No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Interleukin-6* ; Kidney Transplantation* ; Kidney*

PURPOSE: Tamoxifen has been well known as an effective anti-tumor agent against breast cancer. The important role of bcl-2 and p53 proteins in tamoxifen-induced apoptosis of breast cancer cells has been suggested. However, the paradoxical fact that bcl-2 over-expression is assdegrees Ciated with better prognosis in clinic has not yet been clearly explained. To investigate this paradox, we analyzed the effect and dynamics of bcl-2 and p53 on the apoptosis after treatment of breast cancer cells with tamoxifen. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MB MDA-468 were treated with 17-betaestradiol (E2) and tamoxifen. RESULTS: Following tamoxifen treatment, MCF-7 cells underwent apoptosis accompanied by reduced bcl-2 expression. E2 pre-treatment led to the inhibition of tamoxifen-mediated apoptosis and bcl-2 down-regulation. When MB MDA-468 cells were treated with E2 or tamoxifen, bcl-2 and p53 protein expression did not change and apoptosis did not develop. CONCLUSION: We observed that the down-regulation of bcl-2 by tamoxifen treatment can facilitate the apoptosis of breast cancer cells without p53 mutations. This finding was consistent with clinical experiences in which bcl-2 positive tumors were assdegrees Ciated with more indolent phenotypes in breast cancer.
Apoptosis* ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Cell Line* ; Down-Regulation ; Humans* ; MCF-7 Cells ; Phenotype ; Prognosis ; Tamoxifen

PURPOSE: Vasoproliferative tumor of the retina (VPTR) is a histologically benign lesion that can lead to visual loss due to associated complications. Herein, the authors report the clinical presentation, treatment, and prognosis of 3 VPTR cases. CASE SUMMARY: Three eyes of 3 patients with VPTR were enrolled in the present study. The patients' fundoscopic feature showed characteristic elevated lesions of the peripheral retina without previous history of ocular disease. The patients included 2 males and 1 female, with an average age of 44.7 years. Fluorescein angiography (FAG) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) were helpful in establishing the diagnosis of VPTR. Additionally, 1 patient underwent ultrasonography and 2 patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). During the follow-up period, subtenon triamcinolone acetonide injection was performed for 1 patient with macular edema, and cryotherapy was performed for 1 patient with increased peripheral exudation. CONCLUSIONS: For an adequate diagnosis of VPTR, careful examination of the peripheral retina is important. In addition, FAG/ICGA and ultrasonography can be helpful in VPTR diagnosis. Furthermore, proper treatment according to each subset of complication during the follow-up period is recommended.
Angiography ; Cryotherapy ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Indocyanine Green ; Macular Edema ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Prognosis ; Retina* ; Triamcinolone Acetonide ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: Prognosis of primary gastric cancer invading neighboring organs is very poor. However, with en bloc resection, a relatively favorable prognosis can be expected even in patients with such advanced cancer. But there has been controversy on the effectiveness of gastrectomy combined with en bloc resection of the invaded organs, and we conducted this study to evaluate the prognostic effects as well as the outcome of the combined resection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Among 2,603 who underwent gastrectomy due to gastric carcinoma from January 1987 to December 1994 at the Department of Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 157 patients (6.0%) in whom curative combined resections of grossly invaded adjacent organs (cT4) were perfonned entered this study. Any case with distant metastasis was excluded. Comparisons and multivariate analysis between the invasion (pT3) group and the non-invasion (pT4) group were made for age, sex, tumor size, location, Borrmann type, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, histologic type and 5-year survival rate. RESULTS: One-organ combined resection was done in 60 (38.2%) patients; Two-organ, in 80 (51.0%) patients; and three-organ, in 17 (10.8%) patients. Most commonly combined organ was distal pancreas and transverse colon was the next. Histologic confirmation of invasion was made in 40.9%. 157 patients with T4 were divided into pT3 or pT4. Significant differences were found in type of operation, location of tumor, and TNM staging. Postoperative complications of combined resection were observed in 48 cases (30.6%) and the wound infection was the most frequent one. There were only 2 cases (1.3%) of immediate postoperative mortality in the combined group, and the causes of death were pulmonary complication and acute renal failure. Five-year survival rate (5-YSR) of pT3 group was 43.0% and that of pT4 was 26.2%. In comparison of 5-YSR according to TNM stages, no significant difference was found between pT3 and pT4 (45.0% vs. 66.7% in IIIa; 25.4% vs. 18.4% in IV). No difference of 5-YSR was observed in the groups categorized according to the number of resected organs. The comparison of 5-YSR between the 157 curatively-combined cases and the 63 palliatively-combined cases showed a significant difference (35.6% vs. 4.2%, p=0.000). Multivariate analysis showed that lymph node metastasis and microscopic tumor invasion served as significant parametets. CONCLUSION: En bloc combined resection of adjacent invaded organs along with systematic lymph node dissection would be beneficial to gastric cancer patients with neighboring organ invasion.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Cause of Death ; Colon, Transverse ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Mortality ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Staging ; Pancreas ; Postoperative Complications ; Prognosis ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate ; Wound Infection

