Clinical significance of fascin-1 and laminin-5 in non-small cell lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and the second leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Fascin-1 and laminin-5 were associated with the invasiveness and prognoses of several cancers. The expression and the serum levels of fascin-1 and laminin-5 in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were analyzed in this study. The expression of fascin-1 and laminin-5 were examined in 378 patients and their serum level was measured in 154 patients. The health of all patients was followed post-surgery. The expression of fascin-1 (P = 0.000) and lanminin-5 (P = 0.001) and the serum levels of fascin-1 (P = 0.015) and laminin-5 (P = 0.046) were related to the relapse of patients with NSCLC. Both serum levels and expression of fascin-1 and laminin-5 can be used to effectively evaluate the prognoses of patients with NSCLC.

Chemerin, retinol binding protein-4, cytokeratin-18 and transgelin-2 presence in sera of patients with non-alcoholic liver fatty disease.

 Background. Chemerin and retinol binding protein-4 (RBP-4) are adipokines which may play a role in the progression of NAFLD. It has been also suggested that cytokeratin-18 (CK-18) could be a marker of hepatocyte caspase-directed death while transgelin-2 production could reflect stage of liver fibrosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of the above adipokines in sera of patients with NAFLD and determine the relation between the level of transgelin-2 and fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ninety-five subjects included initially to the study were divided into four groups: (I) prediabetics, obese with NAFLD and metabolic syndrome (MS), (II) lean with NAFLD and without MS, (III) obese without NAFLD and MS, and (IV) healthy individuals. We determined the levels of chemerin, RBP-4, transgelin-2 and CK-18 fragments in sera of patients with NAFLD. Moreover, we examined if the levels of CK-18 fragments and transgelin-2 correlates with FIB4 value. RESULTS: Chemerin and RBP-4 were highly expressed in sera of all NAFLD, especially in obese individuals. Chemerin level was also linked to MS. High level of serum CK-18 fragments and transgelin-2 did not correlate with obesity and MS, but seemed to correlate with progression of NAFLD to liver fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the production of the two adipokines, chemerin and RBP-4, is strongly associated with obesity in patients with NAFLD. Serum concentrations of CK-18 fragments and transgelin-2 correlate with the severity of NAFLD, but no with obesity.

Thermolabile and calcium-dependent serum factor interferes with polymerized actin, and impairs anti-actin antibody detection.

The detection of anti-actin (AAA) by immunofluorescence is hindered by the presence of a serum factor. To better understand how it interferes with AAA detection, we tested sera from 20 patients with autoimmune hepatitis, and from 21 healthy adults, diluted 1:10 and prepared as follows: (A) diluted with PBS; (B) inactivated at 56 degrees C, and diluted with PBS; (C) diluted with 34 mM EDTA/PBS; (D) heated and diluted with EDTA/PBS. To reveal AAA, a fluorescein-labelled anti-human IgG was used in the process of indirect immunofluorescence. In a parallel assay, the substrate, acetone-fixed human fibroblasts, was preincubated with sera prepared as if it were to identify AAA, but instead, a rhodamine-phalloidin was used to identify F-actin, by direct immunofluorescence. All sera from patients were reactive to AAA when heat-inactivated and/or calcium-chelated, and 60% of them when diluted with unmodified sera (P=0.004). F-actin continued to be present after preincubation with heat-inactivated or calcium-chelated sera from patients and healthy controls, and in 41.5% of reactions with unmodified serum (P=0.0000001). The heat inactivation and the calcium chelation were both efficient procedures for maintaining the microfilament structure intact after serum incubation and, therefore, for identifying AAA.