Importance of endothelial Hey1 expression for thoracic great vessel development and its distal enhancer for Notch-dependent endothelial transcription.

Thoracic great vessels such as the aorta and subclavian arteries are formed through dynamic remodeling of embryonic pharyngeal arch arteries (PAAs). Previous work has shown that loss of a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Hey1 in mice causes abnormal fourth PAA development and lethal great vessel anomalies resembling congenital malformations in humans. However, how Hey1 mediates vascular formation remains unclear. In this study, we revealed that Hey1 in vascular endothelial cells, but not in smooth muscle cells, played essential roles for PAA development and great vessel morphogenesis in mouse embryos. Tek-Cre-mediated Hey1 deletion in endothelial cells affected endothelial tube formation and smooth muscle differentiation in embryonic fourth PAAs and resulted in interruption of the aortic arch and other great vessel malformations. Cell specificity and signal responsiveness of Hey1 expression were controlled through multiple cis-regulatory regions. We found two distal genomic regions that had enhancer activity in endothelial cells and in the pharyngeal epithelium and somites, respectively. The novel endothelial enhancer was conserved across species and was specific to large-caliber arteries. Its transcriptional activity was regulated by Notch signaling in vitro and in vivo, but not by ALK1 signaling and other transcription factors implicated in endothelial cell specificity. The distal endothelial enhancer was not essential for basal Hey1 expression in mouse embryos but may likely serve for Notch-dependent transcriptional control in endothelial cells together with the proximal regulatory region. These findings help in understanding the significance and regulation of endothelial Hey1 as a mediator of multiple signaling pathways in embryonic vascular formation.

Predictive factors for short-term biochemical recurrence-free survival after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in high-risk prostate cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess the short-term oncological outcomes of robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy to determine the predictive factors associated with biochemical recurrence in high-risk prostate cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 331 patients with localized prostate cancer underwent robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Of them, 113 patients were diagnosed with high-risk prostate cancer according to the D'Amico risk group classification. We evaluated the association between pre- or postoperative predictive factors and biochemical recurrence using Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: The 2-year biochemical recurrence-free survival rate was 65.0% in the high-risk group. On univariate analyses, PSA level > 20 ng/mL, Gleason pattern 5 component on biopsy, pathological stage T3 or higher, perineural invasion, and positive surgical margin were predictive factors for biochemical recurrence. On multivariate analysis, PSA level > 20 ng/mL, Gleason pattern 5 component on biopsy, perineural invasion, and positive surgical margin were identified as independent predictive factors. The 2-year biochemical recurrence-free survival rate was 36.5% for patients with PSA level > 20 ng/mL and/or Gleason pattern 5 component on biopsy. CONCLUSIONS: PSA level > 20 ng/mL and/or presence of the Gleason pattern 5 component on biopsy are predictive factors for early biochemical recurrence after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in high-risk prostate cancer patients. We considered that these patients require a combined modality therapy to improve their prognosis.

Serum/glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 as a novel transcriptional target of bone morphogenetic protein-ALK1 receptor signaling in vascular endothelial cells.

Bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9)/BMP10-ALK1 receptor signaling is essential for endothelial differentiation and vascular morphogenesis. Mutations in ALK1/ACVRL1 and other signal-related genes are implicated in human vascular diseases, and the Alk1/Acvrl1 deletion in mice causes severe impairment of vascular formation and embryonic lethality. In the microarray screen to search for novel downstream genes of ALK1 signaling, we found that the mRNA and protein expression of serum/glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1) was rapidly up-regulated by the BMP9 stimulation of cultured human endothelial cells. The increase in SGK1 mRNA was completely blocked by the transcriptional inhibitor actinomycin D and significantly suppressed by the siRNA treatment against the co-SMAD transcription factor SMAD4. Upon the BMP9 treatment of endothelial cells, phosphorylated SMAD1/5/9 bound to a consensus site upstream of the SGK1 gene, which was necessary for BMP9-dependent increment of the luciferase reporter activity driven by the SGK1 proximal enhancer. The Sgk1 mRNA expression in mouse embryos was enriched in vascular endothelial cells at embryonic day 9.0-9.5, at which Sgk1 null mice showed embryonic lethality due to abnormal vascular formation, and its mRNA as well as protein expression was clearly reduced in Alk1/Acvrl1 null embryos. These results indicate that SGK1 is a novel target gene of BMP9/BMP10-ALK1 signaling in endothelial cells and further suggest a possibility that down-regulation of the Sgk1 expression may be involved in the mechanisms of vascular defects by the ALK1 signaling deficiency.

