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Research elucidates the mechanism of inhibition of DNA polymerase by two phenalenone derivatives from marine-derived fungus. Results show that sculezonone-B selectively inhibits DNA pol alpha and gamma, whereas sculezonone-A inhibits pol beta. Data suggest that the different inhibition spectra is due to differences in the distribution of electrostatic potential on their molecular surfaces.

Appendiceal mucinous neoplasm is a relatively rare disease. It is classified as mucinous adenocarcinoma(MACA)and low- grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm(LAMN). We retrospectively evaluated 16 cases of appendiceal mucinous neoplasm (LAMN: 13 cases, MACA: 3 cases)that were surgically resected in our hospital between January 2010 and July 2021. There were 7 men and 9 women, with a median age of 61 years(27-85 years). The most common chief complaint was abdominal pain(12 patients), while 3 cases were incidental findings following medical checkups for other diseases and without a chief complaint. Colonoscopy was performed for 9 cases. Of these, 5 revealed abnormal findings. The preoperative diagnosis was appendicitis in 7 patients and appendiceal tumor in 8 patients. The surgical procedures were planned for 8 cases and performed as emergencies in 8 cases. The procedures included laparoscopic surgery(n=6)and laparotomy(n=10). The resection range included appendectomy(n=9), partial cecal resection(n=4), and ileocecal resection(n=3). Surgical margins were negative in all cases. Metastases were not observed in patients who underwent lymph node dissections (2 patients with MACA and 1 patient with LAMN). The median follow-up was 17 months(1-43 months). Recurrence including peritoneal pseudomyxoma was not detected in any of the patients.

An 83‒year‒old woman received trastuzumab plus anastrozole as first‒line chemotherapy for inflammatory breast cancer in her left breast. Following the treatment, the induration and redness in her breast gradually improved; however, 2 days after receiving the 5th course of chemotherapy, she developed dyspnea and was referred to the emergency room. Her SpO2 was 88%; her KL‒6 level had increased to 2,613 U/mL; and a chest CT scan showed ground‒glass opacity in the bilateral lung fields, yielding a diagnosis of interstitial pneumonia requiring steroid pulse therapy. The dyspnea improved immediately after steroid administration, and the patient was discharged 20 days after hospitalization. Thereafter, the steroid dosage was gradually lowered to 5 mg/day. We discontinued steroid therapy after a chest CT confirmed the reduction of ground‒glass opacity. However, she was later readmitted for interstitial pneumonia for which she was readministered steroid pulse therapy. Trastuzumab‒induced interstitial pneumonia is rare, but we must be aware of the possibility that patients may develop severe pulmonary disorders or experience cardiotoxic effects.

Telomerase activity is detectable in most human tumors but not in most normal somatic cells or tissues. Telomerase inhibition has, therefore, been proposed as a novel and potentially selective strategy for antitumor therapy. In the present study, we found that platinum compounds, including cisplatin [cis-diamminedichloro-platinum (II)], strongly inhibited the activity of partially purified rat telomerase. Among the agents tested, 2,3-dibromosuccinato [2-(methylaminomethyl)pyridine]platinum (II) (compound E) exhibited the strongest inhibition, with an median inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) of 0.8 micro M. The mode of inhibition was noncompetitive with either dNTPs or TS (first) primer, with K(i) values estimated to be 2.3 or 3.9 micro M for varied TS primer or dNTPs, respectively. Notably, cisplatin also inhibited the telomerase activity, with an IC(50) of 2.0 micro M. Again, the mode of inhibition was noncompetitive, with K(i) values estimated as 7.3 or 8.1 micro M. Preincubation of TS primer with compound E did not affect the telomerase inhibition, whereas preincubation with cisplatin caused remarkable enhancement. Treatment of a human hepatoma cell line HepG2 with a low concentration of compound E gradually reduced the telomere length, indicating that this compound was able to inhibit telomerase in living cells as well as in vitro., (Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)