atul; Singh, S. P.; Chaturvedi, Pankaj; Krishna, C. Murali

    2011-12-01

    Oral squamous cell carcinoma is one of among the top 10 malignancies. Optical spectroscopy, including Raman, is being actively pursued as alternative/adjunct for cancer diagnosis. Earlier studies have demonstrated the feasibility of classifying normal, premalignant, and malignant oral ex vivo tissues. Spectral features showed predominance of lipids and proteins in normal and cancer conditions, respectively, which were attributed to membrane lipids and surface proteins. In view of recent developments in deep tissue Raman spectroscopy, we have recorded Raman spectra from superior and inferior surfaces of 10 normal oral tissues on intact, as well as incised, biopsies after separation of epithelium from connective tissue. Spectral variations and similarities among different groups were explored by unsupervised (principal component analysis) and supervised (linear discriminant analysis, factorial discriminant analysis) methodologies. Clusters of spectra from superior and inferior surfaces of intact tissues show a high overlap; whereas spectra from separated epithelium and connective tissue sections yielded clear clusters, though they also overlap on clusters of intact tissues. Spectra of all four groups of normal tissues gave exclusive clusters when tested against malignant spectra. Thus, this study demonstrates that spectra recorded from the superior surface of an intact tissue may have contributions from deeper layers but has no bearing from the classification of a malignant tissues point of view.

  5. Tumor and normal tissue responses to fractioned non-uniform dose delivery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaellman, P; Aegren, A; Brahme, A [Karolinska Inst., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Radiation Physics

    1996-08-01

    The volume dependence of the radiation response of a tumor is straight forward to quantify because it depends primarily on the eradication of all its clonogenic cells. A tumor therefore has a parallel organization as any surviving clonogen in principle can repopulate the tumor. The difficulty with the response of the tumor is instead to know the density and sensitivity distribution of the most resistant clonogenic cells. The increase in the 50% tumor control dose and the decrease in the maximum normalized slope of the dose response relation, {gamma}, in presence of small compartments of resistant tumor cells have therefore been quantified to describe their influence on the dose response relation. Injury to normal tissue is a much more complex and gradual process. It depends on earlier effects induced long before depletion of the differentiated and clonogenic cells that in addition may have a complex structural and functional organization. The volume dependence of the dose response relation of normal tissues is therefore described here by the relative seriality, s, of the infrastructure of the organ. The model can also be generalized to describe the response of heterogeneous tissues to non uniform dose distributions. The new model is compared with clinical and experimental data on normal tissue response, and shows good agreement both with regard to the shape of dose response relation and the volume dependence of the isoeffect dose. The response of tumors and normal tissues are quantified for arbitrary dose fractionations using the linear quadratic cell survival parameters {alpha} and {beta}. The parameters of the dose response relation are derived both for a constant dose per fraction and a constant number of dose fractions, thus in the latter case accounting also for non uniform dose delivery. (author). 26 refs, 4 figs.

  6. High and Low LET Radiation Differentially Induce Normal Tissue Damage Signals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niemantsverdriet, Maarten; Goethem, Marc-Jan van; Bron, Reinier; Hogewerf, Wytse; Brandenburg, Sytze; Langendijk, Johannes A.; Luijk, Peter van; Coppes, Robert P.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Radiotherapy using high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation is aimed at efficiently killing tumor cells while minimizing dose (biological effective) to normal tissues to prevent toxicity. It is well established that high LET radiation results in lower cell survival per absorbed dose than low LET radiation. However, whether various mechanisms involved in the development of normal tissue damage may be regulated differentially is not known. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate whether two actions related to normal tissue toxicity, p53-induced apoptosis and expression of the profibrotic gene PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor 1), are differentially induced by high and low LET radiation. Methods and Materials: Cells were irradiated with high LET carbon ions or low LET photons. Cell survival assays were performed, profibrotic PAI-1 expression was monitored by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and apoptosis was assayed by annexin V staining. Activation of p53 by phosphorylation at serine 315 and serine 37 was monitored by Western blotting. Transfections of plasmids expressing p53 mutated at serines 315 and 37 were used to test the requirement of these residues for apoptosis and expression of PAI-1. Results: As expected, cell survival was lower and induction of apoptosis was higher in high -LET irradiated cells. Interestingly, induction of the profibrotic PAI-1 gene was similar with high and low LET radiation. In agreement with this finding, phosphorylation of p53 at serine 315 involved in PAI-1 expression was similar with high and low LET radiation, whereas phosphorylation of p53 at serine 37, involved in apoptosis induction, was much higher after high LET irradiation. Conclusions: Our results indicate that diverse mechanisms involved in the development of normal tissue damage may be differentially affected by high and low LET radiation. This may have consequences for the development and manifestation of normal tissue damage.

  7. Dosimetric precision requirements and quantities for characterizing the response of tumors and normal tissues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brahme, A [Karolinska Inst., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Radiation Physics

    1996-08-01

    Based on simple radiobiological models the effect of the distribution of absorbed dose in therapy beams on the radiation response of tumor and normal tissue volumes are investigated. Under the assumption that the dose variation in the treated volume is small it is shown that the response of the tissue to radiation is determined mainly by the mean dose to the tumor or normal tissue volume in question. Quantitative expressions are also given for the increased probability of normal tissue complications and the decreased probability of tumor control as a function of increasing dose variations around the mean dose level to these tissues. When the dose variations are large the minimum tumor dose (to cm{sup 3} size volumes) will generally be better related to tumor control and the highest dose to significant portions of normal tissue correlates best to complications. In order not to lose more than one out of 20 curable patients (95% of highest possible treatment outcome) the required accuracy in the dose distribution delivered to the target volume should be 2.5% (1{sigma}) for a mean dose response gradient {gamma} in the range 2 - 3. For more steeply responding tumors and normal tissues even stricter requirements may be desirable. (author). 15 refs, 6 figs.

  8. Optical redox imaging indices discriminate human breast cancer from normal tissues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, He N.; Tchou, Julia; Feng, Min; Zhao, Huaqing; Li, Lin Z.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract. Our long-term goal was to investigate the potential of incorporating redox imaging technique as a breast cancer (BC) diagnosis component to increase the positive predictive value of suspicious imaging finding and to reduce unnecessary biopsies and overdiagnosis. We previously found that precancer and cancer tissues in animal models displayed abnormal mitochondrial redox state. We also revealed abnormal mitochondrial redox state in cancerous specimens from three BC patients. Here, we extend our study to include biopsies of 16 patients. Tissue aliquots were collected from both apparently normal and cancerous tissues from the affected cancer-bearing breasts shortly after surgical resection. All specimens were snap-frozen and scanned with the Chance redox scanner, i.e., the three-dimensional cryogenic NADH/Fp (reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide/oxidized flavoproteins) fluorescence imager. We found both Fp and NADH in the cancerous tissues roughly tripled that in the normal tissues (predox ratio Fp/(NADH + Fp) was ∼27% higher in the cancerous tissues (predox ratio alone could predict cancer with reasonable sensitivity and specificity. Our findings suggest that the optical redox imaging technique can provide parameters independent of clinical factors for discriminating cancer from noncancer breast tissues in human patients. PMID:27896360

  9. Morphologic alterations in normal and neoplastic tissues following hyperthermia treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Badylak, S.F.; Babbs, C.F.

    1984-01-01

    The sequential morphologic alterations in normal skeletal muscle in rats, Walker 256 tumors in rats, and transmissible venereal tumors (TVT) in dogs following microwave-induced hyperthermia (43 0 C and 45 0 for 20 minutes) were studied by light and electron microscopy. Normal muscle and Walker 256 tumors showed vascular damage at 5 minutes post-heating (PH), followed by suppuration and thrombosis at 6 and 48 hours PH, and by regeneration and repair at 7 days PH. Endothelial damage and parenchymal degeneration were present 5 minutes PH. Progressive ischemic injury occurred for at least 48 hours PH. Two hyperthermia treatments, separated by a 30 or 60 minute cooling interval, were applied to rats implanted with Walker 256 tumors. Increased selective heating of tumor tissue versus surrounding normal tissue, and increased intratumoral temperatures were found during the second hyperthermia treatment. Canine TVTs were resistant to hyperthermia damage. These results characterized the sequential morphologic alterations following hyperthermia treatment and showed that: 1) vascular damage contributed to the immediate and latent cytotoxic effects of hyperthermia, 2) selective heating occurred in the neoplastic tissue disrupted by prior heat treatment, and 3) not all neoplasms are responsive to hyperthermia treatment

  10. Leptin induction following irradiation is a conserved feature in mammalian epithelial cells and tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Licursi, Valerio; Cestelli Guidi, Mariangela; Del Vecchio, Giorgia; Mannironi, Cecilia; Presutti, Carlo; Amendola, Roberto; Negri, Rodolfo

    2017-09-01

    Leptin (LEP) is a peptide hormone with multiple physiological functions. Besides its systemic actions, it has important peripheral roles such as a mitogen action on keratinocytes following skin lesions. We previously showed that LEP mRNA is significantly induced in response to neutron irradiation in mouse skin and that the protein increases in the irradiated epidermis and in the related subcutaneous adipose tissue. In this work, we investigated the post-transcriptional regulation of LEP by miRNAs and the conservation of LEP's role in radiation response in human cells. We used microarray analysis and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to analyze modulation of miRNAs potentially targeting LEP in mouse skin following irradiation and bioinformatic analysis of transcriptome of irradiated human cell lines and cancer tissues from radiotherapy-treated patients to evaluate LEP expression. We show that a network of miRNAs potentially targeting LEP mRNA is modulated in irradiated mouse skin and that LEP itself is significantly modulated by irradiation in human epithelial cell lines and in breast cancer tissues from radiotherapy-treated patients. These results confirm and extend the previous evidence that LEP has a general and important role in the response of mammalian cells to irradiation.

  11. Lovastatin attenuates ionizing radiation-induced normal tissue damage in vivo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ostrau, Christian; Huelsenbeck, Johannes; Herzog, Melanie; Schad, Arno; Torzewski, Michael; Lackner, Karl J.; Fritz, Gerhard

    2009-01-01

    Background and purpose: HMG-CoA-reductase inhibitors (statins) are widely used lipid-lowering drugs. Moreover, they have pleiotropic effects on cellular stress responses, proliferation and apoptosis in vitro. Here, we investigated whether lovastatin attenuates acute and subchronic ionizing radiation-induced normal tissue toxicity in vivo. Materials and methods: Four hours to 24 h after total body irradiation (6 Gy) of Balb/c mice, acute pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic responses were analyzed. To comprise subchronic radiation toxicity, mice were irradiated twice with 2.5 Gy and analyses were performed 3 weeks after the first radiation treatment. Molecular markers of inflammation and fibrosis as well as organ toxicities were measured. Results: Lovastatin attenuated IR-induced activation of NF-κB, mRNA expression of cell adhesion molecules and mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic marker genes (i.e. TNFα, IL-6, TGFβ, CTGF, and type I and type III collagen) in a tissue- and time-dependent manner. γH2AX phosphorylation stimulated by IR was not affected by lovastatin, indicating that the statin has no major impact on the induction of DNA damage in vivo. Radiation-induced thrombopenia was significantly alleviated by lovastatin. Conclusions: Lovastatin inhibits both acute and subchronic IR-induced pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic responses and cell death in normal tissue in vivo. Therefore, lovastatin might be useful for selectively attenuating acute and subchronic normal tissue damage caused by radiotherapy.

  12. Modification of the biologic dose to normal tissue by daily fraction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wollin, M; Kagan, A R [Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Los Angeles Calif. (USA). Dep. of Radiation Therapy

    1976-12-01

    A method to predict normal tissue injury is proposed that includes high daily doses and unusual times successfully by calculating a new value called BIR (Biologic Index of Reaction). BIR and NSD were calculated for various normal tissue reactions. With the aid of statistical correlation techniques it is found that the BIR model is better than the NSD model in predicting radiation myelopathy and vocal edema and as good as NSD IN PREDICTING RIB FRACTURE/ Neither model predicts pericardial effusion. In no case were the results of BIR inferior to those of NSD.

  13. Differential expression of GPR30 in preeclampsia placenta tissue and normal placenta tissue and its clinical significance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben-Zhou Feng

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To study the differential expression of GPR30 in preeclampsia placenta tissue and normal placenta tissue and its clinical significance. Methods: Preeclampsia placenta tissue and normal placenta tissue were collected and GPR30 expression levels were detected; human umbilical vein endothelial cells were cultured and processed with GRP30 inhibitor and GRP30 agonist combined with hypoxia-reoxygenation respectively, and cell apoptosis as well as pro-angiogenesis molecule and apoptosis molecule contents were detected. Results: mRNA content and protein content of GRP30 in preeclampsia placenta tissue were significantly lower than those in normal placenta tissue; apoptosis rate of G15 group was significantly higher than that of control group, VEGF and bFGF contents in supernatant were significantly lower than those of control group, and mRNA contents of Bax, Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 in cells were significantly higher than those of control group; apoptosis rate of H/R group was significantly higher than that of control group, VEGF and bFGF contents in supernatant were significantly lower than those of control group, and mRNA contents of Bax, Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 in cells were significantly higher than those of control group; apoptosis rate of G1 group was significantly lower than that of H/R group, VEGF and bFGF contents in supernatant were significantly higher than those of H/R group, and mRNA contents of Bax, Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 in cells were significantly lower than those of H/R group. Conclusions: Low expression of GPR30 in placenta tissue is closely associated with the occurrence of preeclampsia, enhancing GPR function can reduce endothelial cell apoptosis and increase the contents of pro-angiogenesis factors, and it has endothelial protection effect.

  14. Search for biological effects of 13C-enrichment in developing mammalian systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gregg, C.; Ott, D.; Deaven, L.; Spielmann, H.; Krowke, R.; Neubert, D.

    1975-01-01

    Increasing diagnostic use of stable isotopes, especially in children and pregnant women, enhances the importance of studies on the biological isotope effects in sensitive mammalian systems. Experimental data on animal systems are meager. The mouse embryos was studied at various stages and mouse limb buds were studied in organ culture. Limb bud development in vitro was unaffected by incubation with 82 mol percent 13 C-glucose as judged by either morphological or biochemical criteria. Of 271 preimplantation embryos incubated in vitro, 95.2 percent developed normally; in 13 C-enriched medium, 96.5 percent showed normal development. 13 C-Enrichment of the embryos in vitro is over 60 percent. Administration of 1.2 g glucose-U- 13 C to pregnant mice during organogenesis leads to enrichment of maternal liver glycogen to over 17 mol percent 13 C, about one-third this level in the embryo, and a lower level in maternal blood. The absolute 13 C content of the embryo continues to increase for several days after the end of isotope administration, while the enrichment in maternal tissues falls. The lipid fraction of the fetus is most highly labeled shortly after the end of isotope administration []These studies on developing mammalian systems have not yet revealed any alteration of normal development due to stable isotope enrichment. (auth)

  15. Mechanisms of radiation-induced normal tissue toxicity and implications for future clinical trials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Jae Ho; Jenrow, Kenneth A.; Brown, Stephen L. [Dept.of Radiation Oncology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit (United States)

    2014-09-15

    To summarize current knowledge regarding mechanisms of radiation-induced normal tissue injury and medical countermeasures available to reduce its severity. Advances in radiation delivery using megavoltage and intensity-modulated radiation therapy have permitted delivery of higher doses of radiation to well-defined tumor target tissues. Injury to critical normal tissues and organs, however, poses substantial risks in the curative treatment of cancers, especially when radiation is administered in combination with chemotherapy. The principal pathogenesis is initiated by depletion of tissue stem cells and progenitor cells and damage to vascular endothelial microvessels. Emerging concepts of radiation-induced normal tissue toxicity suggest that the recovery and repopulation of stromal stem cells remain chronically impaired by long-lived free radicals, reactive oxygen species, and pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines resulting in progressive damage after radiation exposure. Better understanding the mechanisms mediating interactions among excessive generation of reactive oxygen species, production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and activated macrophages, and role of bone marrow-derived progenitor and stem cells may provide novel insight on the pathogenesis of radiation-induced injury of tissues. Further understanding the molecular signaling pathways of cytokines and chemokines would reveal novel targets for protecting or mitigating radiation injury of tissues and organs.

  16. Mechanisms of radiation-induced normal tissue toxicity and implications for future clinical trials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jae Ho; Jenrow, Kenneth A.; Brown, Stephen L.

    2014-01-01

    To summarize current knowledge regarding mechanisms of radiation-induced normal tissue injury and medical countermeasures available to reduce its severity. Advances in radiation delivery using megavoltage and intensity-modulated radiation therapy have permitted delivery of higher doses of radiation to well-defined tumor target tissues. Injury to critical normal tissues and organs, however, poses substantial risks in the curative treatment of cancers, especially when radiation is administered in combination with chemotherapy. The principal pathogenesis is initiated by depletion of tissue stem cells and progenitor cells and damage to vascular endothelial microvessels. Emerging concepts of radiation-induced normal tissue toxicity suggest that the recovery and repopulation of stromal stem cells remain chronically impaired by long-lived free radicals, reactive oxygen species, and pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines resulting in progressive damage after radiation exposure. Better understanding the mechanisms mediating interactions among excessive generation of reactive oxygen species, production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and activated macrophages, and role of bone marrow-derived progenitor and stem cells may provide novel insight on the pathogenesis of radiation-induced injury of tissues. Further understanding the molecular signaling pathways of cytokines and chemokines would reveal novel targets for protecting or mitigating radiation injury of tissues and organs.

  17. Fish Lymphocytes: An Evolutionary Equivalent of Mammalian Innate-Like Lymphocytes?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe Scapigliati

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Lymphocytes are the responsible of adaptive responses, as they are classically described, but evidence shows that subpopulations of mammalian lymphocytes may behave as innate-like cells, engaging non-self rapidly and without antigen presentation. The innate-like lymphocytes of mammals have been mainly identified as γδT cells and B1-B cells, exert their activities principally in mucosal tissues, may be involved in human pathologies and their functions and tissue(s of origin are not fully understood. Due to similarities in the morphology and immunobiology of immune system between fish and mammals, and to the uniqueness of having free-living larval stages where the development can be precisely monitored and engineered, teleost fish are proposed as an experimental model to investigate human immunity. However, the homology between fish lymphocytes and mammalian innate-like lymphocytes is an issue poorly considered in comparative immunology. Increasing experimental evidence suggests that fish lymphocytes could have developmental, morphological, and functional features in common with innate-like lymphocytes of mammals. Despite such similarities, information on possible links between conventional fish lymphocytes and mammalian innate-like lymphocytes is missing. The aim of this review is to summarize and describe available findings about the similarities between fish lymphocytes and mammalian innate-like lymphocytes, supporting the hypothesis that mammalian γδT cells and B1-B cells could be evolutionarily related to fish lymphocytes.

  18. Comparison of Tissue Stiffness Using Shear Wave Elastography in Men with Normal Testicular Tissue, Testicular Microlithiasis and Testicular Cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Malene Roland; Møller, Henrik; Osther, Palle Jørn Sloth

    2017-01-01

    Objectives: To compare elastography measurements in men with normal testicular tissue, testicular microlithiasis and testicular cancer. Methods: A total of 248 consecutive patients were included. All men provided written informed consent. Testicular stiffness was assessed using shear wave...... elastography (SWE). Three SWE velocity measurements were assessed in each testicle. The patients were divided into three groups; men with normal testicular tissue (n=130), men with testicular microlithiasis (n=99) and men with testicular cancer (n=19). Results: We found a higher mean velocity in the group...... of patients with testicular cancer (1.92 m/s (95% CI 1.82-2.03)) compared to both the group with normal tissue (0.76 m/s (95% CI: 0.75-0.78)) (ptesticular microlithiasis 0.79 m/s (95% CI: 0.77-0.81) (ptesticular microlithiasis increased stiffness...

  19. Technology of mammalian cell encapsulation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Uludag, H; De Vos, P; Tresco, PA

    2000-01-01

    Entrapment of mammalian cells in physical membranes has been practiced since the early 1950s when it was originally introduced as a basic research tool. The method has since been developed based on the promise of its therapeutic usefulness in tissue transplantation. Encapsulation physically isolates

  20. Trace elemental correlation study in malignant and normal breast tissue by PIXE technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raju, G.J. Naga; Sarita, P.; Kumar, M. Ravi; Murty, G.A.V. Ramana; Reddy, B. Seetharami; Lakshminarayana, S.; Vijayan, V.; Lakshmi, P.V.B. Rama; Gavarasana, Satyanarayana; Reddy, S. Bhuloka

    2006-01-01

    Particle induced X-ray emission technique was used to study the variations in trace elemental concentrations between normal and malignant human breast tissue specimens and to understand the effects of altered homeostasis of these elements in the etiology of breast cancer. A 3 MeV proton beam was used to excite the biological samples of normal and malignant breast tissues. The elements Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb and Sr were identified and their relative concentrations were estimated. Almost all the elements were found to be elevated (p < 0.05, Wilcoxon signed-ranks test) in the cancerous tissues when compared with normal tissues. The excess levels of trace elements observed in the cancerous breast tissues could either be a cause or a consequence of breast cancer. Regarding their role in the initiation or promotion of breast cancer, one possible interpretation is that the elevated levels of Cu, Fe and Cr could have led to the formation of free radicals or other reactive oxygen species (ROS) that adversely affect DNA thereby causing breast cancer, which is mainly attributed to genetic abnormalities. Moreover, since Cu and Fe are required for angiogenesis, elevated concentrations of these elements are likely to promote breast cancer by increasing the blood supply for tumor growth. On the other hand elevated concentrations of elements in breast cancer tissues might also be a consequence of the cancer. This can be understood in terms of the biochemical and histological differences between normal and cancerous breast tissues. Tumors, characterized by unregulated multiplication of cells, need an ever-increasing supply of essential nutrients including trace elements. This probably results in an increased vascularity of malignant tissues, which in turn leads to enhancement of elemental concentrations in tumors

  1. The expression of Egfl7 in human normal tissues and epithelial tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Chun; Yang, Lian-Yue; Wu, Fan; Tao, Yi-Ming; Liu, Lin-Sen; Zhang, Jin-Fan; He, Ya-Ning; Tang, Li-Li; Chen, Guo-Dong; Guo, Lei

    2013-04-23

    To investigate the expression of Egfl7 in normal adult human tissues and human epithelial tumors.
 RT-PCR and Western blot were employed to detect Egfl7 expression in normal adult human tissues and 10 human epithelial tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, malignant glioma, ovarian cancer and renal cancer. Immunohistochemistry and cytoimmunofluorescence were subsequently used to determine the localization of Egfl7 in human epithelial tumor tissues and cell lines. ELISA was also carried out to examine the serum Egfl7 levels in cancer patients. In addition, correlations between Egfl7 expression and clinicopathological features as well as prognosis of HCC and breast cancer were also analyzed on the basis of immunohistochemistry results.
 Egfl7 was differentially expressed in 19 adult human normal tissues and was overexpressed in all 10 human epithelial tumor tissues. The serum Egfl7 level was also significantly elevated in cancer patients. The increased Egfl7 expression in HCC correlated with vein invasion, absence of capsule formation, multiple tumor nodes and poor prognosis. Similarly, upregulation of Egfl7 in breast cancer correlated strongly with TNM stage, lymphatic metastasis, estrogen receptor positivity, Her2 positivity and poor prognosis. 
 Egfl7 is significantly upregulated in human epithelial tumor tissues, suggesting Egfl7 to be a potential biomarker for human epithelial tumors, especially HCC and breast cancer.

  2. SU-E-T-168: Evaluation of Normal Tissue Damage in Head and Neck Cancer Treatments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ai, H; Zhang, H

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate normal tissue toxicity in patients with head and neck cancer by calculating average survival fraction (SF) and equivalent uniform dose (EUD) for normal tissue cells. Methods: 20 patients with head and neck cancer were included in this study. IMRT plans were generated using EclipseTM treatment planning system by dosimetrist following clinical radiotherapy treatment guidelines. The average SF for three different normal tissue cells of each concerned structure can be calculated from dose spectrum acquired from differential dose volume histogram (DVH) using linear quadratic model. The three types of normal tissues include radiosensitive, moderately radiosensitive and radio-resistant that represents 70%, 50% and 30% survival fractions, respectively, for a 2-Gy open field. Finally, EUDs for three types of normal tissue of each structure were calculated from average SF. Results: The EUDs of the brainstem, spinal cord, parotid glands, brachial plexus and etc were calculated. Our analysis indicated that the brainstem can absorb as much as 14.3% of prescription dose to the tumor if the cell line is radiosensitive. In addition, as much as 16.1% and 18.3% of prescription dose were absorbed by the brainstem for moderately radiosensitive and radio-resistant cells, respectively. For the spinal cord, the EUDs reached up to 27.6%, 35.0% and 42.9% of prescribed dose for the three types of radiosensitivities respectively. Three types of normal cells for parotid glands can get up to 65.6%, 71.2% and 78.4% of prescription dose, respectively. The maximum EUDs of brachial plexsus were calculated as 75.4%, 76.4% and 76.7% of prescription for three types of normal cell lines. Conclusion: The results indicated that EUD can be used to quantify and evaluate the radiation damage to surrounding normal tissues. Large variation of normal tissue EUDs may come from variation of target volumes and radiation beam orientations among the patients

  3. Adipose Tissues Characteristics of Normal, Obesity, and Type 2 Diabetes in Uygurs Population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Zhang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Our results showed that, at the same BMI level, Uygurs have greater WHR values, abdominal visceral fat content, and diabetes risks than Kazaks. In addition, values of HDL-C in Uygur subjects were lower than those in Kazak subjects, and values of creatinine, uric acid, diastolic blood pressure, blood glucose, and fructosamine in Uygur male subjects were lower than those in Kazak male subjects. In contrast, systolic blood pressure values in Uygur subjects were greater than those in Kazak subjects, and blood glucose values were greater in Uygur female subjects than in Kazak female subjects. Additionally, in Uygurs, visceral adipose tissue expression levels of TBX1 and TCF21 were greater in obesity group than in normal and T2DM groups and lower in T2DM group than in normal group (P<0.01. The visceral adipose tissue expression levels of APN in normal group was greater than those in obesity and T2DM groups, and visceral adipose tissue expression levels of TNF-α and MCP-1 in normal group were lower than those in obesity and T2DM groups (P<0.01. In conclusion, T2DM in Uygurs was mainly associated with not only distribution of adipose tissue in body, but also change in metabolic activity and adipocytokines secretion of adipose tissue.

  4. Radioprotection of normal tissues in tumor-bearing mice by troxerutin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maurya, D.K.; Salvi, V.P.; Krishnan Nair, C.K.

    2004-01-01

    The flavanoid derivative troxerutin, used clinically for treating venous disorders, protected biomembranes and cellular DNA against the deleterious effects of γ-radiation. The peroxidation of lipids (measured as thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances, or TBARS) in rat liver microsomal and mitochondrial membranes resulting from γ-irradiation up to doses of 500 Gy in vitro was prevented by 0.2 mM troxerutin. The administration of troxerutin (175 mg/kg body weight) to tumor-bearing mice by intraperitoneal (ip) one hour prior to 4 Gy whole-body γ-irradiation significantly decreased the radiation-induced peroxidation of lipids in tissues such as liver and spleen, but there was no reduction of lipid peroxidation in tumor. The effect of troxerutin in γ-radiation-induced DNA strand breaks in different tissues of tumor-bearing mice was studied by comet assay. The administration of troxerutin to tumor-bearing animals protected cellular DNA against radiation-induced strand breaks. This was evidenced from decreases in comet tail length, tail moment, and percent of DNA in the tails in cells of normal tissues such as blood leukocytes and bone marrow, and these parameters were not altered in cells of fibrosarcoma tumor. The results revealed that troxerutin could preferentially protect normal tissues against radiation-induced damages in tumor-bearing animals. (author)

  5. Cell and tissue kinetics of the subependymal layer in mouse brain following heavy charged particle irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Manley, N.B.; Fabrikant, J.I.; Alpen, E.L.

    1988-12-01

    The following studies investigate the cellular response and cell population kinetics of the subependymal layer in the mouse brain exposed to heavy charged particle irradiation. Partial brain irradiation with helium and neon ions was confined to one cortex of the brain. Both the irradiated and the unirradiated contralateral cortex showed similar disturbances of the cell and tissue kinetics in the subependymal layers. The irradiated hemisphere exhibited histological damage, whereas the unirradiated side appeared normal histologically. This study concerns the cell population and cell cycle kinetics of the subependymal layer in the mouse brain, and the effects of charged particle irradiations on this cell population. Quantitative high resolution autoradiography was used to study the kinetic parameters in this cell layer. This study should help in understanding the effects of these high-energy heavy ions on normal mammalian brain tissue. The response of the mammalian brain exposure to charged particle ionizing radiation may be extremely variable. It varies from minimal physiological changes to overt tissue necrosis depending on a number of factors such as: the administered dose, dose-rate, the volume of the irradiated tissue, and the biological end-point being examined.

  6. Evolution of mammalian endothermic metabolism: leaky membranes as a source of heat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Else, P.L.; Hulbert, A.J.

    1987-01-01

    O 2 consumption was measured at 37/degrees/C in tissue slices of liver, kidney, and brain from Amphilbolurus vitticeps and Rattus norvegicus (a reptile and mammal with same weight and body temperature) both in the presence and absence of ouabain. O 2 consumption of the mammalian tissues was two to four times that of the reptilian tissues and the mammalian tissues used three to six times the energy for Na + -K + transport than the reptilian tissues. Passive permeability to 42 K + was measured at 37/degrees/C in liver and kidney slices, and passive permeability to 22 Na + was measured at 37/degrees/C in isolated and cultured liver cells from each species. The mammalian cell membrane was severalfold leakier to both these ions than was the reptilian cell membrane, and thus the membrane pumps must use more energy to maintain the transmembrane ion gradients. It is postulated that this is a general difference between the cells of ectotherms and endotherms and thus partly explains the much higher levels of metabolism found in endothermic mammals

  7. Fractionation in normal tissues: the (α/β)eff concept can account for dose heterogeneity and volume effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, Aswin L; Nahum, Alan E

    2013-10-07

    The simple Linear-Quadratic (LQ)-based Withers iso-effect formula (WIF) is widely used in external-beam radiotherapy to derive a new tumour dose prescription such that there is normal-tissue (NT) iso-effect when changing the fraction size and/or number. However, as conventionally applied, the WIF is invalid unless the normal-tissue response is solely determined by the tumour dose. We propose a generalized WIF (gWIF) which retains the tumour prescription dose, but replaces the intrinsic fractionation sensitivity measure (α/β) by a new concept, the normal-tissue effective fractionation sensitivity, [Formula: see text], which takes into account both the dose heterogeneity in, and the volume effect of, the late-responding normal-tissue in question. Closed-form analytical expressions for [Formula: see text] ensuring exact normal-tissue iso-effect are derived for: (i) uniform dose, and (ii) arbitrary dose distributions with volume-effect parameter n = 1 from the normal-tissue dose-volume histogram. For arbitrary dose distributions and arbitrary n, a numerical solution for [Formula: see text] exhibits a weak dependence on the number of fractions. As n is increased, [Formula: see text] increases from its intrinsic value at n = 0 (100% serial normal-tissue) to values close to or even exceeding the tumour (α/β) at n = 1 (100% parallel normal-tissue), with the highest values of [Formula: see text] corresponding to the most conformal dose distributions. Applications of this new concept to inverse planning and to highly conformal modalities are discussed, as is the effect of possible deviations from LQ behaviour at large fraction sizes.

  8. Compton scattering spectrum as a source of information of normal and neoplastic breast tissues' composition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Antoniassi, M.; Conceicao, A.L.C. [Departamento de Fisica-Faculdade de Filosofia Ciencias e Letras de Ribeirao Preto, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, 14040-901 Sao Paulo (Brazil); Poletti, M.E., E-mail: poletti@ffclrp.usp.br [Departamento de Fisica-Faculdade de Filosofia Ciencias e Letras de Ribeirao Preto, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, 14040-901 Sao Paulo (Brazil)

    2012-07-15

    In this work we measured X-ray scatter spectra from normal and neoplastic breast tissues using photon energy of 17.44 keV and a scattering angle of 90 Degree-Sign , in order to study the shape (FWHM) of the Compton peaks. The obtained results for FWHM were discussed in terms of composition and histological characteristics of each tissue type. The statistical analysis shows that the distribution of FWHM of normal adipose breast tissue clearly differs from all other investigated tissues. Comparison between experimental values of FWHM and effective atomic number revealed a strong correlation between them, showing that the FWHM values can be used to provide information about elemental composition of the tissues. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer X-ray scatter spectra from normal and neoplastic breast tissues were measured. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Shape (FWHM) of Compton peak was related with elemental composition and characteristics of each tissue type. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A statistical hypothesis test showed clear differences between normal and neoplastic breast tissues. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer There is a strong correlation between experimental values of FWHM and effective atomic number. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Shape (FWHM) of Compton peak can be used to provide information about elemental composition of the tissues.

  9. Alteration of proliferation and apoptotic markers in normal and premalignant tissue associated with prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ananthanarayanan, Vijayalakshmi; Deaton, Ryan J; Yang, Ximing J; Pins, Michael R; Gann, Peter H

    2006-01-01

    Molecular markers identifying alterations in proliferation and apoptotic pathways could be particularly important in characterizing high-risk normal or pre-neoplastic tissue. We evaluated the following markers: Ki67, Minichromosome Maintenance Protein-2 (Mcm-2), activated caspase-3 (a-casp3) and Bcl-2 to determine if they showed differential expression across progressive degrees of intraepithelial neoplasia and cancer in the prostate. To identify field effects, we also evaluated whether high-risk expression patterns in normal tissue were more common in prostates containing cancer compared to those without cancer (supernormal), and in histologically normal glands adjacent to a cancer focus as opposed to equivalent glands that were more distant. The aforementioned markers were studied in 13 radical prostatectomy (RP) and 6 cystoprostatectomy (CP) specimens. Tissue compartments representing normal, low grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (LGPIN), high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN), as well as different grades of cancer were mapped on H&E slides and adjacent sections were analyzed using immunohistochemistry. Normal glands within 1 mm distance of a tumor focus and glands beyond 5 mm were considered 'near' and 'far', respectively. Randomly selected nuclei and 40 × fields were scored by a single observer; basal and luminal epithelial layers were scored separately. Both Ki-67 and Mcm-2 showed an upward trend from normal tissue through HGPIN and cancer with a shift in proliferation from basal to luminal compartment. Activated caspase-3 showed a significant decrease in HGPIN and cancer compartments. Supernormal glands had significantly lower proliferation indices and higher a-casp3 expression compared to normal glands. 'Near' normal glands had higher Mcm-2 indices compared to 'far' glands; however, they also had higher a-casp3 expression. Bcl-2, which varied minimally in normal tissue, did not show any trend

  10. Pattern of somatostatin receptors expression in normal and bladder cancer tissue samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karavitakis, Markos; Msaouel, Pavlos; Michalopoulos, Vassilis; Koutsilieris, Michael

    2014-06-01

    Known risks factors for bladder cancer progression and recurrence are limited regarding their prognostic ability. Therefore identification of molecular determinants of disease progression could provide with more specific prognostic information and could be translated into new approaches for biomarker development. In the present study we evaluated, the expression patterns of somatostatin receptors 1-5 (SSTRs) in normal and tumor bladder tissues. The expression of SSTR1-5 was characterized in 45 normal and bladder cancer tissue samples using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). SSTR1 was expressed in 24 samples, SSTR2 in 15, SSTR3 in 23, SSTR4 in 16 and SSTR5 in all but one sample. Bladder cancer tissue samples expressed lower levels of SSTR3. Co-expression of SSTRs was associated with superficial disease. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, that there is expression of SSTR in normal and bladder cancer urothelium. Further studies are required to evaluate the prognostic and therapeutic significance of these findings. Copyright© 2014 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.

  11. Radioprotection of normal tissues of the mouse by hypoxic breathing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevens, G.N.; Joiner, B.; Denekamp, J.

    1989-01-01

    Hypoxic breathing during irradiation has been advocated as a therapeutic modality, to increase the efficacy of radiotherapy. In this form of treatment, the total and daily X-ray dose is increased by a factor of 1.25, on the assumption that all normal tissues in the beam will be protected to a similar extent by breathing gas containing a reduced oxygen concentration (usually 10%). To test this concept, we have determined the effect of varying the inspired oxygen tension on the radiosensitivity of 3 normal tissues in the mouse (kidney, jejunum and skin), and have compared these results with data from the literature for mouse lung. Reduction of the inspired oxygen tension from 21% (air) to 7-8% led to much greater radioprotection of skin (protection factor 1.37) than of lung (1.09). Protection factors for jejunum and kidney were 1.16 and 1.36 respectively. The results show that the extent of radioprotection afforded by hypoxic breathing is tissue dependent, and that great care must be taken clinically in choosing the increased radiation dose to be used in conjunction with hypoxic breathing

  12. Normal tissue complication probability for salivary glands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rana, B.S.

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of radiotherapy is to make a profitable balance between the morbidity (due to side effects of radiation) and cure of malignancy. To achieve this, one needs to know the relation between NTCP (normal tissue complication probability) and various treatment variables of a schedule viz. daily dose, duration of treatment, total dose and fractionation along with tissue conditions. Prospective studies require that a large number of patients be treated with varied schedule parameters and a statistically acceptable number of patients develop complications so that a true relation between NTCP and a particular variable is established. In this study Salivary Glands Complications have been considered. The cases treated in 60 Co teletherapy machine during the period 1994 to 2002 were analyzed and the clinicians judgement in ascertaining the end points was the only means of observations. The only end points were early and late xerestomia which were considered for NTCP evaluations for a period of 5 years

  13. Quantifying glucose permeability and enhanced light penetration in ex vivo human normal and cancerous esophagus tissues with optical coherence tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Q L; Guo, Z Y; Wei, H J; Guo, X; Zhong, H Q; Li, L Q; Si, J L; Yang, H Q; Xie, S S; Wu, G Y; Li, X Y

    2011-01-01

    We report our pilot results on quantification of glucose (G) diffusion permeability in human normal esophagus and ESCC tissues in vitro by using OCT technique. The permeability coefficient of 40% aqueous solution of G was found to be (1.74±0.04)×10 -5 cm/s in normal esophagus and (2.45±0.06)×10 -5 cm/s in ESCC tissues. The results from this study indicate that ESCC tissues had a higher permeability coefficient compared to normal esophageal tissues, and the light penetration depths gradually increase with the increase of applied topically with G time for the normal esophageal and ESCC tissues. The results indicate that the permeability coefficient of G in cancer tissues was 1.41-fold than that in normal tissues, and the light penetration depth for the ESCC tissues is significantly smaller than that of normal esophagus tissues in the same time range. These results demonstrate that the optical clearing of normal and cancer esophagus tissues are improved after application of G

  14. Quantifying glucose permeability and enhanced light penetration in ex vivo human normal and cancerous esophagus tissues with optical coherence tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Q. L.; Si, J. L.; Guo, Z. Y.; Wei, H. J.; Yang, H. Q.; Wu, G. Y.; Xie, S. S.; Li, X. Y.; Guo, X.; Zhong, H. Q.; Li, L. Q.

    2011-01-01

    We report our pilot results on quantification of glucose (G) diffusion permeability in human normal esophagus and ESCC tissues in vitro by using OCT technique. The permeability coefficient of 40% aqueous solution of G was found to be (1.74±0.04)×10-5 cm/s in normal esophagus and (2.45±0.06)×10-5 cm/s in ESCC tissues. The results from this study indicate that ESCC tissues had a higher permeability coefficient compared to normal esophageal tissues, and the light penetration depths gradually increase with the increase of applied topically with G time for the normal esophageal and ESCC tissues. The results indicate that the permeability coefficient of G in cancer tissues was 1.41-fold than that in normal tissues, and the light penetration depth for the ESCC tissues is significantly smaller than that of normal esophagus tissues in the same time range. These results demonstrate that the optical clearing of normal and cancer esophagus tissues are improved after application of G.

  15. Radiotherapy- and chemotherapy-induced normal tissue damage. The role of cytokines and adhesion molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plevova, P.

    2002-01-01

    Background. Ionising radiation and cytostatic agents used in cancer therapy exert damaging effects on normal tissues and induce a complex response at the cellular and molecular levels. Cytokines and adhesion molecules are involved in this response. Methods. Published data on the given topic have been reviewed. Results and conclusions. Various cytokines and adhesion molecules, including tumor necrosis factor α, interleukins- 1,-2,-4, and -6, interferon γ, granulocyte macrophage- and macrophage- colony stimulating factors, transforming growth factor β, platelet-derived growth factor, insulin-like growth factor I, fibroblast and epidermal growth factors, platelet-activating factor, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, E- and P-selectins are involved in the response of normal tissues to ionizing radiation- and chemotherapy- induced normal tissues damage and are co-responsible for some side effects of these treatment modalities, including fever, anorexia and fatigue, suppression of hematopoiesis, both acute and late local tissue response. (author)

  16. A promoter-level mammalian expression atlas

    KAUST Repository

    Forest, Alistair R R

    2014-03-26

    Regulated transcription controls the diversity, developmental pathways and spatial organization of the hundreds of cell types that make up a mammal. Using single-molecule cDNA sequencing, we mapped transcription start sites (TSSs) and their usage in human and mouse primary cells, cell lines and tissues to produce a comprehensive overview of mammalian gene expression across the human body. We find that few genes are truly ‘housekeeping’, whereas many mammalian promoters are composite entities composed of several closely separated TSSs, with independent cell-type-specific expression profiles. TSSs specific to different cell types evolve at different rates, whereas promoters of broadly expressed genes are the most conserved. Promoter-based expression analysis reveals key transcription factors defining cell states and links them to binding-site motifs. The functions of identified novel transcripts can be predicted by coexpression and sample ontology enrichment analyses. The functional annotation of the mammalian genome 5 (FANTOM5) project provides comprehensive expression profiles and functional annotation of mammalian cell-type-specific transcriptomes with wide applications in biomedical research.

  17. A promoter-level mammalian expression atlas

    KAUST Repository

    Forest, Alistair R R; Kawaji, Hideya; Rehli, Michael; Baillie, John Kenneth; De Hoon, Michiel Jl L; Haberle, Vanja; Lassmann, Timo; Kulakovskiy, Ivan V.; Lizio, Marina; Itoh, Masayoshi; Andersson, Robin; Iida, Kei; Ikawa, Tomokatsu; Jankovic, Boris R.; Jia, Hui; Joshi, Anagha Madhusudan; Jurman, Giuseppe; Kaczkowski, Bogumił; Kai, Chieko; Kaida, Kaoru; Kaiho, Ai; Mungall, Christopher J.; Kajiyama, Kazuhiro; Kanamori-Katayama, Mutsumi; Kasianov, Artem S.; Kasukawa, Takeya; Katayama, Shintaro; Kato, Sachi; Kawaguchi, Shuji; Kawamoto, Hiroshi; Kawamura, Yuki I.; Kawashima, Tsugumi; Meehan, Terrence F.; Kempfle, Judith S.; Kenna, Tony J.; Kere, Juha; Khachigian, Levon M.; Kitamura, Toshio; Klinken, Svend Peter; Knox, Alan; Kojima, Miki; Kojima, Soichi; Kondo, Naoto; Schmeier, Sebastian; Koseki, Haruhiko; Koyasu, Shigeo; Krampitz, Sarah; Kubosaki, Atsutaka; Kwon, Andrew T.; Laros, Jeroen F J; Lee, Weonju; Lennartsson, Andreas; Li, Kang; Lilje, Berit; Bertin, Nicolas; Lipovich, Leonard; MacKay-Sim, Alan; Manabe, Riichiroh; Mar, Jessica; Marchand, Benoî t; Mathelier, Anthony; Mejhert, Niklas; Meynert, Alison M.; Mizuno, Yosuke; De Morais, David A Lima; Jø rgensen, Mette Christine; Morikawa, Hiromasa; Morimoto, Mitsuru; Moro, Kazuyo; Motakis, Efthymios; Motohashi, Hozumi; Mummery, Christine L.; Murata, Mitsuyoshi; Nagao-Sato, Sayaka; Nakachi, Yutaka; Nakahara, Fumio; Dimont, Emmanuel; Nakamura, Toshiyuki; Nakamura, Yukio; Nakazato, Kenichi; Van Nimwegen, Erik; Ninomiya, Noriko; Nishiyori, Hiromi; Noma, Shohei; Nozaki, Tadasuke; Ogishima, Soichi; Ohkura, Naganari; Arner, Erik; Ohmiya, Hiroko; Ohno, Hiroshi; Ohshima, Mitsuhiro; Okada-Hatakeyama, Mariko; Okazaki, Yasushi; Orlando, Valerio; Ovchinnikov, Dmitry A.; Pain, Arnab; Passier, Robert C J J; Patrikakis, Margaret; Schmidl, Christian; Persson, Helena A.; Piazza, Silvano; Prendergast, James G D; Rackham, Owen J L; Ramilowski, Jordan A.; Rashid, Mamoon; Ravasi, Timothy; Rizzu, Patrizia; Roncador, Marco; Roy, Sugata; Schaefer, Ulf; Rye, Morten Beck; Saijyo, Eri; Sajantila, Antti; Saka, Akiko; Sakaguchi, Shimon; Sakai, Mizuho; Sato, Hiroki; Satoh, Hironori; Savvi, Suzana; Saxena, Alka; Medvedeva, Yulia; Schneider, Claudio H.; Schultes, Erik A.; Schulze-Tanzil, Gundula G.; Schwegmann, Anita; Sengstag, Thierry; Sheng, Guojun; Shimoji, Hisashi; Shimoni, Yishai; Shin, Jay W.; Simon, Chris M.; Plessy, Charles; Sugiyama, Daisuke; Sugiyama, Takaaki; Suzuki, Masanori; Suzuki, Naoko; Swoboda, Rolf K.; 't Hoen, Peter Ac Chr; Tagami, Michihira; Tagami, Naokotakahashi; Takai, Jun; Tanaka, Hiroshi; Vitezic, Morana; Tatsukawa, Hideki; Tatum, Zuotian; Thompson, Mark; Toyoda, Hiroo; Toyoda, Tetsuro; Valen, Eivind; Van De Wetering, Marc L.; Van Den Berg, Linda M.; Verardo, Roberto; Vijayan, Dipti; Severin, Jessica M.; Vorontsov, Ilya E.; Wasserman, Wyeth W.; Watanabe, Shoko; Wells, Christine A.; Winteringham, Louise Natalie; Wolvetang, Ernst Jurgen; Wood, Emily J.; Yamaguchi, Yoko; Yamamoto, Masayuki; Yoneda, Misako; Semple, Colin Am M; Yonekura, Yohei; Yoshida, Shigehiro; Zabierowski, Susan E.; Zhang, Peter; Zhao, Xiaobei; Zucchelli, Silvia; Summers, Kim M.; Suzuki, Harukazu; Daub, Carsten Olivier; Kawai, Jun; Ishizu, Yuri; Heutink, Peter; Hide, Winston; Freeman, Tom C.; Lenhard, Boris; Bajic, Vladimir B.; Taylor, Martin S.; Makeev, Vsevolod J.; Sandelin, Albin; Hume, David A.; Carninci, Piero; Young, Robert S.; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide Yoshihide; Francescatto, Margherita; Altschuler, Intikhab Alam; Albanese, Davide; Altschule, Gabriel M.; Arakawa, Takahiro; Archer, John A.C.; Arner, Peter; Babina, Magda; Rennie, Sarah; Balwierz, Piotr J.; Beckhouse, Anthony G.; Pradhan-Bhatt, Swati; Blake, Judith A.; Blumenthal, Antje; Bodega, Beatrice; Bonetti, Alessandro; Briggs, James A.; Brombacher, Frank; Burroughs, Alexander Maxwell; Califano, Andrea C.; Cannistraci, Carlo; Carbajo, Daniel; Chen, Yun; Chierici, Marco; Ciani, Yari; Clevers, Hans C.; Dalla, Emiliano; Davis, Carrie Anne; Detmar, Michael J.; Diehl, Alexander D.; Dohi, Taeko; Drablø s, Finn; Edge, Albert SB B; Edinger, Matthias G.; Ekwall, Karl; Endoh, Mitsuhiro; Enomoto, Hideki; Fagiolini, Michela; Fairbairn, Lynsey R.; Fang, Hai; Farach-Carson, Mary Cindy; Faulkner, Geoffrey J.; Favorov, Alexander V.; Fisher, Malcolm E.; Frith, Martin C.; Fujita, Rie; Fukuda, Shiro; Furlanello, Cesare; Furuno, Masaaki; Furusawa, Junichi; Geijtenbeek, Teunis Bh H; Gibson, Andrew P.; Gingeras, Thomas R.; Goldowitz, Dan; Gough, Julian; Guhl, Sven; Guler, Reto; Gustincich, Stefano; Ha, Thomas; Hamaguchi, Masahide; Hara, Mitsuko; Harbers, Matthias; Harshbarger, Jayson; Hasegawa, Akira; Hasegawa, Yuki; Hashimoto, Takehiro; Herlyn, Meenhard F.; Hitchens, Kelly J.; Sui, Shannan J Ho; Hofmann, Oliver M.; Hoof, Ilka; Hori, Fumi; Huminiecki, Łukasz B.

    2014-01-01

    Regulated transcription controls the diversity, developmental pathways and spatial organization of the hundreds of cell types that make up a mammal. Using single-molecule cDNA sequencing, we mapped transcription start sites (TSSs) and their usage in human and mouse primary cells, cell lines and tissues to produce a comprehensive overview of mammalian gene expression across the human body. We find that few genes are truly ‘housekeeping’, whereas many mammalian promoters are composite entities composed of several closely separated TSSs, with independent cell-type-specific expression profiles. TSSs specific to different cell types evolve at different rates, whereas promoters of broadly expressed genes are the most conserved. Promoter-based expression analysis reveals key transcription factors defining cell states and links them to binding-site motifs. The functions of identified novel transcripts can be predicted by coexpression and sample ontology enrichment analyses. The functional annotation of the mammalian genome 5 (FANTOM5) project provides comprehensive expression profiles and functional annotation of mammalian cell-type-specific transcriptomes with wide applications in biomedical research.

  18. Cell-surface glycoproteins of human sarcomas: differential expression in normal and malignant tissues and cultured cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rettig, W.F.; Garin-Chesa, P.; Beresford, H.R.; Oettgen, H.F.; Melamed, M.R.; Old, L.J.

    1988-01-01

    Normal differentiation and malignant transformation of human cells are characterized by specific changes in surface antigen phenotype. In the present study, the authors have defined six cell-surface antigens of human sarcomas and normal mesenchymal cells, by using mixed hemadsorption assays and immunochemical methods for the analysis of cultured cells and immunohistochemical staining for the analysis of normal tissues and > 200 tumor specimens. Differential patterns of F19, F24, G171, G253, S5, and Thy-1 antigen expression were found to characterize (i) subsets of cultured sarcoma cell lines, (ii) cultured fibroblasts derived from various organs, (iii) normal resting and activated mesenchymal tissues, and (iv) sarcoma and nonmesenchymal tumor tissues. These results provide a basic surface antigenic map for cultured mesenchymal cells and mesenchymal tissues and permit the classification of human sarcomas according to their antigenic phenotypes

  19. Correlation study of trace metals in malignant and normal breast tissues by AAS technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahman, S.

    2012-01-01

    The study reports the application of atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) for quantification of Fe, Cu and Zn in forty one formalin-fixed biopsy breast carcinoma tissue and adjoining fifteen normal tissue samples. These tissues samples were of category two breast carcinoma patients and of normal subjects. The qualitative comparison between the elements levels measured in the two types of specimens suggests significant elevation of these metals in the histopathological samples of carcinoma tissue. The samples were collected from women aged 19-51 years. Most of the patients belong to urban areas of Pakistan and middle to high socioeconomic status with the exception of few. Findings of study depicts that these elements have an important role in the initiation and development of carcinoma as consistent pattern of elevation for Fe, Cu and Zn was observed. The results showed the excessive accumulation of Fe (166.9 mg/L) in tissue samples of breast carcinoma patients (p < 0.01) than that in normal tissues samples (23.5 mg/L). In order to validate our method of analysis certified reference material Muscle Tissue Lyophilised (IAEA) MA-M-2/TM was analyzed for Fe, Cu and Zn. Determined concentrations were in good agreement with certified levels. The concentration distribution of trace elements Cu, Zn and Fe measured in the malignant tissues were found to be higher when compared to benign tissues, indicating the involvement of these metals in the breast malignancy. Results also indicate that excess iron may play a role in breast carcinogenesis. (Orig./A.B.)

  20. Utility of Normal Tissue-to-Tumor {alpha}/{beta} Ratio When Evaluating Isodoses of Isoeffective Radiation Therapy Treatment Plans

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gay, Hiram A., E-mail: hgay@radonc.wustl.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (United States); Jin Jianyue [Department of Radiation Oncology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan (United States); Chang, Albert J. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, California (United States); Ten Haken, Randall K. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: To achieve a better understanding of the effect of the number of fractions on normal tissue sparing for equivalent tumor control in radiation therapy plans by using equivalent biologically effective dose (BED) isoeffect calculations. Methods and Materials: The simple linear quadratic (LQ) model was assumed to be valid up to 10 Gy per fraction. Using the model, we formulated a well-known mathematical equality for the tumor prescription dose and probed and solved a second mathematical problem for normal tissue isoeffect. That is, for a given arbitrary relative isodose distribution (treatment plan in percentages), 2 isoeffective tumor treatment regimens (N fractions of the dose D and n fractions of the dose d) were denoted, which resulted in the same BED (corresponding to 100% prescription isodose). Given these situations, the LQ model was further exploited to mathematically establish a unique relative isodose level, z (%), for the same arbitrary treatment plan, where the BED to normal tissues was also isoeffective for both fractionation regimens. Results: For the previously stated problem, the relative isodose level z (%), where the BEDs to the normal tissue were also equal, was defined by the normal tissue {alpha}/{beta} ratio divided by the tumor {alpha}/{beta} times 100%. Fewer fractions offers a therapeutic advantage for those portions of the normal tissue located outside the isodose surface, z, whereas more fractions offer a therapeutic advantage for those portions of the normal tissue within the isodose surface, z. Conclusions: Relative isodose-based treatment plan evaluations may be useful for comparing isoeffective tumor regimens in terms of normal tissue effects. Regions of tissues that would benefit from hypofractionation or standard fractionation can be identified.

  1. Genetic markers for prediction of normal tissue toxicity after radiotherapy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alsner, Jan; Andreassen, Christian Nicolaj; Overgaard, Jens

    2008-01-01

    During the last decade, a number of studies have supported the hypothesis that there is an important genetic component to the observed interpatient variability in normal tissue toxicity after radiotherapy. This review summarizes the candidate gene association studies published so far on the risk...

  2. EPR study of the reactions of tumour and normal tissues under ionizing radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rikhireva, G.T.; Pulatova, M.K.; Turganov, M.M.; Pal'mina, N.P.; Burlakova, E.B.

    1978-01-01

    Data on the EPR spectrum characteristics of irradiated tissues of tumour-free animals and animals with tumour are presented. Mice of the Csub(3)Hsub(A) line were used in the experiments. Hepatoma was subcutaneously transplanted with the suspension of tumour tissue reduced to fragments. Animals were killed in 6-8 days after transplantation and in the case of tumour-free animals liver was immediately isolated while in the case of animals with tumour isolated were liver and tumour. Tissues cut with scissors were frozen in liquid nitrogen. Tissue samples were exposed to 60 Co at 1 Mrad dose and -196 deg C. On the base of the data it has been concluded: firstly, there are differences between the EPR spectra of normal and tumour tissue samples irradiated at -196 deg C. Asymmetryc signal with Δ H=Ge and g=2.0005 (''tumour signal'') is typical only for the EPR spectra of tumour and liver tissues of the animal with tumour. Thus, in the -author's opinion, irradiation use turns out to be useful for detecting the difference between the normal and tumour tissues. Secondly, ''tumour signal'' intensity changes after ionol incorporation into animal organism, used as a modificator of tissue sensitivity to the irradiation effect

  3. Accumulation of DNA Double-Strand Breaks in Normal Tissues After Fractionated Irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruebe, Claudia E.; Fricke, Andreas; Wendorf, Juliane; Stuetzel, Annika; Kuehne, Martin; Ong, Mei Fang; Lipp, Peter; Ruebe, Christian

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: There is increasing evidence that genetic factors regulating the recognition and/or repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are responsible for differences in radiosensitivity among patients. Genetically defined DSB repair capacities are supposed to determine patients' individual susceptibility to develop adverse normal tissue reactions after radiotherapy. In a preclinical murine model, we analyzed the impact of different DSB repair capacities on the cumulative DNA damage in normal tissues during the course of fractionated irradiation. Material and Methods: Different strains of mice with defined genetic backgrounds (SCID -/- homozygous, ATM -/- homozygous, ATM +/- heterozygous, and ATM +/+ wild-type mice) were subjected to single (2 Gy) or fractionated irradiation (5 x 2 Gy). By enumerating γH2AX foci, the formation and rejoining of DSBs were analyzed in organs representative of both early-responding (small intestine) and late-responding tissues (lung, kidney, and heart). Results: In repair-deficient SCID -/- and ATM -/- homozygous mice, large proportions of radiation-induced DSBs remained unrepaired after each fraction, leading to the pronounced accumulation of residual DNA damage after fractionated irradiation, similarly visible in early- and late-responding tissues. The slight DSB repair impairment of ATM +/- heterozygous mice was not detectable after single-dose irradiation but resulted in a significant increase in unrepaired DSBs during the fractionated irradiation scheme. Conclusions: Radiation-induced DSBs accumulate similarly in acute- and late-responding tissues during fractionated irradiation, whereas the whole extent of residual DNA damage depends decisively on the underlying genetically defined DSB repair capacity. Moreover, our data indicate that even minor impairments in DSB repair lead to exceeding DNA damage accumulation during fractionated irradiation and thus may have a significant impact on normal tissue responses in clinical

  4. The effect of irradiation on function in self-renewing normal tissues with differing proliferative organisation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wheldon, T.E.; Michalowski, A.S.

    1982-01-01

    The primary effect of irradiation on self-renewing normal tissues is sterilisation of their proliferative cells, but how this translates into failure of tissue function depends on the mode of organisation of the tissue concerned. It has recently been suggested (Michalowski, 1981) that proliferative normal tissues may be classed as ''hierarchical'' (like haemopoietic tissues) or as ''flexible'' (like liver parenchyma) and that radiation injury to tissue function develops by different pathways in these tissues. Mathematical model studies confirm the different radiation responses of differently organized tissues. Tissues of the ''flexible'' or ''F-type'' category display a variety of novel radiobiological properties, different from those of the more familiar ''hierarchical'' or ''H-type'' tissues. The ''F-type'' responses are strongly influenced by radiation-sterilised (''doomed'') cells, and is is suggested that the role of ''doomed'' cells has been undervalued relative to that of clonogenic survivors. Since ''F-type'' tissues have characteristically low rates of cell renewal, it is possible that these tissues are preferentially responsible for late effects of irradiation in clinical radiotherapy. (author)

  5. Prodrugs designed to discriminate pathological (tumour) and physiological (normal tissue) hypoxia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilson, W.R.; Patterson, A.V.

    2003-01-01

    There is now abundant evidence that hypoxic contributes to treatment failure in radiation therapy. As a target for therapeutic intervention, hypoxia is especially attractive because it is a common feature of most human tumours and therefore a potential 'pan target' across many tumour types. However, attempts to exploit hypoxia face the problem that oxygen concentrations in some normal tissues are also heterogeneous and that O 2 distributions in tumours and normal tissues overlap. Simply adjusting the K value (O 2 concentration for 50% inhibition of activation) does not provide a satisfactory solution. Bioreductive drugs like tirapazamine with high K values are activated significantly in several normal tissues, while nitro compounds and quinones with low K values spare the hypoxic tumour cells at 'intermediate' O 2 tensions (1-10 mM O 2 ) which are considered to be major contributors to tumour radioresistance. A potential strategy for overcoming this dilemma is to design prodrugs that are activated only at very low K values, but give relatively stable cytotoxic metabolites capable of diffusing to cells at higher O 2 concentrations. This approach redefines the therapeutic target as cells adjacent to zones of pathological hypoxia ( 2 ), providing discrimination from physiological hypoxia in normal tissues. Detecting bioreductive prodrugs capable of providing bystander killing of this kind is not straightforward. We have adapted a multicellular layer (MCL) co-culture model for quantifying bystander effects in GDEPT (Wilson et al., Cancer Res., 62: 1425-1432, 2002), and have used this to measure bystander effects of hypoxia-activated prodrugs. This model uses differences in metabolic activation of bioreductive drugs between A459 cell lines with low and high cytochrome P450 reductase activity, rather than O 2 gradients, to effect localised prodrug activation. It shows that TPZ and the nitroimidazole RSU-1069 have little or no bystander effect, but that dinitrobenzamide

  6. Proteolytic processing of connective tissue growth factor in normal ocular tissues and during corneal wound healing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Paulette M; Smith, Tyler S; Patel, Dilan; Dave, Meera; Lewin, Alfred S; Pi, Liya; Scott, Edward W; Tuli, Sonal S; Schultz, Gregory S

    2012-12-13

    Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a fibrogenic cytokine that is up-regulated by TGF-β and mediates most key fibrotic actions of TGF-β, including stimulation of synthesis of extracellular matrix and differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts. This study addresses the role of proteolytic processing of CTGF in human corneal fibroblasts (HCF) stimulated with TGF-β, normal ocular tissues and wounded corneas. Proteolytic processing of CTGF in HCF cultures, normal animal eyes, and excimer laser wounded rat corneas were examined by Western blot. The identity of a 21-kDa band was determined by tandem mass spectrometry, and possible alternative splice variants of CTGF were assessed by 5' Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (RACE). HCF stimulated by TGF-β contained full length 38-kDa CTGF and fragments of 25, 21, 18, and 13 kDa, while conditioned medium contained full length 38- and a 21-kDa fragment of CTGF that contained the middle "hinge" region of CTGF. Fragmentation of recombinant CTGF incubated in HCF extracts was blocked by the aspartate protease inhibitor, pepstatin. Normal mouse, rat, and rabbit whole eyes and rabbit ocular tissues contained abundant amounts of C-terminal 25- and 21-kDa fragments and trace amounts of 38-kDa CTGF, although no alternative transcripts were detected. All forms of CTGF (38, 25, and 21 kDa) were detected during healing of excimer ablated rat corneas, peaking on day 11. Proteolytic processing of 38-kDa CTGF occurs during corneal wound healing, which may have important implications in regulation of corneal scar formation.

  7. Radiation-induced DNA damage in tumors and normal tissues. III. Oxygen dependence of the formation of strand breaks and DNA-protein crosslinks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, H.; Wallen, C.A.; Wheeler, K.T.; Joch, C.J.

    1995-01-01

    Results from several laboratories, including ours, have suggested that measurements of radiation-induced DNA strand breaks and DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) may be used to estimate the hypoxic fraction or fractional hypoxic volume of tumors and normal tissues. This suggestion has been predicated on both published and nonpublished information that (1) the oxygen dependence of the formation of strand breaks in irradiated mammalian cells is similar to the oxygen dependence of radiation-produced cell killing, and (2) the oxygen dependence of the formation of DPCs in irradiated mammalian cells is the mirror image of the oxygen dependence of radiation-induced cell killing. However, the published studies that attempted to determine the relationship between the oxygen dependence of the formation of strand breaks and the radiation sensitivity of mammalian cells were not performed at 37 degrees C, the exact oxygen concentrations were not always known, and the results were conflicting. In addition, most of the data on the oxygen dependence of the formation of DPCs are unpublished. Consequently, we have undertaken a comprehensive investigation of one cell line, 9L/Ro rat brain tumor cells, to determine if the shape of the oxygen dependence curve and the K m value for radiation-induced strand breaks and DPCs were similar when 9L cells were irradiated under both ideal gas-liquid equilibrium conditions at 4 degrees C and nonideal gas-liquid equilibrium conditions at 37 degrees C. At 4 degrees C under ideal gas-liquid equilibrium conditions, the K m for the formation of strand breaks was approximately 0.0045 mM, and Km for radiation sensitivity was approximately 0.005mM. A similar comparison for the formation of DPCs at 4 degrees C could not be made, because the efficiency of the formation of DPC was much lower at 4 degrees C than at 37 degrees C. 30 refs., 3 figs

  8. Stem Cell Therapy to Reduce Radiation-Induced Normal Tissue Damage

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coppes, Rob P.; van der Goot, Annemieke; Lombaert, Isabelle M. A.

    Normal tissue damage after radiotherapy is still a major problem in cancer treatment. Stem cell therapy may provide a means to reduce radiation-induced side effects and improve the quality of life of patients. This review discusses the current status in stem cell research with respect to their

  9. Distribution of Basement Membrane Molecules, Laminin and Collagen Type IV, in Normal and Degenerated Cartilage Tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foldager, Casper Bindzus; Toh, Wei Seong; Gomoll, Andreas H; Olsen, Bjørn Reino; Spector, Myron

    2014-04-01

    The objective of the present study was to investigate the presence and distribution of 2 basement membrane (BM) molecules, laminin and collagen type IV, in healthy and degenerative cartilage tissues. Normal and degenerated tissues were obtained from goats and humans, including articular knee cartilage, the intervertebral disc, and meniscus. Normal tissue was also obtained from patella-tibial enthesis in goats. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed using anti-laminin and anti-collagen type IV antibodies. Human and goat skin were used as positive controls. The percentage of cells displaying the pericellular presence of the protein was graded semiquantitatively. When present, laminin and collagen type IV were exclusively found in the pericellular matrix, and in a discrete layer on the articulating surface of normal articular cartilage. In normal articular (hyaline) cartilage in the human and goat, the proteins were found co-localized pericellularly. In contrast, in human osteoarthritic articular cartilage, collagen type IV but not laminin was found in the pericellular region. Nonpathological fibrocartilaginous tissues from the goat, including the menisci and the enthesis, were also positive for both laminin and collagen type IV pericellularly. In degenerated fibrocartilage, including intervertebral disc, as in degenerated hyaline cartilage only collagen type IV was found pericellularly around chondrocytes but with less intense staining than in non-degenerated tissue. In calcified cartilage, some cells were positive for laminin but not type IV collagen. We report differences in expression of the BM molecules, laminin and collagen type IV, in normal and degenerative cartilaginous tissues from adult humans and goats. In degenerative tissues laminin is depleted from the pericellular matrix before collagen type IV. The findings may inform future studies of the processes underlying cartilage degeneration and the functional roles of these 2 extracellular matrix proteins

  10. Distribution of Basement Membrane Molecules, Laminin and Collagen Type IV, in Normal and Degenerated Cartilage Tissues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toh, Wei Seong; Gomoll, Andreas H.; Olsen, Bjørn Reino; Spector, Myron

    2014-01-01

    Objective: The objective of the present study was to investigate the presence and distribution of 2 basement membrane (BM) molecules, laminin and collagen type IV, in healthy and degenerative cartilage tissues. Design: Normal and degenerated tissues were obtained from goats and humans, including articular knee cartilage, the intervertebral disc, and meniscus. Normal tissue was also obtained from patella-tibial enthesis in goats. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed using anti-laminin and anti–collagen type IV antibodies. Human and goat skin were used as positive controls. The percentage of cells displaying the pericellular presence of the protein was graded semiquantitatively. Results: When present, laminin and collagen type IV were exclusively found in the pericellular matrix, and in a discrete layer on the articulating surface of normal articular cartilage. In normal articular (hyaline) cartilage in the human and goat, the proteins were found co-localized pericellularly. In contrast, in human osteoarthritic articular cartilage, collagen type IV but not laminin was found in the pericellular region. Nonpathological fibrocartilaginous tissues from the goat, including the menisci and the enthesis, were also positive for both laminin and collagen type IV pericellularly. In degenerated fibrocartilage, including intervertebral disc, as in degenerated hyaline cartilage only collagen type IV was found pericellularly around chondrocytes but with less intense staining than in non-degenerated tissue. In calcified cartilage, some cells were positive for laminin but not type IV collagen. Conclusions: We report differences in expression of the BM molecules, laminin and collagen type IV, in normal and degenerative cartilaginous tissues from adult humans and goats. In degenerative tissues laminin is depleted from the pericellular matrix before collagen type IV. The findings may inform future studies of the processes underlying cartilage degeneration and the functional

  11. Responses of some normal tissues to low doses of γ-radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Withers, H.R.

    1975-01-01

    The response of four normal tissues to low doses of γ-radiation was measured in mice using three indirect methods. The survival curves for cells of the tissues studied (colon, jejunum, testis and haemoleucopoietic system) may be exponential over an uncertain dose range (from zero to between 100 to 230 rad), the slope being about one third of that in the high-dose region. Some of the uncertainties in the data probably reflect variations in age-density distribution. (author)

  12. Discriminant analysis of normal and malignant breast tissue based upon INAA investigation of elemental concentration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwanhoong Ng; Senghuat Ong; Bradley, D.A.; Laimeng Looi

    1997-01-01

    Discriminant analysis of six trace element concentrations measured by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) in 26 paired-samples of malignant and histologically normal human breast tissues shows the technique to be a potentially valuable clinical tool for making malignant-normal classification. Nonparametric discriminant analysis is performed for the data obtained. Linear and quadratic discriminant analyses are also carried out for comparison. For this data set a formal analysis shows that the elements which may be useful in distinguishing between malignant and normal tissues are Ca, Rb and Br, providing correct classification for 24 out of 26 normal samples and 22 out of 26 malignant samples. (Author)

  13. Impact of anesthesia and euthanasia on metabolomics of mammalian tissues: studies in a C57BL/6J mouse model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katherine A Overmyer

    Full Text Available A critical application of metabolomics is the evaluation of tissues, which are often the primary sites of metabolic dysregulation in disease. Laboratory rodents have been widely used for metabolomics studies involving tissues due to their facile handing, genetic manipulability and similarity to most aspects of human metabolism. However, the necessary step of administration of anesthesia in preparation for tissue sampling is not often given careful consideration, in spite of its potential for causing alterations in the metabolome. We examined, for the first time using untargeted and targeted metabolomics, the effect of several commonly used methods of anesthesia and euthanasia for collection of skeletal muscle, liver, heart, adipose and serum of C57BL/6J mice. The data revealed dramatic, tissue-specific impacts of tissue collection strategy. Among many differences observed, post-euthanasia samples showed elevated levels of glucose 6-phosphate and other glycolytic intermediates in skeletal muscle. In heart and liver, multiple nucleotide and purine degradation metabolites accumulated in tissues of euthanized compared to anesthetized animals. Adipose tissue was comparatively less affected by collection strategy, although accumulation of lactate and succinate in euthanized animals was observed in all tissues. Among methods of tissue collection performed pre-euthanasia, ketamine showed more variability compared to isoflurane and pentobarbital. Isoflurane induced elevated liver aspartate but allowed more rapid initiation of tissue collection. Based on these findings, we present a more optimal collection strategy mammalian tissues and recommend that rodent tissues intended for metabolomics studies be collected under anesthesia rather than post-euthanasia.

  14. Impact of anesthesia and euthanasia on metabolomics of mammalian tissues: studies in a C57BL/6J mouse model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overmyer, Katherine A; Thonusin, Chanisa; Qi, Nathan R; Burant, Charles F; Evans, Charles R

    2015-01-01

    A critical application of metabolomics is the evaluation of tissues, which are often the primary sites of metabolic dysregulation in disease. Laboratory rodents have been widely used for metabolomics studies involving tissues due to their facile handing, genetic manipulability and similarity to most aspects of human metabolism. However, the necessary step of administration of anesthesia in preparation for tissue sampling is not often given careful consideration, in spite of its potential for causing alterations in the metabolome. We examined, for the first time using untargeted and targeted metabolomics, the effect of several commonly used methods of anesthesia and euthanasia for collection of skeletal muscle, liver, heart, adipose and serum of C57BL/6J mice. The data revealed dramatic, tissue-specific impacts of tissue collection strategy. Among many differences observed, post-euthanasia samples showed elevated levels of glucose 6-phosphate and other glycolytic intermediates in skeletal muscle. In heart and liver, multiple nucleotide and purine degradation metabolites accumulated in tissues of euthanized compared to anesthetized animals. Adipose tissue was comparatively less affected by collection strategy, although accumulation of lactate and succinate in euthanized animals was observed in all tissues. Among methods of tissue collection performed pre-euthanasia, ketamine showed more variability compared to isoflurane and pentobarbital. Isoflurane induced elevated liver aspartate but allowed more rapid initiation of tissue collection. Based on these findings, we present a more optimal collection strategy mammalian tissues and recommend that rodent tissues intended for metabolomics studies be collected under anesthesia rather than post-euthanasia.

  15. Impact of Anesthesia and Euthanasia on Metabolomics of Mammalian Tissues: Studies in a C57BL/6J Mouse Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overmyer, Katherine A.; Thonusin, Chanisa; Qi, Nathan R.; Burant, Charles F.; Evans, Charles R.

