The change in serum laminin (LN) level and its clinical significance in epithelial ovarian tumor were investigated. The LN levels in serum and ascites samples from 69 patients with epithelial ovarian tumor and 42 cases as control group before and after operation were analyzed by radioimmunoassay. The results showed that the serum LN levels in the patients with malignant tumors (157.85 +/- 14.37 ng/ml) were significantly higher than that in the control group (125.14 +/- 7.03 ng/ml) and in the patients with benign tumors (128.36 +/- 8.75 ng/ml) (both P < 0.01) before operation. The serum LN levels in the malignant group were decreased significantly after operation as compared with those before operation (P < 0.05). The serum LN levels in low-differentiated tumors was higher than those in moderate-differentiated tumors and high-differentiated tumors (P < 0.05). The LN levels in ascites (172.94 +/- 15.26 ng/ml) was significantly higher than in serum (161.34 +/- 6.59 ng/ml) (P < 0.05) in malignant tumors. The serum LN levels in the patients with lymph node metastasis (165.41 +/- 19.91 ng/ml) was obviously higher than those without lymph node metastasis (152.35 +/- 10.34 ng/ml) (P < 0.05). It was concluded that LN levels in serum and acistis were remarkably increased in malignant epithelial ovarian tumors, suggesting that LN might be one of important diameters reflecting tumor biological characteristics.
Ascitic Fluid/*metabolism ; Carcinoma/blood ; Carcinoma/metabolism ; Laminin/*blood ; Laminin/metabolism ; Ovarian Neoplasms/*metabolism ; Tumor Markers, Biological/*blood ; Tumor Markers, Biological/metabolism

miRNAs are important post-transcriptional regulators. The aberrant expression of miRNAs is strongly associated with the initiation and progression of pathophysiologic processes in a wide range of human diseases. Scleroderma (systemic sclerosis; SSc) is a highly heterogeneous autoimmune disease that includes the progressive fibrotic replacement of normal tissue architecture in multiple organs. Our previous studies have suggested that SSc skin tissues display a different miRNA expression signature than that found in normal controls. miRNAs with pro- or antifibrotic properties are found to be dysregulated in SSc skin fibrosis. Serum miRNA levels are associated with SSc activity and severity. miRNAs have the potential to be therapeutic targets and serve as biomarkers for SSc diagnosis and assessment of disease state and severity. This review summarizes the SSc miRNA expression signature and the roles of dysregulation of miRNAs in SSc tissues and serum and examines the future therapeutic potential of targeting miRNAs in the management of SSc patients.
Animals ; Biological Markers/metabolism ; Fibrosis/etiology/metabolism ; Humans ; MicroRNAs/*genetics/metabolism ; Scleroderma, Systemic/diagnosis/etiology/genetics/*metabolism

No abstract availble.
Gastritis, Atrophic/*genetics/metabolism ; *Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Intestines/metabolism/*pathology ; Metaplasia/genetics/metabolism ; *Microarray Analysis ; Tumor Markers, Biological/metabolism

No abstract availble.
Biological Markers/blood ; Cytokines/*blood ; Humans ; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/*metabolism ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome/*metabolism ; Pituitary-Adrenal System/*metabolism

PURPOSE: The dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) gene family exhibits multiple functions and is involved in the pathogenesis of various diseases. It has attracted pharmaceutical interest in the areas of metabolic disorders as well as cancer. However, clinicopathologic significance of DPPIV family in colorectal cancer is not fully understood. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The clinical relevance of DPPIV and DPP10 expression was determined by immunohistochemical staining, and by assessing its clinicopathologic correlation in 383 colorectal cancer patients with known clinical outcomes. RESULTS: DPPIV was not expressed in normal colon mucosa, but it showed luminal expression in 52 of the 383 colorectal cancers (13.5%). DPPIV expression in tumors was associated with right-sided location of the colon (p=0.010) and more advanced tumor stage (p=0.045). DPP10 was expressed in normal colonic mucosa, but its expression varied in primary colorectal cancer tissues. Loss of DPP10 expression was found in 11 colorectal cancers (CRCs) (2.9%), and multivariate analysis showed that loss of DPP10 expression was an independent factor for poor patient prognosis (p=0.008). CONCLUSION: DPP10 may play a role in disease progression of colorectal cancer and loss of DPP10 expression in primary CRC is significantly associated with poor survival outcomes.
Colorectal Neoplasms/*metabolism/*pathology ; Dipeptidyl-Peptidases and Tripeptidyl-Peptidases/*metabolism ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Prognosis ; Tumor Markers, Biological/*metabolism

