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The aim of this study was to clarify the topographical relationships between the greater occipital nerve and the trapezius muscle and between the greater occipital nerve and the occipital artery in the occiput in order to increase the success rate of greater occipital nerve blockade. Fifty-six halved heads of 28 cadavers were used in this study. The piercing points and the courses of the greater occipital nerve and occipital artery were analyzed by dividing a line connecting between the external occipital protuberance and mastoid process into three equal parts. A circle with a radius of 2 cm drawn at the medial trisection point of this line was divided into four equal sectors. The greater occipital nerve simply passed the lateral border of the trapezius muscle and then pierced the fascia connecting the cranial attachment of the trapezius muscle with the sternocleidomastoid muscle in 62.5% of the specimens, whereas it pierced the muscle itself in the other 37.5%. The greater occipital nerve and occipital artery pierced the fascia within the 2-cm-radius circle in 85.7% and 98.2% of the specimens, respectively. The piercing points of the greater occipital nerve and occipital artery were observed most frequently in the inferomedial (42.9%) and inferolateral (37.5%) sectors of the circle, respectively. The greater occipital nerve and occipital artery pierced the same sector of the circle and accompanied each other in 51.8% of the specimens. These results are expected to improve the understanding of the topographical relationships between the greater occipital nerve and trapezius muscle and between the greater occipital nerve and occipital artery in the occiput, and thus provide helpful information for the management of occipital neuralgia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In breast cancer, the HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) receptor tyrosine kinase is associated with extremely poor prognosis and survival. Notch signalling has a key role in cell-fate decisions, especially in cancer-initiating cells. The Notch intracellular domain produced by Notch cleavage is translocated to the nucleus where it activates transcription of target genes. To determine the combinatory effect of HER2 and Notch signalling in breast cancer, we investigated the effect of HER2 on Notch-induced cellular phenomena. We found the down-regulation of Notch-dependent transcriptional activity by HER2 overexpression. Also, the HER2/ERK (extracellularsignal- regulated kinase) signal pathway down-regulated the activity of γ-secretase. When we examined the protein level of Notch target genes in HER2-overexpressing cells, we observed that the level of survivin, downstream of Notch, increased in HER2 cells. We found that activation of ERK resulted in a decrease in XAF1 [XIAP (X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis)- associated factor 1] which reduced the formation of the XIAP-XAF1 E3 ligase complex to ubiquitinate survivin. In addition, Thr34 of survivin was shown to be the most important residue in determining survivin stability upon phosphorylation after HER2/Akt/CDK1 (cyclin-dependent kinase 1)-cyclin B1 signalling. The results of the present study showthe combinatorial effects of HER2 and Notch during breast oncogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α-Fetoprotein (AFP)-producing gastric cancer is rare, characterized by high malignant potential (high proliferative activity, lack of apoptosis, and rich neovascularization), and associated with a dismal prognosis when it metastasizes to the liver. We present here a case of metastatic α-fetoprotein-producing gastric cancer to the liver in a 72-year-old man who was treated with repeated hepatic transarterial embolization (TAE) in combination with systemic chemotherapy. The tumor metastasis controlling effects seen may suggest a therapeutic option in these cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MMTV-neu transgenic mice overexpressing NEU in their mammary glands develop tumor after 6 months of age. To find a novel protein biomarker using this mouse model, we identified and characterized the proteins that were differently expressed between primary mammary epithelial cells from 2 months old MMTV-neu heterozygote mice and wild type (WT) littermates using two-dimensional digest (ChemDigest™/Trypsin)-LC-MS/MS. The differentially expressed proteins were selected and analyzed using DAVID Bioinformatics resource. The proteins involved in anti-apoptosis, purine metabolism, ribosome and proteasome functions were upregulated, whereas cell adhesion-related proteins were downregulated in PMECs from MMTV-neu mice when compared with WT PMECs. The results indicate that several functional units are coregulated by HER2/NEU. We hypothesize that these changes in the cellular proteome may be responsible for early onset of HER2/NEU-driven tumorigenesis. © 2009 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 62(1):41–50, 2010 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed a phase II study of combination chemotherapy with S-1 plus gemcitabine for treating chemo-naïve patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity. Patients with histologically confirmed unresectable pancreatic cancer were eligible. The treatment consisted of S-1 (40 mg/m2 p.o. b.i.d. from D1 to 14) and gemcitabine (1,250 mg/m2 on D1 and 8), repeated every 3 weeks. Thirty-two patients were enrolled between March 2005 and December 2007. No complete response was observed and a partial response was observed in 14 patients (44.0%), stable disease in eight patients (25.0%), and progressive disease in eight patients (25.0%). The median time to progression was 4.92 months (95% CI: 4.16–5.67 months), and the median overall survival was 7.89 months (95% CI: 5.96–9.82 months). The survival duration was significantly longer for the patients with a good performance status compared with that of the patients with a poor performance status. The major toxicities were grade 3–4 neutropenia (9, 28.1%), grade 3/4 thrombocytopenia (5, 15.6%), and grade 3 diarrhea (5, 15.6%). The combination chemotherapy of S-1 and gemcitabine showed promising antitumor activity and manageable toxicities, and especially for the good performance status patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure and function of the Antarctic marine diatom Chaetoceros neogracile antifreeze protein (Cn-AFP), as well as its expression levels and characteristics of the ice-binding site, were analyzed in the present study. In silico analysis revealed that the Cn-AFP promoter contains both light- and temperature-responsive elements. Northern and Western blot analyses demonstrated that both Cn-AFP transcript and protein expression were strongly and rapidly stimulated by freezing, as well as temperature and high light stress. Immunogold labeling revealed that Cn-AFP is preferentially localized to the intracellular space near the chloroplast membrane. Recombinant Cn-AFP had clear antifreeze activity. Protein-folding simulation was used to predict the putative ice-binding sites in Cn-AFP, and site-directed mutagenesis of the Cn-AFP b-face confirmed their identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]