Effect of age, ethnicity, sex, cognitive status and APOE genotype on amyloid load and the threshold for amyloid positivity.

The threshold for amyloid positivity by visual assessment on PET has been validated by comparison to amyloid load measured histopathologically and biochemically at post mortem. As such, it is now feasible to use qualitative visual assessment of amyloid positivity as an in-vivo gold standard to determine those factors which can modify the quantitative threshold for amyloid positivity. We calculated quantitative amyloid load, measured as Standardized Uptake Value Ratios (SUVRs) using [18-F]florbetaben PET scans, for 159 Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants, who had been classified clinically as Cognitively Normal (CN), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or Dementia (DEM). PET scans were visually rated as amyloid positive (A+) or negative (A-), and these judgments were used as the gold standard with which to determine (using ROC analyses) the SUVR threshold for amyloid positivity considering factors such as age, ethnicity (Hispanic versus non-Hispanic), gender, cognitive status, and apolipoprotein E ε4 carrier status. Visually rated scans were A+ for 11% of CN, 39.0% of MCI and 70% of DEM participants. The optimal SUVR threshold for A+ among all participants was 1.42 (sensitivity = 94%; specificity = 92.5%), but this quantitative threshold was higher among E4 carriers (SUVR = 1.52) than non-carriers (SUVR = 1.31). While mean SUVRs did not differ between Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants;, a statistically significant interaction term indicated that the effect of E4 carrier status on amyloid load was greater among non-Hispanics than Hispanics. Visual assessment, as the gold standard for A+, facilitates determination of the effects of various factors on quantitative thresholds for amyloid positivity. A continuous relationship was found between amyloid load and global cognitive scores, suggesting that any calculated threshold for the whole group, or a subgroup, is artefactual and that the lowest calculated threshold may be optimal for the purposes of early diagnosis and intervention.

Mutant p53 protein in serum could be used as a molecular marker in human breast cancer.

p53 wild-type is a tumor suppressor gene involved in DNA gene transcription or DNA repair mechanisms. When damage to DNA is unrepairable, p53 induces programmed cell death (apoptosis). The mutant p53 gene is the most frequent molecular alteration in human cancer, including breast cancer. Here, we analyzed the genetic alterations in p53 oncogene expression in 55 patients with breast cancer at different stages and in 8 normal women. We measured by ELISA assay the serum levels of p53 mutant protein and p53 antibodies. Immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR using specific p53 primers as well as mutation detection by DNA sequencing were also evaluated in breast tumor tissue. Serological p53 antibody analysis detected 0/8 (0%), 0/4 (0%) and 9/55 (16.36%) positive cases in normal women, in patients with benign breast disease and in breast carcinoma, respectively. We found positive p53 mutant in the sera of 0/8 (0.0%) normal women, 0/4 (0%) with benign breast disease and 29/55 (52.72%) with breast carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry evaluation was positive in 29/55 (52.73%) with mammary carcinoma and 0/4 (0%) with benign breast disease. A very good correlation between p53 mutant protein detected in serum and p53 accumulation by immunohistochemistry (83.3% positive in both assays) was found in this study. These data suggest that detection of mutated p53 could be a useful serological marker for diagnostic purposes.

FGFR2 signaling in normal and limbless chick limb buds.

FGF10 and FGF8, which are reciprocally expressed by the mesoderm and AER of the developing limb bud, have been implicated in limb initiation, outgrowth, and patterning. FGF10 and FGF8 signal through the FGFR2b and FGFR2c alternative splice isoforms, respectively [Ornitz DM, et al. 1996. J Biol Chem 271:15292-15297; Igarashi M, et al. 1998. J Biol Chem 273:13230-13235]. A paracrine signaling loop model has been proposed whereby FGF10 expressed by limb mesoderm signals via ectodermally restricted FGFR2b to regulate FGF8 expression by the apical ectoderm; in turn, FGF8 signals via mesodermally restricted FGFR2c to maintain FGF10 expression [Ohuchi H, et al. 1997. Development 124:2235-2244; Xu X, et al. 1998. Development 125:753-765]. To explore this model, we have examined FGFR2b and FGFR2c mRNA expression, using isoform-specific probes during the early stages of development of the chick limb when limb initiation, AER induction, and outgrowth are occurring. We have found that FGFR2b is expressed by limb ectoderm, including the AER, consistent with paracrine signaling of FGF10. By contrast, FGFR2c is expressed by both mesoderm and ectoderm, indicating that FGF8 has the potential to function in an autocrine as well as paracrine fashion. Indeed, as the limb grows out in response to the AER, FGFR2c expression attenuates in the mesoderm of the progress zone, but is maintained in the AER itself, arguing against exclusive paracrine signaling of FGF8 during limb outgrowth. We also report that transcripts for FGF10, FGFR2b, and FGFR2c are expressed normally in the limb buds of limbless mutant embryos, which fail to form an AER and do not express FGF8. Furthermore, we detect no mutations in exons specific for the FGFR2c or FGFR2b isoforms in limbless embryos. Since gene targeting has shown that expression of FGF8 in limb ectoderm depends on FGF10 [Min H, et al. 1998. Genes Dev 12:3156-3161; Sekine K, et al. 1999. Nature Genet 21:138-141], these results indicate that the product of the limbless gene is required for FGF10 to induce expression of FGF8.

Type 73 human papillomavirus in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a novel association.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) commonly cause proliferative lesions of squamous epithelia, and infection with certain HPV types carries a high risk of malignant transformation, especially in the uterine cervix but also at other sites, including the esophagus. We used molecular techniques to detect and type HPV in an in situ squamous cell carcinoma in the esophagus of a 39-year old woman. METHODS: DNA was extracted from paraffin sections of the esophageal lesion and of the uterine cervix (which was removed several years earlier), and analyzed for HPV by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Primers complementary to highly conserved regions of the open reading frame of most genital HPVs were used to amplify a approximately 450 base pair product that contained both conserved and divergent regions. The PCR products were hybridized with probes specific for HPV-6, HPV-11, HPV-16, and HPV-18, and with a consensus probe. A conspicuous band in the esophageal sample failed to hybridize with any of the probes. The amplimer was subcloned and sequenced. The sequence was compared with other known HPVs. RESULTS: The intraepithelial neoplasia in the patient's cervical cone biopsy contained HPV-16. The esophageal lesion contained HPV that did not hybridize with probes for types 6, 11, 16, or 18, but exhibited 98.3% homology with HPV-73. CONCLUSIONS: Squamous cell carcinoma in situ of the esophagus may be associated with infection by HPV-73.