Different induction of LPA receptors by chemical liver carcinogens regulates cellular functions of liver epithelial WB-F344 cells.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) signaling via LPA receptors (LPA1 to LPA6 ) mediates a variety of cellular functions, including cell motility. In the present study, we investigated the effects of LPA receptors on cell motile activity during multi-stage hepatocarcinogenesis in rat liver epithelial WB-F344 cells treated with chemical liver carcinogens. Cells were treated with a initiator (N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN)) and three promoters (phenobarbital (PB), okadaic acid (OA) and clofibrate) every 24 h for 2 days. Cell motile activity was elevated by DEN, correlating with Lpar3 expression. PB, OA, and clofibrate elevated Lpar1 expression and inhibited cell motile activity. To evaluate the effects of long-term treatment on cell motility, cells were treated with DEN and/or PB for at least 6 months. Lpar3 expression and cell motile activity were significantly elevated by the long-term DEN treatment with or without further PB treatment. In contrast, long-term PB treatment with or without further DEN elevated Lpar1 expression and inhibited cell motility. When the synthesis of extracellular LPA was blocked by a potent ATX inhibitor S32826 before cell motility assay, the cell motility induced by DEN and PB was markedly suppressed. These results suggest that activation of the different LPA receptors may regulate the biological functions of cells treated with chemical carcinogens. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Negative effects of G-protein-coupled free fatty acid receptor GPR40 on cell migration and invasion in fibrosarcoma HT1080 cells.

G-protein-coupled receptor 40 (GPR40) and GPR120 mediate a variety of biological functions by the binding of long and medium chain free fatty acids. In the present study, we investigated a role of GPR40 in the pathogenesis of fibrosarcoma HT1080 cells. The GPR40 gene expression was detected in HT1080 cells, but not the GPR120 gene. The cell motile and invasive activities were markedly enhanced by GPR40 knockdown, compared with control cells. To evaluate whether GPR40 is involved in the cellular functions of HT1080 cells during anticancer drug treatment, HT1080 cells were maintained in condition medium containing cisplatin (CDDP) (0.01-1.0 µM) for 6 mo. The expression levels of the GPR40 gene was elevated by the long-term CDDP treatment in HT1080 cells, while the GPR120 gene expression remained unchanged. The cell motile and invasive activities of HT1080 cells treated with CDDP were significantly lower than those of untreated cells. In gelatin zymography, the activities of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 of HT1080 cells were enhanced by the long-term CDDP treatment. In addition, GW9508 which is an agonist of GPR40 and GPR120 suppressed the cell motile and invasive activities of HT1080 cells treated with CDDP as well as the MMP activation. These results suggest that GPR40 negatively regulates the tumor progression of fibrosarcoma cells. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Opposite effects of GPR120 and GPR40 on cell motile activity induced by ethionine in liver epithelial cells.

Free fatty acids (FFAs) are dietary nutrients which act as ligands for FFAs receptors. G-protein-coupled receptor 120 (GPR120) and GPR40 are activated by long and medium chain FFAs. In the present study, we investigated the role of the GPR120 and GPR40 in cell motile activity stimulated by ethionine in rat liver epithelial WB-F344 cells. Cells were treated with ethionine at a concentration of 10µM every 24h for 2days. The expression levels of the Gpr120 and Gpr40 genes in WB-F344 cells treated ethionine were significantly higher than those in untreated cells. In cell motility assay, the cell motile activity of WB-F344 cells was markedly elevated by ethionine, compared with untreated cells. To evaluate the effects of GPR120 on the cell motile activity by ethionine, we established GPR120 knockdown cells from WB-F344 cells. The cell motile activity stimulated by ethionine was significantly suppressed by GPR120 knockdown. In addition, a potent GPR40 antagonist GW1100 enhanced the cell motile activity by ethionine. These results suggest that opposite effects of GPR120 and GPR40 may be involved in the cell motile activity stimulated by ethionine in WB-F344 cells.