    2015-01-01

    A critical application of metabolomics is the evaluation of tissues, which are often the primary sites of metabolic dysregulation in disease. Laboratory rodents have been widely used for metabolomics studies involving tissues due to their facile handing, genetic manipulability and similarity to most aspects of human metabolism. However, the necessary step of administration of anesthesia in preparation for tissue sampling is not often given careful consideration, in spite of its potential for causing alterations in the metabolome. We examined, for the first time using untargeted and targeted metabolomics, the effect of several commonly used methods of anesthesia and euthanasia for collection of skeletal muscle, liver, heart, adipose and serum of C57BL/6J mice. The data revealed dramatic, tissue-specific impacts of tissue collection strategy. Among many differences observed, post-euthanasia samples showed elevated levels of glucose 6-phosphate and other glycolytic intermediates in skeletal muscle. In heart and liver, multiple nucleotide and purine degradation metabolites accumulated in tissues of euthanized compared to anesthetized animals. Adipose tissue was comparatively less affected by collection strategy, although accumulation of lactate and succinate in euthanized animals was observed in all tissues. Among methods of tissue collection performed pre-euthanasia, ketamine showed more variability compared to isoflurane and pentobarbital. Isoflurane induced elevated liver aspartate but allowed more rapid initiation of tissue collection. Based on these findings, we present a more optimal collection strategy mammalian tissues and recommend that rodent tissues intended for metabolomics studies be collected under anesthesia rather than post-euthanasia. PMID:25658945

  16. Review of RBE values of 15 MeV neutrons for effects on normal tissues

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Broerse, J.J.

    1974-01-01

    Values of the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of fast neutrons for effect on normal tissue depend not only on the neutron energy and the dose, but also on the type of tissue irradiated. Values of the RBE of 15 MeV neutrons are reviewed for rapidly proliferating rodent tissue, such as mouse

  17. Options and pitfalls of normal tissues complication probability models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dorr, Wolfgang

    2011-01-01

    Full text: Technological improvements in the physical administration of radiotherapy have led to increasing conformation of the treatment volume (TV) with the planning target volume (PTV) and of the irradiated volume (IV) with the TV. In this process of improvement of the physical quality of radiotherapy, the total volumes of organs at risk exposed to significant doses have significantly decreased, resulting in increased inhomogeneities in the dose distributions within these organs. This has resulted in a need to identify and quantify volume effects in different normal tissues. Today, irradiated volume today must be considered a 6t h 'R' of radiotherapy, in addition to the 5 'Rs' defined by Withers and Steel in the mid/end 1980 s. The current status of knowledge of these volume effects has recently been summarized for many organs and tissues by the QUANTEC (Quantitative Analysis of Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic) initiative [Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. BioI. Phys. 76 (3) Suppl., 2010]. However, the concept of using dose-volume histogram parameters as a basis for dose constraints, even without applying any models for normal tissue complication probabilities (NTCP), is based on (some) assumptions that are not met in clinical routine treatment planning. First, and most important, dose-volume histogram (DVH) parameters are usually derived from a single, 'snap-shot' CT-scan, without considering physiological (urinary bladder, intestine) or radiation induced (edema, patient weight loss) changes during radiotherapy. Also, individual variations, or different institutional strategies of delineating organs at risk are rarely considered. Moreover, the reduction of the 3-dimentional dose distribution into a '2dimensl' DVH parameter implies that the localization of the dose within an organ is irrelevant-there are ample examples that this assumption is not justified. Routinely used dose constraints also do not take into account that the residual function of an organ may be

  18. Radiobiology of normal tissue. Scientific advances and perspectives; Strahlenbiologie der Normalgewebe. Wissenschaftliche Fortschritte und Perspektiven

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Doerr, W. [Medizinische Univ. Wien (Austria). Universitaetsklinik fuer Strahlentherapie; Medizinische Univ. Wien (Austria). Universitaetsklinik fuer Radioonkologie; Medizinische Univ. Wien (Austria). Christian Doppler Labor fuer Medizinische Strahlenforschung fuer die Radioonkologie; Herskind, C. [Universitaetsmedizin Mannheim, Heidelberg Univ., Mannheim (Germany). Labor fuer Zellulaere und Molekulare Radioonkologie

    2012-11-15

    Radiotherapy involves always the exposure of normal tissue, resulting in an excepted risk of complications. The side effect rate is therefore the compromise between optimized tumor doses and the side effect minimization. The report covers the issues target cell hypothesis and the consequences, new aspect of the pathogenesis of normal issue reactions and strategies of targeted reduction of normal tissue effects. The complexity of the radiobiological processes, the specificity and action mechanisms, the mutual interactions of chemical and radiological processes require further coordinated radiobiological research in the future.

  19. Mathematical model of normal tissue injury in telegammatherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belov, S.A.; Lyass, F.M.; Mamin, R.G.; Minakova, E.I.; Raevskaya, S.A.

    1983-01-01

    A model of normal tissue injury as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation is based on an assumption that the degree of tissue injury is determined by the degree of destruction by certain critical cells. The dependence of the number of lethal injuriies on a single dose is expressed by a trinomial - linear and quadratic parts and a constant, obtained as a result of the processing of experimental data. Quantitative correlations have been obtained for the skin and brain. They have been tested using clinical and experimental material. The results of the testing point out to the absence of time dependence on a single up to 6-week irradiation cources. Correlation with an irradiation field has been obtained for the skin. A conclusion has been made that the concept of isoefficacy of irradiation cources is conditional. Spatial-time fractionation is a promising direction in the development of radiation therapy

  20. Variation in normal and tumor tissue sensitivity of mice to ionizing radiation-induced DNA strand breaks in vivo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyn, R.E.; Jenkins, W.T.

    1983-01-01

    The efficiency of DNA strand break formation in normal and tumor tissues of mice was measured using the technique of alkaline elution coupled with a microfluorometric determination of DNA. This methodology allowed measurement of the DNA strand breaks produced in tissues irradiated in vivo with doses of radiation comparable to those used in radiotherapy (i.e., 1.0 gray) without the necessity for the cells to be dividing and incorporating radioactive precursors to label the DNA. The results showed that substantial differences existed among various tissues in terms of the amount of DNA strand break damage produced for a given dose of radiation. Of the normal tissues, the most breaks were produced in bone marrow and the least were produced in gut. Furthermore, strand break production was relatively inefficient in the tumor compared to the normal tissues. The efficiency of DNA strand break formation measured in the cells from the tissues irradiated in vitro was much more uniform and considerably greater than that measured in vivo, suggesting that the normal tissues in the animal may be radiobiologically hypoxic

  1. Mathematical models of tumour and normal tissue response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, B.; Dale, R.G.; Charing Cross Group of Hospitals, London

    1999-01-01

    The historical application of mathematics in the natural sciences and in radiotherapy is compared. The various forms of mathematical models and their limitations are discussed. The Linear Quadratic (LQ) model can be modified to include (i) radiobiological parameter changes that occur during fractionated radiotherapy, (ii) situations such as focal forms of radiotherapy, (iii) normal tissue responses, and (iv) to allow for the process of optimization. The inclusion of a variable cell loss factor in the LQ model repopulation term produces a more flexible clonogenic doubling time, which can simulate the phenomenon of 'accelerated repopulation'. Differential calculus can be applied to the LQ model after elimination of the fraction number integers. The optimum dose per fraction (maximum cell kill relative to a given normal tissue fractionation sensitivity) is then estimated from the clonogen doubling times and the radiosensitivity parameters (or α/β ratios). Economic treatment optimization is described. Tumour volume studies during or following teletherapy are used to optimize brachytherapy. The radiation responses of both individual tumours and tumour populations (by random sampling 'Monte-Carlo' techniques from statistical ranges of radiobiological and physical parameters) can be estimated. Computerized preclinical trials can be used to guide choice of dose fractionation scheduling in clinical trials. The potential impact of gene and other biological therapies on the results of radical radiotherapy are testable. New and experimentally testable hypotheses are generated from limited clinical data by exploratory modelling exercises. (orig.)

  2. Experimental studies on interactions of radiation and cancer chemotherapeutic drugs in normal tissues and a solid tumour

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maase, H. van der

    1986-01-01

    The interactions of radiation and seven cancer chemotherapeutic drugs have been investigated in four normal tissues and in a solid C 3 H mouse mammary carcinoma in vivo. The investigated drugs were adriamycin (ADM), bleomycin (BLM), cyclophosphamide (CTX), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), methotrexate (MTX), mitomycin C (MM-C) and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (cis-DDP). The drugs enhanced the radiation response in most cases. However, signs of radioprotection was observed for CTX in skin and for MTX in haemopoietic tissue. The interval and the sequence of the two treatment modalities were of utmost importance for the normal tissue reactions. In general, the most serious interactions occurred when drugs were administered simultaneously with or a few hours before radiation. The radiation-modifying effect of the drugs deviated from this pattern in the haemopoietic tissue as the radiation response was most enhanced on drug administration 1-3 days after radiation. Enhancement of the radiation response was generally less pronounced in the tumour model than in the normal tissues. The combined drug-radiation effect was apparently less time-dependent in the tumour than in the normal tissues. (Auth.)

  3. Elemental concentration analysis in PCa, BPH and normal prostate tissues using SR-TXRF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leitao, Roberta G.; Anjos, Marcelino J.; Canellas, Catarine G.L.; Lopes, Ricardo T.

    2009-01-01

    Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the main causes of illness and death all over the world. In Brazil, prostate cancer currently represents the second most prevalent malignant neoplasia in men, representing 21% of all cancer cases. Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) is an illness prevailing in men above the age of 50, close to 90% after the age of 80. The prostate presents a high zinc concentration, about 10-fold higher than any other body tissue. In this work, samples of human prostate tissues with cancer (PCa), BPH and normal tissue were analyzed utilizing the total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation technique (SRTXRF) to investigate the differences in the elemental concentrations in these tissues. SR-TXRF analyses were performed at the X-Ray fluorescence beamline at Brazilian National Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), in Campinas, Sao Paulo. It was possible to determine the concentrations of the following elements: P, S, K, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, Br and Rb. By using Mann-Whitney U test it was observed that almost all elements presented concentrations with significant differences α = 0.05) between the groups studied. The elements and groups were: S, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Br and Rb (PCa X Normal); S, Fe, Zn and Br (PCa X BPH); K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Br and Rb (BPH X Normal). (author)

  4. Trace element determinations in brain tissues from normal and clinically demented individuals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saiki, Mitiko; Genezini, Frederico A.; Leite, Renata E.P.; Grinberg, Lea T.; Ferretti, Renata E.L.; Suemoto, Claudia; Pasqualucci, Carlos A.; Jacob-Filho, Wilson

    2013-01-01

    Studies on trace element levels in human brains under normal and pathological conditions have indicated a possible correlation between some trace element concentrations and neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, analysis of brain tissues was carried out to investigate if there are any differences in elemental concentrations between brain tissues from a normal population above 50 years of age presenting Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) equal to zero (CDR=0) and that cognitively affected population ( CDR=3). The tissues were dissected, ground, freeze-dried and then analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Samples and elemental standards were irradiated in a neutron flux at the IEA-R1 nuclear research reactor for Br, Fe, K, Na, Rb, Se and Zn determinations. The induced gamma ray activities were measured using a hyperpure Ge detector coupled to a gamma ray spectrometer. The one-way ANOVA test (p< 0.05) was used to compare the results. All the elements determined in the hippocampus brain region presented differences between the groups presenting CDR=0 and CDR=3. In the case of frontal region only the elements Na, Rb and Zn showed differences between these two groups. These findings proved the correlation between elemental levels present in brain tissues neurodegenerative diseases. Biological standard reference materials SRM 1566b Oyster Tissue and SRM 1577b Bovine Liver analyzed for quality control indicated good accuracy and precision of the results. (author)

  5. Pelvic Normal Tissue Contouring Guidelines for Radiation Therapy: A Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Consensus Panel Atlas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gay, Hiram A., E-mail: hgay@radonc.wustl.edu [Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO (United States); Barthold, H. Joseph [Commonwealth Hematology and Oncology, Weymouth, MA (United States); Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA (Israel); O' Meara, Elizabeth [Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Bosch, Walter R. [Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO (United States); El Naqa, Issam [Department of Radiation Oncology, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec (Canada); Al-Lozi, Rawan [Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO (United States); Rosenthal, Seth A. [Radiation Oncology Centers, Radiological Associates of Sacramento, Sacramento, CA (United States); Lawton, Colleen [Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States); Lee, W. Robert [Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC (United States); Sandler, Howard [Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Zietman, Anthony [Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Myerson, Robert [Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO (United States); Dawson, Laura A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Willett, Christopher [Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC (United States); Kachnic, Lisa A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA (United States); Jhingran, Anuja [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States); Portelance, Lorraine [University of Miami, Miami, FL (United States); Ryu, Janice [Radiation Oncology Centers, Radiological Associates of Sacramento, Sacramento, CA (United States); and others

    2012-07-01

    Purpose: To define a male and female pelvic normal tissue contouring atlas for Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) trials. Methods and Materials: One male pelvis computed tomography (CT) data set and one female pelvis CT data set were shared via the Image-Guided Therapy QA Center. A total of 16 radiation oncologists participated. The following organs at risk were contoured in both CT sets: anus, anorectum, rectum (gastrointestinal and genitourinary definitions), bowel NOS (not otherwise specified), small bowel, large bowel, and proximal femurs. The following were contoured in the male set only: bladder, prostate, seminal vesicles, and penile bulb. The following were contoured in the female set only: uterus, cervix, and ovaries. A computer program used the binomial distribution to generate 95% group consensus contours. These contours and definitions were then reviewed by the group and modified. Results: The panel achieved consensus definitions for pelvic normal tissue contouring in RTOG trials with these standardized names: Rectum, AnoRectum, SmallBowel, Colon, BowelBag, Bladder, UteroCervix, Adnexa{sub R}, Adnexa{sub L}, Prostate, SeminalVesc, PenileBulb, Femur{sub R}, and Femur{sub L}. Two additional normal structures whose purpose is to serve as targets in anal and rectal cancer were defined: AnoRectumSig and Mesorectum. Detailed target volume contouring guidelines and images are discussed. Conclusions: Consensus guidelines for pelvic normal tissue contouring were reached and are available as a CT image atlas on the RTOG Web site. This will allow uniformity in defining normal tissues for clinical trials delivering pelvic radiation and will facilitate future normal tissue complication research.

  6. Elastic moduli of normal and pathological human breast tissues: an inversion-technique-based investigation of 169 samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samani, Abbas; Zubovits, Judit; Plewes, Donald

    2007-03-01

    Understanding and quantifying the mechanical properties of breast tissues has been a subject of interest for the past two decades. This has been motivated in part by interest in modelling soft tissue response for surgery planning and virtual-reality-based surgical training. Interpreting elastography images for diagnostic purposes also requires a sound understanding of normal and pathological tissue mechanical properties. Reliable data on tissue elastic properties are very limited and those which are available tend to be inconsistent, in part as a result of measurement methodology. We have developed specialized techniques to measure tissue elasticity of breast normal tissues and tumour specimens and applied them to 169 fresh ex vivo breast tissue samples including fat and fibroglandular tissue as well as a range of benign and malignant breast tumour types. Results show that, under small deformation conditions, the elastic modulus of normal breast fat and fibroglandular tissues are similar while fibroadenomas were approximately twice the stiffness. Fibrocystic disease and malignant tumours exhibited a 3-6-fold increased stiffness with high-grade invasive ductal carcinoma exhibiting up to a 13-fold increase in stiffness compared to fibrogalndular tissue. A statistical analysis showed that differences between the elastic modulus of the majority of those tissues were statistically significant. Implications for the specificity advantages of elastography are reviewed.

  7. Elastic moduli of normal and pathological human breast tissues: an inversion-technique-based investigation of 169 samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samani, Abbas; Zubovits, Judit; Plewes, Donald

    2007-01-01

    Understanding and quantifying the mechanical properties of breast tissues has been a subject of interest for the past two decades. This has been motivated in part by interest in modelling soft tissue response for surgery planning and virtual-reality-based surgical training. Interpreting elastography images for diagnostic purposes also requires a sound understanding of normal and pathological tissue mechanical properties. Reliable data on tissue elastic properties are very limited and those which are available tend to be inconsistent, in part as a result of measurement methodology. We have developed specialized techniques to measure tissue elasticity of breast normal tissues and tumour specimens and applied them to 169 fresh ex vivo breast tissue samples including fat and fibroglandular tissue as well as a range of benign and malignant breast tumour types. Results show that, under small deformation conditions, the elastic modulus of normal breast fat and fibroglandular tissues are similar while fibroadenomas were approximately twice the stiffness. Fibrocystic disease and malignant tumours exhibited a 3-6-fold increased stiffness with high-grade invasive ductal carcinoma exhibiting up to a 13-fold increase in stiffness compared to fibrogalndular tissue. A statistical analysis showed that differences between the elastic modulus of the majority of those tissues were statistically significant. Implications for the specificity advantages of elastography are reviewed

  8. Elastic moduli of normal and pathological human breast tissues: an inversion-technique-based investigation of 169 samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samani, Abbas [Department of Medical Biophysics/Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Western Ontario, Medical Sciences Building, London, Ontario, N6A 5C1 (Canada); Zubovits, Judit [Department of Anatomic Pathology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M4N 3M5 (Canada); Plewes, Donald [Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M4N 3M5 (Canada)

    2007-03-21

    Understanding and quantifying the mechanical properties of breast tissues has been a subject of interest for the past two decades. This has been motivated in part by interest in modelling soft tissue response for surgery planning and virtual-reality-based surgical training. Interpreting elastography images for diagnostic purposes also requires a sound understanding of normal and pathological tissue mechanical properties. Reliable data on tissue elastic properties are very limited and those which are available tend to be inconsistent, in part as a result of measurement methodology. We have developed specialized techniques to measure tissue elasticity of breast normal tissues and tumour specimens and applied them to 169 fresh ex vivo breast tissue samples including fat and fibroglandular tissue as well as a range of benign and malignant breast tumour types. Results show that, under small deformation conditions, the elastic modulus of normal breast fat and fibroglandular tissues are similar while fibroadenomas were approximately twice the stiffness. Fibrocystic disease and malignant tumours exhibited a 3-6-fold increased stiffness with high-grade invasive ductal carcinoma exhibiting up to a 13-fold increase in stiffness compared to fibrogalndular tissue. A statistical analysis showed that differences between the elastic modulus of the majority of those tissues were statistically significant. Implications for the specificity advantages of elastography are reviewed.

  9. A large-scale study of the ultrawideband microwave dielectric properties of normal breast tissue obtained from reduction surgeries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazebnik, Mariya; McCartney, Leah; Popovic, Dijana; Watkins, Cynthia B; Lindstrom, Mary J; Harter, Josephine; Sewall, Sarah; Magliocco, Anthony; Booske, John H; Okoniewski, Michal; Hagness, Susan C

    2007-05-21

    The efficacy of emerging microwave breast cancer detection and treatment techniques will depend, in part, on the dielectric properties of normal breast tissue. However, knowledge of these properties at microwave frequencies has been limited due to gaps and discrepancies in previously reported small-scale studies. To address these issues, we experimentally characterized the wideband microwave-frequency dielectric properties of a large number of normal breast tissue samples obtained from breast reduction surgeries at the University of Wisconsin and University of Calgary hospitals. The dielectric spectroscopy measurements were conducted from 0.5 to 20 GHz using a precision open-ended coaxial probe. The tissue composition within the probe's sensing region was quantified in terms of percentages of adipose, fibroconnective and glandular tissues. We fit a one-pole Cole-Cole model to the complex permittivity data set obtained for each sample and determined median Cole-Cole parameters for three groups of normal breast tissues, categorized by adipose tissue content (0-30%, 31-84% and 85-100%). Our analysis of the dielectric properties data for 354 tissue samples reveals that there is a large variation in the dielectric properties of normal breast tissue due to substantial tissue heterogeneity. We observed no statistically significant difference between the within-patient and between-patient variability in the dielectric properties.

  10. A large-scale study of the ultrawideband microwave dielectric properties of normal breast tissue obtained from reduction surgeries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lazebnik, Mariya; McCartney, Leah; Popovic, Dijana; Watkins, Cynthia B; Lindstrom, Mary J; Harter, Josephine; Sewall, Sarah; Magliocco, Anthony; Booske, John H; Okoniewski, Michal; Hagness, Susan C

    2007-01-01

    The efficacy of emerging microwave breast cancer detection and treatment techniques will depend, in part, on the dielectric properties of normal breast tissue. However, knowledge of these properties at microwave frequencies has been limited due to gaps and discrepancies in previously reported small-scale studies. To address these issues, we experimentally characterized the wideband microwave-frequency dielectric properties of a large number of normal breast tissue samples obtained from breast reduction surgeries at University of Wisconsin and University of Calgary hospitals. The dielectric spectroscopy measurements were conducted from 0.5 to 20 GHz using a precision open-ended coaxial probe. The tissue composition within the probe's sensing region was quantified in terms of percentages of adipose, fibroconnective and glandular tissues. We fit a one-pole Cole-Cole model to the complex permittivity data set obtained for each sample and determined median Cole-Cole parameters for three groups of normal breast tissues, categorized by adipose tissue content (0-30%, 31-84% and 85-100%). Our analysis of the dielectric properties data for 354 tissue samples reveals that there is a large variation in the dielectric properties of normal breast tissue due to substantial tissue heterogeneity. We observed no statistically significant difference between the within-patient and between-patient variability in the dielectric properties

  11. Enhancer of the rudimentary gene homologue (ERH expression pattern in sporadic human breast cancer and normal breast tissue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Knüchel Ruth

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The human gene ERH (Enhancer of the Rudimentary gene Homologue has previously been identified by in silico analysis of four million ESTs as a gene differentially expressed in breast cancer. The biological function of ERH protein has not been fully elucidated, however functions in cell cycle progression, pyrimidine metabolism a possible interaction with p21(Cip1/Waf1 via the Ciz1 zinc finger protein have been suggested. The aim of the present study was a systematic characterization of ERH expression in human breast cancer in order to evaluate possible clinical applications of this molecule. Methods The expression pattern of ERH was analyzed using multiple tissue northern blots (MTN on a panel of 16 normal human tissues and two sets of malignant/normal breast and ovarian tissue samples. ERH expression was further analyzed in breast cancer and normal breast tissues and in tumorigenic as well as non-tumorigenic breast cancer cell lines, using quantitative RT-PCR and non-radioisotopic in situ hybridization (ISH. Results Among normal human tissues, ERH expression was most abundant in testis, heart, ovary, prostate, and liver. In the two MTN sets of malignant/normal breast and ovarian tissue,ERH was clearly more abundantly expressed in all tumours than in normal tissue samples. Quantitative RT-PCR analyses showed that ERH expression was significantly more abundant in tumorigenic than in non-tumorigenic breast cancer cell lines (4.5-fold; p = 0.05, two-tailed Mann-Whitney U-test; the same trend was noted in a set of 25 primary invasive breast cancers and 16 normal breast tissue samples (2.5-fold; p = 0.1. These findings were further confirmed by non-radioisotopic ISH in human breast cancer and normal breast tissue. Conclusion ERH expression is clearly up-regulated in malignant as compared with benign breast cells both in primary human breast cancer and in cell models of breast cancer. Since similar results were obtained for ovarian

  12. Comparative study of rabbit VX2 hepatic implantation tumor and normal liver tissue on magnetic resonance perfusion weighted imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiao Zimei; Wang Xizhen; Wang Bin; Liu Feng; Li Haiqing; Sun Yequan; Dong Peng

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the value of magnetic resonance (MR) perfusion weighted imaging (PWI) in evaluating the blood perfusion of tumor by analyzing the features and indexes of PWI on rabbit VX2 hepatic implantation tumor and normal liver tissue. Methods: Twenty-four New Zealand White rabbits with VX2 carcinoma were established under direct surgical vision embedding tumor tissue. MR examination was performed at 21 days after the tumor implantation. The signal intensity -time curve of hepatic tumor and normal liver tissue were obtained. Mean time to enhance (MTE), negative enhancement integral (NEI), time to minimum (TM), maximum slope of decrease (MSD) and maximum slope of increase (MSI) were measured. Results: MTE, NEI, TM, MSD, and MSI of the normal liver tissue were 208.341±2.226 ms, 78.334±8.152, 24.059±1.927 ms, 38.221±2.443, and 15.389±2.526, respectively. MTE, NEI, TM, MSD, and MSI of the tumor tissue were 175.437±4.182 ms, 123.203±19.455, 17.061±1.834 ms, 125.740±4.842, and 67.832±2.882, respectively. The MTE and TM of tumor were shorter than those of normal hepatic tissue (P<0.05). NEI, MSD, and MSI of tumor were higher than those of normal hepatic tissue (P<0.05). Conclusion: PWI can distinguish the normal liver tissue from the tumor tissue, which is helpful in evaluating blood perfusion of different hepatic tissues. (authors)

  13. YAP expression in normal and neoplastic breast tissue: an immunohistochemical study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaramillo-Rodríguez, Yolanda; Cerda-Flores, Ricardo M; Ruiz-Ramos, Ruben; López-Márquez, Francisco C; Calderón-Garcidueñas, Ana Laura

    2014-04-01

    Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a transcriptional factor involved in normal cell proliferation, apoptosis and carcinogenesis; however, its contribution to breast cancer (BC) is still controversial. We undertook this study to compare the expression of YAP by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in normal breast tissue of women without breast cancer (BC) (controls), non-neoplastic breast tissue in women with cancer (internal controls) and in four different subtypes of invasive ductal carcinoma. There were 17 controls and 105 tumor cases (53 luminal A, 15 luminal B, 20 overexpression of HER2 and 17 triple negative cases) studied by IHC. Statistical analysis included χ(2) for linear trend (Extended Mantel-Haenszel). There were 40% of internal controls that showed expression of YAP in myoepithelial cells, whereas in controls expression was 100%. In controls, 3/17 (17.6%) showed cytoplasmic staining in luminal cells. There was a significant difference in nuclear expression between the ductal BC subtypes. Luminal A had 4% of positive cases with <10% of cells affected in each case; in contrast, there were 17-20% of positive cases in the other groups with 50% or more of stained cells. YAP expression in stromal cells was not observed in controls or in triple-negative cases, and luminal B pattern had the highest YAP nuclear expression (20%). YAP showed decreased expression in tumor cells compared with normal breast tissue. These findings are consistent with a role of YAP as a suppressor gene in BC and show differences in YAP expression in different patterns of ductal BC. Copyright © 2014 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Measurement of phthalates in small samples of mammalian tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Acott, P.D.; Murphy, M.G.; Ogborn, M.R.; Crocker, J.F.S.

    1987-01-01

    Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP) is a phthalic acid ester that is used as a plasticizer in polyvinyl chloride products, many of which have widespread medical application. DEHP has been shown to be leached from products used for storage and delivery of blood transfusions during procedures such as plasmaphoresis, hemodialysis and open heart surgery. Results of studies in this laboratory have suggested that there is an association between the absorption and deposition of DEHP (and/or related chemicals) in the kidney and the acquired renal cystic disease (ACD) frequently seen in patients who have undergone prolonged dialysis treatment. In order to determine the relationship between the two, it has been necessary to establish a method for extracting and accurately quantitating minute amounts of these chemicals in small tissue samples. The authors have now established such a method using kidneys from normal rats and from a rat model for ACD

  15. Differential Expression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes in Normal and Tumor Tissues from Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molina-Ortiz, Dora; Camacho-Carranza, Rafael; González-Zamora, José Francisco; Shalkow-Kalincovstein, Jaime; Cárdenas-Cardós, Rocío; Ností-Palacios, Rosario; Vences-Mejía, Araceli

    2014-01-01

    Intratumoral expression of genes encoding Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP) might play a critical role not only in cancer development but also in the metabolism of anticancer drugs. The purpose of this study was to compare the mRNA expression patterns of seven representative CYPs in paired tumor and normal tissue of child patients with rabdomyosarcoma (RMS). Using real time quantitative RT-PCR, the gene expression pattern of CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP1B1, CYP2E1, CYP2W1, CYP3A4, and CYP3A5 were analyzed in tumor and adjacent non-tumor tissues from 13 child RMS patients. Protein concentration of CYPs was determined using Western blot. The expression levels were tested for correlation with the clinical and pathological data of the patients. Our data showed that the expression levels of CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 were negligible. Elevated expression of CYP1B1 mRNA and protein was detected in most RMS tumors and adjacent normal tissues. Most cancerous samples exhibit higher levels of both CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 compared with normal tissue samples. Expression of CYP2E1 mRNA was found to be significantly higher in tumor tissue, however no relation was found with protein levels. CYP2W1 mRNA and/or protein are mainly expressed in tumors. In conclusion, we defined the CYP gene expression profile in tumor and paired normal tissue of child patients with RMS. The overexpression of CYP2W1, CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 in tumor tissues suggests that they may be involved in RMS chemoresistance; furthermore, they may be exploited for the localized activation of anticancer prodrugs. PMID:24699256

  16. Local stem cell depletion model for normal tissue damage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yaes, R.J.; Keland, A.

    1987-01-01

    The hypothesis that radiation causes normal tissue damage by completely depleting local regions of tissue of viable stem cells leads to a simple mathematical model for such damage. In organs like skin and spinal cord where destruction of a small volume of tissue leads to a clinically apparent complication, the complication probability is expressed as a function of dose, volume and stem cell number by a simple triple negative exponential function analogous to the double exponential function of Munro and Gilbert for tumor control. The steep dose response curves for radiation myelitis that are obtained with our model are compared with the experimental data for radiation myelitis in laboratory rats. The model can be generalized to include other types or organs, high LET radiation, fractionated courses of radiation, and cases where an organ with a heterogeneous stem cell population receives an inhomogeneous dose of radiation. In principle it would thus be possible to determine the probability of tumor control and of damage to any organ within the radiation field if the dose distribution in three dimensional space within a patient is known

  17. Hypoxic regulation of cytoglobin and neuroglobin expression in human normal and tumor tissues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emara Marwan

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cytoglobin (Cygb and neuroglobin (Ngb are recently identified globin molecules that are expressed in vertebrate tissues. Upregulation of Cygb and Ngb under hypoxic and/or ischemic conditions in vitro and in vivo increases cell survival, suggesting possible protective roles through prevention of oxidative damage. We have previously shown that Ngb is expressed in human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM cell lines, and that expression of its transcript and protein can be significantly increased after exposure to physiologically relevant levels of hypoxia. In this study, we extended this work to determine whether Cygb is also expressed in GBM cells, and whether its expression is enhanced under hypoxic conditions. We also compared Cygb and Ngb expression in human primary tumor specimens, including brain tumors, as well as in human normal tissues. Immunoreactivity of carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX, a hypoxia-inducible metalloenzyme that catalyzes the hydration of CO2 to bicarbonate, was used as an endogenous marker of hypoxia. Results Cygb transcript and protein were expressed in human GBM cells, and this expression was significantly increased in most cells following 48 h incubation under hypoxia. We also showed that Cygb and Ngb are expressed in both normal tissues and human primary cancers, including GBM. Among normal tissues, Cygb and Ngb expression was restricted to distinct cell types and was especially prominent in ductal cells. Additionally, certain normal organs (e.g. stomach fundus, small bowel showed distinct regional co-localization of Ngb, Cygb and CA IX. In most tumors, Ngb immunoreactivity was significantly greater than that of Cygb. In keeping with previous in vitro results, tumor regions that were positively stained for CA IX were also positive for Ngb and Cygb, suggesting that hypoxic upregulation of Ngb and Cygb also occurs in vivo. Conclusions Our finding of hypoxic up-regulation of Cygb/Ngb in GBM cell lines and human

  18. Tumor control and normal tissue toxicity: The two faces of radiotherapy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Oorschot, B.

    2016-01-01

    This thesis discusses the two contrasting sides of radiotherapy: tumor control and normal tissue toxicity. On one hand, radiation treatment aims to target the tumor with the highest possible radiation dose, inducing as much lethal DNA damage as possible. On the other hand however, escalation of the

  19. A simple method to calculate the influence of dose inhomogeneity and fractionation in normal tissue complication probability evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Begnozzi, L.; Gentile, F.P.; Di Nallo, A.M.; Chiatti, L.; Zicari, C.; Consorti, R.; Benassi, M.

    1994-01-01

    Since volumetric dose distributions are available with 3-dimensional radiotherapy treatment planning they can be used in statistical evaluation of response to radiation. This report presents a method to calculate the influence of dose inhomogeneity and fractionation in normal tissue complication probability evaluation. The mathematical expression for the calculation of normal tissue complication probability has been derived combining the Lyman model with the histogram reduction method of Kutcher et al. and using the normalized total dose (NTD) instead of the total dose. The fitting of published tolerance data, in case of homogeneous or partial brain irradiation, has been considered. For the same total or partial volume homogeneous irradiation of the brain, curves of normal tissue complication probability have been calculated with fraction size of 1.5 Gy and of 3 Gy instead of 2 Gy, to show the influence of fraction size. The influence of dose distribution inhomogeneity and α/β value has also been simulated: Considering α/β=1.6 Gy or α/β=4.1 Gy for kidney clinical nephritis, the calculated curves of normal tissue complication probability are shown. Combining NTD calculations and histogram reduction techniques, normal tissue complication probability can be estimated taking into account the most relevant contributing factors, including the volume effect. (orig.) [de

  20. The influence of dose fractionation and dose rate on normal tissue responses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barendsen, G.W.

    1982-01-01

    An analysis of responses of a variety of normal tissues in animals to fractionated irradiations has been made with the aim of developing a formalism for the prediction of tolerance doses as a function of the dose per fraction and the overall treatment time. An important feature of the formalism is that it is directly based on radiological insights and therefore provides a logical concept to account for the diversity of tissue responses. (Auth.)

  1. CURED I - LENT. Late effects of cancer treatment on normal tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rubin, P.; Okunieff, P.; Constine, L.S.; Rochester Univ. School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY; Marks, L.B.

    2008-01-01

    The search for the most favorable therapeutic ratio - at which ablation of cancer is achieved while normal tissues are conserved - has been modern radiation oncology's equivalent of the quest for the Holy Grail. Our awareness of the late effects of radiation grew during the past century as new modalities were introduced. Heightened normal tissue reactions accompanied the higher rates of cancer ablation achieved by escalation of radiation doses, accelerated fractionated radiotherapy, and aggressive concurrent chemotherapy and radiation regimens. This volume is based on the LENT V NCI-sponsored meeting held in May 2004 and the CURED I conference held in 2006. Written by experts in the field, it addresses a number of critical topics relating to late effects, such as mechanisms of injury, the role of screening, options for interventions, second malignancies, and prevention. It is hoped that it will assist the reader in understanding how to prevent and treat the long-term side-effects of irradiation. (orig.)

  2. Effect of different BNCT protocols on DNA synthesis in precancerous and normal tissues in an experimental model of oral cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heber, Elisa M.; Aromando, Romina; Trivillin, Veronica A.; Itoiz, Maria E.; Kreimann, Erica L.; Schwint, Amanda E.; Nigg, David W.

    2006-01-01

    We previously reported the therapeutic success of different BNCT protocols in the treatment of oral cancer, employing the hamster cheek pouch model. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of these BNCT protocols on DNA synthesis in precancerous and normal tissue in this model and assess the potential lag in the development of second primary tumors in precancerous tissue. The data are relevant to potential control of field cancerized tissue and tolerance of normal tissue. We evaluated DNA synthesis in precancerous and normal pouch tissue 1-30 days post-BNCT mediated by BPA, GB-10 or BPA + GB-10 employing incorporation of bromo-deoxyuridine as an end-point. The BNCT-induced potential lag in the development of second primary tumors in precancerous tissue was monitored. A drastic, statistically significant reduction in DNA synthesis occurred in pacancerous tissue as early as 1 day post-BNCT and was sustained at virtually all time points until 30 days post-BNCT for all protocols. The histological categories evaluated individually within precancerous tissue (dysplasia, hyperplasia and NUMF [no unusual microscopic features]) responded similarly. DNA synthesis in normal tissue treated with BNCT oscillated around the very low pre-treatment values. A BNCT-induced lag in the development of second primary tumors was observed. BNCT induced a drastic fall in DNA synthesis in precancerous tissue that would be associated to the observed lag in the development of second primary tumors. The minimum variations in DNA synthesis in BNCT-treated normal tissue would correlate with the absence of normal tissue radiotoxicity. The present data would contribute to optimize therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of field-cancerized areas. (author)

  3. Lewis x is highly expressed in normal tissues: a comparative immunohistochemical study and literature revision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Croce, María V; Isla-Larrain, Marina; Rabassa, Martín E; Demichelis, Sandra; Colussi, Andrea G; Crespo, Marina; Lacunza, Ezequiel; Segal-Eiras, Amada

    2007-01-01

    An immunohistochemical analysis was employed to determine the expression of carbohydrate antigens associated to mucins in normal epithelia. Tissue samples were obtained as biopsies from normal breast (18), colon (35) and oral cavity mucosa (8). The following carbohydrate epitopes were studied: sialyl-Lewis x, Lewis x, Lewis y, Tn hapten, sialyl-Tn and Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen. Mucins were also studied employing antibodies against MUC1, MUC2, MUC4, MUC5AC, MUC6 and also normal colonic glycolipid. Statistical analysis was performed and Kendall correlations were obtained. Lewis x showed an apical pattern mainly at plasma membrane, although cytoplasmic staining was also found in most samples. TF, Tn and sTn haptens were detected in few specimens, while sLewis x was found in oral mucosa and breast tissue. Also, normal breast expressed MUC1 at a high percentage, whereas MUC4 was observed in a small number of samples. Colon specimens mainly expressed MUC2 and MUC1, while most oral mucosa samples expressed MUC4 and MUC1. A positive correlation between MUC1VNTR and TF epitope (r=0.396) was found in breast samples, while in colon specimens MUC2 and colonic glycolipid versus Lewis x were statistically significantly correlated (r=0.28 and r=0.29, respectively). As a conclusion, a defined carbohydrate epitope expression is not exclusive of normal tissue or a determined localization, and it is possible to assume that different glycoproteins and glycolipids may be carriers of carbohydrate antigens depending on the tissue localization considered.

  4. Adverse event reporting and developments in radiation biology after normal tissue injury: International Atomic Energy Agency consultation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Yuhchyau; Trotti, Andy; Coleman, C. Norman; Machtay, Mitchell; Mirimanoff, Rene O.; Hay, John; O'Brien, Peter C.; El-Gueddari, Brahim; Salvajoli, Joao V.; Jeremic, Branislav

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: Recent research has enhanced our understanding of radiation injury at the molecular-cellular and tissue levels; significant strides have occurred in standardization of adverse event reporting in clinical trials. In response, the International Atomic Energy Agency, through its Division of Human Health and its section for Applied Radiation Biology and Radiotherapy, organized a consultation meeting in Atlanta (October 2, 2004) to discuss developments in radiobiology, normal tissue reactions, and adverse event reporting. Methods and Materials: Representatives from cooperative groups of African Radiation Oncology Group, Curriculo Radioterapeutica Ibero Latino Americana, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, and Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group held the meeting discussion. Results: Representatives of major radiotherapy groups/organizations and prominent leaders in radiotherapy discussed current understanding of normal tissue radiobiologic effects, the design and implementation of future clinical and translational projects for normal tissue injury, and the standardization of adverse-event reporting worldwide. Conclusions: The consensus was to adopt NCI comprehensive adverse event reporting terminology and grading system (CTCAE v3.0) as the new standard for all cooperative group trials. Future plans included the implementation of coordinated research projects focusing on normal tissue biomarkers and data collection methods

  5. Ghrelin: an emerging player in the regulation of reproduction in non-mammalian vertebrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unniappan, Suraj

    2010-07-01

    The endocrine regulation of vertebrate reproduction is achieved by the coordinated actions of multiple endocrine factors mainly produced from the brain, pituitary, and gonads. In addition to these, several other tissues including the fat and gut produce factors that have reproductive effects. Ghrelin is one such gut/brain hormone with species-specific effects in the regulation of mammalian reproduction. Recent studies have shown that ghrelin and ghrelin receptor mRNAs, and protein are expressed in the ovary and testis of mammals, indicating a direct effect for ghrelin in the control of reproduction. Ghrelin regulates mammalian reproduction by modulating hormone secretion from the brain and pituitary, and by acting directly on the gonads to influence reproductive tissue development and steroid hormone release. Based on the studies reported so far, ghrelin seems to have a predominantly inhibitory role on mammalian reproduction. The presence of ghrelin and ghrelin receptor has been found in the brain, pituitary and gonads of several non-mammalian vertebrates. In contrast to mammals, ghrelin seems to have a stimulatory role in the regulation of non-mammalian reproduction. The main objective of this review is to do a perspective analysis of the comparative aspects of ghrelin regulation of reproduction. (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Changes in regional blood flow of normal and tumor tissues following hyperthermia and combined X-ray irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suga, Kazuyoshi

    1986-01-01

    Hyperthermia and X-ray irradiation were given to Ehrlich tumors, which were induced in the ventrum of the right hind foot of ICR mice, and to the normal tissues. Their effects on regional blood flow were examined using Xe-133 local clearance method. Blood flow of the normal tissues remained unchanged by heating at 41 deg C for 30 minutes, and increased by heating at 43 deg C and 45 deg C for 30 minutes. On the contrary, blood flow of the tumors decreased with an increase in temperature. When hypertermia (43 deg C for 30 minutes) was combined with irradiation of 30 Gy, decrease in blood flow of the tumors was greater than the normal tissues at 24 hours. Blood flow of the tumors depended on tumor size. The decreased amount of blood flow by hyperthermia was more for tumors > 250 mm 3 than tumors 3 . Blood flow ratios of tumor to normal tissues were also smaller in tumors > 250 mm 3 than tumors 3 . In the case of tumors 3 , blood flow tended to return to normal at 3 hr after heating at 43 deg C for 30 min. However, this was not seen in tumors > 250 mm 3 . (Namekawa, K.)

  7. Immunohistochemical analysis of oxidative stress and DNA repair proteins in normal mammary and breast cancer tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Curtis, Carol D; Thorngren, Daniel L; Nardulli, Ann M

    2010-01-01

    During the course of normal cellular metabolism, oxygen is consumed and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced. If not effectively dissipated, ROS can accumulate and damage resident proteins, lipids, and DNA. Enzymes involved in redox regulation and DNA repair dissipate ROS and repair the resulting damage in order to preserve a functional cellular environment. Because increased ROS accumulation and/or unrepaired DNA damage can lead to initiation and progression of cancer and we had identified a number of oxidative stress and DNA repair proteins that influence estrogen responsiveness of MCF-7 breast cancer cells, it seemed possible that these proteins might be differentially expressed in normal mammary tissue, benign hyperplasia (BH), ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive breast cancer (IBC). Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression of a number of oxidative stress proteins, DNA repair proteins, and damage markers in 60 human mammary tissues which were classified as BH, DCIS or IBC. The relative mean intensity was determined for each tissue section and ANOVA was used to detect statistical differences in the relative expression of BH, DCIS and IBC compared to normal mammary tissue. We found that a number of these proteins were overexpressed and that the cellular localization was altered in human breast cancer tissue. Our studies suggest that oxidative stress and DNA repair proteins not only protect normal cells from the damaging effects of ROS, but may also promote survival of mammary tumor cells

  8. Repair in normal tissues and the possible relevance to radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Field, S.B.; Hornsey, S.

    1977-01-01

    Between each fraction in radiotherapy, there is repair and recovery of both normal and neoplastic tissues. Several different types of repair have been identified. Some relate specifically to the effect of changing the number of fractions and others to the overall treatment time. Each will be discussed and particular attention will be paid to slow repair phenomena which have recently been the subject of much interest. (orig.) [de

  9. Evaluation of cyclooxygenase protein expression in traumatized versus normal tissues from eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royal, Lillian W; Lascelles, B Duncan X; Lewbart, Gregory A; Correa, Maria T; Jones, Samuel L

    2012-06-01

    This pilot study was designed to determine whether cyclooxygenase (COX)-1, COX-2, or both are expressed in normal turtle tissues and whether level of expression changes when tissue becomes inflamed. Five eastern box turtles, Terrapene carolina carolina, that either died or were euthanatized due to disease or injuries were used for this work. Tissues were obtained from the five turtles. Western blot analysis was used to evaluate tissues for COX-1 and COX-2 proteins. Densiometric analysis was used to compare Western blot bands within each turtle. COX-1 and COX-2 were found in the liver, kidney, grossly normal muscle, and grossly traumatized (inflamed) muscle of all study turtles. In all cases, COX-1 and COX-2 proteins were increased in traumatized muscle over grossly normal nontraumatized muscle. The highest levels of COX-1 and COX-2 proteins were found in kidney and liver. There was no statistical difference between the amount of COX-1 protein in liver and kidney, but traumatized muscle compared with grossly normal muscle had significantly greater COX-1 but not COX 2 protein concentrations. There was no statistical difference between the amount of COX-2 protein in liver and kidney. Traumatized muscle expressed nonstatistically significant greater amounts of COX-2 compared with grossly normal muscle. COX-1 and COX-2 proteins are expressed in turtle tissues, and both isoforms are upregulated during inflammation of muscle tissue. Traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that block both COX isoforms might be more efficacious than COX-2-selective drugs. This work suggests that NSAIDs should be evaluated for potential liver and kidney toxicity in turtles.

  10. Normal breast tissue DNA methylation differences at regulatory elements are associated with the cancer risk factor age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Kevin C; Houseman, E Andres; King, Jessica E; Christensen, Brock C

    2017-07-10

    The underlying biological mechanisms through which epidemiologically defined breast cancer risk factors contribute to disease risk remain poorly understood. Identification of the molecular changes associated with cancer risk factors in normal tissues may aid in determining the earliest events of carcinogenesis and informing cancer prevention strategies. Here we investigated the impact cancer risk factors have on the normal breast epigenome by analyzing DNA methylation genome-wide (Infinium 450 K array) in cancer-free women from the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank (n = 100). We tested the relation of established breast cancer risk factors, age, body mass index, parity, and family history of disease, with DNA methylation adjusting for potential variation in cell-type proportions. We identified 787 cytosine-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) sites that demonstrated significant associations (Q value breast cancer risk factors. Age-related DNA methylation changes are primarily increases in methylation enriched at breast epithelial cell enhancer regions (P = 7.1E-20), and binding sites of chromatin remodelers (MYC and CTCF). We validated the age-related associations in two independent populations, using normal breast tissue samples (n = 18) and samples of normal tissue adjacent to tumor tissue (n = 97). The genomic regions classified as age-related were more likely to be regions altered in both pre-invasive (n = 40, P = 3.0E-03) and invasive breast tumors (n = 731, P = 1.1E-13). DNA methylation changes with age occur at regulatory regions, and are further exacerbated in cancer, suggesting that age influences breast cancer risk in part through its contribution to epigenetic dysregulation in normal breast tissue.

  11. Metabolomic Evidence for a Field Effect in Histologically Normal and Metaplastic Tissues in Patients with Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle A.C. Reed

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Patients with Barrett's esophagus (BO are at increased risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC. Most Barrett's patients, however, do not develop EAC, and there is a need for markers that can identify those most at risk. This study aimed to see if a metabolic signature associated with the development of EAC existed. For this, tissue extracts from patients with EAC, BO, and normal esophagus were analyzed using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance. Where possible, adjacent histologically normal tissues were sampled in those with EAC and BO. The study included 46 patients with EAC, 7 patients with BO, and 68 controls who underwent endoscopy for dyspeptic symptoms with normal appearances. Within the cancer cohort, 9 patients had nonneoplastic Barrett's adjacent to the cancer suitable for biopsy. It was possible to distinguish between histologically normal, BO, and EAC tissue in EAC patients [area under the receiver operator curve (AUROC 1.00, 0.86, and 0.91] and between histologically benign BO in the presence and absence of EAC (AUROC 0.79. In both these cases, sample numbers limited the power of the models. Comparison of histologically normal tissue proximal to EAC versus that from controls (AUROC 1.00 suggests a strong field effect which may develop prior to overt EAC and hence be useful for identifying patients at high risk of developing EAC. Excellent sensitivity and specificity were found for this model to distinguish histologically normal squamous esophageal mucosa in EAC patients and healthy controls, with 8 metabolites being very significantly altered. This may have potential diagnostic value if a molecular signature can detect tissue from which neoplasms subsequently arise.

  12. The effect of customized beam shaping on normal tissue complications in radiation therapy of parotid gland tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keus, R.; Boer, R. de; Lebesque, J.; Noach, P.

    1991-01-01

    The impact of customized beam shaping was studied for 5 patients with parotid tumors treated with a paired wedged field technique. For each patient 2 plans were generated. The standard plan had unblocked portals with field sizes defined by the largest target contour found in any CT slice. In the 2nd plan customized beam's view (BEV) designed blocks were added to both beams. The differences in those distributions between the 2 types of plans were evaluated using dose-volume histograms (DVH). As expected, the dose distribution within the target volume showed no difference. However, a considerable sparing of normal tissue was observed for the plans with customized blocks. The volume of un-necessary exposed normal tissue that received more than 90 percent of the prescribed dose, was reduced by a factor of about 4: from 165 to 44 percent on an average, if the volume is expressed as a percentage of the target volume in each patient. In particular, the homolateral mandible showed a mean decrease of 21 percent of integral dose when blocks were used. Normal tissue complication probabilities (NTCP) were calculated. For a tumor dose of 70 Gy, the average bone necrosis probability was reduced from 8.4 percent (no blocks) to 4.1. percent (blocks). For other normal tissues such as nervous tissue, other soft tissues and bones a substantial reduction of integral dose was found for al patients when individual blocks were used. (author). 10 refs.; 4 figs.; 2 tabs

  13. Evaluation of normalization methods in mammalian microRNA-Seq data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garmire, Lana Xia; Subramaniam, Shankar

    2012-01-01

    Simple total tag count normalization is inadequate for microRNA sequencing data generated from the next generation sequencing technology. However, so far systematic evaluation of normalization methods on microRNA sequencing data is lacking. We comprehensively evaluate seven commonly used normalization methods including global normalization, Lowess normalization, Trimmed Mean Method (TMM), quantile normalization, scaling normalization, variance stabilization, and invariant method. We assess these methods on two individual experimental data sets with the empirical statistical metrics of mean square error (MSE) and Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) statistic. Additionally, we evaluate the methods with results from quantitative PCR validation. Our results consistently show that Lowess normalization and quantile normalization perform the best, whereas TMM, a method applied to the RNA-Sequencing normalization, performs the worst. The poor performance of TMM normalization is further evidenced by abnormal results from the test of differential expression (DE) of microRNA-Seq data. Comparing with the models used for DE, the choice of normalization method is the primary factor that affects the results of DE. In summary, Lowess normalization and quantile normalization are recommended for normalizing microRNA-Seq data, whereas the TMM method should be used with caution. PMID:22532701

  14. A large-scale study of the ultrawideband microwave dielectric properties of normal, benign and malignant breast tissues obtained from cancer surgeries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lazebnik, Mariya [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Popovic, Dijana [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB (Canada); McCartney, Leah [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB (Canada); Watkins, Cynthia B [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Lindstrom, Mary J [Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Harter, Josephine [Department of Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Sewall, Sarah [Department of Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Ogilvie, Travis [Department of Pathology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB (Canada); Magliocco, Anthony [Department of Pathology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB (Canada); Breslin, Tara M [Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Temple, Walley [Department of Surgery and Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB (Canada); Mew, Daphne [Department of Surgery and Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB (Canada); Booske, John H [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Okoniewski, Michal [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB (Canada); Hagness, Susan C [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

    2007-10-21

    The development of microwave breast cancer detection and treatment techniques has been driven by reports of substantial contrast in the dielectric properties of malignant and normal breast tissues. However, definitive knowledge of the dielectric properties of normal and diseased breast tissues at microwave frequencies has been limited by gaps and discrepancies across previously published studies. To address these issues, we conducted a large-scale study to experimentally determine the ultrawideband microwave dielectric properties of a variety of normal, malignant and benign breast tissues, measured from 0.5 to 20 GHz using a precision open-ended coaxial probe. Previously, we reported the dielectric properties of normal breast tissue samples obtained from reduction surgeries. Here, we report the dielectric properties of normal (adipose, glandular and fibroconnective), malignant (invasive and non-invasive ductal and lobular carcinomas) and benign (fibroadenomas and cysts) breast tissue samples obtained from cancer surgeries. We fit a one-pole Cole-Cole model to the complex permittivity data set of each characterized sample. Our analyses show that the contrast in the microwave-frequency dielectric properties between malignant and normal adipose-dominated tissues in the breast is considerable, as large as 10:1, while the contrast in the microwave-frequency dielectric properties between malignant and normal glandular/fibroconnective tissues in the breast is no more than about 10%.

  15. A large-scale study of the ultrawideband microwave dielectric properties of normal, benign and malignant breast tissues obtained from cancer surgeries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazebnik, Mariya; Popovic, Dijana; McCartney, Leah; Watkins, Cynthia B.; Lindstrom, Mary J.; Harter, Josephine; Sewall, Sarah; Ogilvie, Travis; Magliocco, Anthony; Breslin, Tara M.; Temple, Walley; Mew, Daphne; Booske, John H.; Okoniewski, Michal; Hagness, Susan C.

    2007-10-01

    The development of microwave breast cancer detection and treatment techniques has been driven by reports of substantial contrast in the dielectric properties of malignant and normal breast tissues. However, definitive knowledge of the dielectric properties of normal and diseased breast tissues at microwave frequencies has been limited by gaps and discrepancies across previously published studies. To address these issues, we conducted a large-scale study to experimentally determine the ultrawideband microwave dielectric properties of a variety of normal, malignant and benign breast tissues, measured from 0.5 to 20 GHz using a precision open-ended coaxial probe. Previously, we reported the dielectric properties of normal breast tissue samples obtained from reduction surgeries. Here, we report the dielectric properties of normal (adipose, glandular and fibroconnective), malignant (invasive and non-invasive ductal and lobular carcinomas) and benign (fibroadenomas and cysts) breast tissue samples obtained from cancer surgeries. We fit a one-pole Cole-Cole model to the complex permittivity data set of each characterized sample. Our analyses show that the contrast in the microwave-frequency dielectric properties between malignant and normal adipose-dominated tissues in the breast is considerable, as large as 10:1, while the contrast in the microwave-frequency dielectric properties between malignant and normal glandular/fibroconnective tissues in the breast is no more than about 10%.

  16. A large-scale study of the ultrawideband microwave dielectric properties of normal, benign and malignant breast tissues obtained from cancer surgeries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lazebnik, Mariya; Popovic, Dijana; McCartney, Leah; Watkins, Cynthia B; Lindstrom, Mary J; Harter, Josephine; Sewall, Sarah; Ogilvie, Travis; Magliocco, Anthony; Breslin, Tara M; Temple, Walley; Mew, Daphne; Booske, John H; Okoniewski, Michal; Hagness, Susan C

    2007-01-01

    The development of microwave breast cancer detection and treatment techniques has been driven by reports of substantial contrast in the dielectric properties of malignant and normal breast tissues. However, definitive knowledge of the dielectric properties of normal and diseased breast tissues at microwave frequencies has been limited by gaps and discrepancies across previously published studies. To address these issues, we conducted a large-scale study to experimentally determine the ultrawideband microwave dielectric properties of a variety of normal, malignant and benign breast tissues, measured from 0.5 to 20 GHz using a precision open-ended coaxial probe. Previously, we reported the dielectric properties of normal breast tissue samples obtained from reduction surgeries. Here, we report the dielectric properties of normal (adipose, glandular and fibroconnective), malignant (invasive and non-invasive ductal and lobular carcinomas) and benign (fibroadenomas and cysts) breast tissue samples obtained from cancer surgeries. We fit a one-pole Cole-Cole model to the complex permittivity data set of each characterized sample. Our analyses show that the contrast in the microwave-frequency dielectric properties between malignant and normal adipose-dominated tissues in the breast is considerable, as large as 10:1, while the contrast in the microwave-frequency dielectric properties between malignant and normal glandular/fibroconnective tissues in the breast is no more than about 10%

  17. Altered expression of estrogen receptor-α variant messenger RNAs between adjacent normal breast and breast tumor tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leygue, Etienne; Dotzlaw, Helmut; Watson, Peter H; Murphy, Leigh C

    2000-01-01

    Using semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assays, we investigated the expression of variant messenger RNAs relative to wild-type estrogen receptor (ER)-α messenger RNA in normal breast tissues and their adjacent matched breast tumor tissues. Higher ER variant truncated after sequences encoding exon 2 of the wild-type ER-α (ERC4) messenger RNA and a lower exon 3 deleted ER-α variant (ERD3) messenger RNA relative expression in the tumor compartment were observed in the ER-positive/PR-positive and the ER-positive subsets, respectively. A significantly higher relative expression of exon 5 deleted ER-α varient (ERD5) messenger RNA was observed in tumor components overall. These data demonstrate that changes in the relative expression of ER-α variant messenger RNAs occur between adjacent normal and neoplastic breast tissues. We suggest that these changes might be involved in the mechanisms that underlie breast tumorigenesis. Estrogen receptor (ER)-α and ER-β are believed to mediate the action of estradiol in target tissues. Several ER-α and ER-β variant messenger RNAs have been identified in both normal and neoplastic human tissues. Most of these variants contain a deletion of one or more exons of the wild-type (WT) ER messenger RNAs. The putative proteins that are encoded by these variant messenger RNAs would therefore be missing some functional domains of the WT receptors, and might interfere with WT-ER signaling pathways. The detection of ER-α variants in both normal and neoplastic human breast tissues raised the question of their possible role in breast tumorigenesis. We have previously reported an increased relative expression of exon 5 deleted ER-α variant (ERD5) messenger RNA and of another ER-α variant truncated of all sequences following the exon 2 of the WT ER-α (ERC4) messenger RNA in breast tumor samples versus independent normal breast tissues. In contrast, a decreased relative expression of exon 3 deleted ER

  18. Radiosensitization In Vivo by Histone Deacetylase Inhibition with No Increase in Early Normal Tissue Radiation Toxicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groselj, Blaz; Ruan, Jia-Ling; Scott, Helen; Gorrill, Jessica; Nicholson, Judith; Kelly, Jacqueline; Anbalagan, Selvakumar; Thompson, James; Stratford, Michael R L; Jevons, Sarah J; Hammond, Ester M; Scudamore, Cheryl L; Kerr, Martin; Kiltie, Anne E

    2018-02-01

    As the population ages, more elderly patients require radiotherapy-based treatment for their pelvic malignancies, including muscle-invasive bladder cancer, as they are unfit for major surgery. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find radiosensitizing agents minimally toxic to normal tissues, including bowel and bladder, for such patients. We developed methods to determine normal tissue toxicity severity in intestine and bladder in vivo , using novel radiotherapy techniques on a small animal radiation research platform (SARRP). The effects of panobinostat on in vivo tumor growth delay were evaluated using subcutaneous xenografts in athymic nude mice. Panobinostat concentration levels in xenografts, plasma, and normal tissues were measured in CD1-nude mice. CD1-nude mice were treated with drug/irradiation combinations to assess acute normal tissue effects in small intestine using the intestinal crypt assay, and later effects in small and large intestine at 11 weeks by stool assessment and at 12 weeks by histologic examination. In vitro effects of panobinostat were assessed by qPCR and of panobinostat, TMP195, and mocetinostat by clonogenic assay, and Western blot analysis. Panobinostat resulted in growth delay in RT112 bladder cancer xenografts but did not significantly increase acute (3.75 days) or 12 weeks' normal tissue radiation toxicity. Radiosensitization by panobinostat was effective in hypoxic bladder cancer cells and associated with class I HDAC inhibition, and protein downregulation of HDAC2 and MRE11. Pan-HDAC inhibition is a promising strategy for radiosensitization, but more selective agents may be more useful radiosensitizers clinically, resulting in fewer systemic side effects. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(2); 381-92. ©2017 AACR See all articles in this MCT Focus section, "Developmental Therapeutics in Radiation Oncology." ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

  19. Simulation study of pO2 distribution in induced tumour masses and normal tissues within a microcirculation environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Mao; Li, Yan; Wen, Peng Paul

    2014-01-01

    The biological microenvironment is interrupted when tumour masses are introduced because of the strong competition for oxygen. During the period of avascular growth of tumours, capillaries that existed play a crucial role in supplying oxygen to both tumourous and healthy cells. Due to limitations of oxygen supply from capillaries, healthy cells have to compete for oxygen with tumourous cells. In this study, an improved Krogh's cylinder model which is more realistic than the previously reported assumption that oxygen is homogeneously distributed in a microenvironment, is proposed to describe the process of the oxygen diffusion from a capillary to its surrounding environment. The capillary wall permeability is also taken into account. The simulation study is conducted and the results show that when tumour masses are implanted at the upstream part of a capillary and followed by normal tissues, the whole normal tissues suffer from hypoxia. In contrast, when normal tissues are ahead of tumour masses, their pO2 is sufficient. In both situations, the pO2 in the whole normal tissues drops significantly due to the axial diffusion at the interface of normal tissues and tumourous cells. As the existence of the axial oxygen diffusion cannot supply the whole tumour masses, only these tumourous cells that are near the interface can be partially supplied, and have a small chance to survive.

  20. Influence of nanoparticles accumulation on optical properties of human normal and cancerous liver tissue in vitro estimated by OCT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Fang; Wei, Huajiang; Guo, Zhouyi; Ye, Xiangping; Hu, Kun; Wu, Guoyong; Yang, Hongqin; Xie, Shusen; He, Yonghong

    2015-01-01

    In this work, the potential use of nanoparticles as contrast agents by using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in liver tissue was demonstrated. Gold nanoparticles (average size of 25 and 70 nm), were studied in human normal and cancerous liver tissues in vitro, respectively. Each sample was monitored with SD-OCT functional imaging for 240 min. Continuous OCT monitoring showed that, after application of gold nanoparticles, the OCT signal intensities of normal liver and cancerous liver tissue both increase with time, and the larger nanoparticles tend to produce a greater signal enhancement in the same type of tissue. The results show that the values of attenuation coefficients have significant differences between normal liver tissue and cancerous liver tissue. In addition, 25 nm gold nanoparticles allow higher penetration depth than 70 nm gold nanoparticles in liver tissues. (paper)

  1. Chemical modification of conventional cancer radiotherapy. Tumor sensitization combined with normal tissue protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kagiya, Tsutomu

    2006-01-01

    Nitrotriazole radiosensitizer, Sanazole (AK-2123, N-(2'-methoxyethyl)-2-(3''-nitro-1''-triazolyl) acetamide) developed by Kyoto University group was studied by 18 groups of 7 countries on fundamental aspects and clinical studies by 30 groups of 12 countries, and reported its effects on tumor sensitization of conventional cancer radiotherapy. On the other hand, the glucosides of vitamin C (Ascorbic acid glucoside, (AsAG) and water soluble derivative of vitamin-E (α-tocopherol glucoside, TMG) developed by Kyoto University group were studied fundamentally by 4 groups of 4 countries and clinically by 2 groups of 2 countries, and reported their effects on normal tissue protection in cancer treatments. These two studies of tumor sensitization and normal tissue protection were proposed as an advanced strategy of conventional cancer radiotherapy. (author)

  2. The use of normal tissue complication probability to predict radiation hepatitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keum, Ki Chang; Seong, Jin Sil; Suh, Chang Ok; Lee, Sang Wook; Chung, Eun Ji; Shin, Hyun Soo; Kim, Gwi Eon

    2000-01-01

    Although it has been known that the tolerance of the liver to external beam irradiation depends on the irradiated volume and dose, few data exist which quantify this dependence. However, recently, with the development of three dimensional (3-D) treatment planning, have the tools to quantify the relationships between dose, volume, and normal tissue complications become available. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationships between normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) and the risk of radiation hepatitis for patients who received variant dose partial liver irradiation. From March 1992 to December 1994, 10 patients with hepatoma and 10 patients with bile duct cancer were included in this study. Eighteen patients had normal hepatic function, but 2 patients (prothrombin time 73%, 68%) had mild liver cirrhosis before irradiation. Radiation therapy was delivered with 10MV linear accelerator, 180-200 cGy fraction per day. The total dose ranged from 3,960 cGy to 6,000 cGy (median dose 5,040 cGy). The normal tissue complication probability was calculated by using Lyman's model. Radiation hepatitis was defined as the development of anicteric elevation of alkaline phosphatase of at least two fold and non-malignant ascites in the absence of documented progressive. The calculated NTCP ranged from 0.001 to 0.840 (median 0.05). Three of the 20 patients developed radiation hepatitis. The NTCP of the patients with radiation hepatitis were 0.390, 0.528, 0.844 (median: O.58±0.23), but that of the patients without radiation hepatitis ranged from 0.001 to 0.308 (median: 0.09±0.09). When the NTCP was calculated by using the volume factor of 0.32, a radiation hepatitis was observed only in patients with the NTCP value more than 0.39. By contrast, clinical results of evolving radiation hepatitis were not well correlated with NTCP value calculated when the volume factor of 0.69 was applied. On the basis of these observations, volume factor of 0.32 was more

  3. Elucidating the Role of Injury-Induced Electric Fields (EFs) in Regulating the Astrocytic Response to Injury in the Mammalian Central Nervous System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baer, Matthew L; Henderson, Scott C; Colello, Raymond J

    2015-01-01

    Injury to the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) induces astrocytes to change their morphology, to increase their rate of proliferation, and to display directional migration to the injury site, all to facilitate repair. These astrocytic responses to injury occur in a clear temporal sequence and, by their intensity and duration, can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on the repair of damaged CNS tissue. Studies on highly regenerative tissues in non-mammalian vertebrates have demonstrated that the intensity of direct-current extracellular electric fields (EFs) at the injury site, which are 50-100 fold greater than in uninjured tissue, represent a potent signal to drive tissue repair. In contrast, a 10-fold EF increase has been measured in many injured mammalian tissues where limited regeneration occurs. As the astrocytic response to CNS injury is crucial to the reparative outcome, we exposed purified rat cortical astrocytes to EF intensities associated with intact and injured mammalian tissues, as well as to those EF intensities measured in regenerating non-mammalian vertebrate tissues, to determine whether EFs may contribute to the astrocytic injury response. Astrocytes exposed to EF intensities associated with uninjured tissue showed little change in their cellular behavior. However, astrocytes exposed to EF intensities associated with injured tissue showed a dramatic increase in migration and proliferation. At EF intensities associated with regenerating non-mammalian vertebrate tissues, these cellular responses were even more robust and included morphological changes consistent with a regenerative phenotype. These findings suggest that endogenous EFs may be a crucial signal for regulating the astrocytic response to injury and that their manipulation may be a novel target for facilitating CNS repair.

  4. Elucidating the Role of Injury-Induced Electric Fields (EFs in Regulating the Astrocytic Response to Injury in the Mammalian Central Nervous System.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew L Baer

    Full Text Available Injury to the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS induces astrocytes to change their morphology, to increase their rate of proliferation, and to display directional migration to the injury site, all to facilitate repair. These astrocytic responses to injury occur in a clear temporal sequence and, by their intensity and duration, can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on the repair of damaged CNS tissue. Studies on highly regenerative tissues in non-mammalian vertebrates have demonstrated that the intensity of direct-current extracellular electric fields (EFs at the injury site, which are 50-100 fold greater than in uninjured tissue, represent a potent signal to drive tissue repair. In contrast, a 10-fold EF increase has been measured in many injured mammalian tissues where limited regeneration occurs. As the astrocytic response to CNS injury is crucial to the reparative outcome, we exposed purified rat cortical astrocytes to EF intensities associated with intact and injured mammalian tissues, as well as to those EF intensities measured in regenerating non-mammalian vertebrate tissues, to determine whether EFs may contribute to the astrocytic injury response. Astrocytes exposed to EF intensities associated with uninjured tissue showed little change in their cellular behavior. However, astrocytes exposed to EF intensities associated with injured tissue showed a dramatic increase in migration and proliferation. At EF intensities associated with regenerating non-mammalian vertebrate tissues, these cellular responses were even more robust and included morphological changes consistent with a regenerative phenotype. These findings suggest that endogenous EFs may be a crucial signal for regulating the astrocytic response to injury and that their manipulation may be a novel target for facilitating CNS repair.

  5. Hole Burning Imaging Studies of Cancerous and Analogous Normal Ovarian Tissues Utilizing Organelle Specific Dyes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsuzaki, Satoshi [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

    2004-01-01

    Presented in this dissertation is the successful demonstration that nonphotochemical hole burning (NPWB) imaging can be used to study in vitro tissue cellular systems for discerning differences in cellular ultrastructures due to cancer development. This has been accomplished with the surgically removed cancerous ovarian and analogous normal peritoneal tissues from the same patient and the application of a fluorescent mitochondrion specific dye, Molecular Probe MitoFluor Far Red 680 (MF680), commonly known as rhodamine 800, that has been proven to exhibit efficient NPHB. From the results presented in Chapters 4 and 5 , and Appendix B, the following conclusions were made: (1) fluorescence excitation spectra of MF680 and confocal microscopy images of thin sliced tissues incubated with MF680 confirm the site-specificity of the probe molecules in the cellular systems. (2) Tunneling parameters, {lambda}{sub 0} and σΛ, as well as the standard hole burning parameters (namely, γ and S), have been determined for the tissue samples by hole growth kinetics (HGK) analyses. Unlike the preliminary cultured cell studies, these parameters have not shown the ability to distinguish tissue cellular matrices surrounding the chromophores. (3) Effects of an external electric (Stark) field on the nonphotochemical holes have been used to determine the changes in permanent dipole moment (fΔμ) for MF680 in tissue samples when burn laser polarization is parallel to the Stark field. Differences are detected between fΔμs in the two tissue samples, with the cancerous tissue exhibiting a more pronounced change (1.35-fold increase) in permanent dipole moment change relative to the normal analogs. It is speculated that the difference may be related to differences in mitochondrial membrane potentials in these tissue samples. (4) In the HGK mode, hole burning imaging (HBI) of cells adhered to coverslips and cooled to liquid helium temperatures in the complete absence of

  6. Secondary osteons scale allometrically in mammalian humerus and femur.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felder, A A; Phillips, C; Cornish, H; Cooke, M; Hutchinson, J R; Doube, M

    2017-11-01

    Intra-cortical bone remodelling is a cell-driven process that replaces existing bone tissue with new bone tissue in the bone cortex, leaving behind histological features called secondary osteons. While the scaling of bone dimensions on a macroscopic scale is well known, less is known about how the spatial dimensions of secondary osteons vary in relation to the adult body size of the species. We measured the cross-sectional area of individual intact secondary osteons and their central Haversian canals in transverse sections from 40 stylopodal bones of 39 mammalian species (body mass 0.3-21 000 kg). Scaling analysis of our data shows that mean osteonal resorption area (negative allometry, exponent 0.23, R 2  0.54, p <0.005) and Haversian canal area (negative allometry, exponent 0.31, R 2  0.45, p <0.005) are significantly related to body mass, independent of phylogeny. This study is the most comprehensive of its kind to date, and allows us to describe overall trends in the scaling behaviour of secondary osteon dimensions, supporting the inference that the osteonal resorption area may be limited by the need to avoid fracture in smaller mammalian species, but the need to maintain osteocyte viability in larger mammalian species.

  7. Genetically engineered tissue to screen for glycan function in tissue formation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    M., Adamopoulou; E.M., Pallesen; A., Levann

    2017-01-01

    engineered GlycoSkin tissue models can be used to study biological interactions involving glycan structure on lipids, or glycosaminoglycans. This engineering approach will allow us to investigate the functions of glycans in homeostasis and elucidate the role of glycans in normal epithelial formation....... We use genetic engineering with CRISPR/Cas9 combined with 3D organotypic skin models to examine how distinct glycans influence epithelial formation. We have performed knockout and knockin of more than 100 select genes in the genome of human immortalized human keratinocytes, enabling a systematic...... analysis of the impact of specific glycans in the formation and transformation of the human skin. The genetic engineered human skin models (GlycoSkin) was designed with and without all major biosynthetic pathways in mammalian glycan biosynthesis, including GalNAc-O-glycans, O-fucosylation, O...

  8. Mottled Mice and Non-Mammalian Models of Menkes Disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lenartowicz, Małgorzata; Krzeptowski, Wojciech; Lipiński, Paweł

    2015-01-01

    Menkes disease is a multi-systemic copper metabolism disorder caused by mutations in the X-linked ATP7A gene and characterized by progressive neurodegeneration and severe connective tissue defects. The ATP7A protein is a copper (Cu)-transporting ATPase expressed in all tissues and plays a critica......-mammalian models of Menkes disease, Drosophila melanogaster and Danio rerio mutants were used in experiments which would be technically difficult to carry out in mammals....

  9. Fatty acid and lipidomic data in normal and tumor colon tissues of rats fed diets with and without fish oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zora Djuric

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Data is provided to show the detailed fatty acid and lipidomic composition of normal and tumor rat colon tissues. Rats were fed either a Western fat diet or a fish oil diet, and half the rats from each diet group were treated with chemical carcinogens that induce colon cancer (azoxymethane and dextran sodium sulfate. The data show total fatty acid profiles of sera and of all the colon tissues, namely normal tissue from control rats and both normal and tumor tissues from carcinogen-treated rats, as obtained by gas chromatography with mass spectral detection. Data from lipidomic analyses of a representative subset of the colon tissue samples is also shown in heat maps generated from hierarchical cluster analysis. These data display the utility lipidomic analyses to enhance the interpretation of dietary feeding studies aimed at cancer prevention and support the findings published in the companion paper (Effects of fish oil supplementation on prostaglandins in normal and tumor colon tissue: modulation by the lipogenic phenotype of colon tumors, Djuric et al., 2017 [1].

