Expression of melanoma antigen-a mRNA in coal tar pitch-induced lung cancer tissues in mice / 第二军医大学学报

Objective: To investigate the expression of mage-a mRNA in lung cancer tissues of mice induced by coal tar pitch(CTP) fume and to discuss the above model for lung cancer immunotherapy with mage-a. Methods: Tumor tissue samples of lung cancer and paired non-tumor tissues were obtained from 8 lung cancer mice. Total RNA was extracted and cDNA was synthesized. Nested polymerase chain reaction amplification using mage-a specific primer was performed to detect the expression of mage-a. The 2 clones of mage-a mRNA positive PCR products were sequenced by DNAs sequencer (PE-377). Results: Of 29 mice in the experimental group, 8 were induced to lung cancer.Among which 5 (5/8) expressed mage-a mRNA. The expression of mage-a gene was not found in adjacent lung tissues. The DNA sequencing confirmed that the target gene fragments in 2 samples of PCR products were mage-a cDNA. Conclusion: The mage-a gene is highly expressed in lung cancer in mice induced by CTP fume, suggesting that CTP-induced lung cancer in mice may be an ideal animal model for lung cancer therapeutic experiment with MAGE-A.

Phototoxic Dermatosis among Coal-tar Pitch Workers / 예방의학회지

Interview survey and dermatological examination have been performed to investigate the health problems of workers continuously exposed to coal-tar pitch. The phototoxicity of coal-tar pitch was confirmed by the photopatch tests for six healthy adults. The main results are followings; 1. There was no special history of allergic diseases in both the exposed and non-exposed group. 2. The frequency of the phototoxic dermatosis and the coal-tar acne in the exposed group was significantly greater(p<0.05) than that of the control group. In the exposed group, the phototoxic dermatosis and the coal-tar acne were observed in nine workers(90%) and seven workers(70%), respectively. However, those disease were not observed in the control group. 3. Five results(83%) were positive to the photopatch test for coal-tar pitch 48 hours after UVA irradiation. But the lesion was subsiding 72 hours after UVA irradiation. 4. Malignant cancers were not reported among workers ever exposed to coal-tar pitch. In conclusion, it appears that workers exposed to coal-tar pitch have high risks of phototoxic dermatosis and coal-tar acne. A health policy should be provided to prevent phototoxic dermatosis among coal-tar pitch workers. More studies are required to determine malignancy.