Diverse effects of LPA4, LPA5 and LPA6 on the activation of tumor progression in pancreatic cancer cells.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is an extracellular biological lipid which interacts with G protein-coupled LPA receptors (LPA1 to LPA6). LPA signaling via LPA receptors mediates several cellular responses. In the present study, to assess the roles of LPA4, LPA5 and LPA6 in cellular functions of pancreatic cancer cells, we generated LPA receptor knockdown cells from PANC-1 cells (PANC-sh4, PANC-sh5 and PANC-sh6 cells, respectively). In cell motility assay, PANC-sh4 and PANC-sh5 cells enhanced the cell motile activities, compared with control cells. In contrast, the cell motile activity of PANC-sh6 cells was suppressed. The invasive activities of PANC-sh4 and PANC-sh5 cells were markedly stimulated, while PANC-sh6 cells showed the low invasive activity. In colony assay, PANC-sh4 and PANC-sh5 cells formed the large sized colonies, but not PANC-sh6 cells. When endothelial cells were incubated with supernatants from PANC-sh4 and PANC-sh5 cells, the cell motility and tube formation of endothelial cells were significantly induced, but not PANC-sh6 cells. These results suggest that the diverse roles of LPA4, LPA5 and LPA6 are involved in the activation of tumor progression in pancreatic cancer cells.

Different roles of GPR120 and GPR40 in the acquisition of malignant properties in pancreatic cancer cells.

Free fatty acids (FFAs) act as extracellular signaling molecules through binding to G-protein-coupled FFA receptors (FFARs). GPR120 and GPR40 are identified as FFARs for medium- and long-chain fatty acids. In the present study, we investigated roles of GPR120 and GPR40 in cellular functions of pancreatic cancer PANC-1 cells, using GPR120 and GPR40 knockdown cells (PANC-sh120 and PANC-sh40 cells respectively). In cell motility assay, PANC-sh120 cells showed the low cell motility, compared with control cells. In contrast, the cell motility of PANC-sh40 cells was significantly higher than that of control cells. Activity levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) were measured by gelatin zymography. While PANC-sh120 cells indicated the reduced MMP-2 activity, MMP-2 activity in PANC-sh40 cells was significantly higher than that in control cells. On the other hand, no activation of MMP-9 was detected in all cells. In colony assay, the large sized colonies were markedly formed in PANC-sh40 cells. No colony formation was observed in PANC-sh120 cells as well as control cells. These results suggest that distinct effects of GPR120 and GPR40 are involved in the acquisition of malignant property in pancreatic cancer cells.

Role of GPR120 in cell motile activity induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate in liver epithelial WB-F344 cells.

G-protein-coupled receptor 120 (GPR120) is identified as a G-protein-coupled receptor for unsaturated long-chain free fatty acids that mediates insulin signaling and anti-inflammatory effects. Recently, it has been reported that GPR120 promotes the cell motile activity and angiogenesis in cancer cells. In this study, we assessed the role of GPR120 in the cell motile activity induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in rat liver epithelial WB-F344 cells. Cells were treated with TPA at a concentration of 5 nM for 72 h. The expression level of the Gpr120 gene was measured by quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis. Cells treated with TPA showed the elevated Gpr120 expression, in comparison with untreated cells. In cell motility assays, the cell motile activity of cells treated with TPA was significantly higher than that of untreated cells. To confirm whether GPR120 is involved in the cell motile activity mediated by TPA, we generated GPR120 knockdown cells from WB-F344 cells. The cell motile activity induced by TPA was significantly suppressed by GPR120 knockdown. These results suggest that GPR120 plays an important role in the cell motile activity induced by TPA in WB-F344 cells.

