Prediction of Early Recurrence After Curative Resection of Colorectal Liver Metastasis and Subsequent S-1 Chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: S-1, an oral 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based medicine that combines tegafur, gimeracil and oteracil potassium is commonly used as an adjuvant chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We enrolled 53 patients who underwent curative resection for colorectal cancer and liver metastasis (synchronous, n=24; metachronous, n=29). The subsequent adjuvant chemotherapy with oral S-1 administration was initiated within 56 days after liver resection. Recurrence was evaluated by imaging studies, that were performed during the first year after liver resection. Of the 53 patients, 25 who did not recur within 1 year were defined as being in the no-recurrence (NREC) group and the remaining 18 patients were defined as being in the early-recurrence (EREC) group. There were no significant differences in gene expression profiling for drug resistance and metabolism between the NREC group and the EREC group. RESULTS: In synchronous liver metastasis, there was no significant difference in early recurrence between serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) ≤5 ng/ml and serum CEA >5 ng/ml (8/24 vs. 16/24, respectively). In metachronous liver metastasis, the early recurrence rate was significantly higher in patients with CEA >5 ng/ml compared to patients with CEA ≤5 ng/ml (15/29 vs. 14/29, p=0.05). The expression of cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) and ATP-binding cassette, sub-family B member 1 (ABCB1) were significantly lower in the EREC group (6/15) compared to the NREC group (9/15) in colorectal cancer with metachronous liver metastasis and with serum CEA >5 ng/ml. CONCLUSION: Although the exact reason for down-regulation of these genes in the group with poor prognosis is unknown, the information obtained in this study may be useful in clinical practice for colorectal cancer.

Japanese Guideline for Adult Asthma 2014.

Adult bronchial asthma (hereinafter, asthma) is characterized by chronic airway inflammation, reversible airway narrowing, and airway hyperresponsiveness. Long-standing asthma induces airway remodeling to cause intractable asthma. The number of patients with asthma has increased, and that of patients who die from asthma has decreased (1.5 per 100,000 patients in 2012). The aim of asthma treatment is to enable patients with asthma to lead a normal life without any symptoms. A good relationship between physicians and patients is indispensable for appropriate treatment. Long-term management with antiasthmatic agents and elimination of the causes and risk factors of asthma are fundamental to its treatment. Four steps in pharmacotherapy differentiate between mild and intensive treatments; each step includes an appropriate daily dose of an inhaled corticosteroid, varying from low to high. Long-acting ß2-agonists, leukotriene receptor antagonists, and sustained-release theophylline are recommended as concomitant drugs, while anti-immunoglobulin E antibody therapy has been recently developed for the most severe and persistent asthma involving allergic reactions. Inhaled ß2-agonists, aminophylline, corticosteroids, adrenaline, oxygen therapy, and others are used as needed in acute exacerbations by choosing treatment steps for asthma exacerbations depending on the severity of attacks. Allergic rhinitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, aspirin-induced asthma, pregnancy, asthma in athletes, and cough-variant asthma are also important issues that need to be considered.

Antitumor effects of α-bisabolol against pancreatic cancer.

In the present study, we investigated whether α-bisabolol, a sesquiterpene alcohol present in essential oils derived from a variety of plants, has antitumor effects against pancreatic cancer. α-Bisabolol induced a decrease in cell proliferation and viability in pancreatic cancer cell lines (KLM1, KP4, Panc1, MIA Paca2), but not in pancreatic epithelial cells (ACBRI515). α-Bisabolol treatment induced apoptosis and suppressed Akt activation in pancreatic cancer cell lines. Furthermore, α-bisabolol treatment induced the overexpression of early growth response-1 (EGR1), whereas EGR1 siRNA decreased the α-bisabolol-induced cell death of KLM1 cells. Tumor growth in both subcutaneous and peritoneal xenograft nude mouse models was significantly inhibited by intragastric administration of 1000 mg/kg of α-bisabolol, once a week for three weeks. The results indicate that α-bisabolol could be a novel therapeutic option for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Molecular cloning and characterization of 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Delta5-Delta4 isomerase cDNAs from Japanese eel ovary.

