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Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the association between the use of diseasemodifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), or psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis (PS/PSA). Patients and methods: This retrospective cohort study used a nationwide, population-based administrative database to enroll 84,989 cases with AS, RA, or PS/PSA who initiated treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs or nonbiologic DMARDs. Multivariable analysis was used to estimate the effect of different therapies on the risk of DM. Results: The incidence rates of DM per 1,000 person-years were 8.3 for users of anti-TNF drugs, 13.3 for users of cyclosporine (CSA), 8.4 for users of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), and 8.1 for users of other nonbiologic DMARDs. Compared with the users of nonbiologic DMARDs, the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for DM were significantly lower for those who used anti-TNF drugs with HCQ (aHR: 0.49, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.36-0.66) and those who used HCQ alone (aHR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.63-0.78), but not for those who used anti-TNFs without HCQ (aHR: 1.23, 95% CI: 0.94-1.60) or CSA (aHR: 1.14, 95% CI: 0.77-1.70). Conclusion: The aHR for DM was lowest for patients with RA and PS/PSA who initiated treatment with an anti-TNF agent with concomitant HCQ, followed by HCQ users. Those who used anti-TNF agents without HCQ and other nonbiologic DMARDs had a similar risk of DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Uric acid (UA) is the product of purine or nucleotide metabolism via the pathway of xanthine oxidase or xanthine dehydrogenase. Although epidemiological studies assessing the role of UA in cardiovascular disease or mortality have produced inconsistent results, the correlation between UA and technique failure in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) remains to be assessed. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Setting: Patients starting CAPD between 2001 and 2009 in a single centre in Taiwan. Participants: A total of 371 patients on CAPD. Primary outcome measures: All-cause and peritonitis-related technique failure. Results: A cohort of 371 participants (43.9% male) was enrolled in the study with a mean age of 55.7 ±15.9 years at the start of CAPD. During the study period, technique failure occurred in 41 (34.4%) patients in the hyperuricaemia group compared with 49 (19.4%) in the normouricaemia group (p=0.003). In the multivariate Cox regression models, hyperuricaemia at baseline was significantly associated with both a higher risk of technique failure (HR 1.24; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.42, p=0.001) and peritonitis-related technique failure (HR 1.29; 95% CI 1.07 to 1.57, p=0.008). Conclusions: UA was shown to be associated with all-cause and peritonitis-related technique failure in our study. Patients on CAPD with hyperuricaemia should be closely monitored and strategies of increasing survival on CAPD should be taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emerging viral pathogen that causes severe morbidity and mortality. Up to date, there is no approved or licensed vaccine or antiviral medicines can be used to treat MERS-CoV-infected patients. Here, we analyzed the antiviral activities of resveratrol, a natural compound found in grape seeds and skin and in red wine, against MERS-CoV infection.Methods: We performed MTT and neutral red uptake assays to assess the survival rates of MERS-infected Vero E6 cells. In addition, quantitative PCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescent assays determined the intracellular viral RNA and protein expression. For viral productivity, we utilized plaque assays to confirm the antiviral properties of resveratrol against MERS-CoV.Results: Resveratrol significantly inhibited MERS-CoV infection and prolonged cellular survival after virus infection. We also found that the expression of nucleocapsid (N) protein essential for MERS-CoV replication was decreased after resveratrol treatment. Furthermore, resveratrol down-regulated the apoptosis induced by MERS-CoV in vitro. By consecutive administration of resveratrol, we were able to reduce the concentration of resveratrol while achieving inhibitory effectiveness against MERS-CoV.Conclusion: In this study, we first demonstrated that resveratrol is a potent anti-MERS agent in vitro. We perceive that resveratrol can be a potential antiviral agent against MERS-CoV infection in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths worldwide. Marine microalgae are a source of biologically active compounds and are widely consumed as a nutritional supplement in East Asian countries. It has been reported that Chlorella or Chlorella extracts have various beneficial pharmacological compounds that modulate immune responses; however, no studies have investigated the anti-cancer effects of Chlorella sorokiniana (CS) on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: In this study, we evaluated the anti-cancer effects of CS in two human NSCLC cell lines (A549 and CL1-5 human lung adenocarcinoma cells), and its effects on tumor growth in a subcutaneous xenograft tumor model. We also investigated the possible molecular mechanisms governing the pharmacological function of CS. Results: Our results showed that exposure of the two cell lines to CS resulted in a concentration-dependent reduction in cell viability. In addition, the percentage of apoptotic cells increased in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that CS might induce apoptosis in human NSCLC cells. Western blot analysis revealed that exposure to CS resulted in increased protein expression of the cleaved/activated forms of caspase-3, caspase-9, and PARP, except caspase-8. ZDEVD (caspase-3 inhibitor) and Z-LEHD (caspase-9 inhibitor) were sufficient at preventing apoptosis in both A549 and CL1-5 cells, proving that CS induced cell death via the mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway. Exposure of A549 and CL1-5 cells to CS for 24 h resulted in decreased expression of Bcl-2 protein and increased expression of Bax protein as well as decreased expression of two IAP family proteins, survivin and XIAP. Conclusions: We demonstrated that CS induces mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in NSCLC cells via downregulation of Bcl-2, XIAP and survivin. In addition, we also found that the tumors growth of subcutaneous xenograft in vivo was markedly inhibited after oral intake of CS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sann-Joong-Kuey-Jian-Tang (SJKJT), a traditional Chinese medicine, was previously reported to induce autophagy and inhibit the proliferation of the human HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cell line via an extrinsic pathway. In the present study, the effects of SJKJT-induced autophagy and the cytotoxic mechanisms mediating these effects were investigated in HepG2 cells. The cytotoxicity of SJKJT in the HepG2 cells was evaluated using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) -2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The results demonstrated that the half-maximal inhibitory concentration of SJKJT was 2.91 mg/ml at 24 h, 1.64 mg/ml at 48 h and 1.26 mg/ml at 72 h. The results of confocal fluorescence microscopy indicated that SJKJT resulted in the accumulation of green fluorescent protein-LC3 and vacuolation of the cytoplasm. Flow cytometric analysis revealed the accumulation of acidic vesicular organelles. Furthermore, western blot analysis, used to determine the expression levels of autophagy-associated proteins, demonstrated that the HepG2 cells treated with SJKJT exhibited LC3B-I/LC3B-II conversion, increased expression levels of Beclin, Atg-3 and Atg-5 and reduced expression levels of p62 and decreased signaling of the phosphoinositide-3 kinase/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin and the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Taken together, these findings may assist in the development of novel chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of malignant types of liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To determine the significance of the epithelioid type and the corresponding molecular alterations in hepatic angiomyolipoma ( AML). Methods and results We retrieved 24 samples of hepatic AML to delineate the clinicopathological features and the immunohistochemical expression of components in the m TOR pathway, and employed microsatellite markers to analyse allelic imbalances in the TSC1 and TSC2 regions. Myomatous AML was the most common type, and a predominantly epithelioid cell population was observed in 50% of the samples. Two-thirds of all samples contained <20% of fat tissue. Four cases of monotypic epithelioid AML were discovered without prognostic implications. Elevated phospho-p70S6 kinase expression was noted in 19 samples in the absence of phospho- AKT activity. Loss of heterogeneity ( LOH) of TSC1/ TSC2 was found in 15 samples. As compared wityh syndromic AML samples, sporadic AML samples showed LOH of microsatellite markers to a limited extent. Only four samples had increased β-catenin expression in the context of concurrent high expression of phospho-p70S6 kinase and phospho-S6 ( P = 0.018). Conclusions The low fat content and epithelioid cytomorphology in hepatic AML potentially obstruct preoperative and pathological diagnosis. Alteration of the m TOR pathway and LOH of the tuberous sclerosis complex genes is a frequent pathogenesis in hepatic AMLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) accounts for approximately 75% of childhood leukemia, and chemotherapy remains the mainstay therapy. Baicalein is an active flavonoid used in traditional Chinese medicine and has recently been found to have anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antiallergic properties. This study aims to investigate the molecular apoptotic mechanisms of baicalein in CCRF-CEM leukemic cells and to evaluate the combined therapeutic