  10. N-isopropyl-p-iodoamphetamine receptors in normal and cancerous tissue of the human lung

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tanaka, Eiko; Mishima, Michiaki; Kawakami, Kenzo; Sakai, Naoki; Sugiura, Naoharu; Kuno, Kenshi [Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Clinical Physiology; Taniguchi, Takashi [Kyoto Pharmaceutical Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Neurobiology

    1993-04-01

    N-Isopropyl-p-iodoamphetamine (IMP) receptors in normal human lung tissue were characterized using a radioligand binding assay with iodine-125 IMP as the ligand. Saturation binding studies revealed the presence of two binding sites with dissociation constant (K[sub d]) values of 53[+-]2 and 4687[+-]124 nM and maximum binding capacity (Bmax) values of 7[+-]1 and 133[+-]27 pmol/mg protein (n=5) respectively. The IC[sub 50] values of various amines were as follows: IMP, 9x10[sup -5] M; propranolol, 5x10[sup -4] M; haloperidol, 6x10[sup -4] M; ketamine, 9x10[sup -3] M; dopamine, 1x10[sup -2] M. The IMP receptors of cancerous tissue obtained from human lung also had two binding sites with K[sub d] values of 54[+-]2 and 5277[+-]652 nM and Bmax values of 7[+-]1 and 103[+-]21 pmol/mg protein (n=3) respectively. There was no significant difference in binding parameters between normal and cancerous lung tissue. These results demonstrate the existence of IMP receptors and suggest that cancer does not affect the nature of IMP receptors in human lung tissue. (orig.).

  11. [FTIR study on the normal and cancerous stomach tissues].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Y; Lin, Y

    2001-06-01

    Tissues of cancerous and corresponding normal stomach were studied by FTIR technique. The results showed that there are obvious differences between FTIR spectra of them in spectral parameters such as frequency, intensity and band shape etc. The changes involving the phosphate symmetric stretching nu s, PO2- and asymmetric stretching nu as, PO2- modes, the CH3 and CH2 groups stretching (nu s, CH2, nu as, CH3) and bending (delta CH2) modes and the C-O stretching nu C-O mode were discussed. In addition, the changes of structure of hydrogen-bonding of nucleic acid and cell proteins and the packing and the conformational structure of the membrance lipids were analysed further. The average wavenumber of band of nu s, PO2- shifted from 1,080.92 cm-1 to 1,085.93 cm-1 and that of nu as, PO2- shifted from 1,239.64 cm-1 to 1,238.73 cm-1 which indicated that the degree of hydrogen-bonding formed by oxygen atom of the phosphodiester groups of nucleic acids was increased. The average wavenumber of band of delta CH2 of membrance lipids shifted from 1,455.23 cm-1 to 1,457.37 cm-1 that suggested that the conformational structure of the methylene chains of membrance lipids is more disordered than in normal tissues. The shift of band of nu C-O of cell proteins from 1,166.08 cm-1 to 1,166.58 cm-1 indicated that the hydrogen-bond of cell proteins become weaker.

  12. Hyaluronic Acid in Normal and Neoplastic Colorectal Tissue: Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometric and Fluor Metric Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Paula Cleto Marolla

    2016-01-01

    Conclusions: The expression of HA was found to be slightly lower in tumor tissue than in colorectal non-neoplastic mucosa, although this difference was not statistically significant. This finding probably influenced the lower expression of HA in tumor tissue than in colorectal non-neoplastic mucosa. Compared to normal tissues, HA levels are significantly increased in the tumor tissues unless they exhibit lymph node metastasis. Otherwise, the expression of HA in tumor tissue did not correlated with the other clinicopathological parameters.

  13. Study of electron densities of normal and neoplastic human breast tissues by Compton scattering using synchrotron radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Antoniassi, M.; Conceicao, A.L.C. [Departamento de Fisica-Faculdade de Filosofia Ciencias e Letras de Ribeirao Preto-Universidade de Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Poletti, M.E., E-mail: poletti@ffclrp.usp.br [Departamento de Fisica-Faculdade de Filosofia Ciencias e Letras de Ribeirao Preto-Universidade de Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo (Brazil)

    2012-07-15

    Electron densities of 33 samples of normal (adipose and fibroglangular) and neoplastic (benign and malignant) human breast tissues were determined through Compton scattering data using a monochromatic synchrotron radiation source and an energy dispersive detector. The area of Compton peaks was used to determine the electron densities of the samples. Adipose tissue exhibits the lowest values of electron density whereas malignant tissue the highest. The relationship with their histology was discussed. Comparison with previous results showed differences smaller than 4%. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Electron density of normal and neoplastic breast tissues was measured using Compton scattering. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Monochromatic synchrotron radiation was used to obtain the Compton scattering data. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The area of Compton peaks was used to determine the electron densities of samples. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Adipose tissue shows the lowest electron density values whereas the malignant tissue the highest. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Comparison with previous results showed differences smaller than 4%.

  14. Study of electron densities of normal and neoplastic human breast tissues by Compton scattering using synchrotron radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Antoniassi, M.; Conceição, A.L.C.; Poletti, M.E.

    2012-01-01

    Electron densities of 33 samples of normal (adipose and fibroglangular) and neoplastic (benign and malignant) human breast tissues were determined through Compton scattering data using a monochromatic synchrotron radiation source and an energy dispersive detector. The area of Compton peaks was used to determine the electron densities of the samples. Adipose tissue exhibits the lowest values of electron density whereas malignant tissue the highest. The relationship with their histology was discussed. Comparison with previous results showed differences smaller than 4%. - Highlights: ► Electron density of normal and neoplastic breast tissues was measured using Compton scattering. ► Monochromatic synchrotron radiation was used to obtain the Compton scattering data. ► The area of Compton peaks was used to determine the electron densities of samples. ► Adipose tissue shows the lowest electron density values whereas the malignant tissue the highest. ► Comparison with previous results showed differences smaller than 4%.

  15. Accumulation of plutonium in mammalian wildlife tissues: comparison of recent data with the ICRP distribution models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johansen, M.; Child, D.; Davis, E.; Hotchkis, M.; Payne, T. [Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Org. (Australia); Ikeda-Ohno, A. [University of New South Wales (Australia); Twining, J. [Austral Radioecology (Australia)

    2014-07-01

    We examined the distribution of plutonium (Pu) in the tissues of mammalian wildlife to address the paucity of such data under environmental exposure conditions. Pu activity concentrations were measured in Macropus rufus (red kangaroo), Oryctolagus cuniculus (European rabbit), and Pseudomys hermannsburgensis (sandy inland mouse)inhabiting the relatively undisturbed, semi-arid conditions at the former Taranaki weapons test site at Maralinga, Australia. Of the absorbed Pu (distributed via circulatory and lymph systems) accumulation was foremost in bone (83% ±10% SD), followed by muscle (9% ±10%), liver (7% ±7%), kidneys (0.5% ±0.3%), and heart (0.4% ±0.4%). The bone values are higher than those reported in ICRP 19 and 48 (45-50% bone), while the liver values are lower than ICRP values (30-45% liver). The ICRP values were based on data dominated by relatively soluble forms of Pu, including prepared solutions and single-atom ions produced by decay following the volatilisation of uranium during nuclear detonation (fallout Pu, ICRP 1986). In contrast, the Maralinga data relates to low-soluble forms of Pu used in tests designed to simulate accidental release and dispersal. We measured Pu in lung, GI-tract and the skin and fur as distinct from the absorbed Pu in bone, liver, muscle, and kidneys. Compared with the mean absorbed activity concentrations, the results for lung tissues were higher by up to one order of magnitude, and those in the GI tract contents and the washed skin/fur were higher by more than two orders of magnitude. These elevated levels are consistent with the presence of low-soluble Pu, including particulate forms, which pass through, or adhere upon, certain organs, but are not readily absorbed into the bloodstream. This more transitory Pu can provide dose to the lung and GI tract organs, as well as provide potential transfer of contamination when consumed in predator-prey food chains, or during human foodstuff consumption. For example, activity

  16. Mineral density volume gradients in normal and diseased human tissues.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabra I Djomehri

    Full Text Available Clinical computed tomography provides a single mineral density (MD value for heterogeneous calcified tissues containing early and late stage pathologic formations. The novel aspect of this study is that, it extends current quantitative methods of mapping mineral density gradients to three dimensions, discretizes early and late mineralized stages, identifies elemental distribution in discretized volumes, and correlates measured MD with respective calcium (Ca to phosphorus (P and Ca to zinc (Zn elemental ratios. To accomplish this, MD variations identified using polychromatic radiation from a high resolution micro-computed tomography (micro-CT benchtop unit were correlated with elemental mapping obtained from a microprobe X-ray fluorescence (XRF using synchrotron monochromatic radiation. Digital segmentation of tomograms from normal and diseased tissues (N=5 per group; 40-60 year old males contained significant mineral density variations (enamel: 2820-3095 mg/cc, bone: 570-1415 mg/cc, cementum: 1240-1340 mg/cc, dentin: 1480-1590 mg/cc, cementum affected by periodontitis: 1100-1220 mg/cc, hypomineralized carious dentin: 345-1450 mg/cc, hypermineralized carious dentin: 1815-2740 mg/cc, and dental calculus: 1290-1770 mg/cc. A plausible linear correlation between segmented MD volumes and elemental ratios within these volumes was established, and Ca/P ratios for dentin (1.49, hypomineralized dentin (0.32-0.46, cementum (1.51, and bone (1.68 were observed. Furthermore, varying Ca/Zn ratios were distinguished in adapted compared to normal tissues, such as in bone (855-2765 and in cementum (595-990, highlighting Zn as an influential element in prompting observed adaptive properties. Hence, results provide insights on mineral density gradients with elemental concentrations and elemental footprints that in turn could aid in elucidating mechanistic processes for pathologic formations.

  17. Mineral Density Volume Gradients in Normal and Diseased Human Tissues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Djomehri, Sabra I.; Candell, Susan; Case, Thomas; Browning, Alyssa; Marshall, Grayson W.; Yun, Wenbing; Lau, S. H.; Webb, Samuel; Ho, Sunita P.

    2015-01-01

    Clinical computed tomography provides a single mineral density (MD) value for heterogeneous calcified tissues containing early and late stage pathologic formations. The novel aspect of this study is that, it extends current quantitative methods of mapping mineral density gradients to three dimensions, discretizes early and late mineralized stages, identifies elemental distribution in discretized volumes, and correlates measured MD with respective calcium (Ca) to phosphorus (P) and Ca to zinc (Zn) elemental ratios. To accomplish this, MD variations identified using polychromatic radiation from a high resolution micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) benchtop unit were correlated with elemental mapping obtained from a microprobe X-ray fluorescence (XRF) using synchrotron monochromatic radiation. Digital segmentation of tomograms from normal and diseased tissues (N=5 per group; 40-60 year old males) contained significant mineral density variations (enamel: 2820-3095mg/cc, bone: 570-1415mg/cc, cementum: 1240-1340mg/cc, dentin: 1480-1590mg/cc, cementum affected by periodontitis: 1100-1220mg/cc, hypomineralized carious dentin: 345-1450mg/cc, hypermineralized carious dentin: 1815-2740mg/cc, and dental calculus: 1290-1770mg/cc). A plausible linear correlation between segmented MD volumes and elemental ratios within these volumes was established, and Ca/P ratios for dentin (1.49), hypomineralized dentin (0.32-0.46), cementum (1.51), and bone (1.68) were observed. Furthermore, varying Ca/Zn ratios were distinguished in adapted compared to normal tissues, such as in bone (855-2765) and in cementum (595-990), highlighting Zn as an influential element in prompting observed adaptive properties. Hence, results provide insights on mineral density gradients with elemental concentrations and elemental footprints that in turn could aid in elucidating mechanistic processes for pathologic formations. PMID:25856386

  18. Validation of putative reference genes for normalization of Q-RT-PCR data from paraffin-embedded lymphoid tissue

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Green, Tina Marie; de Stricker, Karin; Møller, Michael Boe

    2009-01-01

    Normalization of quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (Q-RT-PCR) data to appropriate tissue-specific reference genes is an essential part of interpreting the results. This study aimed to determine the most appropriate reference genes for normalizing gene expressions in lymphatic tissue...... was 0.93 (Pnormalization with the appropriate reference genes. Thus, we show that formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lymphoid samples are suitable for Q-RT-PCR when using thoroughly validated reference genes....

  19. SU-E-T-573: Normal Tissue Dose Effect of Prescription Isodose Level Selection in Lung Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Q; Lei, Y; Zheng, D; Zhu, X; Wahl, A; Lin, C; Zhou, S; Zhen, W

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate dose fall-off in normal tissue for lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) cases planned with different prescription isodose levels (IDLs), by calculating the dose dropping speed (DDS) in normal tissue on plans computed with both Pencil Beam (PB) and Monte-Carlo (MC) algorithms. Methods: The DDS was calculated on 32 plans for 8 lung SBRT patients. For each patient, 4 dynamic conformal arc plans were individually optimized for prescription isodose levels (IDL) ranging from 60% to 90% of the maximum dose with 10% increments to conformally cover the PTV. Eighty non-overlapping rind structures each of 1mm thickness were created layer by layer from each PTV surface. The average dose in each rind was calculated and fitted with a double exponential function (DEF) of the distance from the PTV surface, which models the steep- and moderate-slope portions of the average dose curve in normal tissue. The parameter characterizing the steep portion of the average dose curve in the DEF quantifies the DDS in the immediate normal tissue receiving high dose. Provided that the prescription dose covers the whole PTV, a greater DDS indicates better normal tissue sparing. The DDS were compared among plans with different prescription IDLs, for plans computed with both PB and MC algorithms. Results: For all patients, the DDS was found to be the lowest for 90% prescription IDL and reached a highest plateau region for 60% or 70% prescription. The trend was the same for both PB and MC plans. Conclusion: Among the range of prescription IDLs accepted by lung SBRT RTOG protocols, prescriptions to 60% and 70% IDLs were found to provide best normal tissue sparing

  20. Human papillomavirus in normal conjunctival tissue and in conjunctival papilloma: types and frequencies in a large series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sjö, Nicolai Christian; von Buchwald, Christian; Cassonnet, Patricia; Norrild, Bodil; Prause, Jan Ulrik; Vinding, Troels; Heegaard, Steffen

    2007-08-01

    To examine conjunctival papilloma and normal conjunctival tissue for the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV). Archival paraffin wax-embedded tissue from 165 conjunctival papillomas and from 20 histological normal conjunctival biopsy specimens was analysed for the presence of HPV by PCR. Specimens considered HPV positive using consensus primers, but with a negative or uncertain PCR result using type-specific HPV probes, were analysed with DNA sequencing. HPV was present in 86 of 106 (81%) beta-globin-positive papillomas. HPV type 6 was positive in 80 cases, HPV type 11 was identified in 5 cases and HPV type 45 was present in a single papilloma. All the 20 normal conjunctival biopsy specimens were beta-globin positive and HPV negative. There is a strong association between HPV and conjunctival papilloma. The study presents the largest material of conjunctival papilloma investigated for HPV and the first investigation of HPV in normal conjunctival tissue. HPV types 6 and 11 are the most common HPV types in conjunctival papilloma. This also is the first report of HPV type 45 in conjunctival papilloma.

  1. Statistical validation of normal tissue complication probability models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Cheng-Jian; van der Schaaf, Arjen; Van't Veld, Aart A; Langendijk, Johannes A; Schilstra, Cornelis

    2012-09-01

    To investigate the applicability and value of double cross-validation and permutation tests as established statistical approaches in the validation of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models. A penalized regression method, LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator), was used to build NTCP models for xerostomia after radiation therapy treatment of head-and-neck cancer. Model assessment was based on the likelihood function and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Repeated double cross-validation showed the uncertainty and instability of the NTCP models and indicated that the statistical significance of model performance can be obtained by permutation testing. Repeated double cross-validation and permutation tests are recommended to validate NTCP models before clinical use. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Statistical Validation of Normal Tissue Complication Probability Models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu Chengjian, E-mail: c.j.xu@umcg.nl [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands); Schaaf, Arjen van der; Veld, Aart A. van' t; Langendijk, Johannes A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands); Schilstra, Cornelis [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands); Radiotherapy Institute Friesland, Leeuwarden (Netherlands)

    2012-09-01

    Purpose: To investigate the applicability and value of double cross-validation and permutation tests as established statistical approaches in the validation of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models. Methods and Materials: A penalized regression method, LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator), was used to build NTCP models for xerostomia after radiation therapy treatment of head-and-neck cancer. Model assessment was based on the likelihood function and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Results: Repeated double cross-validation showed the uncertainty and instability of the NTCP models and indicated that the statistical significance of model performance can be obtained by permutation testing. Conclusion: Repeated double cross-validation and permutation tests are recommended to validate NTCP models before clinical use.

  3. β-adrenergic relaxation of smooth muscle: differences between cells and tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scheid, C.R.

    1987-01-01

    The present studies were carried out in an attempt to resolve the controversy about the Na + dependence of β-adrenergic relaxation in smooth muscle. Previous studies on isolated smooth muscle cells from the toad stomach had suggested that at least some of the actions of β-adrenergic agents, including a stimulatory effect on 45 Ca efflux, were dependent on the presence of a normal transmembrane Na + gradient. Studies by other investigators using tissues derived from mammalian sources had suggested that the relaxing effect of β-adrenergic agents was Na + independent. Uncertainty remained as to whether these discrepancies reflected differences between cells and tissues or differences between species. Thus, in the present studies, the authors utilized both tissues and cells from the same source, the stomach muscle of the toad Bufo marinus, and assessed the Na + dependence of β-adrenergic relaxation. They found that elimination of a normal Na + gradient abolished β-adrenergic relaxation of isolated cells. In tissues, however, similar manipulations had no effect on relaxation. The reasons for this discrepancy are unclear but do not appear to be attributable to changes in smooth muscle function following enzymatic dispersion. Thus the controversy concerning the mechanisms of β-adrenergic relaxation may reflect inherent differences between tissues and cells

  4. An automatic method to discriminate malignant masses from normal tissue in digital mammograms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brake, Guido M. te; Karssemeijer, Nico; Hendriks, Jan H.C.L.

    2000-01-01

    Specificity levels of automatic mass detection methods in mammography are generally rather low, because suspicious looking normal tissue is often hard to discriminate from real malignant masses. In this work a number of features were defined that are related to image characteristics that radiologists use to discriminate real lesions from normal tissue. An artificial neural network was used to map the computed features to a measure of suspiciousness for each region that was found suspicious by a mass detection method. Two data sets were used to test the method. The first set of 72 malignant cases (132 films) was a consecutive series taken from the Nijmegen screening programme, 208 normal films were added to improve the estimation of the specificity of the method. The second set was part of the new DDSM data set from the University of South Florida. A total of 193 cases (772 films) with 372 annotated malignancies was used. The measure of suspiciousness that was computed using the image characteristics was successful in discriminating tumours from false positive detections. Approximately 75% of all cancers were detected in at least one view at a specificity level of 0.1 false positive per image. (author)

  5. On radiation damage to normal tissues and its treatment. Pt. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michalowski, A.S.

    1994-01-01

    In addition to transiently inhibiting cell cycle progression and sterilizing those cells capable of proliferation, irradiation disturbs the homeostasis effected by endogenous mediators of intercellular communication (humoral component of tissue response to radiation). Changes in the mediator levels may modulate radiation effects either by a assisting a return to normality (e.g., through a rise in H-type cell lineage-specific growth factors) or by aggravating the damage. The latter mode is illustrated with reports on changes in eicosanoid levels after irradiation and on results of empirical treatment of radiation injuries with anti-inflammatory drugs. Prodromal, acute and chronic effects of radiation are accompanied by excessive production of eicosanoids (prostaglandins, prostacyclin, thromboxanes and leukotrienes). These endogenous mediators of inflammatory reactions may be responsible for the vasodilatation, vasoconstriction, increased microvascular permeability, thrombosis and chemotaxis observed after radiation exposure. Glucocorticoids inhibit eicosanoid synthesis primarily by interfering with phospholipase A 2 whilst non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs prevent prostaglandin/thromboxane synthesis by inhibiting cycloxygenase. When administered after irradiation on empirical grounds, drugs belonging to both groups tend to attenuate a range of prodomal, acute and chronic effects of radiation in man and animals. Taken together, these two sets of observations are highly suggestive of a contribution of humoral factors to the adverse responses of normal tissues and organs to radiation. A full account of radiation damage should therefore consist of complementary descriptions of cellular and humoral events. Further studies on anti-inflammatory drug treatment of radiation damage to normal organs are justified and desirable. (orig.)

  6. Extracranial soft-tissue swelling: a normal postmortem radiographic finding or a sign of trauma?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strouse, P.J.; Caplan, M.; Owings, C.L.

    1998-01-01

    Objective. To determine if extracranial soft-tissue swelling is an expected postmortem finding or a sign of trauma. Materials and methods. Extracranial soft-tissue thickness was measured at 5 standardized locations on postmortem skull films obtained of 18 infants with no evidence of trauma on autopsy. The same measurements were performed on the skull films of 100 living children, all less than 3 years old and without clinical history of trauma. Results. Extracranial soft tissues measured only slightly greater in the postmortem group than on films of living children; however, the difference did achieve statistical significance. Conclusion. Minimal extracranial soft-tissue swelling is a normal finding on a postmortem skeletal survey. The presence of substantial or asymmetric extracranial soft-tissue swelling should be viewed with suspicion for trauma. (orig.)

  7. Extracranial soft-tissue swelling: a normal postmortem radiographic finding or a sign of trauma?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Strouse, P.J. [Section of Pediatric Radiology, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor (United States); Caplan, M. [Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan (United States); Owings, C.L. [Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, C. S. Mott Children`s Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan (United States)

    1998-08-01

    Objective. To determine if extracranial soft-tissue swelling is an expected postmortem finding or a sign of trauma. Materials and methods. Extracranial soft-tissue thickness was measured at 5 standardized locations on postmortem skull films obtained of 18 infants with no evidence of trauma on autopsy. The same measurements were performed on the skull films of 100 living children, all less than 3 years old and without clinical history of trauma. Results. Extracranial soft tissues measured only slightly greater in the postmortem group than on films of living children; however, the difference did achieve statistical significance. Conclusion. Minimal extracranial soft-tissue swelling is a normal finding on a postmortem skeletal survey. The presence of substantial or asymmetric extracranial soft-tissue swelling should be viewed with suspicion for trauma. (orig.) With 2 tabs., 5 refs.

  8. A general native-state method for determination of proliferation capacity of human normal and tumor tissues in vitro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffman, R.M.; Connors, K.M.; Meerson-Monosov, A.Z.; Herrera, H.; Price, J.H.

    1989-01-01

    An important need in cancer research and treatment is a physiological means in vitro by which to assess the proliferation capacity of human tumors and corresponding normal tissue for comparison. The authors have recently developed a native-state, three-dimensional, gel-supported primary culture system that allows every type of human cancer to grow in vitro at more than 90% frequency, with maintenance of tissue architecture, tumor-stromal interaction, and differentiated functions. Here they demonstrate that the native-state culture system allows proliferation indices to be determined for all solid cancer types explanted directly from surgery into long-term culture. Normal tissues also proliferate readily in this system. The degree of resolution of measurement of cell proliferation by histological autoradiography within the cultured tissues is greatly enhanced with the use of epi-illumination polarization microscopy. The histological status of the cultured tissues can be assessed simultaneously with the proliferation status. Carcinomas generally have areas of high epithelial proliferation with quiescent stromal cells. Sarcomas have high proliferation of cells of mesenchymal organ. Normal tissues can also proliferate at high rates. An image analysis system has been developed to automate proliferation determination. The high-resolution physiological means described here to measure the proliferation capacity of tissues will be important in further understanding of the deregulation of cell proliferation in cancer as well as in cancer prognosis and treatment

  9. Improving normal tissue complication probability models: the need to adopt a "data-pooling" culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deasy, Joseph O; Bentzen, Søren M; Jackson, Andrew; Ten Haken, Randall K; Yorke, Ellen D; Constine, Louis S; Sharma, Ashish; Marks, Lawrence B

    2010-03-01

    Clinical studies of the dependence of normal tissue response on dose-volume factors are often confusingly inconsistent, as the QUANTEC reviews demonstrate. A key opportunity to accelerate progress is to begin storing high-quality datasets in repositories. Using available technology, multiple repositories could be conveniently queried, without divulging protected health information, to identify relevant sources of data for further analysis. After obtaining institutional approvals, data could then be pooled, greatly enhancing the capability to construct predictive models that are more widely applicable and better powered to accurately identify key predictive factors (whether dosimetric, image-based, clinical, socioeconomic, or biological). Data pooling has already been carried out effectively in a few normal tissue complication probability studies and should become a common strategy. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Silver nanoparticle based surface enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy of diabetic and normal rat pancreatic tissue under near-infrared laser excitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, H; Shi, H; Chen, W; Yu, Y; Lin, D; Xu, Q; Feng, S; Lin, J; Huang, Z; Li, Y; Chen, R

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents the use of high spatial resolution silver nanoparticle based near-infrared surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) from rat pancreatic tissue to obtain biochrmical information about the tissue. A high quality SERS signal from a mixture of pancreatic tissues and silver nanoparticles can be obtained within 10 s using a Renishaw micro-Raman system. Prominent SERS bands of pancreatic tissue were assigned to known molecular vibrations, such as the vibrations of DNA bases, RNA bases, proteins and lipids. Different tissue structures of diabetic and normal rat pancreatic tissues have characteristic features in SERS spectra. This exploratory study demonstrated great potential for using SERS imaging to distinguish diabetic and normal pancreatic tissues on frozen sections without using dye labeling of functionalized binding sites. (letter)

  11. Markers of fibrosis and epithelial to mesenchymal transition demonstrate field cancerization in histologically normal tissue adjacent to breast tumors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trujillo, Kristina A.; Heaphy, Christopher M.; Mai, Minh; Vargas, Keith M.; Jones, Anna C.; Vo, Phung; Butler, Kimberly S.; Joste, Nancy E.; Bisoffi, Marco; Griffith, Jeffrey K

    2011-01-01

    Previous studies have shown that a field of genetically altered but histologically normal tissue extends 1 cm or more from the margins of human breast tumors. The extent, composition and biological significance of this field are only partially understood, but the molecular alterations in affected cells could provide mechanisms for limitless replicative capacity, genomic instability and a microenvironment that supports tumor initiation and progression. We demonstrate by microarray, qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry a signature of differential gene expression that discriminates between patient-matched, tumor-adjacent histologically normal breast tissues located 1 cm and 5 cm from the margins of breast adenocarcinomas (TAHN-1 and TAHN-5, respectively). The signature includes genes involved in extracellular matrix remodeling, wound healing, fibrosis and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Myofibroblasts, which are mediators of wound healing and fibrosis, and intra-lobular fibroblasts expressing MMP2, SPARC, TGF-β3, which are inducers of EMT, were both prevalent in TAHN-1 tissues, sparse in TAHN-5 tissues, and absent in normal tissues from reduction mammoplasty. Accordingly, EMT markers S100A4 and vimentin were elevated in both luminal and myoepithelial cells, and EMT markers α-smooth muscle actin and SNAIL were elevated in luminal epithelial cells of TAHN-1 tissues. These results identify cellular processes that are differentially activated between TAHN-1 and TAHN-5 breast tissues, implicate myofibroblasts as likely mediators of these processes, provide evidence that EMT is occurring in histologically normal tissues within the affected field and identify candidate biomarkers to investigate whether or how field cancerization contributes to the development of primary or recurrent breast tumors. PMID:21105047

  12. Expression of Apoptosis Inducing-Ligands, TRAIL and Fas-L in Hydatid Cyst Germinal Layer and Normal Tissue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adel Spotin

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Background & objectives: Hydaticosis is a zoonotic helminthic disease of human and other intermediated hosts in which larval stages of the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosu transfect human. The liver and lung are the host tissues for the hydatid cyst . It is unknown which mechanisms are involved in infertility of the cyst and suppression of the fertile cyst. This study was aimed to evaluate the expression of the apoptosis inducing-ligands such as TRAIL and Fas-L in germinal layer of the cyst and human normal tissue surrounding the cyst that is one of the unknown host innate immunity mechanisms against the hydatid cyst.   Methods: In this study, four isolated hydatid cysts were used which had been diagnosed in patients by radiography and parasitological examination in Mashhad Ghaem hospital. Furthermore, the germinal layer of the cyst and accompanied normal peripheral tissues were separated by scalpel in sterile conditions. After homogenization, expression of TRAIL and Fas-L genes were studied by semi-quantitive RT-PCR method.   Results: The TRAIL and Fas-L showed significant higher level expression in germinal layer of infertile cyst than the fertile cyst and host normal tissues.   Conclusion: The host tissue-induced apoptosis of germinal layer of the fertile cysts is probably one of the infertility mechanism in patients with hydaticosis

  13. Wnt/β-catenin signaling in adult mammalian epithelial stem cells

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kretzschmar, Kai; Clevers, Hans

    2017-01-01

    Adult stem cells self-renew and replenish differentiated cells in various organs and tissues throughout a mammal's life. Over the last 25 years an ever-growing body of knowledge has unraveled the essential regulation of adult mammalian epithelia by the canonical Wnt signaling with its key

  14. Radionuclide investigation of the blood flow in tumor and normal rat tissues in induced hyperglycemia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Istomin, Yu.P.; Shitikov, B.D.; Markova, L.V.

    1991-01-01

    Radionuclide angiography was performed in rats with transplantable tumors. Induced hyperglycemia was shown to result in blood flow inhibition in tumor and normal tissues of tumor-bearing rats. Some differences were revealed in a degree of reversibility of blood flow disorders in tissues of the above strains. The results obtained confirmed the advisability of radiation therapy at the height of a decrease in tumor blood

  15. Thermal coagulation-induced changes of the optical properties of normal and adenomatous human colon tissues in vitro in the spectral range 400-1100 nm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ao Huilan; Xing Da; Wei Huajiang; Gu Huaimin; Wu Guoyong; Lu Jianjun

    2008-01-01

    The absorption coefficients, the reduced scattering coefficients and the optical penetration depths for native and coagulated human normal and adenomatous colon tissues in vitro were determined over the range of 400-1100 nm using a spectrophotometer with an internal integrating sphere system, and the inverse adding-doubling method was applied to calculate the tissue optical properties from diffuse reflectance and total transmittance measurements. The experimental results showed that in the range of 400-1100 nm there were larger absorption coefficients (P < 0.01) and smaller reduced scattering coefficients (P < 0.01) for adenomatous colon tissues than for normal colon tissues, and there were smaller optical penetration depths for adenomatous colon tissues than for normal colon tissues, especially in the near-infrared wavelength. Thermal coagulation induced significant increase of the absorption coefficients and reduced scattering coefficients for the normal and adenomatous colon tissues, and significantly reduced decrease of the optical penetration depths for the normal and adenomatous colon tissues. The smaller optical penetration depth for coagulated adenomatous colon tissues is a disadvantage for laser-induced thermotherapy (LITT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). It is necessary to adjust the application parameters of lasers to achieve optimal therapy

  16. Plasticity within stem cell hierarchies in mammalian epithelia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tetteh, Paul W; Farin, Henner F; Clevers, Hans

    2015-02-01

    Tissue homeostasis and regeneration are fueled by resident stem cells that have the capacity to self-renew, and to generate all the differentiated cell types that characterize a particular tissue. Classical models of such cellular hierarchies propose that commitment and differentiation occur unidirectionally, with the arrows 'pointing away' from the stem cell. Recent studies, all based on genetic lineage tracing, describe various strategies employed by epithelial stem cell hierarchies to replace damaged or lost cells. While transdifferentiation from one tissue type into another ('metaplasia') appears to be generally forbidden in nonpathological contexts, plasticity within an individual tissue stem cell hierarchy may be much more common than previously appreciated. In this review, we discuss recent examples of such plasticity in selected mammalian epithelia, highlighting the different modes of regeneration and their implications for our understanding of cellular hierarchy and tissue self-renewal. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Elemental analysis of the frontal lobe of 'normal' brain tissue and that affected by Alzheimer's disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stedman, J.D.; Spyrou, N.M.

    1997-01-01

    'Normal' brain tissue and brain tissue affected by Alzheimer's disease has been taken from the frontal lobe of both hemispheres and their elemental compositions in terms of major, minor and trace elements compared. Brain samples were obtained from the MRC Alzheimer's Disease Brain Bank, London. 25 samples were taken from 18 individuals (5 males and 13 females) of mean age 79.9 ± 7.3 years with pathologically confirmed Alzheimer's disease and 26 samples from 15 individuals (8 males and 7 females) of mean age 71.8 ± 13.0 years with no pathological sings of Alzheimer's disease ('normals'). The elemental concentration of the samples were determined by the techniques of Rutherford backscattering (RBS) analysis, particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Na, Mg, Al, Cl, K, Sc, Fe, Zn, Se, Br, Rb and Cs were detected by INAA and significant differences in concentrations were found between concentrations in normal and Alzheimer tissue for the elements. Na, Cl, K, Se, Br and Rb, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, Zn and Cd were detected by PIXE analysis and significant differences found for the elements P, S, Cl, K and Ca. (author)

  18. Steroid hydroxylations: A paradigm for cytochrome P450 catalyzed mammalian monooxygenation reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Estabrook, Ronald W.

    2005-01-01

    The present article reviews the history of research on the hydroxylation of steroid hormones as catalyzed by enzymes present in mammalian tissues. The report describes how studies of steroid hormone synthesis have played a central role in the discovery of the monooxygenase functions of the cytochrome P450s. Studies of steroid hydroxylation reactions can be credited with showing that: (a) the adrenal mitochondrial enzyme catalyzing the 11β-hydroxylation of deoxycorticosterone was the first mammalian enzyme shown by O 18 studies to be an oxygenase; (b) the adrenal microsomal enzyme catalyzing the 21-hydroxylation of steroids was the first mammalian enzyme to show experimentally the proposed 1:1:1 stoichiometry (substrate:oxygen:reduced pyridine nucleotide) of a monooxygenase reaction; (c) application of the photochemical action spectrum technique for reversal of carbon monoxide inhibition of the 21-hydroxylation of 17α-OH progesterone was the first demonstration that cytochrome P450 was an oxygenase; (d) spectrophotometric studies of the binding of 17α-OH progesterone to bovine adrenal microsomal P450 revealed the first step in the cyclic reaction scheme of P450, as it catalyzes the 'activation' of oxygen in a monooxygenase reaction; (e) purified adrenodoxin was shown to function as an electron transport component of the adrenal mitochondrial monooxygenase system required for the activity of the 11β-hydroxylase reaction. Adrenodoxin was the first iron-sulfur protein isolated and purified from mammalian tissues and the first soluble protein identified as a reductase of a P450; (f) fractionation of adrenal mitochondrial P450 and incubation with adrenodoxin and a cytosolic (flavoprotein) fraction were the first demonstration of the reconstitution of a mammalian P450 monooxygenase reaction

  19. Comparison of soft-tissue orbital morphometry in attractive and normal Italian subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sforza, Chiarella; Dolci, Claudia; Grandi, Gaia; Tartaglia, Gianluca M; Laino, Alberto; Ferrario, Virgilio F

    2015-01-01

    To identify esthetic characteristics of the orbital soft tissues of attractive Italian adult women and men. Three-dimensional computerized digitizers were used to collect the coordinates of facial landmarks in 199 healthy, normal subjects aged 18 to 30 years (71 women, 128 men; mean age, 22 years) and in 126 coetaneous attractive subjects (92 women, 34 men; mean age, 20 years) selected during beauty competitions. From the landmarks, six linear distances, two ratios, six angles, and two areas were calculated. Attractive subjects were compared with normal ones by computing z-scores. Intercanthal width was reduced while eye fissure lengths were increased in both genders. Orbital heights (os-or) were increased only in attractive women, with a significant gender-related difference. The inclinations of the eye fissure were increased in attractive subjects, while the inclinations of the orbit were reduced. For several of the analyzed measurements, similar patterns of z-scores were observed for attractive men and women (r  =  .883). Attractive women and men had several specific esthetic characteristics in their orbital soft tissues; esthetic reference values can be used to determine optimal goals in surgical treatment.

  20. Distribution of the anticancer drugs doxorubicin, mitoxantrone and topotecan in tumors and normal tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Krupa J; Trédan, Olivier; Tannock, Ian F

    2013-07-01

    Pharmacokinetic analyses estimate the mean concentration of drug within a given tissue as a function of time, but do not give information about the spatial distribution of drugs within that tissue. Here, we compare the time-dependent spatial distribution of three anticancer drugs within tumors, heart, kidney, liver and brain. Mice bearing various xenografts were treated with doxorubicin, mitoxantrone or topotecan. At various times after injection, tumors and samples of heart, kidney, liver and brain were excised. Within solid tumors, the distribution of doxorubicin, mitoxantrone and topotecan was limited to perivascular regions at 10 min after administration and the distance from blood vessels at which drug intensity fell to half was ~25-75 μm. Although drug distribution improved after 3 and 24 h, there remained a significant decrease in drug fluorescence with increasing distance from tumor blood vessels. Drug distribution was relatively uniform in the heart, kidney and liver with substantially greater perivascular drug uptake than in tumors. There was significantly higher total drug fluorescence in the liver than in tumors after 10 min, 3 and 24 h. Little to no drug fluorescence was observed in the brain. There are marked differences in the spatial distributions of three anticancer drugs within tumor tissue and normal tissues over time, with greater exposure to most normal tissues and limited drug distribution to many cells in tumors. Studies of the spatial distribution of drugs are required to complement pharmacokinetic data in order to better understand and predict drug effects and toxicities.

  1. The Addition of Manganese Porphyrins during Radiation Inhibits Prostate Cancer Growth and Simultaneously Protects Normal Prostate Tissue from Radiation Damage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arpita Chatterjee

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Radiation therapy is commonly used for prostate cancer treatment; however, normal tissues can be damaged from the reactive oxygen species (ROS produced by radiation. In separate reports, we and others have shown that manganese porphyrins (MnPs, ROS scavengers, protect normal cells from radiation-induced damage but inhibit prostate cancer cell growth. However, there have been no studies demonstrating that MnPs protect normal tissues, while inhibiting tumor growth in the same model. LNCaP or PC3 cells were orthotopically implanted into athymic mice and treated with radiation (2 Gy, for 5 consecutive days in the presence or absence of MnPs. With radiation, MnPs enhanced overall life expectancy and significantly decreased the average tumor volume, as compared to the radiated alone group. MnPs enhanced lipid oxidation in tumor cells but reduced oxidative damage to normal prostate tissue adjacent to the prostate tumor in combination with radiation. Mechanistically, MnPs behave as pro-oxidants or antioxidants depending on the level of oxidative stress inside the treated cell. We found that MnPs act as pro-oxidants in prostate cancer cells, while in normal cells and tissues the MnPs act as antioxidants. For the first time, in the same in vivo model, this study reveals that MnPs enhance the tumoricidal effect of radiation and reduce oxidative damage to normal prostate tissue adjacent to the prostate tumor in the presence of radiation. This study suggests that MnPs are effective radio-protectors for radiation-mediated prostate cancer treatment.

  2. Immunohistochemical Expression of FXR1 in Canine Normal Tissues and Melanomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordio, Laura; Marques, Andreia T; Lecchi, Cristina; Luciano, Alberto M; Stefanello, Damiano; Giudice, Chiara

    2018-04-01

    Fragile X mental retardation-related protein 1 (FXR1) is a cytoplasmic RNA-binding protein highly conserved among vertebrates. It has been studied for its role in muscle development, inflammation, and tumorigenesis, being related, for example, to metastasizing behavior in human and canine uveal melanoma. Anti-FXR1 antibodies have never been validated in the canine species. To investigate FXR1 expression in canine melanocytic tumors, the present study tested two commercially available polyclonal anti-human FXR1 antibodies, raised in goat and rabbit, respectively. The cross-reactivity of the anti-FXR1 antibodies was assessed by Western blot analysis, and the protein was localized by IHC in a set of normal canine tissues and in canine melanocytic tumors (10 uveal and 10 oral). Western blot results demonstrated that the antibody raised in rabbit specifically recognized the canine FXR1, while the antibody raised in goat did not cross-react with this canine protein. FXR1 protein was immunodetected using rabbit anti-FXR1 antibody, in canine normal tissues with different levels of intensity and distribution. It was also detected in 10/10 uveal and 9/10 oral melanocytic tumors. The present study validated for the first time the use of anti-FXR1 antibody in dogs and highlighted different FXR1 protein expression in canine melanocytic tumors, the significance of which is undergoing further investigations.

  3. The use of biological isodoses ''IsobioGy 2'' for evaluation of tumour and normal tissues response for fractionated irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maciejewski, B.; Skolyszewski, J.; Majewski, S.; Lobodziec, W.; Jedynak, T.; Slosarek, K.

    1988-01-01

    Divergences between physical and biological dose distributions were analysed using linear quadratic model. It was found that small variations in physical dose distribution and differences in normal tissue sensitivity for change in dose per fraction, expressed by a α/β value, can cause a high difference between physical and biological doses. This difference significantly increases when one field instead of two fields is daily treated. If there is no enough separation between treated fields, the biological dose may dramatically increase. The use of biological ''isobioGy 2'' isodoses, instead of physical isodoses, can provide an important information on biological effect in tumour or normal tissue and may diminish the risk of giving too high dose to normal tissue and too low dose to the tumour. 6 figs., 13 refs. (author)

  4. Feasibility of temporary protective embolization of normal liver tissue using degradable starch microspheres during radioembolization of liver tumours

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meyer, Carsten [University of Bonn, Department of Radiology, Bonn (Germany); Pieper, Claus Christian; Wilhelm, Kai E.; Schild, Hans Heinz [University of Bonn, Department of Radiology, Bonn (Germany); Ezziddin, Samer; Ahmadzadehfar, Hojjat [University of Bonn, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Bonn (Germany)

    2014-02-15

    To describe a new approach to protect nontarget healthy liver tissue using degradable starch microspheres (DSM) as a short-term embolizate during radioembolization of liver tumours with {sup 90}Y microspheres. Between December 2011 and July 2012 radioembolization was performed in 54 patients. Five of these patients (three women, two men; mean age 67 years) underwent protective temporary embolization using DSM (EmboCept {sup registered} S) of normal liver tissue that could not be excluded from the area treated by radioembolization through catheter repositioning. Clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, preinterventional imaging, and {sup 99m}Tc-MAA and bremsstrahlung SPECT/CT, as well as baseline and follow-up imaging with {sup 18}F-FDG PET/CT and MRI, were evaluated in relation to the technical and clinical success of the protective embolization. Temporary embolization of arteries supplying normal liver tissue using DSM was technically successful in all five patients. {sup 99m}Tc-MAA SPECT/CT performed in the first two patients after DSM injection showed no increased pulmonary shunting compared to the MAA test injection without DSM. Bremsstrahlung SPECT/CT after radioembolization demonstrated satisfactory irradiation of the tumour and successful protection of normal liver tissue. There were only mild hepatotoxic effects (grade 1) on laboratory follow-up examinations, and no adverse events associated with DSM embolization or radioembolization were recorded. Temporary embolization with DSM before radioembolization is feasible and can effectively protect areas of normal liver tissue from irradiation and avoid permanent embolization if other methods such as catheter repositioning are not possible due to the location of the metastases. (orig.)

  5. Feasibility of temporary protective embolization of normal liver tissue using degradable starch microspheres during radioembolization of liver tumours

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyer, Carsten; Pieper, Claus Christian; Wilhelm, Kai E.; Schild, Hans Heinz; Ezziddin, Samer; Ahmadzadehfar, Hojjat

    2014-01-01

    To describe a new approach to protect nontarget healthy liver tissue using degradable starch microspheres (DSM) as a short-term embolizate during radioembolization of liver tumours with 90 Y microspheres. Between December 2011 and July 2012 radioembolization was performed in 54 patients. Five of these patients (three women, two men; mean age 67 years) underwent protective temporary embolization using DSM (EmboCept registered S) of normal liver tissue that could not be excluded from the area treated by radioembolization through catheter repositioning. Clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, preinterventional imaging, and 99m Tc-MAA and bremsstrahlung SPECT/CT, as well as baseline and follow-up imaging with 18 F-FDG PET/CT and MRI, were evaluated in relation to the technical and clinical success of the protective embolization. Temporary embolization of arteries supplying normal liver tissue using DSM was technically successful in all five patients. 99m Tc-MAA SPECT/CT performed in the first two patients after DSM injection showed no increased pulmonary shunting compared to the MAA test injection without DSM. Bremsstrahlung SPECT/CT after radioembolization demonstrated satisfactory irradiation of the tumour and successful protection of normal liver tissue. There were only mild hepatotoxic effects (grade 1) on laboratory follow-up examinations, and no adverse events associated with DSM embolization or radioembolization were recorded. Temporary embolization with DSM before radioembolization is feasible and can effectively protect areas of normal liver tissue from irradiation and avoid permanent embolization if other methods such as catheter repositioning are not possible due to the location of the metastases. (orig.)

  6. Variability of individual normal tissue radiation sensitivity. An international empirical evaluation of endogenous and exogenous

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zimmermann, J.S.; Kumpf, L.; Kimmig, B.

    1998-01-01

    Background: The variability of normal-tissue response is of major concern for radiation therapy. Multiple endogenous and exogenous factors are qualitatively known to alter the acute and late tissue response. Which of them are regarded most important by the European radiation oncologists and what is, empirically, their quantitative influence on the acute or late tissue tolerance? Methods: In August 1997, we sent a questionnaire to 255 European radiation oncology departments. Among others, the questionnaire asked for endogenous and exogenous factors modifying the tissue response to radiation therapy and their quantitative influence on the acute and late radiation morbidity (TD5/5). Fifty-five questionnaires (21.5%) were answered. Results: Empirically, the most important endogenous factors to modify the acute tissue tolerance are (a) metabolic/other diseases with macro- or microangiopathia (17 answers [a]/32% mean decrease of tissue tolerance), (b) collagen diseases (9 a/37%) and (c) immune diseases (5 a/53%). As endogenous response modifiers for the TD5/5 are recognized (a) metabolic or other diseases leading to marcro- or microangiopathia (15 a/31%), (b) collagen diseases (11 a/38%) and (c) immune diseases (2 a/50%). Inflammations from any reason are assumed to alter the acute tissue tolerance by (6 a/26%) and the TD5/5 by (10 a/24%). Exogenous modifiers of the acute tissue response mentioned are (a) smoking (34 a/44%), (b) alcohol (23 a/45%), (c) nutrition/diets (16 a/45%), (d) hygiene (9 a/26%) and (e) medical therapies (10 a/37%). Exogenous factors assumed to influence the TD5/5 are (a) smoking (22 a/40%), (b) alcohol (15 a/38%), (c) nutrition/diets (9 a/48%), (d) hygiene (5 a/34%) and (e) medical therapies (10 a/30%). Conclusions: Exogenous factors are regarded more important by number and extent on the acute and late tissue response than endogenous modifiers. Both may have an important influence on the individual expression of normal tissue response. (orig

  7. The effect of setup uncertainty on normal tissue sparing with IMRT for head-and-neck cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manning, Matthew A.; Wu Quiwen; Cardinale, Robert M.; Mohan, Radhe; Lauve, Andrew D.; Kavanagh, Brian D.; Morris, Monica M.; Schmidt-Ullrich, Rupert K.

    2001-01-01

    Purpose: Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is being evaluated in the management of head-and-neck cancers at several institutions, and a Radiation Therapy Oncology Group study of its utility in parotid sparing is under development. There is an inherent risk that the sharper dose gradients generated by IMRT amplify the potentially detrimental impact of setup uncertainty. The International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements Report 62 (ICRU-62) defined planning organ-at-risk volume (PRV) to account for positional uncertainties for normal tissues. The purpose of this study is to quantify the dosimetric effect of employing PRV for the parotid gland and to evaluate the use of PRV on normal-tissue sparing in the setting of small clinical setup errors. Methods and Materials: The optimized nine-beam IMRT plans for three head-and-neck cancer patients participating in an institutional review board approved parotid-sparing protocol were used as reference plans. A second optimized plan was generated for each patient by adding a PRV of 5 mm for the contralateral parotid gland. The effect of these additions on the quality of the plans was quantified, in terms of both target coverage and normal-tissue sparing. To test the value of PRV in a worst-case scenario, systematic translational setup uncertainties were simulated by shifting the treatment isocenter 5 mm superiorly, inferiorly, left, right, anteriorly, and posteriorly, without altering optimized beam profiles. At each shifted isocenter, dose distributions were recalculated, producing a total of six shifted plans without PRV and six shifted plans with PRV for each patient. The effect of setup uncertainty on parotid sparing and the value of PRV in compensating for the uncertainty were evaluated. Results: The addition of the PRV and reoptimization did not significantly affect the dose to gross tumor volume, spinal cord, or brainstem. In contrast, without any shift, the PRV did increase parotid sparing and reduce

  8. Positive Selection Linked with Generation of Novel Mammalian Dentition Patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Machado, João Paulo; Philip, Siby; Maldonado, Emanuel; O'Brien, Stephen J; Johnson, Warren E; Antunes, Agostinho

    2016-09-11

    A diverse group of genes are involved in the tooth development of mammals. Several studies, focused mainly on mice and rats, have provided a detailed depiction of the processes coordinating tooth formation and shape. Here we surveyed 236 tooth-associated genes in 39 mammalian genomes and tested for signatures of selection to assess patterns of molecular adaptation in genes regulating mammalian dentition. Of the 236 genes, 31 (∼13.1%) showed strong signatures of positive selection that may be responsible for the phenotypic diversity observed in mammalian dentition. Mammalian-specific tooth-associated genes had accelerated mutation rates compared with older genes found across all vertebrates. More recently evolved genes had fewer interactions (either genetic or physical), were associated with fewer Gene Ontology terms and had faster evolutionary rates compared with older genes. The introns of these positively selected genes also exhibited accelerated evolutionary rates, which may reflect additional adaptive pressure in the intronic regions that are associated with regulatory processes that influence tooth-gene networks. The positively selected genes were mainly involved in processes like mineralization and structural organization of tooth specific tissues such as enamel and dentin. Of the 236 analyzed genes, 12 mammalian-specific genes (younger genes) provided insights on diversification of mammalian teeth as they have higher evolutionary rates and exhibit different expression profiles compared with older genes. Our results suggest that the evolution and development of mammalian dentition occurred in part through positive selection acting on genes that previously had other functions. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

  9. Expression and relevant research of MGMT and XRCC1 gene in differentgrades of brain glioma and normal brain tissues

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Ya-Fei Zhang

    2015-01-01

    Objective: To explore and analyze expression and relevant research of MGMT and XRCC1 gene in different grades of brain glioma and normal brain tissues. Methods: 52 cases of patients with brain glioma treated in our hospital from December 2013 to December 2014, and 50 cases of normal brain-tissue patients with intracranial hypertension were selected, and proceeding test to the surgical resection of brain tissue of the above patients to determine its MGMT and XRCC1 protein content, sequentially to record the expression of MGMT and XRCC1 of both groups. Grading of tumors to brain glioma after operation was carried out, and the expression of MGMT and XRCC1 gene in brain tissues of different patients was analyzed and compared;finally the contingency tables of X2 test was used to analyze the correlation of XRCC1and MGMT. Results:Positive rate of MGMT expression in normal brain tissue was 2%,while positive rate of MGMT expression in brain glioma was 46.2%,which was obviously higher than that in normal brain tissues (χ2=26.85, P0.05), which had no statistical significance. There were 12 cases of patients whose MGMT protein expression was positive and XRCC1 protein expression was positive; there were 18 cases of patients whose MGMT protein expression was negative and XRCC1 protein expression was negative. Contingency tables of X2 test was used to analyze the correlation of XRCC1 and MGMT, which indicated that the expression of XRCCI and MGMT in brain glioma had no correlation (r=0.9%, P=0.353), relevancy of both was r=0.9%. Conclusions: Positive rate of the expression of MGMT and XRCC1 in brain glioma was obviously higher than that in normal brain tissues, but the distribution of different grades of brain glioma had no obvious difference, and MGMT and XRCC1 expression had no obvious correlation, which needed further research.

  10. Characterization of adenoviral transduction profile in prostate cancer cells and normal prostate tissue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ai, Jianzhong; Tai, Phillip W L; Lu, Yi; Li, Jia; Ma, Hong; Su, Qin; Wei, Qiang; Li, Hong; Gao, Guangping

    2017-09-01

    Prostate diseases are common in males worldwide with high morbidity. Gene therapy is an attractive therapeutic strategy for prostate diseases, however, it is currently underdeveloped. As well known, adeno virus (Ad) is the most widely used gene therapy vector. The aims of this study are to explore transduction efficiency of Ad in prostate cancer cells and normal prostate tissue, thus further providing guidance for future prostate pathophysiological studies and therapeutic development of prostate diseases. We produced Ad expressing enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP), and characterized the transduction efficiency of Ad in both human and mouse prostate cancer cell lines in vitro, as well as prostate tumor xenograft, and wild-type mouse prostate tissue in vivo. Ad transduction efficiency was determined by EGFP fluorescence using microscopy and flow cytometry. Cell type-specific transduction was examined by immunofluorescence staining of cell markers. Our data showed that Ad efficiently transduced human and mouse prostate cancer cells in vitro in a dose dependent manner. Following intratumoral and intraprostate injection, Ad could efficiently transduce prostate tumor xenograft and the major prostatic cell types in vivo, respectively. Our findings suggest that Ad can efficiently transduce prostate tumor cells in vitro as well as xenograft and normal prostate tissue in vivo, and further indicate that Ad could be a potentially powerful toolbox for future gene therapy of prostate diseases. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Immunohistochemical Study of Expression of Sohlh1 and Sohlh2 in Normal Adult Human Tissues.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoli Zhang

    Full Text Available The expression pattern of Sohlh1 (spermatogenesis and oogenesis specific basic helix-loop-helix 1 and Sohlh2 in mice has been reported in previous studies. Sohlh1 and Sohlh2 are specifically expressed in spermatogonia, prespermatogonia in male mice and oocytes of primordial and primary follicles in female mice. In this report, we studied the expression pattern of Sohlh1 and Sohlh2 in human adult tissues. Immunohistochemical staining of Sohlh1 and Sohlh2 was performed in 5 samples of normal ovaries and testes, respectively. The results revealed that Sohlh genes are not only expressed in oocytes and spermatogonia, but also in granular cells, theca cells, Sertoli cells and Leydig cells, and in smooth muscles of blood vessel walls. To further investigate the expression of Sohlh genes in other adult human tissues, we collected representative normal adult tissues developed from three embryonic germ layers. Compared with the expression in mice, Sohlhs exhibited a much more extensive expression pattern in human tissues. Sohlhs were detected in testis, ovary and epithelia developed from embryonic endoderm, ectoderm and tissues developed from embryonic mesoderm. Sohlh signals were found in spermatogonia, Sertoli cells and also Leydig cells in testis, while in ovary, the expression was mainly in oocytes of primordial and primary follicles, granular cells and theca cells of secondary follicles. Compared with Sohlh2, the expression of Sohlh1 was stronger and more extensive. Our study explored the expression of Sohlh genes in human tissues and might provide insights for functional studies of Sohlh genes.

  12. [Morphology of basement membrane and associated matrix proteins in normal and pathological tissues].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nerlich, A

    1995-01-01

    Basement membranes (BM) are specialized structures of the extracellular matrix. Their composition is of particular importance for the maintenance of normal morphological and functional properties of a multitude of organs and tissue systems and it is thus required for regular homeostasis of body function. Generally, they possess three main functions, i.e. participation in the maintenance of tissue structure, control of fluid and substrate exchange, and regulation of cell growth and differentiation. BMs are made up by various components which are in part specifically localized within the BM zone, or which represent ubiquitous matrix constituents with specific quantitative and/or qualitative differences in their localization. On the basis of a thorough immunohistochemical analysis of normal and diseased tissues, we provide here a concept of "functional morphology/pathomorphology" of the different BM components analyzed: 1.) The ubiquitous BM-constituent collagen IV primarily stabilizes the BM-zone and thus represents the "backbone" of the BM providing mechanical strength. Its loss leads to cystic tissue transformation as it is evidenced from the analysis of polycystic nephropathies. Thus, in other cystic tissue transformations a similar formal pathogenesis may be present. 2.) The specific localization of collagen VII as the main structural component of anchoring fibrils underlines the mechanical anchoring function of this collagenous protein. Defects in this protein lead to hereditary epidermolysis. The rapid re-occurrence of epidermal collagen VII during normal human wound healing indicates a quick reconstitution of the mechanical tensile strength of healing wounds. 3.) The BM-specific heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG, Perlecan) with its highly negative anionic charge can be assumed to exert filter control. This assumption is corroborated by the localizatory findings of a preferential deposition of HSPG in endothelial and particularly in glomerular BM. Similarly

  13. Analysis of the genetic phylogeny of multifocal prostate cancer identifies multiple independent clonal expansions in neoplastic and morphologically normal prostate tissue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Colin S; Eeles, Rosalind; Wedge, David C; Van Loo, Peter; Gundem, Gunes; Alexandrov, Ludmil B; Kremeyer, Barbara; Butler, Adam; Lynch, Andrew G; Camacho, Niedzica; Massie, Charlie E; Kay, Jonathan; Luxton, Hayley J; Edwards, Sandra; Kote-Jarai, ZSofia; Dennis, Nening; Merson, Sue; Leongamornlert, Daniel; Zamora, Jorge; Corbishley, Cathy; Thomas, Sarah; Nik-Zainal, Serena; O'Meara, Sarah; Matthews, Lucy; Clark, Jeremy; Hurst, Rachel; Mithen, Richard; Bristow, Robert G; Boutros, Paul C; Fraser, Michael; Cooke, Susanna; Raine, Keiran; Jones, David; Menzies, Andrew; Stebbings, Lucy; Hinton, Jon; Teague, Jon; McLaren, Stuart; Mudie, Laura; Hardy, Claire; Anderson, Elizabeth; Joseph, Olivia; Goody, Victoria; Robinson, Ben; Maddison, Mark; Gamble, Stephen; Greenman, Christopher; Berney, Dan; Hazell, Steven; Livni, Naomi; Fisher, Cyril; Ogden, Christopher; Kumar, Pardeep; Thompson, Alan; Woodhouse, Christopher; Nicol, David; Mayer, Erik; Dudderidge, Tim; Shah, Nimish C; Gnanapragasam, Vincent; Voet, Thierry; Campbell, Peter; Futreal, Andrew; Easton, Douglas; Warren, Anne Y; Foster, Christopher S; Stratton, Michael R; Whitaker, Hayley C; McDermott, Ultan; Brewer, Daniel S; Neal, David E

    2015-04-01

    Genome-wide DNA sequencing was used to decrypt the phylogeny of multiple samples from distinct areas of cancer and morphologically normal tissue taken from the prostates of three men. Mutations were present at high levels in morphologically normal tissue distant from the cancer, reflecting clonal expansions, and the underlying mutational processes at work in morphologically normal tissue were also at work in cancer. Our observations demonstrate the existence of ongoing abnormal mutational processes, consistent with field effects, underlying carcinogenesis. This mechanism gives rise to extensive branching evolution and cancer clone mixing, as exemplified by the coexistence of multiple cancer lineages harboring distinct ERG fusions within a single cancer nodule. Subsets of mutations were shared either by morphologically normal and malignant tissues or between different ERG lineages, indicating earlier or separate clonal cell expansions. Our observations inform on the origin of multifocal disease and have implications for prostate cancer therapy in individual cases.

  14. Pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of five active ingredients of Eucommiae cortex in normal and ovariectomized mice by UHPLC-MS/MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Jing; Hu, Fangdi; Wang, Changhong; Zhang, Zijia; Yang, Li; Wang, Zhengtao

    2016-09-01

    1. Pinoresinol di-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (PDG), geniposide (GE), geniposidic acid (GA), aucubin (AN) and chlorogenic acid (CA) are the representative active ingredients in Eucommiae cortex (EC), which may be estrogenic. 2. The ultra high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of the five ingredients showed good linearity, low limits of quantification and high extraction recoveries, as well as acceptable precision, accuracy and stability in mice plasma and tissue samples (liver, spleen, kidney and uterus). It was successfully applied to the comparative study on pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of PDG, GE, GA, AN and CA between normal and ovariectomized (OVX) mice. 3. The results indicated that except CA, the plasma and tissue concentrations of PDG, GE, GA in OVX mice were all greater than those in normal mice. AN could only be detected in the plasma and liver homogenate of normal mice, which was poorly absorbed in OVX mice and low in other measured tissues. PDG, GE and GA seem to be better absorbed in OVX mice than in normal mice proved by the remarkable increased value of AUC0-∞ and Cmax. It is beneficial that PDG, GE, GA have better plasma absorption and tissue distribution in pathological state.

  15. Intestinal mucosa is a target tissue for pancreatic polypeptide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilbert, W.R.; Kramer, J.L.; Frank, B.H.; Gingerich, R.L.

    1986-01-01

    Studies were carried out to identify mammalian tissues capable of specifically binding mammalian pancreatic polypeptide (PP). Bovine PP (bPP) radiolabeled with 125 I was purified by HPLC to yield [ 125 I]iodo-(Tyr-27) bPP. The label was injected into three pairs of fasted littermate dogs and allowed to circulate for 5 min. One of the dogs was a control which received an excess of unlabeled porcine PP to provide competition for receptor binding. Unbound bPP was removed by perfusion with Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate and the tissue fixed in situ with Karnovsky's fixative. Tissue samples from various organs were removed, weighed, and counted. The entire gastrointestinal tract demonstrated high levels of 125 I after injection of the labeled peptide. The duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and colon were the only tissues to exhibit specific binding of bPP. These tissues (mucosal and muscle layers) from experimental animals exhibited 31-76% higher binding than the corresponding tissues from the control animals. Sections of the gastrointestinal tract were scraped to separate the mucosal layer from the underlying muscle layer. The mucosal layer of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum exhibited 145-162% increases in binding compared to the control animals. The muscle layer of these tissues demonstrated no significant increase. These findings demonstrate that mucosal layer of the small intestine is a target tissue for mammalian PP

  16. Quantitative radiation dose-response relationships for normal tissues in man - I. Gustatory tissues response during photon and neutron radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mossman, K.L.

    1982-01-01

    Quantitative radiation dose-response curves for normal gustatory tissue in man were studied. Taste function, expressed as taste loss, was evaluated in 84 patients who were given either photon or neutron radiotherapy for tumors in the head and neck region. Patients were treated to average tumor doses of 6600 cGy (photon) or 2200 cGy intervals for photon patients and 320-cGy intervals for neutron patients during radiotherapy. The dose-response curves for photons and neutrons were analyzed by fitting a four-parameter logistic equation to the data. Photon and neutron curves differed principally in their relative position along the dose axis. Comparison of the dose-response curves were made by determination of RBE. At 320 cGy, the lowest neutron dose at which taste measurements were made, RBE = 5.7. If this RBE is correct, then the therapeutic gain factor may be equal to or less than 1, indicating no biological advantage in using neutrons over photons for this normal tissue. These studies suggest measurements of taste function and evaluation of dose-response relationships may also be useful in quantitatively evaluating the efficacy of chemical modifiers of radiation response such as hypoxic cell radiosensitizers and radioprotectors

  17. Lack of radiation protective effect of orgotein in normal and malignant mammalian cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Overgaard, J.; Nielsen, O.S.; Overgaard, M.; Steenholdt, S.; Jakobsen, A.; Sell, A.

    1979-01-01

    The potential radiation protective effect of orgotein, a metalloprotein with superoxide dismutase activity, was investigated in L 1 A 2 tumour cells in vitro, jejunal crypt cells and C 3 H mouse mammary carcinoma in vivo. No effect of orgotein, given either 2 hours before irradiation or 30 min after, was observed compared to the effect of irradiation alone. Thus, it was concluded that orgotein did not influence the primary radiation response in air in mammalian cells. (Auth.)

  18. An Intron 9 CYP19 Gene Variant (IVS9+5G>A), Present in an Aromatase-Deficient Girl, Affects Normal Splicing and Is Also Present in Normal Human Steroidogenic Tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saraco, Nora; Nesi-Franca, Suzana; Sainz, Romina; Marino, Roxana; Marques-Pereira, Rosana; La Pastina, Julia; Perez Garrido, Natalia; Sandrini, Romolo; Rivarola, Marco Aurelio; de Lacerda, Luiz; Belgorosky, Alicia

    2015-01-01

    Splicing CYP19 gene variants causing aromatase deficiency in 46,XX disorder of sexual development (DSD) patients have been reported in a few cases. A misbalance between normal and aberrant splicing variants was proposed to explain spontaneous pubertal breast development but an incomplete sex maturation progress. The aim of this study was to functionally characterize a novel CYP19A1 intronic homozygote mutation (IVS9+5G>A) in a 46,XX DSD girl presenting spontaneous breast development and primary amenorrhea, and to evaluate similar splicing variant expression in normal steroidogenic tissues. Genomic DNA analysis, splicing prediction programs, splicing assays, and in vitro protein expression and enzyme activity analyses were carried out. CYP19A1 mRNA expression in human steroidogenic tissues was also studied. A novel IVS9+5G>A homozygote mutation was found. In silico analysis predicts the disappearance of the splicing donor site in intron 9, confirmed by patient peripheral leukocyte cP450arom and in vitro studies. Protein analysis showed a shorter and inactive protein. The intron 9 transcript variant was also found in human steroidogenic tissues. The mutation IVS9+5G>A generates a splicing variant that includes intron 9 which is also present in normal human steroidogenic tissues, suggesting that a misbalance between normal and aberrant splicing variants might occur in target tissues, explaining the clinical phenotype in the affected patient. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  19. Differentiation of prostate cancer from normal prostate tissue in an animal model: conventional MRI and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gemeinhardt, O.; Prochnow, D.; Taupitz, M.; Hamm, B.; Beyersdorff, D.; Luedemann, L.; Abramjuk, C.

    2005-01-01

    Purpose: to differentiate orthotopically implanted prostate cancer from normal prostate tissue using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Gd-DTPA-BMA-enhanced dynamic MRI in the rat model. Material and methods: tumors were induced in 15 rats by orthotopic implantation of G subline Dunning rat prostatic tumor cells. MRI was performed 56 to 60 days after tumor cell implantation using T1-weighted spin-echo, T2-weighted turbo SE sequences, and a 2D FLASH sequence for the contrast medium based dynamic study. The interstitial leakage volume, normalized permeability and the permeability surface area product of tumor and healthy prostate were determined quantitatively using a pharmacokinetic model. The results were confirmed by histologic examination. Results: axial T2-weighted TSE images depicted low-intensity areas suspicious for tumor in all 15 animals. The mean tumor volume was 46.5 mm3. In the dynamic study, the suspicious areas in all animals displayed faster and more pronounced signal enhancement than surrounding prostate tissue. The interstitial volume and the permeability surface area product of the tumors increased significantly by 420% (p<0.001) and 424% (p<0.001), respectively, compared to normal prostate tissue, while no significant difference was seen for normalized permeability alone. Conclusion: the results of the present study demonstrate that quantitative analysis of contrast-enhanced dynamic MRI data enables differentiation of small, slowly growing orthotopic prostate cancer from normal prostate tissue in the rat model. (orig.)

  20. The claudin gene family: expression in normal and neoplastic tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hewitt, Kyle J; Agarwal, Rachana; Morin, Patrice J

    2006-01-01

    The claudin (CLDN) genes encode a family of proteins important in tight junction formation and function. Recently, it has become apparent that CLDN gene expression is frequently altered in several human cancers. However, the exact patterns of CLDN expression in various cancers is unknown, as only a limited number of CLDN genes have been investigated in a few tumors. We identified all the human CLDN genes from Genbank and we used the large public SAGE database to ascertain the gene expression of all 21 CLDN in 266 normal and neoplastic tissues. Using real-time RT-PCR, we also surveyed a subset of 13 CLDN genes in 24 normal and 24 neoplastic tissues. We show that claudins represent a family of highly related proteins, with claudin-16, and -23 being the most different from the others. From in silico analysis and RT-PCR data, we find that most claudin genes appear decreased in cancer, while CLDN3, CLDN4, and CLDN7 are elevated in several malignancies such as those originating from the pancreas, bladder, thyroid, fallopian tubes, ovary, stomach, colon, breast, uterus, and the prostate. Interestingly, CLDN5 is highly expressed in vascular endothelial cells, providing a possible target for antiangiogenic therapy. CLDN18 might represent a biomarker for gastric cancer. Our study confirms previously known CLDN gene expression patterns and identifies new ones, which may have applications in the detection, prognosis and therapy of several human cancers. In particular we identify several malignancies that express CLDN3 and CLDN4. These cancers may represent ideal candidates for a novel therapy being developed based on CPE, a toxin that specifically binds claudin-3 and claudin-4

  1. MO-D-BRF-01: Pediatric Treatment Planning II: The PENTEC Report On Normal Tissue Complications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Constine, L; Hodgson, D; Bentzen, S

    2014-01-01

    With advances in multimodality therapy, childhood cancer cure rates approach 80%. However, both radiotherapy and chemotherapy may cause debilitating or even fatal ‘late effects’ that are critical to understand, mitigate, or prevent. QUANTEC identified the uncertainties relating to side-effects of adult treatments, but this is more complicated for children in whom a mosaic of tissues develops at different rates and temporal sequences. Childhood cancer survivors have long life expectancy and may develop treatmentinduced secondary cancers and severe organ/tissue injury decades after treatment. Collaborative long-term observational studies and clinical research programs for survivors of pediatric and adolescent cancer provide some dose-response data for follow-up periods exceeding 40 years. Data analysis is challenging due to the influence of both therapeutic and developmental variables. PENTEC is a group of radiation oncologists, pediatric oncologists, subsepcialty physicians, medical physicists, biomathematic modelers/statisticians, and epidemiologists charged with conducting a critical synthesis of existing literature aiming to: critically analyze radiation dose-volume effects on normal tissue tolerances as a function of age/development in pediatric cancer patients in order to inform treatment planning and improve outcomes for survivors; describe relevant physics issues specific to pediatric radiotherapy; propose dose-volumeoutcome reporting standards to improve the knowledge base to inform future treatment guidelines. PENTEC has developed guidelines for systematic literature reviews, data extraction tolls and data analysis. This education session will discuss:1. Special considerations for normal tissue radiation response of children/adolescents, e.g. the interplay between development and radiotherapy effects.2. Epidemiology of organ/tissue injuries and secondary cancers.3. Exploration of dose-response differences between children and adults4. Methodology for

  2. MO-D-BRF-01: Pediatric Treatment Planning II: The PENTEC Report On Normal Tissue Complications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Constine, L; Hodgson, D; Bentzen, S [University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD (United States)

    2014-06-15

    With advances in multimodality therapy, childhood cancer cure rates approach 80%. However, both radiotherapy and chemotherapy may cause debilitating or even fatal ‘late effects’ that are critical to understand, mitigate, or prevent. QUANTEC identified the uncertainties relating to side-effects of adult treatments, but this is more complicated for children in whom a mosaic of tissues develops at different rates and temporal sequences. Childhood cancer survivors have long life expectancy and may develop treatmentinduced secondary cancers and severe organ/tissue injury decades after treatment. Collaborative long-term observational studies and clinical research programs for survivors of pediatric and adolescent cancer provide some dose-response data for follow-up periods exceeding 40 years. Data analysis is challenging due to the influence of both therapeutic and developmental variables. PENTEC is a group of radiation oncologists, pediatric oncologists, subsepcialty physicians, medical physicists, biomathematic modelers/statisticians, and epidemiologists charged with conducting a critical synthesis of existing literature aiming to: critically analyze radiation dose-volume effects on normal tissue tolerances as a function of age/development in pediatric cancer patients in order to inform treatment planning and improve outcomes for survivors; describe relevant physics issues specific to pediatric radiotherapy; propose dose-volumeoutcome reporting standards to improve the knowledge base to inform future treatment guidelines. PENTEC has developed guidelines for systematic literature reviews, data extraction tolls and data analysis. This education session will discuss:1. Special considerations for normal tissue radiation response of children/adolescents, e.g. the interplay between development and radiotherapy effects.2. Epidemiology of organ/tissue injuries and secondary cancers.3. Exploration of dose-response differences between children and adults4. Methodology for

  3. Lack of radiation protective effect of orgotein in normal and malignant mammalian cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Overgaard, J; Nielsen, O S; Overgaard, M; Steenholdt, S; Jakobsen, A; Sell, A [Institute of Cancer Research and The Department of Radiation Therapy and Oncology, The Radium Centre, Aarhus, Denmark

    1979-01-01

    The potential radiation protective effect of orgotein, a metalloprotein with superoxide dismutase activity, was investigated in L/sub 1/A/sub 2/ tumour cells in vitro, jejunal crypt cells and C/sub 3/H mouse mammary carcinoma in vivo. No effect of orgotein, given either 2 hours before irradiation or 30 min after, was observed compared to the effect of irradiation alone. Thus, it was concluded that orgotein did not influence the primary radiation response in air in mammalian cells.

