Anatomical variations of pancreatic head and uncinate process are rarely encountered in clinical practice. These variations are primarily attributed to the complex development of the pancreas. An unduly enlarged uncinate process of the pancreas overlapping the third part of duodenum was discovered during dissection. This malformation of the pancreatic uncinate process was considered to be due to excessive fusion between the ventral and dorsal buds during embryonic development. On further dissection, an avascular pancreatico-duodenal fold guarding the pancreatico-duodenal recess was observed. The enlarged uncinate process can cause compression of neurovascular structures and also cause compression of adjoining viscera. The pancreatico-duodenal recess becomes a potential site for internal herniation. This case is of particular interest to the gastroenterologists and surgeons performing surgical resections. Precise knowledge of embryogenesis of such pancreatic anomalies is necessary for understanding and thus treating many diseases of the pancreas.
Duodenum ; Embryonic Development ; Female ; Head ; Hypertrophy ; Pancreas* ; Pregnancy ; Viscera

PURPOSE: The DNA methylation mediated by specific DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs), results in the epigenetic silencing of multiple genes which are implicated in human breast cancer. We hypothesized that the natural compounds modulate the expression of DNMTs and their associated proteins in the breast cancer cell lines and affect the methylation mediated gene silencing. METHODS: The DNMTs transcript expression was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the tumors and the adjacent normal breast tissues of the patients with invasive ductal breast carcinoma. We tested the hypothesis that the natural compounds, viz., epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), genistein, withaferin A, curcumin, resveratrol, and guggulsterone, have demethylation potential. To investigate this hypothesis, we analyzed the DNMTs expression at the transcript levels, followed by the analysis of DNMT1 and its associated proteins (HDAC1, MeCP2, and MBD2). RESULTS: The increased DNMTs transcripts expression, viz., DNMT1, DNMT3a, and DNMT3b, in the breast cancer tissues suggest involvement of the DNMTs in the breast carcinogenesis. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the treatment with natural compounds, viz., EGCG, genistein, withaferin A, curcumin, resveratrol, and guggulsterone, resulted in a significant decrease in the transcript levels of all the DNMTs investigated. Importantly, these natural compounds decreased the protein levels of DNMT1, HDAC1, and MeCP2. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that the natural compounds, EGCG, genistein, withaferin A, curcumin, resveratrol, and guggulsterone, have the potential to reverse the epigenetic changes. Moreover, their lack of toxicity makes these natural compounds promising candidates for the chemoprevention of the breast cancer. In-depth future mechanistic studies aimed to elucidate how these compounds affect the gene transcription are warranted.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Catechin ; Cell Line ; Chemoprevention ; Curcumin ; DNA ; DNA Methylation ; Epigenomics ; Genistein ; Humans ; Methylation ; Methyltransferases ; Pregnenediones ; Proteins ; Stilbenes ; Withanolides