Laryngeal Chondroma

Cartilaginous tumors of the larynx represent less than 1% of laryngeal tumors. Chondroma and "low-grade" chondrosarcoma are the most common; 70%-75% of these tumors arise on the endolaryngeal surface of the posterior lamina of the cricoid cartilage. The clinical presentation is varied and directly dependent on the size and location of the tumor; stridor, hoarseness, dyspnea, or a neck mass are common presenting signs. CT scanning in the axial plane is the mainstay of radiographic imaging due to its ability to show size, extent of the tumor, and invasion into surrounding structures. Surgical extirpation is the standard therapy with no role for radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Although significant recurrence rates have been reported, there is not a significant difference between initial conservative therapy followed by salvage therapy versus initial radical therapy.     

Application of liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for the characterization of galactosylated and tagatosylated β-lactoglobulin peptides derived from in vitro gastrointestinal digestion

This article describes a comprehensive characterization of bovine β-lactoglobulin peptides glycated with an aldohexose (galactose) or a ketohexose (tagatose), derived from in vitro gastrointestinal digestion, by liquid chromatography coupled to positive electrospray ion trap tandem mass spectrometry. In addition to the dissociation pathway previously described for aldohexoses-derived Amadori compounds, i.e. formation of the pyrylium ([M+H]⁺-54) and furylium ions ([M+H]⁺-84) via the oxonium ion ([M+H]⁺-18), another and more direct fragmentation route involving the formation of the imminium ion ([M+H]⁺-150) is also reported following extensive glycation rates of β-lactoglobulin with both carbohydrates. These results indicated that the analysis of digested proteins by LC-ESI-MS² on a three-dimensional ion trap monitoring neutral losses is an efficient and direct method to identify peptides glycated not only through the Amadori rearrangement but also via the Heyns rearrangement. Nevertheless, as the predominating MS² fragmentation pattern of the glycated peptides is derived from the sugar moiety, the sequence-informative b- and y-ions resulting from peptide backbone cleavage were undetected. To overcome this drawback, and taking advantage of multi-stage fragmentation capabilities of ion traps, the indicative Amadori and Heyns-derived imminium ions were successfully used in MS³ analyses to identify the peptide backbone, as well as the specific glycation site. In addition, further MS⁴ analyses were needed to carry out the characterization of doubly glycated peptides.     

从稀土对骨代谢的影响看稀土的药用及安全性

骨骼的正常代谢涉及多种金属离子,随着稀土的应用,通过环境和经由食物链等渠道进入人体内的稀土量也有所增加, 并且在骨组织中相对富集且难排出;由于稀土与钙离子的相似性,它们将干预和调控骨的形成与再造。一方面,稀土被设想可以用来作为治疗骨疾病的药物, 另一方面,它对骨代谢的影响产生负面作用。因此, 稀土的药用和安全性日益成为人们关注的问题。本文回顾了稀土离子对骨代谢影响的研究进展,探讨了其药用和安全性问题, 主要从以下三个方面进行综述: (1)稀土离子对成骨细胞细胞和破骨细胞的分化和功能表达的影响; (2)稀土离子对骨髓基质细胞成骨分化和成脂分化的影响; (3)稀土离子对动物骨矿物相的影响。此外,还指出了该研究领域的不足以及今后应该加强的研究方向。     

Magnetic resonance imaging of soft-tissue tumors: Comparison with computed tomography

Twenty-seven patients with soft-tissue tumors were examined with a Picker 0.15-tesla resistive magnet and by computed tomography (CT). In all but one patient, MRI was better than or equal to CT in defining the anatomic extent of the tumor. We could determine whether major vascular structures were engulfed by the tumor in 80% of the MRI examinations but only in 62% of the CT scans. MRI and CT were equally effective in determining the presence or absence of bony invasion. The MRI images of all the tumors showed increased signal intensity relative to normal muscle when spin-echo (SE) sulse sequences with long repeat times were used (SE: echo time [TE], 60 ms; repetition time [TR], 2,000 ms). When T1 weighted pulse sequences were used (SE: TE, 30 ms; TR, 500 ms or inversion recovery: inversion time, 500 ms; TE, 40 ms; TR, 2,000 ms) the malignant tumors showed decreased signal intensity compared to normal muscle. Only lipomas showed high signal intensity on both T1 and T2 weighted pulse sequences.     

Magnetic resonance of brain tumors: considerations of imaging contrast on the basis of relaxation measurements

Proton spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation times have been measured in surgically-removed normal CNS tissues and a variety of tumors of the brain. All measurements were made at 20 MHz and 37 degrees C. Between grey and white matter from autopsy human or canine specimens significant differences in T1 or T2 were observed, with greater differences seen in T1. Such discrimination was reduced in samples obtained from live brain-tumor patients due to lengthening in T1 and T2 of white matter near tumorous lesions. Edematous white matter showed T1 and T2 values higher than those of autopsy disease-free white matter. Compared to normal CNS tissues, most brain tumors examined in this study demonstrated elevated T1 and T2 values. Exceptions, however, did exist. No definitive correlation was indicated on a T1 or T2 basis which allowed a distinction to be made between benign and malignant states. Furthermore, considerable variation in relaxation times occurred from tumor to tumor of the same type, suggesting that within a tumor type there are important differences in physiology, biology, and/or pathologic state. Such variation caused partial overlap in relaxation times among certain tumor types and hence may limit the capability of magnetic resonance imaging (MR) alone for the diagnosis of specific disease. Nonetheless, this study predicts that on the basis of T1 or T2 differences most brain tumors are readily detectable by MR via saturation recovery or inversion recovery with appropriate selections of pulse-spacing parameters. In general, tumors can be discriminated against white matter better than grey matter and contrast between glioma and grey matter is usually superior to that between meningioma and grey matter. This work did not consider tissue-associated proton density which should be addressed together with T1 and T2 for a complete treatment of MR contrast.     

