ICAM-1null C57BL/6 Mice Are Not Protected from Experimental Ischemic Stroke.

Accumulation of neutrophils in the brain is a hallmark of cerebral ischemia and considered central in exacerbating tissue injury. Intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 is upregulated on brain endothelial cells after ischemic stroke and considered pivotal in neutrophil recruitment as ICAM-1-deficient mouse lines were found protected from experimental stroke. Translation of therapeutic inhibition of ICAM-1 into the clinic however failed. This prompted us to investigate stroke pathogenesis in Icam1tm1Alb C57BL/6 mutants, a true ICAM-1null mouse line. Performing transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, we found that absence of ICAM-1 did not ameliorate stroke pathology at acute time points after reperfusion. Near-infrared imaging showed comparable accumulation of neutrophils in the ischemic hemispheres of ICAM-1null and wild type C57BL/6 mice. We also isolated equal numbers of neutrophils from the ischemic brains of ICAM-1null and wild type C57BL/6 mice. Immunostaining of the brains showed neutrophils to equally accumulate in the leptomeninges and brain parenchymal vessels of ICAM-1null and wild type C57BL/6 mice. In addition, the lesion size was comparable in ICAM-1null and wild type mice. Our study demonstrates that absence of ICAM-1 neither inhibits cerebral ischemia-induced accumulation of neutrophils in the brain nor provides protection from ischemic stroke.

Prognostic Impact of Residual Disease After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in 648 Patients with Triple-negative Breast Cancer.

AIM: In order to establish a new risk categorization system for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, we analyzed a large database including more than 50% of all breast cancer cases nationwide. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From a database of 39,570 primary breast cancer cases, 648 patients with TNBC were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (2009-2011). The primary study end-point was the impact of residual tumor burden on survival. RESULTS: Pathological complete response (pCR) was achieved in 199 patients; 449 patients had a non-pCR (pCR rate=30.8%). Stage ypT1 did not differ prognostically from ypT2, and likewise ypT3 not from ypT4 (in patients with N0 and N1-3 disease). Combined analysis of ypT1/2 and ypT3/4 yielded highly significant differences (p=0.000145). CONCLUSION: A partial response still conveys a substantial survival benefit. There is no linear deterioration of prognosis according to residual tumor size. Post-neoadjuvant TNM stages ypT1 and ypT2, and ypT3 and ypT4 pairwise build uniform prognostic groups in TNBC, when there is no or low axillary lymph-node involvement.

Preservation of pears in water in the presence of Sinapis arvensis seeds: a Greek tradition.

In this research, the microbiological and physicochemical changes during preservation of pears in water in the presence of Sinapis arvensis seeds (PWS FL) according to the traditional Greek home food manufacture were studied. Pears preserved in water served as control (PW FL). The growth of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) coming from the pear surface was enhanced in the presence of Sinapis seeds, while Enterobacteriaceae and Gram-negative bacteria declined coincidently with the lower (P<0.05) pH of the PWS FL. LAB predominated over the other microbial groups in the fermentation liquids (FLs) of both systems. All the 49 LAB isolates from one fermentation experiment were identified as Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris by the SDS-PAGE of whole-cell proteins, while RAPD-PCR fingerprinting and partial 16S rRNA sequence determination of selected isolates did not discriminate them at the subspecies level. Fruit preserved in PWS FL had higher titratable or volatile acidity, phenolic compounds or antioxidant capacity as well as lower pH and firmness than the control fruit. All physicochemical parameters of the FLs increased except of the pH which decreased. Coincidently with higher population of LAB in PWS FL the levels of citric, lactic and acetic acid were higher than in control. Oxalic acid and related unknown substances were found at higher levels in PWS FL than the control and may be the agent(s) enhancing the growth of LAB and/or contributing partially to the decline of Enterobacteriaceae. The organoleptic test showed that fruit preserved in PWS FL had better overall acceptance than the control, and that it retained most of the positive traits.

Differentiation of lactococci from 2 Greek cheeses with protected designation of origin by phenotypic criteria and RAPD-PCR.

Seventy-six lactococci isolates from 2 protected designation of origin (PDO) cheeses were studied for their acidification ability, proteolytic activity, and inhibitory activities as well as their intraspecies characterization by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR). Fifty-two of them were characterized as Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis by the SDS-PAGE of whole-cell proteins. The test strains increased the amount of acid in milk from 6 to 24 h as well as the quantities of amino acids on incubation for 4 d. The majority of the isolates degraded preferentially αs-casein. The isolates from Feta differed from those of Graviera Kritis in respect of ß-casein degradation. This fragment was either not degraded or underwent a small degradation by lactococci from Feta. A stronger intensity of acidification for the isolates from Feta and a higher casein breakdown ability for those from Graviera Kritis were also recorded. Lactococci from Feta and Graviera Kritis inhibited, preferentially, the growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Yersinia enterocolitica, respectively. A high heterogeneity among the isolates according to RAPD-PCR was determined, as well as grouping of the isolates according to their source of isolation. Selected isolates from each cheese could be used as starters to make either Feta or Graviera Kritis.