  4. ALERT. Adverse late effects of cancer treatment. Vol. 2. Normal tissue specific sites and systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rubin, Philip; Constine, Louis S. [Univ. Rochester Medical Center, NY (United States). Dept. of Radiation Oncology; Marks, Lawrence B. (ed.) [Univ. North Carolina and Lineberger, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, NC (United States). Dept. of Radiation Oncology

    2014-09-01

    Comprehensively documents potential late effects in all the normal tissue sites in the human body. Considers in detail the detection, diagnosis, management and prevention of effects and discusses prognostic outcomes. Clearly presents radiation risk factors and interactions with chemotherapy effects. Provides the most current evidence-based medicine for cancer care survivorship guidelines. The literature on the late effects of cancer treatment is widely scattered in different journals since all major organ systems are affected and management is based on a variety of medical and surgical treatments. The aim of ALERT - Adverse Late Effects of Cancer Treatment is to offer a coherent multidisciplinary approach to the care of cancer survivors. The central paradigm is that cytotoxic multimodal therapy results in a perpetual cascade of events that affects each major organ system differently and is expressed continually over time. Essentially, radiation and chemotherapy are intense biologic modifiers that allow for cancer cure and cancer survivorship but accelerate senescence of normal tissues and increase the incidence of age-related diseases and second malignant tumors. Volume 2 of this two-volume work comprehensively documents potential late effects in all the normal tissue anatomic sites in the human body. The detection, diagnosis, management and prevention of effects are all considered in detail, and prognostic outcomes are discussed. Radiation risk factors and interactions with chemotherapy effects are clearly presented. The text is accompanied by numerous supportive illustrations and tables.

  5. A close look at the mammalian blastocyst: epiblast and primitive endoderm formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artus, Jérôme; Chazaud, Claire

    2014-09-01

    During early development, the mammalian embryo undergoes a series of profound changes that lead to the formation of two extraembryonic tissues--the trophectoderm and the primitive endoderm. These tissues encapsulate the pluripotent epiblast at the time of implantation. The current model proposes that the formation of these lineages results from two consecutive binary cell fate decisions. The first controls the formation of the trophectoderm and the inner cell mass, and the second controls the formation of the primitive endoderm and the epiblast within the inner cell mass. While early mammalian embryos develop with extensive plasticity, the embryonic pattern prior to implantation is remarkably reproducible. Here, we review the molecular mechanisms driving the cell fate decision between primitive endoderm and epiblast in the mouse embryo and integrate data from recent studies into the current model of the molecular network regulating the segregation between these lineages and their subsequent differentiation.

  6. Apparent diffusion coefficient of breast cancer and normal fibroglandular tissue in diffusion-weighted imaging: the effects of menstrual cycle and menopausal status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jin You; Suh, Hie Bum; Kang, Hyun Jung; Shin, Jong Ki; Choo, Ki Seok; Nam, Kyung Jin; Lee, Seok Won; Jung, Young Lae; Bae, Young Tae

    2016-05-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate prospectively whether the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of both breast cancer and normal fibroglandular tissue vary with the menstrual cycle and menopausal status. Institutional review board approval was obtained, and informed consent was obtained from each participant. Fifty-seven women (29 premenopausal, 28 postmenopausal) with newly diagnosed breast cancer underwent diffusion-weighted imaging twice (interval 12-20 days) before surgery. Two radiologists independently measured ADC of breast cancer and normal contralateral breast tissue, and we quantified the differences according to the phases of menstrual cycle and menopausal status. With normal fibroglandular tissue, ADC was significantly lower in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women (P = 0.035). In premenopausal women, ADC did not differ significantly between proliferative and secretory phases in either breast cancer or normal fibroglandular tissue (P = 0.969 and P = 0.519, respectively). In postmenopausal women, no significant differences were found between ADCs measured at different time intervals in either breast cancer or normal fibroglandular tissue (P = 0.948 and P = 0.961, respectively). The within-subject variability of the ADC measurements was quantified using the coefficient of variation (CV) and was small: the mean CVs of tumor ADC were 2.90 % (premenopausal) and 3.43 % (postmenopausal), and those of fibroglandular tissue ADC were 4.37 % (premenopausal) and 2.55 % (postmenopausal). Both intra- and interobserver agreements were excellent for ADC measurements, with intraclass correlation coefficients in the range of 0.834-0.974. In conclusion, the measured ADCs of breast cancer and normal fibroglandular tissue were not affected significantly by menstrual cycle, and the measurements were highly reproducible both within and between observers.

  7. 2-deoxyglucose tissue levels and insulin levels following tolazamide dosing in normal and obese mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skillman, C.A.; Fletcher, H.P.

    1986-01-01

    The effect of tolazamide (TZ), a sulfonylurea, on 14 C-2-deoxyglucose ( 14 C-2DG) tissue distribution and insulin levels of normal and obese mice was investigated using an in vivo physiological method. Acute doses of TZ (50 mg/kg ip) increased 14 C-2DG levels in gastrocnemius muscle and retroperitoneal fat and produced a transient elevation of insulin which most likely accounts for the increased 14 C-2DG levels in muscle and fat. The results demonstrate that the in vivo 14 C-2DG method produced results consistent with known actions of sulfonylureas on in vitro hexose assimilation in muscle and fat. Subchronic treatment (7 days) with TZ 50 mg/kg ip twice daily did not result in increased insulin-stimulated 14 C-2DG tissue levels in normal mice when compared to saline treated controls. However, insulin levels were lower in mice treated subchronically with TZ compared to saline controls suggesting an enhancement of insulin action. Viable yellow obese mice represent a model of maturity onset obesity presenting with insulin resistance. The insulin resistance of this obese strain appears to reside in the fat tissue as assessed by comparing 14 C-2DG tissue levels of obese mice with lean littermate controls. Subchronic TZ treatment had no effect on 14 C-2DG uptake in fat or muscle tissue of viable yellow obese mice and did not alter their plasma insulin levels. It appears that genetically obese viable mice may be resistant to subchronic treatment with TZ. (author)

  8. Human BLCAP transcript: new editing events in normal and cancerous tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galeano, Federica; Leroy, Anne; Rossetti, Claudia; Gromova, Irina; Gautier, Philippe; Keegan, Liam P; Massimi, Luca; Di Rocco, Concezio; O'Connell, Mary A; Gallo, Angela

    2010-07-01

    Bladder cancer-associated protein (BLCAP) is a highly conserved protein among species, and it is considered a novel candidate tumor suppressor gene originally identified from human bladder carcinoma. However, little is known about the regulation or the function of this protein. Here, we show that the human BLCAP transcript undergoes multiple A-to-I editing events. Some of the new editing events alter the highly conserved amino terminus of the protein creating alternative protein isoforms by changing the genetically coded amino acids. We found that both ADAR1 and ADAR2-editing enzymes cooperate to edit this transcript and that different tissues displayed distinctive ratios of edited and unedited BLCAP transcripts. Moreover, we observed a general decrease in BLCAP-editing level in astrocytomas, bladder cancer and colorectal cancer when compared with the related normal tissues. The newly identified editing events, found to be downregulated in cancers, could be useful for future studies as a diagnostic tool to distinguish malignancies or epigenetic changes in different tumors.

  9. Identification of the boundary between normal breast tissue and invasive ductal carcinoma during breast-conserving surgery using multiphoton microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Tongxin; Nie, Yuting; Lian, Yuane; Wu, Yan; Fu, Fangmeng; Wang, Chuan; Zhuo, Shuangmu; Chen, Jianxin

    2014-11-01

    Breast-conserving surgery has become an important way of surgical treatment for breast cancer worldwide nowadays. Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) has the ability to noninvasively visualize tissue architectures at the cellular level using intrinsic fluorescent molecules in biological tissues without the need for fluorescent dye. In this study, MPM is used to image the microstructures of terminal duct lobular unit (TDLU), invasive ductal carcinoma and the boundary region between normal and cancerous breast tissues. Our study demonstrates that MPM has the ability to not only reveal the morphological changes of the cuboidal epithelium, basement membrane and interlobular stroma but also identify the boundary between normal breast tissue and invasive ductal carcinoma, which correspond well to the Hematoxylin and Eosin (H and E) images. Predictably, MPM can monitor surgical margins in real time and provide considerable accuracy for resection of breast cancerous tissues intraoperatively. With the development of miniature, real-time MPM imaging technology, MPM should have great application prospects during breast-conserving surgery.

  10. Hypothyroidism after primary radiotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Normal tissue complication probability modeling with latent time correction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rønjom, Marianne Feen; Brink, Carsten; Bentzen, Søren

    2013-01-01

    To develop a normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) model of radiation-induced biochemical hypothyroidism (HT) after primary radiotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with adjustment for latency and clinical risk factors.......To develop a normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) model of radiation-induced biochemical hypothyroidism (HT) after primary radiotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with adjustment for latency and clinical risk factors....

  11. Effects of warm ischemic time on gene expression profiling in colorectal cancer tissues and normal mucosa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valeria Musella

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Genome-wide gene expression analyses of tumors are a powerful tool to identify gene signatures associated with biologically and clinically relevant characteristics and for several tumor types are under clinical validation by prospective trials. However, handling and processing of clinical specimens may significantly affect the molecular data obtained from their analysis. We studied the effects of tissue handling time on gene expression in human normal and tumor colon tissues undergoing routine surgical procedures. METHODS: RNA extracted from specimens of 15 patients at four time points (for a total of 180 samples after surgery was analyzed for gene expression on high-density oligonucleotide microarrays. A mixed-effects model was used to identify probes with different expression means across the four different time points. The p-values of the model were adjusted with the Bonferroni method. RESULTS: Thirty-two probe sets associated with tissue handling time in the tumor specimens, and thirty-one in the normal tissues, were identified. Most genes exhibited moderate changes in expression over the time points analyzed; however four of them were oncogenes, and two confirmed the effect of tissue handling by independent validation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that a critical time point for tissue handling in colon seems to be 60 minutes at room temperature. Although the number of time-dependent genes we identified was low, the three genes that already showed changes at this time point in tumor samples were all oncogenes, hence recommending standardization of tissue-handling protocols and effort to reduce the time from specimen removal to snap freezing accounting for warm ischemia in this tumor type.

  12. The measurement of intrinsic cellular radiosensitivity in human tumours and normal tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lawton, P.A.

    1995-01-01

    Human tumour and normal cell radiosensitivity are thought to be important factors determining the response of tumour and normal tissues to radiotherapy, respectively. Clonogenic assays are the standard method for measuring radiosensitivity but they are of limited applicability for clinical use with fresh human tumours. The main aim of this work was to evaluate the Adhesive Tumour Cell Culture System (ATCCS), as a method for measuring the radiosensitivity of human tumours. A soft agar clonogenic assay, the modified Courtenay-Mills assay, was used as a standard to compare with the ATCCS. The demonstration that fibroblast contamination could occur with both assay methods led to the investigation of a new technique for removing unwanted fibroblasts from tumour cell suspensions and to the use of a multiwell assay for measuring fibroblast radiosensitivity. (author)

  13. The measurement of intrinsic cellular radiosensitivity in human tumours and normal tissues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lawton, P.A.

    1995-12-31

    Human tumour and normal cell radiosensitivity are thought to be important factors determining the response of tumour and normal tissues to radiotherapy, respectively. Clonogenic assays are the standard method for measuring radiosensitivity but they are of limited applicability for clinical use with fresh human tumours. The main aim of this work was to evaluate the Adhesive Tumour Cell Culture System (ATCCS), as a method for measuring the radiosensitivity of human tumours. A soft agar clonogenic assay, the modified Courtenay-Mills assay, was used as a standard to compare with the ATCCS. The demonstration that fibroblast contamination could occur with both assay methods led to the investigation of a new technique for removing unwanted fibroblasts from tumour cell suspensions and to the use of a multiwell assay for measuring fibroblast radiosensitivity. (author).

  14. An analysis of particle track effects on solid mammalian tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Todd, P.

    1992-01-01

    The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) and quality factor (Q) at extreme values of linear energy transfer (LET) have been determined on the basis of experiments with single-cell systems and specific tissue responses. In typical single-cell systems, each heavy particle (Ar or Fe) passes through a single cell or no cell. In experiments on animal tissues, however, each heavy particle passes through several cells, and the LET can exceed 200 keV μm -1 in every cell. In most laboratory animal tissue systems, however, only a small portion of the hit cells are capable of expressing the end-point being measured, such as cell killing, mutation or carcinogenesis. The following question was therefore addressed: do RBEs and Q factors derived from single-cell experiments properly account for the damage at high LET when multiple cells are hit by HZE tracks? A review is offered in which measured radiation effects and known tissue properties are combined to estimate on the one hand, the number of cells at risk, p 3 n, per track, where n is the number of cells per track based on tissue and organ geometry, and p 3 is the probability that a cell in the track is capable of expressing the experimental end-point. On the other hand, the tissue and single-cell responses are compared by determining the ratio RBE in tissue/RBE in corresponding single cells. Experimental data from the literature indicate that tissue RBEs at very high LET (Fe and Ar ions) are higher than corresponding single-cell RBEs, especially in tissues in which p 3 n is high. (author)

  15. Large animal normal tissue tolerance with boron neutron capture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gavin, P R; Kraft, S L; DeHaan, C E; Swartz, C D; Griebenow, M L

    1994-03-30

    Normal tissue tolerance of boron neutron capture irradiation using borocaptate sodium (NA2B12H11SH) in an epithermal neutron beam was studied. Large retriever-type dogs were used and the irradiations were performed by single dose, 5 x 10 dorsal portal. Fourteen dogs were irradiated with the epithermal neutron beam alone and 35 dogs were irradiated following intravenous administration of borocaptate sodium. Total body irradiation effect could be seen from the decreased leukocytes and platelets following irradiation. Most values returned to normal within 40 days postirradiation. Severe dermal necrosis occurred in animals given 15 Gy epithermal neutrons alone and in animals irradiated to a total peak physical dose greater than 64 Gy in animals following borocaptate sodium infusion. Lethal brain necrosis was seen in animals receiving between 27 and 39 Gy. Lethal brain necrosis occurred at 22-36 weeks postirradiation. A total peak physical dose of approximately 27 Gy and blood-boron concentrations of 25-50 ppm resulted in abnormal magnetic resonance imaging results in 6 months postexamination. Seven of eight of these animals remained normal and the lesions were not detected at the 12-month postirradiation examination. The bimodal therapy presents a complex challenge in attempting to achieve dose response assays. The resultant total radiation dose is a composite of low and high LET components. The short track length of the boron fission fragments and the geometric effect of the vessels causes much of the intravascular dose to miss the presumed critical target of the endothelial cells. The results indicate a large dose-sparing effect from the boron capture reactions within the blood.

  16. Large animal normal tissue tolerance with boron neutron capture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gavin, P.R.; Swartz, C.D.; Kraft, S.L.; Briebenow, M.L.; DeHaan, C.E.

    1994-01-01

    Normal tissue tolerance of boron neutron capture irradiation using borocaptate sodium (NA 2 B 12 H 11 SH) in an epithermal neutron beam was studied. Large retriever-type dogs were used and the irradiations were performed by single dose, 5 x 10 dorsal portal. Fourteen dogs were irradiated with the epithermal neutron beam alone and 35 dogs were irradiated following intravenous administration of borocaptate sodium. Total body irradiation effect could be seen from the decreased leukocytes and platelets following irradiation. Most values returned to normal within 40 days postirradiation. Severe dermal necrosis occurred in animals given 15 Gy epithermal neutrons alone and in animals irradiated to a total peak physical dose greater than 64 Gy in animals following borocaptate sodium infusion. Lethal brain necrosis was seen in animals receiving between 27 and 39 Gy. Lethal brain necrosis occurred at 22-36 weeks postirradiation. A total peak physical dose of approximately 27 Gy and blood-boron concentrations of 25-50 ppm resulted in abnormal magnetic resonance imaging results in 6 months postexamination. Seven of eight of these animals remained normal and the lesions were not detected at the 12-month postirradiation examination. The bimodal therapy presents a complex challenge in attempting to achieve dose response assays. The resultant total radiation dose is a composite of low and high LET components. The short track length of the boron fission fragments and the geometric effect of the vessels causes much of the intravascular dose to miss the presumed critical target of the endothelial cells. The results indicate a large dose-sparing effect from the boron capture reactions within the blood. 23 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs

  17. The evolution of gene expression levels in mammalian organs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brawand, David; Soumillon, Magali; Necsulea, Anamaria

    2011-01-01

    and chromosomes, owing to differences in selective pressures: transcriptome change was slow in nervous tissues and rapid in testes, slower in rodents than in apes and monotremes, and rapid for the X chromosome right after its formation. Although gene expression evolution in mammals was strongly shaped......Changes in gene expression are thought to underlie many of the phenotypic differences between species. However, large-scale analyses of gene expression evolution were until recently prevented by technological limitations. Here we report the sequencing of polyadenylated RNA from six organs across...... ten species that represent all major mammalian lineages (placentals, marsupials and monotremes) and birds (the evolutionary outgroup), with the goal of understanding the dynamics of mammalian transcriptome evolution. We show that the rate of gene expression evolution varies among organs, lineages...

  18. Antiandrogenic actions of medroxyprogesterone acetate on epithelial cells within normal human breast tissues cultured ex vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ochnik, Aleksandra M; Moore, Nicole L; Jankovic-Karasoulos, Tanja; Bianco-Miotto, Tina; Ryan, Natalie K; Thomas, Mervyn R; Birrell, Stephen N; Butler, Lisa M; Tilley, Wayne D; Hickey, Theresa E

    2014-01-01

    Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), a component of combined estrogen-progestin therapy (EPT), has been associated with increased breast cancer risk in EPT users. MPA can bind to the androgen receptor (AR), and AR signaling inhibits cell growth in breast tissues. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential of MPA to disrupt AR signaling in an ex vivo culture model of normal human breast tissue. Histologically normal breast tissues from women undergoing breast surgical operation were cultured in the presence or in the absence of the native AR ligand 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), MPA, or the AR antagonist bicalutamide. Ki67, bromodeoxyuridine, B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2 (BCL2), AR, estrogen receptor α, and progesterone receptor were detected by immunohistochemistry. DHT inhibited the proliferation of breast epithelial cells in an AR-dependent manner within tissues from postmenopausal women, and MPA significantly antagonized this androgenic effect. These hormonal responses were not commonly observed in cultured tissues from premenopausal women. In tissues from postmenopausal women, DHT either induced or repressed BCL2 expression, and the antiandrogenic effect of MPA on BCL2 was variable. MPA significantly opposed the positive effect of DHT on AR stabilization, but these hormones had no significant effect on estrogen receptor α or progesterone receptor levels. In a subset of postmenopausal women, MPA exerts an antiandrogenic effect on breast epithelial cells that is associated with increased proliferation and destabilization of AR protein. This activity may contribute mechanistically to the increased risk of breast cancer in women taking MPA-containing EPT.

  19. Pesquisa da prevalência do papilomavírus humano em amostras de tecido endometrial normal e com carcinoma pela técnica de PCR Search for human papillomavirus in samples of normal endometrial tissue and tissue with carcinoma by the PCR technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edison Natal Fedrizzi

    2004-05-01

    tissue, and tissue with endometrial carcinoma of women submitted to surgical treatment (hysterectomy, or between endometrial carcinoma and benign disease, through the PCR technique. METHODS: this is an observational control-case study where 100 women (50 with endometrial carcinoma and 50 with normal endometrial tissue were analyzed for the detection of HPV DNA in samples of endometrial tissue kept in paraffin blocks by the PCR technique. The cases of endometrial carcinoma with uncertain primary site of the lesion as well as the cases with previous or current history of pre-neoplasic lesions or carcinoma of the lower genital tract were excluded. Variables as age, smoking habit, endometrial trophism, squamous differentiation and degree of tumor differentiation were also evaluated. RESULTS: the estimated relative risk of the presence of HPV in the endometrial carcinoma and in the normal endometrial tissue was the same. HPV was detected in 8% of the cases of carcinoma and 10% in the normal endometrial tissue. In spite of HPV having been 3.5 times more detected in women with smoking habit in the group without carcinoma, there was no statistical difference. The presence of HPV was also not correlated with the women's age, endometrial trophism, squamous differentiation and degree of tumor differentiation. The HPV types 16 (5 cases and 18 (4 cases were the viruses most frequently found both in the normal endometrial tissue or in the tissue with carcinoma. No oncogenic low risk virus was detected in the samples. CONCLUSION: The same proportion of HPV is present in the endometrial tissue of women with endometrial cancer and with normal endometrium. It could not be demonstrated a possible correlation of DNA of HPV with the development of endometrial carcinoma.

  20. Determination and correlation of spatial distribution of trace elements in normal and neoplastic breast tissues evaluated by μ-XRF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, M.P.; Oliveira, M.A.; Poletti, M.E.

    2012-01-01

    Full text: Some trace elements, naturally present in breast tissues, participate in a large number of biological processes, which include among others, activation or inhibition of enzymatic reactions and changes on cell membranes permeability, suggesting that these elements may influence carcinogenic processes. Thus, knowledge of the amounts of these elements and their spatial distribution in normal and neoplastic tissues may help in understanding the role of these elements in the carcinogenic process and tumor progression of breast cancers. Concentrations of trace elements like Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn, previously studied at LNLS using TXRF and conventional XRF, were elevated in neoplastic breast tissues compared to normal tissues. In this study we determined the spatial distribution of these elements in normal and neoplastic breast tissues using μ-XRF technique. We analyzed 22 samples of normal and neoplastic breast tissues (malignant and benign) obtained from paraffin blocks available for study at the Department of Pathology HC-FMRP/USP. From the blocks, a small fraction of material was removed and subjected to histological sections of 60 μm thick made with a microtome. The slices where placed in holder samples and covered with ultralen film. Tissue samples were irradiated with a white beam of synchrotron radiation. The samples were positioned at 45 degrees with respect to the incident beam on a table with 3 freedom degrees (x, y and z), allowing independent positioning of the sample in these directions. The white beam was collimated by a 20 μm microcapillary and samples were fully scanned. At each step, a spectrum was detected for 10 s. The fluorescence emitted by elements present in the sample was detected by a Si (Li) detector with 165 eV at 5.9 keV energy resolution, placed at 90 deg with respect to the incident beam. Results reveal that trace elements Ca-Zn and Fe-Cu could to be correlated in malignant breast tissues. Quantitative results, achieved by Spearman

  1. Proposal of a model of mammalian neural induction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levine, Ariel J.; Brivanlou, Ali H.

    2009-01-01

    How does the vertebrate embryo make a nervous system? This complex question has been at the center of developmental biology for many years. The earliest step in this process – the induction of neural tissue – is intimately linked to patterning of the entire early embryo, and the molecular and embryological basis these processes are beginning to emerge. Here, we analyze classic and cutting-edge findings on neural induction in the mouse. We find that data from genetics, tissue explants, tissue grafting, and molecular marker expression support a coherent framework for mammalian neural induction. In this model, the gastrula organizer of the mouse embryo inhibits BMP signaling to allow neural tissue to form as a default fate – in the absence of instructive signals. The first neural tissue induced is anterior and subsequent neural tissue is posteriorized to form the midbrain, hindbrain, and spinal cord. The anterior visceral endoderm protects the pre-specified anterior neural fate from similar posteriorization, allowing formation of forebrain. This model is very similar to the default model of neural induction in the frog, thus bridging the evolutionary gap between amphibians and mammals. PMID:17585896

  2. Genomic instability: potential contributions to tumour and normal tissue response, and second tumours, after radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hendry, Jolyon H.

    2001-01-01

    Purpose: Induced genomic instability generally refers to a type of damage which is transmissible down cell generations, and which results in a persistently enhanced frequency of de novo mutations, chromosomal abnormalities or lethality in a significant fraction of the descendant cell population. The potential contribution of induced genomic instability to tumour and normal tissue response, and second tumours, after radiotherapy, is explored. Results: The phenomenon of spontaneous genomic instability is well known in some rare genetic diseases (e.g. Gorlin's syndrome), and there is evidence in such cases that it can lead to a greater propensity for carcinogenesis (with shortened latency) which is enhanced after irradiation. It is unclear what role induced genomic instability plays in the response of normal individuals, but persistent chromosomal instability has been detected in vivo in lymphocytes and keratinocytes from irradiated normal individuals. Such induced genomic instability might play some role in tumour response in a subset of tumours with specific defects in damage response genes, but again its contribution to radiocurability in the majority of cancer patients is unclear. In normal tissues, genomic instability induced in wild-type cells leading to delayed cell death might contribute to more severe or prolonged early reactions as a consequence of increased cell loss, a longer time required for recovery, and greater residual injury. In tumours, induced genomic instability reflected in delayed reductions in clonogenic capacity might contribute to the radiosensitivity of primary tumours, and also to a lower incidence, longer latency and slower growth rate of recurrences and metastases. Conclusions: The evidence which is reviewed shows that there is little information at present to support these propositions, but what exists is consistent with their expectations. Also, it is not yet clear to what extent mutations associated with genomic instability

  3. Selective expression of myosin IC Isoform A in mouse and human cell lines and mouse prostate cancer tissues.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivanna Ihnatovych

    Full Text Available Myosin IC is a single headed member of the myosin superfamily. We recently identified a novel isoform and showed that the MYOIC gene in mammalian cells encodes three isoforms (isoforms A, B, and C. Furthermore, we demonstrated that myosin IC isoform A but not isoform B exhibits a tissue specific expression pattern. In this study, we extended our analysis of myosin IC isoform expression patterns by analyzing the protein and mRNA expression in various mammalian cell lines and in various prostate specimens and tumor tissues from the transgenic mouse prostate (TRAMP model by immunoblotting, qRT-PCR, and by indirect immunohistochemical staining of paraffin embedded prostate specimen. Analysis of a panel of mammalian cell lines showed an increased mRNA and protein expression of specifically myosin IC isoform A in a panel of human and mouse prostate cancer cell lines but not in non-cancer prostate or other (non-prostate- cancer cell lines. Furthermore, we demonstrate that myosin IC isoform A expression is significantly increased in TRAMP mouse prostate samples with prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN lesions and in distant site metastases in lung and liver when compared to matched normal tissues. Our observations demonstrate specific changes in the expression of myosin IC isoform A that are concurrent with the occurrence of prostate cancer in the TRAMP mouse prostate cancer model that closely mimics clinical prostate cancer. These data suggest that elevated levels of myosin IC isoform A may be a potential marker for the detection of prostate cancer.

  4. Comparison of telomere length and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 promoter methylation between breast cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues in Turkish women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaya, Zehra; Akkiprik, Mustafa; Karabulut, Sevgi; Peker, Irem; Gullu Amuran, Gokce; Ozmen, Tolga; Gulluoglu, Bahadır M; Kaya, Handan; Ozer, Ayse

    2017-09-01

    Both insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) and telomere length (TL) are associated with proliferation and senescence of human breast cancer. This study assessed the clinical significance of both TL and IGFBP7 methylation status in breast cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. We also investigated whether IGFBP7 methylation status could be affecting TL. Telomere length was measured by quantitative PCR to compare tumors with their adjacent normal tissues. The IGFBP7 promoter methylation status was evaluated by methylation-specific PCR and its expression levels were determined by western blotting. Telomeres were shorter in tumor tissues compared to controls (Pbreast cancer with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC; n=72; P=.014) compared with other histological type (n=29), and TL in IDC with HER2 negative (n=53; P=.017) was higher than TL in IDC with HER2 positive (n=19). However, telomeres were shortened in advanced stages and growing tumors. IGFBP7 methylation was observed in 90% of tumor tissues and 59% of controls (P=.0002). Its frequency was significantly higher in IDC compared with invasive mixed carcinoma (IMC; P=.002) and it was not correlated either with protein expression or the other clinicopathological parameters. These results suggest that IGFBP7 promoter methylation and shorter TL in tumor compared with adjacent tissues may be predictive biomarkers for breast cancer. Telomere maintenance may be indicative of IDC and IDC with HER2 (-) of breast cancer. Further studies with larger number of cases are necessary to verify this association. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Binding of (/sup 3/H) progesterone to normal and neoplastic tissue samples from tumour bearing breasts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pollow, K; Sinnecker, R; Schmidt-Gollwitzer, M; Boquoi, E; Pollow, B [Institut fuer Molekularbiologie und Biochemie, Frauenklinik Charlottenburg der Freien Universitat, Berlin (G.F.R.)

    1977-01-01

    Macromolecular components of normal human mammary cytosol (obtained from 'non-malignant tissue samples' from cancer bearing breasts) which bind (/sup 3/H)progesterone in vitro were characterized by sucrose gradient centrifugation, gel filtration on Agarose, ion exchange chromatography, isoelectric focusing, competition studies and kinetic parameters. The size of the cytoplasmic binding components vary with the concentration of KCl. In the absence of KCl, the major components are characterized by sedimentation coefficients of about 4 S and 8 S. In solutions containing 0.3M KCl, the cytoplasmic components sediment at 4 S in sucrose gradient. The corticosteroid-binding component of normal human mammary cytosol both sediment at about the same rate in the presence of 0.3M KCl and chromatograph as a single component on Agarose. The isoelectric point of the progesterone-binding component of normal human mammary cytosol was located around pH 5.0. The progesterone-binding component was more thermo-labile than serum CBG. CBG was inactivated at temperatures above 45 deg C but temperature above 20 deg C destroyed specific progesterone receptor binding. Progesterone receptor concentrations in normal mammary cytosol of premenopausal women depended on the menstrual cycle. The binding of progesterone was highest around the time of ovulation. In breast tumor tissue samples the progesterone receptor concentration was lower than in the normal mammary cytosol (obtained in each case from the same tumor-bearing breast). In 5 out of 37 breast tumor samples progesterone binding activity could not be detected.

  6. Comparison of incidences of normal tissue complications with tumor response in a phase III trial comparing heat plus radiation to radiation alone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dewhirst, M.W.; Sim, D.A.; Grochowski, K.J.

    1984-01-01

    The success of hyperthermia (/sup Δ/) as an adjuvant to radiation (XRT) will depend on whether the increase in tumor control is greater than that for normal tissue reactions. One hundred and thirty dogs and cats were stratified by histology and randomized to receive XRT (460 rads per fraction, two fractions per week, for eight fractions) or /sup Δ/ + XRT (30 min. at 44 +-2 0 C; one fraction per week, four fractions; immediately prior to XRT). Heat induced changes in tumor and normal tissue responses were made by comparing ratios of incidence for /sup Δ/ + XRT and XRT alone (TRR; Thermal Relative Risk). Change in tumor response duration was calculated from statistical analysis of response duration curves (RRR; Relative Relapse Rate). Heat increased early normal tissue reactions (moist desquamation and mucositis by a factor of 1.08. Tumor complete response, by comparison, was significantly improved (TRR = 2.12, p < .001). Late skin fibrosis was also increased (TRR = 1.51), but the prolongation in tumor response was greater (RRR 1.85). The degree of thermal enhancement for all tissues was dependent on the minimum temperature achieved on the first treatment, but the values for tumor were consistently greater than those achieved for normal tissues

  7. Normal Values of Tissue-Muscle Perfusion Indexes of Lower Limbs Obtained with a Scintigraphic Method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manevska, Nevena; Stojanoski, Sinisa; Pop Gjorceva, Daniela; Todorovska, Lidija; Miladinova, Daniela; Zafirova, Beti

    2017-09-01

    Introduction Muscle perfusion is a physiologic process that can undergo quantitative assessment and thus define the range of normal values of perfusion indexes and perfusion reserve. The investigation of the microcirculation has a crucial role in determining the muscle perfusion. Materials and method The study included 30 examinees, 24-74 years of age, without a history of confirmed peripheral artery disease and all had normal findings on Doppler ultrasonography and pedo-brachial index of lower extremity (PBI). 99mTc-MIBI tissue muscle perfusion scintigraphy of lower limbs evaluates tissue perfusion in resting condition "rest study" and after workload "stress study", through quantitative parameters: Inter-extremity index (for both studies), left thigh/right thigh (LT/RT) left calf/right calf (LC/RC) and perfusion reserve (PR) for both thighs and calves. Results In our investigated group we assessed the normal values of quantitative parameters of perfusion indexes. Indexes ranged for LT/RT in rest study 0.91-1.05, in stress study 0.92-1.04. LC/RC in rest 0.93-1.07 and in stress study 0.93-1.09. The examinees older than 50 years had insignificantly lower perfusion reserve of these parameters compared with those younger than 50, LC (p=0.98), and RC (p=0.6). Conclusion This non-invasive scintigraphic method allows in individuals without peripheral artery disease to determine the range of normal values of muscle perfusion at rest and stress condition and to clinically implement them in evaluation of patients with peripheral artery disease for differentiating patients with normal from those with impaired lower limbs circulation.

  8. SU-D-18A-04: Quantifying the Ability of Tumor Tracking to Spare Normal Tissue

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burger, A; Buzurovic, I; Hurwitz, M; Williams, C; Lewis, J [Brigham and Women' s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Center, Harvard Medical Sc, Boston, MA (United States); Mishra, P [Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Seco, J [Mass General Hospital, Harvard Medical, Boston, MA (United States)

    2014-06-01

    Purpose: Tumor tracking allows for smaller tissue volumes to be treated, potentially reducing normal tissue damage. However, tumor tracking is a more complex treatment and has little benefit in some scenarios. Here we quantify the benefit of tumor tracking for a range of patients by estimating the dose of radiation to organs at risk and the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) for both standard and tracking treatment plans. This comparison is performed using both patient 4DCT data and extended Cardiac-Torso (XCAT) digital phantoms. Methods: We use 4DCT data for 10 patients. Additionally, we generate digital phantoms with motion derived from measured patient long tumor trajectories to compare standard and tracking treatment plans. The standard treatment is based on the average intensity projection (AIP) of 4DCT images taken over a breath cycle. The tracking treatment is based on doses calculated on images representing the anatomy at each time point. It is assumed that there are no errors in tracking the target. The NTCP values are calculated based on RTOG guidelines. Results: The mean reduction in the mean dose delivered was 5.5% to the lungs (from 7.3 Gy to 6.9 Gy) and 4.0% to the heart (from 12.5 Gy to 12.0 Gy). The mean reduction in the max dose delivered was 13% to the spinal cord (from 27.6 Gy to 24.0 Gy), 2.5% to the carina (from 31.7 Gy to 30.9 Gy), and 15% to the esophagus (from 69.6 Gy to 58.9 Gy). The mean reduction in the probability of 2nd degree radiation pneumonitis (RP) was 8.7% (3.1% to 2.8%) and the mean reduction in the effective volume was 6.8% (10.8% to 10.2%). Conclusions: Tumor tracking has the potential to reduce irradiation of organs at risk, and consequentially reduce the normal tissue complication probability. The benefits vary based on the clinical scenario. This study is supported by Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

  9. Nonlinear optical microscopy for histology of fresh normal and cancerous pancreatic tissues.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenyan Hu

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer is a lethal disease with a 5-year survival rate of only 1-5%. The acceleration of intraoperative histological examination would be beneficial for better management of pancreatic cancer, suggesting an improved survival. Nonlinear optical methods based on two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF and second harmonic generation (SHG of intrinsic optical biomarkers show the ability to visualize the morphology of fresh tissues associated with histology, which is promising for real-time intraoperative evaluation of pancreatic cancer. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In order to investigate whether the nonlinear optical imaging methods have the ability to characterize pancreatic histology at cellular resolution, we studied different types of pancreatic tissues by using label-free TPEF and SHG. Compared with other routine methods for the preparation of specimens, fresh tissues without processing were found to be most suitable for nonlinear optical imaging of pancreatic tissues. The detailed morphology of the normal rat pancreas was observed and related with the standard histological images. Comparatively speaking, the preliminary images of a small number of chemical-induced pancreatic cancer tissues showed visible neoplastic differences in the morphology of cells and extracellular matrix. The subcutaneous pancreatic tumor xenografts were further observed using the nonlinear optical microscopy, showing that most cells are leucocytes at 5 days after implantation, the tumor cells begin to proliferate at 10 days after implantation, and the extracellular collagen fibers become disordered as the xenografts grow. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In this study, nonlinear optical imaging was used to characterize the morphological details of fresh pancreatic tissues for the first time. We demonstrate that it is possible to provide real-time histological evaluation of pancreatic cancer by the nonlinear optical methods, which present an

  10. Development and Tissue Origins of the Mammalian Cranial Base

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iseki, S.; Bamforth, S. D.; Olsen, B. R.; Morriss-Kay, G. M.

    2008-01-01

    The vertebrate cranial base is a complex structure composed of bone, cartilage and other connective tissues underlying the brain; it is intimately connected with development of the face and cranial vault. Despite its central importance in craniofacial development, morphogenesis and tissue origins of the cranial base have not been studied in detail in the mouse, an important model organism. We describe here the location and time of appearance of the cartilages of the chondrocranium. We also examine the tissue origins of the mouse cranial base using a neural crest cell lineage cell marker, Wnt1-Cre/R26R, and a mesoderm lineage cell marker, Mesp1-Cre/R26R. The chondrocranium develops between E11 and E16 in the mouse, beginning with development of the caudal (occipital) chondrocranium, followed by chondrogenesis rostrally to form the nasal capsule, and finally fusion of these two parts via the midline central stem and the lateral struts of the vault cartilages. X-Gal staining of transgenic mice from E8.0 to 10 days post-natal showed that neural crest cells contribute to all of the cartilages that form the ethmoid, presphenoid, and basisphenoid bones with the exception of the hypochiasmatic cartilages. The basioccipital bone and non-squamous parts of the temporal bones are mesoderm derived. Therefore the prechordal head is mostly composed of neural crest-derived tissues, as predicted by the New Head Hypothesis. However, the anterior location of the mesoderm-derived hypochiasmatic cartilages, which are closely linked with the extra-ocular muscles, suggests that some tissues associated with the visual apparatus may have evolved independently of the rest of the “New Head”. PMID:18680740

  11. Impact of statistical learning methods on the predictive power of multivariate normal tissue complication probability models

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Xu, Cheng-Jian; van der Schaaf, Arjen; Schilstra, Cornelis; Langendijk, Johannes A.; van t Veld, Aart A.

    2012-01-01

    PURPOSE: To study the impact of different statistical learning methods on the prediction performance of multivariate normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models. METHODS AND MATERIALS: In this study, three learning methods, stepwise selection, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator

  12. Scribble is required for normal epithelial cell–cell contacts and lumen morphogenesis in the mammalian lung

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yates, Laura L.; Schnatwinkel, Carsten; Hazelwood, Lee; Chessum, Lauren; Paudyal, Anju; Hilton, Helen; Romero, M. Rosario; Wilde, Jonathan; Bogani, Debora; Sanderson, Jeremy; Formstone, Caroline; Murdoch, Jennifer N.; Niswander, Lee A.; Greenfield, Andy; Dean, Charlotte H.

    2013-01-01

    During lung development, proper epithelial cell arrangements are critical for the formation of an arborized network of tubes. Each tube requires a lumen, the diameter of which must be tightly regulated to enable optimal lung function. Lung branching and lumen morphogenesis require close epithelial cell–cell contacts that are maintained as a result of adherens junctions, tight junctions and by intact apical–basal (A/B) polarity. However, the molecular mechanisms that maintain epithelial cohesion and lumen diameter in the mammalian lung are unknown. Here we show that Scribble, a protein implicated in planar cell polarity (PCP) signalling, is necessary for normal lung morphogenesis. Lungs of the Scrib mouse mutant Circletail (Crc) are abnormally shaped with fewer airways, and these airways often lack a visible, ‘open’ lumen. Mechanistically we show that Scrib genetically interacts with the core PCP gene Vangl2 in the developing lung and that the distribution of PCP pathway proteins and Rho mediated cytoskeletal modification is perturbed in ScribCrc/Crc lungs. However A/B polarity, which is disrupted in Drosophila Scrib mutants, is largely unaffected. Notably, we find that Scrib mediates functions not attributed to other PCP proteins in the lung. Specifically, Scrib localises to both adherens and tight junctions of lung epithelia and knockdown of Scrib in lung explants and organotypic cultures leads to reduced cohesion of lung epithelial cells. Live imaging of Scrib knockdown lungs shows that Scrib does not affect bud bifurcation, as previously shown for the PCP protein Celsr1, but is required to maintain epithelial cohesion. To understand the mechanism leading to reduced cell–cell association, we show that Scrib associates with β-catenin in embryonic lung and the sub-cellular distribution of adherens and tight junction proteins is perturbed in mutant lung epithelia. Our data reveal that Scrib is required for normal lung epithelial organisation and lumen

  13. Role of endothelium in radiation-induced normal tissue damages; Role de l'endothelium dans les dommages radio-induits aux tissus sains

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Milliat, F

    2007-05-15

    More than half of cancers are treated with radiation therapy alone or in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy. The goal of radiation therapy is to deliver enough ionising radiation to destroy cancer cells without exceeding the level that the surrounding healthy cells can tolerate. Unfortunately, radiation-induced normal tissue injury is still a dose limiting factor in the treatment of cancer with radiotherapy. The knowledge of normal tissue radiobiology is needed to determine molecular mechanisms involved in normal tissue pathogenic pathways in order to identify therapeutic targets and develop strategies to prevent and /or reduce side effects of radiation therapy. The endothelium is known to play a critical role in radiation-induced injury. Our work shows that endothelial cells promote vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration and fibro-genic phenotype after irradiation. Moreover, we demonstrate for the first time the importance of PAI-1 in radiation-induced normal tissue damage suggesting that PAI-1 may represent a molecular target to limit injury following radiotherapy. We describe a new role for the TGF-b/Smad pathway in the pathogenesis of radiation-induced damages. TGF-b/Smad pathway is involved in the fibro-genic phenotype of VSMC induced by irradiated EC as well as in the radiation-induced PAI-1 expression in endothelial cells. (author)

  14. Measurement of Heme Synthesis Levels in Mammalian Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hooda, Jagmohan; Alam, Maksudul; Zhang, Li

    2015-07-09

    Heme serves as the prosthetic group for a wide variety of proteins known as hemoproteins, such as hemoglobin, myoglobin and cytochromes. It is involved in various molecular and cellular processes such as gene transcription, translation, cell differentiation and cell proliferation. The biosynthesis levels of heme vary across different tissues and cell types and is altered in diseased conditions such as anemia, neuropathy and cancer. This technique uses [4-(14)C] 5-aminolevulinic acid ([(14)C] 5-ALA), one of the early precursors in the heme biosynthesis pathway to measure the levels of heme synthesis in mammalian cells. This assay involves incubation of cells with [(14)C] 5-ALA followed by extraction of heme and measurement of the radioactivity incorporated into heme. This procedure is accurate and quick. This method measures the relative levels of heme biosynthesis rather than the total heme content. To demonstrate the use of this technique the levels of heme biosynthesis were measured in several mammalian cell lines.

  15. The composition of engineered cartilage at the time of implantation determines the likelihood of regenerating tissue with a normal collagen architecture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagel, Thomas; Kelly, Daniel J

    2013-04-01

    The biomechanical functionality of articular cartilage is derived from both its biochemical composition and the architecture of the collagen network. Failure to replicate this normal Benninghoff architecture in regenerating articular cartilage may in turn predispose the tissue to failure. In this article, the influence of the maturity (or functionality) of a tissue-engineered construct at the time of implantation into a tibial chondral defect on the likelihood of recapitulating a normal Benninghoff architecture was investigated using a computational model featuring a collagen remodeling algorithm. Such a normal tissue architecture was predicted to form in the intact tibial plateau due to the interplay between the depth-dependent extracellular matrix properties, foremost swelling pressures, and external mechanical loading. In the presence of even small empty defects in the articular surface, the collagen architecture in the surrounding cartilage was predicted to deviate significantly from the native state, indicating a possible predisposition for osteoarthritic changes. These negative alterations were alleviated by the implantation of tissue-engineered cartilage, where a mature implant was predicted to result in the formation of a more native-like collagen architecture than immature implants. The results of this study highlight the importance of cartilage graft functionality to maintain and/or re-establish joint function and suggest that engineering a tissue with a native depth-dependent composition may facilitate the establishment of a normal Benninghoff collagen architecture after implantation into load-bearing defects.

  16. The Retinome – Defining a reference transcriptome of the adult mammalian retina/retinal pigment epithelium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goetz Thomas

    2004-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The mammalian retina is a valuable model system to study neuronal biology in health and disease. To obtain insight into intrinsic processes of the retina, great efforts are directed towards the identification and characterization of transcripts with functional relevance to this tissue. Results With the goal to assemble a first genome-wide reference transcriptome of the adult mammalian retina, referred to as the retinome, we have extracted 13,037 non-redundant annotated genes from nearly 500,000 published datasets on redundant retina/retinal pigment epithelium (RPE transcripts. The data were generated from 27 independent studies employing a wide range of molecular and biocomputational approaches. Comparison to known retina-/RPE-specific pathways and established retinal gene networks suggest that the reference retinome may represent up to 90% of the retinal transcripts. We show that the distribution of retinal genes along the chromosomes is not random but exhibits a higher order organization closely following the previously observed clustering of genes with increased expression. Conclusion The genome wide retinome map offers a rational basis for selecting suggestive candidate genes for hereditary as well as complex retinal diseases facilitating elaborate studies into normal and pathological pathways. To make this unique resource freely available we have built a database providing a query interface to the reference retinome 1.

  17. The normal tissue sparing obtained with simultaneous treatment of pelvic lymph nodes and bladder using intensity-modulated radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soendergaard, Jimmi; Hoeyer, Morten; Wright, Pauliina; Grau, Cai; Muren, Ludvig Paul; Petersen, Joergen B.

    2009-01-01

    We have implemented an intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) protocol for simultaneous irradiation of bladder and lymph nodes. In this report, doses to normal tissue from IMRT and our previous conformal sequential boost technique are compared. Material and methods. Sixteen patients with urinary bladder cancer were treated using a six-field dynamic IMRT beam arrangement delivering 60 Gy to the bladder and 48 Gy to the pelvic lymph nodes. Dose-volume histogram (DVH) parameters for relevant normal tissues (bowel, bowel cavity, rectum and femoral heads) for the IMRT plans were compared with corresponding DVHs from our previous conformal sequential boost technique. Calculations of the generalized Equivalent Uniform Dose (gEUD) were performed for the bowel, with a reference volume of 200 cm 3 and a volume effect parameter k = 4, as well as for the rectum, using k = 12. Acute gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) RTOG toxicity was recorded. Results. Statistical significant normal tissue sparing was obtained by IMRT. For the bowel, a significant reduction was obtained at all dose levels between 20 and 50 Gy (p 3 at 50 Gy, while the gEUD was reduced from 58 to 53 Gy (p 3 at 50 Gy. The rectum gEUD was reduced from 55 to 53 Gy (p < 0.05). For the femoral heads, IMRT reduced the maximum dose as well as the volumes above all dose levels. The rate of acute peak Grade 2 GI RTOG complications was 38% after IMRT. Conclusion. IMRT to the urinary bladder and elective lymph nodes result in considerable normal tissue sparing compared to conformal sequential boost technique. This has paved the way for further studies combining IMRT with image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) in bladder cancer

  18. DNA double-strand break repair of blood lymphocytes and normal tissues analysed in a preclinical mouse model: implications for radiosensitivity testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rübe, Claudia E; Grudzenski, Saskia; Kühne, Martin; Dong, Xiaorong; Rief, Nicole; Löbrich, Markus; Rübe, Christian

    2008-10-15

    Radiotherapy is an effective cancer treatment, but a few patients suffer severe radiation toxicities in neighboring normal tissues. There is increasing evidence that the variable susceptibility to radiation toxicities is caused by the individual genetic predisposition, by subtle mutations, or polymorphisms in genes involved in cellular responses to ionizing radiation. Double-strand breaks (DSB) are the most deleterious form of radiation-induced DNA damage, and DSB repair deficiencies lead to pronounced radiosensitivity. Using a preclinical mouse model, the highly sensitive gammaH2AX-foci approach was tested to verify even subtle, genetically determined DSB repair deficiencies known to be associated with increased normal tissue radiosensitivity. By enumerating gammaH2AX-foci in blood lymphocytes and normal tissues (brain, lung, heart, and intestine), the induction and repair of DSBs after irradiation with therapeutic doses (0.1-2 Gy) was investigated in repair-proficient and repair-deficient mouse strains in vivo and blood samples irradiated ex vivo. gammaH2AX-foci analysis allowed to verify the different DSB repair deficiencies; even slight impairments caused by single polymorphisms were detected similarly in both blood lymphocytes and solid tissues, indicating that DSB repair measured in lymphocytes is valid for different and complex organs. Moreover, gammaH2AX-foci analysis of blood samples irradiated ex vivo was found to reflect repair kinetics measured in vivo and, thus, give reliable information about the individual DSB repair capacity. gammaH2AX analysis of blood and tissue samples allows to detect even minor genetically defined DSB repair deficiencies, affecting normal tissue radiosensitivity. Future studies will have to evaluate the clinical potential to identify patients more susceptible to radiation toxicities before radiotherapy.

  19. Graphene and carbon nanocompounds: biofunctionalization and applications in tissue engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jesion, Iwona; Skibniewska, Ewa; Skibniewski, Michał; Pasternak, Iwona; Strupiński, Włodzimierz; Krajewska, Aleksandra; Szulc-Dąbrowska, Lidia; Kowalczyk, Paweł; Pińkowski, Roman

    2015-01-01

    In tissue engineering, the possibility of a comprehensive restoration of the tissue, structure or a portion of the organ is largely determined by the type of material used. A wide range of materials such as graphene and other carbon nanocompounds which have different physical and chemical properties can be expected to react differently upon contact with biomolecules, cells and tissues. This mini-review describes the current knowledge on biocompatibility of graphene and its derivatives with a variety of mammalian cells, such as osteoblasts, neuroendocrine cells, fibroblasts NIH/3T3 line, PMEFs (primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts), stem cells and neurons. The results from different studies give hope for the possibility of graphene to be used in the regeneration of almost all tissues, including neural tissue implants or in the form of neural chips, which may allow in the future treatment of degenerative diseases and injuries of the central nervous system. Keywords: nanotechnology; mammalian cells; tissue regeneration; biocompatibility; cytotoxicity

  20. Comparison of normal tissue pharmacokinetics with 111In/9Y monoclonal antibody m170 for breast and prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehmann, Joerg; DeNardo, Gerald L.; Yuan, Aina; Shen Sui; O'Donnell, Robert T.; Richman, Carol M.; De Nardo, Sally J.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: Radioactivity deposition in normal tissues limits the dose deliverable by radiopharmaceuticals (RP) in radioimmunotherapy (RIT). This study investigated the absorbed radiation dose in normal tissues for prostate cancer patients in comparison to breast cancer patients for 2 RPs using the monoclonal antibody (MAb) m170. Methods and Materials: 111 In-DOTA-glycylglycylglycyl-L-p-isothiocyanatophenylalanine amide (GGGF)-m170 and 111 In-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N',N'',N'''-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) 2-iminothiolane (2IT)-m170, representing the same MAb and chelate with and without a cleavable linkage, were studied in 13 breast cancer and 26 prostate cancer patients. Dosimetry for 9 Y was calculated using 111 In MAb pharmacokinetics from the initial imaging study for each patient, using reference man- and patient-specific masses. Results: The reference man-specific radiation doses (cGy/MBq) were not significantly different for the breast and the prostate cancer patients for both RPs in all but one tissue-RP combination (liver, DOTA-2IT). The patient-specific doses had differences between the groups most of which can be related to weight differences. Conclusions: Similar normal tissue doses were calculated for two groups of patients having different cancers and genders. This similarity combined with continued careful analysis of the imaging data might allow the use of higher starting doses in early phase RIT studies

  1. Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging: a non-invasive method to evaluate significant differences between malignant and normal tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rudisch, Ansgar; Kremser, Christian; Judmaier, Werner; Zunterer, Hildegard; DeVries, Alexander F.

    2005-01-01

    Purpose: An ever recurring challenge in diagnostic radiology is the differentiation between non-malignant and malignant tissue. Based on evidence that microcirculation of normal, non-malignant tissue differs from that of malignant tissue, the goal of this study was to assess the reliability of dynamic contrast-enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dcMRI) for differentiating these two entities. Materials and methods: DcMRI data of rectum carcinoma and gluteus maximus muscles were acquired in 41 patients. Using an fast T1-mapping sequence on a 1.5-T whole body scanner, T1-maps were dynamically retrieved before, during and after constant rate i.v. infusion of a contrast medium (CM). On the basis of the acquired data sets, PI-values were calculated on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The relevance of spatial heterogeneities of microcirculation was investigated by relative frequency histograms of the PI-values. Results: A statistically significant difference between malignant and normal tissue was found for the mean PI-value (P < 0.001; 8.95 ml/min/100 g ± 2.45 versus 3.56 ml/min/100 g ± 1.20). Additionally relative frequency distributions of PI-values with equal class intervals of 2.5 ml/min/100 g revealed significant differences between the histograms of muscles and rectum carcinoma. Conclusion: We could show that microcirculation differences between malignant and normal, non-malignant tissue can be reliably assessed by non-invasive dcMRI. Therefore, dcMRI holds great promise in the aid of cancer assessment, especially in patients where biopsy is contraindicated

  2. Transplantation of Normal Adipose Tissue Improves Blood Flow and Reduces Inflammation in High Fat Fed Mice With Hindlimb Ischemia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liyuan Chen

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Fat deposition is associated with peripheral arterial disease. Adipose tissue has recently been implicated in vascular remodeling and angiogenic activity. We hypothesized that the transplantation of adipose tissues from normal mice improves blood flow perfusion and neovascularization in high-fat diet fed mice.Methods: After 14 weeks of high-fat diet (HFD-fed mice, unilateral hind limb ischemia was performed. Subcutaneous white adipose tissue (WAT and brown adipose tissue (BAT fat pads were harvested from normal EGFP mice, and subcutaneously transplanted over the region of the adductor muscles of HFD mice. Blood flow was measured using Laser Doppler Scanner. Vascular density, macrophages infiltration, and macrophage polarization were examined by RT-qPCR, and immunohistochemistry.Results: We found that the transplantation of WAT derived from normal mice improved functional blood flow in HFD-fed mice compared to mice transplanted with BAT and sham-treated mice. WAT transplantation increased the recruitment of pericytes associated with nascent blood vessels, but did not affect capillary formation. Furthermore, transplantation of WAT ameliorated HFD-induced insulin resistance, M2 macrophage predominance and the release of arteriogenic factors in ischemic muscles. Mice receiving WAT also displayed a marked reduction in several proinflammatory cytokines. In contrast, mice transplanted with BAT were glucose intolerant and demonstrated increased IL-6 levels in ischemic muscles.Conclusion: These results indicate that transplantation of adipose tissue elicits improvements in blood perfusion and beneficial effects on systemic glucose homeostasis and could be a promising therapeutic option for the treatment of diabetic peripheral arterial disease.

  3. Non-invasive characterization of normal and pathological tissues through dynamic infrared imaging in the hamster cheek pouch oral cancer model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrera, María. S.; Monti Hughes, Andrea; Salva, Natalia; Padra, Claudio; Schwint, Amanda; Santa Cruz, Gustavo A.

    2017-05-01

    Biomedical infrared thermography, a non-invasive and functional imaging method, provides information on the normal and abnormal status and response of tissues in terms of spatial and temporal variations in body infrared radiance. It is especially attractive in cancer research due to the hypervascular and hypermetabolic activity of solid tumors. Moreover, healthy tissues like skin or mucosa exposed to radiation can be examined since inflammation, changes in water content, exudation, desquamation, erosion and necrosis, between others, are factors that modify their thermal properties. In this work we performed Dynamic Infrared Imaging (DIRI) to contribute to the understanding and evaluation of normal tissue, tumor and precancerous tissue response and radiotoxicity in an in vivo model, the hamster cheek pouch, exposed to Boron Neutron Capture Therapy. In this study, we particularly focused on the observation of temperature changes under forced transient conditions associated with mass moisture transfer in the tissue-air interface, in each tissue with or without treatment. We proposed a simple mathematical procedure that considerers the heat transfer from tissue to ambient through convection and evaporation to model the transient (exponential decay o recover) thermal study. The data was fitted to determined the characteristic decay and recovery time constants of the temperature as a function of time. Also this model allowed to explore the mass flux of moisture, as a degree of evaporation occurring on the tissue surface. Tissue thermal responses under provocation tests could be used as a non-invasive method to characterize tissue physiology.

  4. Combined effects of hyperthermia and radiation in cultured mammalian cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ben-Hur, E.; Elkind, M.M.; Riklis, E.

    1977-01-01

    Hyperthermia (temperatures of 39 0 C or higher) enhances the killing of mammalian cells by ionizing radiation (fission-spectrum neutrons and x-rays). The nature and the magnitude of the enhanced radiation killing varies with temperature and for a fixed temperature during irradiation, the enhanced lethality varies inversely with dose rate. For temperatures up to 41 0 C, dose fractionation measurements indicate that hyperthermia inhibits the repair of sublethal damage. At higher temperatures, the expression of potentially lethal damage is enhanced. Since the effect of heat is greatest in cells irradiated during DNA synthesis, the radiation age-response pattern is flattened by hyperthermia. In addition to the enhanced cell killing described above, three other features of the effect of hyperthermia are important in connection with the radiation treatment of cancer. The first is that heat selectively sensitizes S-phase cells to radiation. The second is that it takes radiation survivors 10 to 20 hrs after a modest heat treatment to recover their ability to repair sublethal damage. And the third is that hyperthermia reduces the magnitude of the oxygen enhancement ratio. Thus, heat if applied selectively, could significantly increase the margin of damage between tumors and normal tissues

  5. Role of plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 in radiation-induced normal tissues injury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abderrahmani, R.

    2010-01-01

    Radiotherapy is an essential tool for cancer treatment, but there is a balance between benefits and risks related to the use of ionizing radiation: the objective is to deliver a maximum dose to the tumour to destroy or to sterilize it while protecting surrounding normal tissues. Radio-induced damages to normal tissues are therefore a limiting factor when increasing the dose delivered to the tumour. One of the objectives of this research thesis is to bring to the fore a relationship between the initiation of lesions and the development of late damages, more particularly in the intestine, and to identify the involved molecular actors and their inter-connectivity. After a first part presenting ionizing radiation, describing biological effects of ionizing radiation and their use in radiotherapy, presenting the intestine and the endothelium and discussing the intestine radio-sensitivity, discussing the radio-induced intestine damages and radiotherapy-induced complications, and presenting the plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) and its behaviour in presence of ionizing radiation, two articles are reproduced. The first one addresses the effect of a pharmacological inhibition and of genetic deficiency in PAI-1 on the evolution of radio-induced intestine lesions. The second one discusses the fact that radio-induced PAI-1-related death of endothelial cells determines the severity of early radio-induced intestine lesions

  6. Structure and function of stem cell pools in mammalian cell renewal systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fliedner, T.M.; Nothdurft, W.

    1979-01-01

    Stem cells play a key-role in the maintenance of the equilibrium between cell loss and cell production in cell renewal systems as well as in the understanding of the radiation pathophysiology of mammalian organisms. The integrity of mammalian organisms with the need to maintain a constant ''millieu interior'' is depending on the normal functioning of cell renewal systems, especially those of epithelial surfaces and blood cell forming organs. All cell renewal systems of bodies have a very similar functional structure consisting of functional, proliferative - amplifying and stem cell compartments. They differ in transit and cell cycle times and in the number of amplification division - aside from the difference in their functional and biochemical make-up. The stem cell pools are providing the cells capable of differentiation without depleting their own kind. This can be achieved by symmetrical or assymmetrical stem cell division. In normal steady state, 50% of the stem cell division remain in the stem cell pool, while the other 50% leave it to differentiate, proliferate and mature, hemopoietic system is distributed throughout bodies. This is an important factor in the radiation biology of mammalian organisms since the loss of function in one area can be compensated for by more production in other areas, and locally depleted sites can be reseeded with the stem cells migrating in from blood. (Yamashita, S.)

  7. Tissue-specific increases in 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 in normal weight postmenopausal women.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Therése Andersson

    Full Text Available With age and menopause there is a shift in adipose distribution from gluteo-femoral to abdominal depots in women. Associated with this redistribution of fat are increased risks of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Glucocorticoids influence body composition, and 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11betaHSD1 which converts inert cortisone to active cortisol is a putative key mediator of metabolic complications in obesity. Increased 11betaHSD1 in adipose tissue may contribute to postmenopausal central obesity. We hypothesized that tissue-specific 11betaHSD1 gene expression and activity are up-regulated in the older, postmenopausal women compared to young, premenopausal women. Twenty-three pre- and 23 postmenopausal, healthy, normal weight women were recruited. The participants underwent a urine collection, a subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsy and the hepatic 11betaHSD1 activity was estimated by the serum cortisol response after an oral dose of cortisone. Urinary (5alpha-tetrahydrocortisol+5beta-tetrahydrocortisol/tetrahydrocortisone ratios were higher in postmenopausal women versus premenopausal women in luteal phase (P<0.05, indicating an increased whole-body 11betaHSD1 activity. Postmenopausal women had higher 11betaHSD1 gene expression in subcutaneous fat (P<0.05. Hepatic first pass conversion of oral cortisone to cortisol was also increased in postmenopausal women versus premenopausal women in follicular phase of the menstrual cycle (P<0.01, at 30 min post cortisone ingestion, suggesting higher hepatic 11betaHSD1 activity. In conclusion, our results indicate that postmenopausal normal weight women have increased 11betaHSD1 activity in adipose tissue and liver. This may contribute to metabolic dysfunctions with menopause and ageing in women.

  8. Abdominal Adipose Tissue was Associated with Glomerular Hyperfiltration among Non- Diabetic and Normotensive Adults with a Normal Body Mass Index.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeonghwan Lee

    Full Text Available Glomerular hyperfiltration is recognized as an early marker of progressive kidney dysfunction in the obese population. This study aimed to identify the relationship between glomerular hyperfiltration and body fat distribution measured by computed tomography (CT in healthy Korean adults. The study population included individuals aged 20-64 years who went a routine health check-up including an abdominal CT scan. We selected 4,378 individuals without diabetes and hypertension. Glomerular filtration rate was estimated using the CKD-EPI equation, and glomerular hyperfiltration was defined as the highest quintile of glomerular filtration rate. Abdominal adipose tissue areas were measured at the level of the umbilicus using a 16-detector CT scanner, and the cross-sectional area was calculated using Rapidia 2.8 CT software. The prevalence of glomerular hyperfiltration increased significantly according to the subcutaneous adipose tissue area in men (OR = 1.74 (1.16-2.61, P for trend 0.016, for the comparisons of lowest vs. highest quartile and visceral adipose tissue area in women (OR = 2.34 (1.46-3.75, P for trend < 0.001 in multivariate analysis. After stratification by body mass index (normal < 23 kg/m2, overweight ≥ 23 kg/m2, male subjects with greater subcutaneous adipose tissue, even those in the normal BMI group, had a higher prevalence of glomerular hyperfiltration (OR = 2.11 (1.17-3.80, P for trend = 0.009. Among women, the significance of visceral adipose tissue area on glomerular hyperfiltration resulted from the normal BMI group (OR = 2.14 (1.31-3.49, P for trend = 0.002. After menopause, the odds ratio of the association of glomerular hyperfiltration with subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue increased (OR = 2.96 (1.21-7.25, P for trend = 0.013. Subcutaneous adipose tissue areas and visceral adipose tissue areas are positively associated with glomerular hyperfiltration in healthy Korean adult men and women, respectively. In post

  9. Role of endothelium in radiation-induced normal tissue damages; Role de l'endothelium dans les dommages radio-induits aux tissus sains

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Milliat, F

    2007-05-15

    More than half of cancers are treated with radiation therapy alone or in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy. The goal of radiation therapy is to deliver enough ionising radiation to destroy cancer cells without exceeding the level that the surrounding healthy cells can tolerate. Unfortunately, radiation-induced normal tissue injury is still a dose limiting factor in the treatment of cancer with radiotherapy. The knowledge of normal tissue radiobiology is needed to determine molecular mechanisms involved in normal tissue pathogenic pathways in order to identify therapeutic targets and develop strategies to prevent and /or reduce side effects of radiation therapy. The endothelium is known to play a critical role in radiation-induced injury. Our work shows that endothelial cells promote vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration and fibro-genic phenotype after irradiation. Moreover, we demonstrate for the first time the importance of PAI-1 in radiation-induced normal tissue damage suggesting that PAI-1 may represent a molecular target to limit injury following radiotherapy. We describe a new role for the TGF-b/Smad pathway in the pathogenesis of radiation-induced damages. TGF-b/Smad pathway is involved in the fibro-genic phenotype of VSMC induced by irradiated EC as well as in the radiation-induced PAI-1 expression in endothelial cells. (author)

  10. Mammary stem cell and macrophage markers are enriched in normal tissue adjacent to inflammatory breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddy, Jay P; Atkinson, Rachel L; Larson, Richard; Burks, Jared K; Smith, Daniel; Debeb, Bisrat G; Ruffell, Brian; Creighton, Chad J; Bambhroliya, Arvind; Reuben, James M; Van Laere, Steven J; Krishnamurthy, Savitri; Symmans, William F; Brewster, Abenaa M; Woodward, Wendy A

    2018-06-01

    We hypothesized that breast tissue not involved by tumor in inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) patients contains intrinsic differences, including increased mammary stem cells and macrophage infiltration, which may promote the IBC phenotype. Normal breast parenchyma ≥ 5 cm away from primary tumors was obtained from mastectomy specimens. This included an initial cohort of 8 IBC patients and 60 non-IBC patients followed by a validation cohort of 19 IBC patients and 25 non-IBC patients. Samples were immunostained for either CD44 + CD49f + CD133/2 + mammary stem cell markers or the CD68 macrophage marker and correlated with IBC status. Quantitation of positive cells was determined using inForm software from PerkinElmer. We also examined the association between IBC status and previously published tumorigenic stem cell and IBC tumor signatures in the validation cohort samples. 8 of 8 IBC samples expressed isolated CD44 + CD49f + CD133/2 + stem cell marked cells in the initial cohort as opposed to 0/60 non-IBC samples (p = 0.001). Similarly, the median number of CD44 + CD49f + CD133/2 + cells was significantly higher in the IBC validation cohort as opposed to the non-IBC validation cohort (25.7 vs. 14.2, p = 0.007). 7 of 8 IBC samples expressed CD68 + histologically confirmed macrophages in initial cohort as opposed to 12/48 non-IBC samples (p = 0.001). In the validation cohort, the median number of CD68 + cells in IBC was 3.7 versus 1.0 in the non-IBC cohort (p = 0.06). IBC normal tissue was positively associated with a tumorigenic stem cell signature (p = 0.02) and with a 79-gene IBC signature (p stem cell signature and IBC-specific tumor signature. Collectively, these data suggest that IBC normal tissue differs from non-IBC tissue. Whether these changes occur before the tumor develops or is induced by tumor warrants further investigation.

  11. DNA double strand break repair pathway plays a significant role in determining the radiotherapy induced normal tissue toxicity among head-and-neck and breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sadashiva, Satish Rao Bola; Mumbrekar, Kamalesh Dattaram; Venkatesh, Goutham Hassan; Fernandes, Donald Jerard; Bejadi, Vadhiraja Manjunath; Kapaettu, Satyamoorthy

    2014-01-01

    The ability to predict individual risk of radiotherapy induced normal tissue complications prior to the therapy may give an opportunity to personalize the treatment aiming improved therapeutic effect and quality of life. Therefore, predicting the risk of developing acute reactions before the initiation of radiation therapy may serve as a potential biomarker. DNA double-strand break (DSB) induction and its repair kinetics in lymphocytes of Head-and-Neck (n = 183) and Breast cancer (n = 132) patients undergoing chemoradiation or radiation therapy alone were analyzed by performing γ-H2AX foci, neutral comet and a modified neutral filter elution assay. Candidate radioresponsive genes like DNA repair, antioxidant pathway, profibrotic cytokine genes were screened for the common variants for their association with normal tissue toxicity outcome. Patients were stratified as non-over responders (NOR) and over responders (OR) based on their Radiation Therapy Oncology Group grading for normal tissue adverse reactions. Our results suggest that DSB repair plays a major role in the development of normal tissue adverse reactions in H and N and Breast cancer patients. The cellular (γ-H2AX analysis) and SNP analysis may have the potential to be developed into a clinically useful predictive assay for identifying the normal tissue over reactors

  12. Enzyme immunoassay and proteomic characterization of troponin I as a marker of mammalian muscle compounds in raw meat and some meat products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zvereva, Elena A; Kovalev, Leonid I; Ivanov, Alexei V; Kovaleva, Marina A; Zherdev, Anatoly V; Shishkin, Sergey S; Lisitsyn, Andrey B; Chernukha, Irina M; Dzantiev, Boris B

    2015-07-01

    The skeletal muscle protein troponin I (TnI) has been characterized as a potential thermally stable and species-specific biomarker of mammalian muscle tissues in raw meat and meat products. This study proposed a technique for the quantification of TnI comprising protein extraction and sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The technique is characterized by a TnI detection limit of 4.8 ng/ml with quantifiable concentrations ranging from 8.7 to 52 ng/ml. The method was shown to be suitable for detection of TnI in mammalian (beef, pork, lamb, and horse) meat but not in poultry (chicken, turkey, and duck) meat. In particular, the TnI content in beef was 0.40 3 ± 0.058 mg/g of wet tissue. The TnI estimations obtained for the pork and beef samples using ELISA were comparable to the proteomic analysis results. Thus, the quantitative study of TnI can be a convenient way to assess the mammalian muscle tissue content of various meat products. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  13. Hypoxyradiotherapy: lack of experimental evidence for a preferential radioprotective effect on normal versus tumor tissue as shown by direct oxygenation measurements in experimental sarcomas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelleher, Debra K.; Thews, Oliver; Vaupel, Peter

    1997-01-01

    Aim: In order to investigate possible pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the postulated preferential protective effect of hypoxia on normal tissue during radiotherapy, the impact of acute respiratory hypoxia (8.2% O 2 + 91.8% N 2 ) on tissue oxygenation was assessed. Methods: Tumor and normal tissue oxygenation was directly determined using O 2 -sensitive electrodes in two experimental rat tumors (DS and Yoshida sarcomas) and in the normal subcutis of the hind foot dorsum. Results: During respiratory hypoxia, arterial blood O 2 tension (pO 2 ), oxyhemoglobin saturation and mean arterial blood pressure decreased. Changes in the arterial blood gas status were accompanied by a reflex hyperventilation leading to hypocapnia and respiratory alkalosis. In the subcutis, tissue oxygenation worsened during acute hypoxia, with decreases in the mean and median pO 2 . Significant increases in the hypoxic fractions were, however, not seen. In tumor tissues, oxygenation also worsened upon hypoxic hypoxia with significant decreases in the mean and median pO 2 and increases in the size of the hypoxic fractions for both sarcomas. Conclusion: These results suggest that during respiratory hypoxia, radiobiologically relevant reductions in the oxygenation (and a subsequent selective radioprotection) of normal tissue may not be achieved. In addition, in the tumor models studied, a worsening of tumor oxygenation was seen which could result in an increased radioresistance

  14. Incorporation of tritiated thymidine and uridine in normal and endopolyploid nuclei of differentiated tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bansal, Y.K.; Sen, Sumitra

    1987-01-01

    Rate of replication and transcription between normal and giant endopolyploid nuclei of differentiated tissue of Hordeum vulgare L. (2n=14) roots and Phlox drummondii Hook. (2n=14) and Zea mays L. (2n=20) endosperms were studied by labelling experiments with tritiated thymidine and uridine. The incorporation of thymidine and uridine was identical in both diploid and giant endopolyploid nuclei of the roots of H. vulgare. The endosperm cells of P. drummondii and Z. mays, however, exhibit markedly different labelling pattern in normal (i.e. triploid) and endopolyploid nuclei where both replication and transcription were rather high. The nutritive function of the endosperm is probably responsible for this high degree of activity. (author). 14 refs., 10 figs., 3 tables

  15. Comparison of SUVs normalized by lean body mass determined by CT with those normalized by lean body mass estimated by predictive equations in normal tissues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Woo Hyoung; Kim, Chang Guhn; Kim, Dae Weung [Wonkwang Univ. School of Medicine, Iksan (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-09-15

    Standardized uptake values (SUVs)normalized by lean body mass (LBM)determined by CT were compared with those normalized by LBM estimated using predictive equations (PEs)in normal liver, spleen, and aorta using {sup 18}F FDG PET/CT. Fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F FDG)positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT)was conducted on 453 patients. LBM determined by CT was defined in 3 ways (LBM{sup CT1}-3). Five PEs were used for comparison (LBM{sup PE1}-5). Tissue SUV normalized by LBM (SUL) was calculated using LBM from each method (SUL{sup CT1}-3, SUL{sup PE1}-5). Agreement between methods was assessed by Bland Altman analysis. Percentage difference and percentage error were also calculated. For all liver SUL{sup CTS} vs. liver SUL{sup PES} except liver SUL{sup PE3}, the range of biases, SDs of percentage difference and percentage errors were -0.17-0.24 SUL, 6.15-10.17%, and 25.07-38.91%, respectively. For liver SUL{sup CTs} vs. liver SUL{sup PE3}, the corresponding figures were 0.47-0.69 SUL, 10.90-11.25%, and 50.85-51.55%, respectively, showing the largest percentage errors and positive biases. Irrespective of magnitudes of the biases, large percentage errors of 25.07-51.55% were observed between liver SUL{sup CT1}-3 and liver SUL{sup PE1}-5. The results of spleen and aorta SUL{sup CTs} and SUL{sup PEs} comparison were almost identical to those for liver. The present study demonstrated substantial errors in individual SUL{sup PEs} compared with SUL{sup CTs} as a reference value. Normalization of SUV by LBM determined by CT rather than PEs may be a useful approach to reduce errors in individual SUL{sup PEs}.