Survivin variants specific real time quantitative RT-PCR was developed to analyze their expression in 53 paired cancer and para-cancerous tissues, and the expression of the wild-type survivin protein was detected by immunohistochemistry. The results showed that survivin mRNA and protein were expressed in gastric cancer and para-cancerous tissues. The survivin-2B was dominantly expressed in para-cancerous tissues, whereas the survivin-DeltaEx3 was more frequently detected in cancer tissues. The positive rate of survivin-2a was 100% in both cancer and para-cancerous tissues, but its relative transcript expression level was not significantly increased in cancer tissues in comparison with para-cancerous tissues. The correlation analysis revealed that the expression of survivin-2a mRNA was significantly associated with that of total survivin (r (s)=0.4178, P=0.0018), whereas inversely to that of survivin-DeltaEX3 (r (s)=-0.4506, P=0.0007). It was suggested that survivin-2a may act as an antagonist of survivin-DeltaEX3. The balance between antiapoptotic survivin iso-forms and nonantiapoptotic ones may play an important role in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Promising value is hinted to analyze survivin and its variants in tumor early diagnosis and distinguishing malignant tumors from benign ones.
Microtubule-Associated Proteins/genetics ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins/*metabolism ; Protein Isoforms/genetics ; Protein Isoforms/metabolism ; RNA, Messenger/genetics ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms/*metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms/pathology ; Tumor Cells, Cultured ; Tumor Markers, Biological/genetics ; Tumor Markers, Biological/*metabolism

The expression of survivin, a member of inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family, was examined in bladder transitional cell cancer (BTCC) tissue and adjacent normal tissues to examine its clinical implication in the development of BTCC. Thirty specimens of bladder cancer were detected for the expression of survivin by using immunohistochemistry and real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-QPCR) in BTCC tissue and adjacent normal tissues. Our results showed that the positive rate of survivin immunostaining specimen were 0 and 60% (18/30) in the adjacent normal tissues, bladder cancer, respectively. The-DeltaDeltaCT value of survivin in bladder cancer tissue was 10.2829 (9.0034-11.5624) times that in the adjacent normal tissues. The expressions of survivin were correlated with the pathological grades of tumor and clinical stages. It is concluded that there was only weak expression of survivin mRNA in the adjacent normal tissues, but the expression of survivin mRNA in bladder cancer tissue was much higher than that in the adjacent normal tissues and the expression of survivin was correlated with pathological grades and clinical stages of tumor.
*Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/metabolism ; *Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/pathology ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins/genetics ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins/*metabolism ; Prognosis ; RNA, Messenger/genetics ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism ; Tumor Markers, Biological/genetics ; Tumor Markers, Biological/*metabolism ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/*metabolism ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/*pathology

OBJECTIVES: Malondialdehyde (MDA), a lipid peroxidation by-product, has been widely used as an indicator of oxidative stress. Urinary 2-naphthol, a urinary PAH metabolite, is used as a marker of ambient particulate exposure and is associated with lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, the stability and intra-individual variation associated with urinary MDA and 2-naphthol have not been thoroughly addressed. The objective of this study was to assess the stability and intraindividual variation associated with urinary MDA and 2-naphthol. METHODS: Urine samples were collected from 10 healthy volunteers (mean age 34, range 27~42 years old). Each sample was divided into three aliquots and stored under three different conditions. The levels of urinary MDA and 2-naphthol were analyzed 1) just after sampling, 2) after storage at room temperature (21degrees C) for 16 hours, and 3) after storage in a -20degrees C freezer for 16 hours. In addition, an epidemiological study was conducted in 44 Chinese subjects over a period of 3 weeks. The urinary MDA and 2-naphthol were measured by HPLC three times. RESULTS: There was no difference in the levels of urinary MDA and 2-naphthol between the triplicate measurements (n=10, p=0.84 and p=0.83, respectively). The intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) for urinary MDA and 2-naphthol were 0.74 and 0.42, respectively. However, the levels of PM2.5 in the air were well correlated with the levels of both MDA and 2-naphthol in the epidemiological study. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that urinary MDA and 2-naphthol remain stable under variable storage conditions, even at room temperature for 16 hours, and indicate that these markers can be used in epidemiological studies involving various sample storage conditions. The intra-CC of urinary 2-naphthol and MDA were acceptable for application to epidemiological studies.
Adult ; Biological Markers ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Malondialdehyde/*metabolism/*urine ; Middle Aged ; Naphthols/*metabolism/*urine ; Oxidative Stress/physiology ; Reproducibility of Results

