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Uterine leiomyomas (fibroids) are benign tumors that are prevalent in women of reproductive age. Research suggests that activated receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) play an important role in the enhanced proliferation observed in fibroids. In this study, a phospho-RTK array technique was used to detect RTK activity in leiomyomas compared with myometrial tissue. We found that fifteen out of seventeen RTKs evaluated in this study were highly expressed (P0.02-0.03) in the leiomyomas, and included the IGF-I/IGF-IR, EGF/EGFR, FGF/FGF-R, HGF/HGF-R, and PDGF/PDGF-R gene families. Due to the higher protein levels of IGF-IR observed in leiomyomas by us in earlier studies, we decided to focus on the activation of the IGF-IR, its downstream effectors, and MAPKp44/42 to confirm our earlier findings; and validate the significance of the increased IGF-IR phosphorylation observed by RTK array analysis in this study. We used immunolocalization, western blot, or immunoprecipitation studies and confirmed that leiomyomas overexpressed IGF-IRbeta and phosphorylated IGF-IRbeta. Additionally, we showed that the downstream effectors, Shc, Grb2, and MAPKp44/42 (P0.02-0.001) were also overexpressed and involved in IGF-IR signaling in these tumors, while IRS-I, PI3K, and AKT were not. In vitro studies showed that IGF-I (100 ng/mL) increased the proliferation of uterine leiomyoma cells (UtLM) (P0.0001), and that phosphorylated IGF-IRbeta, Shc, and MAPKp44/42 were also overexpressed in IGF-I-treated UtLM cells (P0.05), similar to the tissue findings. A neutralizing antibody against the IGF-IRbeta blocked these effects. These data indicate that overexpression of RTKs and, in particular, activation of the IGF-IR signaling pathway through Shc/Grb2/MAPK are important in mediating uterine leiomyoma growth. These data may provide new anti-tumor targets for noninvasive treatment of fibroids.

The complement system provides the host with protection against pathogenic agents and in some cases can result in damage to host tissue. However, the exact mechanism of how complement kills gram-negative bacteria in lysozyme-neutralized and or lysozyme-depleted serum is still under active investigation. In previous studies, it has been demonstrated that inner membrane damage by the membrane attack complex contributes to depolarization and the subsequent collapse of the membrane potential. In these studies we have shown that the membrane attack complex and its precursors provide additional protective effect by the enhanced uptake of antibiotics in the death of E. coli J5. Specifically, the deposition of C5b fragments from C6 neutralized Pooled Normal Human Serum (PNHS) and C5b6 complexes from C7 neutralized PNHS on E. coli J5 contribute to antibiotic uptake and killing. Since C5b and C5b6 do not form pores, we suggest that disturbances and or cracks in the outer membrane by the deposited complexes accelerates uptake of the antibiotics and enhanced killing of E. coli J5 employed in these studies.