Acta histochemica
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A relationship has been shown between preeclampsia (PE) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and oxidative stress (OS). Since such pregnancies experience OS, we aimed to detect the distribution pattern and expression levels of a transcription factor, Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) that has a role in the regulation of antioxidant enzymes, and peroxiredoxin 6 (Prdx6) an antioxidant enzyme, in human healthy, IUGR, PE and in groups of rat healthy and IUGR placentas using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Both Nrf2 and Prdx6 immunoreactivities were weaker in human and rat IUGR group placentas compared to human and rat control group placentas, respectively. ⋯ Nrf2 and Prdx6 immunoreactivities were seen in the decidua, syncytiotrophoblasts, villous stromal cells, and vascular endothelium in human control, IUGR and PE group placentas. Results of Nrf2 and Prdx6 Western blotting applied for rat and human placentas were compatible with the results of Nrf2 and Prdx6 immunohistochemical observations with regard to rat and human placentas. Down-regulation of Nrf2 and Prdx6 proteins in human and rat IUGR group placentas may have led to the formation of OS which may have impaired proliferation and invasion of cytotrophoblasts.
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We have used human specimens and antibodies to pERK1/2 to detect early development of colon cancer using indirect immunocytochemistry. Two distinct sites were stained; one at the tip of the colon crypts and the other in the stromal tissue associated with the colonic tissue. These foci represent early stages of colon cancer initiation sites as established by enhanced Kirsten Rat Sarcoma Virus (KRAS) and the lack of p53 staining. ⋯ We found that the tumors arising from the stroma demonstrated poor structural differentiation, while the tumors initiating from the epithelial cells of the colon demonstrated high structural differentiation. We conclude that pERK1/2 is a sensitive marker of early colon cancer, which disappears at later stages of cancer development. Moreover, pERK1/2 staining can distinguish between tumor cells originating from the tip of the colon crypts and those developing in the stroma, which is present in the close vicinity to colon epithelial tissue, and thus can assist in selecting the appropriate therapy.
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Papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) includes two different morphological subtypes. The differences of genetics and ultrastructure of the two subtypes have been rarely reported. Also, new biomarkers related to the diagnosis and prognosis of PRCC have still not been well elucidated. ⋯ We conclude that the two subtypes of PRCC originate from different renal cells, and arise from partially common genetic pathways. EMA, CK7, CD10, p504s, PAX-2, PAX-8 and CA-IX are helpful markers in the differential diagnosis of PRCC. CA-IX expression, losses of chromosome 18 and 8 are new prognostic factors of PRCC.
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Sex differences in pain-related behavior and expression of calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) in dorsal root ganglia were studied in rat models of Diabetes mellitus type 1 (DM1) and type 2 (DM2). DM1 was induced with 55mg/kg streptozotocin, and DM2 with a combination of high-fat diet and 35mg/kg of streptozotocin. Pain-related behavior was analyzed using thermal and mechanical stimuli. ⋯ The expression of gamma and delta isoforms of CaMKII remained unchanged in all analyzed animal groups. Different patterns of glycemia and tCaMKII expression in male and female model of DM1 were not associated with sexual dimorphism in pain-related behavior. The present findings do not suggest sex-related differences in diabetic painful peripheral neuropathy in male and female diabetic rats.
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One paradigm of cancer development claims that cancer emerges at the niche of tissue stem cells and these cells continue to proliferate in the tumor as cancer stem cells. LGR5, a membrane receptor, was recently found to be a marker of normal colon stem cells in colon polyps and is also expressed in colon cancer stem cells. Nanog, an embryonic stem cell nuclear factor, is expressed in several embryonic tissues, but Nanog expression is not well documented in cancerous stem cells. ⋯ However, some of the cell layers adjacent to the carcinoma cell layers that still remained undifferentiated, expressed mainly Nanog with only a few cells labeled with antibodies to LGR5. Considering the different sites and pattern of expression in the tumor, our data imply that targeting the clustered stem cells expressing LGR5 in poorly differentiated colon cancer may require different strategies than targeting the stem cells expressing Nanog in the highly differentiated tumors. Alternatively, combined application of specific inhibitory miRNAs to Nanog and to LGR5 expression may assist therapeutically.