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Male germ cell tumors (GCTs) are uniquely sensitive to cisplatin-based chemotherapy, with more than 90% of newly diagnosed cases cured. The underlying cause for resistance to treatment in 20-30% of metastatic lesions remains to be identified. Unlike other solid tumors, no mutations in the TP53 gene have been identified to date in random panels of GCT specimens, which could account for the exquisite sensitivity of these tumors to genotoxic insult. However, in a panel of resistant GCTs that did either not respond to cisplatin-based chemotherapy or subsequently relapsed and resulted in the death of the patient, we have now identified a subset of tumors to contain TP53 mutations within exons 6-9. A cell line derived from one of these tumors (228A) displayed the same TP53 mutation as the tumor specimen, expressed only mutant TP53 mRNA, and exhibited a relative resistance to cisplatin in vitro in comparison to a cell line (218A) derived from a responsive tumor with wild-type TP53. The resistant cell line displayed a much reduced apoptotic cell death and did not exhibit an induction of transcription of the p53-responsive genes WAF1 and MDM2 following cisplatin treatment, compared to that observed in the sensitive cell line. The levels of bax, an agonist of apoptosis, were found to be reduced in the resistant cell line. The simplest explanation for the resistance of this subset of GCTs that are resistant to cisplatin-based chemotherapy, is the inability of the cells to mount an apoptotic response following exposure due to a functionally inactivating mutation in the TP53 gene.

The problems in the extinction test for transmission losses are analyzed. According to laser transmissions theory, the laser rangefinder's comprehensive range ability equation and the transmission loss equation are derived. And the relationships between transmission losses and visibility are verified.

The BCL6 gene encodes a zinc-finger transcription factor and is altered by chromosomal arrangements in its 5' noncoding region in approximately 30% of diffuse large-cell lymphoma (DLCL). We report here that, in 22/30 (73%) DLCL and 7/15 (47%) follicular lymphoma (FL), but not in other tumor types, the BCL6 gene is also altered by multiple (1.4 x 10(-3) -1.6 x 10(-2) per bp), often biallelic, mutations clustering in its 5' noncoding region. These mutations are of somatic origin and are found in cases displaying either normal or rearranged BLC6 alleles indicating their independence from chromosomal rearrangements and linkage to immunoglobulin genes. These alterations identify a mechanism of genetic instability in malignant B cells and may have been selected during lymphomagenesis for their role in altering BCL6 expression.

We have cloned a 1.8-kb segment of DNA just adjacent to the 5′ end of the 6.4-kb BamHI fragment which contains the Ha-ras oncogene (rasl; GenBank notation HUMRASH). Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) indicate the presence of multiple nuclear protein-binding sites within the 1.8-kb segment. At least three putative regulatory protein-binding sites have been identified in a 206-bp subfragment by DNase I footprint analysis. Within the subfragment containing the DNase-protected regions, there is also a segment containing a number of consensus sequences for DNA-binding proteins and two sub-sequences that exhibit strong sequence homology to at least two previously characterized enhancers. These data suggest that a novel set of regulatory elements may lie as far as 2 kb upstream from the normal Ha-ras transcription start points.

Abstract 1773 Risk stratification in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is highly desirable and should comprise not only evaluation of clinical features but also molecular prognostic markers. Currently such molecular markers include loss of 17p13, 11q22, 13q14, 6q22, and gain of chromosome 12 as assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and mutation status of the variable region of the IGH gene (IGHV) by sequencing. In recent years, genome-wide scanning technologies such as array-comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) have revealed novel and refined known copy number alterations (CNAs) in the CLL genome. In order to evaluate the potential of array-CGH in prognostication in mature B-cell neoplasms, including CLL, and implement array-CGH in a clinical diagnostic laboratory, a targeted oligonucleotide-based microarray was custom designed to represent genomic regions exhibiting gain/loss in these lymphoid neoplasms. The 4 × 44K formatted array included 2 × 17,348 probes for the 80 selected genomic regions (average resolution of 34kbp), and recommended controls including a 1Mbp genome backbone. DNA extracted from two CLL datasets were submitted to array-CGH using an equimixture of commercially available male/female DNA as a reference. CNAs were detected using Genomics Workbench Lite (Agilent Technologies, Inc.) with the ADM2 algorithm. Analytical sensitivity was assessed by cell line DNA dilution and by FISH (116 specimens) and was 30–40% and 20–25%, respectively. Recurrent CNAs in previously untreated patients, greater than 1.5Mbp in size, were analyzed for association with time to first treatment (TTFT) and overall survival (OS) by the log rank test. Association with IGHV mutation status was tested using the Fisher's two-sided exact test. In both datasets for untreated specimens, unmutated IGHV negatively correlated with both TTFT and OS significantly (p < 0.05). Gain of chromosome 12 was detected in 11–12% of untreated specimens in both datasets and as expected did not associate with outcome. Loss of 13q14 as a sole abnormality (excluding copy number changes arising at known sites of normal variation) was associated with an overall favorable outcome, but specimens with loss of both loci (MIR15A/16-1 and RB1) versus one locus (MIR15A/16-1) did not display significantly different outcomes. As expected loss of 17p13 associated with shorter TTFT and OS, and was observed at higher levels in treated specimens. A similar result was observed for 11q22 loss but not in the second dataset, perhaps due to the relatively short follow-up time. Importantly, four additional copy number changes (gain of 2p, 3q, and 8q, and loss of 8p) were found to associate with shorter TTFT and/or OS, and also occurred at higher frequency in treated specimens. Notably, all but one specimen exhibiting two of these CNAs, were Rai Stage 0-II. After multiple comparisons correction, gain of 2p and 3q, and loss of 8p remained significantly associated with an unfavorable outcome. Gain of 2p25.3-p15 was observed exclusively in unmutated IGHV specimens. Loss of 18p and gain of 17q24 were not considered further for testing due to low frequency or lower frequency in treated specimens (data not shown). Uniquely, these data demonstrate in low-intermediate risk CLL cohorts the prognostic value of genomic gain/loss at multiple sites and support implementation of array-CGH into a clinical setting for risk stratification in CLL where genomic gain or loss of multiple clinically relevant genomic regions can be assessed simultaneously. Dataset 1 Untreated n = 81 TTFT p-value OS p-value Treated n = 38 Dataset 2 n = 169 TTFT p-value OS p-value Treated n = 28 Median TTFT 87.6 mo 24.1 mo Median OS 117.7 mo 37.2 mo Rai Stage 0 25 77 I-II 42 48 III-IV 5 1 na 9 43 Unmutated IGHV 46% (n=80) 0.0003 0.0004 38% (n=163) 0.002 0.044 13q14 loss (sole abnormality) 52.5% 0.038‡ 0.087‡ 33.7% 0.144‡ 0.008‡ MIR15A/16-1, RB1 27.5% 0.77 0.337 11.2% 0.011 1 MIR15A/16-1 25.0% 22.5% 11q22 loss (ATM) 12.3% 0.125 0.009 23.7% 8.3% 0.393 0.977 14.3% 17p13 loss (TP53) 2.5% 0.010 0.012 15.8% 4.7% 0.006 Disclosures: Houldsworth: Cancer Genetics, Inc.: Employment. Guttapalli:Cancer Genetics, Inc.: Employment. Ma:Cancer Genetics, Inc.: Employment. Chen:Cancer Genetics, Inc.: Employment. Patil:Cancer Genetics, Inc.: Consultancy.