LPA signaling through LPA receptors regulates cellular functions of endothelial cells treated with anticancer drugs.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) signaling via LPA receptors provides a variety of cellular functions, including angiogenesis. In this study, to assess an involvement of LPA receptors in cell motile activities of endothelial cells during chemotherapy, F-2 cells were treated with cisplatin (CDDP) and doxorubicin (DOX) at a concentration of 0.01 µM every 24 h for at least 1 month. The treatment of CDDP and DOX inhibited the expression levels of the LPA receptor-1 (Lpar1), Lpar2, and Lpar3 genes in F-2 cells. The cell motile activities of CDDP and DOX treated cells were relatively lower than those of untreated cells. Next, we investigated whether cancer cells could stimulate the cell motile activities of F-2 cells treated with CDDP and DOX. For cell motility assay, CDDP- and DOX-treated cells were co-cultured with pancreatic cancer PANC-1 cells. The cell motile activities of CDDP- and DOX-treated cells were significantly enhanced by the existence of PANC-1 cells, correlating with the LPA receptor expressions. In addition, the elevated cell motile activities were suppressed by the pretreatment of an autotaxin inhibitor S32826. These results suggest that LPA signaling via LPA receptors may regulate the cell motile activities of F-2 cells treated with anticancer drugs.

A case of mid-ureteral stricture with ipsilateral atrophic kidney in a young adult.

Introduction: Most congenital ureteral strictures occur at the ureteropelvic or ureterovesical junction in children. Mid-ureteral stricture is very rare and can cause congenital hydronephrosis. Only a few studies have reported on coexisting mid-ureteral stricture with ipsilateral atrophic kidney in young adults. Case presentation: A 16-year-old girl presented with repeated urinary tract infection. Computed tomography revealed a right atrophic kidney and hydroureter. Retrograde pyelography showed a mid-ureteral stricture. Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy was performed, and histological examination revealed mid-ureteral stricture with hyperplasia of the fibrous connective tissue and an atrophic kidney. Conclusion: Mid-ureteral stricture in a young adult is extremely rare. Appropriate imaging studies including retrograde pyelography are necessary for accurate diagnosis of mid-ureteral stricture.

Machine learning-based gene alteration prediction model for primary lung cancer using cytologic images.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the gene alteration status of primary lung cancers is important for determining treatment strategies, but gene testing is both time-consuming and costly, limiting its application in clinical practice. Here, potential therapeutic targets were selected by predicting gene alterations in cytologic specimens before conventional gene testing. METHODS: This was a retrospective study to develop a cytologic image-based gene alteration prediction model for primary lung cancer. Photomicroscopic images of cytology samples were collected and image patches were generated for analyses. Cancer-positive (n = 106) and cancer-negative (n = 32) samples were used to develop a neural network model for selecting cancer-positive images. Cancer-positive cases were randomly assigned to training (n = 77) and validation (n = 26) data sets. Another neural network model was developed to classify cancer images of the training data set into 4 groups: anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-fusion, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), or Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homologue (KRAS) mutated groups, and other (None group), and images of the validation data set were classified. A decision algorithm to predict gene alteration for cases with 3 probability ranks was developed. RESULTS: The accuracy and precision for selecting cancer-positive patches were 0.945 and 0.991, respectively. Predictive accuracy for the EGFR and KRAS groups in the validation data set was ~0.95, whereas that for the ALK and None groups was ~0.75 and ~ 0.80, respectively. Gene status was correctly predicted in the probability rank A cases. The model extracted characteristic conventional cytologic findings in images and a novel specific feature was discovered for the EGFR group. CONCLUSIONS: A gene alteration prediction model for lung cancers by machine learning based on cytologic images was successfully developed.

Immunohistochemical, molecular, and clinicopathological analyses of urothelial carcinoma, micropapillary variant.