  16. Comparison of SUVs normalized by lean body mass determined by CT with those normalized by lean body mass estimated by predictive equations in normal tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Woo Hyoung; Kim, Chang Guhn; Kim, Dae Weung

    2012-01-01

    Standardized uptake values (SUVs)normalized by lean body mass (LBM)determined by CT were compared with those normalized by LBM estimated using predictive equations (PEs)in normal liver, spleen, and aorta using 18 F FDG PET/CT. Fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F FDG)positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT)was conducted on 453 patients. LBM determined by CT was defined in 3 ways (LBM CT1 -3). Five PEs were used for comparison (LBM PE1 -5). Tissue SUV normalized by LBM (SUL) was calculated using LBM from each method (SUL CT1 -3, SUL PE1 -5). Agreement between methods was assessed by Bland Altman analysis. Percentage difference and percentage error were also calculated. For all liver SUL CTS vs. liver SUL PES except liver SUL PE3 , the range of biases, SDs of percentage difference and percentage errors were -0.17-0.24 SUL, 6.15-10.17%, and 25.07-38.91%, respectively. For liver SUL CTs vs. liver SUL PE3 , the corresponding figures were 0.47-0.69 SUL, 10.90-11.25%, and 50.85-51.55%, respectively, showing the largest percentage errors and positive biases. Irrespective of magnitudes of the biases, large percentage errors of 25.07-51.55% were observed between liver SUL CT1 -3 and liver SUL PE1 -5. The results of spleen and aorta SUL CTs and SUL PEs comparison were almost identical to those for liver. The present study demonstrated substantial errors in individual SUL PEs compared with SUL CTs as a reference value. Normalization of SUV by LBM determined by CT rather than PEs may be a useful approach to reduce errors in individual SUL PEs

  17. Classification of mass and normal breast tissue: A convolution neural network classifier with spatial domain and texture images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahiner, B.; Chan, H.P.; Petrick, N.; Helvie, M.A.; Adler, D.D.; Goodsitt, M.M.; Wei, D.

    1996-01-01

    The authors investigated the classification of regions of interest (ROI's) on mammograms as either mass or normal tissue using a convolution neural network (CNN). A CNN is a back-propagation neural network with two-dimensional (2-D) weight kernels that operate on images. A generalized, fast and stable implementation of the CNN was developed. The input images to the CNN were obtained form the ROI's using two techniques. The first technique employed averaging and subsampling. The second technique employed texture feature extraction methods applied to small subregions inside the ROI. Features computed over different subregions were arranged as texture images, which were subsequently used as CNN inputs. The effects of CNN architecture and texture feature parameters on classification accuracy were studied. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) methodology was used to evaluate the classification accuracy. A data set consisting of 168 ROI's containing biopsy-proven masses and 504 ROI's containing normal breast tissue was extracted from 168 mammograms by radiologists experienced in mammography. This data set was used for training and testing the CNN. With the best combination of CNN architecture and texture feature parameters, the area under the test ROC curve reached 0.87, which corresponded to a true-positive fraction of 90% at a false positive fraction of 31%. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using a CNN for classification of masses and normal tissue on mammograms

  18. Reirradiation of normal tissues: Preclinical radiobiological data; Reirradiation des tissus sains: donnees radiobiologiques precliniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bourgier, C.; Vozenin, M.C.; Deutsch, E. [Departement de radiotherapie et laboratoire Upres EA2710, institut Gustave-Roussy, 94 - Villejuif (France)

    2010-10-15

    Reirradiation represent an unfrequent particular clinical situation. The risk/benefit ratio assessment must be taken into account, considering both clinical and dosimetric aspects. There is a relatively limited amount of preclinical data available to date and clinicians should cautiously perform re-irradiations in selected indications. This review summarizes the experimental data available on reirradiation of normal tissues, the consequences on early and late toxicities as well as the intrinsic limitations of these models. (authors)

  19. Preparation of highly and generally enriched mammalian tissues for solid state NMR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wong, Veronica Wai Ching; Reid, David G.; Chow, Wing Ying; Rajan, Rakesh [University of Cambridge, Department of Chemistry (United Kingdom); Green, Maggie [University of Cambridge, Central Biomedical Resources, School of Clinical Medicine (United Kingdom); Brooks, Roger A. [University of Cambridge, Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Addenbrooke’s Hospital (United Kingdom); Duer, Melinda J., E-mail: mjd13@cam.ac.uk [University of Cambridge, Department of Chemistry (United Kingdom)

    2015-10-15

    An appreciable level of isotope labelling is essential for future NMR structure elucidation of mammalian biomaterials, which are either poorly expressed, or unexpressable, using micro-organisms. We present a detailed protocol for high level {sup 13}C enrichment even in slow turnover murine biomaterials (fur keratin), using a customized diet supplemented with commercial labelled algal hydrolysate and formulated as a gel to minimize wastage, which female mice consumed during pregnancy and lactation. This procedure produced approximately eightfold higher fur keratin labelling in pups, exposed in utero and throughout life to label, than in adults exposed for the same period, showing both the effectiveness, and necessity, of this approach.

  20. Identification of molecular mechanisms of radiation-induced vascular damage in normal tissues using microarray analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kruse, J.J.C.M.; Te Poele, J.A.M.; Russell, N.S.; Boersma, L.J.; Stewart, F.A.

    2003-01-01

    Radiation-induced telangiectasia, characterized by thin-walled dilated blood vessels, can be a serious late complication in patients that have been previously treated for cancer. It might cause cosmetic problems when occurring in the skin, and excessive bleeding requiring surgery when occurring in rectal mucosa. The mechanisms underlying the development of radiation-induced telangiectasia are unclear. The aim of the present study is to determine whether microarrays are useful for studying mechanisms of radiation-induced telangiectasia. The second aim is to test the hypotheses that telangiectasia is characterized by a final common pathway in different tissues. Microarray experiments were performed using amplified RNA from (sham)irradiated mouse tissues (kidney, rectum) at different intervals (1-30 weeks) after irradiation. After normalization procedures, the differentially expressed genes were identified. Control/repeat experiments were done to confirm that the observations were not artifacts of the array procedure. The mouse kidney experiments showed significant upregulation of 31 and 42 genes and downregulation of 9 and 4 genes at 10 and 20 weeks after irradiation, respectively. Irradiated mouse rectum has 278 upregulated and 537 downregulated genes at 10 weeks and 86 upregulated and 29 downregulated genes at 20 weeks. During the development of telangiectasia, 19 upregulated genes and 5 downregulated genes were common to both tissues. Upregulation of Jagged-1, known to play a role in angiogenesis, is particularly interesting in the context of radiation-induced telangiectasia. Microarrays are affective discovery tools to identify novel genes of interest, which may be involved in radiation-induced normal tissue injury. Using information from control arrays (particularly straight color, color reverse and self-self experiments) allowed for a more accurate and reproducible identification of differentially expressed genes than the selection of an arbitrary 2-fold change

  1. Elemental composition of 'normal' and Alzheimer brain tissue by INA and PIXE analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stedman, J.D.; Spyrou, N.M.

    1997-01-01

    Instrumental methods based on the nuclear and atomic properties of the elements have been used for many years to determine elemental concentrations in a variety of materials for biomedical, industrial and environmental applications. These methods offer high sensitivity for accurate trace element measurements, suffer few interfering or competing effects. Present no blank problems and are convenient for both research and routine analyses. The present article describes the use of two trace element techniques. Firstly the use of activation of stable nuclei irradiated by neutrons in the core of a low power research reactor as a means of detection of elements through the resulting gamma-rays emitted. Secondly, the observations of the interactions of energetic ion beams with the material in order to identify elemental species. Over recent years there has been some interest in determining the elemental composition of 'normal' and Alzheimer affected brain tissue, however literature findings are inconsistent. Possible reasons for discrepancies need to be identified for further progress to be made. Here, post-mortem tissue samples, provided by the Alzheimer's Disease Brain Bank, Institute of Psychiatry, London, were taken from the frontal, occipital, parietal and temporal lobes of both hemispheres of brains from 13 'normal' and 19 Alzheimer subjects. The elemental composition of the samples was determined using the analytical techniques of INAA (instrumental neutron activation analysis), RBS (Rutherford back-scattering) and PIXE (particle induced x-ray emission). The principal findings are summarised here. (author)

  2. Comparative pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution profiles of four major bioactive components in normal and hepatic fibrosis rats after oral administration of Fuzheng Huayu recipe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Tao; Liu, Shan; Wang, Chang-Hong; Tao, Yan-Yan; Zhou, Hua; Liu, Cheng-Hai

    2015-10-10

    Fuzheng Huayu recipe (FZHY) is a herbal product for the treatment of liver fibrosis approved by the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), but its pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution had not been investigated. In this study, the liver fibrotic model was induced with intraperitoneal injection of dimethylnitrosamine (DMN), and FZHY was given orally to the model and normal rats. The plasma pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution profiles of four major bioactive components from FZHY were analyzed in the normal and fibrotic rat groups using an ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method. Results revealed that the bioavailabilities of danshensu (DSS), salvianolic acid B (SAB) and rosmarinic acid (ROS) in liver fibrotic rats increased 1.49, 3.31 and 2.37-fold, respectively, compared to normal rats. There was no obvious difference in the pharmacokinetics of amygdalin (AMY) between the normal and fibrotic rats. The tissue distribution of DSS, SAB, and AMY trended to be mostly in the kidney and lung. The distribution of DSS, SAB, and AMY in liver tissue of the model rats was significantly decreased compared to the normal rats. Significant differences in the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution profiles of DSS, ROS, SAB and AMY were observed in rats with hepatic fibrosis after oral administration of FZHY. These results provide a meaningful basis for developing a clinical dosage regimen in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis by FZHY. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Comparison of multiple assays for detecting human antibodies directed against antigens on normal and malignant tissue culture cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosenberg, S.A.; Schwarz, S.; Anding, H.; Hyatt, C.; Williams, G.M.; Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, Md.

    1977-01-01

    Four separate assays of human antibody reactivity to four separate normal and malignant human tissue culture cells lines from two patients have been evaluated using a single highly-reactive allogeneic serum. The visual end-point cytolysis assay and the chromium-51 release assay were equally sensitive in measuring complement mediated antibody cytotoxicity and both were far more sensitive than a trypan blue dye exclusion assay. The assay of antibody reactivity by hemadsorption technique was about 10 times more sensitive than any of the cytotoxicity assays. This latter assay measures only IgG antibody however. These assays showed that cell lines from different patients may differ greatly in 'reactivity' to an allogeneic serum and emphasized the importance of utilizing tumor and normal cells from the same patient when using tissue culture cells to search for tumor specific reactivity. These observations emphasize the importance of utilizing multiple assays against paired normal and malignant cells from the same patient to be certain of the specificity and magnitude of the measured antibody

  4. Clinical evaluation of normal tissue toxicity induced by ionizing radiation in cases of laryngeal carcinoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramos, Adriano de Paula; Marques, Gustavo Inacio de Gomes; Soares, Renata da Bastos Ascenco; Dourado, Juliana Castro Dourado [Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Goias (PUCGO), Goiania, GO (Brazil). Dept. of Medicine; Mendonca, Yuri de Abreu, E-mail: renata.soares@pucgoias.edu.br [Goias Association Against Cancer, Goiania, GO (Brazil). Lab. of Radiobiology and Oncogenetics

    2012-07-01

    Laryngeal cancer is the second most frequent head and neck cancer in the Brazilian male population. For treatment, radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy is now used in substitution for total laryngectomy, becoming the standard treatment for advanced larynx cancer cases, with the aim of organ preservation. However, this method needs assessment of the side effects caused to normal tissue and organ functionality after treatment and the relation of these clinical factors to the individual characteristics of patients. Thus, the clinical characteristics of 229 patients with laryngeal cancer treated with radiotherapy were evaluated by medical records analysis in relation to normal tissue radiosensibility. Significant relations between smoking (p = 0.018) and combined chemoradiotherapy assistance (p = 0.03) were identified with high frequency of treatment suspension cases. The application of combined chemoradiotherapy also resulted in a higher incidence of oral mucositis (p = 0.04), xerostomia (p = 0.001) and treatment side effects to GIT (p = 0.04). Advanced clinical staging was associated with worse prognosis (p = 0.002) and a higher occurrence of treatment failure (p < 0.001). Radiotherapy was also less effective depending on the primary tumor location (p = 0.001). (author)

  5. Gene expression profile of the cartilage tissue spontaneously regenerated in vivo by using a novel double-network gel: Comparisons with the normal articular cartilage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kurokawa Takayuki

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We have recently found a phenomenon that spontaneous regeneration of a hyaline cartilage-like tissue can be induced in a large osteochondral defect by implanting a double-network (DN hydrogel plug, which was composed of poly-(2-Acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid and poly-(N, N'-Dimetyl acrylamide, at the bottom of the defect. The purpose of this study was to clarify gene expression profile of the regenerated tissue in comparison with that of the normal articular cartilage. Methods We created a cylindrical osteochondral defect in the rabbit femoral grooves. Then, we implanted the DN gel plug at the bottom of the defect. At 2 and 4 weeks after surgery, the regenerated tissue was analyzed using DNA microarray and immunohistochemical examinations. Results The gene expression profiles of the regenerated tissues were macroscopically similar to the normal cartilage, but showed some minor differences. The expression degree of COL2A1, COL1A2, COL10A1, DCN, FMOD, SPARC, FLOD2, CHAD, CTGF, and COMP genes was greater in the regenerated tissue than in the normal cartilage. The top 30 genes that expressed 5 times or more in the regenerated tissue as compared with the normal cartilage included type-2 collagen, type-10 collagen, FN, vimentin, COMP, EF1alpha, TFCP2, and GAPDH genes. Conclusions The tissue regenerated by using the DN gel was genetically similar but not completely identical to articular cartilage. The genetic data shown in this study are useful for future studies to identify specific genes involved in spontaneous cartilage regeneration.

  6. The cancer paradigms of mammalian regeneration: can mammals regenerate as amphibians?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarig, Rachel; Tzahor, Eldad

    2017-04-01

    Regeneration in mammals is restricted to distinct tissues and occurs mainly by expansion and maturation of resident stem cells. During regeneration, even subtle mutations in the proliferating cells may cause a detrimental effect by eliciting abnormal differentiation or malignant transformation. Indeed, cancer in mammals has been shown to arise through deregulation of stem cells maturation, which often leads to a differentiation block and cell transformation. In contrast, lower organisms such as amphibians retain a remarkable regenerative capacity in various organs, which occurs via de- and re-differentiation of mature cells. Interestingly, regenerating amphibian cells are highly resistant to oncogenic transformation. Therapeutic approaches to improve mammalian regeneration mainly include stem-cell transplantations; but, these have proved unsuccessful in non-regenerating organs such as the heart. A recently developed approach is to induce de-differentiation of mature cardiomyocytes using factors that trigger their re-entry into the cell cycle. This novel approach raises numerous questions regarding the balance between transformation and regeneration induced by de-differentiation of mature mammalian somatic cells. Can this balance be controlled artificially? Do de-differentiated cells acquire the protection mechanisms seen in regenerating cells of lower organisms? Is this model unique to the cardiac tissue, which rarely develops tumors? This review describes regeneration processes in both mammals and lower organisms and, particularly, the ability of regenerating cells to avoid transformation. By comparing the characteristics of mammalian embryonic and somatic cells, we discuss therapeutic strategies of using various cell populations for regeneration. Finally, we describe a novel cardiac regeneration approach and its implications for regenerative medicine. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email

  7. Radiation therapy and late reactions in normal tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aoyama, Takashi; Kuroda, Yasumasa

    1998-01-01

    Recent developments in cancer therapy have made us increasingly aware that the quality of life of a patient is as valuable as other benefits received from therapy. This awareness leads to an emphasis on organ and/or function preservation in the course of therapy. In line with this new thinking, greater consideration is placed on radiation therapy as an appropriate modality of cancer therapy. Possible complications in normal tissues, especially those of late reaction type after the therapy must be overcome. This review, therefore, focuses on recent progress of studies on mechanisms of the complications of the late reaction type. An observation of a clinical case concerning a late reaction of spinal cord (radiation myelopathy) and surveys of experimental studies on the mechanisms of late reactions (including radiation pneumonitis and lung fibrosis, and radiation response of vascular endothelial cells) provide a hypothesis that apoptosis through the pathway starting with radiation-induced sphingomyelin hydrolysis may play an important role in causing a variety of late reactions. This insight is based on the fact that radiation also activates protein kinase C which appears to block apoptosis. The mechanisms of late reactions, therefore, may involve a balance between radiation-induced apoptotic death and its down regulation by suppressor mechanisms through protein kinase C. (author)

  8. Normal liver tissue sparing by intensity-modulated proton stereotactic body radiotherapy for solitary liver tumours

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petersen, Joergen B. B.; Hansen, Anders T.; Lassen, Yasmin; Grau, Cai; Hoeyer, Morten; Muren, Ludvig P.

    2011-01-01

    Background. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is often the preferred treatment for the advanced liver tumours which owing to tumour distribution, size and multi-focality are out of range of surgical resection or radiofrequency ablation. However, only a minority of patients with liver tumours may be candidates for conventional SBRT because of the limited radiation tolerance of normal liver, intestine and other normal tissues. Due to the favourable depth-dose characteristics of protons, intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) may be a superior alternative to photon-based SBRT. The purpose of this treatment planning study was therefore to investigate the potential sparing of normal liver by IMPT compared to photon-based intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for solitary liver tumours. Material and methods. Ten patients with solitary liver metastasis treated at our institution with multi-field SBRT were retrospectively re-planned with IMRT and proton pencil beam scanning techniques. For the proton plans, two to three coplanar fields were used in contrast to five to six coplanar and non-coplanar photon fields. The same planning objectives were used for both techniques. A risk adapted dose prescription to the PTV surface of 12.5-16.75 Gy x 3 was used. Results. The spared liver volume for IMPT was higher compared to IMRT in all 10 patients. At the highest prescription dose level, the median liver volume receiving less than 15 Gy was 1411 cm 3 for IMPT and 955 cm 3 for IMRT (p D 15 Gy > 700 cm 3 constraint. For the D mean = 15 Gy constraint, nine of 10 cases could be treated at the highest dose level using IMPT whereas with IMRT, only two cases met this constraint at the highest dose level and six at the lowest dose level. Conclusion. A considerable sparing of normal liver tissue can be obtained using proton-based SBRT for solitary liver tumours

  9. Repair of radiation damage in mammalian cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Setlow, R.B.

    1981-01-01

    The responses, such as survival, mutation, and carcinogenesis, of mammalian cells and tissues to radiation are dependent not only on the magnitude of the damage to macromolecular structures - DNA, RNA, protein, and membranes - but on the rates of macromolecular syntheses of cells relative to the half-lives of the damages. Cells possess a number of mechanisms for repairing damage to DNA. If the repair systems are rapid and error free, cells can tolerate much larger doses than if repair is slow or error prone. It is important to understand the effects of radiation and the repair of radiation damage because there exist reasonable amounts of epidemiological data that permits the construction of dose-response curves for humans. The shapes of such curves or the magnitude of the response will depend on repair. Radiation damage is emphasized because: (a) radiation dosimetry, with all its uncertainties for populations, is excellent compared to chemical dosimetry; (b) a number of cancer-prone diseases are known in which there are defects in DNA repair and radiation results in more chromosomal damage in cells from such individuals than in cells from normal individuals; (c) in some cases, specific radiation products in DNA have been correlated with biological effects, and (d) many chemical effects seem to mimic radiation effects. A further reason for emphasizing damage to DNA is the wealth of experimental evidence indicating that damages to DNA can be initiating events in carcinogenesis.

  10. Repair of radiation damage in mammalian cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Setlow, R.B.

    1981-01-01

    The responses, such as survival, mutation, and carcinogenesis, of mammalian cells and tissues to radiation are dependent not only on the magnitude of the damage to macromolecular structures - DNA, RNA, protein, and membranes - but on the rates of macromolecular syntheses of cells relative to the half-lives of the damages. Cells possess a number of mechanisms for repairing damage to DNA. If the repair systems are rapid and error free, cells can tolerate much larger doses than if repair is slow or error prone. It is important to understand the effects of radiation and the repair of radiation damage because there exist reasonable amounts of epidemiological data that permits the construction of dose-response curves for humans. The shapes of such curves or the magnitude of the response will depend on repair. Radiation damage is emphasized because: (a) radiation dosimetry, with all its uncertainties for populations, is excellent compared to chemical dosimetry; (b) a number of cancer-prone diseases are known in which there are defects in DNA repair and radiation results in more chromosomal damage in cells from such individuals than in cells from normal individuals; (c) in some cases, specific radiation products in DNA have been correlated with biological effects, and (d) many chemical effects seem to mimic radiation effects. A further reason for emphasizing damage to DNA is the wealth of experimental evidence indicating that damages to DNA can be initiating events in carcinogenesis

  11. B cell attracting chemokine 1 (CXCL13) and its receptor CXCR5 are expressed in normal and aberrant gut associated lymphoid tissue

    OpenAIRE

    Carlsen, H S; Baekkevold, E S; Johansen, F-E; Haraldsen, G; Brandtzaeg, P

    2002-01-01

    Background and aims: In mice, the B lymphocyte chemoattractant (BLC) CXC chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) is sufficient to induce a series of events leading to the formation of organised lymphoid tissue. Its receptor, CXCR5, is required for normal development of secondary lymphoid tissue. However, the human counterpart, B cell attracting chemokine 1 (BCA-1) has only been detected in the stomach and appendix and not in other parts of normal or diseased gut. Hence to elucidate the potential role of...

  12. Quantification of Estrogen Receptor Expression in Normal Breast Tissue in Postmenopausal Women With Breast Cancer and Association With Tumor Subtypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulbahce, H Evin; Blair, Cindy K; Sweeney, Carol; Salama, Mohamed E

    2017-09-01

    Estrogen exposure is important in the pathogenesis of breast cancer and is a contributing risk factor. In this study we quantified estrogen receptor (ER) alpha expression in normal breast epithelium (NBR) in women with breast cancer and correlated it with breast cancer subtypes. Tissue microarrays were constructed from 204 breast cancer patients for whom normal breast tissue away from tumor was available. Slides stained with ER were scanned and expression in normal terminal duct lobular epithelium was quantitated using computer-assisted image analysis. ER expression in normal terminal duct lobular epithelium of postmenopausal women with breast cancer was significantly associated with estrogen and triple (estrogen, progesterone receptors, and HER2) negative phenotypes. Also increased age at diagnosis was significantly associated with ER expression in NBR. ER positivity in normal epithelium did not vary by tumor size, lymph node status, tumor grade, or stage. On the basis of quantitative image analysis, we confirm that ER expression in NBR increases with age in women with breast cancer, and report for the first time, a significant association between ER expression in NBR with ER-negative and triple-negative cancers in postmenopausal women.

  13. A System for Continual Quality Improvement of Normal Tissue Delineation for Radiation Therapy Treatment Planning

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Breunig, Jennifer; Hernandez, Sophy; Lin, Jeffrey; Alsager, Stacy; Dumstorf, Christine; Price, Jennifer; Steber, Jennifer; Garza, Richard; Nagda, Suneel; Melian, Edward; Emami, Bahman [Department of Radiation Oncology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois (United States); Roeske, John C., E-mail: jroeske@lumc.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois (United States)

    2012-08-01

    Purpose: To implement the 'plan-do-check-act' (PDCA) cycle for the continual quality improvement of normal tissue contours used for radiation therapy treatment planning. Methods and Materials: The CT scans of patients treated for tumors of the brain, head and neck, thorax, pancreas and prostate were selected for this study. For each scan, a radiation oncologist and a diagnostic radiologist, outlined the normal tissues ('gold' contours) using Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) guidelines. A total of 30 organs were delineated. Independently, 5 board-certified dosimetrists and 1 trainee then outlined the same organs. Metrics used to compare the agreement between the dosimetrists' contours and the gold contours included the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), and a penalty function using distance to agreement. Based on these scores, dosimetrists were re-trained on those organs in which they did not receive a passing score, and they were subsequently re-tested. Results: Passing scores were achieved on 19 of 30 organs evaluated. These scores were correlated to organ volume. For organ volumes <8 cc, the average DSC was 0.61 vs organ volumes {>=}8 cc, for which the average DSC was 0.91 (P=.005). Normal tissues that had the lowest scores included the lenses, optic nerves, chiasm, cochlea, and esophagus. Of the 11 organs that were considered for re-testing, 10 showed improvement in the average score, and statistically significant improvement was noted in more than half of these organs after education and re-assessment. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate the feasibility of applying the PDCA cycle to assess competence in the delineation of individual organs, and to identify areas for improvement. With testing, guidance, and re-evaluation, contouring consistency can be obtained across multiple dosimetrists. Our expectation is that continual quality improvement using the PDCA approach will ensure more accurate treatments and dose

  14. A System for Continual Quality Improvement of Normal Tissue Delineation for Radiation Therapy Treatment Planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Breunig, Jennifer; Hernandez, Sophy; Lin, Jeffrey; Alsager, Stacy; Dumstorf, Christine; Price, Jennifer; Steber, Jennifer; Garza, Richard; Nagda, Suneel; Melian, Edward; Emami, Bahman; Roeske, John C.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To implement the “plan-do-check-act” (PDCA) cycle for the continual quality improvement of normal tissue contours used for radiation therapy treatment planning. Methods and Materials: The CT scans of patients treated for tumors of the brain, head and neck, thorax, pancreas and prostate were selected for this study. For each scan, a radiation oncologist and a diagnostic radiologist, outlined the normal tissues (“gold” contours) using Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) guidelines. A total of 30 organs were delineated. Independently, 5 board-certified dosimetrists and 1 trainee then outlined the same organs. Metrics used to compare the agreement between the dosimetrists' contours and the gold contours included the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), and a penalty function using distance to agreement. Based on these scores, dosimetrists were re-trained on those organs in which they did not receive a passing score, and they were subsequently re-tested. Results: Passing scores were achieved on 19 of 30 organs evaluated. These scores were correlated to organ volume. For organ volumes <8 cc, the average DSC was 0.61 vs organ volumes ≥8 cc, for which the average DSC was 0.91 (P=.005). Normal tissues that had the lowest scores included the lenses, optic nerves, chiasm, cochlea, and esophagus. Of the 11 organs that were considered for re-testing, 10 showed improvement in the average score, and statistically significant improvement was noted in more than half of these organs after education and re-assessment. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate the feasibility of applying the PDCA cycle to assess competence in the delineation of individual organs, and to identify areas for improvement. With testing, guidance, and re-evaluation, contouring consistency can be obtained across multiple dosimetrists. Our expectation is that continual quality improvement using the PDCA approach will ensure more accurate treatments and dose assessment in

  15. Calculation of normal tissue complication probability and dose-volume histogram reduction schemes for tissues with a critical element architecture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niemierko, Andrzej; Goitein, Michael

    1991-01-01

    The authors investigate a model of normal tissue complication probability for tissues that may be represented by a critical element architecture. They derive formulas for complication probability that apply to both a partial volume irradiation and to an arbitrary inhomogeneous dose distribution. The dose-volume isoeffect relationship which is a consequence of a critical element architecture is discussed and compared to the empirical power law relationship. A dose-volume histogram reduction scheme for a 'pure' critical element model is derived. In addition, a point-based algorithm which does not require precomputation of a dose-volume histogram is derived. The existing published dose-volume histogram reduction algorithms are analyzed. The authors show that the existing algorithms, developed empirically without an explicit biophysical model, have a close relationship to the critical element model at low levels of complication probability. However, it is also showed that they have aspects which are not compatible with a critical element model and the authors propose a modification to one of them to circumvent its restriction to low complication probabilities. (author). 26 refs.; 7 figs

  16. Origins and Impacts of New Mammalian Exons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jason J. Merkin

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Mammalian genes are composed of exons, but the evolutionary origins and functions of new internal exons are poorly understood. Here, we analyzed patterns of exon gain using deep cDNA sequencing data from five mammals and one bird, identifying thousands of species- and lineage-specific exons. Most new exons derived from unique rather than repetitive intronic sequence. Unlike exons conserved across mammals, species-specific internal exons were mostly located in 5′ UTRs and alternatively spliced. They were associated with upstream intronic deletions, increased nucleosome occupancy, and RNA polymerase II pausing. Genes containing new internal exons had increased gene expression, but only in tissues in which the exon was included. Increased expression correlated with the level of exon inclusion, promoter proximity, and signatures of cotranscriptional splicing. Altogether, these findings suggest that increased splicing at the 5′ ends of genes enhances expression and that changes in 5′ end splicing alter gene expression between tissues and between species.

  17. Influence of low-energy laser radiation on normal skin and certain tumor tissues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pletnev, S.D.; Karpenko, O.M.

    For some years, the authors' Institute has studied the influence of various types of low-energy laser radiation on normal tissue and the growth of tumors. Radiation at 3 and 30 J/cm/sup 2/ causes an increase in biological activity of various cell elements, manifested as an increase in mitotic activity of the cells in the basal layer of the epidermis, conglomeration of chromatin in the cell nuclei and an increase in degranulation of fat cells in the process of their migration to the reticular layer. Also noted was an increase in content of fibroblastic and lymphohistocytic elements in the dermis, as well as an increase in collagenization of connective tissue. It was found that irradiation of the skin by helium-neon, cadmium-helium and nitrogen lasers before and after grafting of the cells of various tumors modifies the course of the tumor process. This effect is apparently related to the fact that systematic irradiation results in changes creating a favorable background for survival and proliferation of tumor cells in the skin tissue medium. The changes facilitate an increase in survival and growth of both pigmented and nonpigmented tumors. Low power radiation stimulates the activity of the cells or cell structures; medium power stimulates their activity; high power suppresses activity.

  18. Sarcoglycans in the normal and pathological breast tissue of humans: an immunohistochemical and molecular study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arco, Alba; Favaloro, Angelo; Gioffrè, Mara; Santoro, Giuseppe; Speciale, Francesco; Vermiglio, Giovanna; Cutroneo, Giuseppina

    2012-01-01

    The sarcoglycan complex, consisting of α-, β-, γ-, δ- and ε-sarcoglycans, is a multimember transmembrane system providing a mechanosignaling connection from the cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix. Whereas the expression of α- and γ-sarcoglycan is restricted to striated muscle, other sarcoglycans are widely expressed. Although many studies have investigated sarcoglycans in all muscle types, insufficient data are available on the distribution of the sarcoglycan complex in nonmuscle tissue. On this basis, we used immunohistochemical and RT-PCR techniques to study preliminarily the sarcoglycans in normal glandular breast tissue (which has never been studied in the literature on these proteins) to verify the effective wider distribution of this complex. Moreover, to understand the role of sarcoglycans, we also tested samples obtained from patients affected by fibrocystic mastopathy and breast fibroadenoma. Our data showed, for the first time, that all sarcoglycans are always detectable in all normal samples both in epithelial and myoepithelial cells; in pathological breast tissue, all sarcoglycans appeared severely reduced. These data demonstrated that all sarcoglycans, not only β-, δ-, and ε-sarcoglycans, have a wider distribution, implying a new unknown role for these proteins. Moreover, in breast diseases, sarcoglycans containing cadherin domain homologs could provoke a loss of strong adhesion between epithelial cells, permitting and facilitating the degeneration of these benign breast tumors into malignant tumors. Consequently, sarcoglycans could play an important and intriguing role in many breast diseases and in particular in tumor progression from benign to malignant. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  19. Didecanoyl phosphatidylcholine is a superior substrate for assaying mammalian phospholipase D

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vinggaard, Anne Marie; Jensen, T.; Morgan, C.P.

    1996-01-01

    Phospholipase D (PLD) activity in crude or solubilized membranes from mammalian tissues is difficult to detect with the current assay techniques, unless a high radioactive concentration of substrate and/or long incubation times are employed. Generally, the enzyme has to be extracted and partially...... purified on one column before easy detection of activity. Furthermore, PLD activity in cultured cells can only be detected by the available assay techniques in the presence of guanosine 5'-[¿-thio]triphosphate (GTP[S]) and a cytosolic factor [usually ADP-ribosylation factor (Arf)]. In this paper we report...... that the use of didecanoyl phosphatidylcholine (C-PC) in mammalian PLD assays considerably increases the detection limit. C-PC was compared with the commonly used dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (C-PC) as a substrate for PLD activity from membranes of human neutrophils, human placenta and pig brain, and from...

  20. Impact of margin on tumour and normal tissue dosimetry in patients treated with IMRT using an endorectal balloon for prostate immobilization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad, S.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: In treatment of prostate cancer with IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy), clinical target volume margin is determined by organ motion and set-up error. However, the margin width that achieves the desired dose escalation while minimizing normal tissue exposure is dependent upon the patient immobilization and/or organ localization techniques. In this study, we compare the impact of margin width on the dosimetry of tumour and normal tissues using the endorectal balloon for prostate immobilization. IMRT plans were generated for ten patients using margin widths of 0, 3, 5, 8 and 10 mm. Patients had a planning CT scan in the prone position with an endorectal balloon filled with 100 cc of air for prostate immobilization. The Corvus version 3.0.11 was used for treatment planning. The dose for the prostate and seminal vesicles was 70 Gy in 2 Gy per fractions, prescribed at the 83% isodose line. Dose restrictions to normal tissues were as follows: 33% of bladder was allowed to receive above 65 Gy, 15% of rectum above 68 Gy and 10% of femurs above 45 Gy. Analysis of Variance was used to compare the target and normal tissue doses. Tumour control probability and normal tissue complication probability calculations are currently being performed and will be presented. The mean doses ranged from 73.93 to 75.31 Gy for the prostate and from 73.71 to 75.31 Gy for the seminal vesicles. A 10 mm margin produced significantly lower mean doses compared to 0 or 5 mm for both targets (prostate p 0.062). For bladder and rectum the mean doses ranged from 18.49 to 22.30 Gy (p=0.605) and from 29.34 to 31.33 Gy (p=0.135), respectively, while the percent rectal volumes above 68 Gy were significantly higher for margins of 5, 8 and 10 mm (p<0.006) ranging from 10.72% to 15.81%. Mean doses to the femurs and pelvis were significantly higher for 8 and 10 mm margins, ranging from 20.9 to 29.39 Gy for femurs (p<0.015) and from 15.05 to 19.98 Gy for pelvis (p<0.0005). Also the percent

  1. Human Colors-The Rainbow Garden of Pathology: What Gives Normal and Pathologic Tissues Their Color?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piña-Oviedo, Sergio; Ortiz-Hidalgo, Carlos; Ayala, Alberto G

    2017-03-01

    - Colors are important to all living organisms because they are crucial for camouflage and protection, metabolism, sexual behavior, and communication. Human organs obviously have color, but the underlying biologic processes that dictate the specific colors of organs and tissues are not completely understood. A literature search on the determinants of color in human organs yielded scant information. - To address 2 specific questions: (1) why do human organs have color, and (2) what gives normal and pathologic tissues their distinctive colors? - Endogenous colors are the result of complex biochemical reactions that produce biologic pigments: red-brown cytochromes and porphyrins (blood, liver, spleen, kidneys, striated muscle), brown-black melanins (skin, appendages, brain nuclei), dark-brown lipochromes (aging organs), and colors that result from tissue structure (tendons, aponeurosis, muscles). Yellow-orange carotenes that deposit in lipid-rich tissues are only produced by plants and are acquired from the diet. However, there is lack of information about the cause of color in other organs, such as the gray and white matter, neuroendocrine organs, and white tissues (epithelia, soft tissues). Neoplastic tissues usually retain the color of their nonneoplastic counterpart. - Most available information on the function of pigments comes from studies in plants, microorganisms, cephalopods, and vertebrates, not humans. Biologic pigments have antioxidant and cytoprotective properties and should be considered as potential future therapies for disease and cancer. We discuss the bioproducts that may be responsible for organ coloration and invite pathologists and pathology residents to look at a "routine grossing day" with a different perspective.

  2. Serum estradiol levels associated with specific gene expression patterns in normal breast tissue and in breast carcinomas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haakensen, Vilde D; Børresen-Dale, Anne-Lise; Helland, Åslaug; Bjøro, Trine; Lüders, Torben; Riis, Margit; Bukholm, Ida K; Kristensen, Vessela N; Troester, Melissa A; Homen, Marit M; Ursin, Giske

    2011-01-01

    High serum levels of estradiol are associated with increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Little is known about the gene expression in normal breast tissue in relation to levels of circulating serum estradiol. We compared whole genome expression data of breast tissue samples with serum hormone levels using data from 79 healthy women and 64 breast cancer patients. Significance analysis of microarrays (SAM) was used to identify differentially expressed genes and multivariate linear regression was used to identify independent associations. Six genes (SCGB3A1, RSPO1, TLN2, SLITRK4, DCLK1, PTGS1) were found differentially expressed according to serum estradiol levels (FDR = 0). Three of these independently predicted estradiol levels in a multivariate model, as SCGB3A1 (HIN1) and TLN2 were up-regulated and PTGS1 (COX1) was down-regulated in breast samples from women with high serum estradiol. Serum estradiol, but none of the differentially expressed genes were significantly associated with mammographic density, another strong breast cancer risk factor. In breast carcinomas, expression of GREB1 and AREG was associated with serum estradiol in all cancers and in the subgroup of estrogen receptor positive cases. We have identified genes associated with serum estradiol levels in normal breast tissue and in breast carcinomas. SCGB3A1 is a suggested tumor suppressor gene that inhibits cell growth and invasion and is methylated and down-regulated in many epithelial cancers. Our findings indicate this gene as an important inhibitor of breast cell proliferation in healthy women with high estradiol levels. In the breast, this gene is expressed in luminal cells only and is methylated in non-BRCA-related breast cancers. The possibility of a carcinogenic contribution of silencing of this gene for luminal, but not basal-like cancers should be further explored. PTGS1 induces prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production which in turn stimulates aromatase expression and hence increases the

  3. Transposable elements become active and mobile in the genomes of aging mammalian somatic tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Cecco, Marco; Criscione, Steven W; Peterson, Abigail L; Neretti, Nicola; Sedivy, John M; Kreiling, Jill A

    2013-12-01

    Transposable elements (TEs) were discovered by Barbara McClintock in maize and have since been found to be ubiquitous in all living organisms. Transposition is mutagenic and organisms have evolved mechanisms to repress the activity of their endogenous TEs. Transposition in somatic cells is very low, but recent evidence suggests that it may be derepressed in some cases, such as cancer development. We have found that during normal aging several families of retrotransposable elements (RTEs) start being transcribed in mouse tissues. In advanced age the expression culminates in active transposition. These processes are counteracted by calorie restriction (CR), an intervention that slows down aging. Retrotransposition is also activated in age-associated, naturally occurring cancers in the mouse. We suggest that somatic retrotransposition is a hitherto unappreciated aging process. Mobilization of RTEs is likely to be an important contributor to the progressive dysfunction of aging cells.

  4. Differential biological effects of iodoacetate in mammalian cell lines; radio sensitization and radio protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yadav, Usha; Anjaria, K.B.; Desai, Utkarsha N.; Chaurasia, Rajesh K.; Shirsath, K.B.; Bhat, Nagesh N.; Balakrishnan, Sreedevi; Sapra, B.K.; Nairy, Rajesha

    2014-01-01

    There are several studies where it has been shown that Iodoacetate (IA) possesses in vivo anti-tumor activity. The fact that it is a model glycolytic inhibitor makes it more interesting. As seen in recent trends, glycolytic inhibitors are emerging as new strategy for cancer therapeutic research taking advantage of glycolytic phenotype of cancerous tissues. IA has been reported to have radioprotective effects in yeast cells and human lymphocytes. Biological effects of IA in response to radiation in mammalian cell lines are not well documented. We screened IA for cytotoxicity using clonogenic assay at different concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 2.5 μg/ml using three different mammalian cell lines; A-549 (human lung carcinoma cell line), MCF-7 (human mammary cancer cell line) and a noncancerous CHO (Chinese hamster ovary cell line). For studying radioprotective/radio sensitizing efficacy, cells were exposed to 4 Gy of 60 Co-γ radiation using a teletherapy source at a dose rate of 1 Gy/min, following which IA post-treatment was carried out. Clonogenic and micronucleus assay were performed to assess radioprotection/sensitization. The results indicated that IA was highly cytotoxic in cancerous cell lines A-549 (IC 50 =1.25 μg/ml) and MCF-7 (IC 50 = 1.9 μg/ml). In contrast, it was totally non-toxic in non-cancerous cell line, viz. CHO, in the same concentration range. In addition, IA exhibited radio protective effect in CHO cell line, whereas in other two cancer cell lines, viz. A-549 and MCF-7, radio sensitizing effect was seen as judged by induction of cell killing and micronuclei. In conclusion, lA, a model glycolytic inhibitor, was found to be selectively cytotoxic in cancer cells as compared to normal cells. Further, it reduced radiation induced damage (micronuclei and cell killing) in normal cells but increased it in cancer cells indicating its potential use in cancer therapy. (author)

  5. Photodynamic therapy in prostate cancer: optical dosimetry and response of normal tissue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Qun; Shetty, Sugandh D.; Heads, Larry; Bolin, Frank; Wilson, Brian C.; Patterson, Michael S.; Sirls, Larry T., II; Schultz, Daniel; Cerny, Joseph C.; Hetzel, Fred W.

    1993-06-01

    The present study explores the possibility of utilizing photodynamic therapy (PDT) in treating localized prostate carcinoma. Optical properties of ex vivo human prostatectomy specimens, and in vivo and ex vivo dog prostate glands were studied. The size of the PDT induced lesion in dog prostate was pathologically evaluated as a biological endpoint. The data indicate that the human normal and carcinoma prostate tissues have similar optical properties. The average effective attenuation depth is less in vivo than that of ex vivo. The PDT treatment generated a lesion size of up to 16 mm in diameter. The data suggest that PDT is a promising modality in prostate cancer treatment. Multiple fiber system may be required for clinical treatment.

  6. Stability of resazurin in buffers and mammalian cell culture media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Eva; Nicolaisen, G.M.

    1999-01-01

    The utility of a ferricyanide/ferrocyanide system used in the AlamarBlue(TM) (Serotec, Oxford, UK) vital. dye to inhibit the reduction of resazurin by mammalian cell culture media is questioned. Resazurin was found to be relatively stable when dissolved in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). The use...... of HEPES resulted in a huge immediate dye reduction, which was significantly enhanced by exposure to diffuse light from fluorescent tubes in the laboratory 8 h per day. The reduction of resazurin by various cell culture media was time and temperature dependent, and it was significantly enhanced......'s nutrient mixture F-10 and F-12. Fetal calf serum (5-20%) slightly decreased resazurin reduction during the first 2 days of incubation. The reduction of resazurin by mammalian cell culture media do not appear to be problematic under normal culture conditions, and it is primarily dependent upon the presence...

  7. Therapy-induced effects in normal tissue; Therapieinduzierte Effekte am Normalgewebe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaick, G. van; Delorme, S. [Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Abteilung E010 - Radiologie, Heidelberg (Germany)

    2008-09-15

    More than 50% of cancer patients survive for more than 5 years, owing to modern and effective treatment. Therefore, long-term sequelae of treatment are more frequently seen than in the past. Such effects on normal tissue may both mimic and obscure tumor recurrences. Besides the direct consequences of surgery, tissue damage due to radiation or chemotherapy frequently cause problems in differential diagnosis. Among the numerous sequelae of radiotherapy, the most prominent are disturbance of the blood-brain barrier, radiation pneumonitis, osteodystrophy and osteoradionecrosis, fatty changes of bone marrow, or increased radiodensity of breast parenchyma. Chemotherapy may cause, e.g., diffuse abnormalities of white matter, pneumonitis and lung fibrosis, cardiomyopathy, or diffuse and patchy changes in bone marrow signals in MRI. The most devastating long-term complications are secondary cancers and leukemia induced by both radiotherapy and chemotherapy. (orig.) [German] Mehr als 50% der Tumorpatienten ueberleben dank moderner Therapie laenger als 5 Jahre, sodass die Spaetfolgen am gesunden Gewebe haeufiger und genauer erfasst werden. Diese koennen Tumorrezidive sowohl verschleiern als auch vortaeuschen. Neben den unmittelbaren Folgen operativer Eingriffe sind Auswirkungen der Chemo- und Strahlentherapie ein haeufiges differenzialdiagnostisches Problem. Wichtige Folgen einer Strahlentherapie sind z. B. Blut-Hirn-Schranken-Stoerungen, Strahlenpneumonitis, Osteodystrophie und -radionekrose, Verfettung des blutbildenden Knochenmarks oder Parenchymverdichtungen der Brust. Chemotherapie kann u. a. zur Leukenzephalopathie, Pneumonitis und Lungenfibrose, Kardiomyopathie sowie zu diffusen und fleckfoermigen Signalaenderungen des Knochenmarks in der MRT fuehren. Die schwerstwiegende Spaetkomplikation ist die Induktion solider Zweittumoren und Leukaemien sowohl nach Strahlen- als auch Chemotherapie. (orig.)

  8. Interaction theory of mammalian mitochondria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakada, K; Inoue, K; Hayashi, J

    2001-11-09

    We generated mice with deletion mutant mtDNA by its introduction from somatic cells into mouse zygotes. Expressions of disease phenotypes are limited to tissues expressing mitochondrial dysfunction. Considering that all these mice share the same nuclear background, these observations suggest that accumulation of the mutant mtDNA and resultant expressions of mitochondrial dysfunction are responsible for expression of disease phenotypes. On the other hand, mitochondrial dysfunction and expression of clinical abnormalities were not observed until the mutant mtDNA accumulated predominantly. This protection is due to the presence of extensive and continuous interaction between exogenous mitochondria from cybrids and recipient mitochondria from embryos. Thus, we would like to propose a new hypothesis on mitochondrial biogenesis, interaction theory of mitochondria: mammalian mitochondria exchange genetic contents, and thus lost the individuality and function as a single dynamic cellular unit. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

  9. Expression of IL-18, IL-18 Binding Protein, and IL-18 Receptor by Normal and Cancerous Human Ovarian Tissues: Possible Implication of IL-18 in the Pathogenesis of Ovarian Carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liat Medina

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Proinflammatory cytokine IL-18 has been shown to be elevated in the sera of ovarian carcinoma patients. The aim of the study was to examine the levels and cellular origin of IL-18, IL-18 binding protein, and IL-18 receptor in normal and cancerous ovarian tissues. Ovarian tissue samples were examined by immunohistochemical staining for IL-18, IL-18BP, and IL-18R and mRNA of these cytokines was analyzed with semiquantitative PT-PCR. IL-18 levels were significantly higher in cancerous ovarian tissues (P=0.0007, IL-18BP levels were significantly higher in normal ovarian tissues (P=0.04, and the ratio of IL-18/IL-18BP was significantly higher in cancerous ovarian tissues (P=0.036. Cancerous ovarian tissues expressed significantly higher IL-18 mRNA levels (P=0.025, while there was no difference in the expression of IL-18BP mRNA and IL-18R mRNA between cancerous and normal ovarian tissues. IL-18 and IL-18BP were expressed dominantly in the epithelial cells of both cancerous and normal ovarian tissues, while IL-18R was expressed dominantly in the epithelial cells of cancerous ovarian tissues but expressed similarly in the epithelial and stromal cells of normal cancerous tissues. This study indicates a possible role of IL-18, IL-18BP, and IL-18R in the pathogenesis of epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

  10. Differentiating the two main histologic categories of fibroadenoma tissue from normal breast tissue by using multiphoton microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nie, Y T; Wu, Y; Fu, F M; Lian, Y E; Zhuo, S M; Wang, C; Chen, J X

    2015-04-01

    Multiphoton microscopy has become a novel biological imaging technique that allows cellular and subcellular microstructure imaging based on two-photon excited fluorescence and second harmonic generation. In this work, we used multiphoton microscopy to obtain the high-contrast images of human normal breast tissue and two main histologic types of fibroadenoma (intracanalicular, pericanalicular). Moreover, quantitative image analysis was performed to characterize the changes of collagen morphology (collagen content, collagen orientation). The results show that multiphoton microscopy combined with quantitative method has the ability to identify the characteristics of fibroadenoma including changes of the duct architecture and collagen morphology in stroma. With the advancement of multiphoton microscopy, we believe that the technique has great potential to be a real-time histopathological diagnostic tool for intraoperative detection of fibroadenoma in the future. © 2015 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2015 Royal Microscopical Society.

  11. Monoclonal antibodies to murine thrombospondin-1 and thrombospondin-2 reveal differential expression patterns in cancer and low antigen expression in normal tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bujak, Emil; Pretto, Francesca; Ritz, Danilo; Gualandi, Laura; Wulhfard, Sarah; Neri, Dario

    2014-01-01

    There is a considerable interest for the discovery and characterization of tumor-associated antigens, which may facilitate antibody-based pharmacodelivery strategies. Thrombospondin-1 and thrombospondin-2 are homologous secreted proteins, which have previously been reported to be overexpressed during remodeling typical for wound healing and tumor progression and to possibly play a functional role in cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis. To our knowledge, a complete immunohistochemical characterization of thrombospondins levels in normal rodent tissues has not been reported so far. Using antibody phage technology, we have generated and characterized monoclonal antibodies specific to murine thrombospondin-1 and thrombospondin-2, two antigens which share 62% aminoacid identity. An immunofluorescence analysis revealed that both antigens are virtually undetectable in normal mouse tissues, except for a weak staining of heart tissue by antibodies specific to thrombospondin-1. The analysis also showed that thrombospondin-1 was strongly expressed in 5/7 human tumors xenografted in nude mice, while it was only barely detectable in 3/8 murine tumors grafted in immunocompetent mice. By contrast, a high-affinity antibody to thrombospondin-2 revealed a much lower level of expression of this antigen in cancer specimens. Our analysis resolves ambiguities related to conflicting reports on thrombosponding expression in health and disease. Based on our findings, thrombospondin-1 (and not thrombospondin-2) may be considered as a target for antibody-based pharmacodelivery strategies, in consideration of its low expression in normal tissues and its upregulation in cancer. - Highlights: • High affinity monoclonal antibodies to murine and human TSP1 and 2 were raised. • Both antigens are virtually undetectable in normal mouse tissues. • Strong positivity of human tumor xenografts for TSP1 was detected. • Study revealed much lower level of TSP2 expression in cancer specimens

  12. Monoclonal antibodies to murine thrombospondin-1 and thrombospondin-2 reveal differential expression patterns in cancer and low antigen expression in normal tissues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bujak, Emil [Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland); Pretto, Francesca; Ritz, Danilo; Gualandi, Laura; Wulhfard, Sarah [Philochem AG, Libernstrasse 3, CH-8112 Otelfingen (Switzerland); Neri, Dario, E-mail: neri@pharma.ethz.ch [Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland)

    2014-09-10

    There is a considerable interest for the discovery and characterization of tumor-associated antigens, which may facilitate antibody-based pharmacodelivery strategies. Thrombospondin-1 and thrombospondin-2 are homologous secreted proteins, which have previously been reported to be overexpressed during remodeling typical for wound healing and tumor progression and to possibly play a functional role in cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis. To our knowledge, a complete immunohistochemical characterization of thrombospondins levels in normal rodent tissues has not been reported so far. Using antibody phage technology, we have generated and characterized monoclonal antibodies specific to murine thrombospondin-1 and thrombospondin-2, two antigens which share 62% aminoacid identity. An immunofluorescence analysis revealed that both antigens are virtually undetectable in normal mouse tissues, except for a weak staining of heart tissue by antibodies specific to thrombospondin-1. The analysis also showed that thrombospondin-1 was strongly expressed in 5/7 human tumors xenografted in nude mice, while it was only barely detectable in 3/8 murine tumors grafted in immunocompetent mice. By contrast, a high-affinity antibody to thrombospondin-2 revealed a much lower level of expression of this antigen in cancer specimens. Our analysis resolves ambiguities related to conflicting reports on thrombosponding expression in health and disease. Based on our findings, thrombospondin-1 (and not thrombospondin-2) may be considered as a target for antibody-based pharmacodelivery strategies, in consideration of its low expression in normal tissues and its upregulation in cancer. - Highlights: • High affinity monoclonal antibodies to murine and human TSP1 and 2 were raised. • Both antigens are virtually undetectable in normal mouse tissues. • Strong positivity of human tumor xenografts for TSP1 was detected. • Study revealed much lower level of TSP2 expression in cancer specimens

  13. Mammalian Synthetic Biology: Time for Big MACs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martella, Andrea; Pollard, Steven M; Dai, Junbiao; Cai, Yizhi

    2016-10-21

    The enabling technologies of synthetic biology are opening up new opportunities for engineering and enhancement of mammalian cells. This will stimulate diverse applications in many life science sectors such as regenerative medicine, development of biosensing cell lines, therapeutic protein production, and generation of new synthetic genetic regulatory circuits. Harnessing the full potential of these new engineering-based approaches requires the design and assembly of large DNA constructs-potentially up to chromosome scale-and the effective delivery of these large DNA payloads to the host cell. Random integration of large transgenes, encoding therapeutic proteins or genetic circuits into host chromosomes, has several drawbacks such as risks of insertional mutagenesis, lack of control over transgene copy-number and position-specific effects; these can compromise the intended functioning of genetic circuits. The development of a system orthogonal to the endogenous genome is therefore beneficial. Mammalian artificial chromosomes (MACs) are functional, add-on chromosomal elements, which behave as normal chromosomes-being replicating and portioned to daughter cells at each cell division. They are deployed as useful gene expression vectors as they remain independent from the host genome. MACs are maintained as a single-copy and can accommodate multiple gene expression cassettes of, in theory, unlimited DNA size (MACs up to 10 megabases have been constructed). MACs therefore enabled control over ectopic gene expression and represent an excellent platform to rapidly prototype and characterize novel synthetic gene circuits without recourse to engineering the host genome. This review describes the obstacles synthetic biologists face when working with mammalian systems and how the development of improved MACs can overcome these-particularly given the spectacular advances in DNA synthesis and assembly that are fuelling this research area.

  14. Mammalian Cell Culture Simplified.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moss, Robert; Solomon, Sondra

    1991-01-01

    A tissue culture experiment that does not require elaborate equipment and that can be used to teach sterile technique, the principles of animal cell line maintenance, and the concept of cell growth curves is described. The differences between cancerous and normal cells can be highlighted. The procedure is included. (KR)

  15. Characterization of mammalian selenoprotein o: a redox-active mitochondrial protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Seong-Jeong; Lee, Byung Cheon; Yim, Sun Hee; Gladyshev, Vadim N; Lee, Seung-Rock

    2014-01-01

    Selenoproteins exhibit diverse biological functions, most of which are associated with redox control. However, the functions of approximately half of mammalian selenoproteins are not known. One such protein is Selenoprotein O (SelO), the largest mammalian selenoprotein with orthologs found in a wide range of organisms, including bacteria and yeast. Here, we report characterization of mammalian SelO. Expression of this protein could be verified in HEK 293T cells by metabolic labeling of cells with 75Se, and it was abolished when selenocysteine was replaced with serine. A CxxU motif was identified in the C-terminal region of SelO. This protein was reversibly oxidized in a time- and concentration-dependent manner in HEK 293T cells when cells were treated with hydrogen peroxide. This treatment led to the formation of a transient 88 kDa SelO-containing complex. The formation of this complex was enhanced by replacing the CxxU motif with SxxC, but abolished when it was replaced with SxxS, suggesting a redox interaction of SelO with another protein through its Sec residue. SelO was localized to mitochondria and expressed across mouse tissues. Its expression was little affected by selenium deficiency, suggesting it has a high priority for selenium supply. Taken together, these results show that SelO is a redox-active mitochondrial selenoprotein.

  16. Characterization of mammalian selenoprotein o: a redox-active mitochondrial protein.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seong-Jeong Han

    Full Text Available Selenoproteins exhibit diverse biological functions, most of which are associated with redox control. However, the functions of approximately half of mammalian selenoproteins are not known. One such protein is Selenoprotein O (SelO, the largest mammalian selenoprotein with orthologs found in a wide range of organisms, including bacteria and yeast. Here, we report characterization of mammalian SelO. Expression of this protein could be verified in HEK 293T cells by metabolic labeling of cells with 75Se, and it was abolished when selenocysteine was replaced with serine. A CxxU motif was identified in the C-terminal region of SelO. This protein was reversibly oxidized in a time- and concentration-dependent manner in HEK 293T cells when cells were treated with hydrogen peroxide. This treatment led to the formation of a transient 88 kDa SelO-containing complex. The formation of this complex was enhanced by replacing the CxxU motif with SxxC, but abolished when it was replaced with SxxS, suggesting a redox interaction of SelO with another protein through its Sec residue. SelO was localized to mitochondria and expressed across mouse tissues. Its expression was little affected by selenium deficiency, suggesting it has a high priority for selenium supply. Taken together, these results show that SelO is a redox-active mitochondrial selenoprotein.

  17. SU-E-J-212: MR Diffusion Tensor Imaging for Assessment of Tumor and Normal Brain Tissue Responses of Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma Treated by Proton Therapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hou, P; Park, P; Li, H; Zhu, X; Mahajan, A; Grosshans, D [M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can measure molecular mobility at the cellular level, quantified by the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). DTI may also reveal axonal fiber directional information in the white matter, quantified by the fractional anisotropy (FA). Juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma (JPA) is a rare brain tumor that occurs in children and young adults. Proton therapy (PT) is increasingly used in the treatment of pediatric brain tumors including JPA. However, the response of both tumors and normal tissues to PT is currently under investigation. We report tumor and normal brain tissue responses for a pediatric case of JPA treated with PT assessed using DTI. Methods: A ten year old male with JPA of the left thalamus received passive scattered PT to a dose of 50.4 Gy (RBE) in 28 fractions. Post PT, the patient has been followed up in seven years. At each follow up, MRI imaging including DTI was performed to assess response. MR images were registered to the treatment planning CT and the GTV mapped onto each MRI. The GTV contour was then mirrored to the right side of brain through the patient’s middle line to represent normal brain tissue. ADC and FA were measured within the ROIs. Results: Proton therapy can completely spare contra lateral brain while the target volume received full prescribed dose. From a series of MRI ADC images before and after PT at different follow ups, the enhancement corresponding to GTV had nearly disappeared more than 2 years after PT. Both ADC and FA demonstrate that contralateral normal brain tissue were not affect by PT and the tumor volume reverted to normal ADC and FA values. Conclusion: DTI allowed quantitative evaluation of tumor and normal brain tissue responses to PT. Further study in a larger cohort is warranted.

  18. SU-E-J-212: MR Diffusion Tensor Imaging for Assessment of Tumor and Normal Brain Tissue Responses of Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma Treated by Proton Therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hou, P; Park, P; Li, H; Zhu, X; Mahajan, A; Grosshans, D

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can measure molecular mobility at the cellular level, quantified by the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). DTI may also reveal axonal fiber directional information in the white matter, quantified by the fractional anisotropy (FA). Juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma (JPA) is a rare brain tumor that occurs in children and young adults. Proton therapy (PT) is increasingly used in the treatment of pediatric brain tumors including JPA. However, the response of both tumors and normal tissues to PT is currently under investigation. We report tumor and normal brain tissue responses for a pediatric case of JPA treated with PT assessed using DTI. Methods: A ten year old male with JPA of the left thalamus received passive scattered PT to a dose of 50.4 Gy (RBE) in 28 fractions. Post PT, the patient has been followed up in seven years. At each follow up, MRI imaging including DTI was performed to assess response. MR images were registered to the treatment planning CT and the GTV mapped onto each MRI. The GTV contour was then mirrored to the right side of brain through the patient’s middle line to represent normal brain tissue. ADC and FA were measured within the ROIs. Results: Proton therapy can completely spare contra lateral brain while the target volume received full prescribed dose. From a series of MRI ADC images before and after PT at different follow ups, the enhancement corresponding to GTV had nearly disappeared more than 2 years after PT. Both ADC and FA demonstrate that contralateral normal brain tissue were not affect by PT and the tumor volume reverted to normal ADC and FA values. Conclusion: DTI allowed quantitative evaluation of tumor and normal brain tissue responses to PT. Further study in a larger cohort is warranted

  19. Protons Offer Reduced Normal-Tissue Exposure for Patients Receiving Postoperative Radiotherapy for Resected Pancreatic Head Cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nichols, Romaine C., E-mail: rnichols@floridaproton.org [University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute, Jacksonsville, FL (United States); Huh, Soon N. [University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute, Jacksonsville, FL (United States); Prado, Karl L.; Yi, Byong Y.; Sharma, Navesh K. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD (United States); Ho, Meng W.; Hoppe, Bradford S.; Mendenhall, Nancy P.; Li, Zuofeng [University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute, Jacksonsville, FL (United States); Regine, William F. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD (United States)

    2012-05-01

    Purpose: To determine the potential role for adjuvant proton-based radiotherapy (PT) for resected pancreatic head cancer. Methods and Materials: Between June 2008 and November 2008, 8 consecutive patients with resected pancreatic head cancers underwent optimized intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment planning. IMRT plans used between 10 and 18 fields and delivered 45 Gy to the initial planning target volume (PTV) and a 5.4 Gy boost to a reduced PTV. PTVs were defined according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 9704 radiotherapy guidelines. Ninety-five percent of PTVs received 100% of the target dose and 100% of the PTVs received 95% of the target dose. Normal tissue constraints were as follows: right kidney V18 Gy to <70%; left kidney V18 Gy to <30%; small bowel/stomach V20 Gy to <50%, V45 Gy to <15%, V50 Gy to <10%, and V54 Gy to <5%; liver V30 Gy to <60%; and spinal cord maximum to 46 Gy. Optimized two- to three-field three-dimensional conformal proton plans were retrospectively generated on the same patients. The team generating the proton plans was blinded to the dose distributions achieved by the IMRT plans. The IMRT and proton plans were then compared. A Wilcoxon paired t-test was performed to compare various dosimetric points between the two plans for each patient. Results: All proton plans met all normal tissue constraints and were isoeffective with the corresponding IMRT plans in terms of PTV coverage. The proton plans offered significantly reduced normal-tissue exposure over the IMRT plans with respect to the following: median small bowel V20 Gy, 15.4% with protons versus 47.0% with IMRT (p = 0.0156); median gastric V20 Gy, 2.3% with protons versus 20.0% with IMRT (p = 0.0313); and median right kidney V18 Gy, 27.3% with protons versus 50.5% with IMRT (p = 0.0156). Conclusions: By reducing small bowel and stomach exposure, protons have the potential to reduce the acute and late toxicities of postoperative chemoradiation in this setting.

  20. On Predicting lung cancer subtypes using ‘omic’ data from tumor and tumor-adjacent histologically-normal tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pineda, Arturo López; Ogoe, Henry Ato; Balasubramanian, Jeya Balaji; Rangel Escareño, Claudia; Visweswaran, Shyam; Herman, James Gordon; Gopalakrishnan, Vanathi

    2016-01-01

    Adenocarcinoma (ADC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are the most prevalent histological types among lung cancers. Distinguishing between these subtypes is critically important because they have different implications for prognosis and treatment. Normally, histopathological analyses are used to distinguish between the two, where the tissue samples are collected based on small endoscopic samples or needle aspirations. However, the lack of cell architecture in these small tissue samples hampers the process of distinguishing between the two subtypes. Molecular profiling can also be used to discriminate between the two lung cancer subtypes, on condition that the biopsy is composed of at least 50 % of tumor cells. However, for some cases, the tissue composition of a biopsy might be a mix of tumor and tumor-adjacent histologically normal tissue (TAHN). When this happens, a new biopsy is required, with associated cost, risks and discomfort to the patient. To avoid this problem, we hypothesize that a computational method can distinguish between lung cancer subtypes given tumor and TAHN tissue. Using publicly available datasets for gene expression and DNA methylation, we applied four classification tasks, depending on the possible combinations of tumor and TAHN tissue. First, we used a feature selector (ReliefF/Limma) to select relevant variables, which were then used to build a simple naïve Bayes classification model. Then, we evaluated the classification performance of our models by measuring the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Finally, we analyzed the relevance of the selected genes using hierarchical clustering and IPA® software for gene functional analysis. All Bayesian models achieved high classification performance (AUC > 0.94), which were confirmed by hierarchical cluster analysis. From the genes selected, 25 (93 %) were found to be related to cancer (19 were associated with ADC or SCC), confirming the biological relevance of our

  1. THE PRESENCE OF ENDOGENOUS PYROGEN IN NORMAL RABBIT TISSUES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    SNELL, E S; ATKINS, E

    1965-06-01

    Saline extracts of homogenized, uninfected, rabbit tissues produced febrile responses when injected intravenously into rabbits. Extracts of muscle, lung, and heart evoked fevers that were similar to those induced by leucocyte pyrogen; extracts of spleen, liver, and kidney caused more sustained fevers. The minimal pyrogenic dose appeared to be between 1.5 and 3 gm wet weight of tissue. Evidence is presented that neither Gram-negative bacterial endotoxin nor polymorphonuclear leucocytes (circulating or sequestered in the tissues) can be implicated as the source of pyrogen in tissue extracts. It seems likely, therefore, that a pyrogenic material of truly endogenous origin is widely distributed in tissues. Tissue pyrogen appears to be a large molecule which is relatively resistant to treatment with acid but not with alkali. Possible pathological roles for this endogenous agent (or agents) are briefly indicated.

  2. Activity of pyrimidine degradation enzymes in normal tissues

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Kuilenburg, A. B. P.; van Lenthe, H.; van Gennip, A. H.

    2006-01-01

    In this study, we measured the activity of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), dihydropyrimidinase (DHP) and beta-ureidopropionase (beta-UP), using radiolabeled substrates, in 16 different tissues obtained at autopsy from a single patient. The activity of DPD could be detected in all tissues

  3. Enzymatic production by tissue extracts of a metabolite of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide with calcium-releasing ability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tich, N.R.

    1989-01-01

    This research investigated the occurrence and characterization of the metabolite in mammalian tissues. In all mammalian tissues tested, including rabbit liver, heart, spleen, kidney, and brain, the factor to convert NAD into its active metabolite was present. The conversion exhibited many characteristics of an enzymatic process such as temperature sensitivity, concentration dependence and protease sensitivity. Production of the NAD metabolite occurred within a time frame of 15-45 minutes at 37 degree C, depending upon the particular preparation. The metabolite was isolated using high performance liquid chromatography from all mammalian tissues. This purified metabolite was then tested for its effectiveness in releasing intracellular calcium in an intact cell by microinjecting it into unfertilized sea urchin eggs. These eggs undergo a massive morphological change upon fertilization which is dependent upon the release of calcium from inside the cell. Upon injection of the NAD metabolite into unfertilized eggs, this same morphological change was observed showing indirectly that the metabolite released intracellular calcium from an intact, viable cell. In addition, radioactive studies using 45 Ca 2+ loaded into permeabilized hepatocytes, indicated in preliminary studies that the NAD metabolite could also release calcium from intracellular stores of mammalian cells

  4. Radiosensitization of tumors and normal tissues by combined treatment with misonidazole and heat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hofer, K.G.; MacKinnon, A.R.; Schubert, A.L.; Lehr, J.E.; Grimmett, E.V.

    1981-01-01

    Combination treatment of mice with misonidazole (0.5 mg/g body wt.) and hyperthermia (41.5/sup o/C for 45 mins.) produced dramatic radiosensitization in hypoxic BP-8 murine sarcoma cells. The dose modifying factor (DMF: 4.3) was such that hypoxic BP-8 cells subjected to combination therapy became more radiosensitive than untreated, fully oxygenated cell populations. In contrast, radiosensitization by combination treatment was comparatively minor or completely absent in normal body tissues such as skin (DMF: 1.57), intestine (DMF: 1.0), and bone marrow (DMF: 1.0). These results suggest that simultaneous administration of misonidazole and hyperthermia may prove an effective adjuvant to conventional clinical radiation therapy

  5. Generation of mammalian host-adapted Leptospira interrogans by cultivation in peritoneal dialysis membrane chamber implantation in rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leptospira interrogans can infect a myriad of mammalian hosts, including humans (Bharti, Nally et al. 2003, Ko, Goarant et al. 2009). Following acquisition by a suitable host, leptospires disseminate via the bloodstream to multiple tissues, including the kidneys, where they adhere to and colonize th...

  6. Mechanical activation of mammalian target of rapamycin pathway is required for cartilage development

    OpenAIRE

    Guan, Yingjie; Yang, Xu; Yang, Wentian; Charbonneau, Cherie; Chen, Qian

    2014-01-01

    Mechanical stress regulates development by modulating cell signaling and gene expression. However, the cytoplasmic components mediating mechanotransduction remain unclear. In this study, elimination of muscle contraction during chicken embryonic development resulted in a reduction in the activity of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in the cartilaginous growth plate. Inhibition of mTOR activity led to significant inhibition of chondrocyte proliferation, cartilage tissue growth, and express...

  7. Differentiation between chronic hepatitis and normal liver of grayscale ultrasound tissue quantification using adobe photoshop(5.0)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Jong Cheol; Oh, Jong Young; Lim, Jong Uk; Nam, Kyung Jin

    2001-01-01

    To evaluate whether was any difference in the brightness of echogenicity on gray scale ultrasound imaging between the liver with chronic hepatitis and the normal liver using Adobe photoshop 5.0 Seventy-five patients with pathologically proven chronic hepatitis and twenty normal volunteers were included in this study. Adobe photoshop 5.0 histogram was used to measure the brightness of image. The measured brightness of the liver was divided by the brightness of the kidney, and the radio was calculated and compared between patients with chronic hepatitis and the normal control groups. In addition, the degree of fibrosis was also evaluated. The difference in brightness between the normal liver and live with chronic hepatitis was statistically significant, but no statistically significant difference was observed between the brightness of the liver and the degree of fibrosis in the liver. Tissue echo quantification using Adobe Photoshop 5.0 may be a helpful diagnostic methods for the patients with chronic hepatitis.

  8. Correlation of in vitro lymphocyte radiosensitivity and gene expression with late normal tissue reactions following curative radiotherapy for breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finnon, Paul; Kabacik, Sylwia; MacKay, Alan; Raffy, Claudine; A’Hern, Roger; Owen, Roger; Badie, Christophe; Yarnold, John; Bouffler, Simon

    2012-01-01

    Background and purpose: Identification of mechanisms of late normal tissue responses to curative radiotherapy that discriminate individuals with marked or mild responses would aid response prediction. This study aimed to identify differences in gene expression, apoptosis, residual DNA double strand breaks and chromosomal damage after in vitro irradiation of lymphocytes in a series of patients with marked (31 cases) or mild (28 controls) late adverse reaction to adjuvant breast radiotherapy. Materials and methods: Gene expression arrays, residual γH2AX, apoptosis, G2 chromosomal radiosensitivity and G0 micronucleus assay were used to compare case and control lymphocyte radiation responses. Results: Five hundred and thirty genes were up-regulated and 819 down-regulated by ionising radiation. Irradiated samples were identified with an overall cross-validated error rate of 3.4%. Prediction analyses to classify cases and controls using unirradiated (0 Gy), irradiated (4 Gy) or radiation response (4–0 Gy) expression profiles correctly identified samples with, respectively, 25%, 22% or 18.5% error rates. Significant inter-sample variation was observed for all cellular endpoints but cases and controls could not be distinguished. Conclusions: Variation in lymphocyte radiosensitivity does not necessarily correlate with normal tissue response to radiotherapy. Gene expression analysis can predict of radiation exposure and may in the future help prediction of normal tissue radiosensitivity.