The hypothalamus plays a key role in coordinating fundamental body functions. Despite recent progress in single-cell technologies, a unified catalog and molecular characterization of the heterogeneous cell types and, specifically, neuronal subtypes in this brain region are still lacking. Here, we present an integrated reference atlas, ‘HypoMap,’ of the murine hypothalamus, consisting of 384,925 cells, with the ability to incorporate new additional experiments. We validate HypoMap by comparing data collected from Smart-Seq+Fluidigm C1 and bulk RNA sequencing of selected neuronal cell types with different degrees of cellular heterogeneity. Finally, via HypoMap, we identify classes of neurons expressing glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (Glp1r) and prepronociceptin (Pnoc), and validate them using single-molecule in situ hybridization. Collectively, HypoMap provides a unified framework for the systematic functional annotation of murine hypothalamic cell types, and it can serve as an important platform to unravel the functional organization of hypothalamic neurocircuits and to identify druggable targets for treating metabolic disorders.

Background Mechanical load-induced intraosseous pressure gradients may result in some fluid stimuli effects, such as fluid flow and fluid shear stress (FSS), which may enable bone cells to detect external mechanical signals. Interstitial bone fluid flow is known to occur in lacunar–canalicular porosity (PLC). Methods In order to characterize lacunar–canalicular fluid flow behavior, a hierarchical osteon system is developed. The osteon is modeled as a poroelastic annular cylinder with two types of impermeable boundary cases considered on its outer wall: one is elastic restrained (Case I), whereas the other is displacement confined (Case II). Analytical solutions such as canalicular fluid velocity, pressure, fluid flow rate (FFR), and shear stress are obtained. Results Results show that the amplitudes of FFR and FSS are proportional to strain amplitude and frequency. However, the key loading factor governing canalicular fluid flow behavior is the strain rate. The larger canalicular radius is, the larger amplitudes of FFR and FSS generalized, especially, the FSS amplitude is proportional to canalicular radius. In addition, both FFR and FSS amplitudes produced in case II are larger than those of case I. Conclusion Strain rate can be acted as a representative loading parameter governing the canalicular fluid flow behavior under a physiological state. This model can facilitate better understanding the load induced the fluid permeation in the PLC. The approach can also be used to analyze the structure of the proteoglycan matrix in the fluid space surrounding the osteocytic process in the canaliculus.

Background Corneal tensile strain increases if the cornea becomes thin or if intraocular pressure increases. However, the effects of mechanical stress on extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling in the corneal repair process and the corneal anomalies are unknown. Methods In this study, the combined effects of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in corneal fibroblasts under cyclic stretching were investigated in vitro. Cultured rabbit corneal fibroblasts were subjected to 5, 10 or 15 % cyclic equibiaxial stretching at 0.1 Hz for 36 h in the presence of IL-1β. Conditioned medium was harvested for the analysis of MMP2 and MMP9 protein production using the gelatin zymography and western blot techniques. Results and conclusions Cyclic equibiaxial stretching changed the cell morphology by increasing the contractility of F-actin fibres. IL-1β alone induced the expression of MMP9 and increased the production of MMP2, and 5 % stretching alone decreased the production of MMP2, which indicates that a low stretching magnitude can reduce ECM degradation. In the presence of IL-1β, 5 and 10 % stretching increased the production of MMP2, whereas 15 % stretching increased the production of MMP9. These results indicate that MMP expression is enhanced by cyclic mechanical stimulation in the presence of IL-1β, which is expected to contribute to corneal ECM degradation, leading to the development of post-refractive surgery keratectasia.