Search

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:The intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering and side effects in response to different prostaglandin F2α analogues can be variable, but, the underlying basis for this difference remains unknown. This study investigated the differential changes of cellular proteins relevant to IOP-lowering effects of latanoprost and bimatoprost. METHODS:The human T lymphoblast (MOLT-3) cell line and immortalized human trabecular meshwork (iHTM) cells were studied by quantitative PCR and by immunofluorescence after treatment with either latanoprost or bimatoprost. New Zealand white rabbit eyes were treated topically with each agent and, following euthanasia, anterior segment tissues were studied with immunostaining. RESULTS:In cultured MOLT-3 cells, mRNA expression of both c-fos and matrix metalloproteinase 9 increased significantly in response to each agent. In addition, there was little change in tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-3 mRNA, but a significant decrease in TIMP-4. Fibronectin mRNA in MOLT-3 cells was down-regulated with bimatoprost, but was up-regulated with latanoprost. Immunofluorescence analysis of iHTM cells showed that intracellular fibronectin was significantly decreased by bimatoprost, but was increased by latanoprost. Both latanoprost and bimatoprost increased mRNA expression of NF-кB p65 and decreased that of IкBα. Aquaporin-1 mRNA expression was significantly down-regulated by bimatoprost. Immunostaining also revealed a significant decrease of aquaporin-1 in the ciliary epithelium of New Zealand white rabbits after bimatoprost treatment. CONCLUSIONS:Similarities in protein expression produced by latanoprost and bimatoprost in vitro may be relevant to the mechanism for their IOP-lowering effects in vivo. Differences in fibronectin expression and in aquaporin-1 expression in response to each agent may contribute to variability in the IOP-lowering efficacy in some studies.

BACKGROUND:Lifestyle behaviors have been widely reported to influence the survival of patients with head and neck cancer. However, the relationship between pretreatment lifestyle behaviors and survival among patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is unclear. METHODS:A prospective cohort study was designed to determine the relationship between lifestyle behaviors and survival in 1,533 NPC patients recruited from October 2005 to October 2007. Pretreatment lifestyle behaviors (such as body-mass index [BMI], smoking, alcohol, diet) of the patients were investigated. Univariate and multivariate proportional-hazards models were used to assess the impact of lifestyle behaviors on patient survival. RESULTS:Smoking was a predictor of survival; both current smokers (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.88; 95% CI, 1.33 to 2.65) and heavy smokers (≥ 25 Pack-years; HR = 1.84; 95% CI, 1.30 to 2.60) showed associations with poor survival. Higher BMI was significantly associated with a lower risk of death (P(trend) = 0.002). Compared with under/normal-weight patients (BMI less than 22.99 kg/m(2)), the multivariate HR for survival was 0.66 (95% CI, 0.48 to 0.90) and 0.47 (95% CI, 0.23 to 0.97) for overweight and obese patients, respectively. No alcohol intake and high fruit intake were associated with favorable survival in the univariate analysis but lost significance in the multivariate model. CONCLUSION:Our findings indicate that pretreatment lifestyle behaviors, especially smoking status and BMI, as easily available data, provide prognostic value for survival in NPC patients.

The elicitor Hrip1 isolated from necrotrophic fungus Alternaria tenuissima, could induce systemic acquired resistance in tobacco to enhance resistance to tobacco mosaic virus. In the present study, we found that the transgenic lines of Hrip1-overexpression in wild type (WT) Arabidopsis thaliana were more resistant to Spodoptera exigua and were early bolting and flowering than the WT. A profiling of transcription assay using digital gene expression profiling was used for transgenic and WT Arabidopsis thaliana. Differentially expressed genes including 40 upregulated and three downregulated genes were identified. In transgenic lines of Hrip1-overexpression, three genes related to jasmonate (JA) biosynthesis were significantly upregulated, and the JA level was found to be higher than WT. Two GDSL family members (GLIP1 and GLIP4) and pathogen-related gene, which participated in pathogen defense action, were upregulated in the transgenic line of Hrip1-overexpression. Thus, Hrip1 is involved in affecting the flower bolting time and regulating endogenous JA biosynthesis and regulatory network to enhance resistance to insect.