Prognostic implications of serum microRNA-21 in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNAs that are involved in carcinogenesis through postranscriptional gene regulatory activity. Few studies have focused on the detection of miR-21 in serum rather than in tissue. The current study aimed to measure serum miR-21 expression levels and to evaluate their association with the outcome of colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 102 CRC patients undergoing surgery with curative intent. The expression levels of miR-21 were measured using a quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The results were analysed to assess the relationship between serum miR-21 levels and patient survival. RESULTS: A univariate analysis revealed that lower expression levels of serum miR-21 were associated with higher local recurrence (P = 0.025) and mortality (P = 0.029). A logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the relative overexpression of miR-21 (expression > 1) was associated with a 51% reduction in the risk of recurrence. A Cox regression analysis identified miR-21 expression as an independent predictor of survival (P = 0.048); a relative increase in miR-21 expression (>1) was associated with a 50% reduction in the risk of mortality. CONCLUSION: The expression level of serum miR-21 correlates with the recurrence and mortality of CRC patients. Our results suggest that circulating serum miR-21 is a promising prognostic tumour marker, and they highlight the potential clinical utility of miR-21 expression as a prognostic marker for CRC prognosis.

Diagnostic and prognostic significance of serum microRNAs in colorectal cancer.

MicroRNAs are short non-coding RNA molecules involved in the regulation of gene expression. There are few studies related to the determination of serum microRNAs in colorectal cancer. The identification of microRNAs in peripheral blood as noninvasive markers of tumor disease may lead to potential applications, although further clinical studies focusing on serum microRNAs are required to determine their clinical significance for the diagnosis and prognosis outcome of colorectal cancer.

Compression of silver sulfide: X-ray diffraction measurements and total-energy calculations.

Angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction measurements have been performed in acanthite, Ag(2)S, up to 18 GPa in order to investigate its high-pressure structural behavior. They have been complemented by ab initio electronic structure calculations. From our experimental data, we have determined that two different high-pressure phase transitions take place at 5 and 10.5 GPa. The first pressure-induced transition is from the initial anti-PbCl(2)-like monoclinic structure (space group P2(1)/n) to an orthorhombic Ag(2)Se-type structure (space group P2(1)2(1)2(1)). The compressibility of the lattice parameters and the equation of state of both phases have been determined. A second phase transition to a P2(1)/n phase has been found, which is a slight modification of the low-pressure structure (Co(2)Si-related structure). The initial monoclinic phase was fully recovered after decompression. Density functional and, in particular, GGA+U calculations present an overall good agreement with the experimental results in terms of the high-pressure sequence, cell parameters, and their evolution with pressure.

Does bariatric surgery decrease gastric cancer risk?

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In the attempt to establish the different incidence between cancer in anatomically whole stomachs and cancer in patients who have undergone a surgical procedure for morbid obesity, a review on the epidemiology of bariatric surgery and stomach cancer and a correlation with the global incidence of stomach cancer (comparing it with the median age of patients who developed neoplasms after bariatric surgery) have been conducted. METHODOLOGY: This was a descriptive study of the gastric neoplasms located at the gastric pouch, bypassed stomach or in the esophagogastric junction, following bariatric surgery described in the medical literature. RESULTS: Twenty-one cases of gastric neoplasm located at the gastric pouch, in the bypassed stomach or in the esophagogastric junction were described after bariatric surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Bariatric surgery seems to produce a decrease in the incidence of cancer when comparing obese patients who were operated and obese patients who have not, so additional studies are needed to compare the cancer incidence between the general population and patients undergoing bariatric surgery. New studies will determine if it is necessary to focus on the early detection of pathological processes at the excluded digestive tract.

Muscular partitioning in the semitendinosus muscle of the pig / Compartimientos musculares del músculo semitendinoso del cerdo

Neuromuscular compartments are subvolumens supplied by a primary nerve branch with homogeneous fiber characteristics. This muscular organization is important for understanding the muscle function in relation to postural and dynamic implications and also is relevant for appraising meat quality. Current researches associate fiber muscle characteristics with perimortem processes that regulate muscle transformation into meat. It is known that pig muscle has four heavy chain myosin isoforms: I, IIa, IIx and IIb. Castrated male pigs were slaughtered at 100 kg live weight. Semitendinosus muscle samples of each subvolumen determined previously (R1, R2, R3, R4) were frozen in liquid nitrogen and reacted for myofibrillar ATPase and NADH-TR for determining fiber types and oxidative capacity respectively. It were identified I, IIA and IIX/IIB fiber types. The frequency distribution of the I, IIA, and IIX/IIB fiber types were significantly greater in R1- R4, R4 and R3 respectively. The CSA of all fiber types was significantly larger in R1 than other compartments, notwithstanding CSA did not vary significantly among fiber types; oxidative capacity was significantly greater in R4. These results show a heterogeneousness of the muscle which would explain probably the disagreements documented between characteristics of fiber and meat quality traits.

Los compartimientos neuromusculares son subvolúmenes abastecidos por un ramo nervioso primario, los cuales poseen características fibrilares homogéneas. Esta organización muscular es importante para entender la función muscular en relación tanto en la estática y dinámica como en la apreciación de la calidad de la carne. Actuales investigaciones asocian características fibrilares con procesos perimorten que regulan la transformación del músculo en carne. Es conocido que en el músculo del cerdo están presentes cuatro cadenas pesadas de miosina: I, IIa, IIx y IIb. Cerdos machos castrados fueron faenados a los 100K kg de peso vivo. Muestras musculares de cada subvolumen del músculo semitendinoso, previamente determinados (R1, R2, R3, R4), fueron congeladas en nitrógeno líquido y tratadas con las reacciones de ATPasa miofribrilar y NADH-TR para determinar los tipos fibrilares y la capacidad oxidativa, respectivamente. Fueron identificadas los tipos fibrilares I, IIA y IIX/IIB. La frecuencia de distribución de los tipos fibrilares I, IIA, y IIX/IIB fueron significativamente mayores en R1- R4, R4 y R3, respectivamente. La CSA de todos los tipos fibrilares fueron significativamente mayores en R1 que en los otros compartimientos, sin embargo CSA no varía en forma significativa entre los tipos fibrilares; la capacidad oxidativa fue significativamente mayor en R4. Estos resultados evidencian una heterogeneidad muscular la cual podría probablemente explicar los desacuerdos documentados entre las características de las fibras y su relación con la evaluación de la calidad de la carne.