efficacy of baicalein with several commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs in CCRF-CEM cells. Our results demonstrate that baicalein induces mitochondria-dependent cleavage of caspases-9 and -3 and PARP with concomitant decreases in IAP family proteins, survivin, and XIAR Furthermore, our results present for the first time that baicalein triggers a convergence of the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways via the death receptor-caspase 8-tBid signaling cascade in CCRF-CEM cells. In addition, we also present for the first time that the combination of baicalein and vincristine results in a synergistic therapeutic efficacy. Overall, this combination strategy is recommended for future clinical trials in the treatment of pediatric leukemia owing to baicaleins beneficial effects in alleviating the vomiting, nausea, and skin rashes caused by chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work represents the first evaluation of the effects of water extract of C. nuda (WE-CN), an edible mushroom, on murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) and the potential pathway through which the effects are mediated. Our experimental results show that WE-CN could induce phenotypic maturation of DCs, as shown by the increased expression of MHC and costimulatory molecules. In addition, it also induced the proinflammatory cytokines expression on DCs and enhanced both the proliferation and IFN-γ secretion of allogenic T cells. Therefore, since WE-CN did not induce maturation of DCs generated from mice with mutated TLR-4 or TLR-2, suggesting that TLR4 and TLR2 might function as membrane receptors for WE-CN. Moreover, the mechanism of action of WE-CN may be mediated by increased phosphorylation of ERK, p38, and JNK mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and increased NF-κB p65 activity, which are important signaling molecules downstream of TLR-4 and TLR-2. Finally, coimmunization of mice with WE-CN and a HER-2/neu DNA vaccine induced a HER-2/neu-specific Th1 response that resulted in significant inhibition of HER-2/neu overexpressing mouse bladder tumor (MBT-2) growth. These data suggest that WE-CN induces DC maturation through TLR-4 and/or TLR-2 and that WE-CN can be used as an adjuvant in cancer vaccine immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to evaluate the lowering of uric acid using Balanophora laxiflora extracts and derived phytochemicals on potassium-oxonate-(PO-) induced hyperuricemia inmice. The results revealed that ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction of B. laxiflora extracts exhibited strong xanthine-oxidase-(XOD-) inhibitory activity. In addition, among the 10 subfractions (EA1-10) derived from EtOAc fraction, subfraction 8 (EA8) exhibited the best XOD-inhibitory activity. Four specific phytochemicals, 1-O-(E)- caffeoyl-β-d-glucopyranose (1), 1-O-(E)-p-coumaroyl-β-d-glucopyranose (2), 1,3-di-O-galloyl-4,6-(S)-hexahydroxydiphenoyl- β-d-glucopyranose (3), and 1-O-(E)-caffeoyl-4,6-(S)-hexahydroxydiphenoyl-β-d-glucopyranose (4), were further isolated and identified from this subfraction. Compounds 3 and 4 exhibited the strongest XOD-inhibitory activity compared with other compounds, and both hydrolyzable tannins were determined to be noncompetitive inhibitors according to the Lineweaver-Burk plot. On the other hand, the in vivo hypouricemic effect in hyperuricemic mice was consistent with XOD-inhibitory activity, indicating that B. laxiflora extracts and derived phytochemicals could be potential candidates as new hypouricemic agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calocedrus formosana (Florin) bark acetone/ethylacetate extracts are known to exert an antitumor effect on some human cancer cell lines, but the mechanism is yet to be defined. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Florin leafmethanol extracts on the growth and apoptosis of human bladder cancer cell lines. MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay showed that the growth of these bladder cancer cells was potently inhibited by the Florin leaf extracts. The cell cycle of these extract-treated cells (TCCSUP cells) was arrested at the G2/M phase as determined by flow cytometry. Western blot analysis revealed the increases of cyclin B1 and Cdc2 kinase levels, alone with the decrease of phosphorylated Cdc2 kinase, after treating these cells with the extracts. An immunofluorescence assessment of β-tubulin showed decreased levels of polymerized tubulin in treated cells. However, the proteolytic cleavage of poly ADP-ribose polymerase and the activation of caspase-3/-8/-9 were all increased upon treatments of extracts. The concurrent increase of Bax and decrease of Bcl-2 levels indicated that the extracts could induce apoptosis in these treated cells. Taken together, these results suggest that the Florin leaf extracts may be an effective antibladder cancer agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aristolochic acid (AA) and tetrandrine (TET) are the major bioactive components in Chinese herbs used for weight loss. The