No abstract available.
Animals ; Macrophages ; Macrophages, Peritoneal* ; Mice* ; Signal Transduction*

PURPOSE: Periodontal ligament (PDL) cell differentiation into osteoblasts is important in bone formation. Bone formation is a complex biological process and involves several tightly regulated gene expression patterns of bone-related proteins. The expression patterns of bone related proteins are regulated in a temporal manner both in vivo and in vitro. The aim of this study was to observe the gene expression profile in PDL cell proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization in vitro. METHODS: PDL cells were grown until confluence, which were then designated as day 0, and nodule formation was induced by the addition of 50 microg/mL ascorbic acid, 10 mM beta-glycerophosphate, and 100 nM dexamethasone to the medium. The dishes were stained with Alizarin Red S on days 1, 7, 14, and 21. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed for the detection of various genes on days 0, 1, 7, 14, and 21. RESULTS: On day 0 with a confluent monolayer, in the active proliferative stage, c-myc gene expression was observed at its maximal level. On day 7 with a multilayer, alkaline phosphatase, bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2, and BMP-4 gene expression had increased and this was followed by maximal expression of osteocalcin on day 14 with the initiation of nodule mineralization. In relationship to apoptosis, c-fos gene expression peaked on day 21 and was characterized by the post-mineralization stage. Here, various genes were regulated in a temporal manner during PDL fibroblast proliferation, extracellular matrix maturation, and mineralization. The gene expression pattern was similar. CONCLUSIONS: We can speculate that the gene expression pattern occurs during PDL cell proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization. On the basis of these results, it might be possible to understand the various factors that influence PDL cell proliferation, extracellular matrix maturation, and mineralization with regard to gene expression patterns.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Anthraquinones ; Apoptosis ; Ascorbic Acid ; Biological Processes ; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Dexamethasone ; Durapatite ; Extracellular Matrix ; Fibroblasts ; Gene Expression ; Genes, fos ; Genes, myc ; Glycerophosphates ; Humans ; Osteoblasts ; Osteocalcin ; Osteogenesis ; Periodontal Ligament ; Proteins ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Transcriptome

PURPOSE: Deproteinized bovine bone substitutes are commonly used in dental regenerative surgery for treatment of alveolar defects. In this study, three different bovine bone minerals - OCS-B (NIBEC, Seoul, Korea), Bio-Oss (Geistlich - Pharma, Switzerland), Osteograft/N - 300 (OGN, Dentsply Friadent Ceramed. TN, USA) - were investigated to analyze the basic characteristics of commercially available bone substitutes. METHODS:Their physicochemical properties were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), surface area analysis, and Kjeldahl protein analysis. Cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of human osteosarcoma cells on different bovine bone minerals were evaluated. RESULTS: Three kinds of bone substitutes displayed different surface properties. Ca/P ratio of OCS - B shown to be lower than other two bovine bone minerals in EDS analysis. Bio-Oss had wider surface area and lower amount of residual protein than OCS - B and OGN. In addition Bio - Oss was proved to have lower cell proliferation and ALP activity due to lots of residual micro particles, compared with OCS - B and OGN. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of this study, three bovine bone minerals that produced by similar methods appear to have different property and characteristics. It is suggested that detailed studies and quality management is needed in operations for dental use and its biological effects on new bone formation.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Bone Substitutes ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Minerals ; Osteogenesis ; Osteosarcoma ; Polymethyl Methacrylate ; Statistics as Topic ; Surface Properties

