双歧杆菌完整肽聚糖的体外抗肿瘤作用及对大鼠大肠肿瘤的影响

目的：观察双歧杆菌完整肽聚糖（WPG）体外抗肿瘤作用及对大鼠大肠肿瘤的影响。方法：采用MTT法检测双歧杆菌WPG对人结肠癌细胞株LS-174T、人胃粘膜上皮细胞株GES-1的杀伤作用。以二甲肼（DMH）为诱发荆,观察双歧杆菌WPG对大鼠大肠肿瘤的防治作用;DMH诱癌及双歧杆菌WPG灌胃时间为18周,在第33周结束实验。结果：双歧杆菌WPG在体外对人结肠癌细胞株具有显著的选择性杀伤作用,体内给药可明显降低大鼠大肠肿瘤发生率（60％vs100％,P〈0．01）．但大肠癌平均个数及肿瘤体积指数的差异无显著性（P〉0．05）。结论：双歧杆菌的WPG对DMH诱导的大鼠大肠肿瘤具有预防作用。     

应用抑制消减杂交技术克隆鼻咽癌转移调控基因

目的：分离并鉴定高低转移表型不同的人鼻咽癌细胞株差异表达cDNA序列,了解鼻咽癌转移抑制基因或具有抑制活性的核苷酸序列。方法：以具有高低转移潜能不同的人鼻咽癌细胞株为研究对象,应用抑制消减杂交技术（suppression subtractive hybridization,SSH）和T／A克隆法构建差异表达cDNA消减文库,对差异表达的cDNA进行测序和生物信息学分析。结果：成功构建人鼻咽癌细胞克隆株差异表达cDNA消减文库,从随机测序10个克隆中获得6个在低转移鼻咽癌细胞株中高表达cDNA序列,它们都与已知的人类基因片段具有高度同源性。结论：应用抑制消减杂交技术,从一对具有高低转移表型差异的鼻咽癌细胞株中获得6条可能与肿瘤转移抑制相关的cDNA序列,它们可能在维持肿瘤细胞的稳定和抑制肿瘤转移中起重要作用。     

COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF BASIHYOID ECTOPIC THYROID CARCINOMA IN DOGS

Eight dogs with a firm, nonpainful swelling in the ventral laryngeal region and with a final diagnosis of ectopic thyroid carcinoma were investigated by Computed Tomography (CT) at six different institutions. Computed Tomography findings were reviewed, focusing on lesion volume, shape, margins, relationship with surrounding structures and adjacent vessels, attenuation characteristics, and presence of metastases. Ectopic thyroid carcinomas were seen as oval‐to‐bilobed masses centered on the basihyoid bone with associated bone lysis, highly vascularized capsules with central poorly contrast enhancing areas. In all cases there was laryngeal wall infiltration, in two dogs invasion of the laryngeal lumen and in one case invasion of the ventral muscular and subcutaneous plane. Metastases were found in retropharyngeal lymph nodes (three cases) and in the lung (two cases). Ectopic thyroid carcinoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis when a mass in the basihyoid region is present. Described CT features may be typical for ectopic thyroid neoplasia and could be used to help decide the therapeutic plan.     

Streptococcus suis type 2 infections in pigs in the Netherlands (part two)

Summary

Since 1983 some pig breeding and fattening farms in the Netherlands have been faced with a considerable mortality in pigs due to Streptococcus suis type 2 infections. The most predominant clinical feature of S. suis type 2 infection is meningitis, although sudden deaths often occur. It was noted that some affected farms had imported breeding stock from the United Kingdom.

Tonsils of slaughter pigs were collected from herds with and without a history of S. suis type 2 infections. Bacteriological examination was done by using an elective‐selective medium. No significant difference was found in carrier rates of S. suis type 2 between clinically healthy and affected herds (38% vs. 45%).

A cohort study was carried out by regular bacteriological examination of tonsil biopsies on a farm with a high incidence of streptococcal meningitis. Twenty‐seven percent of the pigs were carriers of S. suis type 2 at nine weeks of age. Possible methods for disease control are discussed.     

