URB is abundantly expressed in adipose tissue and dysregulated in obesity.

Dysregulated production of adipocytokines in obesity is involved in the development of metabolic syndrome. URB/DRO1 contains N-terminal signal sequence and is thought to play a role in apoptosis of tumor cells. In the present study, we investigated the expression pattern of URB mRNA in adipose tissue and secretion from cultured adipocytes. In human and mouse, URB mRNA was predominantly expressed in adipose tissue and was downregulated in obese mouse models, such as ob/ob, KKAy, and diet-induced obese mice. In 3T3L1 adipocytes, insulin, TNF-alpha, H(2)O(2) and hypoxia decreased URB mRNA level. This regulation was similar to that for adiponectin and opposite to MCP-1. URB protein was secreted in media of URB cDNA-stably transfected cells and endogenous URB was detected in media of cultured human adipocytes. In conclusion, the expression pattern of URB suggests its role in obesity and the results suggest that URB is secreted, at least in part, from adipocytes.

Association between Helicobacter bilis in bile and biliary tract malignancies: H. bilis in bile from Japanese and Thai patients with benign and malignant diseases in the biliary tract.

Japan and Thailand have high incidences of bile duct carcinoma and gallstones. The presence of Helicobacter bilis (H. bilis) detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and 16S rRNA analysis in bile samples from Chileans with chronic cholecystitis was reported. The association between H. bilis in bile and biliary tract malignancies has not been investigated, and therefore the aim of this study is to determine whether malignant diseases of the biliary tract are associated with the presence of H. bilis in bile samples obtained from two high-risk populations. Bile samples from 45 Japanese and 40 Thai patients were subjected to PCR analysis using H. bilis-specific primers, and six of the H. bilis amplicons were sequenced. Thirteen out of 15 (87%) Japanese and 11 out of 14 (79%) Thai patients with bile duct or gallbladder cancer tested positive for the presence of H. bilis in their bile. Eight out of 16 (50%) Japanese and 10 out of 26 (38%) Thai patients with gallstone and / or cholecystitis tested positive for H. bilis. Only 4 out of 14 (29%) subjects without biliary disease tested positive for H. bilis among the Japanese. Bile duct and gallbladder cancer showed significantly higher positive rates for H. bilis than did the non-biliary diseases among the Japanese (P < 0.01) and the odds ratios for bile duct or gallbladder cancer with H. bilis in comparison with gallstone and / or cholecystitis were 6.50 (95%CI 1.09 - 38.63) in the Japanese and 5.86 (1.31 - 26.33) in the Thai patients. In conclusion, H. bilis infection in bile was associated with biliary tract and gallbladder cancers in two high risk populations, Japanese and Thai.

Endogenous tumor necrosis factor promotes resistance to cellular stresses by inducing the metallothionein-1A gene.

BACKGROUND: Endogenous tumor necrosis factor (enTNF) acts as a resistance factor against anticancer drugs, heat and exogenous TNF via induction of manganous superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and heat shock protein 72 (HSP72), while the details of interaction with other molecules are not fully understood. We compared mRNA expression of various genes between MIAPaCa-2 human pancreatic cancer cells and M5 cells transduced with nonsecretory-type TNF gene expression vector. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression of certain mRNAs between human pancreatic cancer MIAPaCa-2 cells and M5 cells was compared using fluorescent differential display. RESULTS: Of 140 bands obtained by gel electrophoresis, 53 bands showed patterns differing between MIAPaCa-2 and M5 cells. Among these bands, sequence analysis and RT-PCR identified strong mRNA expression for metallothionein-1A, a scavenger of reactive oxygen species, in transduced M5 cells. CONCLUSION: Metallothionein-1A could be induced by enTNF, resulting in resistance against various cellular stresses.