Aural cholesteatoma is characterized by invading squamous epithelia with altered growth properties. Cytokeratin (CK) expression is affected in epidermal proliferative diseases and represents the alterations of keratinocyte proliferation, differentiation, and migration. In the present study, the intensity of CK immuno-expression was determined, using densitometry at various sites in experimental cholesteatoma in order to characterize changes of keratinocytes. With cholesteatoma formation, CK4, a marker for non-keratinizing epithelia, increased in the suprabasal layers of the annular external auditory canal (EAC) and at the pars tensa indicating an altered differentiation and migration of keratinocytes. CK5/6, a marker of keratinizing squamous epithelium, increased only at the pars tensa of the tympanic membrane, indicating basal keratinocyte hyperplasia. CK1/10 increased in the suprabasal layer at the annular EAC, and at the peripheral pars tensa, indicating increased terminal differentiation of keratinocytes. CK13/16, markers of differentiation and hyperproliferation, increased in suprabasal layer of the EAC, and at the peripheral pars tensa. However, it decreased in the basal layer of the EAC, indicating hyperproliferation and migration of keratinocytes. The findings of this study support the basal cell hyperplasia hypotheses for the pathogenesis of aural cholesteatoma, with regard to hyperproliferation, migration, and an altered differentiation of keratinocytes.
Animals ; Biological Markers ; Cell Division ; Cell Movement ; Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear/*metabolism/*pathology ; Densitometry ; Gerbillinae ; Keratinocytes/metabolism/pathology ; Keratins/*biosynthesis

Diagnostic utility of E-cadherin (E-CD) and cytokeratin (CK) subtype profiling in effusion cytology was investigated, employing immunocytochemistry on cellblock sections available from 211 metastatic carcinomas (MC), 6 mesotheliomas and 73 reactive mesothelial hyperplasias (MH). E-CD and monoclonal carcinoembryonic anti-gen (mCEA) stained 85% (120/141) and 65% (138/211) of MC, respectively. E-CD staining of MC was frequently heterogeneous (76/120) and absent in all anaplastic carcinomas (0/2). E-CD stained none (0/57) of MH while mCEA and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) stained 12% (9/73) and 32% (16/32) of MH, respectively. Of 6 mesotheliomas, E-CD focally stained in 2 while mCEA stained none and EMA stained all. CK20 and CK17 stained none of MH or mesotheliomas. CK20 stained 15% of MC and CK 17 stained 22% of MC. CK5/6 and high molecular weight CK stained all mesotheliomas, 56% and 88% of MH, 26% and 39% of MC, respectively. MC showed predominant CK7+/20-expression, with the exceptions of MC from mucinous type of colon/rectum and ovary showing predominant CK20 positive. E-CD may be a useful positive marker for MC in effusion cytology, although it may focally stain in some mesotheliomas. Any positive staining for CK20 of MC suggests MC from the gastrointestinal tract or ovary among others.
Cadherins/*metabolism ; Carcinoma/diagnosis/*metabolism/*secondary ; Comparative Study ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Epithelium/*metabolism/*pathology ; Humans ; Hyperplasia/metabolism ; Immunohistochemistry/methods ; Keratin/*metabolism ; Mesothelioma/diagnosis/*metabolism ; Tumor Markers, Biological/*metabolism