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Signal-transducing adaptor family member-2 (STAP-2) is an adaptor protein that regulates various intracellular signaling pathways and promotes tumorigenesis in melanoma and breast cancer cells. However, the contribution of STAP-2 to the behavior of other types of cancer cells is unclear. Here, we show that STAP-2 promotes tumorigenesis of prostate cancer cells through up-regulation of EGF receptor (EGFR) signaling. Tumor growth of a prostate cancer cell line, DU145, was strongly decreased by STAP-2 knockdown. EGF-induced gene expression and phosphorylation of AKT, ERK, and STAT3 were significantly decreased in STAP-2-knockdown DU145 cells. Mechanistically, we found that STAP-2 interacted with EGFR and enhanced its stability by inhibiting c-CBL-mediated EGFR ubiquitination. Our results indicate that STAP-2 promotes prostate cancer progression via facilitating EGFR activation., (© 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)

We investigated the effects of histidine on spatial memory deficits induced by the 5-HT1A-receptor agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT). Working memory deficits were elicited by 8-OH-DPAT without affecting reference memory. Histidine improved the working memory deficit induced by 8-OH-DPAT at doses causing a significant increase in brain histamine content. This finding suggests that the histaminergic system regulates 8-OH-DPAT-induced working memory deficit.

The preventive effect of propolis extract on D-galactosamine-induced hepatic injury was examined in rats. Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities were significantly increased at 24 h after intraperitoneal injection of D-galactosamine (400 mg/kg) in the animals. Propolis extract was administered orally three times in doses of 3 or 30 mg/kg at 18 h and 1 h before and 8 h after D-galactosamine injection. The extract itself and the vehicle alone (dextran) caused no significant changes in serum AST or ALT activities. Treatment with the extract dose-dependently prevented the increases in serum AST and ALT activities induced by D-galactosamine, and significant inhibition was observed at a dose of 30 mg/kg. These results suggested that propolis extract may have an ameliorating effect on hepatic dysfunction.

Three patients developed unaccountable hyperkalemia during general anesthesia for pancreatectomy, hepatectomy, and cholangio-jejunostomy. The patients had normal preoperative renal function, serum potassium values, and intraoperative urine output. The surgical manipulations might have reduced portal venous and/or hepatic arterial blood flow resulting in the hepatic ischemia. Consequently, hepatic intra-cellular potassium might have leaked into the blood causing hyperkalemia. Anesthesiologists should be aware of the potential risk of hyperkalemia caused by surgical interventions on the liver and/or pancreas.

A delta wave, which had not been detected in the preoperative electrocardiogram (ECG), was observed just before induction of anesthesia in a 53-year-old male scheduled for partial pancreatectomy. His ECG, diagnosed as intermittent Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) conduction, varied markedly displaying different wide QRS complexes with a short PR interval, and then returned abruptly to normal during anesthesia. WPW syndrome belongs to the category of pre-excitation syndromes, which is characterized by the accelerated abnormal conduction to the ventricle and paroxysmal tachyarrhythmias caused by an accessory pathway. We should consider the influence of anesthesia-related agents on atrioventricular conduction, and aim at preventing and managing tachyarrhythmias caused by this syndrome.

A 57-year-old male without pre- or intraoperative arrhythmia developed ventricular tachyarrhythmia immediately following hepatectomy. Postoperative examination of plasma electrolytes revealed severe hypomagnesemia (0.16 mmol.l-1). The arrhythmia may have been caused by hypomagnesemia and an imbalance between supply and demand of oxygen in the myocardium, due to hypovolemia and severe anemia from massive hemorrhage. We recommend that measurement of plasma magnesium concentration be included in all perioperative laboratory examinations.

A 5-year-old girl with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS) was scheduled for ophthalmic surgery under general anesthesia. RTS is a well-defined syndrome with facial abnormalities including a high palate and micrognathia, broad thumbs and big toes, and mental retardation as main clinical features, which may be complicated with repeated respiratory infections, cardiac anomalies, and so on. Anesthesia was uneventfully induced and maintained with the inhalation of oxygen, nitrous oxide and sevoflurane. Special attention was paid to the possibilities of the difficult airway, aspiration pneumonia and cardiovascular dysfunction during anesthesia. No complications were observed throughout the perioperative procedures.

Of twelve reduced and acetylated derivatives of shikonin, a chemical constituent of Shikon, the accelerating activity on granuloma formation and the inhibitory activity on delayed-type allergy were investigated in order to find a compound having more characteristic effect than shikonin on wound healing in experimental animals. As a result, it was found that a reduced and pentaacetylated derivative of shikonin, MDS-004, has more excellent pharmacological activity. MDS-004 (0.1-1 mg/pellet) accelerated dose-dependently felt-pellet-induced granuloma formation when given topically together with felt-pellets in rats. It also produced strong inhibition against delayed-type allergies (ear edema) caused by oxazolone and dinitrofluorobenzene by topical application of up to 1 mg/ear to the ear skin of mice; its potency was far superior to that of shikonin. Orally administered MDS-004, unlike shikonin, inhibited carrageenan-induced hind paw edema, and exhibited tendency to heal acetic acid-induced gastric ulcer in rats. However, MDS-004, as well as commercial wound healing drugs tested and shikonin, did not show any healing action in the incised and open wound models in rats, if applied topically to the wound as 5 and 10% powders. On the other hand, MDS-004 did not produce irritative action on the ear skin at a topical dose of 1 mg/ear different from shikonin, and any behavioral changes after oral administration of 100 mg/kg in mice. These results suggest that a white powder MDS-004, different from deep purple shikonin, has accelerating action on granuloma formation without irritative action and stronger inhibitory action on delayed-type allergy by topical application than shikonin.