PURPOSE: Under different culture conditions, periodontal ligament (PDL) stem cells are capable of differentiating into cementoblast-like cells, adipocytes, and collagen-forming cells. Several previous studies reported that because of the stem cells in the PDL, the PDL have a regenerative capacity which, when appropriately triggered, participates in restoring connective tissues and mineralized tissues. Therefore, this study analyzed the genes involved in mineralization during differentiation of human PDL (hPDL) cells, and searched for candidate genes possibly associated with the mineralization of hPDL cells. METHODS: To analyze the gene expression pattern of hPDL cells during differentiation, the hPDL cells were cultured in two conditions, with or without osteogenic cocktails (beta-glycerophosphate, ascorbic acid and dexamethasone), and a DNA microarray analysis of the cells cultured on days 7 and 14 was performed. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was performed to validate the DNA microarray data. RESULTS: The up-regulated genes on day 7 by hPDL cells cultured in osteogenic medium were thought to be associated with calcium/iron/metal ion binding or homeostasis (PDE1A, HFE and PCDH9) and cell viability (PCDH9), and the down-regulated genes were thought to be associated with proliferation (PHGDH and PSAT1). Also, the up-regulated genes on day 14 by hPDL cells cultured in osteogenic medium were thought to be associated with apoptosis, angiogenesis (ANGPTL4 and FOXO1A), and adipogenesis (ANGPTL4 and SEC14L2), and the down-regulated genes were thought to be associated with cell migration (SLC16A4). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that when appropriately triggered, the stem cells in the hPDL differentiate into osteoblasts/cementoblasts, and the genes related to calcium binding (PDE1A and PCDH9), which were strongly expressed at the stage of matrix maturation, may be associated with differentiation of the hPDL cells into osteoblasts/cementoblasts.
Adipocytes ; Adipogenesis ; Apoptosis ; Ascorbic Acid ; Calcium ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Movement ; Cell Survival ; Connective Tissue ; Durapatite ; Gene Expression ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Microarray Analysis ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Periodontal Ligament ; Stem Cells

PURPOSE: Under different culture conditions, periodontal ligament (PDL) stem cells are capable of differentiating into cementoblast-like cells, adipocytes, and collagen-forming cells. Several previous studies reported that because of the stem cells in the PDL, the PDL have a regenerative capacity which, when appropriately triggered, participates in restoring connective tissues and mineralized tissues. Therefore, this study analyzed the genes involved in mineralization during differentiation of human PDL (hPDL) cells, and searched for candidate genes possibly associated with the mineralization of hPDL cells. METHODS: To analyze the gene expression pattern of hPDL cells during differentiation, the hPDL cells were cultured in two conditions, with or without osteogenic cocktails (beta-glycerophosphate, ascorbic acid and dexamethasone), and a DNA microarray analysis of the cells cultured on days 7 and 14 was performed. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was performed to validate the DNA microarray data. RESULTS: The up-regulated genes on day 7 by hPDL cells cultured in osteogenic medium were thought to be associated with calcium/iron/metal ion binding or homeostasis (PDE1A, HFE and PCDH9) and cell viability (PCDH9), and the down-regulated genes were thought to be associated with proliferation (PHGDH and PSAT1). Also, the up-regulated genes on day 14 by hPDL cells cultured in osteogenic medium were thought to be associated with apoptosis, angiogenesis (ANGPTL4 and FOXO1A), and adipogenesis (ANGPTL4 and SEC14L2), and the down-regulated genes were thought to be associated with cell migration (SLC16A4). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that when appropriately triggered, the stem cells in the hPDL differentiate into osteoblasts/cementoblasts, and the genes related to calcium binding (PDE1A and PCDH9), which were strongly expressed at the stage of matrix maturation, may be associated with differentiation of the hPDL cells into osteoblasts/cementoblasts.
Adipocytes ; Adipogenesis ; Apoptosis ; Ascorbic Acid ; Calcium ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Movement ; Cell Survival ; Connective Tissue ; Durapatite ; Gene Expression ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Microarray Analysis ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Periodontal Ligament ; Stem Cells