The prognosis of urothelial carcinoma, micropapillary variant (MPV), of the bladder has been shown to be worse than that of the conventional urothelial carcinoma (UC). However, it remains to be clarified why the MPV is more aggressive. We therefore here focused on the correlation between clinical features and histological, immunohistochemical and molecular findings for eight MPV and 35 UC, evaluating expression of MUC1, Ki-67, p53, CD147, CD34, D2-40, and extracellular matrix proteins. The Ki-67 labeling index was significantly higher in UC than in MPV but densities of venous and lymphatic tumor emboli were significantly higher in the MPV cases and lymph node metastasis was more frequent, with a poorer prognosis. Tenascin-C and fibronectin also showed significantly greater expression in MPV than in UC at the epithelial-mesenchymal interfaces. Direct sequencing showed point mutations of KRAS exon 1 in three MPV with significantly more frequency compared to UC. Occupation rate of the MPV area in the tumor showed significant inverse correlation with overall survival. Thus our histopathological findings provide clues to explaining why prognosis is poorer in the MPV than UC.

Characteristic Cytological Findings of Lobular Endocervical Glandular Hyperplasia Associated with Adenocarcinoma of the Uterine Cervix.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the cytological findings of lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia (LEGH) associated with adenocarcinoma and to clarify its characteristics and the coexisting adenocarcinoma using histochemistry and immunohistochemistry. METHODS: Eighteen surgical cases of LEGH of the uterine cervix were retrospectively reviewed and classified into 3 groups: pure (pure type), atypical (atypical type), and LEGH with adenocarcinoma (mixed type). The mixed type is defined as LEGH or atypical LEGH with in situ or invasive adenocarcinoma. Cytological findings of conventional endocervical smear specimens (Papanicolaou stain) were analyzed. Histochemistry (periodic acid-Schiff reaction) and immunohistochemistry (M-GGMC-1, Muc-6 glycoprotein, and Ki-67) were performed using tissue specimens. RESULTS: Cytologically, the pure type (7 cases) is characterized by glandular cell clusters that tended to form monolayered sheets with uniformly small nuclei and contain golden-yellowish mucin, whereas atypical (5 cases) and mixed (6 cases) types are characterized by glandular cell clusters similar to those of the pure type, but with complex glandular structures and mucin localization on the surface of glandular cell clusters. Ki-67 labeling index was significantly higher in atypical and mixed types than that in the pure type. Gastric-type mucinous carcinoma (MC-G) was observed in 2 out of 6 cases with mixed type. CONCLUSIONS: LEGH is found to be associated with adenocarcinoma types other than MC-G. Complex glandular structures or mucin localization on the surface of glandular cell clusters may be useful cytological findings to detect atypical and mixed types of LEGH.

A case of angiosarcomas which occurred in an adrenal gland and spleen synchronously.

We report a case of a 56-year-old woman who simultaneously presented adrenal and spleen tumors. Computed tomography imaging revealed a 7-cm enhancing adrenal and 2-cm solitary spleen masses. The patient simultaneously underwent left adrenalectomy and splenectomy. The pathological findings revealed the presence of synchronous adrenal and spleen angiosarcomas. Remarkably, she is disease-free since postoperative 18 months.

[COMPLETE RESECTION OF URACHAL CARCINOMA WITH SIGMOID COLON INVASION AFTER FOLFOX CHEMOTHERAPY: A CASE REPORT].

A 45-years-old man presented discharge of abscess from the umbilicus with lower abdominal pain. CT scan showed huge tumor from the bladder to the umbilical part with sigmoid colon invasion. He was diagnosed as urachal carcinoma, which was confirmed by pathological examination. We started FOLFOX chemotherapy according to advanced colon cancer. Approximately 80% of reduction was accomplished after 11 courses of FOLFOX. We performed radical cystectomy with sigmoid colon resection. Pathological examination revealed complete resection with negative surgical margin. No recurrence and metastasis were observed after 30 months of surgery. Urachal carcinoma is often advanced cancer when diagnosed. Effective chemotherapy is not established well. FOLFOX chemotherapy demonstrated the well antitumor effect in this case.