ABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44) is a family of transmembrane glycoproteins. As cell surface hyaluronate receptor, it has been found to be widely expressed in a variety of cells. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship among CD44 expression, DNA content, proliferation index (PI) and apoptosis in female adenocarcinoma of the lung.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expression of CD44, DNA index (DI), PI and apoptotic rate were studied in 61 cases of female adenocarcinoma of the lung, paracancerous tissues and 45 cases of benign lesions by flow cytometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The percent of DNA aneuploidy was 75.41% in adenocarcinoma. The expression of CD44, DI and PI in adenocarcinoma were significantly higher than those in paracancerous and benign controls (P < 0.01), however the apoptotic rate was obviously lower in adenocarcinoma than that in paracancerous and benign controls (P < 0.01). There was a positive correlation between CD44 and DI (P < 0.01), and a negative correlation between apoptosis and DI in adenocarcinoma (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The expression of CD44, DNA content, proliferation and apoptosis may play important regulating roles in oncogenesis, development and metastasis of female adenocarcinoma of the lung.</p>
ABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XPD) is one of the important DNA repair genes. XPD polymorphism at Lys751Gln site has been shown to alter XPD protein function, modulate DNA repair capacity and therefore affect cancer risk. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between XPD polymorphism and susceptibility to lung cancer in nonsmoking female via a population-based case-control study.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>There were 105 female patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer between January 2004 and December 2005 from Liaoning Tumor Hospital and 202 Hospital, and the control group included 105 healthy volunteers who were obtained from community centers at the same time. Information concerning demographic and risk factors was obtained for each case and control by a trained interviewer. XPD genotypes of cases and controls were determined by PCR-RFLP method. Two-sided Chi-Square test was used to compare the distribution of the genotypes and risk factors between cases and controls. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate the odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for estimating the association between certain genotypes and lung cancer and exploring the interaction of environmental risk factors and genetic polymorphism.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All of the subjects in this study were nonsmoking females in Shenyang. There was no significant demographic difference (age, economic level and education) between cases and controls. There was a significant difference in the frequencies of XPD polymorphism between cancer cases and controls. The frequencies of XPD 751Gln allele were 6.2% in controls and 13.8% in cases (P < 0.05). The risk of lung cancer was higher in those with the Lys/Gln or Gln/Gln genotype than in those with the Lys/Lys genotype and adjusted OR was 2.80 (95% CI: 1.21-6.48). The result showed that cooking fumes exposure was a risk factor for lung cancer (OR was 2.44). Furthermore, an interaction between environmental risk factors and the variant XPD 751Gln allele on the risk of lung cancer was observed. Individuals with both risk gen-otype and exposure to cooking fumes had a higher elevated risk of cancer than those with only one of them (adjusted OR= 6.85 ; 95% CI: 1.69-27.67; P=0.007).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The above findings indicate that the Lys751Gln polymorphism in XPD gene is associated with the risk of lung cancer in nonsmoking females. Individuals with both XPD 751Gln allele genotype and exposure to cooking fumes have a higher elevated risk of cancer than those with only one of them in nonsmoking female population.</p>
ABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>XRCC1 polymorphism at Arg399Gln site has been shown to modulate DNA repair capacity. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between XRCC1 polymorphism and susceptibility to lung adenocarcinoma in nonsmoking female via a hospital-based case-control study.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cases were 126 female patients with lung adenocarcinoma from January 2002 to October 2004 in China Medical University Hospital and Liaoning Tumor Hospital. Controls were selected from patients with other pulmonary diseases in the hospitals at the same time. These controls were matched to cases on age (±5 years). Information concerning demographic and risk factors was obtained for each case and control by a trained interviewer. XRCC1 genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using logistic regression.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Cases showed a higher prevalence of oil smoke compared with controls (P < 0.05). The frequencies of Arg/Arg, Arg/Gln and Gln/Gln in lung adenocarcinoma group (32.54%, 42.86%, 24.60%) were significantly different from those in controls (54.76%, 40.48%, 4.76%) (P < 0.05). The individual carrying Gln/Gln genotype was at a significantly increased risk of lung adenocarcinoma compared with those with Arg/Arg genotype (OR=8.695, 95%CI 3.343-22.614, adjusted for age and oil smoke exposure). Furthermore, the OR of lung adenocarcinoma for the variant XRCC1 399Gln allele combined with exposure to oil smoke was 5.21 (95%CI 1.85-14.70, P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The results indicate that the Arg399Gln polymorphism in XRCC1 is associated with the risk of lung adenocarcinoma in nonsmoking women.</p>
ABSTRACT
Objectives To observe and quantify the intraepidermal and papillary dermal nerve fibers,and the contact between intraepidermal nerve fibers and Langerhans cells in the lesional skin of pso-riasis vulgaris.Methods The nerve fibers and Langerhans cells were analyzed with immunohistochemical LAB-SA method,double-labelled immunofluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy in28biopsies of lesional skin taken from psoriatic patients and17normal controls.Results The length of nerve fibers was significantly longer in psoriatic lesions than that in normal controls(t =4.09,P