nephropathy caused by the 2 Chinese herbs has not been simultaneously investigated. The aim of this study was to examine the potential nephrotoxicity of AA and TET using Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells and mice. The results showed that TET was more potent than AA in inhibiting MDCK cell growth via inducing apoptosis, as determined by annexin-V staining, 4’, 6’-diamino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, DNA fragmentation, and caspase 3 activity. Mice treated with AA (10 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal administration for 3 months showed nephrotoxicity, elevated blood urea nitrogen, and increased renal tubular injuries. In contrast, mice treated with 50 mg/kg of TET in the same time period had moderate hydropic degeneration of the distal tubules in the kidneys. These results suggest that TET is more cytotoxic than AA in MDCK cells but shows less nephrotoxic than AA in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is well known that DNA vaccines induce protective humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in several animal models. Antrodia camphorata (AC) is a unique basidiomycete fungus of the Polyporaceae family that only grows on the aromatic tree Cinnamomum kanehirai Hayata ( Lauraceae) endemic to Taiwan. Importantly, AC has been shown to be highly beneficial in the treatment and prevention of cancer. The goal of this study was to investigate whether AC is able to augment the antitumor immune properties of a HER-2/neu DNA vaccine in a mouse model in which p185neu is overexpressed in MBT-2 tumor cells. Compared with the mice that received the HER-2/neu DNA vaccine alone, co-treatment with AC suppressed tumor growth and extended the survival rate. This increase in the antitumor efficacy was attributed to the enhancement of the Th1-like cellular immune response by the HER-2/neu DNA vaccine–AC combination. Evidence for this came from the marked increase in the IFN-γ mRNA expression in CD4+ T cells in the draining inguinal lymph nodes, an increase in the number of functional HER-2/neu-specific CTLs, and the increased tumor infiltration of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, depletion of which abolishes the antitumor effect of the HER-2/neu DNA vaccine–AC therapy. Our results further indicate that the treatment of mice with AC enhanced DC activation and production of Th1-activating cytokines (e.g. IL-12, and IFN-α) in the draining lymph nodes, which were sufficient to directly stimulate T cell proliferation and higher IFN-γ production in response to ErbB2. Overall, these results clearly demonstrate that AC represents a promising immunomodulatory adjuvant that could enhance the therapeutic potency of HER-2/neu DNA vaccines in cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib is effective against lung cancer cells carrying mutant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR); however, it is not effective against lung cancer carrying normal EGFR. The breaking of immune tolerance against self epidermal growth factor receptor with active immunization may be a useful approach for the treatment of EGFR-positive lung tumors. Xenogeneic EGFR gene was demonstrated to induce antigen-specific immune response against EGFR-expressing tumor with intramuscular administration. Methods: In order to enhance the therapeutic effect of xenogeneic EGFR DNA vaccine, the efficacy of altering routes of administration and formulation of plasmid DNA was evaluated on the mouse lung tumor (LL2) naturally overexpressing endogenous EGFR in C57B6 mice. Three different combination forms were studied, including (1) intramuscular administration of noncoating DNA vaccine, (2) gene gun administration of DNA vaccine coated on gold particles, and (3) gene gun administration of non-coating DNA vaccine. LL2-tumor bearing C57B6 mice were immunized four times at weekly intervals with EGFR DNA vaccine. Results: The results indicated that gene gun administration of non-coating xenogenic EGFR DNA vaccine generated the strongest cytotoxicty T lymphocyte activity and best antitumor effects. CD8(+) T cells were essential for anti-tumor immunityas indicated by depletion of lymphocytes in vivo. Conclusion: Thus, our data demonstrate that administration of non-coating xenogenic EGFR DNA vaccine by gene gun may be the preferred method for treating EGFR-positive lung tumor in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA vaccine represents a novel method to elicit immunity against infectious disease. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) copurified with plasmid DNA may affect therapeutic efficacy and immunological response. We aimed to study the effect of LPS on the therapeutic efficacy of HER-2/neu DNA vaccine in a mouse tumor animal model. Plasmid DNA purified from commercial EndoFree plasmid purification kits functioned as a better therapeutic DNA vaccine than that purified from Non-EndoFree purification kit, which contains 0.5 g LPS per 100 mg DNA plasmid. To further investigate the effect of LPS on the therapeutic efficacy of DNA vaccine, increasing amount of LPS was added to endotoxin-free plasmid DNA, and inoculated on mice with established tumors. One g of LPS significantly attenuated the therapeutic effect of neu DNA vaccine and increased Th2 immune responses bias with interleukin-4 cytokine production. In contrast, high amount (100 g) of LPS enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of neu DNA vaccine with an increase of cytotoxic T lymphocyte response and Th1 immune response. The effect of LPS on DNA vaccine was diminished when the tumor was grown in toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)mutant C3H/HeJ mice. Our results indicate that variation in the LPS doses exerts opposing effects on the therapeutic efficacy of DNA vaccine, and the observed effect is TLR4 dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geldanamycin (GA), a heat-shock protein (HSP) 90 inhibitor, induces degradation of HSP90 client proteins, which may promote the presentation of degradation peptides with major histocompatibility complex class I on cancer cells. We hypothesized that GA may enhance the efficacy of DNA vaccination, and investigated the therapeutic effect of the combination of GA and a DNA vaccine against HSP90 clients p185neu and Met. The efficacy of various doses of GA combined with an N-terminal neu (N′-neu) DNA vaccine was investigated in a transplanted tumor constitutively overexpressing endogenous p185neu. Low-dose (2.5 μg) but not high-dose (10 μg) GA enhanced the effect of N′-neu DNA vaccination on the inhibition of murine bladder tumor-2 tumors in syngeneic C3H mice. Anti-p185neu antibody titers were similar among all treated groups. Significantly increased infiltrations of CD8+ T cells and NK cells were observed at tumor sites. GA sensitized tumor cells to the cytotoxic effects of lymphocytes. Depletion of CD8+ T cells eliminated most of the therapeutic efficacy; in contrast, depletion of CD4+ T cells enhanced the therapeutic efficacy. A similar enhancing effect was observed for the combination of GA and a DNA vaccine targeting the Met oncogene. Our results support the use of combination of GA and DNA vaccination against GA-targeted proteins.Molecular Therapy (2007) 15, 404–410. doi:10.1038/sj.mt.6300014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Geldanamycin induces degradation of Hsp90 client proteins, which may promote the presentation of degradation peptide with MHC class I on cancer cells. We hypothesized that geldanamycin may enhance the efficacy of DNA vaccine, and investigated the therapeutic effect of the combination of geldanamycin and DNA vaccine against Hsp90 client p185neu and MetExperimental Designs: The efficacy of various doses of geldanamycin combined with N′-terminal neu (N′-neu) DNA vaccine was investigated in a transplanted tumor constitutively overexpressing endogenous p185neu. Cellular and humoral immune responses were evaluated.Results: Low dose (2.5 μg), but not high dose (10 μg) geldanamycin had a synergistic inhibitive effect with N′-neu DNA vaccine on the growth of MBT-2 tumors in syngeneic C3H mice. Anti-p185neu antibody titers were similar among all treated groups. Significantly increased infiltrations of CD8+ T cells and NK cells were observed at tumor sites. Geldanamycin sensitized tumor cells to the cytotoxic effects of lymphocytes. Depletion of CD8+ T cells eliminated most of the therapeutic efficacy; in contrast, depletion of CD4+ T cells enhanced the therapeutic efficacy. The synergistic effect was observed for the combination of geldanamycin and DNA vaccine targeting Met oncogene.Conclusions: The combination of N′-neu DNA vaccine and a low dose of geldanamycin has a synergistic therapeutic effect. The enhancement is mainly due to enhanced activity of CD8+ T cells, and partly attributable increased infitration of NK cells. Our results support the use of a combination of geldanamycin and DNA vaccine against geldanamycin-targeted proteins.Molecular Therapy (2006) 13, S102–S102; doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2006.08.321 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA vaccines are a new and powerful approach to generation of immunological responses against infectious disease and cancer. DNA can be delivered either into muscle by simple injection or into epidermal by gene gun. Intramuscular injection requires large amount of DNA (100microgram/per mouse) to elicit the immune response; in contrast, microparticlulate bombardment system can induce immune response using very low amount of DNA (1 microgram/per mouse). One disadvantage of gene gun bombardment is that non-biodegradable gold or tungsten may skew the immune response or cause adverse side effect when accumulated. In this report, we have demonstrated the direct delivery of naked DNA without any microparticle using a modified gene gun. The modified gene gun is based on the aerodynamic theory that a supersonic flow is generated when the pressure difference between the inside and the outside pressure of the nozzle is greater than 1.9atm. This high speed airflow can carry the particle from