  9. Mast cells are present in the choroid of the normal eye in most vertebrate classes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMenamin, Paul Gerard; Polla, Emily

    2013-07-01

    Mast cells are bone marrow-derived tissue-homing leukocytes, which have traditionally been regarded as effector cells in allergic disorders, responses against parasites, and regulation of blood flow, but a broader perspective of their functional heterogeneity, such as immunomodulation, angiogenesis, tissue repair, and remodeling after injury, is now emerging. The persistence of mast cells in connective tissues throughout the evolution of vertebrates is evidence of strong selective pressure suggesting that these cells must have multiple beneficial and important roles in normal homeostasis. While mast cells are present within the uveal tract of eutherian mammals, there is little known about their presence in the choroid of other vertebrate classes. Eye tissues from a range of vertebrate species (fish, amphibian, reptiles, birds, marsupials, monotreme, and eutherian mammals) were investigated. Tissues were fixed in either 2% glutaraldehyde, 2% paraformaldehyde or a mixture of both and processed for resin embedding. Semi-thin sections of the retina and choroid were cut and stained with toluidine blue. Mast cells were identified in the choroid of all classes of vertebrates investigated except sharks. Their morphology, location, and staining characteristics were remarkably similar from teleost fish through to eutherian mammals and bore close morphological resemblance to mammalian connective tissue mast cells. The similar morphology and distribution of mast cells in the choroid of all vertebrate classes studied suggest a basic physiological function that has been retained since the evolution of the vertebrate eye. © 2013 American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.

  10. A Protocol for the Comprehensive Flow Cytometric Analysis of Immune Cells in Normal and Inflamed Murine Non-Lymphoid Tissues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Yen-Rei A.; O’Koren, Emily G.; Hotten, Danielle F.; Kan, Matthew J.; Kopin, David; Nelson, Erik R.; Que, Loretta; Gunn, Michael D.

    2016-01-01

    Flow cytometry is used extensively to examine immune cells in non-lymphoid tissues. However, a method of flow cytometric analysis that is both comprehensive and widely applicable has not been described. We developed a protocol for the flow cytometric analysis of non-lymphoid tissues, including methods of tissue preparation, a 10-fluorochrome panel for cell staining, and a standardized gating strategy, that allows the simultaneous identification and quantification of all major immune cell types in a variety of normal and inflamed non-lymphoid tissues. We demonstrate that our basic protocol minimizes cell loss, reliably distinguishes macrophages from dendritic cells (DC), and identifies all major granulocytic and mononuclear phagocytic cell types. This protocol is able to accurately quantify 11 distinct immune cell types, including T cells, B cells, NK cells, neutrophils, eosinophils, inflammatory monocytes, resident monocytes, alveolar macrophages, resident/interstitial macrophages, CD11b- DC, and CD11b+ DC, in normal lung, heart, liver, kidney, intestine, skin, eyes, and mammary gland. We also characterized the expression patterns of several commonly used myeloid and macrophage markers. This basic protocol can be expanded to identify additional cell types such as mast cells, basophils, and plasmacytoid DC, or perform detailed phenotyping of specific cell types. In examining models of primary and metastatic mammary tumors, this protocol allowed the identification of several distinct tumor associated macrophage phenotypes, the appearance of which was highly specific to individual tumor cell lines. This protocol provides a valuable tool to examine immune cell repertoires and follow immune responses in a wide variety of tissues and experimental conditions. PMID:26938654

  11. Enhancer evolution across 20 mammalian species

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Villar, Diego; Berthelot, Camille; Aldridge, Sarah

    2015-01-01

    The mammalian radiation has corresponded with rapid changes in noncoding regions of the genome, but we lack a comprehensive understanding of regulatory evolution in mammals. Here, we track the evolution of promoters and enhancers active in liver across 20 mammalian species from six diverse orders...... by profiling genomic enrichment of H3K27 acetylation and H3K4 trimethylation. We report that rapid evolution of enhancers is a universal feature of mammalian genomes. Most of the recently evolved enhancers arise from ancestral DNA exaptation, rather than lineage-specific expansions of repeat elements....... These results provide important insight into the functional genetics underpinning mammalian regulatory evolution....

  12. Canine tumor and normal tissue response to heat and radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gillette, E.L.; McChesney, S.L.

    1985-01-01

    Oral squamous cell carcinomas of dogs were treated with either irradiation alone or combined with hyperthermia. Tumor control was assessed as no evidence of disease one year following treatment. Dogs were randomized to variable radiation doses which were given in ten fractions three times a week for three weeks. Heat was given three hours after the first and third radiation dose each week for seven treatments. The attempt was made to achieve a minimum tumor temperature of 42 0 C for thirty minutes with a maximum normal tissue temperature of 40 0 C. It was usually possible to selectively heat tumors. The TCD 50 for irradiation alone was about 400 rads greater than for heat plus irradiation. The dose response curve for heat plus radiation was much steeper than for radiation alone indicating less heterogeneity of tumor response. That also implies a much greater effectiveness of radiation combined with heat at higher tumor control probabilities. Early necrosis caused by heating healed with conservative management. No increase in late radiation necrosis was observed

  13. Acute and late effects of multimodal therapy on normal tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phillips, T.L.; Fu, K.K.

    1977-01-01

    The increasing use of combined radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery has led to an increased incidence of acute and late complications. The complications are, in general, similar to those seen with each modality alone, but occur with increased incidence. Enhanced effects of combined radiation and surgery are modest in number and consist primarily of problems with wound healing and fibrosis, as well as late gastrointestinal damage. Combinations of radiotherapy and chemotherapy have shown a greater degree of enhanced acute and late reactions. Drugs, such as actinomycin-D and Adriamycin, are particularly dangerous if the marked enhancement of radiation effects caused by the drugs in almost all organs is not appreciated and the radiation dose not adjusted accordingly. Proper selection of drugs can lead to enhanced local control by radiotherapy and/or surgery, as well as eradication of microscopic distant metastases, without increased normal tissue injury. Late induction of malignancy can occur with either radiation or chemotherapy alone and, in some cases, this appears to be enhanced when they are combined

  14. Endogenous retrovirus sequences expressed in male mammalian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In humans, one ERV family, human endogenous retrovirus- K (HERV-K) is abundantly expressed, and is associated with germ cell tumours, while ERV3 env is expressed in normal human testis. Conclusion: The expression of ERVs in male reproductive tissues suggests a possible role in normal and disease conditions ...

  15. Purification and Electrophoretic Characterization of Lactate Dehydrogenase from Mammalian Blood: A Different Twist on a Classic Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunauer, Linda S.

    2016-01-01

    A multiweek protein purification suite, suitable for upper-division biochemistry or biotechnology undergraduate students, is described. Students work in small teams to isolate the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from a nontraditional tissue source, mammalian blood, using a sequence of three column chromatographic procedures: ion-exchange, size…

  16. Engineering Cell Fate for Tissue Regeneration by In Vivo Transdifferentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Lázaro, I; Kostarelos, K

    2016-02-01

    Changes in cell identity occur in adult mammalian organisms but are rare and often linked to disease. Research in the last few decades has thrown light on how to manipulate cell fate, but the conversion of a particular cell type into another within a living organism (also termed in vivo transdifferentiation) has only been recently achieved in a limited number of tissues. Although the therapeutic promise of this strategy for tissue regeneration and repair is exciting, important efficacy and safety concerns will need to be addressed before it becomes a reality in the clinical practice. Here, we review the most relevant in vivo transdifferentiation studies in adult mammalian animal models, offering a critical assessment of this potentially powerful strategy for regenerative medicine.

  17. Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid affects γH2AX expression in osteosarcoma, atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor and normal tissue cell lines after irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blattmann, C.; Oertel, S.; Thiemann, M.; Weber, K.J.; Schmezer, P.; Zelezny, O.; Lopez Perez, R.; Kulozik, A.E.; Debus, J.; Ehemann, V.

    2012-01-01

    Osteosarcoma and atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors are tumor entities with varying response to common standard therapy protocols. Histone acetylation affects chromatin structure and gene expression which are considered to influence radiation sensitivity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the combination therapy with the histone deacetylase inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and irradiation on atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors and osteosarcoma compared to normal tissue cell lines. Clonogenic assay was used to determine cell survival. DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) were examined by pulsed-field electrophoresis (PFGE) as well as by γH2AX immunostaining involving flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy, and immunoblot analysis. SAHA lead to an increased radiosensitivity in tumor but not in normal tissue cell lines. γH2AX expression as an indicator for DSB was significantly increased when SAHA was applied 24 h before irradiation to the sarcoma cell cultures. In contrast, γH2AX expression in the normal tissue cell lines was significantly reduced when irradiation was combined with SAHA. Analysis of initial DNA fragmentation and fragment rejoining by PFGE, however, did not reveal differences in response to the SAHA pretreatment for either cell type. SAHA increases radiosensitivity in tumor but not normal tissue cell lines. The increased H2AX phosphorylation status of the SAHA-treated tumor cells post irradiation likely reflects its delayed dephosphorylation within the DNA damage signal decay rather than chromatin acetylation-dependent differences in the overall efficacy of DSB induction and rejoining. The results support the hypothesis that combining SAHA with irradiation may provide a promising strategy in the treatment of solid tumors. (orig.)

  18. Creb1 regulates late stage mammalian lung development via respiratory epithelial and mesenchymal-independent mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antony, N.; McDougall, A. R.; Mantamadiotis, T.; Cole, T. J.; Bird, A. D.

    2016-01-01

    During mammalian lung development, the morphological transition from respiratory tree branching morphogenesis to a predominantly saccular architecture, capable of air-breathing at birth, is dependent on physical forces as well as molecular signaling by a range of transcription factors including the cAMP response element binding protein 1 (Creb1). Creb1−/− mutant mice exhibit complete neonatal lethality consistent with a lack of lung maturation beyond the branching phase. To further define its role in the developing mouse lung, we deleted Creb1 separately in the respiratory epithelium and mesenchyme. Surprisingly, we found no evidence of a morphological lung defect nor compromised neonatal survival in either conditional Creb1 mutant. Interestingly however, loss of mesenchymal Creb1 on a genetic background lacking the related Crem protein showed normal lung development but poor neonatal survival. To investigate the underlying requirement for Creb1 for normal lung development, Creb1−/− mice were re-examined for defects in both respiratory muscles and glucocorticoid hormone signaling, which are also required for late stage lung maturation. However, these systems appeared normal in Creb1−/− mice. Together our results suggest that the requirement of Creb1 for normal mammalian lung morphogenesis is not dependent upon its expression in lung epithelium or mesenchyme, nor its role in musculoskeletal development. PMID:27150575

  19. In-vivo tissue uptake and retention of Sn-117m(4+)DTPA in a human subject with metastatic bone pain and in normal mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swailem, Fayez M.; Krishnamurthy, Gerbail T.; Srivastava, Suresh C.; Aguirre, Maria L.; Ellerson, Dawn L.; Walsh, T. Kent; Simpson, Laura

    1998-01-01

    Organ and tissue uptake and retention of Sn-117m(4+)DTPA were studied in a human subject treated for metastatic bone pain, and the results were compared with the biodistribution studies in five normal mice. The explanted organs from a patient who received a therapy dose of 18.6 mCi (688.2 MBq) Sn-117m(4+)DTPA and who died 47 days later were imaged with a γ-camera, and tissue samples were counted and also autoradiographed. Bone, muscle, liver, fat, lungs, kidneys, spleen, heart and pancreas tissue samples were assayed in a well counter for radioactivity. Regions of interest were drawn over bone and major organs to calculate and quantify clearance times using three in vivo Sn-117m(4+)DTPA whole-body scintigrams acquired at 1, 24 and 168 h after injection. Five normal mice injected with the same batch of Sn-117m(4+)DTPA as used for the human subject were sacrificed at 24 h, and tissue samples were collected and assayed for radioactivity for comparison with the human data. For the human subject, whole-body retention at 47 days postinjection was 81% of the injected dose, and the rest (19%) was excreted in urine. Of the whole-body retained activity at 47 days, 82.4% was in bone, 7.8% in the muscle and 1.5% in the liver, and the rest was distributed among other tissues. γ-Ray scintigrams and electron autoradiographs of coronal slices of the thoracolumbar vertebral body showed heterogenous metastatic involvement with normal bone between metastatic lesions. There was nonuniform distribution of radioactivity even within a single vertebral body, indicating normal bone between metastatic lesions. Lesion-to-nonlesion ratios ranged from 3 to 5. However, the osteoid-to-marrow cavity deposition ratio, from the microautoradiographs, was 11:1. The peak uptake in the human bone was seen at 137 h with no biological clearance. Soft tissues showed peak uptake at 1 h and exhibited three compartmental clearance components. Whole-body retention in normal mice was 38.7% of the injected

  20. Elabela-apelin receptor signaling pathway is functional in mammalian systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhi; Yu, Daozhan; Wang, Mengqiao; Wang, Qilong; Kouznetsova, Jennifer; Yang, Rongze; Qian, Kun; Wu, Wenjun; Shuldiner, Alan; Sztalryd, Carole; Zou, Minghui; Zheng, Wei; Gong, Da-Wei

    2015-02-02

    Elabela (ELA) or Toddler is a recently discovered hormone which is required for normal development of heart and vasculature through activation of apelin receptor (APJ), a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), in zebrafish. The present study explores whether the ELA-APJ signaling pathway is functional in the mammalian system. Using reverse-transcription PCR, we found that ELA is restrictedly expressed in human pluripotent stem cells and adult kidney whereas APJ is more widely expressed. We next studied ELA-APJ signaling pathway in reconstituted mammalian cell systems. Addition of ELA to HEK293 cells over-expressing GFP-AJP fusion protein resulted in rapid internalization of the fusion receptor. In Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO) cells over-expressing human APJ, ELA suppresses cAMP production with EC50 of 11.1 nM, stimulates ERK1/2 phosphorylation with EC50 of 14.3 nM and weakly induces intracellular calcium mobilization. Finally, we tested ELA biological function in human umbilical vascular endothelial cells and showed that ELA induces angiogenesis and relaxes mouse aortic blood vessel in a dose-dependent manner through a mechanism different from apelin. Collectively, we demonstrate that the ELA-AJP signaling pathways are functional in mammalian systems, indicating that ELA likely serves as a hormone regulating the circulation system in adulthood as well as in embryonic development.

  1. Regulation of gene expression in mammalian cells following ionizing radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boothman, D.A.; Lee, S.W

    1991-01-01

    Mammalian cells use a variety of mechanisms to control the expression of new gene transcrips elicited in response to ionizing radiation. Damage-induced proteins have been found which contain DNA binding sites located within the promoter regions of SV40 and human thymidine kinase genes. DNA binding proteins as well as proteins which bind to specific DNA lesions (e.g., XIP bp 175 binds specifically to X-ray-damaged DNA) may play a role in the initial recognition of DNA damage and may initiate DNA repair processes, along with new transcription. Mammalian gene expression after DNA damage is also regulated via the stabilization of preexisting mRNA transcripts. Stabilized mRNA transcripts are translated into protein products not previously present in the cell due to undefined posttranscriptional modifications. Thus far, the only example of mRNA stabilization following X-irradiation is the immediate induction of tissue-type plasminogen activator. Mammalian cells synthesize new mRNA transcripts indirect response to DNA damage. Using cDNA cloning, Northern RNA blotting and nuclear run-on techniques, the levels of a variety of known and previously unknown genes dramatically increase following X-irradiation. These genes/proteins now include; a) DNA binding transcripts factors, such as the UV-responsive element binding factors, ionizing radiation-induced DNA-binding proteins, and XIP bP 175; b) proto-oncogenes, such as c-fos, c-jun, and c-myc; c) several growth-related genes, (e.g., the gadd genes, protein kinase C, IL-1, and thymidine kinase); and d) a variety of other genes, including proteases, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and DT diaphorase. Mammalian cells respond to X-irradiation by eliciting a very complex series of events resulting in the appearance of new genes and proteins. These gene products may affect DNA repair, adaptive responses, apoptosis, SOS-type mutagenic response, and/or carcinogenesis. (J.P.N.)

  2. Normal and Fibrotic Rat Livers Demonstrate Shear Strain Softening and Compression Stiffening: A Model for Soft Tissue Mechanics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryna Perepelyuk

    Full Text Available Tissues including liver stiffen and acquire more extracellular matrix with fibrosis. The relationship between matrix content and stiffness, however, is non-linear, and stiffness is only one component of tissue mechanics. The mechanical response of tissues such as liver to physiological stresses is not well described, and models of tissue mechanics are limited. To better understand the mechanics of the normal and fibrotic rat liver, we carried out a series of studies using parallel plate rheometry, measuring the response to compressive, extensional, and shear strains. We found that the shear storage and loss moduli G' and G" and the apparent Young's moduli measured by uniaxial strain orthogonal to the shear direction increased markedly with both progressive fibrosis and increasing compression, that livers shear strain softened, and that significant increases in shear modulus with compressional stress occurred within a range consistent with increased sinusoidal pressures in liver disease. Proteoglycan content and integrin-matrix interactions were significant determinants of liver mechanics, particularly in compression. We propose a new non-linear constitutive model of the liver. A key feature of this model is that, while it assumes overall liver incompressibility, it takes into account water flow and solid phase compressibility. In sum, we report a detailed study of non-linear liver mechanics under physiological strains in the normal state, early fibrosis, and late fibrosis. We propose a constitutive model that captures compression stiffening, tension softening, and shear softening, and can be understood in terms of the cellular and matrix components of the liver.

  3. High-risk human papilloma virus in archival tissues of oral pathosis and normal oral mucosa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raghu Dhanapal

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Oral cancer ranks third among all cancers in the Indian population. Human papilloma virus (HPV plays a significant role in oral carcinogenesis. Population-based subtype variations are present in the HPV prevalence. This study gives an emphasis on the parameters to be considered in formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues for polymerase chain reaction (PCR-based research work. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study on archival paraffin-embedded tissue samples of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC, epithelial dysplasia, and normal oral mucosa surrounding impacted tooth was amplified by PCR for the E6 gene of HPV type 16 and E1 gene of HPV type 18. Results: HPV 18 was positive in three OSCC cases. There was no statistically significant association of the positivity of HPV with the age, gender or habit. The HPV positive patients had a tobacco habit and were of a younger age group. Conclusion: The presence of HPV in carcinomatous tissue highlights the possible role of HPV in carcinogenesis and archival paraffin embedded tissue specimen can be used for this analysis. Recent studies on genomic analyses have highlighted that the HPV positive tumors are a separate subgroup based on genomic sequencing. The results of a larger retrospective study will help further in our understanding of the role of HPV in carcinogenesis, this study could form the baseline for such follow-up studies.

  4. High-risk human papilloma virus in archival tissues of oral pathosis and normal oral mucosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhanapal, Raghu; Ranganathan, K; Kondaiah, Paturu; Devi, R Uma; Joshua, Elizabeth; Saraswathi, T R

    2015-01-01

    Oral cancer ranks third among all cancers in the Indian population. Human papilloma virus (HPV) plays a significant role in oral carcinogenesis. Population-based subtype variations are present in the HPV prevalence. This study gives an emphasis on the parameters to be considered in formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues for polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based research work. Cross-sectional study on archival paraffin-embedded tissue samples of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), epithelial dysplasia, and normal oral mucosa surrounding impacted tooth was amplified by PCR for the E6 gene of HPV type 16 and E1 gene of HPV type 18. HPV 18 was positive in three OSCC cases. There was no statistically significant association of the positivity of HPV with the age, gender or habit. The HPV positive patients had a tobacco habit and were of a younger age group. The presence of HPV in carcinomatous tissue highlights the possible role of HPV in carcinogenesis and archival paraffin embedded tissue specimen can be used for this analysis. Recent studies on genomic analyses have highlighted that the HPV positive tumors are a separate subgroup based on genomic sequencing. The results of a larger retrospective study will help further in our understanding of the role of HPV in carcinogenesis, this study could form the baseline for such follow-up studies.

  5. Relaxation time of normal breast tissues. Changes with age and variations during the menstrual cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dean, K.I.; Majurin, M.L.; Komu, M.

    1994-01-01

    The influence of age on the relaxation times of normal breast parenchyma and its surrounding fatty tissue were evaluated, and the variations during a normal menstrual cycle were analyzed using an ultra low field 0.02 T imager. Thirty-nine healthy volunteers aged 21 to 59 years were examined to determine T1 and T2 relaxation times, and 8 of these volunteers were studied once weekly during one menstrual cycle. The only significant trend was an increase in the T2 of breast parenchyma with increasing age. During the menstrual cycle there was a slight but insignificant (p=0.10) increase in T1 of the breast parenchyma values during the latter half of the menstrual cycle, and a corresponding increase in T2 values between the 2nd and 3rd weeks of the menstrual cycle, which was significant. (orig.)

  6. Relaxation time of normal breast tissues. Changes with age and variations during the menstrual cycle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dean, K.I. (University Central Hospital, Turku (Finland). Dept. of Diagnostic Radiology); Majurin, M.L. (University Central Hospital, Turku (Finland). Dept. of Diagnostic Radiology); Komu, M. (University Central Hospital, Turku (Finland). Dept. of Diagnostic Radiology)

    1994-05-01

    The influence of age on the relaxation times of normal breast parenchyma and its surrounding fatty tissue were evaluated, and the variations during a normal menstrual cycle were analyzed using an ultra low field 0.02 T imager. Thirty-nine healthy volunteers aged 21 to 59 years were examined to determine T1 and T2 relaxation times, and 8 of these volunteers were studied once weekly during one menstrual cycle. The only significant trend was an increase in the T2 of breast parenchyma with increasing age. During the menstrual cycle there was a slight but insignificant (p=0.10) increase in T1 of the breast parenchyma values during the latter half of the menstrual cycle, and a corresponding increase in T2 values between the 2nd and 3rd weeks of the menstrual cycle, which was significant. (orig.).

  7. of the stomach (ID 345), neutralisation of gastric acid (ID 345), contribution to normal formation of collagen and connective tissue (ID 287, 288, 333, 334, 335, 1405, 1652, 1718, 1719, 1945), maintenance of normal bone (ID 287, 335, 1652, 1718, 1945), maintenance of normal joints (ID 1405, 1652, 1945

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tetens, Inge

    claims in relation to silicon and protection against aluminium accumulation in the brain, cardiovascular health, forming a protective coat on the mucous membrane of the stomach, neutralisation of gastric acid, contribution to normal formation of collagen and connective tissue, maintenance of normal bone...

  8. Discrimination of prostate cancer from normal peripheral zone and central gland tissue by using dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Engelbrecht, Marc R.; Huisman, Henkjan J.; Laheij, Robert J. F.; Jager, Gerrit J.; van Leenders, Geert J. L. H.; Hulsbergen-van de Kaa, Christina A.; de La Rosette, Jean J. M. C. H.; Blickman, Johan G.; Barentsz, Jelle O.

    2003-01-01

    PURPOSE: To evaluate which parameters of dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and T2 relaxation rate would result in optimal discrimination of prostatic carcinoma from normal peripheral zone (PZ) and central gland (CG) tissues and to correlate these parameters with tumor stage, Gleason score,

  9. Is NAA reduction in normal contralateral cerebral tissue in stroke patients dependent on underlying risk factors?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, P M; Ben Salem, D; Giroud, M; Brunotte, F

    2006-05-01

    This retrospective study investigated the dependence of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) ratios on risk factors for cerebral vasculopathy such as sex, age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, carotid stenosis, and dyslipidaemia, which may have affected brain vessels and induced metabolic brain abnormalities prior to stroke. We hypothesise that in stroke patients metabolic alterations in the apparently normal contralateral brain are dependent on the presence or not of such risk factors. Fifty nine patients (31 male, 28 female: 58.8+/-16.1 years old) with cortical middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory infarction were included. Long echo time chemical shift imaging spectroscopy was carried out on a Siemens 1.5 T Magnetom Vision scanner using a multi-voxel PRESS technique. Metabolite ratios (NAA/choline, NAA/creatine, lactate/choline, etc) were studied using uni- and multivariate analyses with respect to common risk factors. The influence of age, stroke lesion size, and time since stroke was studied using a linear regression approach. Age, sex, and hypertension all appeared to individually influence metabolite ratios, although only hypertension was significant after multivariate analysis. In both basal ganglia and periventricular white matter regions in apparently normal contralateral brain, the NAA/choline ratio was significantly lower in hypertensive (1.37+/-0.16 and 1.50+/-0.19, respectively) than in normotensive patients (1.72+/-0.19 and 1.85+/-0.15, respectively). Regarding MCA infarction, contralateral tissue remote from the lesion behaves abnormally in the presence of hypertension, the NAA ratios in hypertensive patients being significantly lower. These data suggest that hypertension may compromise the use of contralateral tissue data as a reference for comparison with ischaemic tissue.

  10. Mammalian designer cells: Engineering principles and biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Mingqi; Fussenegger, Martin

    2015-07-01

    Biotechnology is a widely interdisciplinary field focusing on the use of living cells or organisms to solve established problems in medicine, food production and agriculture. Synthetic biology, the science of engineering complex biological systems that do not exist in nature, continues to provide the biotechnology industry with tools, technologies and intellectual property leading to improved cellular performance. One key aspect of synthetic biology is the engineering of deliberately reprogrammed designer cells whose behavior can be controlled over time and space. This review discusses the most commonly used techniques to engineer mammalian designer cells; while control elements acting on the transcriptional and translational levels of target gene expression determine the kinetic and dynamic profiles, coupling them to a variety of extracellular stimuli permits their remote control with user-defined trigger signals. Designer mammalian cells with novel or improved biological functions not only directly improve the production efficiency during biopharmaceutical manufacturing but also open the door for cell-based treatment strategies in molecular and translational medicine. In the future, the rational combination of multiple sets of designer cells could permit the construction and regulation of higher-order systems with increased complexity, thereby enabling the molecular reprogramming of tissues, organisms or even populations with highest precision. Copyright © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. SU-F-T-150: Comparing Normal Tissue Irradiated Volumes for Proton Vs. Photon Treatment Plans On Lung Patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, A; Mohan, R; Liao, Z [UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: The aim of this work is to compare the “irradiated volume” (IRV) of normal tissues receiving 5, 20, 50, 80 and 90% or higher of the prescription dose with passively scattered proton therapy (PSPT) vs. IMRT of lung cancer patients. The overall goal of this research is to understand the factors affecting outcomes of a randomized PSPT vs. IMRT lung trial. Methods: Thirteen lung cancer patients, selected randomly, were analyzed. Each patient had PSPT and IMRT 74 Gy (RBE) plans meeting the same normal tissue constraints generated. IRVs were created for pairs of IMRT and PSPT plans on each patient. The volume of iGTV, (respiratory motion-incorporated GTV) was subtracted from each IRV to create normal tissue irradiated volume IRVNT. The average of IRVNT DVHs over all patients was also calculated for both modalities and inter-compared as were the selected dose-volume indices. Probability (p value) curves were calculated based on the Wilcoxon matched-paired signed-rank test to determine the dose regions where the statistically significant differences existed. Results: As expected, the average 5, 20 and 50% IRVNT’s for PSPT was found to be significantly smaller than for IMRT (p < 0.001, 0.01, and 0.001 respectively). However, the average 90% IRVNT for PSPT was greater than for IMRT (p = 0.003) presumably due to larger penumbra of protons and the long range of protons in lower density media. The 80% IRVNT for PSPT was also larger but not statistically distinguishable (p = .224). Conclusion: PSPT modality has smaller irradiated volume at lower doses, but larger volume at high doses. A larger cohort of lung patients will be analyzed in the future and IRVNT of patients treated with PSPT and IMRT will be compared to determine if the irradiated volumes (the magnitude of “dose bath”) correlate with outcomes.

  12. Fibrochondrogenic potential of synoviocytes from osteoarthritic and normal joints cultured as tensioned bioscaffolds for meniscal tissue engineering in dogs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer J. Warnock

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Meniscal tears are a common cause of stifle lameness in dogs. Use of autologous synoviocytes from the affected stifle is an attractive cell source for tissue engineering replacement fibrocartilage. However, the diseased state of these cells may impede in vitro fibrocartilage formation. Synoviocytes from 12 osteoarthritic (“oaTSB” and 6 normal joints (“nTSB” were cultured as tensioned bioscaffolds and compared for their ability to synthesize fibrocartilage sheets. Gene expression of collagens type I and II were higher and expression of interleukin-6 was lower in oaTSB versus nTSB. Compared with nTSB, oaTSB had more glycosaminoglycan and alpha smooth muscle staining and less collagen I and II staining on histologic analysis, whereas collagen and glycosaminoglycan quantities were similar. In conclusion, osteoarthritic joint—origin synoviocytes can produce extracellular matrix components of meniscal fibrocartilage at similar levels to normal joint—origin synoviocytes, which makes them a potential cell source for canine meniscal tissue engineering.

  13. Comparative pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution profiles of lignan components in normal and hepatic fibrosis rats after oral administration of Fuzheng Huayu recipe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Tao; Liu, Shan; Zheng, Tian-Hui; Tao, Yan-Yan; Liu, Cheng-Hai

    2015-05-26

    Fuzheng Huayu recipe (FZHY) is formulated on the basis of Chinese medicine theory in treating liver fibrosis. To illuminate the influence of the pathological state of liver fibrosis on the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution profiles of lignan components from FZHY. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal group and Hepatic fibrosis group (induced by dimethylnitrosamine). Six lignan components were detected and quantified by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(UHPLC-MS/MS)in the plasma and tissue of normal and hepatic fibrosis rats. A rapid, sensitive and convenient UHPLC-MS/MS method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of six lignan components in different rat biological samples successfully. After oral administration of FZHY at a dose of 15g/kg, the pharmacokinetic behaviors of schizandrin A (SIA), schizandrin B (SIB), schizandrin C (SIC), schisandrol A (SOA), Schisandrol B (SOB) and schisantherin A (STA) have been significantly changed in hepatic fibrosis rats compared with the normal rats, and their AUC(0-t) values were increased by 235.09%, 388.44%, 223.30%, 669.30%, 295.08% and 267.63% orderly (Pdistribution results showed the amount of SIA, SIB, SOA and SOB were significant increased in heart, lung, spleen and kidney of hepatic fibrosis rats compared with normal rats at most of the time point (Pdistribution of lignan components in normal and hepatic fibrosis rats. The hepatic fibrosis could alter the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution properties of lignan components in rats after administration of FZHY. The results might be helpful for guide the clinical application of this medicine. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Isolation and genome-wide expression and methylation characterization of CD31+ cells from normal and malignant human prostate tissue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Wei; Hu, Qiang; Wang, Dan; Deeb, Kristin K.; Ma, Yingyu; Morrison, Carl D.; Liu, Song; Johnson, Candace S.; Trump, Donald L.

    2013-01-01

    Endothelial cells (ECs) are an important component involved in the angiogenesis. Little is known about the global gene expression and epigenetic regulation in tumor endothelial cells. The identification of gene expression and epigenetic difference between human prostate tumor-derived endothelial cells (TdECs) and those in normal tissues may uncover unique biological features of TdEC and facilitate the discovery of new anti-angiogenic targets. We established a method for isolation of CD31+ endothelial cells from malignant and normal prostate tissues obtained at prostatectomy. TdECs and normal-derived ECs (NdECs) showed >90% enrichment in primary culture and demonstrated microvascular endothelial cell characteristics such as cobblestone morphology in monolayer culture, diI-acetyl-LDL uptake and capillary-tube like formation in Matrigel®. In vitro primary cultures of ECs maintained expression of endothelial markers such as CD31, von Willebrand factor, intercellular adhesion molecule, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1, and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2. We then conducted a pilot study of transcriptome and methylome analysis of TdECs and matched NdECs from patients with prostate cancer. We observed a wide spectrum of differences in gene expression and methylation patterns in endothelial cells, between malignant and normal prostate tissues. Array-based expression and methylation data were validated by qRT-PCR and bisulfite DNA pyrosequencing. Further analysis of transcriptome and methylome data revealed a number of differentially expressed genes with loci whose methylation change is accompanied by an inverse change in gene expression. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of isolation of ECs from histologically normal prostate and prostate cancer via CD31+ selection. The data, although preliminary, indicates that there exist widespread differences in methylation and transcription between TdECs and NdECs. Interestingly, only a small

  15. SU-E-J-264: Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Derived Features to Quantify Radiotherapy-Induced Normal Tissue Morbidity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thor, M; Tyagi, N; Deasy, J [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (United States)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-derived features as indicators of Radiotherapy (RT)-induced normal tissue morbidity. We also investigate the relationship between these features and RT dose in four critical structures. Methods: We demonstrate our approach for four patients treated with RT for base of tongue cancer in 2005–2007. For each patient, two MRI scans (T1-weighted pre (T1pre) and post (T1post) gadolinium contrast-enhancement) were acquired within the first six months after RT. The assessed morbidity endpoint observed in 2/4 patients was Grade 2+ CTCAEv.3 trismus. Four ipsilateral masticatory-related structures (masseter, lateral and medial pterygoid, and the temporal muscles) were delineated on both T1pre and T1post and these scans were co-registered to the treatment planning CT using a deformable demons algorithm. For each structure, the maximum and mean RT dose, and six MRI-derived features (the second order texture features entropy and homogeneity, and the first order mean, median, kurtosis, and skewness) were extracted and compared structure-wise between patients with and without trismus. All MRI-derived features were calculated as the difference between T1pre and T1post, ΔS. Results: For 5/6 features and all structures, ΔS diverged between trismus and non-trismus patients particularly for the masseter, lateral pterygoid, and temporal muscles using the kurtosis feature (−0.2 vs. 6.4 for lateral pterygoid). Both the maximum and mean RT dose in all four muscles were higher amongst the trismus patients (with the maximum dose being up to 25 Gy higher). Conclusion: Using MRI-derived features to quantify RT-induced normal tissue complications is feasible. We showed that several features are different between patients with and without morbidity and that the RT dose in all investigated structures are higher amongst patients with morbidity. MRI-derived features, therefore, has the potential to

  16. Accuracy of real-time shear wave elastography in the assessment of normal liver tissue in the guinea pig (cavia porcellus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glińska-Suchocka, K; Kubiak, K; Spużak, J; Jankowski, M; Borusewicz, P

    2017-03-28

    Shear wave elastography is a novel technique enabling real-time measurement of the elasticity of liver tissue. The color map is superimposed on the classic ultrasound image of the assessed tissue, which enables a precise evaluation of the stiffness of the liver tissue. The aim of the study was to assess the stiffness of normal liver tissue in the guinea pig using shear wave elastography. The study was carried out on 36 guinea pigs using the SuperSonic Imagine Aixplorer scanner, and a 1 to 6 MH convex SC6-1 transducer. An ultrasound guided Try-Cut liver core needle biopsy was carried out in all the studied animals and the collected samples were examined to exclude pathological lesions. The mean liver tissue stiffness ranged from 0.89 to 5.40 kPa. We found that shear wave elastography is an easy, non-invasive technique that can be used to assess the stiffness of liver tissue. The obtained results can be used in future studies to assess the types and changes of liver tissue in the course of various types of liver disease.

  17. Tissue-specific expression of transgenic secreted ACE in vasculature can restore normal kidney functions, but not blood pressure, of Ace-/- mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saurabh Chattopadhyay

    Full Text Available Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE regulates normal blood pressure and fluid homeostasis through its action in the renin-angiotensin-system (RAS. Ace-/- mice are smaller in size, have low blood pressure and defective kidney structure and functions. All of these defects are cured by transgenic expression of somatic ACE (sACE in vascular endothelial cells of Ace-/- mice. sACE is expressed on the surface of vascular endothelial cells and undergoes a natural cleavage secretion process to generate a soluble form in the body fluids. Both the tissue-bound and the soluble forms of ACE are enzymatically active, and generate the vasoactive octapeptide Angiotensin II (Ang II with equal efficiency. To assess the relative physiological roles of the secreted and the cell-bound forms of ACE, we expressed, in the vascular endothelial cells of Ace-/- mice, the ectodomain of sACE, which corresponded to only the secreted form of ACE. Our results demonstrated that the secreted form of ACE could normalize kidney functions and RAS integrity, growth and development of Ace-/- mice, but not their blood pressure. This study clearly demonstrates that the secreted form of ACE cannot replace the tissue-bound ACE for maintaining normal blood pressure; a suitable balance between the tissue-bound and the soluble forms of ACE is essential for maintaining all physiological functions of ACE.

  18. Tissue-specific expression of transgenic secreted ACE in vasculature can restore normal kidney functions, but not blood pressure, of Ace-/- mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chattopadhyay, Saurabh; Kessler, Sean P; Colucci, Juliana Almada; Yamashita, Michifumi; Senanayake, Preenie deS; Sen, Ganes C

    2014-01-01

    Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) regulates normal blood pressure and fluid homeostasis through its action in the renin-angiotensin-system (RAS). Ace-/- mice are smaller in size, have low blood pressure and defective kidney structure and functions. All of these defects are cured by transgenic expression of somatic ACE (sACE) in vascular endothelial cells of Ace-/- mice. sACE is expressed on the surface of vascular endothelial cells and undergoes a natural cleavage secretion process to generate a soluble form in the body fluids. Both the tissue-bound and the soluble forms of ACE are enzymatically active, and generate the vasoactive octapeptide Angiotensin II (Ang II) with equal efficiency. To assess the relative physiological roles of the secreted and the cell-bound forms of ACE, we expressed, in the vascular endothelial cells of Ace-/- mice, the ectodomain of sACE, which corresponded to only the secreted form of ACE. Our results demonstrated that the secreted form of ACE could normalize kidney functions and RAS integrity, growth and development of Ace-/- mice, but not their blood pressure. This study clearly demonstrates that the secreted form of ACE cannot replace the tissue-bound ACE for maintaining normal blood pressure; a suitable balance between the tissue-bound and the soluble forms of ACE is essential for maintaining all physiological functions of ACE.

  19. Can fruits and vegetables be used as substitute phantoms for normal human brain tissues in magnetic resonance imaging?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teramoto, Daisuke; Ushioda, Yuichi; Sasaki, Ayaka; Sakurai Yuki; Nagahama, Hiroshi; Nakamura, Manami; Sugimori, Hiroyuki; Sakata, Motomichi

    2013-01-01

    Various custom-made phantoms designed to optimize magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences have been created and subsequently reported in Japanese Society of Radiological Technology (JSRT). However, custom-made phantoms that correctly match the T 1 -value and T 2 -values of human brain tissue (gray matter and white matter) cannot be made easily or quickly. The aim of this project was to search for alternative materials, such as fruits and vegetables, for optimizing MRI sequences. The following eight fruits and vegetables were investigated: apple, tomato, melon, apple mango (Mangifera indica), banana, avocado, peach, and eggplant. Their potential was studied for use in modeling phantoms of normal human brain tissues. MRI (T 1 - and T 2 -weighted sequences) was performed on the human brain and the fruits and vegetables using various concentrations of contrast medium (gadolinium) in the same size tubes as the custom-made phantom. The authors compared the signal intensity (SI) in human brain tissue (gray matter and white matter) with that of the fruits and the custom-made phantom. The T 1 and T 2 values were measured for banana tissue and compared with those for human brain tissue in the literature. Our results indicated that banana tissue is similar to human brain tissue (both gray matter and white matter). Banana tissue can thus be employed as an alternative phantom for the human brain for the purpose of MRI. (author)

  20. Mammalian synthetic biology: emerging medical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kis, Zoltán; Pereira, Hugo Sant'Ana; Homma, Takayuki; Pedrigi, Ryan M; Krams, Rob

    2015-05-06

    In this review, we discuss new emerging medical applications of the rapidly evolving field of mammalian synthetic biology. We start with simple mammalian synthetic biological components and move towards more complex and therapy-oriented gene circuits. A comprehensive list of ON-OFF switches, categorized into transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational and post-translational, is presented in the first sections. Subsequently, Boolean logic gates, synthetic mammalian oscillators and toggle switches will be described. Several synthetic gene networks are further reviewed in the medical applications section, including cancer therapy gene circuits, immuno-regulatory networks, among others. The final sections focus on the applicability of synthetic gene networks to drug discovery, drug delivery, receptor-activating gene circuits and mammalian biomanufacturing processes. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  1. Spiral wave classification using normalized compression distance: Towards atrial tissue spatiotemporal electrophysiological behavior characterization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alagoz, Celal; Guez, Allon; Cohen, Andrew; Bullinga, John R

    2015-08-01

    Analysis of electrical activation patterns such as re-entries during atrial fibrillation (Afib) is crucial in understanding arrhythmic mechanisms and assessment of diagnostic measures. Spiral waves are a phenomena that provide intuitive basis for re-entries occurring in cardiac tissue. Distinct spiral wave behaviors such as stable spiral waves, meandering spiral waves, and spiral wave break-up may have distinct electrogram manifestations on a mapping catheter. Hence, it is desirable to have an automated classification of spiral wave behavior based on catheter recordings for a qualitative characterization of spatiotemporal electrophysiological activity on atrial tissue. In this study, we propose a method for classification of spatiotemporal characteristics of simulated atrial activation patterns in terms of distinct spiral wave behaviors during Afib using two different techniques: normalized compressed distance (NCD) and normalized FFT (NFFTD). We use a phenomenological model for cardiac electrical propagation to produce various simulated spiral wave behaviors on a 2D grid and labeled them as stable, meandering, or breakup. By mimicking commonly used catheter types, a star shaped and a circular shaped both of which do the local readings from atrial wall, monopolar and bipolar intracardiac electrograms are simulated. Virtual catheters are positioned at different locations on the grid. The classification performance for different catheter locations, types and for monopolar or bipolar readings were also compared. We observed that the performance for each case differed slightly. However, we found that NCD performance is superior to NFFTD. Through the simulation study, we showed the theoretical validation of the proposed method. Our findings suggest that a qualitative wavefront activation pattern can be assessed during Afib without the need for highly invasive mapping techniques such as multisite simultaneous electrogram recordings.

  2. Mammalian development in space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronca, April E.

    2003-01-01

    Life on Earth, and thus the reproductive and ontogenetic processes of all extant species and their ancestors, evolved under the constant influence of the Earth's l g gravitational field. These considerations raise important questions about the ability of mammals to reproduce and develop in space. In this chapter, I review the current state of our knowledge of spaceflight effects on developing mammals. Recent studies are revealing the first insights into how the space environment affects critical phases of mammalian reproduction and development, viz., those events surrounding fertilization, embryogenesis, pregnancy, birth, postnatal maturation and parental care. This review emphasizes fetal and early postnatal life, the developmental epochs for which the greatest amounts of mammalian spaceflight data have been amassed. The maternal-offspring system, the coordinated aggregate of mother and young comprising mammalian development, is of primary importance during these early, formative developmental phases. The existing research supports the view that biologically meaningful interactions between mothers and offspring are changed in the weightlessness of space. These changes may, in turn, cloud interpretations of spaceflight effects on developing offspring. Whereas studies of mid-pregnant rats in space have been extraordinarily successful, studies of young rat litters launched at 9 days of postnatal age or earlier, have been encumbered with problems related to the design of in-flight caging and compromised maternal-offspring interactions. Possibilities for mammalian birth in space, an event that has not yet transpired, are considered. In the aggregate, the results indicate a strong need for new studies of mammalian reproduction and development in space. Habitat development and systematic ground-based testing are important prerequisites to future research with young postnatal rodents in space. Together, the findings support the view that the environment within which young

  3. Comparison of radiosensitivities of human autologous normal and neoplastic thyroid epithelial cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, R.C.; Kopecky, K.J.; Hiraoka, T.; Ezaki, H.; Clifton, K.H.

    1986-01-01

    Studies were conducted to examine differences between the radiosensitivities of normal and neoplastic epithelial cells of the human thyroid. Freshly excised thyroid tissues from the tumours of eight patients with papillary carcinoma (PC) and five with follicular adenoma (FA) were cultured in vitro separately from normal thyroid tissue obtained from the surgical margins of the same patients. Plating efficiency of unirradiated control tissue was lower, on average for tumour tissue compared with normal tissue. Radiosensitivity, measured by the 37% inactivation dose D 0 , was greater for carcinoma tissue than for normal tissue in seven out of eight PC cases. Adenomatous tissue was less radiosensitive than normal tissue in four out of five FA cases. This is the first report comparing the radiosensitivity of autologous normal and abnormal epithelial tissue from the human thyroid. (author)

  4. Mammalian cell biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elkind, M.M.

    1975-01-01

    Progress is reported on the following research projects: the effects of N-ethyl-maleimide and hydroxyurea on hamster cells in culture; sensitization of synchronized human cells to x rays by N-ethylmaleimide; sensitization of hypoxic mammalian cells with a sulfhydryl inhibitor; damage interaction due to ionizing and nonionizing radiation in mammalian cells; DNA damage relative to radioinduced cell killing; spurious photolability of DNA labeled with methyl- 14 C-thymidine; radioinduced malignant transformation of cultured mouse cells; a comparison of properties of uv and near uv light relative to cell function and DNA damage; Monte Carlo simulation of DNA damage and repair mechanisms; and radiobiology of fast neutrons

  5. Maternal transfer of methimazole and effects on thyroid hormone availability in embryonic tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Herck, Stijn L J; Geysens, Stijn; Bald, Edward; Chwatko, Grazyna; Delezie, Evelyne; Dianati, Elham; Ahmed, R G; Darras, Veerle M

    2013-07-01

    Methimazole (MMI) is an anti-thyroid drug used in the treatment of chronic hyperthyroidism. There is, however, some debate about its use during pregnancy as MMI is known to cross the mammalian placenta and reach the developing foetus. A similar problem occurs in birds, where MMI is deposited in the egg and taken up by the developing embryo. To investigate whether maternally derived MMI can have detrimental effects on embryonic development, we treated laying hens with MMI (0.03% in drinking water) and measured total and reduced MMI contents in the tissues of hens and embryos at different stages of development. In hens, MMI was selectively increased in the thyroid gland, while its levels in the liver and especially brain remained relatively low. Long-term MMI treatment induced a pronounced goitre with a decrease in thyroxine (T₄) content but an increase in thyroidal 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T₃) content. This resulted in normal T₃ levels in tissues except in the brain. In chicken embryos, MMI levels were similar in the liver and brain. They gradually decreased during development but always remained above those in the corresponding maternal tissues. Contrary to the situation in hens, T₄ availability was only moderately affected in embryos. Peripheral T₃ levels were reduced in 14-day-old embryos but normal in 18-day-old embryos, while brain T₃ content was decreased at all embryonic stages tested. We conclude that all embryonic tissues are exposed to relatively high doses of MMI and its oxidised metabolites. The effect of maternal MMI treatment on embryonic thyroid hormone availability is most pronounced for brain T₃ content, which is reduced throughout the embryonic development period.

  6. [Ornithine decarboxylase in mammalian organs and tissues at hibernation and artificial hypobiosis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Logvinovich, O S; Aksenova, G E

    2013-01-01

    Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC, EC 4.1.1.17.) is a short-lived and dynamically regulated enzyme of polyamines biosynthesis. Regulation of functional, metabolic and proliferative state of organs and tissues involves the modifications of the ODC enzymatic activity. The organ-specific changes in ODC activity were revealed in organs and tissues (liver, spleen, bone marrow, kidney, and intestinal mucosa) of hibernating mammals - squirrels Spermophilus undulates - during the hibernating season. At that, a positive correlation was detected between the decline and recovery of the specialized functions of organs and tissues and the respective modifications of ODC activity during hibernation bouts. Investigation of changes in ODC activity in organs and tissues of non-hibernating mammals under artificial hypobiosis showed that in Wistar rats immediately after exposure to hypothermia-hypoxia-hypercapnia (hypobiosis) the level of ODC activity was low in thymus, spleen, small intestine mucosa, neocortex, and liver. The most marked reduction in enzyme activity was observed in actively proliferating tissues: thymus, spleen, small intestine mucosa. In bone marrow of squirrels, while in a state of torpor, as well as in thymus of rats after exposure to hypothermia-hypoxia-hypercapnia, changes in the ODC activity correlated with changes in the rate of cell proliferation (by the criterion of cells distribution over cell cycle). The results obtained, along with the critical analysis of published data, indicate that the ODC enzyme is involved in biochemical adaptation of mammals to natural and artificial hypobiosis. A decline in the ODC enzymatic activity indicates a decline in proliferative, functional, and metabolic activity of organs and tissues of mammals (bone marrow, mucosa of small intestine, thymus, spleen, neocortex, liver, kidneys) when entering the state of hypobiosis.

  7. The dynamic DNA methylation landscape of the mutL homolog 1 shore is altered by MLH1-93G>A polymorphism in normal tissues and colorectal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savio, Andrea J; Mrkonjic, Miralem; Lemire, Mathieu; Gallinger, Steven; Knight, Julia A; Bapat, Bharat

    2017-01-01

    Colorectal cancers (CRCs) undergo distinct genetic and epigenetic alterations. Expression of mutL homolog 1 ( MLH1 ), a mismatch repair gene that corrects DNA replication errors, is lost in up to 15% of sporadic tumours due to mutation or, more commonly, due to DNA methylation of its promoter CpG island. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the CpG island of MLH1 ( MLH1 -93G>A or rs1800734) is associated with CpG island hypermethylation and decreased MLH1 expression in CRC tumours. Further, in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) DNA of both CRC cases and non-cancer controls, the variant allele of rs1800734 is associated with hypomethylation at the MLH1 shore, a region upstream of its CpG island that is less dense in CpG sites . To determine whether this genotype-epigenotype association is present in other tissue types, including colorectal tumours, we assessed DNA methylation in matched normal colorectal tissue, tumour, and PBMC DNA from 349 population-based CRC cases recruited from the Ontario Familial Colorectal Cancer Registry. Using the semi-quantitative real-time PCR-based MethyLight assay, MLH1 shore methylation was significantly higher in tumour tissue than normal colon or PBMCs ( P  MLH1 was not associated with MSI status or promoter CpG island hypermethylation, regardless of genotype. To confirm these results, bisulfite sequencing was performed in matched tumour and normal colorectal specimens from six CRC cases, including two cases per genotype (wildtype, heterozygous, and homozygous variant). Bisulfite sequencing results corroborated the methylation patterns found by MethyLight, with significant hypomethylation in normal colorectal tissue of variant SNP allele carriers. These results indicate that the normal tissue types tested (colorectum and PBMC) experience dynamic genotype-associated epigenetic alterations at the MLH1 shore, whereas tumour DNA incurs aberrant hypermethylation compared to normal DNA.

  8. Photodynamic Inactivation of Mammalian Viruses and Bacteriophages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liliana Costa

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Photodynamic inactivation (PDI has been used to inactivate microorganisms through the use of photosensitizers. The inactivation of mammalian viruses and bacteriophages by photosensitization has been applied with success since the first decades of the last century. Due to the fact that mammalian viruses are known to pose a threat to public health and that bacteriophages are frequently used as models of mammalian viruses, it is important to know and understand the mechanisms and photodynamic procedures involved in their photoinactivation. The aim of this review is to (i summarize the main approaches developed until now for the photodynamic inactivation of bacteriophages and mammalian viruses and, (ii discuss and compare the present state of the art of mammalian viruses PDI with phage photoinactivation, with special focus on the most relevant mechanisms, molecular targets and factors affecting the viral inactivation process.

  9. The primary structure of fatty-acid-binding protein from nurse shark liver. Structural and evolutionary relationship to the mammalian fatty-acid-binding protein family.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medzihradszky, K F; Gibson, B W; Kaur, S; Yu, Z H; Medzihradszky, D; Burlingame, A L; Bass, N M

    1992-02-01

    The primary structure of a fatty-acid-binding protein (FABP) isolated from the liver of the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) was determined by high-performance tandem mass spectrometry (employing multichannel array detection) and Edman degradation. Shark liver FABP consists of 132 amino acids with an acetylated N-terminal valine. The chemical molecular mass of the intact protein determined by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (Mr = 15124 +/- 2.5) was in good agreement with that calculated from the amino acid sequence (Mr = 15121.3). The amino acid sequence of shark liver FABP displays significantly greater similarity to the FABP expressed in mammalian heart, peripheral nerve myelin and adipose tissue (61-53% sequence similarity) than to the FABP expressed in mammalian liver (22% similarity). Phylogenetic trees derived from the comparison of the shark liver FABP amino acid sequence with the members of the mammalian fatty-acid/retinoid-binding protein gene family indicate the initial divergence of an ancestral gene into two major subfamilies: one comprising the genes for mammalian liver FABP and gastrotropin, the other comprising the genes for mammalian cellular retinol-binding proteins I and II, cellular retinoic-acid-binding protein myelin P2 protein, adipocyte FABP, heart FABP and shark liver FABP, the latter having diverged from the ancestral gene that ultimately gave rise to the present day mammalian heart-FABP, adipocyte FABP and myelin P2 protein sequences. The sequence for intestinal FABP from the rat could be assigned to either subfamily, depending on the approach used for phylogenetic tree construction, but clearly diverged at a relatively early evolutionary time point. Indeed, sequences proximately ancestral or closely related to mammalian intestinal FABP, liver FABP, gastrotropin and the retinoid-binding group of proteins appear to have arisen prior to the divergence of shark liver FABP and should therefore also be present in elasmobranchs

  10. Adult Mammalian Neural Stem Cells and Neurogenesis: Five Decades Later

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bond, Allison M.; Ming, Guo-li; Song, Hongjun

    2015-01-01

    Summary Adult somatic stem cells in various organs maintain homeostatic tissue regeneration and enhance plasticity. Since its initial discovery five decades ago, investigations of adult neurogenesis and neural stem cells have led to an established and expanding field that has significantly influenced many facets of neuroscience, developmental biology and regenerative medicine. Here we review recent progress and focus on questions related to adult mammalian neural stem cells that also apply to other somatic stem cells. We further discuss emerging topics that are guiding the field toward better understanding adult neural stem cells and ultimately applying these principles to improve human health. PMID:26431181

  11. Assessing mRNA nuclear export in mammalian cells by microinjection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Eliza S; Palazzo, Alexander F

    2017-08-15

    The nuclear export of mRNAs is an important yet little understood part of eukaryotic gene expression. One of the easiest methods for monitoring mRNA export in mammalian tissue culture cells is through the microinjection of DNA plasmids into the nucleus and monitoring the distribution of the transcribed product over time. Here we describe how to setup a microscope equipped with a micromanipulator used in cell microinjections, and we explain how to perform a nuclear mRNA export assay and obtain the nuclear export rate for any given mRNA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Human adipose tissue from normal and tumoral breast regulates the behavior of mammary epithelial cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pistone Creydt, Virginia; Fletcher, Sabrina Johanna; Giudice, Jimena; Bruzzone, Ariana; Chasseing, Norma Alejandra; Gonzalez, Eduardo Gustavo; Sacca, Paula Alejandra; Calvo, Juan Carlos

    2013-02-01

    Stromal-epithelial interactions mediate both breast development and breast cancer progression. In the present work, we evaluated the effects of conditioned media (CMs) of human adipose tissue explants from normal (hATN) and tumor (hATT) breast on proliferation, adhesion, migration and metalloproteases activity on tumor (MCF-7 and IBH-7) and non-tumor (MCF-10A) human breast epithelial cell lines. Human adipose tissues were obtained from patients and the conditioned medium from hATN and hATT collected after 24 h of incubation. MCF-10A, MCF-7 and IBH-7 cells were grown and incubated with CMs and proliferation and adhesion, as well as migration ability and metalloprotease activity, of epithelial cells after exposing cell cultures to hATN- or hATT-CMs were quantified. The statistical significance between different experimental conditions was evaluated by one-way ANOVA. Tukey's post hoc tests were performed. Tumor and non-tumor breast epithelial cells significantly increased their proliferation activity after 24 h of treatment with hATT-CMs compared to control-CMs. Furthermore, cellular adhesion of these two tumor cell lines was significantly lower with hATT-CMs than with hATN-CMs. Therefore, hATT-CMs seem to induce significantly lower expression or less activity of the components involved in cellular adhesion than hATN-CMs. In addition, hATT-CMs induced pro-MMP-9 and MMP-9 activity and increased the migration of MCF-7 and IBH-7 cells compared to hATN-CMs. We conclude that the microenvironment of the tumor interacts in a dynamic way with the mutated epithelium. This evidence leads to the possibility to modify the tumor behavior/phenotype through the regulation or modification of its microenvironment. We developed a model in which we obtained CMs from adipose tissue explants completely, either from normal or tumor breast. In this way, we studied the contribution of soluble factors independently of the possible effects of direct cell contact.

  13. A hybrid electron and photon IMRT planning technique that lowers normal tissue integral patient dose using standard hardware.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosca, Florin

    2012-06-01

    To present a mixed electron and photon IMRT planning technique using electron beams with an energy range of 6-22 MeV and standard hardware that minimizes integral dose to patients for targets as deep as 7.5 cm. Ten brain cases, two lung, a thyroid, an abdominal, and a parotid case were planned using two planning techniques: a photon-only IMRT (IMRT) versus a mixed modality treatment (E+IMRT) that includes an enface electron beam and a photon IMRT portion that ensures a uniform target coverage. The electron beam is delivered using a regular cutout placed in an electron cone. The electron energy was chosen to provide a good trade-off between minimizing integral dose and generating a uniform, deliverable plan. The authors choose electron energies that cover the deepest part of PTV with the 65%-70% isodose line. The normal tissue integral dose, the dose for ring structures around the PTV, and the volumes of the 75%, 50%, and 25% isosurfaces were used to compare the dose distributions generated by the two planning techniques. The normal tissue integral dose was lowered by about 20% by the E+IMRT plans compared to the photon-only IMRT ones for most studied cases. With the exception of lungs, the dose reduction associated to the E+IMRT plans was more pronounced further away from the target. The average dose ratio delivered to the 0-2 cm and the 2-4 cm ring structures for brain patients for the two planning techniques were 89.6% and 70.8%, respectively. The enhanced dose sparing away from the target for the brain patients can also be observed in the ratio of the 75%, 50%, and 25% isodose line volumes for the two techniques, which decreases from 85.5% to 72.6% and further to 65.1%, respectively. For lungs, the lateral electron beams used in the E+IMRT plans were perpendicular to the mostly anterior/posterior photon beams, generating much more conformal plans. The authors proved that even using the existing electron delivery hardware, a mixed electron/photon planning

  14. Cell kinetical aspect of normal tissue damages in relation to radiosensitivity of cells, especially from the points of LQ model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsubouchi, Susumu; Oohara, Hiroshi.

    1989-01-01

    Several points on the early and late radiation induced-normal tissue damages in terms of LQ model in multifractionation experiments of isoeffect were discussed from two fractors, (1) dose-responses of cell survivals or of tissue damages and (2) principles of the model. Application of the model to the both early and late tissue damages was fairly difficult in several tissues and several experimental conditions. In early damages, cell survival curve of single irradiation did not always fit to LQ model and further more incomlete repair as well as repopulation in multifractionation experiment contradicted the model especially in low dose fractionation. In late damages, the damages themselves did not express directly cell survival but probably indicate the degree of functional cell damage at the level of 10 -1 . As most isoeffects in early damages were taken at the level of 10 -3 , the comparison of two results from early and late tissue damages indicated the lack of coordinations both conceptionally and experimentally. (author)

  15. Trace element load in cancer and normal lung tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubala-Kukus, A.; Braziewicz, J.; Banas, D.; Majewska, U.; Gozdz, S.; Urbaniak, A.

    1999-01-01

    Samples of malignant and benign human lung tissues were analysed by two complementary methods, i.e., particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TRXRF). The concentration of trace elements of P, S, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, Sr, Hg and Pb was determined in squamous cancer of lung tissue from 65 people and in the benign lung tumour tissue from 5 people. Several elements shows enhancement in cancerous lung tissue of women in comparison to men, i.e., titanium show maximum enhancement by 48% followed by Cr (20%) and Mn (36%). At the same time trace element concentration of Sr and Pb are declaimed by 30% and 20% in women population. Physical basis of used analytical methods, experimental set-up and the procedure of sample preparation are described

  16. Normal bone and soft tissue distribution of fluorine-18-sodium fluoride and artifacts on 18F-NaF PET/CT bone scan: a pictorial review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarikaya, Ismet; Elgazzar, Abdelhamid H; Sarikaya, Ali; Alfeeli, Mahmoud

    2017-10-01

    Fluorine-18-sodium fluoride (F-NaF) PET/CT is a relatively new and high-resolution bone imaging modality. Since the use of F-NaF PET/CT has been increasing, it is important to accurately assess the images and be aware of normal distribution and major artifacts. In this pictorial review article, we will describe the normal uptake patterns of F-NaF in the bone tissues, particularly in complex structures, as well as its physiologic soft tissue distribution and certain artifacts seen on F-NaF PET/CT images.

  17. Short- and Mid-term Effects of Irreversible Electroporation on Normal Renal Tissue: An Animal Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wendler, J. J., E-mail: johann.wendler@med.ovgu.de; Porsch, M.; Huehne, S.; Baumunk, D. [University of Magdeburg, Department of Urology (Germany); Buhtz, P. [Institute of Pathology, University of Magdeburg (Germany); Fischbach, F.; Pech, M. [University of Magdeburg, Department of Radiology (Germany); Mahnkopf, D. [Institute of Medical Technology and Research (Germany); Kropf, S. [Institute of Biometry, University of Magdeburg (Germany); Roessner, A. [Institute of Pathology, University of Magdeburg (Germany); Ricke, J. [University of Magdeburg, Department of Radiology (Germany); Schostak, M.; Liehr, U.-B. [University of Magdeburg, Department of Urology (Germany)

    2013-04-15

    Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel nonthermal tissue ablation technique by high current application leading to apoptosis without affecting extracellular matrix. Previous results of renal IRE shall be supplemented by functional MRI and differentiated histological analysis of renal parenchyma in a chronic treatment setting. Three swine were treated with two to three multifocal percutaneous IRE of the right kidney. MRI was performed before, 30 min (immediate-term), 7 days (short-term), and 28 days (mid-term) after IRE. A statistical analysis of the lesion surrounded renal parenchyma intensities was made to analyze functional differences depending on renal part, side and posttreatment time. Histological follow-up of cortex and medulla was performed after 28 days. A total of eight ablations were created. MRI showed no collateral damage of surrounded tissue. The highest visual contrast between lesions and normal parenchyma was obtained by T2-HR-SPIR-TSE-w sequence of DCE-MRI. Ablation zones showed inhomogeneous necroses with small perifocal edema in the short-term and sharp delimitable scars in the mid-term. MRI showed no significant differences between adjoined renal parenchyma around ablations and parenchyma of untreated kidney. Histological analysis demonstrated complete destruction of cortical glomeruli and tubules, while collecting ducts, renal calyxes, and pelvis of medulla were preserved. Adjoined kidney parenchyma around IRE lesions showed no qualitative differences to normal parenchyma of untreated kidney. This porcine IRE study reveals a multifocal renal ablation, while protecting surrounded renal parenchyma and collecting system over a mid-term period. That offers prevention of renal function ablating centrally located or multifocal renal masses.

  18. Short- and Mid-term Effects of Irreversible Electroporation on Normal Renal Tissue: An Animal Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wendler, J. J.; Porsch, M.; Hühne, S.; Baumunk, D.; Buhtz, P.; Fischbach, F.; Pech, M.; Mahnkopf, D.; Kropf, S.; Roessner, A.; Ricke, J.; Schostak, M.; Liehr, U.-B.

    2013-01-01

    Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel nonthermal tissue ablation technique by high current application leading to apoptosis without affecting extracellular matrix. Previous results of renal IRE shall be supplemented by functional MRI and differentiated histological analysis of renal parenchyma in a chronic treatment setting. Three swine were treated with two to three multifocal percutaneous IRE of the right kidney. MRI was performed before, 30 min (immediate-term), 7 days (short-term), and 28 days (mid-term) after IRE. A statistical analysis of the lesion surrounded renal parenchyma intensities was made to analyze functional differences depending on renal part, side and posttreatment time. Histological follow-up of cortex and medulla was performed after 28 days. A total of eight ablations were created. MRI showed no collateral damage of surrounded tissue. The highest visual contrast between lesions and normal parenchyma was obtained by T2-HR-SPIR-TSE-w sequence of DCE-MRI. Ablation zones showed inhomogeneous necroses with small perifocal edema in the short-term and sharp delimitable scars in the mid-term. MRI showed no significant differences between adjoined renal parenchyma around ablations and parenchyma of untreated kidney. Histological analysis demonstrated complete destruction of cortical glomeruli and tubules, while collecting ducts, renal calyxes, and pelvis of medulla were preserved. Adjoined kidney parenchyma around IRE lesions showed no qualitative differences to normal parenchyma of untreated kidney. This porcine IRE study reveals a multifocal renal ablation, while protecting surrounded renal parenchyma and collecting system over a mid-term period. That offers prevention of renal function ablating centrally located or multifocal renal masses.

  19. Normal foot and ankle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weissman, S.D.

    1989-01-01

    The foot may be thought of as a bag of bones tied tightly together and functioning as a unit. The bones re expected to maintain their alignment without causing symptomatology to the patient. The author discusses a normal radiograph. The bones must have normal shape and normal alignment. The density of the soft tissues should be normal and there should be no fractures, tumors, or foreign bodies

  20. A new plan-scoring method using normal tissue complication probability for personalized treatment plan decisions in prostate cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kwang Hyeon; Lee, Suk; Shim, Jang Bo; Yang, Dae Sik; Yoon, Won Sup; Park, Young Je; Kim, Chul Yong; Cao, Yuan Jie; Chang, Kyung Hwan

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study was to derive a new plan-scoring index using normal tissue complication probabilities to verify different plans in the selection of personalized treatment. Plans for 12 patients treated with tomotherapy were used to compare scoring for ranking. Dosimetric and biological indexes were analyzed for the plans for a clearly distinguishable group ( n = 7) and a similar group ( n = 12), using treatment plan verification software that we developed. The quality factor ( QF) of our support software for treatment decisions was consistent with the final treatment plan for the clearly distinguishable group (average QF = 1.202, 100% match rate, n = 7) and the similar group (average QF = 1.058, 33% match rate, n = 12). Therefore, we propose a normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) based on the plan scoring index for verification of different plans for personalized treatment-plan selection. Scoring using the new QF showed a 100% match rate (average NTCP QF = 1.0420). The NTCP-based new QF scoring method was adequate for obtaining biological verification quality and organ risk saving using the treatment-planning decision-support software we developed for prostate cancer.

  1. Association between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in XRCC3 and Radiation-Induced Adverse Effects on Normal Tissue: A Meta-Analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Zhe Song

    Full Text Available The X-ray repair cross-complementing group 3 (XRCC3 protein plays an important role in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks. The relationship between XRCC3 polymorphisms and the risk of radiation-induced adverse effects on normal tissue remains inconclusive. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis to elucidate the association between XRCC3 polymorphisms and radiation-induced adverse effects on normal tissue. All eligible studies up to December 2014 were identified through a search of the PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases. Seventeen studies involving 656 cases and 2193 controls were ultimately included in this meta-analysis. The pooled odds ratios (ORs with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs were calculated to evaluate the association between XRCC3 polymorphisms and the risk of radiation-induced normal tissue adverse effects. We found that the XRCC3 p.Thr241Met (rs861539 polymorphism was significantly associated with early adverse effects induced by radiotherapy (OR = 1.99, 95%CI: 1.31-3.01, P = 0.001. A positive association lacking statistical significance with late adverse effects was also identified (OR = 1.28, 95%CI: 0.97-1.68, P = 0.08. In addition, the rs861539 polymorphism was significantly correlated with a higher risk of adverse effects induced by head and neck area irradiation (OR = 2.41, 95%CI: 1.49-3.89, p = 0.0003 and breast irradiation (OR = 1.41, 95%CI: 1.02-1.95, p = 0.04, whereas the correlation was not significant for lung irradiation or pelvic irradiation. Furthermore, XRCC3 rs1799794 polymorphism may have a protective effect against late adverse effects induced by radiotherapy (OR = 0.47, 95%CI: 0.26-0.86, P = 0.01. Well-designed large-scale clinical studies are required to further validate our results.

  2. Normal-tissue radioprotection by overexpression of the copper-zinc and manganese superoxide dismutase genes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Veldwijk, Marlon R. [Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Univ. Medical Center Mannheim, Univ. of Heidelberg, Mannheim (Germany); Pharmacology of Cancer Treatment (G402), German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Herskind, Carsten; Wenz, Frederik [Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Univ. Medical Center Mannheim, Univ. of Heidelberg, Mannheim (Germany); Sellner, Leopold; Zeller, W. Jens [Pharmacology of Cancer Treatment (G402), German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Radujkovic, Aleksandar [Dept. of Internal Medicine V, Univ. of Heidelberg (Germany); Laufs, Stephanie [Dept. of Experimental Surgery, Univ. Medical Center Mannheim, Univ. of Heidelberg, Mannheim (Germany); Molecular Oncology of Solid Tumors (G360), German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Fruehauf, Stefan [Center for Tumor Diagnostic and Therapy, Paracelsus-Klinik, Osnabrueck (Germany)

    2009-08-15

    Background and Purpose: Protection of normal tissue against radiation-induced damage may increase the therapeutic ratio of radiotherapy. A promising strategy for testing this approach is gene therapy-mediated overexpression of the copper-zinc (CuZnSOD) or manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) using recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV2) vectors. The purpose of this study was to test the modulating effects of the SOD genes on human primary lung fibroblasts (HPLF) after irradiation. Material and Methods: HPLF were transduced with rAAV2 vectors containing cDNA for the CuZnSOD, MnSOD or a control gene. The cells were irradiated (1-6 Gy), and gene transfer efficiency, apoptosis, protein expression/activity, and radiosensitivity measured by the colony-forming assay determined. Results: After transduction, 90.0% {+-} 6.4% of the cells expressed the transgene. A significant fivefold overexpression of both SOD was confirmed by an SOD activity assay (control: 21.1 {+-} 12.6, CuZnSOD: 95.1 {+-} 17.1, MnSOD: 108.5 {+-} 36.0 U SOD/mg protein) and immunohistochemistry. CuZnSOD and MnSOD overexpression resulted in a significant radioprotection of HPLF compared to controls (surviving fraction [SF] ratio SOD/control > 1): CuZnSOD: 1.18-fold (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06-1.32; p = 0.005), MnSOD: 1.23-fold (95% CI: 1.07-1.43; p = 0.01). Conclusion: Overexpression of CuZnSOD and MnSOD in HPLF mediated an increase in clonogenic survival after irradiation compared to controls. In previous works, a lack of radioprotection in SOD-overexpressing tumor cells was observed. Therefore, the present results suggest that rAAV2 vectors are promising tools for the delivery of radioprotective genes in normal tissue. (orig.)

  3. Protein extraction from methanol fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks: A new possibility using cell blocks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokkat, Theresa J.; McGarvey, Diane; Patel, Miral S.; Tieniber, Andrew D.; LiVolsi, Virginia A.; Baloch, Zubair W.

    2013-01-01

    Background: Methanol fixed and paraffin embedded (MFPE) cellblocks are an essential cytology preparation. However, MFPE cellblocks often contain limited material and their relatively small size has caused them to be overlooked in biomarker discovery. Advances in the field of molecular biotechnology have made it possible to extract proteins from formalin fixed and paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks. In contrast, there are no established methods for extracting proteins from MFPE cellblocks. We investigated commonly available CHAPS (3-[(3-cholamidopropyl) dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate) buffer, as well as two commercially available Qiagen® kits and compared their effectiveness on MFPE tissue for protein yields. Materials and Methods: MFPE blocks were made by Cellient™ automated system using human tissue specimens from normal and malignant specimens collected in ThinPrep™ Vials. Protein was extracted from Cellient-methanol fixed and paraffin embedded blocks with CHAPS buffer method as well as FFPE and Mammalian Qiagen® kits. Results: Comparison of protein yields demonstrated the effectiveness of various protein extraction methods on MFPE cellblocks. Conclusion: In the current era of minimally invasive techniques to obtain minimal amount of tissue for diagnostic and prognostic purposes, the use of commercial and lab made buffer on low weight MFPE scrapings obtained by Cellient® processor opens new possibilities for protein biomarker research. PMID:24403950

  4. Apple derived cellulose scaffolds for 3D mammalian cell culture.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel J Modulevsky

    Full Text Available There are numerous approaches for producing natural and synthetic 3D scaffolds that support the proliferation of mammalian cells. 3D scaffolds better represent the natural cellular microenvironment and have many potential applications in vitro and in vivo. Here, we demonstrate that 3D cellulose scaffolds produced by decellularizing apple hypanthium tissue can be employed for in vitro 3D culture of NIH3T3 fibroblasts, mouse C2C12 muscle myoblasts and human HeLa epithelial cells. We show that these cells can adhere, invade and proliferate in the cellulose scaffolds. In addition, biochemical functionalization or chemical cross-linking can be employed to control the surface biochemistry and/or mechanical properties of the scaffold. The cells retain high viability even after 12 continuous weeks of culture and can achieve cell densities comparable with other natural and synthetic scaffold materials. Apple derived cellulose scaffolds are easily produced, inexpensive and originate from a renewable source. Taken together, these results demonstrate that naturally derived cellulose scaffolds offer a complementary approach to existing techniques for the in vitro culture of mammalian cells in a 3D environment.

