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A time course of increased epidermal growth factor (EGF) levels was studied, and these levels were correlated with tubular impairment and regeneration, EGF connected with membrane, and immunohistochemical straining of renal immunoreactive EGF (irEGF). The results revealed that tubular necrosis and the recovery period which follows caused changes in renal EGF, and this was in agreement with the theory that EGF causes regenerative hyperplasia following renal injury.

Background: Clinical outcome of patients with high-risk melanoma cannot be reliably predicted on the basis of classical histopathological examination. Our study aimed to determine in melanoma metastases a gene expression profile associated with patient survival, and to identify and validate marker(s) of poor clinical outcome.Methods: Skin and lymph node metastases from melanoma patients (training population) were used to identify candidate prognostic marker(s) based on DNA microarray analysis. Additional skin metastases (validation population) were used to assess the prognostic value of the first ranked gene by real-time PCR.Results: We performed microarray analysis in the training population and generated a list of 278 probe sets associated with a shorter survival. We used the first ranked gene, tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1), further measured its expression in the validation population by real-time PCR and found it to be significantly correlated with distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), overall survival (OS) and Breslow thickness. We also found that it was fairly well conserved in the course of the disease regardless of the delay to metastasis occurrence. Finally, although Tyrp1 protein (immunohistochemistry (IHC)) was only detected in about half of the samples, we showed that its expression also correlated with Breslow thickness.Conclusion: Our data indicate that TYRP1 mRNA expression level, at least in skin metastases, is a prognostic marker for melanoma, and is particularly useful when prognostic pathology parameters at the primary lesion are lacking. Its conserved expression further supports its use as a target for therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines endogenous epidermal growth factor (EGF) as a potential renotrophic factor in ischemia-induced acute renal failure. Establishment of the time course for the increases in soluble renal EGF; Comparison of three levels of EGF; Report on the trypsin digestion of crude renal membranes (CRM).

The article presents a study on the kinematics of gape cycle in adult agamid lizard Pogona vitticeps to determine the effect of prey properties such as size, texture, and mass on capture behavior. The study involves six adult P. vitticeps which are offered with three types of food such as adult crickets, newborn mice, and mealworm. The results support the two successive phases of the gape cycle, the preparatory phase and the capture phase.

Abstract Background The Helicase-Like Transcription Factor (HLTF/SMARCA3) belongs to the family of SWI/SNF proteins that use the energy of ATP hydrolysis to remodel chromatin in a variety of cellular processes. Several SWI/SNF genes are disrupted in cancer, suggesting a role of tumor suppressor. Similarly, the HLTF gene was recently found to be inactivated by hypermethylation in a number of advanced colon and gastric tumors. However, other evidences indicated a 20-fold HLTF overexpression in cell lines derived from various neoplasms (ovary, breast, cervix, kidney...). Results In the present study, we investigated HLTF expression by immunohistochemistry in a model of kidney tumors induced by continuous administration of diethylstilbestrol to male Syrian golden hamsters. A strong labeling was already detected in small tumor buds, making HLTF an early cancer marker in this model. Although every cell stained for HLTF at this early stage, the number of HLTF-positive cells decreased to 10% with cancer progression, and these positive cells were dispersed in the tumor mass. HLTF expression was conserved in the HKT-1097 cell line established from kidney tumors, but again only 10% of positive cells were found in xenografts produced by HKT-1097 cells in nude mice. Conclusion In conclusion, our data suggest that HLTF gene activation is linked to initial steps of carcinogenesis in this model and should be investigated in early stages of other neoplasms.