stationary state to accelerate to an extreme high speed (200m/sec). In this way, the naked DNA may be directly transformed into the mammalian cells. Previous study indicated that this modified gene gun achieve similar deliver efficacy as the gene gun commercially available using gold-coated DNA. In this report, we showed that the modified gene gun can achieve 10–40% delivery efficacy as the gold particle coated with DNA in Balb/C mice, C57BL/6 mice, and C3H mice using luciferase gene reporter driven by CMV promoter. Then, we examined the immune responses elicited by inoculation of DNA encoding HBV large surface protein expressed by its own promoter. The non-microparticle DNA and gold-coated DNA elicited similar humoral immunity as shown by antibody titer. Similar overall cytokine profile was induced by either type of DNA vaccine. Furthermore, we examined the therapeutic responses with the DNA vaccine against the extracellular domain of neu on the mouse tumor (MBT-2) naturally overexpressing neu in C3H mice. The results indicated that non-microparticle naked neu DNA vaccine can achieve similar anti-tumor effect as the gold-coated neu DNA vaccine in C3H mice at the dose of 1 microgram/per mouse.Molecular Therapy (2006) 13, S291–S291; doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2006.08.835 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About 80% of the world population currently relies on indigenous or traditional medicines to treat many types of aliments. Antrodia cinnamomea (niu-chang-chih, previously named A. camphorata; hereafter referred to as AC) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal mushroom that is found only in the endemic, aromatic tree Cinnamomum kanehirai Hayata (Lauraceae) in Taiwan. The aromatic fruiting body of AC looks like a brownish-red leaf attached to the C. kanehirai tree of sessile. A great deal of work has been carried out on the therapeutic potential of AC. Over 225 compounds extracted from AC have been described, including macromolecules (nucleic acids, proteins, and polysaccharides), small molecules (benzenoids, lignans, benzoquinones and maleic/succinic acid derivatives), terpenoids (lanostane triterpenes, ergostane triterpenes, diterpenes, monoterpenes and steroids), nucleotides (nucleobase and nucleoside), fatty acids and fatty acid esters. Many of them exhibit pharmacological activity, with anticancer, antihyperlipidemic, antihypertensive, antiinflammatory, cardiovascular, hepatoprotective, vasodilatory, neuroprotective, immunological, antimicrobial and anti-oxidative properties. They can also attenuate the progression of nephritis and the activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor by cigarette smoke. Because AC has attracted a lot of attention for its antitumour and immunological properties, this review will focus on these in particular, and we will also discuss their underlying mechanisms of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myoepithelioma/myoepithelial carcinomas are not commonly found in soft tissues and are especially rare at visceral sites. This report describes a case of a rare low-grade myoepithelial carcinoma of the stomach. A 61-year-old female patient presented with postprandial abdominal discomfort. Endoscopy revealed a 1.1 cm submucosal lesion. Local excision was performed after malignancy was confirmed by biopsy. The resection margin is free of tumor and she received no adjuvant therapy. The tumor was characterized by multinodular growth with biphasic epithelioid and spindle components. Infiltrative margin and nuclear pleomorphism are seen. Tumor cells were positive for both epithelial and myoepithelial markers. Evidence of epithelial differentiation was confirmed by electron microscopy. No EWSR1 rearrangement was detected. The final diagnosis was low-grade myoepithelial gastric carcinoma. The patient is currently well, and no evidence of recurrence or metastasis was found after ten-month of follow-up. Myoepithelial carcinoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a biphasic gastric tumor.

Malignant mesonephric mixed tumor (MMMT), or mesonephric carcinosarcoma, is a rare tumor with malignant epithelial and mesenchymal components, and is found mostly in the uterine cervix. While diagnosed at the early stage in most cases, MMMT can have an aggressive course. The clinical significance of the presence of sarcomatous components remains unsettled. We report a case of MMMT of the uterine cervix in a patient who presented with tumor rupture, instead of the common presentation, vaginal bleeding. This unusual presentation has not been reported in the literature. It implies that MMMT may progress rapidly without any prodrome and pose a surgical emergency. Unlike most cervical adenocarcinomas, both mesonephric adenocarcinoma and MMMT are not related to human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. Because mesonephric neoplasms have a different etiology, their prevention, screening, and treatment should be further investigated. Thirteen cases of MMMT reported in the literature are also reviewed.