Search

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2008.01.044 Byline: Bo Zhou (a), Li Yang (b), Qingmin Sun (a), Rihong Cong (a), Haijuan Gu (a), Naping Tang (a), Huaijun Zhu (c), Bin Wang (a) Keywords: Cigarette smoking; Endometrial cancer; Meta-analysis; Risk Abstract: Epidemiologic findings are inconsistent concerning the association of endometrial cancer risk with cigarette smoking. We conducted a meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies to examine this relation. Author Affiliation: (a) Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China (b) Department of General Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China (c) Department of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. Article Note: (footnote) *Drs Zhou, Yang, and Sun contributed equally to this work. This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No 30672486), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No BK2006525), 333 Project, Qinglan Project, and Six Rencai Gaofeng Project (No 07C008) for the Young Academic Leader of Jiangsu Province to Dr. Wang.

Zolbetuximab (IMAB362), a monoclonal antibody targeting Claudin18.2 (CLDN 18.2), demonstrates a significant clinical benefit in patients with advanced gastroesophageal cancers. The noninvasive assessment of CLDN18.2 expression through molecular imaging offers a potential avenue for expedited monitoring and the stratification of patients into risk groups. This study elucidates that CLDN18.2 is expressed at a noteworthy frequency in primary gastric cancers and their metastases. The iodogen method was employed to label IMAB362 with 123I/131I. The results demonstrated the efficient and reproducible synthesis of 123I-IMAB362, with a specific binding affinity to CLDN18.2. Immuno-single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging revealed the rapid accumulation of 123I-IMAB362 in gastric cancer xenografts at 12 h, remaining stable for 3 days in patient-derived tumor xenograft models. Additionally, tracer uptake of 123I-IMAB362 in MKN45 cells surpassed that in MKN28 cells at each time point, with tumor uptake correlating significantly with CLDN18.2 expression levels. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging indicated that tumor uptake of 18F-FDG and the functional/viable tumor volume in the 131I-IMAB362 group were significantly lower than those in the 123I-IMAB362 group on day 7. In conclusion, 123I-IMAB362 immuno-SPECT imaging offers an effective method for direct, noninvasive, and whole-body quantitative assessment of tumor CLDN18.2 expression in vivo. This approach holds promise for accelerating the monitoring and stratification of patients with gastric cancer.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging as important regulators in various pathobiological processes in cancer. Genistein, as a major isoflavonoid isolated from dietary soybean, possesses a wide variety of biological activities particularly in cancer prevention. However, the molecular mechanisms by which genistein elicits its effects on ovarian cancer cells have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we reported that expression of miR-27a was higher in human ovarian cancer relative to benign ovarian tissues. Meanwhile, transfection of SKOV3 cells with the inhibitor of miR-27a suppressed growth and migration of tumor cells. Our study also found that treatment of ovarian cancer cells with genistein caused an inhibition of ovarian cancer cell growth and migration. Further cellular mechanistic studies revealed that genistein down-regulated miR-27a expression, which was accompanied by significantly increased expression of Sprouty2, a putative miR-27a target gene. Taken together, our findings reveal that oncogenic miR-27a plays an important role in ovarian cancer cell growth and metastasis, and genistein, as nontoxic inactivators of miRNA, can block ovarian cancer cell growth and migration, offering novel insights into the mechanisms of genistein therapeutic actions.

A novel thermotropic liquid crystalline poly(aryl ether ketones) copolymer containing phthalazinone moiety and biphenyl mesogen named P-5050 was developed by a mild solution polycondensation reaction. The thermotropic liquid crystalline properties were characterized by the means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized light microscopy (PLM) and wide-angel X-ray diffraction (WAXD). A thread-like texture was achieved when P-5050 was annealed at 320 °C for 1 h, and a typical schlieren texture was observed when shear forces were induced at that temperature. The crystalline-to-liquid crystalline transition (Tm) and the liquid crystalline-to-isotropic phase transition (Ti) appeared in both the first cooling and second heating DSC thermograms. The glass transition temperature (Tg) was 160 °C and the value for 5% weight loss temperature was 510 °C in nitrogen from DSC and TGA determinations, respectively.