Sex hormones alter Th1 responses and enhance granuloma formation in the lung.

BACKGROUND: The lung is one of the sites of granulomatous responses, which are characterized by the recruitment and organization of activated macrophages and lymphocytes. There have been several reports that have shown that some pulmonary granulomatous diseases, such as sarcoidosis and nontuberculous mycobacterial disease, are likely to be characterized by a preponderance in postmenopausal females. Although sex hormones have been shown to play an important role in the regulation of the immune system, the influence of sex hormones on pulmonary granuloma formation is still unclear. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess whether sex hormones are involved in granulomatous inflammation and to evaluate how sex hormones modulate this response in the lung. METHODS: Ovariectomized rats were used as an experimental postmenopausal model in which chronic pulmonary granulomatous inflammation was induced by intravenous injection of complete Freund's adjuvant. RESULTS: Histological analysis of lung tissues demonstrated enhancement of granuloma formation in the ovariectomized group. Such enhanced granuloma formation was significantly associated with generalized Th1-biased cytokine production in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that sex hormones play an important role in pulmonary granuloma formation by altering the Th1 responses.

ERC/mesothelin as a marker for chemotherapeutic response in patients with mesothelioma.

BACKGROUND: It has been recently reported that soluble mesothelin-related protein (SMRP), serum mesothelin, and osteopontin (OPN) are considered as relevant biomarkers for the diagnosis of mesothelioma. The aim of this study was to investigate whether serum N-ERC/mesothelin, an NH3-terminal fragment of mesothelin, and plasma OPN reflect chemotherapeutic effect in patients with mesothelioma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum N-ERC/mesothelin and plasma osteopontin were determined with a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system. RESULTS: The average N-ERC ratio, determined by dividing the N-ERC levels following chemotherapy by those prior to chemotherapy, in the partial response (PR) group was significantly lower than that of the stable disease (SD)/progressive disease (PD) group. In contrast, the average OPN ratio, determined by dividing the OPN levels following chemotherapy by those prior to chemotherapy, in the PR group was not statistically different from that of the SD/PD group. CONCLUSION: N-ERC/mesothelin is considered as relevant in monitoring chemotherapeutic response in patients with mesothelioma.

[Clinical evaluation of meningeal carcinomatosis associated with primary lung cancer].

We evaluated diagnosis and treatment of four cases of meningeal carcinomatosis associated with primary lung cancer: case 1; small cell carcinoma (64 years old), case 2; small cell carcinoma (50 years old), case 3; adenocarcinoma (53 years old), and case 4; adenocarcinoma (55 years old). Determination of tumor markers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) together with the MRI findings that Gd-DTPA-enhanced T1-weighted image showing high intensity signal along the spinal cord was clinically useful in the diagnosis of meningeal carcinomatosis. Two of four patients received intrathecal chemotherapy and/or CSF drainage through Ommaya-Reservoir, resulting in dramatic improvement of various symptoms such as motor weakness and vesicorectal disorder. Intrathecal chemotherapy and placement of an Ommaya-Reservoir for CSF drainage should be considered to provide better Quality of Life (QOL) when patient can tolerate it.