Intracorneal Implantation of 3D Bioprinted Scaffolds Containing Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Using Femtosecond-Laser-Assisted Intrastromal Keratoplasty

Injury of the cornea is a complex biological process. Regeneration of the corneal stroma can be facilitated by the presence of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and application of tissue equivalents. A new tissue-engineering strategy for corneal stroma regeneration is presented using cellularized 3D bioprinted hydrogel constructs implanted into organ cultured porcine corneas using femtosecond laser-assisted intrastromal keratoplasty. The ex vivo cultured, MSC-loaded 3D bioprinted structures remain intact, support cell survival, and contain de novo synthesized extracellular matrix components and migrating cells throughout the observation period. At day 14 postimplantation, the cellularized tissue equivalents contain few or no cells, as demonstrated by optical coherence tomography imaging and immunofluorescent staining. This study successfully combines a laboratory-based method with modern, patient-care practice to produce a cell-laden tissue equivalent for corneal implantation. Optimal bioink composition and cellularization of tissue equivalents are essential in fine-tuning a method to promote the current technique as a future treatment modality.     

Pulsed-wave low-dose ultrasound hyperthermia selectively enhances nanodrug delivery and improves antitumor efficacy for brain metastasis of breast cancer

The clinical application of chemotherapeutics for brain tumors remains a challenge due to limitation of blood-brain barrier/blood-tumor barrier (BBB/BTB). In this study, we investigated the effects of low-dose focused ultrasound hyperthermia (UH) on the delivery and therapeutic efficacy of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) for brain metastasis of breast cancer. Murine breast cancer cells (4T1-luc2) expressing firefly luciferase were implanted into mouse striatum as a brain tumor model. The mice were intravenously injected with PLD with/without transcranial pulsed-wave/continuous-wave UH (pUH/cUH) treatment on day-6 after tumor implantation. pUH (frequency: 500 kHz, PRF: 1000 Hz, duty cycle: 50%) was conducted under equal acoustic power (2.2-Watt) and sonication duration (10-min) as cUH. The amounts of doxorubicin accumulated in the normal brain and tumor tissues were measured with fluorometry. The tumor growth responses for the control, pUH, PLD, PLD + cUH, and PLD + pUH groups were evaluated with IVIS. The PLD distribution and cell apoptosis were assessed with immunofluorescence staining. The results showed that pUH significantly enhanced the PLD delivery into brain tumors and the tumor growth was further inhibited by PLD + pUH without damaging the sonicated normal brain tissues. This indicates that low-dose transcranial pUH is a promising method to selectively enhance nanodrug delivery and improve the brain tumor treatment.     

血管生成抑制素（angiostatin）研究进展

近年来,血管生成抑制素及其抗肿瘤血管生成的作用已有了深入的研究,极有可能成为未来肿瘤治疗的主要药物之一。本文试就血管生成抑制素的结构,抑制作用以及如何在体内形成等研究进展作一综述,并且展望其未来研究及临床应用前景。     

Modeling and analysis of the latent period of osteosarcomas induced by incorporated Pu: The role of immune responses

This paper considers the utility of a stochastic model of carcinogenesis, proposed earlier by Yakovlev and Polig, in quantitative analysis of the incidence of radiation-induced osteosarcomas in beagels injected with various amounts of ²³⁹Pu. The original version of the model failed to provide a good fit to our experimental data. The model has been generalized by incorporating a simple mechanism of lesion elimination, which is likely to be mediated by the immune system. Two versions of the model were developed: the first version ( Model 1 ) assumed malignant cells to be a target for the immune attack, while in Model 2 initiated cells were assumed to be such a target. Model 2 was rejected by the likelihood ratio test, thereby indicating that the competing model provides a more plausible explanation of the experimental data. Since in experiments with incorporated radionuclides the dose rate varies with time, dose-rate effects cannot be observed directly, and one must rely on mathematical models. The results of our numerical experiments show that, depending on the time of observation, both the direct and the inverse dose-rate effects may manifest themselves even at a fixed total dose level.     

Ovarian Brenner tumors: MR imaging characteristics

This study describes the appearance of Brenner tumors on MR imaging and compares quantitative signal intensity measurements of Brenner tumors with that of other ovarian tumors. A search of pathologic and MR records disclosed patients who had MRIs showing Brenner tumors prior to surgical excision. Patients (21) with other surgically proven ovarian masses were randomly selected for comparison. MR imaging was performed at 1.5 T with phased array multicoils and fast spin echo T2-weighted images. Region-of-interest measurements of signal intensity (SI) were made to calculate signal intensity ratios (SIR = mass SI/muscle SI). Brenner tumors showed significantly lower SIR than other tumors on T2-weighted images (p = 0 .004) and similar SIR on T1-weighted images. Brenner tumors show lower signal intensity on T2-weighted images than other non-fibrous ovarian tumors. This lower signal intensity may result from the extensive fibrous content of these tumors.