3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Delta(5)-Delta(4) isomerase (3beta-HSD) is a crucial steroidogenic enzyme which catalyzes an essential step in the biosynthesis of all classes of steroid hormones. Two closely related cDNAs, encoding Japanese eel ovarian types I and II 3beta-HSD, were cloned and characterized. Both cDNAs putatively encoded 375 amino acid residues sharing high sequence homology with those of rainbow trout (71%) and mammalian (approximately 45-50%) 3beta-HSD. Transient expression of types I and II 3beta-HSD in COS-7 cells revealed that both proteins possess 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase as well as Delta(5)-Delta(4) isomerase activity for both pregnenolone and dehydroepiandrosterone, with the preference of pregnenolone over dehydroepiandrosterone as substrate, although the type I protein is more active than the type II. By northern blot analysis, a single band of the 3beta-HSD transcript of approximately 1.5kb in length was observed in ovarian tissue and the total transcript abundance of both 3beta-HSDs remained constant throughout ovarian development artificially induced by gonadotropin-rich salmon pituitary homogenate. This lack of change in 3beta-HSD transcript abundance during ovarian development did not correlate with the fluctuation of its enzymatic activity reported previously, which may suggest that changes in 3beta-HSD activity during ovarian development may be, in part, post-transcriptionally regulated in the Japanese eel ovary.

cDNA cloning of thyroid hormone receptor betas from the conger eel, Conger myriaster.

Two distinct TRbetas cDNA clones were generated by RACE from a conger eel (Conger myriaster). The deduced amino acid sequences of the conger eel TRbetas (cTRbetas) showed higher homologies to the known TRbetas of other vertebrate animals than to TRalphas. Two cTRbetas possessed an insertion sequence in the hinge region similar to other teleost fish TRbetas. Variation in cTRbeta due to differential splicing in the hinge region of the cTRbetas genes was found using PCR analysis. The determination of TRbeta mRNA levels in eel tissue was performed using competitive RT-PCR. The cTRbeta1 mRNA was widely expressed, whereas cTRbeta 2 mRNA was most highly expressed in the brain and pituitary. The expression pattern of cTRbeta1 and cTRbeta2 in tissues were similar to that of TRbeta1 and TRbeta2 in mammals.

Characterization of a cDNA encoding P-450 aromatase (CYP19) from Japanese eel ovary and its expression in ovarian follicles during induced ovarian development.

A cDNA encoding P450 aromatase (CYP19) was isolated from a Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) ovarian cDNA library. This cDNA contains a complete open reading frame encoding 511 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence is 59% and 65% identical to the catfish and rainbow trout forms, respectively, and 52-54% to mammalian and chicken forms. Non-steroidogenic COS-7 cells transfected with the eel CYP19 cDNA converted exogenous androstenedione to estrone, thus verifying its identity. Northern blot analysis indicated that there was a single 2.1 kb transcript in the ovary. A 2.1 kb transcript was also found in the brain but not in the spleen, head kidney, kidney, or liver. Throughout ovarian development induced by weekly injections of salmon pituitary homogenate (SPH, 20 microg/g body weight), the 2.1 kb transcript was barely or not detectable in the ovaries. However, signals greatly increased in intensity in oocytes in the migratory nucleus stage and then decreased slightly in the post-ovulatory ovary. These changes in transcript levels are consistent with the changes in aromatase activity of ovarian follicles, suggesting that aromatase activity in ovarian follicles is mainly regulated at the transcriptional level. In addition, fadrozole was found to significantly inhibit aromatase activity in a heterologous expression system using COS-7 cells, which indicates that fadrozole treatment could be useful to control E(2) production during artificial maturation of eels.