  5. Determination of Radiation Absorbed Dose to Primary Liver Tumors and Normal Liver Tissue Using Post Radioembolization 90Y PET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shyam Mohan Srinivas

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Radioembolization with Yttrium-90 (90Y microspheres is becoming a more widely used transcatheter treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC. Using post-treatment 90Y PET/CT scans,the distribution of microspheres within the liver can be determined and quantitatively assessesed . We studied the radiation dose of 90Y delivered to liver and treated tumors.Methods: This retrospective study of 56 patients with HCC, including analysis of 98 liver tumors, measured and correlated the dose of radiation delivered to liver tumors and normal liver tissue using glass microspheres (TheraSpheres® to the frequency of complications with mRECIST. 90Y PET/CT and triphasic liver CT scans were used to contour treated tumor and normal liver regions and determine their respective activity concentrations. An absorbed dose factor was used to convert the measured activity concentration (Bq/mL to an absorbed dose (Gy.Results: The 98 studied tumors received a mean dose of 169 Gy (mode 90-120 Gy;range 0-570 Gy. Tumor response by mRECIST criteria was performed for 48 tumors that had follow up scans. There were 21 responders (mean dose 215 Gy and 27 nonresponders (mean dose 167 Gy. The association between mean tumor absorbed dose and response suggests a trend but did not reach statistical significance (p=0.099. Normal liver tissue received a mean dose of 67 Gy (mode 60-70 Gy; range 10-120 Gy. There was a statistically significant association between absorbed dose to normal liver and the presence of two or more severe complications (p=0.036.Conclusion: Our cohort of patients showed a possible dose response trend for the tumors. Collateral dose to normal liver is nontrivial and can have clinical implications. These methods help us understand whether patient adverse events, treatment success, or treatment failure can be attributed to the dose which the tumor or normal liver received.

  6. Adipogenesis and epicardial adipose tissue: a novel fate of the epicardium induced by mesenchymal transformation and PPARγ activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaguchi, Yukiko; Cavallero, Susana; Patterson, Michaela; Shen, Hua; Xu, Jian; Kumar, S Ram; Sucov, Henry M

    2015-02-17

    The hearts of many mammalian species are surrounded by an extensive layer of fat called epicardial adipose tissue (EAT). The lineage origins and determinative mechanisms of EAT development are unclear, in part because mice and other experimentally tractable model organisms are thought to not have this tissue. In this study, we show that mouse hearts have EAT, localized to a specific region in the atrial-ventricular groove. Lineage analysis indicates that this adipose tissue originates from the epicardium, a multipotent epithelium that until now is only established to normally generate cardiac fibroblasts and coronary smooth muscle cells. We show that adoption of the adipocyte fate in vivo requires activation of the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) pathway, and that this fate can be ectopically induced in mouse ventricular epicardium, either in embryonic or adult stages, by expression and activation of PPARγ at times of epicardium-mesenchymal transformation. Human embryonic ventricular epicardial cells natively express PPARγ, which explains the abundant presence of fat seen in human hearts at birth and throughout life.

  7. Rectification of pulsatile stress on soft tissues: a mechanism for normal-pressure hydrocephalus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jalikop, Shreyas; Hilgenfeldt, Sascha

    2011-11-01

    Hydrocephalus is a pathological condition of the brain that occurs when cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) accumulates excessively in the brain cavities, resulting in compression of the brain parenchyma. Counter-intuitively, normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) does not show elevated pressure differences across the compressed parenchyma. We investigate the effects of nonlinear tissue mechanics and periodic driving in this system. The latter is due to the cardiac cycle, which provides significant intracranial pressure and volume flow rate fluctuations. Nonlinear rectification of the periodic driving within a model of fluid flow in poroelastic material can lead to compression or expansion of the parenchyma, and this effect does not rely on changes in the mean intracranial pressure. The rectification effects can occur gradually over several days, in agreement with clinical studies of NPH.

  8. Calculation of neutron kerma in tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vega C, H.R.; Manzanares A, E.

    2004-01-01

    Neutron kerma of normal and tumor tissues has been calculated using the tissues elemental concentration. A program developed in Math cad contains the kerma factors of C, H, O, N, Na, Mg, P, S, Cl, K, etc. that are in normal and tumor human tissues. Having the elemental composition of any human tissue the neutron kerma can be calculated. The program was tested using the elemental composition of tumor tissues such as sarcoma, melanoma, carcinoma and adenoid cystic, also neutron kerma for adipose and muscle tissue for normal adult was calculated. The results are in agreement with those published in literature. The neutron kerma for water was also calculated because in some dosimetric calculations water is used to describe normal and tumor tissues. From this comparison was found that at larger energies kerma factors are approximately the same, but energies less than 100 eV the differences are large. (Author)

  9. Evaluation of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in normal and breast tumor tissues and their link with breast cancer prognostic factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furrer, Daniela; Lemieux, Julie; Côté, Marc-André; Provencher, Louise; Laflamme, Christian; Barabé, Frédéric; Jacob, Simon; Michaud, Annick; Diorio, Caroline

    2016-12-01

    Amplification of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) gene is associated with worse prognosis and decreased overall survival in breast cancer patients. The HER2 gene contains several polymorphisms; two of the best-characterized HER2 polymorphisms are Ile655Val and Ala1170Pro. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between these two HER2 polymorphisms in normal breast and breast cancer tissues and known breast cancer prognostic factors in a retrospective cohort study of 73 women with non-metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. HER2 polymorphisms were assessed in breast cancer tissue and normal breast tissue using TaqMan assay. Ala1170Pro polymorphism in normal breast tissue was associated with age at diagnosis (p = 0.007), tumor size (p = 0.004) and lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.06). Similar significant associations in cancer tissues were observed. No association between the Ile655Val polymorphism and prognostic factors were observed. However, we found significant differences in the distribution of Ile655Val (p = 0.03) and Ala1170Pro (p = 0.01) genotypes between normal breast and breast tumor tissues. This study demonstrates that only the Ala1170Pro polymorphism is associated with prognostic factors in HER2-positive breast cancer patients. Moreover, our results suggest that both HER2 polymorphisms could play a significant role in carcinogenesis in non-metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer women. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT and somatostatin receptor (sst1-sst5) expression in normal human tissue: correlation of sst2 mRNA and SUVmax

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boy, Christian; Poeppel, Thorsten D.; Jentzen, Walter; Brandau, Wolfgang; Bockisch, Andreas; Heusner, Till A.; Antoch, Gerald; Redmann-Bischofs, Anja; Unger, Nicole; Mann, Klaus; Petersenn, Stephan

    2011-01-01

    By targeting somatostatin receptors (sst) radiopeptides have been established for both diagnosis and therapy. For physiologically normal human tissues the study provides a normative database of maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ) and sst mRNA. A total of 120 patients were subjected to diagnostic 68 Ga-DOTATOC positron emission tomography (PET)/CT (age range 19-83 years). SUV max values were measured in physiologically normal tissues defined by normal morphology, absence of surgical intervention and absence of metastatic spread during clinical follow-up. Expression of sst subtypes (sst1-sst5) was measured independently in pooled adult normal human tissue by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). SUV max revealed a region-specific pattern (e.g., mean ± SD, spleen 31.1 ± 10.9, kidney 16.9 ± 5.3, liver 12.8 ± 3.6, stomach 7.0 ± 3.1, head of pancreas 6.2 ± 2.3, small bowel 4.8 ± 1.8, thyroid 4.7 ± 2.2, bone 3.9 ± 1.3, large bowel 2.9 ± 0.8, muscle 2.1 ± 0.5, parotid gland 1.9 ± 0.6, axillary lymph node 0.8 ± 0.3 and lung 0.7 ± 0.3). SUV max was age independent. Gender differences were evident within the thyroid (female/male: 3.7 ± 1.6/5.5 ± 2.4, p max values exclusively correlated with sst2 expression (r = 0.846, p max with the expression of the other four subtypes. In normal human tissues 68 Ga-DOTATOC imaging has been related to the expression of sst2 at the level of mRNA. The novel normative database may improve diagnostics, monitoring and therapy of sst-expressing tumours or inflammation on a molecular basis. (orig.)

  11. [The 2,3-diphosphoglycerate shunt and stabilization of the ATP level in mammalian erythrocytes].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ataullakhanov, A I; Ataullakhanov, F I; Vitvitskiĭ, V M; Zhabotinskiĭ, A M; Pichugin, A V

    1985-06-01

    The mechanisms of regulation of energy metabolism in erythrocytes of various mammalian species were investigated. In native erythrocytes of man, sheep, cow, dog and mouse the dependencies of the rates of glucose uptake on ATP concentration (i.e., regulatory parameters of glycolysis) were measured. These parameters plotted in normalized coordinates are not species-specific (invariant). The dependence of the rate of ATP-consuming processes on ATP concentration has been studied for the first time in intact mammalian erythrocytes. This dependence was found to be linear only in the species, in whose erythrocytes the activity of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate shunt is practically zero. In all species under study, the stabilization of ATP level is provided for mainly by the hexokinase-phosphofructokinase system. A comparison of regulatory mechanisms of energy metabolism in mammalian (sheep, cow) erythrocytes, in which the 2,3-diphosphoglycerate shunt is absent, with human and animal erythrocytes, in which this pathway is active, points to the important role of the 2,3-diphosphoglycerate shunt in regulation of energy conversion in erythrocytes. This shunt operates as an additional stabilizer protecting the cell from extremal influences.

  12. The Differential Expression of Aqueous Soluble Proteins in Breast Normal and Cancerous Tissues in Relation to Ethnicity of the Patients; Chinese, Malay and Indian

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seng Liang

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Female breast cancer is one of the leading causes of female mortality worldwide. In Malaysia, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. Of the women in Malaysia, the Chinese have the highest number of breast cancer cases, followed by the Indian and the Malay. The most common type of breast cancer is infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC. A proteomic approach was applied in this study to identify changes in the protein profile of cancerous tissues compared with normal tissues from 18 patients; 8 Chinese, 6 Malay and 4 Indian were analysed. Twenty-four differentially expressed hydrophilic proteins were identified. We evaluated the potential of these proteins as biomarkers for infiltrating ductal carcinoma based on their ethnic-specific expressions. Three of the upregulated proteins, calreticulin, 14-3-3 protein zeta and 14-3-3 protein eta, were found to be expressed at a significantly higher level in the cancerous breast tissues when compared with the normal tissues in cases of infiltrating ductal carcinoma. The upregulation in expression was particularly dominant in the Malay cohort.

  13. Enhancer Evolution across 20 Mammalian Species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villar, Diego; Berthelot, Camille; Aldridge, Sarah; Rayner, Tim F.; Lukk, Margus; Pignatelli, Miguel; Park, Thomas J.; Deaville, Robert; Erichsen, Jonathan T.; Jasinska, Anna J.; Turner, James M.A.; Bertelsen, Mads F.; Murchison, Elizabeth P.; Flicek, Paul; Odom, Duncan T.

    2015-01-01

    Summary The mammalian radiation has corresponded with rapid changes in noncoding regions of the genome, but we lack a comprehensive understanding of regulatory evolution in mammals. Here, we track the evolution of promoters and enhancers active in liver across 20 mammalian species from six diverse orders by profiling genomic enrichment of H3K27 acetylation and H3K4 trimethylation. We report that rapid evolution of enhancers is a universal feature of mammalian genomes. Most of the recently evolved enhancers arise from ancestral DNA exaptation, rather than lineage-specific expansions of repeat elements. In contrast, almost all liver promoters are partially or fully conserved across these species. Our data further reveal that recently evolved enhancers can be associated with genes under positive selection, demonstrating the power of this approach for annotating regulatory adaptations in genomic sequences. These results provide important insight into the functional genetics underpinning mammalian regulatory evolution. PMID:25635462

  14. Distinct radioprotective activities of major heat shock proteins in irradiated mammalian cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kabakov, Alexander; Malyutina, Yana; Kudryavtsev, Vladimir

    2008-01-01

    Full text: Several years ago we have suggested that heat shock proteins (Hsps) can be involved in cellular and tissue mechanisms of protection from ionizing radiation. At present, the accumulated experimental data do allow us to characterize three major mammalian Hsps, Hsp70, Hsp27 and Hsp90, as specific endogenous radioprotectors which are able to prevent or minimize cell death resulting from the radiation exposure. It follows from the many findings that the radioprotective effect of these Hsps is particularly manifested in their ability to attenuate apoptosis in various normal and tumor cells irradiated in vivo or in vitro. The obtained data already enable to suggest three main mechanisms of the radioprotection conferred by the excess Hsps: 1) Modulation of the intracellular signaling so that the apoptotic signal transduction is blocked, whereas the 'cell survival' signal transduction is stimulated; 2) Suppression of the radiation-associated free radical generation and apoptosis induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS); 3) Attenuation of the genotoxic impact of ionizing radiation. The latter suggested mechanism seems particularly intriguing and implies that the excess Hsps can somehow contribute to protection/repair of genomic DNA from radiation-induced damage. According to our recent results, Hsp90 is indeed involved in the post-irradiation repair of nuclear DNA, while excess Hsp70 can beneficially affect the p53-mediated DNA damage response in irradiated cells to ensure their long-term survival and recovery. As for Hsp27, we found that its accumulation in target cells increases their radioresistance by enhancing the irradiation-responsive activation of anti apoptotic pathways. While the Hsp70 and Hsp27 seem to perform different functions in irradiated cells, the synergistic enhancement of radioprotection was clearly observed in the cells enriched by the both the Hsps. In vivo, such radioprotective activities of the major mammalian Hsps may play a role in

  15. Comparative tissue distribution profiles of five major bio-active components in normal and blood deficiency rats after oral administration of Danggui Buxue Decoction by UPLC-TQ/MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Xuqin; Tang, Yuping; Zhu, Huaxu; Li, Weixia; Li, Zhenhao; Li, Wei; Duan, Jin-ao

    2014-01-01

    Astragali Radix (AR) and Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR) were frequently combined and used in China as herbal pair called as Danggui Buxue Decoction (DBD) for treatment of blood deficiency syndrome, such as women's ailments. This study is to investigate the tissue distribution profiles of five major bio-active constituents (ferulic acid, caffeic acid, calycosin-7-O-β-glucoside, ononin and astragaloside IV) in DBD after oral administration of DBD in blood deficiency rats, and to compare the difference between normal and blood deficiency rats. The blood deficiency rats were induced by bleeding from orbit at the dosages of 5.0mLkg(-1) every day, and the experimental period was 12 days. At the finally day of experimental period, both normal and blood deficiency rats were orally administrated with DBD, and then the tissues samples were collected at different time points. Ferulic acid, caffeic acid, calycosin-7-O-β-glucoside, ononin and astragaloside IV in different tissues were detected simultaneously by UPLC-TQ/MS, and the histograms were drawn. The results showed that the overall trend was CLiver>CKidney>CHeart>CSpleen>CLung, CC-30min>CM-30min>CM-60min>CC-5min>CM-5min>CC-60min>CM-240min>CC-240min. The contents of the detected compounds in liver were more than that in other tissues no matter in normal or blood deficiency rats. Compared to normal rats, partial contents of the compounds in blood deficiency rats' tissues at different time points had significant difference (Pdistribution investigation in blood deficiency animals which is conducted by bleeding. And the results demonstrated that the five DBD components in normal and blood deficiency rats had obvious differences in some organs and time points, suggesting that the blood flow and perfusion rate of the organ were altered in blood deficiency animals. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Aluminum concentrations in central and peripheral areas of malignant breast lesions do not differ from those in normal breast tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodrigues-Peres, Raquel Mary; Cadore, Solange; Febraio, Stefanny; Heinrich, Juliana Karina; Serra, Katia Piton; Derchain, Sophie F M; Vassallo, Jose; Sarian, Luis Otavio

    2013-01-01

    Aluminum is used in a wide range of applications and is a potential environmental hazard. The known genotoxic effects of aluminum might play a role in the development of breast cancer. However, the data currently available on the subject are not sufficient to establish a causal relationship between aluminum exposure and the augmented risk of developing breast cancer. To achieve maximum sensitivity and specificity in the determination of aluminum levels, we have developed a detection protocol using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The objective of the present study was to compare the aluminum levels in the central and peripheral areas of breast carcinomas with those in the adjacent normal breast tissues, and to identify patient and/or tumor characteristics associated with these aluminum levels. A total of 176 patients with breast cancer were included in the study. Samples from the central and peripheral areas of their tumors were obtained, as well as from the surrounding normal breast tissue. Aluminum quantification was performed using GFAAS. The average (mean ± SD) aluminum concentrations were as follows: central area, 1.88 ± 3.60 mg/kg; peripheral area, 2.10 ± 5.67 mg/kg; and normal area, 1.68 ± 11.1 mg/kg. Overall and two-by-two comparisons of the aluminum concentrations in these areas indicated no significant differences. We detected a positive relationship between aluminum levels in the peripheral areas of the tumors, age and menopausal status of the patients (P = .02). Using a sensitive quantification technique we detected similar aluminum concentrations in the central and peripheral regions of breast tumors, and in normal tissues. In addition, we did not detect significant differences in aluminum concentrations as related to the location of the breast tumor within the breast, or to other relevant tumor features such as stage, size and steroid receptor status. The next logical step is the assessment of whether the aluminum

  17. Mammalian gastrointestinal parasites in rainforest remnants

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Here, we studied the gastrointestinal parasites of nonhuman mammalian hosts living in 10 rainforest patches of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, India. We examined 349 faecal samples of 17 mammalian species and successfully identified 24 gastroin-testinal parasite taxa including 1 protozoan, 2 trematode, 3 cestode and 18 ...

  18. UPLC-MS method for quantification of pterostilbene and its application to comparative study of bioavailability and tissue distribution in normal and Lewis lung carcinoma bearing mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Li; Li, Yongzhi; Zhang, Xinshi; Chen, Bo; Deng, Yulin; Li, Yujuan

    2015-10-10

    A UPLC-MS method was developed for determination of pterostilbene (PTS) in plasma and tissues of mice. PTS was separated on Agilent Zorbax XDB-C18 column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm) with gradient mobile phase at the flow rate of 0.2 ml/min. The detection was performed by negative ion electrospray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The linear calibration curve of PTS in mouse plasma and tissues ranged from 1.0 to 5000 and 0.50 to 500 ng/ml (r(2)>0.9979), respectively, with lowest limits of quantification (LLOQ) were between 0.5 and 2.0 ng/ml, respectively. The accuracy and precision of the assay were satisfactory. The validated method was applied to the study of bioavailability and tissue distribution of PTS in normal and Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) bearing mice. The bioavailability of PTS (dose 14, 28 and 56 mg/kg) in normal mice were 11.9%, 13.9% and 26.4%, respectively; and the maximum level (82.1 ± 14.2 μg/g) was found in stomach (dose 28 mg/kg). The bioavailability, peak concentration (Cmax), time to peak concentration (Tmax) of PTS in LLC mice was increased compared with normal mice. The results indicated the UPLC-MS method is reliable and bioavailability and tissue distribution of PTS in normal and LLC mice were dramatically different. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Intra-operative on-line discrimination of kidney cancer from normal tissue by IR ATR spectroscopy of extracellular fluid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urboniene, V.; Velicka, M.; Ceponkus, J.; Pucetaite, M.; Jankevicius, F.; Sablinskas, V.; Steiner, G.

    2016-03-01

    Determination of cancerous and normal kidney tissues during partial, simple or radical nephrectomy surgery was performed by using differences in the IR absorption spectra of extracellular fluid taken from the corresponding tissue areas. The samples were prepared by stamping of the kidney tissue on ATR diamond crystal. The spectral measurements were performed directly in the OR during surgery for 58 patients. It was found that intensities of characteristic spectral bands of glycogen (880-1200 cm-1) in extracellular fluid are sensitive to the type of the tissue and can be used as spectral markers of tumours. Characteristic spectral band of lactic acid (1730 cm-1) - product of the anaerobic glycolysis, taking place in the cancer cells is not suitable for use as a spectral marker of cancerous tissue, since it overlaps with the band of carbonyl stretch in phospholipids and fatty acids. Results of hierarchical cluster analysis of the spectra show that the spectra of healthy and tumour tissue films can be reliably separated into two groups. On the other hand, possibility to differentiate between tumours of different types and grades remains in question. While the fluid from highly malignant G3 tumour tissue contains highly pronounced glycogen spectral bands and can be well separated from benign and G1 tumours by principal component analysis, the variations between spectra from sample to sample prevent from obtaining conclusive results about the grouping between different tumour types and grades. The proposed method is instant and can be used in situ and even in vivo.

  20. Localization of two mammalian cyclin dependent kinases during mammalian meiosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ashley, T.; Walpita, D.; de rooij, D. G.

    2001-01-01

    Mammalian meiotic progression, like mitotic cell cycle progression, is regulated by cyclins and cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs). However, the unique requirements of meiosis (homologous synapsis, reciprocal recombination and the dual divisions that segregate first homologues, then sister chromatids)

  1. Identification of valid reference genes for the normalization of RT qPCR gene expression data in human brain tissue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ravid Rivka

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Studies of gene expression in post mortem human brain can contribute to understanding of the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD, Parkinson's disease (PD and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB. Quantitative real-time PCR (RT qPCR is often used to analyse gene expression. The validity of results obtained using RT qPCR is reliant on accurate data normalization. Reference genes are generally used to normalize RT qPCR data. Given that expression of some commonly used reference genes is altered in certain conditions, this study aimed to establish which reference genes were stably expressed in post mortem brain tissue from individuals with AD, PD or DLB. Results The present study investigated the expression stability of 8 candidate reference genes, (ubiquitin C [UBC], tyrosine-3-monooxygenase [YWHAZ], RNA polymerase II polypeptide [RP II], hydroxymethylbilane synthase [HMBS], TATA box binding protein [TBP], β-2-microglobulin [B2M], glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase [GAPDH], and succinate dehydrogenase complex-subunit A, [SDHA] in cerebellum and medial temporal gyrus of 6 AD, 6 PD, 6 DLB subjects, along with 5 matched controls using RT qPCR (TaqMan® Gene Expression Assays. Gene expression stability was analysed using geNorm to rank the candidate genes in order of decreasing stability in each disease group. The optimal number of genes recommended for accurate data normalization in each disease state was determined by pairwise variation analysis. Conclusion This study identified validated sets of mRNAs which would be appropriate for the normalization of RT qPCR data when studying gene expression in brain tissue of AD, PD, DLB and control subjects.

  2. The mysterious trace amines: protean neuromodulators of synaptic transmission in mammalian brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burchett, Scott A; Hicks, T Philip

    2006-08-01

    The trace amines are a structurally related group of amines and their isomers synthesized in mammalian brain and peripheral nervous tissues. They are closely associated metabolically with the dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin neurotransmitter systems in mammalian brain. Like dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin the trace amines have been implicated in a vast array of human disorders of affect and cognition. The trace amines are unique as they are present in trace concentrations, exhibit high rates of metabolism and are distributed heterogeneously in mammalian brain. While some are synthesized in their parent amine neurotransmitter systems, there is also evidence to suggest other trace amines may comprise their own independent neurotransmitter systems. A substantial body of evidence suggests that the trace amines may play very significant roles in the coordination of biogenic amine-based synaptic physiology. At high concentrations, they have well-characterized presynaptic "amphetamine-like" effects on catecholamine and indolamine release, reuptake and biosynthesis; at lower concentrations, they possess postsynaptic modulatory effects that potentiate the activity of other neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine and serotonin. The trace amines also possess electrophysiological effects that are in opposition to these neurotransmitters, indicating to some researchers the existence of receptors specific for the trace amines. While binding sites or receptors for a few of the trace amines have been advanced, the absence of cloned receptor protein has impeded significant development of their detailed mechanistic roles in the coordination of catecholamine and indolamine synaptic physiology. The recent discovery and characterization of a family of mammalian G protein-coupled receptors responsive to trace amines such as beta-phenylethylamine, tyramine, and octopamine, including socially ingested psychotropic drugs such as amphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, N

  3. Antagonistic targeting of the histamine H3 receptor decreases caloric intake in higher mammalian species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malmlöf, Kjell; Hastrup, Sven; Wulff, Birgitte Schellerup; Hansen, Barbara C; Peschke, Bernd; Jeppesen, Claus Bekker; Hohlweg, Rolf; Rimvall, Karin

    2007-04-15

    The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a selective histamine H(3) receptor antagonist, NNC 38-1202, on caloric intake in pigs and in rhesus monkeys. The compound was given intragastrically (5 or 15 mg/kg), to normal pigs (n=7) and subcutaneously (1 or 0.1mg/kg) to obese rhesus monkeys (n=9). The energy intake recorded following administration of vehicle to the same animals served as control for the effect of the compound. In addition, rhesus monkey and pig histamine H(3) receptors were cloned from hypothalamic tissues and expressed in mammalian cell lines. The in vitro antagonist potencies of NNC 38-1202 at the H(3) receptors were determined using a functional GTPgammaS binding assay. Porcine and human H(3) receptors were found to have 93.3% identity at the amino acid level and the close homology between the monkey and human H(3) receptors (98.4% identity) was confirmed. The antagonist potencies of NNC 38-1202 at the porcine, monkey and human histamine H(3) receptors were high as evidenced by K(i)-values being clearly below 20 nM, whereas the K(i)-value on the rat H(3) receptor was significantly higher (56+/-6.0 nM). NNC 38-1202, given to pigs in a dose of 15 mg/kg, produced a significant (p<0.05) reduction (55%) of calorie intake compared with vehicle alone, (132.6+/-10.0 kcal/kgday versus 59.7+/-10.2 kcal/kgday). In rhesus monkeys administration of 0.1 and 1mg/kg decreased (p<0.05) average calorie intakes by 40 and 75%, respectively. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that antagonistic targeting of the histamine H(3) receptor decreases caloric intake in higher mammalian species.

  4. A RhoA-FRET Biosensor Mouse for Intravital Imaging in Normal Tissue Homeostasis and Disease Contexts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Max Nobis

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The small GTPase RhoA is involved in a variety of fundamental processes in normal tissue. Spatiotemporal control of RhoA is thought to govern mechanosensing, growth, and motility of cells, while its deregulation is associated with disease development. Here, we describe the generation of a RhoA-fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET biosensor mouse and its utility for monitoring real-time activity of RhoA in a variety of native tissues in vivo. We assess changes in RhoA activity during mechanosensing of osteocytes within the bone and during neutrophil migration. We also demonstrate spatiotemporal order of RhoA activity within crypt cells of the small intestine and during different stages of mammary gestation. Subsequently, we reveal co-option of RhoA activity in both invasive breast and pancreatic cancers, and we assess drug targeting in these disease settings, illustrating the potential for utilizing this mouse to study RhoA activity in vivo in real time.

  5. The SOD Mimic, MnTE-2-PyP, Protects from Chronic Fibrosis and Inflammation in Irradiated Normal Pelvic Tissues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shashank Shrishrimal

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Pelvic radiation for cancer therapy can damage a variety of normal tissues. In this study, we demonstrate that radiation causes acute changes to pelvic fibroblasts such as the transformation to myofibroblasts and the induction of senescence, which persist months after radiation. The addition of the manganese porphyrin, MnTE-2-PyP, resulted in protection of these acute changes in fibroblasts and this protection persisted months following radiation exposure. Specifically, at two months post-radiation, MnTE-2-PyP inhibited the number of α-smooth muscle actin positive fibroblasts induced by radiation and at six months post-radiation, MnTE-2-PyP significantly reduced collagen deposition (fibrosis in the skin and bladder tissues of irradiated mice. Radiation also resulted in changes to T cells. At two months post-radiation, there was a reduction of Th1-producing splenocytes, which resulted in reduced Th1:Th2 ratios. MnTE-2-PyP maintained Th1:Th2 ratios similar to unirradiated mice. At six months post-radiation, increased T cells were observed in the adipose tissues. MnTE-2-PyP treatment inhibited this increase. Thus, MnTE-2-PyP treatment maintains normal fibroblast function and T cell immunity months after radiation exposure. We believe that one of the reasons MnTE-2-PyP is a potent radioprotector is due to its protection of multiple cell types from radiation damage.

  6. Ultrasound evaluation of normal and abnormal fetuses: comparison of conventional, tissue harmonic, and pulse- inversion harmonic imaging techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryu, Jeong Ah; Kim, Bohyun; Kim, Sooah; Yang, Soon Ha; Choi, Moon Hae; Ahn, Hyeong Sik

    2003-01-01

    To determine the usefulness of tissue harmonic imaging (THI) and pulse-inversion harmonic imaging (PIHI) in the evaluation of normal and abnormal fetuses. Forty-one pregnant women who bore a total of 31 normal and ten abnormal fetuses underwent conventional ultrasonography (CUS), and then THI and PIHI. US images of six organ systems, namely the brain, spine, heart, abdomen, extremities and face were compared between the three techniques in terms of overall conspicuity and the definition of borders and internal structures. For the brain, heart, abdomen and face, overall conspicuity at THI and PIHI was significantly better than at CUS (p < 0.05). There was, though, no significant difference between THI and PIHI. Affected organs in abnormal fetuses were more clearly depicted at THI and PIHI than at CUS. Both THI and PIHI appear to be superior to CUS for the evaluation of normal or abnormal structures, particularly the brain, heart, abdomen and face

  7. Carbamazepine induces mitotic arrest in mammalian Vero cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez Martin, J.M.; Fernandez Freire, P.; Labrador, V.; Hazen, M.J.

    2008-01-01

    We reported recently that the anticonvulsant drug carbamazepine, at supratherapeutic concentrations, exerts antiproliferative effects in mammalian Vero cells, but the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. This motivates us to examine rigorously whether growth arrest was associated with structural changes in cellular organization during mitosis. In the present work, we found that exposure of the cells to carbamazepine led to an increase in mitotic index, mainly due to the sustained block at the metaphase/anaphase boundary, with the consequent inhibition of cell proliferation. Indirect immunofluorescence, using antibodies directed against spindle apparatus proteins, revealed that mitotic arrest was associated with formation of monopolar spindles, caused by impairment of centrosome separation. The final consequence of the spindle defects induced by carbamazepine, depended on the duration of cell cycle arrest. Following the time course of accumulation of metaphase and apoptotic cells during carbamazepine treatments, we observed a causative relationship between mitotic arrest and induction of cell death. Conversely, cells released from the block of metaphase by removal of the drug, continued to progress through mitosis and resume normal proliferation. Our results show that carbamazepine shares a common antiproliferative mechanism with spindle-targeted drugs and contribute to a better understanding of the cytostatic activity previously described in Vero cells. Additional studies are in progress to extend these initial findings that define a novel mode of action of carbamazepine in cultured mammalian cells

  8. Carbamazepine induces mitotic arrest in mammalian Vero cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perez Martin, J.M.; Fernandez Freire, P.; Labrador, V. [Departamento de Biologia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Hazen, M.J. [Departamento de Biologia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain)], E-mail: mariajose.hazen@uam.es

    2008-01-01

    We reported recently that the anticonvulsant drug carbamazepine, at supratherapeutic concentrations, exerts antiproliferative effects in mammalian Vero cells, but the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. This motivates us to examine rigorously whether growth arrest was associated with structural changes in cellular organization during mitosis. In the present work, we found that exposure of the cells to carbamazepine led to an increase in mitotic index, mainly due to the sustained block at the metaphase/anaphase boundary, with the consequent inhibition of cell proliferation. Indirect immunofluorescence, using antibodies directed against spindle apparatus proteins, revealed that mitotic arrest was associated with formation of monopolar spindles, caused by impairment of centrosome separation. The final consequence of the spindle defects induced by carbamazepine, depended on the duration of cell cycle arrest. Following the time course of accumulation of metaphase and apoptotic cells during carbamazepine treatments, we observed a causative relationship between mitotic arrest and induction of cell death. Conversely, cells released from the block of metaphase by removal of the drug, continued to progress through mitosis and resume normal proliferation. Our results show that carbamazepine shares a common antiproliferative mechanism with spindle-targeted drugs and contribute to a better understanding of the cytostatic activity previously described in Vero cells. Additional studies are in progress to extend these initial findings that define a novel mode of action of carbamazepine in cultured mammalian cells.

  9. Detection of Metabolic Fluxes of O and H Atoms into Intracellular Water in Mammalian Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreuzer, Helen W.; Quaroni, Luca; Podlesak, David W.; Zlateva, Theodora; Bollinger, Nikki; McAllister, Aaron; Lott, Michael J.; Hegg, Eric L.

    2012-01-01

    Metabolic processes result in the release and exchange of H and O atoms from organic material as well as some inorganic salts and gases. These fluxes of H and O atoms into intracellular water result in an isotopic gradient that can be measured experimentally. Using isotope ratio mass spectroscopy, we revealed that slightly over 50% of the H and O atoms in the intracellular water of exponentially-growing cultured Rat-1 fibroblasts were isotopically distinct from growth medium water. We then employed infrared spectromicroscopy to detect in real time the flux of H atoms in these same cells. Importantly, both of these techniques indicate that the H and O fluxes are dependent on metabolic processes; cells that are in lag phase or are quiescent exhibit a much smaller flux. In addition, water extracted from the muscle tissue of rats contained a population of H and O atoms that were isotopically distinct from body water, consistent with the results obtained using the cultured Rat-1 fibroblasts. Together these data demonstrate that metabolic processes produce fluxes of H and O atoms into intracellular water, and that these fluxes can be detected and measured in both cultured mammalian cells and in mammalian tissue. PMID:22848359

  10. Classification between normal and tumor tissues based on the pair-wise gene expression ratio

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yap, YeeLeng; Zhang, XueWu; Ling, MT; Wang, XiangHong; Wong, YC; Danchin, Antoine

    2004-01-01

    Precise classification of cancer types is critically important for early cancer diagnosis and treatment. Numerous efforts have been made to use gene expression profiles to improve precision of tumor classification. However, reliable cancer-related signals are generally lacking. Using recent datasets on colon and prostate cancer, a data transformation procedure from single gene expression to pair-wise gene expression ratio is proposed. Making use of the internal consistency of each expression profiling dataset this transformation improves the signal to noise ratio of the dataset and uncovers new relevant cancer-related signals (features). The efficiency in using the transformed dataset to perform normal/tumor classification was investigated using feature partitioning with informative features (gene annotation) as discriminating axes (single gene expression or pair-wise gene expression ratio). Classification results were compared to the original datasets for up to 10-feature model classifiers. 82 and 262 genes that have high correlation to tissue phenotype were selected from the colon and prostate datasets respectively. Remarkably, data transformation of the highly noisy expression data successfully led to lower the coefficient of variation (CV) for the within-class samples as well as improved the correlation with tissue phenotypes. The transformed dataset exhibited lower CV when compared to that of single gene expression. In the colon cancer set, the minimum CV decreased from 45.3% to 16.5%. In prostate cancer, comparable CV was achieved with and without transformation. This improvement in CV, coupled with the improved correlation between the pair-wise gene expression ratio and tissue phenotypes, yielded higher classification efficiency, especially with the colon dataset – from 87.1% to 93.5%. Over 90% of the top ten discriminating axes in both datasets showed significant improvement after data transformation. The high classification efficiency achieved suggested

  11. Tolerance doses of cutaneous and mucosal tissues in ring-necked parakeets (Psittacula krameri) for external beam megavoltage radiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barron, Heather W; Roberts, Royce E; Latimer, Kenneth S; Hernandez-Divers, Stephen; Northrup, Nicole C

    2009-03-01

    Currently used dosages for external-beam megavoltage radiation therapy in birds have been extrapolated from mammalian patients and often appear to provide inadequate doses of radiation for effective tumor control. To determine the tolerance doses of cutaneous and mucosal tissues of normal birds in order to provide more effective radiation treatment for tumors that have been shown to be radiation responsive in other species, ingluvial mucosa and the skin over the ingluvies of 9 ring-necked parakeets (Psittacula krameri) were irradiated in 4-Gy fractions to a total dose of either 48, 60, or 72 Gy using an isocentric cobalt-60 teletherapy unit. Minimal radiation-induced epidermal changes were present in the high-dose group histologically. Neither dose-related acute nor chronic radiation effects could be detected in any group grossly in cutaneous or mucosal tissue over a 9-month period. Radiation doses of 72 Gy in 4-Gy fractions were well tolerated in the small number of ring-necked parakeets in this initial tolerance dose study.

  12. Normal tissue complication probabilities correlated with late effects in the rectum after prostate conformal radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dale, Einar; Olsen, Dag R.; Fossa, Sophie D.

    1999-01-01

    Purpose: Radiation therapy of deep-sited tumours will always result in normal tissue doses to some extent. The aim of this study was to calculate different risk estimates of late effects in the rectum for a group of cancer prostate patients treated with conformal radiation therapy (CRT) and correlate these estimates with the occurrences of late effects. Since the rectum is a hollow organ, several ways of generating dose-volume distributions over the organ are possible, and we wanted to investigate two of them. Methods and Materials: A mathematical model, known as the Lyman-Kutcher model, conventionally used to estimate normal tissue complication probabilities (NTCP) associated with radiation therapy, was applied to a material of 52 cancer prostate patients. The patients were treated with a four field box technique, with the rectum as organ at risk. Dose-volume histograms (DVH) were generated for the whole rectum (including the cavity) and of the rectum wall. One to two years after the treatment, the patients completed a questionnaire concerning bowel (rectum) related morbidity quantifying the extent of late effects. Results: A correlation analysis using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, for NTCP values calculated from the DVHs and the patients' scores, gave correlation coefficients which were not statistically significant at the p max , of the whole rectum, correlated better to observed late toxicity than D max derived from histograms of the rectum wall. Correlation coefficients from 'high-dose' measures were larger than those calculated from the NTCP values. Accordingly, as the volume parameter of the Lyman-Kutcher model was reduced, raising the impact of small high-dose volumes on the NTCP values, the correlation between observed effects and NTCP values became significant at p < 0.01 level. Conclusions: 1) High-dose levels corresponding to small volume fractions of the cumulative dose-volume histograms were best correlated with the occurrences of late

  13. Axolotl cells and tissues enhances cutaneous wound healing in mice

    OpenAIRE

    DEMIRCAN, Turan; KESKIN, Ilknur; GUNAL, Yalcin; ILHAN, Ayse Elif; KOLBASI, Bircan; OZTURK, Gurkan

    2017-01-01

    Adult mammalian skin wound repair is defective due to loss of the regulation in balancing the complete epithelial regeneration and excessive connective tissue production, and this repair process commonly results in scar tissue formation. However, unlike mammals, adult salamanders repair the wounds by regeneration compared to scarring. To elucidate the healing capability of a salamander, Axolotl, in a different species, here we addressed this question by treating the wounds in mice with Axolot...

  14. Pattern and density of vascularization in mammalian testes, ovaries, and ovotestes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lupiáñez, Darío G; Real, Francisca M; Dadhich, Rajesh K; Carmona, Francisco D; Burgos, Miguel; Barrionuevo, Francisco J; Jiménez, Rafael

    2012-05-01

    According to the classical paradigm, the vasculature of the embryonic testis is more dense and complex than that of the ovary, but recent studies based on whole-mount detection of Caveolin-1 (CAV1) as an endothelial cell marker, have suggested that the level of ovarian vascularization is higher than previously assumed. However, this new hypothesis has been neither tested using alternative methodology nor investigated in other mammalian species. In this paper, we have studied the vascularization process in the gonads of males and females of two mammalian species, the mouse (Mus musculus) and the Iberian mole (Talpa occidentalis). Our results show that the pattern of testis vascularization is very well conserved among mammals, including both pre- and postnatal stages of development and, at least in the mole, it is conserved irrespectively of whether the testicular tissue is XY or XX. We have shown that CAV1 is present not only in endothelial cells but also in prefollicular oocytes and in an ovarian population of somatic cortical cells. These data clearly establish that: (1) according to the classical hypothesis, the degree of vascularization of the developing ovary is lower than that of the testis, (2) ovarian vascularization is also evolutionarily conserved as it occurs similarly both in moles and in mice, and (3) that the degree of vascular development of the mammalian ovary is age-dependent increasing significatively at puberty. The expression of CAV1 in the ovary of most animal taxa, from nematodes to mammals, strongly suggests a role for this gene in the female meiosis. © 2012 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

  15. Anaplerotic roles of pyruvate carboxylase in mammalian tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jitrapakdee, S; Vidal-Puig, A; Wallace, J C

    2006-04-01

    Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) catalyzes the ATP-dependent carboxylation of pyruvate to oxaloacetate. PC serves an anaplerotic role for the tricarboxylic acid cycle, when intermediates are removed for different biosynthetic purposes. In liver and kidney, PC provides oxaloacetate for gluconeogenesis. In adipocytes PC is involved in de novo fatty acid synthesis and glyceroneogenesis, and is regulated by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma, suggesting that PC is involved in the metabolic switch controlling fuel partitioning toward lipogenesis. In islets, PC is necessary for glucose-induced insulin secretion by providing oxaloacetate to form malate that participates in the 'pyruvate/malate cycle' to shuttle 3C or 4C between mitochondria and cytoplasm. Hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia impair this cycle and affect glucose-stimulated insulin release. In astrocytes, PC is important for de novo synthesis of glutamate, an important excitatory neurotransmitter supplied to neurons. Transcriptional studies of the PC gene pinpoint some transcription factors that determine tissue-specific expression.

  16. ADAM28 is expressed by epithelial cells in human normal tissues and protects from C1q-induced cell death.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyamae, Yuka; Mochizuki, Satsuki; Shimoda, Masayuki; Ohara, Kentaro; Abe, Hitoshi; Yamashita, Shuji; Kazuno, Saiko; Ohtsuka, Takashi; Ochiai, Hiroki; Kitagawa, Yuko; Okada, Yasunori

    2016-05-01

    ADAM28 (disintegrin and metalloproteinase 28), which was originally reported to be lymphocyte-specific, is over-expressed by carcinoma cells and plays a key role in cell proliferation and progression in human lung and breast carcinomas. We studied ADAM28 expression in human normal tissues and examined its biological function. By using antibodies specific to ADAM28, ADAM28 was immunolocalized mainly to epithelial cells in several tissues, including epididymis, bronchus and stomach, whereas lymphocytes in lymph nodes and spleen were negligibly immunostained. RT-PCR, immunoblotting and ELISA analyses confirmed the expression in these tissues, and low or negligible expression by lymphocytes was found in the lymph node and spleen. C1q was identified as a candidate ADAM28-binding protein from a human lung cDNA library by yeast two-hybrid system, and specific binding was demonstrated by binding assays, immunoprecipitation and surface plasmon resonance. C1q treatment of normal bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B and NHBE cells, both of which showed low-level expression of ADAM28, caused apoptosis through activation of p38 and caspase-3, and cell death with autophagy through accumulation of LC3-II and autophagosomes, respectively. C1q-induced cell death was attenuated by treatment of the cells with antibodies against the C1q receptor gC1qR/p33 or cC1qR/calreticulin. Treatment of C1q with recombinant ADAM28 prior to addition to culture media reduced C1q-induced cell death, and knockdown of ADAM28 using siRNAs increased cell death. These data demonstrate that ADAM28 is expressed by epithelial cells of several normal organs, and suggest that ADAM28 plays a role in cell survival by suppression of C1q-induced cytotoxicity in bronchial epithelial cells. © 2016 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

  17. Specificity of chicken and mammalian transferrins in myogenesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beach, R.L.; Popiela, Heinz; Festoff, B.W.

    1985-01-01

    Chicken transferrins isolated from eggs, embryo extract, serum or ischiatic-peroneal nerves are able to stimulate incorporation of ( 3 H)thymidine, and promote myogenesis by primary chicken muscles cells in vitro. Mammalian transferrins (bovine, rat, mouse, horse, rabbit, and human) do not promote ( 3 H)thymidine incorporation or myotube development. Comparison of the peptide fragments obtained after chemical or limited proteolytic cleavage demonstrates that the four chicken transferrins are all indistinguishable, but they differ considerably from the mammalian transferrins. The structural differences between chicken and mammalian transferrins probably account for the inability of mammalian transferrins to act as mitogens for, and to support myogenesis of, primary chicken muscle cells. (author)

  18. Transcriptome profiling of the cancer, adjacent non-tumor and distant normal tissues from a colorectal cancer patient by deep sequencing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan'an Wu

    Full Text Available Colorectal cancer (CRC is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the world. A genome-wide screening of transcriptome dysregulation between cancer and normal tissue would provide insight into the molecular basis of CRC initiation and progression. Compared with microarray technology, which is commonly used to identify transcriptional changes, the recently developed RNA-seq technique has the ability to detect other abnormal regulations in the cancer transcriptome, such as alternative splicing, novel transcripts or gene fusion. In this study, we performed high-throughput transcriptome sequencing at ~50× coverage on CRC, adjacent non-tumor and distant normal tissue. The results revealed cancer-specific, differentially expressed genes and differential alternative splicing, suggesting that the extracellular matrix and metabolic pathways are activated and the genes related to cell homeostasis are suppressed in CRC. In addition, one tumor-restricted gene fusion, PRTEN-NOTCH2, was also detected and experimentally confirmed. This study reveals some common features in tumor invasion and provides a comprehensive survey of the CRC transcriptome, which provides better insight into the complexity of regulatory changes during tumorigenesis.

  19. Classification of Laser Induced Fluorescence Spectra from Normal and Malignant bladder tissues using Learning Vector Quantization Neural Network in Bladder Cancer Diagnosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karemore, Gopal Raghunath; Mascarenhas, Kim Komal; Patil, Choudhary

    2008-01-01

    In the present work we discuss the potential of recently developed classification algorithm, Learning Vector Quantization (LVQ), for the analysis of Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) Spectra, recorded from normal and malignant bladder tissue samples. The algorithm is prototype based and inherently...

  20. Mammalian cell biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elkind, M.M.

    1979-01-01

    This section contains summaries of research on mechanisms of lethality and radioinduced changes in mammalian cell properties, new cell systems for the study of the biology of mutation and neoplastic transformation, and comparative properties of ionizing radiations

  1. The immune cell composition in Barrett's metaplastic tissue resembles that in normal duodenal tissue.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra Lind

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Barrett's esophagus (BE is characterized by the transition of squamous epithelium into columnar epithelium with intestinal metaplasia. The increased number and types of immune cells in BE have been indicated to be due to a Th2-type inflammatory process. We tested the alternative hypothesis that the abundance of T-cells in BE is caused by a homing mechanism that is found in the duodenum. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Biopsies from BE and duodenal tissue from 30 BE patients and duodenal tissue from 18 controls were characterized by immmunohistochemistry for the presence of T-cells and eosinophils(eos. Ex vivo expanded T-cells were further phenotyped by multicolor analysis using flowcytometry. RESULTS: The high percentage of CD4(+-T cells (69±3% (mean±SEM/n = 17, by flowcytometry, measured by flowcytometry and immunohistochemistry, and the presence of non-activated eosinophils found in BE by immunohistochemical staining, were not different from that found in duodenal tissue. Expanded lymphocytes from these tissues had a similar phenotype, characterized by a comparable but low percentage of αE(CD103 positive CD4(+cells (44±5% in BE, 43±4% in duodenum of BE and 34±7% in duodenum of controls and a similar percentage of granzyme-B(+CD8(+ cells(44±5% in BE, 33±6% in duodenum of BE and 36±7% in duodenum of controls. In addition, a similar percentage of α4β7(+ T-lymphocytes (63±5% in BE, 58±5% in duodenum of BE and 62±8% in duodenum of controls was found. Finally, mRNA expression of the ligand for α4β7, MAdCAM-1, was also similar in BE and duodenal tissue. No evidence for a Th2-response was found as almost no IL-4(+-T-cells were seen. CONCLUSION: The immune cell composition (lymphocytes and eosinophils and expression of intestinal adhesion molecule MAdCAM-1 is similar in BE and duodenum. This supports the hypothesis that homing of lymphocytes to BE tissue is mainly caused by intestinal homing signals rather than to an

  2. Mammalian Cochlear Hair Cell Regeneration and Ribbon Synapse Reformation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoling Lu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Hair cells (HCs are the sensory preceptor cells in the inner ear, which play an important role in hearing and balance. The HCs of organ of Corti are susceptible to noise, ototoxic drugs, and infections, thus resulting in permanent hearing loss. Recent approaches of HCs regeneration provide new directions for finding the treatment of sensor neural deafness. To have normal hearing function, the regenerated HCs must be reinnervated by nerve fibers and reform ribbon synapse with the dendrite of spiral ganglion neuron through nerve regeneration. In this review, we discuss the research progress in HC regeneration, the synaptic plasticity, and the reinnervation of new regenerated HCs in mammalian inner ear.

  3. The clinical significance of normal mammograms and normal sonograms in patients with palpable abnormalities of the breast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jin Hwa; Yoon, Seong Kuk; Choi, Sun Seob; Nam, Kyung Jin; Cho, Se Heon; Kim, Dae Cheol; Kim, Jung Il; Kim, Eun Kyung

    2006-01-01

    We wanted to evaluate the clinical significance of normal mammograms and normal sonograms in patients with palpable abnormalities of the breast. From Apr 2003 to Feb 2005, 107 patients with 113 palpable abnormalities who had combined normal sonographic and normal mammographic findings were retrospectively studied. The evaluated parameters included age of the patients, the clinical referrals, the distribution of the locations of the palpable abnormalities, whether there was a past surgical history, the mammographic densities and the sonographic echo patterns (purely hyperechoic fibrous tissue, mixed fibroglandular breast tissue, predominantly isoechoic glandular tissue and isoechoic subcutaneous fat tissue) at the sites of clinical concern, whether there was a change in imaging and/or the physical examination results at follow-up, and whether there were biopsy results. This study period was chosen to allow a follow-up period of at least 12 months. The patients' ages ranged from 22 to 66 years (mean age: 48.8 years) and 62 (58%) of the 107 patients were between 41 and 50 years old (58%). The most common location of the palpable abnormalities was the upper outer portion of the breast (45%) and most of the mammographic densities were dense patterns (BI-RADS Type 3 or 4: 91%). Our cases showed similar distribution for all the types of sonographic echo patterns. 23 patients underwent biopsy; all the biopsy specimens were benign. For the 84 patients with 90 palpable abnormalities who were followed, there was no interval development of breast cancer in the areas of clinical concern. Our results suggest that we can follow up and prevent unnecessary biopsies in women with palpable abnormalities when both the mammography and ultrasonography show normal tissue, but this study was limited by its small sample size. Therefore, a larger study will be needed to better define the negative predictive value of combined normal sonographic and mammographic findings

  4. Relative expression of rRNA transcripts and 45S rDNA promoter methylation status are dysregulated in tumors in comparison with matched-normal tissues in breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karahan, Gurbet; Sayar, Nilufer; Gozum, Gokcen; Bozkurt, Betul; Konu, Ozlen; Yulug, Isik G

    2015-06-01

    Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) expression, one of the most important factors regulating ribosome production, is primarily controlled by a CG-rich 45 S rDNA promoter. However, the DNA methylation state of the 45 S rDNA promoter, as well as its effect on rRNA gene expression in types of human cancers is controversial. In the present study we analyzed the methylation status of the rDNA promoter (-380 to +53 bp) as well as associated rRNA expression levels in breast cancer cell lines and breast tumor-normal tissue pairs. We found that the aforementioned regulatory region was extensively methylated (74-96%) in all cell lines and in 68% (13/19 tumor-normal pairs) of the tumors. Expression levels of rRNA transcripts 18 S, 28 S, 5.8 S and 45 S external transcribed spacer (45 S ETS) greatly varied in the breast cancer cell lines regardless of their methylation status. Analyses of rRNA transcript expression levels in the breast tumor and normal matched tissues showed no significant difference when normalized with TBP. On the other hand, using the geometric mean of the rRNA expression values (GM-rRNA) as reference enabled us to identify significant changes in the relative expression of rRNAs in the tissue samples. We propose GM-rRNA normalization as a novel strategy to analyze expression differences between rRNA transcripts. Accordingly, the 18S rRNA/GM-rRNA ratio was significantly higher whereas the 5.8S rRNA/GM-rRNA ratio was significantly lower in breast tumor samples than this ratio in the matched normal samples. Moreover, the 18S rRNA/GM-rRNA ratio was negatively correlated with the 45 S rDNA promoter methylation level in the normal breast tissue samples, yet not in the breast tumors. Significant correlations observed between the expression levels of rRNA transcripts in the normal samples were lost in the tumor samples. We showed that the expression of rRNA transcripts may not be based solely on promoter methylation. Carcinogenesis may cause dysregulation of the correlation

  5. Extracellular Matrix, Nuclear and Chromatin Structure and GeneExpression in Normal Tissues and Malignant Tumors: A Work inProgress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Spencer, Virginia A.; Xu, Ren; Bissell, Mina J.

    2006-08-01

    Almost three decades ago, we presented a model where theextracellular matrix (ECM) was postulated to influence gene expressionand tissue-specificity through the action of ECM receptors and thecytoskeleton. This hypothesis implied that ECM molecules could signal tothe nucleus and that the unit of function in higher organisms was not thecell alone, but the cell plus its microenvironment. We now know that ECMinvokes changes in tissue and organ architecture and that tissue, cell,nuclear, and chromatin structure are changed profoundly as a result ofand during malignant progression. Whereas some evidence has beengenerated for a link between ECM-induced alterations in tissuearchitecture and changes in both nuclear and chromatin organization, themanner by which these changes actively induce or repress gene expressionin normal and malignant cells is a topic in need of further attention.Here, we will discuss some key findings that may provide insights intomechanisms through which ECM could influence gene transcription and howtumor cells acquire the ability to overcome these levels ofcontrol.

  6. General effect of endotoxin on glucocorticoid receptors in mammalian tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stith, R.D.; McCallum, R.E.

    1986-01-01

    Considering the ubiquitous nature of glucocorticoid actions and the fact that endotoxin inhibits glucocorticoid action in the liver, we proposed to examine whether endotoxin affected extrahepatic actions of glucocorticoids. Fasted C57BL/6J mice were injected intraperitoneally with endotoxin (LD50) at 0800 and were killed 6 h later. Control mice were injected with an equal volume of saline. 3 H-dexamethasone binding, measured by a new cytosol exchange assay utilizing molybdate plus dithiothreitol, in liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, spleen, lung, and heart tissue was significantly lower in treated than in control mice. The equilibrium dissociation constants were not significantly different, but the number of available binding sites in each tissue was reduced by endotoxin treatment. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity was significantly reduced in liver but not in kidney. Endotoxin treatment lowered glycogen content in liver but not in skeletal muscle. The reduction observed in the a form of liver glycogen synthase due to endotoxin was not seen in skeletal muscle glycogen synthase a. These data support the proposal that endotoxin or a mediator of its action inhibits systemic glucocorticoid action. The results also emphasize the central role of the liver in the metabolic disturbances of the endotoxin-treated mouse

  7. Stem cell signaling. An integral program for tissue renewal and regeneration : Wnt signaling and stem cell control

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Clevers, Hans; Loh, Kyle M; Nusse, Roel

    2014-01-01

    Stem cells fuel tissue development, renewal, and regeneration, and these activities are controlled by the local stem cell microenvironment, the "niche." Wnt signals emanating from the niche can act as self-renewal factors for stem cells in multiple mammalian tissues. Wnt proteins are lipid-modified,

  8. Changes in the rate of proliferation in normal tissues after irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denekamp, J.

    1975-01-01

    In tissues where reproductive cell death is known to cause the functional tissue damage (e.g., intestine and skin), repopulation becomes important only after the death of the radiation-damaged cells. Since these tissues have a fairly rapid turnover, this can occur within a short period of time and can assist in the healing of tissues during fractionated therapy. However, in tissues which express their damage late, such as the lung, it is very unlikely that repopulation will be stimulated before cell death is manifested and this does not occur during the period over which fractionated radiotherapy is administered. Although repopulation may be of no importance in these tissues, e.g., lungs and kidneys, there appears to be some other ''repair'' process which requires additional radiation dose to be administered to achieve the same endpoint if the overall time is increased

  9. DNMT1 maintains progenitor function in self-renewing somatic tissue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sen, George L; Reuter, Jason A; Webster, Daniel E; Zhu, Lilly; Khavari, Paul A

    2010-01-28

    Progenitor cells maintain self-renewing tissues throughout life by sustaining their capacity for proliferation while suppressing cell cycle exit and terminal differentiation. DNA methylation provides a potential epigenetic mechanism for the cellular memory needed to preserve the somatic progenitor state through repeated cell divisions. DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) maintains DNA methylation patterns after cellular replication. Although dispensable for embryonic stem cell maintenance, the role for DNMT1 in maintaining the progenitor state in constantly replenished somatic tissues, such as mammalian epidermis, is unclear. Here we show that DNMT1 is essential for epidermal progenitor cell function. DNMT1 protein was found enriched in undifferentiated cells, where it was required to retain proliferative stamina and suppress differentiation. In tissue, DNMT1 depletion led to exit from the progenitor cell compartment, premature differentiation and eventual tissue loss. Genome-wide analysis showed that a significant portion of epidermal differentiation gene promoters were methylated in self-renewing conditions but were subsequently demethylated during differentiation. Furthermore, UHRF1 (refs 9, 10), a component of the DNA methylation machinery that targets DNMT1 to hemi-methylated DNA, is also necessary to suppress premature differentiation and sustain proliferation. In contrast, Gadd45A and B, which promote active DNA demethylation, are required for full epidermal differentiation gene induction. These data demonstrate that proteins involved in the dynamic regulation of DNA methylation patterns are required for progenitor maintenance and self-renewal in mammalian somatic tissue.

  10. Liv. 52 protection against radiation induced lesions in mammalian liver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saini, M.R.; Saini, N.

    1985-01-01

    Effect of Liv. 52 on mammalian liver was studied after whole-body exposure to 5.5 Gy of 60 Co gamma radiation. It was found that the drug protected the organ against radiation-induced changes. The protective effect was manifested in the form of early recovery as indicated by the absence of pathological changes like cytoplasmic degranulation, loss of nulei from many cells and abnormal architecture at 10 days and restoration of normal structure by 4 weeks. Liv. 52 may neutralize the peroxides formed from water molecules after irradiation which are toxic and cause the damage to the organ. Thus it seems that the drug may act as detoxicating agent. (author)

  11. A new formula for normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) as a function of equivalent uniform dose (EUD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luxton, Gary; Keall, Paul J; King, Christopher R

    2008-01-07

    To facilitate the use of biological outcome modeling for treatment planning, an exponential function is introduced as a simpler equivalent to the Lyman formula for calculating normal tissue complication probability (NTCP). The single parameter of the exponential function is chosen to reproduce the Lyman calculation to within approximately 0.3%, and thus enable easy conversion of data contained in empirical fits of Lyman parameters for organs at risk (OARs). Organ parameters for the new formula are given in terms of Lyman model m and TD(50), and conversely m and TD(50) are expressed in terms of the parameters of the new equation. The role of the Lyman volume-effect parameter n is unchanged from its role in the Lyman model. For a non-homogeneously irradiated OAR, an equation relates d(ref), n, v(eff) and the Niemierko equivalent uniform dose (EUD), where d(ref) and v(eff) are the reference dose and effective fractional volume of the Kutcher-Burman reduction algorithm (i.e. the LKB model). It follows in the LKB model that uniform EUD irradiation of an OAR results in the same NTCP as the original non-homogeneous distribution. The NTCP equation is therefore represented as a function of EUD. The inverse equation expresses EUD as a function of NTCP and is used to generate a table of EUD versus normal tissue complication probability for the Emami-Burman parameter fits as well as for OAR parameter sets from more recent data.

  12. A new formula for normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) as a function of equivalent uniform dose (EUD)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luxton, Gary; Keall, Paul J; King, Christopher R

    2008-01-01

    To facilitate the use of biological outcome modeling for treatment planning, an exponential function is introduced as a simpler equivalent to the Lyman formula for calculating normal tissue complication probability (NTCP). The single parameter of the exponential function is chosen to reproduce the Lyman calculation to within ∼0.3%, and thus enable easy conversion of data contained in empirical fits of Lyman parameters for organs at risk (OARs). Organ parameters for the new formula are given in terms of Lyman model m and TD 50 , and conversely m and TD 50 are expressed in terms of the parameters of the new equation. The role of the Lyman volume-effect parameter n is unchanged from its role in the Lyman model. For a non-homogeneously irradiated OAR, an equation relates d ref , n, v eff and the Niemierko equivalent uniform dose (EUD), where d ref and v eff are the reference dose and effective fractional volume of the Kutcher-Burman reduction algorithm (i.e. the LKB model). It follows in the LKB model that uniform EUD irradiation of an OAR results in the same NTCP as the original non-homogeneous distribution. The NTCP equation is therefore represented as a function of EUD. The inverse equation expresses EUD as a function of NTCP and is used to generate a table of EUD versus normal tissue complication probability for the Emami-Burman parameter fits as well as for OAR parameter sets from more recent data

  13. Gene expression profiling of histologically normal breast tissue in females with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2‑positive breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zubor, Pavol; Hatok, Jozef; Moricova, Petra; Kapustova, Ivana; Kajo, Karol; Mendelova, Andrea; Sivonova, Monika Kmetova; Danko, Jan

    2015-02-01

    Gene expression profile‑based taxonomy of breast cancer (BC) has been described as a significant breakthrough in comprehending the differences in the origin and behavior of cancer to allow individually tailored therapeutic approaches. In line with this, we hypothesized that the gene expression profile of histologically normal epithelium (HNEpi) could harbor certain genetic abnormalities predisposing breast tissue cells to develop human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)‑positive BC. Thus, the aim of the present study was to assess gene expression in normal and BC tissue (BCTis) from patients with BC in order to establish its value as a potential diagnostic marker for cancer development. An array study evaluating a panel of 84 pathway‑ and disease‑specific genes in HER2‑positive BC and tumor‑adjacent HNEpi was performed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction in 12 patients using microdissected samples from frozen tissue. Common prognostic and predictive parameters of BC were assessed by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. In the BCTis and HNEpi samples of 12 HER2‑positive subjects with BC, the expression of 2,016 genes was assessed. A total of 39.3% of genes were deregulated at a minimal two‑fold deregulation rate and 10.7% at a five‑fold deregulation rate in samples of HNEpi or BCTis. Significant differences in gene expression between BCTis and HNEpi samples were revealed for BCL2L2, CD44, CTSD, EGFR, ERBB2, ITGA6, NGFB, RPL27, SCBG2A1 and SCGB1D2 genes (Pbreast tissue revealed gene expression abnormalities that may represent potential markers of increased risk for HER2‑positive malignant transformation of breast tissue, and may be able to be employed as predictors of prognosis.

  14. Diagnosis of breast cancer by tissue analysis

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Debnath Bhattacharyya; Samir Kumar Bandyopadhyay; Tai-hoon Kim

    2013-01-01

    In this paper,we propose a technique to locate abnormal growth of cells in breast tissue and suggest further pathological test,when require.We compare normal breast tissue with malignant invasive breast tissue by a series of image processing steps.Normal ductal epithelial cells and ductal/lobular invasive carcinogenic cells also consider for comparison here in this paper.In fact,features of cancerous breast tissue (invasive) are extracted and analyses with normal breast tissue.We also suggest the breast cancer recognition technique through image processing and prevention by controlling p53 gene mutation to some extent.

  15. Aluminum concentrations in central and peripheral areas of malignant breast lesions do not differ from those in normal breast tissues

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Aluminum is used in a wide range of applications and is a potential environmental hazard. The known genotoxic effects of aluminum might play a role in the development of breast cancer. However, the data currently available on the subject are not sufficient to establish a causal relationship between aluminum exposure and the augmented risk of developing breast cancer. To achieve maximum sensitivity and specificity in the determination of aluminum levels, we have developed a detection protocol using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The objective of the present study was to compare the aluminum levels in the central and peripheral areas of breast carcinomas with those in the adjacent normal breast tissues, and to identify patient and/or tumor characteristics associated with these aluminum levels. Methods A total of 176 patients with breast cancer were included in the study. Samples from the central and peripheral areas of their tumors were obtained, as well as from the surrounding normal breast tissue. Aluminum quantification was performed using GFAAS. Results The average (mean ± SD) aluminum concentrations were as follows: central area, 1.88 ± 3.60 mg/kg; peripheral area, 2.10 ± 5.67 mg/kg; and normal area, 1.68 ± 11.1 mg/kg. Overall and two-by-two comparisons of the aluminum concentrations in these areas indicated no significant differences. We detected a positive relationship between aluminum levels in the peripheral areas of the tumors, age and menopausal status of the patients (P = .02). Conclusions Using a sensitive quantification technique we detected similar aluminum concentrations in the central and peripheral regions of breast tumors, and in normal tissues. In addition, we did not detect significant differences in aluminum concentrations as related to the location of the breast tumor within the breast, or to other relevant tumor features such as stage, size and steroid receptor status. The next

  16. Inhibition of collagen production in scleroderma fibroblast cultures by a connective tissue glycoprotein extracted from normal dermis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maquart, F.X.; Bellon, G.; Cornillet-Stoupy, J.; Randoux, A.; Triller, R.; Kalis, B.; Borel, J.P.

    1985-01-01

    It was shown in a previous paper that a connective tissue glycoprotein (CTGP) extracted from normal rabbit dermis was able to inhibit total protein and collagen syntheses by normal dermis fibroblast cultures. In the present study, the effects of CTGP on scleroderma fibroblasts were investigated. [ 14 C]Proline incorporation into total proteins of the supernatant was not significantly different from that found in controls. By contrast, the amount of collagen, expressed as percentage of total secreted protein, was far higher in scleroderma cultures than in normal ones (14.4% +/- 6.0% vs 4.6% +/- 0.9%). Addition of CTGP to the medium induced a concentration-dependent inhibition of [ 14 C]proline incorporation into proteins from both control and scleroderma cells. In control cultures, no significant decrease of the percentage of collagen was observed, but over 60 micrograms/ml, both cytotoxic effects and inhibition of protein synthesis occurred. In scleroderma cultures, the inhibition was twice as effective on collagen as on noncollagen protein synthesis. The inhibition of collagen secretion was not related either to changes in collagen hydroxylation or to the intracellular catabolism of newly synthesized procollagen

  17. Mosaic evolution of the mammalian auditory periphery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manley, Geoffrey A

    2013-01-01

    The classical mammalian auditory periphery, i.e., the type of middle ear and coiled cochlea seen in modern therian mammals, did not arise as one unit and did not arise in all mammals. It is also not the only kind of auditory periphery seen in modern mammals. This short review discusses the fact that the constituents of modern mammalian auditory peripheries arose at different times over an extremely long period of evolution (230 million years; Ma). It also attempts to answer questions as to the selective pressures that led to three-ossicle middle ears and the coiled cochlea. Mammalian middle ears arose de novo, without an intermediate, single-ossicle stage. This event was the result of changes in eating habits of ancestral animals, habits that were unrelated to hearing. The coiled cochlea arose only after 60 Ma of mammalian evolution, driven at least partly by a change in cochlear bone structure that improved impedance matching with the middle ear of that time. This change only occurred in the ancestors of therian mammals and not in other mammalian lineages. There is no single constellation of structural features of the auditory periphery that characterizes all mammals and not even all modern mammals.

  18. Proteinase-activated receptors - mediators of early and delayed normal tissue radiation responses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hauer-Jensen, M.

    2003-01-01

    Proteinase-activated receptors (PARs) are G-protein coupled receptors that are activated by proteolytic exposure of a receptor-tethered ligand. The discovery of this receptor family represents one of the most intriguing recent developments in signal transduction. PARs are involved in the regulation of many normal and pathophysiological processes, notably inflammatory and fibroproliferative responses to injury. Preclinical studies performed in our laboratory suggest that proteinase-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) plays a critical role in the mechanism of chronicity of radiation fibrosis, while proteinase-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) may mediate important fibroproliferative responses in irradiated intestine. Specifically, activation of PAR-1 by thrombin, and PAR-2 by pancreatic trypsin and mast cell proteinases, appears to be involved in acute radiation-induced inflammation, as well as in subsequent extracellular matrix deposition, leading to the development of intestinal wall fibrosis and clinical complications. Pharmacological modulators of PAR-1 or PAR-2 expression or activation would be potentially useful as preventive or therapeutic agents in patients who receive radiation therapy, especially if blockade could be targeted to specific tissues or cellular compartments

  19. Regeneration of soft tissues is promoted by MMP1 treatment after digit amputation in mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaodong Mu

    Full Text Available The ratio of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs to the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs in wounded tissues strictly control the protease activity of MMPs, and therefore regulate the progress of wound closure, tissue regeneration and scar formation. Some amphibians (i.e. axolotl/newt demonstrate complete regeneration of missing or wounded digits and even limbs; MMPs play a critical role during amphibian regeneration. Conversely, mammalian wound healing re-establishes tissue integrity, but at the expense of scar tissue formation. The differences between amphibian regeneration and mammalian wound healing can be attributed to the greater ratio of MMPs to TIMPs in amphibian tissue. Previous studies have demonstrated the ability of MMP1 to effectively promote skeletal muscle regeneration by favoring extracellular matrix (ECM remodeling to enhance cell proliferation and migration. In this study, MMP1 was administered to the digits amputated at the mid-second phalanx of adult mice to observe its effect on digit regeneration. Results indicated that the regeneration of soft tissue and the rate of wound closure were significantly improved by MMP1 administration, but the elongation of the skeletal tissue was insignificantly affected. During digit regeneration, more mutipotent progenitor cells, capillary vasculature and neuromuscular-related tissues were observed in MMP1 treated tissues; moreover, there was less fibrotic tissue formed in treated digits. In summary, MMP1 was found to be effective in promoting wound healing in amputated digits of adult mice.

  20. Effect of vanadium treatment on tissue distribution of biotrace elements in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Simultaneous analysis of V and Zn using radioactive multitracer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yasui, Hiroyuki; Takino, Toshikazu; Fugono, Jun; Sakurai, Hiromu; Hirunuma, Rieko; Enomoto, Shuichi

    2001-01-01

    Because vanadium ions such as vanadyl (VO 2+ ) and vanadate (VO 3- ) ions were demonstrated to normalize blood glucose levels of diabetic animals and patients, the action mechanism of vanadium treatment has been of interest. In this study, we focused on understanding interactions among trace elements in diabetic rats, in which a multitracer technique was used. The effects of vanadyl sulfate (VS)-treatment on the tissue distribution of trace vanadium ( 48 V) and zinc ( 65 Zn) in normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats were examined, and were evaluated in terms of the uptake ratio. The uptake ratio of both elements in tissues significantly changed between STZ-rats and those treated with VS. These results indicated that vanadium treatment in STZ-rats alters the tissue distribution of endogenous elements, suggesting the importance of the relationship between biotrace elements and pathophysiology. (author)

  1. The mammalian ovary from genesis to revelation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edson, Mark A; Nagaraja, Ankur K; Matzuk, Martin M

    2009-10-01

    Two major functions of the mammalian ovary are the production of germ cells (oocytes), which allow continuation of the species, and the generation of bioactive molecules, primarily steroids (mainly estrogens and progestins) and peptide growth factors, which are critical for ovarian function, regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, and development of secondary sex characteristics. The female germline is created during embryogenesis when the precursors of primordial germ cells differentiate from somatic lineages of the embryo and take a unique route to reach the urogenital ridge. This undifferentiated gonad will differentiate along a female pathway, and the newly formed oocytes will proliferate and subsequently enter meiosis. At this point, the oocyte has two alternative fates: die, a common destiny of millions of oocytes, or be fertilized, a fate of at most approximately 100 oocytes, depending on the species. At every step from germline development and ovary formation to oogenesis and ovarian development and differentiation, there are coordinated interactions of hundreds of proteins and small RNAs. These studies have helped reproductive biologists to understand not only the normal functioning of the ovary but also the pathophysiology and genetics of diseases such as infertility and ovarian cancer. Over the last two decades, parallel progress has been made in the assisted reproductive technology clinic including better hormonal preparations, prenatal genetic testing, and optimal oocyte and embryo analysis and cryopreservation. Clearly, we have learned much about the mammalian ovary and manipulating its most important cargo, the oocyte, since the birth of Louise Brown over 30 yr ago.

  2. The DNA damage response in mammalian oocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John eCarroll

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available DNA damage is one of the most common insults that challenge all cells. To cope, an elaborate molecular and cellular response has evolved to sense, respond to and correct the damage. This allows the maintenance of DNA fidelity essential for normal cell viability and the prevention of genomic instability that can lead to tumour formation. In the context of oocytes, the impact of DNA damage is not one of tumour formation but of the maintenance of fertility. Mammalian oocytes are particularly vulnerable to DNA damage because physiologically they may lie dormant in the ovary for many years (>40 in humans until they receive the stimulus to grow and acquire the competence to become fertilized. The implication of this is that in some organisms, such as humans, oocytes face the danger of cumulative genetic damage for decades. Thus, the ability to detect and repair DNA damage is essential to maintain the supply of oocytes necessary for reproduction. Therefore, failure to confront DNA damage in oocytes could cause serious anomalies in the embryo that may be propagated in the form of mutations to the next generation allowing the appearance of hereditary disease. Despite the potential impact of DNA damage on reproductive capacity and genetic fidelity of embryos, the mechanisms available to the oocyte for monitoring and repairing such insults have remained largely unexplored until recently. Here, we review the different aspects of the response to DNA damage in mammalian oocytes. Specifically, we address the oocyte DNA damage response from embryonic life to adulthood and throughout oocyte development.

  3. Relationship between in vitro chromosomal radiosensitivity of peripheral blood lymphocytes and the expression of normal tissue damage following radiotherapy for breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barber, J.B.P.; Burrill, W.; Spreadborough, A.R.; Levine, E.; Warren, C.; Scott, D.; Kiltie, A.E.; Roberts, S.A.