A Case of Bronchioloalveolar Carcinoma in a Mare

A case of pulmonary carcinoma in a 23-year-old Quarterhorse mare is described. On physical examination, depression, poor body condition, tachypnea, bilateral serosanguineous nasal discharge and a wide area of reduced breath sounds in association with the right hemithorax were detected. Laboratory evaluation showed leukocytosis with neutrophilia and lymphopenia, hyperfibrinogenemia, hyperprotidemia, hypoalbuminemia, increased beta 2 and gamma globulin fractions, hypoxemia, and normocapnia. Radiography and thoracic ultrasonography revealed a large rounded mass extending from the 9th to the 14th right intercostal space, where neither bronchial nor vascular structures were detectable. Endoscopy showed a large amount of serosanguineous fluid within the tracheal lumen and a mass of reddish soft tissue completely obliterating the right caudal lobar bronchus. Histopathology of the endobronchial mass and of the transthoracic ultrasound-guided biopsy samples was consistent with a primary pulmonary epithelial tumor. Due to worsening of the clinical condition, the mare was euthanized. Postmortem examination confirmed the presence of a large 30-cm mass located in the right caudal pulmonary lobe, characterized by epithelial cells arranged in papillary projections and alveolar structures, findings consistent with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma.     

Synthesis of Glycyrrhetinic Acid-Modified Chitosan 5-Fluorouracil Nanoparticles and Its Inhibition of Liver Cancer Characteristics in Vitro and in Vivo

Nanoparticle drug delivery (NDDS) is a novel system in which the drugs are delivered to the site of action by small particles in the nanometer range. Natural or synthetic polymers are used as vectors in NDDS, as they provide targeted, sustained release and biodegradability. Here, we used the chitosan and hepatoma cell-specific binding molecule, glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), to synthesize glycyrrhetinic acid-modified chitosan (GA-CTS). The synthetic product was confirmed by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR). By combining GA-CTS and 5-FU (5-fluorouracil), we obtained a GA-CTS/5-FU nanoparticle, with a particle size of 217.2 nm, a drug loading of 1.56% and a polydispersity index of 0.003. The GA-CTS/5-FU nanoparticle provided a sustained release system comprising three distinct phases of quick, steady and slow release. We demonstrated that the nanoparticle accumulated in the liver. In vitro data indicated that it had a dose- and time-dependent anti-cancer effect. The effective drug exposure time against hepatic cancer cells was increased in comparison with that observed with 5-FU. Additionally, GA-CTS/5-FU significantly inhibited the growth of drug-resistant hepatoma, which may compensate for the drug-resistance of 5-FU. In vivo studies on an orthotropic liver cancer mouse model demonstrated that GA-CTS/5-FU significantly inhibited tumor growth, resulting in increased survival time.     

Two Novel Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cycle Inhibitory Cyclodepsipeptides from a Hydrothermal Vent Crab-Associated Fungus Aspergillus clavatus C2WU

Two novel cyclodepsipeptides containing an unusual anthranilic acid dimer and a d-phenyllactic acid residues, clavatustides A (1) and B (2), were identified from cultured mycelia and broth of Aspergillus clavatus C2WU isolated from Xenograpsus testudinatus, which lives at extreme, toxic habitat around the sulphur-rich hydrothermal vents in Taiwan Kueishantao. This is the first example of cyclopeptides containing an anthranilic acid dimer in natural products, and the first report of microbial secondary metabolites from the hydrothermal vent crab. Clavatustides A (1) and B (2) suppressed the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines (HepG2, SMMC-7721 and Bel-7402) in a dose-dependent manner, and induced an accumulation of HepG2 cells in G1 phase and reduction of cells in S phase.     

Squamous cell carcinoma in a tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus)

CASE HISTORY: A mature male tuatara was presented with a history of recurrent cloacal prolapse.

CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS: The prolapsed tissue included a 12 mm diameter mass, which histologically showed cords and nodules of neoplastic epithelial cells.

DIAGNOSIS: The mass was diagnosed as a squamous cell carcinoma with ulceration of the overlying stratified squamous epithelium and diffuse inflammation of the surrounding dermis.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This case presented a rare opportunity to investigate squamous cell carcinoma in a long-lived lower vertebrate species. Future recurrence or metastasis of the mass may add useful information to the current base of knowledge of the behaviour of malignant neoplasms in reptiles.