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Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis; hence, novel prognostic markers and effective therapeutic targets should be identified. We aimed to evaluate folate receptor alpha (FR-α) expression in pancreatic cancer and examine its association with clinicopathological features. We utilized tissue samples from 100 primary pancreatic cancer patients who underwent surgery. FR-α was expressed in 37 of 100 cases (37%). The FR-α-positive group (median, 18.8 months) had a significantly poorer prognosis than the FR-α-negative group [median 21.3 months; HR 1.89 (1.12-3.12); P = 0.017]. These groups were not significantly different regarding progression-free survival (P = 0.196). Furthermore, other serum tumor markers including CA19-9 (mean, 186 vs. 822 U/ml; P = 0.001), Dupan-2 (286 vs. 1133 U/ml; P = 0.000), and Span-1 (69.7 vs. 171.9 U/ml; P = 0.006) were significantly downregulated in the FR-α-positive group. CA19-9 was another prognostic factor, in addition to FR-α, and patient prognosis showed clear stratification curves with the expression of these two molecules. Along with CA19-9, FR-α expression was an independent prognostic factor for the overall survival. FR-α and CA19-9 helped predict patient prognosis based on stratification curves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunoglobulin (Ig) G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a systemic disorder involving benign mass formation due to fibrosis and intense lymphoplasmacytosis; the chronic inflammation associated with the disease might also contribute to oncogenesis. Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), normally expressed in germinal centre activated B-cells, is an enzyme that edits DNA/RNA and induces somatic hypermutation and Ig class switching. AID expression is strictly controlled under physiological conditions; however, chronic inflammation and some infectious agents induce its up-regulation. AID is overexpressed in various cancers and may be important in chronic inflammation-associated oncogenesis. We examined AID expression in IgG4-related sialadenitis (n = 14), sialolithiasis (non-specific inflammation, n = 13), and normal submandibular glands (n = 13) using immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Immunohistochemistry revealed significantly more AID-expressing cells in IgG4-related sialadenitis than in sialolithiasis or normal submandibular gland samples (P = 0.02 and P < 0.01, respectively); qPCR yielded similar results. Thus, AID was significantly more up-regulated and had higher expression in extra-germinal centres in IgG4-RD than in non-specific inflammation or normal conditions. This report suggests that IgG4-RD has several specific causes of AID up-regulation in addition to inflammation. Furthermore, chronic inflammation-associated AID-mediated oncogenesis is possible in IgG4-RD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HER2 is a receptor tyrosine kinase and its upregulation via activating mutations or amplification has been identified in some malignant tumors, including lung cancers. Because HER2 can be a therapeutic target in HER2-driven malignancies, it is important to understand the molecular mechanisms of HER2 activation. In the current study, we identified that cytokeratin 19 (KRT19) binds to HER2 at the inside face of plasma membrane. HER2 and KRT19, which were concurrently introduced to a human embryonic kidney 293 T cells, revealed an association with each other and resulted in phosphorylation of HER2 with the subsequent activation of a downstream Erk-associated pathway. A binding assay revealed that both the NH2-terminal head domain of KRT19 and the COOH-terminal domain of HER2 were essential for their binding. To investigate the impact of the interaction between HER2 and KRT19 in lung cancer, we examined their expressions and localizations in lung cancers. We found that KRT19 was highly expressed in HER2-positive lung cancer cells, and KRT19 and HER2 were co-localized at the cell membrane. In conclusion, we found that KRT19 intracellularly binds to HER2, playing a critical role in HER2 activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously suggested a relationship between ocular immunoglobulin (Ig)G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) and marginal zone lymphomas (MZLs). However, the cytokine background associated with these disorders and whether it differs between ocular adnexal MZLs with (IgG4-associated MZL) and without (IgG4-negative MZL) numerous IgG4+ plasma cells are unknown. In this study, we identified the mRNA expression pattern of Th2 and regulatory T-cell (Treg) cytokines in IgG4-RD and in IgG4-associated MZL and IgG4-negative MZL using real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Ocular IgG4-RD and IgG4-associated MZL exhibited significantly higher expression ratios of interleukin (IL)-4/β-actin, IL-10/β-actin, IL-13/β-actin, transforming growth factor (TGF) β1/β-actin, and FOXP3/β-actin than did IgG4-negative MZL (p < 0.05). This finding further supports our prior observations that a significant subset of ocular MZLs arises in the setting of IgG4-RD. Furthermore, the presence of a different inflammatory background in IgG4-negative MZLs suggests that IgG4-associated MZLs may have a different pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]