    2000-01-01

    There is a need for rapid and reliable tests for the prediction of normal tissue responses to radiotherapy, as this could lead to individualization of patient radiotherapy schedules and thus improvements in the therapeutic ratio. Because the use of cultured fibroblasts is too slow to be practicable in a clinical setting, we evaluated the predictive role of assays of lymphocyte chromosomal radiosensitivity in patients having radiotherapy for breast cancer. Radiosensitivity was assessed using a macronucleus (MN) assay at high dose rate (HDR) and low dose rate (LDR) on lymphocytes irradiated in the G 0 phase of the cell cycle (Scott D, Barber JB, Levine EL, Burril W, Roberts SA. Radiation-induced micronucleus induction in lymphocytes identifies a frequency of radiosensitive cases among breast cancer patients: a test for predisposition? Br. J. Cancer 1998;77;614-620) and an assay of G 2 phase chromatid radiosensitivity ('G 2 assay') (Scott D, Spreadborough A, Levine E, Roberts SA. Genetic predisposition in breast cancer. Lancet 1994; 344: 1444). In a study of acute reactions, blood samples were taken from breast cancer patients before the start of radiotherapy, and the skin reaction documented. 116 patients were tested with the HDR MN assay, 73 with the LDR MN assay and 123 with the G 2 assay. In a study of late reactions, samples were taken from a series of breast cancer patients 8-14 years after radiotherapy and the patients assessed for the severity of late effects according to the 'LENT SOMA' scales. 47 were tested with the HDR assay, 26 with the LDR assay and 19 with the G 2 assay. For each clinical endpoint, patients were classified as being normal reactors or 'highly radiosensitive patients' (HR patients (Burnet NG. Johansen J, Turesson I, Nyman J. Describing patients' normal tissue reactions: Concerning the possibility of individualising radiotherapy dose prescriptions based on potential predictive assays of normal tissue radiosensitivity. Int. J. Cancer 1998

  4. Enhancing the radiation response of tumors but not early or late responding normal tissues using a vascular disrupting agent

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Horsman, Michael R

    2017-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: Vascular disrupting agents (VDAs) damage tumor vasculature and enhance tumor radiation response. In this pre-clinical study, we combined radiation with the leading VDA in clinical development, combretastatin A-4 phosphate (CA4P), and compared the effects seen in tumors and relevant...... normal tissues. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Radiation was applied locally to tissues in CDF1 mice to produce full radiation dose-response curves. CA4P (250 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected within 30 minutes after irradiating. Response of 200 mm3 foot implanted C3H mammary carcinomas was assessed......% increase in ventilation rate measured by plethysmography within 9 months). A Chi-squared test was used for statistical comparisons (significance level of p 4P. The radiation...

  5. The use of laser microdissection in the identification of suitable reference genes for normalization of quantitative real-time PCR in human FFPE epithelial ovarian tissue samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Jing; Li, Tao; Huang, Bangxing; Cheng, Henghui; Ding, Hui; Dong, Weihong; Xiao, Man; Liu, Ling; Wang, Zehua

    2014-01-01

    Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) is a powerful and reproducible method of gene expression analysis in which expression levels are quantified by normalization against reference genes. Therefore, to investigate the potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for epithelial ovarian cancer by qPCR, it is critical to identify stable reference genes. In this study, twelve housekeeping genes (ACTB, GAPDH, 18S rRNA, GUSB, PPIA, PBGD, PUM1, TBP, HRPT1, RPLP0, RPL13A, and B2M) were analyzed in 50 ovarian samples from normal, benign, borderline, and malignant tissues. For reliable results, laser microdissection (LMD), an effective technique used to prepare homogeneous starting material, was utilized to precisely excise target tissues or cells. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and nonparametric (Kruskal-Wallis) tests were used to compare the expression differences. NormFinder and geNorm software were employed to further validate the suitability and stability of the candidate genes. Results showed that epithelial cells occupied a small percentage of the normal ovary indeed. The expression of ACTB, PPIA, RPL13A, RPLP0, and TBP were stable independent of the disease progression. In addition, NormFinder and geNorm identified the most stable combination (ACTB, PPIA, RPLP0, and TBP) and the relatively unstable reference gene GAPDH from the twelve commonly used housekeeping genes. Our results highlight the use of homogeneous ovarian tissues and multiple-reference normalization strategy, e.g. the combination of ACTB, PPIA, RPLP0, and TBP, for qPCR in epithelial ovarian tissues, whereas GAPDH, the most commonly used reference gene, is not recommended, especially as a single reference gene.

  6. The use of laser microdissection in the identification of suitable reference genes for normalization of quantitative real-time PCR in human FFPE epithelial ovarian tissue samples.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Cai

    Full Text Available Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR is a powerful and reproducible method of gene expression analysis in which expression levels are quantified by normalization against reference genes. Therefore, to investigate the potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for epithelial ovarian cancer by qPCR, it is critical to identify stable reference genes. In this study, twelve housekeeping genes (ACTB, GAPDH, 18S rRNA, GUSB, PPIA, PBGD, PUM1, TBP, HRPT1, RPLP0, RPL13A, and B2M were analyzed in 50 ovarian samples from normal, benign, borderline, and malignant tissues. For reliable results, laser microdissection (LMD, an effective technique used to prepare homogeneous starting material, was utilized to precisely excise target tissues or cells. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA and nonparametric (Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare the expression differences. NormFinder and geNorm software were employed to further validate the suitability and stability of the candidate genes. Results showed that epithelial cells occupied a small percentage of the normal ovary indeed. The expression of ACTB, PPIA, RPL13A, RPLP0, and TBP were stable independent of the disease progression. In addition, NormFinder and geNorm identified the most stable combination (ACTB, PPIA, RPLP0, and TBP and the relatively unstable reference gene GAPDH from the twelve commonly used housekeeping genes. Our results highlight the use of homogeneous ovarian tissues and multiple-reference normalization strategy, e.g. the combination of ACTB, PPIA, RPLP0, and TBP, for qPCR in epithelial ovarian tissues, whereas GAPDH, the most commonly used reference gene, is not recommended, especially as a single reference gene.

  7. Device-based local delivery of siRNA against mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in a murine subcutaneous implant model to inhibit fibrous encapsulation

    OpenAIRE

    Takahashi, Hironobu; Wang, Yuwei; Grainger, David W.

    2010-01-01

    Fibrous encapsulation of surgically implant devices is associated with elevated proliferation and activation of fibroblasts in tissues surrounding these implants, frequently causing foreign body complications. Here we test the hypothesis that inhibition of the expression of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in fibroblasts can mitigate the soft tissue implant foreign body response by suppressing fibrotic responses around implants. In this study, mTOR was knocked down using small interfering...

  8. Effects of adipose tissue distribution on maximum lipid oxidation rate during exercise in normal-weight women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isacco, L; Thivel, D; Duclos, M; Aucouturier, J; Boisseau, N

    2014-06-01

    Fat mass localization affects lipid metabolism differently at rest and during exercise in overweight and normal-weight subjects. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a low vs high ratio of abdominal to lower-body fat mass (index of adipose tissue distribution) on the exercise intensity (Lipox(max)) that elicits the maximum lipid oxidation rate in normal-weight women. Twenty-one normal-weight women (22.0 ± 0.6 years, 22.3 ± 0.1 kg.m(-2)) were separated into two groups of either a low or high abdominal to lower-body fat mass ratio [L-A/LB (n = 11) or H-A/LB (n = 10), respectively]. Lipox(max) and maximum lipid oxidation rate (MLOR) were determined during a submaximum incremental exercise test. Abdominal and lower-body fat mass were determined from DXA scans. The two groups did not differ in aerobic fitness, total fat mass, or total and localized fat-free mass. Lipox(max) and MLOR were significantly lower in H-A/LB vs L-A/LB women (43 ± 3% VO(2max) vs 54 ± 4% VO(2max), and 4.8 ± 0.6 mg min(-1)kg FFM(-1)vs 8.4 ± 0.9 mg min(-1)kg FFM(-1), respectively; P normal-weight women, a predominantly abdominal fat mass distribution compared with a predominantly peripheral fat mass distribution is associated with a lower capacity to maximize lipid oxidation during exercise, as evidenced by their lower Lipox(max) and MLOR. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  9. Role of H1 linker histones in mammalian development and stem cell differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Chenyi; Fan, Yuhong

    2016-03-01

    H1 linker histones are key chromatin architectural proteins facilitating the formation of higher order chromatin structures. The H1 family constitutes the most heterogeneous group of histone proteins, with eleven non-allelic H1 variants in mammals. H1 variants differ in their biochemical properties and exhibit significant sequence divergence from one another, yet most of them are highly conserved during evolution from mouse to human. H1 variants are differentially regulated during development and their cellular compositions undergo dramatic changes in embryogenesis, gametogenesis, tissue maturation and cellular differentiation. As a group, H1 histones are essential for mouse development and proper stem cell differentiation. Here we summarize our current knowledge on the expression and functions of H1 variants in mammalian development and stem cell differentiation. Their diversity, sequence conservation, complex expression and distinct functions suggest that H1s mediate chromatin reprogramming and contribute to the large variations and complexity of chromatin structure and gene expression in the mammalian genome. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Three-Dimensionally Engineered Normal Human Broncho-epithelial Tissue-Like Assemblies: Target Tissues for Human Respiratory Viral Infections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwin, T. J.; McCarthy, M.; Lin, Y-H

    2006-01-01

    In vitro three-dimensional (3D) human broncho-epithelial (HBE) tissue-like assemblies (3D HBE TLAs) from this point forward referred to as TLAs were engineered in Rotating Wall Vessel (RWV) technology to mimic the characteristics of in vivo tissues thus providing a tool to study human respiratory viruses and host cell interactions. The TLAs were bioengineered onto collagen-coated cyclodextran microcarriers using primary human mesenchymal bronchial-tracheal cells (HBTC) as the foundation matrix and an adult human bronchial epithelial immortalized cell line (BEAS-2B) as the overlying component. The resulting TLAs share significant characteristics with in vivo human respiratory epithelium including polarization, tight junctions, desmosomes, and microvilli. The presence of tissue-like differentiation markers including villin, keratins, and specific lung epithelium markers, as well as the production of tissue mucin, further confirm these TLAs differentiated into tissues functionally similar to in vivo tissues. Increasing virus titers for human respiratory syncytial virus (wtRSVA2) and parainfluenza virus type 3 (wtPIV3 JS) and the detection of membrane bound glycoproteins over time confirm productive infections with both viruses. Therefore, TLAs mimic aspects of the human respiratory epithelium and provide a unique capability to study the interactions of respiratory viruses and their primary target tissue independent of the host's immune system.

  11. Normal Tissue Complication Probability Modeling of Acute Hematologic Toxicity in Cervical Cancer Patients Treated With Chemoradiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rose, Brent S.; Aydogan, Bulent; Liang, Yun; Yeginer, Mete; Hasselle, Michael D.; Dandekar, Virag; Bafana, Rounak; Yashar, Catheryn M.; Mundt, Arno J.; Roeske, John C.; Mell, Loren K.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: To test the hypothesis that increased pelvic bone marrow (BM) irradiation is associated with increased hematologic toxicity (HT) in cervical cancer patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy and to develop a normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) model for HT. Methods and Materials: We tested associations between hematologic nadirs during chemoradiotherapy and the volume of BM receiving ≥10 and 20 Gy (V 10 and V 20 ) using a previously developed linear regression model. The validation cohort consisted of 44 cervical cancer patients treated with concurrent cisplatin and pelvic radiotherapy. Subsequently, these data were pooled with data from 37 identically treated patients from a previous study, forming a cohort of 81 patients for normal tissue complication probability analysis. Generalized linear modeling was used to test associations between hematologic nadirs and dosimetric parameters, adjusting for body mass index. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to derive optimal dosimetric planning constraints. Results: In the validation cohort, significant negative correlations were observed between white blood cell count nadir and V 10 (regression coefficient (β) = -0.060, p = 0.009) and V 20 (β = -0.044, p = 0.010). In the combined cohort, the (adjusted) β estimates for log (white blood cell) vs. V 10 and V 20 were as follows: -0.022 (p = 0.025) and -0.021 (p = 0.002), respectively. Patients with V 10 ≥ 95% were more likely to experience Grade ≥3 leukopenia (68.8% vs. 24.6%, p 20 > 76% (57.7% vs. 21.8%, p = 0.001). Conclusions: These findings support the hypothesis that HT increases with increasing pelvic BM volume irradiated. Efforts to maintain V 10 20 < 76% may reduce HT.

  12. A mammalian melanopsin in the retina of a fresh water turtle, the red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dearworth, James R; Selvarajah, Brian P; Kalman, Ross A; Lanzone, Andrew J; Goch, Abraham M; Boyd, Alison B; Goldberg, Laura A; Cooper, Lori J

    2011-01-28

    A mammalian-like melanopsin (Opn4m) has been found in all major vertebrate classes except reptile. Since the pupillary light reflex (PLR) of the fresh water turtle takes between 5 and 10 min to achieve maximum constriction, and since photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) in mammals use Opn4m to control their slow sustained pupil responses, we hypothesized that a Opn4m homolog exists in the retina of the turtle. To identify its presence, retinal tissue was dissected from seven turtles, and total RNA extracted. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCRs) were carried out to amplify gene sequences using primers targeting the highly conserved core region of Opn4m, and PCR products were analyzed by gel electrophoresis and sequenced. Sequences derived from a 1004-bp PCR product were compared to those stored in GenBank by the basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) algorithm and returned significant matches to several Opn4ms from other vertebrates including chicken. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) was also carried out to compare expression levels of Opn4m in different tissues. The normalized expression level of Opn4m in the retina was higher in comparison to other tissue types: iris, liver, lung, and skeletal muscle. The results suggest that Opn4m exists in the retina of the turtle and provides a possible explanation for the presence of a slow PLR. The turtle is likely to be a useful model for further understanding the photoreceptive mechanisms in the retina which control the dynamics of the PLR. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Functional similarities between pigeon 'milk' and mammalian milk: induction of immune gene expression and modification of the microbiota.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meagan J Gillespie

    Full Text Available Pigeon 'milk' and mammalian milk have functional similarities in terms of nutritional benefit and delivery of immunoglobulins to the young. Mammalian milk has been clearly shown to aid in the development of the immune system and microbiota of the young, but similar effects have not yet been attributed to pigeon 'milk'. Therefore, using a chicken model, we investigated the effect of pigeon 'milk' on immune gene expression in the Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue (GALT and on the composition of the caecal microbiota. Chickens fed pigeon 'milk' had a faster rate of growth and a better feed conversion ratio than control chickens. There was significantly enhanced expression of immune-related gene pathways and interferon-stimulated genes in the GALT of pigeon 'milk'-fed chickens. These pathways include the innate immune response, regulation of cytokine production and regulation of B cell activation and proliferation. The caecal microbiota of pigeon 'milk'-fed chickens was significantly more diverse than control chickens, and appears to be affected by prebiotics in pigeon 'milk', as well as being directly seeded by bacteria present in pigeon 'milk'. Our results demonstrate that pigeon 'milk' has further modes of action which make it functionally similar to mammalian milk. We hypothesise that pigeon 'lactation' and mammalian lactation evolved independently but resulted in similarly functional products.

  14. Effect of radiation and other cytotoxic agents on the growth of cells cultured from normal and tumor tissues from the female genital tract

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mothersill, C.; Seymour, C.B.; Bonnar, J.

    1990-01-01

    A technique is presented which allows the response of human gynecological tissue to radiation and cytotoxic drugs to be assessed using a tissue culture explant system. The technique is simple to use and gives results in line with those obtained for human tissues by more complex culture methods. Data are presented showing how the explant technique developed by the group for other tissues can be adapted to yield acceptable results for normal tissue response to radiation. The potential of the technique for use in predictive testing of individual tumor response is then assessed in five cases of gynecological malignancy. It is clear that variations in sensitivity to different radio- and chemotherapy agents and combinations can be detected. The results obtained require clinical validation and it is hoped that this will come over the next few years from evaluation of patient response to treatment using individually optimized, rather than empirical therapy

  15. Effects on normal tissues during radiosensitization of Dalton's Lymphoma by the DNA ligand Hoechst 33342 in Balb/c mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalra, Namita; Sampath, Swapna; Adhikari, J.S.; Dwarakanath, B.S.

    2014-01-01

    Hoechst 33342 is a bisbenzimidazole derivative with AT specific minor groove DNA binding ability. Scavenging of free radicals and stabilization of macromolecular structure resulting in reduced induction of DNA damage contributes to radioprotection afforded by the ligand. Their ability to inhibit topoisomerases I and II, which play important roles in damage response pathways including DNA repair has been shown to sensitize tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. Due to its mutagenic and clastogenic potentials, damage to vital normal tissues are a matter of concern in deploying the ligand as adjuvant in radiotherapy. Therefore, we investigated the effects of the ligand in Dalton's Lymphoma (DL) bearing Balb/c mice by studying the local tumor control and animal survival, besides damage to normal tissues like bone marrow, kidney and testis. Hoechst 33342 (10 mg/kg b wt) was administered (i.v.) 1 h before focal irradiation (10 Gy) of the tumor (∼ 500 mm 3 ) grown on the hind leg of the mice. Partial response with a growth delay of 16 days (3 x initial volume) was seen following irradiation, while a complete response (cure; tumor-free survival) was observed in 88% mice following the combined treatment (Hoechst 33342+radiation); ligand alone had no significant effect. Although the ligand induced marginal degree of chromosomal aberrations in the bone marrow, it did not enhance aberrations induced by radiation further. In testes, the proportions of diploid, haploid and hypo-haploid cells as well as resting primary spermatocytes (RPS) were not significantly altered by either. In kidney, Hoechst 33342 alone or in combination with radiation did not cause significant damage to the proximal tubules and glomeruli. These observations suggest that radiosensitization of tumor by the DNA ligand Hoechst 33342 may not be associated with enhanced toxicity to bone marrow as well as proximal normal tissues. (author)

  16. The tissue injury and repair in cancer radiotherapy. A concept of tissue architecture and radio sensitivity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsuzawa, T [Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan). Research Inst. for Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Cancer

    1975-06-01

    One of the difficulties in cancer radiotherapy arises from the fact that the tissue tolerance dose is much smaller than the tumor lethal dose. In our opinion the former depends upon the tolerance of the endothelial cell of the blood vessel in the normal tissue. In this introduction, a new concept regarding the estimation of tissue radiosensitivity was described, and the possible significance of the mode of radiation injury and the repair capability of normal tissue in the cancer radiotheraphy was discussed.

  17. Physiological significance of polyploidization in mammalian cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandit, Shusil K; Westendorp, Bart; de Bruin, Alain

    2013-11-01

    Programmed polyploidization occurs in all mammalian species during development and aging in selected tissues, but the biological properties of polyploid cells remain obscure. Spontaneous polyploidization arises during stress and has been observed in a variety of pathological conditions, such as cancer and degenerative diseases. A major challenge in the field is to test the predicted functions of polyploidization in vivo. However, recent genetic mouse models with diminished polyploidization phenotypes represent novel, powerful tools to unravel the biological function of polyploidization. Contrary to a longstanding hypothesis, polyploidization appears to not be required for differentiation and has no obvious impact on proliferation. Instead, polyploidization leads to increased cell size and genetic diversity, which could promote better adaptation to chronic injury or stress. We discuss here the consequences of reducing polyploidization in mice and review which stress responses and molecular signals trigger polyploidization during development and disease. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Effect of vanadium treatment on tissue distribution of biotrace elements in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Simultaneous analysis of V and Zn using radioactive multitracer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yasui, Hiroyuki; Takino, Toshikazu; Fugono, Jun; Sakurai, Hiromu [Department of Analytical and Bioinorganic Chemistry, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Kyoto (Japan); Hirunuma, Rieko; Enomoto, Shuichi [Radioisotope Technology Division, Cyclotron Center, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Wako, Saitama (Japan)

    2001-05-01

    Because vanadium ions such as vanadyl (VO{sup 2+}) and vanadate (VO{sup 3-}) ions were demonstrated to normalize blood glucose levels of diabetic animals and patients, the action mechanism of vanadium treatment has been of interest. In this study, we focused on understanding interactions among trace elements in diabetic rats, in which a multitracer technique was used. The effects of vanadyl sulfate (VS)-treatment on the tissue distribution of trace vanadium ({sup 48}V) and zinc ({sup 65}Zn) in normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats were examined, and were evaluated in terms of the uptake ratio. The uptake ratio of both elements in tissues significantly changed between STZ-rats and those treated with VS. These results indicated that vanadium treatment in STZ-rats alters the tissue distribution of endogenous elements, suggesting the importance of the relationship between biotrace elements and pathophysiology. (author)

  19. Association of reproductive history with breast tissue characteristics and receptor status in the normal breast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabrielson, Marike; Chiesa, Flaminia; Behmer, Catharina; Rönnow, Katarina; Czene, Kamila; Hall, Per

    2018-03-30

    Reproductive history has been associated with breast cancer risk, but more knowledge of the underlying biological mechanisms is needed. Because of limited data on normal breast tissue from healthy women, we examined associations of reproductive history and established breast cancer risk factors with breast tissue composition and markers of hormone receptors and proliferation in a nested study within the Karolinska Mammography project for risk prediction for breast cancer (Karma). Tissues from 153 women were obtained by ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy as part of the Karma project. Immunohistochemical staining was used to assessed histological composition of epithelial, stromal and adipose tissue, epithelial and stromal oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status, and Ki-67 proliferation status. An individualised reproductive score including parity, number of pregnancies without birth, number of births, age at first birth, and duration of breastfeeding, was calculated based on self-reported reproductive history at the time of the Karma study entry. All analyses were adjusted for age and BMI. Cumulated reproductive score was associated with increased total epithelial content and greater expression of epithelial ER. Parity was associated with greater epithelial area, increased epithelial-stromal ratio, greater epithelial ER expression and a lower extent of stromal proliferation. Increasing numbers of pregnancies and births were associated with a greater epithelial area in the entire study set, which remained significant among postmenopausal women. Increasing numbers of pregnancies and births were also associated with a greater expression of epithelial ER among postmenopausal women. Longer duration of breastfeeding was associated with greater epithelial area and greater expression of epithelial PR both in the entire study set and among postmenopausal women. Breastfeeding was also positively associated with greater epithelial ER expression among

  20. Homogenization of Mammalian Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Araújo, Mariana E G; Lamberti, Giorgia; Huber, Lukas A

    2015-11-02

    Homogenization is the name given to the methodological steps necessary for releasing organelles and other cellular constituents as a free suspension of intact individual components. Most homogenization procedures used for mammalian cells (e.g., cavitation pump and Dounce homogenizer) rely on mechanical force to break the plasma membrane and may be supplemented with osmotic or temperature alterations to facilitate membrane disruption. In this protocol, we describe a syringe-based homogenization method that does not require specialized equipment, is easy to handle, and gives reproducible results. The method may be adapted for cells that require hypotonic shock before homogenization. We routinely use it as part of our workflow to isolate endocytic organelles from mammalian cells. © 2015 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

  1. Differentiating fibroadenoma and ductal carcinoma in situ from normal breast tissue by multiphoton microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nie, Yuting; Wu, Yan; Lian, Yuane; Fu, Fangmeng; Wang, Chuan; Chen, Jianxin

    2014-09-01

    Fibroadenoma (FA) is the most common benign tumor of the female breast and several studies have reported that women with it have increased risk of breast cancer. While the ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a very early form of breast cancer. Thus, early detections of FA and DCIS are critical for improving breast tumor outcome and survival. In this paper, we use multiphoton microscopy (MPM) to obtain the high-contrast images of fresh, unfixed, unstained human breast specimens (normal breast tissue, FA and DCIS). Our results show that MPM has the ability to identify the characteristics of FA and DCIS including changes of duct architecture and collagen morphology. These results are consistent with the histological results. With the advancement of MPM, the technique has potential ability to serve as a real-time noninvasive imaging tool for early detection of breast tumor.

  2. Mosaic serine proteases in the mammalian central nervous system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitsui, Shinichi; Watanabe, Yoshihisa; Yamaguchi, Tatsuyuki; Yamaguchi, Nozomi

    2008-01-01

    We review the structure and function of three kinds of mosaic serine proteases expressed in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Mosaic serine proteases have several domains in the proenzyme fragment, which modulate proteolytic function, and a protease domain at the C-terminus. Spinesin/TMPRSS5 is a transmembrane serine protease whose presynaptic distribution on motor neurons in the spinal cord suggests that it is significant for neuronal plasticity. Cell type-specific alternative splicing gives this protease diverse functions by modulating its intracellular localization. Motopsin/PRSS12 is a mosaic protease, and loss of its function causes mental retardation. Recent reports indicate the significance of this protease for cognitive function. We mention the fibrinolytic protease, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which has physiological and pathological functions in the CNS.

  3. Major and c-series gangliosides in lenticular tissues: mammals to molluscs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, M; Sugiyama, K

    2001-10-01

    Gangliosides of eye lenses were examined in mammals (rat, rabbits, pig, cow), bird (chicken), reptile (terrapin), amphibian (bullfrog), bony fish (red sea bream, bluefin tuna, bonito, Pacific mackerel) and molluscs (common squid, Pacific octopus). Besides the fact that GM3 was the common ganglioside species, the composition of major gangliosides in mammalian eye lenses significantly differed from each other. While gangliotetraose gangliosides were abundant in rat eye lens, they did not constitute major components in porcine and bovine tissues. The c-series ganglioside GT3 was expressed in rat eye lenses but were practically absent in other mammalian tissues. The composition of major gangliosides in eye lenses of lower animals varied from species to species, whereas c-series gangliosides were consistently expressed, showing similar compositional profiles. Our results demonstrate the species-specific compositions of lenticular gangliosides. Evidence was also provided suggesting that eye lenses of common squid (Todarodes pacificus) and Pacific octopus (Octopus vulgaris) express gangliosides including gangliotetraose species and c-series gangliosides.

  4. Ectopic expression of Msx2 in mammalian myotubes recapitulates aspects of amphibian muscle dedifferentiation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atilgan Yilmaz

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available In contrast to urodele amphibians and teleost fish, mammals lack the regenerative responses to replace large body parts. Amphibian and fish regeneration uses dedifferentiation, i.e., reversal of differentiated state, as a means to produce progenitor cells to eventually replace damaged tissues. Therefore, induced activation of dedifferentiation responses in mammalian tissues holds an immense promise for regenerative medicine. Here we demonstrate that ectopic expression of Msx2 in cultured mouse myotubes recapitulates several aspects of amphibian muscle dedifferentiation. We found that MSX2, but not MSX1, leads to cellularization of myotubes and downregulates the expression of myotube markers, such as MHC, MRF4 and myogenin. RNA sequencing of myotubes ectopically expressing Msx2 showed downregulation of over 500 myotube-enriched transcripts and upregulation of over 300 myoblast-enriched transcripts. MSX2 selectively downregulated expression of Ptgs2 and Ptger4, two members of the prostaglandin pathway with important roles in myoblast fusion during muscle differentiation. Ectopic expression of Msx2, as well as Msx1, induced partial cell cycle re-entry of myotubes by upregulating CyclinD1 expression but failed to initiate S-phase. Finally, MSX2-induced dedifferentiation in mouse myotubes could be recapitulated by a pharmacological treatment with trichostatin A (TSA, bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4 and fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1. Together, these observations indicate that MSX2 is a major driver of dedifferentiation in mammalian muscle cells.

  5. Mouse genetic approaches applied to the normal tissue radiation response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haston, Christina K.

    2012-01-01

    The varying responses of inbred mouse models to radiation exposure present a unique opportunity to dissect the genetic basis of radiation sensitivity and tissue injury. Such studies are complementary to human association studies as they permit both the analysis of clinical features of disease, and of specific variants associated with its presentation, in a controlled environment. Herein I review how animal models are studied to identify specific genetic variants influencing predisposition to radiation-induced traits. Among these radiation-induced responses are documented strain differences in repair of DNA damage and in extent of tissue injury (in the lung, skin, and intestine) which form the base for genetic investigations. For example, radiation-induced DNA damage is consistently greater in tissues from BALB/cJ mice, than the levels in C57BL/6J mice, suggesting there may be an inherent DNA damage level per strain. Regarding tissue injury, strain specific inflammatory and fibrotic phenotypes have been documented for principally, C57BL/6 C3H and A/J mice but a correlation among responses such that knowledge of the radiation injury in one tissue informs of the response in another is not evident. Strategies to identify genetic differences contributing to a trait based on inbred strain differences, which include linkage analysis and the evaluation of recombinant congenic (RC) strains, are presented, with a focus on the lung response to irradiation which is the only radiation-induced tissue injury mapped to date. Such approaches are needed to reveal genetic differences in susceptibility to radiation injury, and also to provide a context for the effects of specific genetic variation uncovered in anticipated clinical association studies. In summary, mouse models can be studied to uncover heritable variation predisposing to specific radiation responses, and such variations may point to pathways of importance to phenotype development in the clinic.

  6. SU-E-T-630: Predictive Modeling of Mortality, Tumor Control, and Normal Tissue Complications After Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lindsay, WD; Berlind, CG; Gee, JC; Simone, CB

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: While rates of local control have been well characterized after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), less data are available characterizing survival and normal tissue toxicities, and no validated models exist assessing these parameters after SBRT. We evaluate the reliability of various machine learning techniques when applied to radiation oncology datasets to create predictive models of mortality, tumor control, and normal tissue complications. Methods: A dataset of 204 consecutive patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) at the University of Pennsylvania between 2009 and 2013 was used to create predictive models of tumor control, normal tissue complications, and mortality in this IRB-approved study. Nearly 200 data fields of detailed patient- and tumor-specific information, radiotherapy dosimetric measurements, and clinical outcomes data were collected. Predictive models were created for local tumor control, 1- and 3-year overall survival, and nodal failure using 60% of the data (leaving the remainder as a test set). After applying feature selection and dimensionality reduction, nonlinear support vector classification was applied to the resulting features. Models were evaluated for accuracy and area under ROC curve on the 81-patient test set. Results: Models for common events in the dataset (such as mortality at one year) had the highest predictive power (AUC = .67, p < 0.05). For rare occurrences such as radiation pneumonitis and local failure (each occurring in less than 10% of patients), too few events were present to create reliable models. Conclusion: Although this study demonstrates the validity of predictive analytics using information extracted from patient medical records and can most reliably predict for survival after SBRT, larger sample sizes are needed to develop predictive models for normal tissue toxicities and more advanced

  7. SU-E-T-630: Predictive Modeling of Mortality, Tumor Control, and Normal Tissue Complications After Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lindsay, WD [University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Oncora Medical, LLC, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Berlind, CG [Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (Georgia); Oncora Medical, LLC, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Gee, JC; Simone, CB [University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: While rates of local control have been well characterized after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), less data are available characterizing survival and normal tissue toxicities, and no validated models exist assessing these parameters after SBRT. We evaluate the reliability of various machine learning techniques when applied to radiation oncology datasets to create predictive models of mortality, tumor control, and normal tissue complications. Methods: A dataset of 204 consecutive patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) at the University of Pennsylvania between 2009 and 2013 was used to create predictive models of tumor control, normal tissue complications, and mortality in this IRB-approved study. Nearly 200 data fields of detailed patient- and tumor-specific information, radiotherapy dosimetric measurements, and clinical outcomes data were collected. Predictive models were created for local tumor control, 1- and 3-year overall survival, and nodal failure using 60% of the data (leaving the remainder as a test set). After applying feature selection and dimensionality reduction, nonlinear support vector classification was applied to the resulting features. Models were evaluated for accuracy and area under ROC curve on the 81-patient test set. Results: Models for common events in the dataset (such as mortality at one year) had the highest predictive power (AUC = .67, p < 0.05). For rare occurrences such as radiation pneumonitis and local failure (each occurring in less than 10% of patients), too few events were present to create reliable models. Conclusion: Although this study demonstrates the validity of predictive analytics using information extracted from patient medical records and can most reliably predict for survival after SBRT, larger sample sizes are needed to develop predictive models for normal tissue toxicities and more advanced

  8. Normal morphogenesis of epithelial tissues and progression of epithelial tumors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chun-Chao; Jamal, Leen; Janes, Kevin A.

    2011-01-01

    Epithelial cells organize into various tissue architectures that largely maintain their structure throughout the life of an organism. For decades, the morphogenesis of epithelial tissues has fascinated scientists at the interface of cell, developmental, and molecular biology. Systems biology offers ways to combine knowledge from these disciplines by building integrative models that are quantitative and predictive. Can such models be useful for gaining a deeper understanding of epithelial morphogenesis? Here, we take inventory of some recurring themes in epithelial morphogenesis that systems approaches could strive to capture. Predictive understanding of morphogenesis at the systems level would prove especially valuable for diseases such as cancer, where epithelial tissue architecture is profoundly disrupted. PMID:21898857

  9. Evolutionary patterns of RNA-based duplication in non-mammalian chordates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming Chen

    Full Text Available The role of RNA-based duplication, or retroposition, in the evolution of new gene functions in mammals, plants, and Drosophila has been widely reported. However, little is known about RNA-based duplication in non-mammalian chordates. In this study, we screened ten non-mammalian chordate genomes for retrocopies and investigated their evolutionary patterns. We identified numerous retrocopies in these species. Examination of the age distribution of these retrocopies revealed no burst of young retrocopies in ancient chordate species. Upon comparing these non-mammalian chordate species to the mammalian species, we observed that a larger fraction of the non-mammalian retrocopies was under strong evolutionary constraints than mammalian retrocopies are, as evidenced by signals of purifying selection and expression profiles. For the Western clawed frog, Medaka, and Sea squirt, many retrogenes have evolved gonad and brain expression patterns, similar to what was observed in human. Testing of retrogene movement in the Medaka genome, where the nascent sex chrosomes have been well assembled, did not reveal any significant gene movement. Taken together, our analyses demonstrate that RNA-based duplication generates many functional genes and can make a significant contribution to the evolution of non-mammalian genomes.

  10. Modulation of the tissue regenerative process in fish by ß-glucans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Michael Engelbrecht; Jiménez, Natalia Ivonne Vera; Przybylska, Dominika Alicja

    the importance of fibroblasts, macrophages, reactive oxygen species (especially hydrogen peroxide) and certain cytokines during wound healing processes. In fish however, only a few studies have been devoted tissue regeneration and modulation of cell proliferation during wound healing, even though mechanical...... the immune response towards pathogen eradication or tissue repair....... but not in animals. are commonly used as immune modulators, but the mechanisms through which the modulation is achieved remains to be understood. Wound healing and tissue regeneration are essential mechanisms to ensure the survival and health of any organism. Studies from the mammalian systems have shown...

  11. Eps8 regulates hair bundle length and functional maturation of mammalian auditory hair cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valeria Zampini

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Hair cells of the mammalian cochlea are specialized for the dynamic coding of sound stimuli. The transduction of sound waves into electrical signals depends upon mechanosensitive hair bundles that project from the cell's apical surface. Each stereocilium within a hair bundle is composed of uniformly polarized and tightly packed actin filaments. Several stereociliary proteins have been shown to be associated with hair bundle development and function and are known to cause deafness in mice and humans when mutated. The growth of the stereociliar actin core is dynamically regulated at the actin filament barbed ends in the stereociliary tip. We show that Eps8, a protein with actin binding, bundling, and barbed-end capping activities in other systems, is a novel component of the hair bundle. Eps8 is localized predominantly at the tip of the stereocilia and is essential for their normal elongation and function. Moreover, we have found that Eps8 knockout mice are profoundly deaf and that IHCs, but not OHCs, fail to mature into fully functional sensory receptors. We propose that Eps8 directly regulates stereocilia growth in hair cells and also plays a crucial role in the physiological maturation of mammalian cochlear IHCs. Together, our results indicate that Eps8 is critical in coordinating the development and functionality of mammalian auditory hair cells.

  12. Eps8 regulates hair bundle length and functional maturation of mammalian auditory hair cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zampini, Valeria; Rüttiger, Lukas; Johnson, Stuart L; Franz, Christoph; Furness, David N; Waldhaus, Jörg; Xiong, Hao; Hackney, Carole M; Holley, Matthew C; Offenhauser, Nina; Di Fiore, Pier Paolo; Knipper, Marlies; Masetto, Sergio; Marcotti, Walter

    2011-04-01

    Hair cells of the mammalian cochlea are specialized for the dynamic coding of sound stimuli. The transduction of sound waves into electrical signals depends upon mechanosensitive hair bundles that project from the cell's apical surface. Each stereocilium within a hair bundle is composed of uniformly polarized and tightly packed actin filaments. Several stereociliary proteins have been shown to be associated with hair bundle development and function and are known to cause deafness in mice and humans when mutated. The growth of the stereociliar actin core is dynamically regulated at the actin filament barbed ends in the stereociliary tip. We show that Eps8, a protein with actin binding, bundling, and barbed-end capping activities in other systems, is a novel component of the hair bundle. Eps8 is localized predominantly at the tip of the stereocilia and is essential for their normal elongation and function. Moreover, we have found that Eps8 knockout mice are profoundly deaf and that IHCs, but not OHCs, fail to mature into fully functional sensory receptors. We propose that Eps8 directly regulates stereocilia growth in hair cells and also plays a crucial role in the physiological maturation of mammalian cochlear IHCs. Together, our results indicate that Eps8 is critical in coordinating the development and functionality of mammalian auditory hair cells.

  13. Mammalian diversity: gametes, embryos and reproduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behringer, Richard R; Eakin, Guy S; Renfree, Marilyn B

    2006-01-01

    The class Mammalia is composed of approximately 4800 extant species. These mammalian species are divided into three subclasses that include the monotremes, marsupials and eutherians. Monotremes are remarkable because these mammals are born from eggs laid outside of the mother's body. Marsupial mammals have relatively short gestation periods and give birth to highly altricial young that continue a significant amount of 'fetal' development after birth, supported by a highly sophisticated lactation. Less than 10% of mammalian species are monotremes or marsupials, so the great majority of mammals are grouped into the subclass Eutheria, including mouse and human. Mammals exhibit great variety in morphology, physiology and reproduction. In the present article, we highlight some of this remarkable diversity relative to the mouse, one of the most widely used mammalian model organisms, and human. This diversity creates challenges and opportunities for gamete and embryo collection, culture and transfer technologies.

  14. Mesozoic mammals from Arizona: new evidence on Mammalian evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenkins, F A; Crompton, A W; Downs, W R

    1983-12-16

    Knowledge of early mammalian evolution has been based on Old World Late Triassic-Early Jurassic faunas. The discovery of mammalian fossils of approximately equivalent age in the Kayenta Formation of northeastern Arizona gives evidence of greater diversity than known previously. A new taxon documents the development of an angular region of the jaw as a neomorphic process, and represents an intermediate stage in the origin of mammalian jaw musculature.

  15. Collagen as potential cell scaffolds for tissue engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Annuar, N; Spier, R E

    2004-05-01

    Selections of collagen available commercially were tested for their biocompatibility as scaffold to promote cell growth in vitro via simple collagen fast test and cultivation of mammalian cells on the selected type of collagen. It was found that collagen type C9791 promotes the highest degree of aggregation as well as cells growth. This preliminary study also indicated potential use of collagen as scaffold in engineered tissue.

  16. Iso-effect tables for tolerance of irradiated normal human tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cohen, L.; Creditor, M.

    1983-01-01

    Available literature on a radiation injury to human tissues (lung, brain, kidney and intestine) was surveyed. A parameter search program (RAD3) was used to derive best-fitting cell kinetic parameters, on the assumption that radiation injury arises from depletion of parenchymal cells in the irradiated organs. From these parameters iso-effect tables were constructed for a wide range of treatment schedules, including daily treatment as well as fractionation at longer intervals, for each tissue. The tables provide a set of limiting doses, above which the risk of radiation injury becomes substantial. Tolerance limits and dose-time-factors were substantially different in the four tissues. It is concluded that computed iso-effect tables provide a more reliable guide to treatment than conventional time-dose equations

  17. Laser flow microphotometry for rapid analysis and sorting of mammalian cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mullaney, P.F.; Steinkamp, J.A.; Crissman, H.A.; Cram, L.S.; Crowell, J.M.; Salzman, G.C.; Martin, J.C.; Price, B.

    1976-01-01

    Quantitative precision measurements can be made of the optical properties of individual mammalian cells using flow microphotometry. Suspended cells pass through a special flow chamber where they are lined up for exposure to blue light from an argon-ion laser. As each cell crosses the laser beam, it produces one or more optical pulses of a duration equal to cell transit time across the beam. These pulses are detected, amplified, and analyzed using the techniques of gamma ray spectroscopy. Quantitative DNA distributions made it possible to distinguish tumor cells from normal cells as well as to assay for radiation effects on tumor cells subjected to x and gamma radiation

  18. Radiobiological Determination of Dose Escalation and Normal Tissue Toxicity in Definitive Chemoradiation Therapy for Esophageal Cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Warren, Samantha, E-mail: Samantha.warren@oncology.ox.ac.uk [Department of Oncology, Gray Institute of Radiation Oncology and Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford (United Kingdom); Partridge, Mike [Department of Oncology, Gray Institute of Radiation Oncology and Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford (United Kingdom); Carrington, Rhys [Velindre Cancer Centre, Velindre Hospital, Cardiff (United Kingdom); Hurt, Chris [Wales Cancer Trials Unit, School of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff (United Kingdom); Crosby, Thomas [Velindre Cancer Centre, Velindre Hospital, Cardiff (United Kingdom); Hawkins, Maria A. [Department of Oncology, Gray Institute of Radiation Oncology and Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford (United Kingdom)

    2014-10-01

    Purpose: This study investigated the trade-off in tumor coverage and organ-at-risk sparing when applying dose escalation for concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CRT) of mid-esophageal cancer, using radiobiological modeling to estimate local control and normal tissue toxicity. Methods and Materials: Twenty-one patients with mid-esophageal cancer were selected from the SCOPE1 database (International Standard Randomised Controlled Trials number 47718479), with a mean planning target volume (PTV) of 327 cm{sup 3}. A boost volume, PTV2 (GTV + 0.5 cm margin), was created. Radiobiological modeling of tumor control probability (TCP) estimated the dose required for a clinically significant (+20%) increase in local control as 62.5 Gy/25 fractions. A RapidArc (RA) plan with a simultaneously integrated boost (SIB) to PTV2 (RA{sub 62.5}) was compared to a standard dose plan of 50 Gy/25 fractions (RA{sub 50}). Dose-volume metrics and estimates of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) for heart and lungs were compared. Results: Clinically acceptable dose escalation was feasible for 16 of 21 patients, with significant gains (>18%) in tumor control from 38.2% (RA{sub 50}) to 56.3% (RA{sub 62.5}), and only a small increase in predicted toxicity: median heart NTCP 4.4% (RA{sub 50}) versus 5.6% (RA{sub 62.5}) P<.001 and median lung NTCP 6.5% (RA{sub 50}) versus 7.5% (RA{sub 62.5}) P<.001. Conclusions: Dose escalation to the GTV to improve local control is possible when overlap between PTV and organ-at-risk (<8% heart volume and <2.5% lung volume overlap for this study) generates only negligible increase in lung or heart toxicity. These predictions from radiobiological modeling should be tested in future clinical trials.

  19. The application of Silver nanoparticle based SERS in diagnosing thyroid tissue

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang Zufang; Chen Rong; Chen Guannan; Lin Duo; Xi Gangqin; Chen Yongjian; Lin Hongxin; Lei Jinping [Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Science and Technology for Medicine, Ministry of Education, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007 (China); Li Zuanfang, E-mail: chenr@fjnu.edu.cn [Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou 350108 (China)

    2011-01-01

    Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is proved to be a powerful analytical tool for investigation of biological tissue. In this study, SERS based on Ag nanoparticles was used to investigate the normal and cancerous thyroid tissue. Preliminary results indicated that Raman peaks and the spectra profile from both normal and cancerous tissues showed a basic similarity, obvious differences are that, first, Raman peaks 563cm{sup -1}, 1449cm{sup -1} and 1587cm{sup -1} in cancerous tissue decreased obviously compared with the normal thyroid tissue. Besides, Raman peaks 1004cm{sup -1} and 1128cm{sup -1} might be specific peaks for normal thyroid tissue, whereas 1294cm{sup -1} might attribute to specific peak for cancerous thyroid tissue. In addition, some peaks in normal thyroid tissue appeared to have shifted in cancerous tissue. Intensity ratio of 656cm{sup -1} vs. 725cm{sup -1} in normal tissue are significantly different from cancerous tissue (P<0.005), and it can be a reference for spectroscopic diagnostics of thyroid tissue. This study demonstrates that SERS can be used to monitor the changes at molecular level as well as a complementary tool in thyroid histopathology.

  20. TU-F-12A-09: GLCM Texture Analysis for Normal-Tissue Toxicity: A Prospective Ultrasound Study of Acute Toxicity in Breast-Cancer Radiotherapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, T; Yang, X; Curran, W; Torres, M [Department of Radiation Oncology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA (United States)

    2014-06-15

    Purpose: To evaluate the morphologic and structural integrity of the breast glands using sonographic textural analysis, and identify potential early imaging signatures for radiation toxicity following breast-cancer radiotherapy (RT). Methods: Thirty-eight patients receiving breast RT participated in a prospective ultrasound imaging study. Each participant received 3 ultrasound scans: 1 week before RT (baseline), and at 6-week and 3-month follow-ups. Patients were imaged with a 10-MHz ultrasound on the four quadrant of the breast. A second order statistical method of texture analysis, called gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), was employed to assess RT-induced breast-tissue toxicity. The region of interest (ROI) was 28 mm × 10 mm in size at a 10 mm depth under the skin. Twenty GLCM sonographic features, ratios of the irradiated breast and the contralateral breast, were used to quantify breast-tissue toxicity. Clinical assessment of acute toxicity was conducted using the RTOG toxicity scheme. Results: Ninety-seven ultrasound studies (776 images) were analyzed; and 5 out of 20 sonographic features showed significant differences (p < 0.05) among the baseline scans, the acute toxicity grade 1 and 2 groups. These sonographic features quantified the degree of tissue damage through homogeneity, heterogeneity, randomness, and symmetry. Energy ratio value decreased from 108±0.05 (normal) to 0.99±0.05 (Grade 1) and 0.84±0.04 (Grade 2); Entropy ratio value increased from 1.01±0.01 to 1.02±0.01 and 1.04±0.01; Contrast ratio value increased from 1.03±0.03 to 1.07±0.06 and 1.21±0.09; Variance ratio value increased from 1.06±0.03 to 1.20±0.04 and 1.42±0.10; Cluster Prominence ratio value increased from 0.98±0.02 to 1.01±0.04 and 1.25±0.07. Conclusion: This work has demonstrated that the sonographic features may serve as imaging signatures to assess radiation-induced normal tissue damage. While these findings need to be validated in a larger cohort, they suggest

  1. Normal tissue complication probability modeling of radiation-induced hypothyroidism after head-and-neck radiation therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakhshandeh, Mohsen; Hashemi, Bijan; Mahdavi, Seied Rabi Mehdi; Nikoofar, Alireza; Vasheghani, Maryam; Kazemnejad, Anoshirvan

    2013-02-01

    To determine the dose-response relationship of the thyroid for radiation-induced hypothyroidism in head-and-neck radiation therapy, according to 6 normal tissue complication probability models, and to find the best-fit parameters of the models. Sixty-five patients treated with primary or postoperative radiation therapy for various cancers in the head-and-neck region were prospectively evaluated. Patient serum samples (tri-iodothyronine, thyroxine, thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH], free tri-iodothyronine, and free thyroxine) were measured before and at regular time intervals until 1 year after the completion of radiation therapy. Dose-volume histograms (DVHs) of the patients' thyroid gland were derived from their computed tomography (CT)-based treatment planning data. Hypothyroidism was defined as increased TSH (subclinical hypothyroidism) or increased TSH in combination with decreased free thyroxine and thyroxine (clinical hypothyroidism). Thyroid DVHs were converted to 2 Gy/fraction equivalent doses using the linear-quadratic formula with α/β = 3 Gy. The evaluated models included the following: Lyman with the DVH reduced to the equivalent uniform dose (EUD), known as LEUD; Logit-EUD; mean dose; relative seriality; individual critical volume; and population critical volume models. The parameters of the models were obtained by fitting the patients' data using a maximum likelihood analysis method. The goodness of fit of the models was determined by the 2-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Ranking of the models was made according to Akaike's information criterion. Twenty-nine patients (44.6%) experienced hypothyroidism. None of the models was rejected according to the evaluation of the goodness of fit. The mean dose model was ranked as the best model on the basis of its Akaike's information criterion value. The D(50) estimated from the models was approximately 44 Gy. The implemented normal tissue complication probability models showed a parallel architecture for the

  2. Normal Tissue Complication Probability Modeling of Radiation-Induced Hypothyroidism After Head-and-Neck Radiation Therapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bakhshandeh, Mohsen [Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Hashemi, Bijan, E-mail: bhashemi@modares.ac.ir [Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Mahdavi, Seied Rabi Mehdi [Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Nikoofar, Alireza; Vasheghani, Maryam [Department of Radiation Oncology, Hafte-Tir Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Kazemnejad, Anoshirvan [Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2013-02-01

    Purpose: To determine the dose-response relationship of the thyroid for radiation-induced hypothyroidism in head-and-neck radiation therapy, according to 6 normal tissue complication probability models, and to find the best-fit parameters of the models. Methods and Materials: Sixty-five patients treated with primary or postoperative radiation therapy for various cancers in the head-and-neck region were prospectively evaluated. Patient serum samples (tri-iodothyronine, thyroxine, thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH], free tri-iodothyronine, and free thyroxine) were measured before and at regular time intervals until 1 year after the completion of radiation therapy. Dose-volume histograms (DVHs) of the patients' thyroid gland were derived from their computed tomography (CT)-based treatment planning data. Hypothyroidism was defined as increased TSH (subclinical hypothyroidism) or increased TSH in combination with decreased free thyroxine and thyroxine (clinical hypothyroidism). Thyroid DVHs were converted to 2 Gy/fraction equivalent doses using the linear-quadratic formula with {alpha}/{beta} = 3 Gy. The evaluated models included the following: Lyman with the DVH reduced to the equivalent uniform dose (EUD), known as LEUD; Logit-EUD; mean dose; relative seriality; individual critical volume; and population critical volume models. The parameters of the models were obtained by fitting the patients' data using a maximum likelihood analysis method. The goodness of fit of the models was determined by the 2-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Ranking of the models was made according to Akaike's information criterion. Results: Twenty-nine patients (44.6%) experienced hypothyroidism. None of the models was rejected according to the evaluation of the goodness of fit. The mean dose model was ranked as the best model on the basis of its Akaike's information criterion value. The D{sub 50} estimated from the models was approximately 44 Gy. Conclusions: The implemented

  3. Preservation of Multiple Mammalian Tissues to Maximize Science Return from Ground Based and Spaceflight Experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Sungshin; Ray, Hami E; Lai, San-Huei; Alwood, Joshua S; Globus, Ruth K

    2016-01-01

    Even with recent scientific advancements, challenges posed by limited resources and capabilities at the time of sample dissection continue to limit the collection of high quality tissues from experiments that can be conducted only infrequently and at high cost, such as in space. The resources and time it takes to harvest tissues post-euthanasia, and the methods and duration of long duration storage, potentially have negative impacts on sample quantity and quality, thereby limiting the scientific outcome that can be achieved. The goals of this study were to optimize methods for both sample recovery and science return from rodent experiments, with possible relevance to both ground based and spaceflight studies. The first objective was to determine the impacts of tissue harvest time post-euthanasia, preservation methods, and storage duration, focusing on RNA quality and enzyme activities in liver and spleen as indices of sample quality. The second objective was to develop methods that will maximize science return by dissecting multiple tissues after long duration storage in situ at -80°C. Tissues of C57Bl/6J mice were dissected and preserved at various time points post-euthanasia and stored at -80°C for up to 11 months. In some experiments, tissues were recovered from frozen carcasses which had been stored at -80°C up to 7 months. RNA quantity and quality was assessed by measuring RNA Integrity Number (RIN) values using an Agilent Bioanalyzer. Additionally, the quality of tissues was assessed by measuring activities of hepatic enzymes (catalase, glutathione reductase and GAPDH). Fresh tissues were collected up to one hour post-euthanasia, and stored up to 11 months at -80°C, with minimal adverse effects on the RNA quality of either livers or RNAlater-preserved spleens. Liver enzyme activities were similar to those of positive controls, with no significant effect observed at any time point. Tissues dissected from frozen carcasses that had been stored for up to 7

  4. Repair of traumatized mammalian hair cells via sea anemone repair proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Pei-Ciao; Smith, Karen Müller; Watson, Glen M

    2016-08-01

    Mammalian hair cells possess only a limited ability to repair damage after trauma. In contrast, sea anemones show a marked capability to repair damaged hair bundles by means of secreted repair proteins (RPs). Previously, it was found that recovery of traumatized hair cells in blind cavefish was enhanced by anemone-derived RPs; therefore, the ability of anemone RPs to assist recovery of damaged hair cells in mammals was tested here. After a 1 h incubation in RP-enriched culture media, uptake of FM1-43 by experimentally traumatized murine cochlear hair cells was restored to levels comparable to those exhibited by healthy controls. In addition, RP-treated explants had significantly more normally structured hair bundles than time-matched traumatized control explants. Collectively, these results indicate that anemone-derived RPs assist in restoring normal function and structure of experimentally traumatized hair cells of the mouse cochlea. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  5. Influence of ornithine decarboxylase antizymes and antizyme inhibitors on agmatine uptake by mammalian cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos-Molina, Bruno; López-Contreras, Andrés J; Lambertos, Ana; Dardonville, Christophe; Cremades, Asunción; Peñafiel, Rafael

    2015-05-01

    Agmatine (4-aminobutylguanidine), a dicationic molecule at physiological pH, exerts relevant modulatory actions at many different molecular target sites in mammalian cells, having been suggested that the administration of this compound may have therapeutic interest. Several plasma membrane transporters have been implicated in agmatine uptake by mammalian cells. Here we report that in kidney-derived COS-7 cell line, at physiological agmatine levels, the general polyamine transporter participates in the plasma membrane translocation of agmatine, with an apparent Km of 44 ± 7 µM and Vmax of 17.3 ± 3.3 nmol h(-1) mg(-1) protein, but that at elevated concentrations, agmatine can be also taken up by other transport systems. In the first case, the physiological polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine), several diguanidines and bis(2-aminoimidazolines) and the polyamine transport inhibitor AMXT-1501 markedly decreased agmatine uptake. In cells transfected with any of the three ornithine decarboxylase antizymes (AZ1, AZ2 and AZ3), agmatine uptake was dramatically reduced. On the contrary, transfection with antizyme inhibitors (AZIN1 and AZIN2) markedly increased the transport of agmatine. Furthermore, whereas putrescine uptake was significantly decreased in cells transfected with ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the accumulation of agmatine was stimulated, suggesting a trans-activating effect of intracellular putrescine on agmatine uptake. All these results indicate that ODC and its regulatory proteins (antizymes and antizyme inhibitors) may influence agmatine homeostasis in mammalian tissues.

  6. THE GERMLINE STEM CELL NICHE UNIT IN MAMMALIAN TESTES

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oatley, Jon M.; Brinster, Ralph L.

    2014-01-01

    This review addresses current understanding of the germline stem cell niche unit in mammalian testes. Spermatogenesis is a classic model of tissue-specific stem cell function relying on self-renewal and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). These fate decisions are influenced by a niche microenvironment composed of a growth factor milieu that is provided by several testis somatic support cell populations. Investigations over the last two decades have identified key determinants of the SSC niche including cytokines that regulate SSC functions and support cells providing these factors, adhesion molecules that influence SSC homing, and developmental heterogeneity of the niche during postnatal aging. Emerging evidence suggests that Sertoli cells are a key support cell population influencing the formation and function of niches by secreting soluble factors and possibly orchestrating contributions of other support cells. Investigations with mice have shown that niche influence on SSC proliferation differs during early postnatal development and adulthood. Moreover, there is mounting evidence of an age-related decline in niche function, which is likely influenced by systemic factors. Defining the attributes of stem cell niches is key to developing methods to utilize these cells for regenerative medicine. The SSC population and associated niche comprise a valuable model system for study that provides fundamental knowledge about the biology of tissue-specific stem cells and their capacity to sustain homeostasis of regenerating tissue lineages. While the stem cell is essential for maintenance of all self-renewing tissues and has received considerable attention, the role of niche cells is at least as important and may prove to be more receptive to modification in regenerative medicine. PMID:22535892

  7. The 57Fe hyperfine interactions in iron storage proteins in liver and spleen tissues from normal human and two patients with mantle cell lymphoma and acute myeloid leukemia: a Mössbauer effect study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oshtrakh, M. I.; Alenkina, I. V.; Vinogradov, A. V.; Konstantinova, T. S.; Semionkin, V. A.

    2015-01-01

    Study of human spleen and liver tissues from healthy persons and two patients with mantle cell lymphoma and acute myeloid leukemia was carried out using Mössbauer spectroscopy with a high velocity resolution. Small variations in the 57 Fe hyperfine parameters for normal and patient’s tissues were detected and related to small variations in the 57 Fe local microenvironment in ferrihydrite cores. The differences in the relative parts of more crystalline and more amorphous core regions were also supposed for iron storage proteins in normal and patients’ spleen and liver tissues

  8. The 57Fe hyperfine interactions in iron storage proteins in liver and spleen tissues from normal human and two patients with mantle cell lymphoma and acute myeloid leukemia: a Mössbauer effect study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oshtrakh, M. I.; Alenkina, I. V.; Vinogradov, A. V.; Konstantinova, T. S.; Semionkin, V. A.

    2015-04-01

    Study of human spleen and liver tissues from healthy persons and two patients with mantle cell lymphoma and acute myeloid leukemia was carried out using Mössbauer spectroscopy with a high velocity resolution. Small variations in the 57Fe hyperfine parameters for normal and patient's tissues were detected and related to small variations in the 57Fe local microenvironment in ferrihydrite cores. The differences in the relative parts of more crystalline and more amorphous core regions were also supposed for iron storage proteins in normal and patients' spleen and liver tissues.

  9. Niche-independent symmetrical self-renewal of a mammalian tissue stem cell.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciano Conti

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available Pluripotent mouse embryonic stem (ES cells multiply in simple monoculture by symmetrical divisions. In vivo, however, stem cells are generally thought to depend on specialised cellular microenvironments and to undergo predominantly asymmetric divisions. Ex vivo expansion of pure populations of tissue stem cells has proven elusive. Neural progenitor cells are propagated in combination with differentiating progeny in floating clusters called neurospheres. The proportion of stem cells in neurospheres is low, however, and they cannot be directly observed or interrogated. Here we demonstrate that the complex neurosphere environment is dispensable for stem cell maintenance, and that the combination of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2 and epidermal growth factor (EGF is sufficient for derivation and continuous expansion by symmetrical division of pure cultures of neural stem (NS cells. NS cells were derived first from mouse ES cells. Neural lineage induction was followed by growth factor addition in basal culture media. In the presence of only EGF and FGF-2, resulting NS cells proliferate continuously, are diploid, and clonogenic. After prolonged expansion, they remain able to differentiate efficiently into neurons and astrocytes in vitro and upon transplantation into the adult brain. Colonies generated from single NS cells all produce neurons upon growth factor withdrawal. NS cells uniformly express morphological, cell biological, and molecular features of radial glia, developmental precursors of neurons and glia. Consistent with this profile, adherent NS cell lines can readily be established from foetal mouse brain. Similar NS cells can be generated from human ES cells and human foetal brain. The extrinsic factors EGF plus FGF-2 are sufficient to sustain pure symmetrical self-renewing divisions of NS cells. The resultant cultures constitute the first known example of tissue-specific stem cells that can be propagated without accompanying

  10. HDR monotherapy for prostate cancer: A simulation study to determine the effect of catheter displacement on target coverage and normal tissue irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolkman-Deurloo, Inger-Karine K.; Roos, Martin A.; Aluwini, Shafak

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this study was to systematically analyse the effect of catheter displacements both on target coverage and normal tissue irradiation in fractionated high dose rate (HDR) prostate brachytherapy, using a simulation study, and to define tolerances for catheter displacement ensuring that both target coverage and normal tissue doses remain clinically acceptable. Besides the effect of total implant displacement, also displacements of catheters belonging to selected template rows only were evaluated in terms of target coverage and normal tissue dose, in order to analyse the change in dose distribution as a function of catheter dwell weight and catheter location. Material and methods: Five representative implant geometries, with 17 catheters each, were selected. The clinical treatment plan was compared to treatment plans in which an entire implant displacement in caudal direction over 3, 5, 7 and 10 mm was simulated. Besides, treatment plans were simulated considering a displacement of either the central, most ventral or most dorsal catheter rows only, over 5 mm caudally. Results: Due to displacement of the entire implant the target coverage drops below the tolerance of 93% for all displacements studied. The effect of displacement of the entire implant on organs at risk strongly depended on the patient anatomy; e.g., for 80% of the implant geometries the V 80 of the rectum exceeded its tolerance for all displacements. The effect of displacement of catheters belonging to selected template rows depended strongly on the relative weight of each catheter row when considering the target coverage and on its location when considering the dose in the organs at risk. Conclusion: This study supports the need for a check of the catheter locations before each fraction and correction of deviations of the catheter position exceeding 3 mm.

  11. Expression and proteasomal degradation of the major vault protein (MVP) in mammalian oocytes and zygotes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutovsky, Peter; Manandhar, Gaurishankar; Laurincik, Jozef; Letko, Juraj; Caamaño, Jose Nestor; Day, Billy N; Lai, Liangxue; Prather, Randall S; Sharpe-Timms, Kathy L; Zimmer, Randall; Sutovsky, Miriam

    2005-03-01

    Major vault protein (MVP), also called lung resistance-related protein is a ribonucleoprotein comprising a major part (>70%) of the vault particle. The function of vault particle is not known, although it appears to be involved in multi-drug resistance and cellular signaling. Here we show that MVP is expressed in mammalian, porcine, and human ova and in the porcine preimplantation embryo. MVP was identified by matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) peptide sequencing and Western blotting as a protein accumulating in porcine zygotes cultured in the presence of specific proteasomal inhibitor MG132. MVP also accumulated in poor-quality human oocytes donated by infertile couples and porcine embryos that failed to develop normally after in vitro fertilization or somatic cell nuclear transfer. Normal porcine oocytes and embryos at various stages of preimplantation development showed mostly cytoplasmic labeling, with increased accumulation of vault particles around large cytoplasmic lipid inclusions and membrane vesicles. Occasionally, MVP was associated with the nuclear envelope and nucleolus precursor bodies. Nucleotide sequences with a high degree of homology to human MVP gene sequence were identified in porcine oocyte and endometrial cell cDNA libraries. We interpret these data as the evidence for the expression and ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent turnover of MVP in the mammalian ovum. Similar to carcinoma cells, MVP could fulfill a cell-protecting function during early embryonic development.

  12. An Analytical Study of Mammalian Bite Wounds Requiring Inpatient Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Young-Geun Lee

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundMammalian bite injuries create a public health problem because of their frequency, potential severity, and increasing number. Some researchers have performed fragmentary analyses of bite wounds caused by certain mammalian species. However, little practical information is available concerning serious mammalian bite wounds that require hospitalization and intensive wound management. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to perform a general review of serious mammalian bite wounds.MethodsWe performed a retrospective review of the medical charts of 68 patients who were referred to our plastic surgery department for the treatment of bite wounds between January 2003 and October 2012. The cases were analyzed according to the species, patient demographics, environmental factors, injury characteristics, and clinical course.ResultsAmong the 68 cases of mammalian bite injury, 58 (85% were caused by dogs, 8 by humans, and 2 by cats. Most of those bitten by a human and both of those bitten by cats were male. Only one-third of all the patients were children or adolescents. The most frequent site of injury was the face, with 40 cases, followed by the hand, with 16 cases. Of the 68 patients, 7 were treated with secondary intention healing. Sixty-one patients underwent delayed procedures, including delayed direct closure, skin graft, composite graft, and local flap.ConclusionsBased on overall findings from our review of the 68 cases of mammalian bites, we suggest practical guidelines for the management of mammalian bite injuries, which could be useful in the treatment of serious mammalian bite wounds.

  13. Organotypic three-dimensional culture model of mesenchymal and epithelial cells to examine tissue fusion events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tissue fusion during early mammalian development requires coordination of multiple cell types, the extracellular matrix, and complex signaling pathways. Fusion events during processes including heart development, neural tube closure, and palatal fusion are dependent on signaling ...

  14. A Comparative Evaluation of Normal Tissue Doses for Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma on the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study and Recent Children's Oncology Group Trials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Rachel; Ng, Angela; Constine, Louis S.; Stovall, Marilyn; Armstrong, Gregory T.; Neglia, Joseph P.; Friedman, Debra L.; Kelly, Kara; FitzGerald, Thomas J.; Hodgson, David C.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Survivors of pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) are recognized to have an increased risk of delayed adverse health outcomes related to radiation therapy (RT). However, the necessary latency required to observe these late effects means that the estimated risks apply to outdated treatments. We sought to compare the normal tissue dose received by children treated for HL and enrolled in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) (diagnosed 1970-1986) with that of patients treated in recent Children's Oncology Group (COG) trials (enrolled 2002-2012). Methods and Materials: RT planning data were obtained for 50 HL survivors randomly sampled from the CCSS cohort and applied to computed tomography planning data sets to reconstruct the normal tissue dosimetry. For comparison, the normal tissue dosimetry data were obtained for all 191 patients with full computed tomography–based volumetric RT planning on COG protocols AHOD0031 and AHOD0831. Results: For early-stage patients, the mean female breast dose in the COG patients was on average 83.5% lower than that for CCSS patients, with an absolute reduction of 15.5 Gy. For advanced-stage patients, the mean breast dose was decreased on average by 70% (11.6 Gy average absolute dose reduction). The mean heart dose decreased on average by 22.9 Gy (68.6%) and 17.6 Gy (56.8%) for early- and advanced-stage patients, respectively. All dose comparisons for breast, heart, lung, and thyroid were significantly lower for patients in the COG trials than for the CCSS participants. Reductions in the prescribed dose were a major contributor to these dose reductions. Conclusions: These are the first data quantifying the significant reduction in the normal tissue dose using actual, rather than hypothetical, treatment plans for children with HL. These findings provide useful information when counseling families regarding the risks of contemporary RT.

  15. Intensity modulated radiotherapy and 3D conformal radiotherapy for whole breast irradiation: a comparative dosimetric study and introduction of a novel qualitative index for plan evaluation, the normal tissue index

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yim, Jackie; Suttie, Clare; Bromley, Regina; Morgia, Marita; Lamoury, Gillian [Department of Radiation Oncology, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, New South Wales (Australia)

    2015-09-15

    We report on a retrospective dosimetric study, comparing 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and hybrid intensity modulated radiotherapy (hIMRT). We evaluated plans based on their planning target volume coverage, dose homogeneity, dose to organs at risk (OARs) and exposure of normal tissue to radiation. The Homogeneity Index (HI) was used to assess the dose homogeneity in the target region, and we describe a new index, the normal tissue index (NTI), to assess the dose in the normal tissue inside the tangent treatment portal. Plans were generated for 25 early-stage breast cancer patients, using a hIMRT technique. These were compared with the 3DCRT plans of the treatment previously received by the patients. Plan quality was evaluated using the HI, NTI and dose to OARs. The hIMRT technique was significantly more homogenous than the 3DCRT technique, while maintaining target coverage. The hIMRT technique was also superior at minimising the amount of tissue receiving D{sub 105%} and above (P < 0.0001). The ipsilateral lung and contralateral breast maximum were significantly lower in the hIMRT plans (P < 0.05 and P < 0.005), but the 3DCRT technique achieved a lower mean heart dose in left-sided breast cancer patients (P < 0.05). Hybrid intensity modulated radiotherapy plans achieved improved dose homogeneity compared to the 3DCRT plans and superior outcome with regard to dose to normal tissues. We propose that the addition of both HI and NTI in evaluating the quality of intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) breast plans provides clinically relevant comparators which more accurately reflect the new paradigm of treatment goals and outcomes in the era of breast IMRT.

  16. Intensity modulated radiotherapy and 3D conformal radiotherapy for whole breast irradiation: a comparative dosimetric study and introduction of a novel qualitative index for plan evaluation, the normal tissue index

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yim, Jackie; Suttie, Clare; Bromley, Regina; Morgia, Marita; Lamoury, Gillian

    2015-01-01

    We report on a retrospective dosimetric study, comparing 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and hybrid intensity modulated radiotherapy (hIMRT). We evaluated plans based on their planning target volume coverage, dose homogeneity, dose to organs at risk (OARs) and exposure of normal tissue to radiation. The Homogeneity Index (HI) was used to assess the dose homogeneity in the target region, and we describe a new index, the normal tissue index (NTI), to assess the dose in the normal tissue inside the tangent treatment portal. Plans were generated for 25 early-stage breast cancer patients, using a hIMRT technique. These were compared with the 3DCRT plans of the treatment previously received by the patients. Plan quality was evaluated using the HI, NTI and dose to OARs. The hIMRT technique was significantly more homogenous than the 3DCRT technique, while maintaining target coverage. The hIMRT technique was also superior at minimising the amount of tissue receiving D 105% and above (P < 0.0001). The ipsilateral lung and contralateral breast maximum were significantly lower in the hIMRT plans (P < 0.05 and P < 0.005), but the 3DCRT technique achieved a lower mean heart dose in left-sided breast cancer patients (P < 0.05). Hybrid intensity modulated radiotherapy plans achieved improved dose homogeneity compared to the 3DCRT plans and superior outcome with regard to dose to normal tissues. We propose that the addition of both HI and NTI in evaluating the quality of intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) breast plans provides clinically relevant comparators which more accurately reflect the new paradigm of treatment goals and outcomes in the era of breast IMRT

  17. Identification and quantification of selected chemicals in laser pyrolysis products of mammalian tissues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spleiss, Martin; Weber, Lothar W.; Meier, Thomas H.; Treffler, Bernd

    1995-01-01

    Liver and muscle tissue have been irradiated with a surgical CO2-laser. The prefiltered fumes were adsorbed on different sorbents (activated charcoal type NIOSH and Carbotrap) and desorbed with different solvents (carbondisulphide and acetone). Analysis was done by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. An updated list of identified substances is shown. Typical Maillard reaction products as found in warmed over flavour as aldehydes, aromatics, heterocyclic and sulphur compounds were detected. Quantification of some toxicological relevant substances is presented. The amounts of these substances are given in relation to the laser parameters and different tissues for further toxicological assessment.

  18. Surgical manipulation of mammalian embryos in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naruse, I; Keino, H; Taniguchi, M

    1997-04-01

    Whole-embryo culture systems are useful in the fields of not only embryology but also teratology, toxicology, pharmacology, and physiology. Of the many advantages of whole-embryo culture, we focus here on the surgical manipulation of mammalian embryos. Whole-embryo culture allows us to manipulate mammalian embryos, similarly to fish, amphibian and avian embryos. Many surgical experiments have been performed in mammalian embryos in vitro. Such surgical manipulation alters the destiny of morphogenesis of the embryos and can answer many questions concerning developmental issues. As an example of surgical manipulation using whole-embryo culture systems, one of our experiments is described. Microsurgical electrocauterization of the deep preaxial mesodermal programmed cell death zone (fpp) in the footplate prevented the manifestation of polydactyly in genetic polydactyly mouse embryos (Pdn/Pdn), in which fpp was abolished.

  19. Atypical locations of retropharyngeal abscess: beware of the normal lateral soft tissue neck X-ray.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Uzomefuna, Vincent

    2012-02-01

    Retropharyngeal abscesses (RPA) are uncommon but potentially lethal deep neck space infections, over 95% of which occur in children under six years of age. Without a high index of suspicion, early recognition and prompt intervention, catastrophic consequences can ensue, and mortality can be as high as 60% if jugular vein thrombosis or mediastinitis occurs. While older children may have specific complaints referable to the pharynx, infants and young children may present with vague symptoms. To date, a lot of emphasis continues to be placed on the importance of lateral soft tissue neck X-ray in the diagnosis and management of patients with suspected retropharyngeal abscesses; and lateral neck X-ray has been cited as the most useful radiological view of the laryngopharynx. While we recognise the role of lateral neck X-rays in retropharyngeal and other upper airway pathologies, we present three case series in which lateral neck X-rays were normal and diagnosis was made only after CT scanning. These three cases were unusual as the abscesses were located high in the naso-pharynx making them impossible to detect on the lateral soft tissue neck X-rays and this underscores the need for high index of suspicion and prompt CT or MRI scanning, in any child with symptoms or signs suggestive of a possible retropharyngeal abscess.

  20. A preclinical study on the rescue of normal tissue by nicotinic acid in high-dose treatment with APO866, a specific nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase inhibitor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olesen, Uffe Høgh; Thougaard, Annemette V; Jensen, Peter Buhl

    2010-01-01

    Inhibitor of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase APO866 is a promising cancer drug currently in phase II clinical trials in oncology. Here, we present a strategy for increasing the therapeutic potential of APO866 through the rescue of normal tissues by coadministration of nicotinic acid (Vitam...