KRAS mutation leads to decreased expression of regulator of calcineurin 2, resulting in tumor proliferation in colorectal cancer.

KRAS mutations occur in 30-40% of all cases of human colorectal cancer (CRC). However, to date, specific therapeutic agents against KRAS-mutated CRC have not been developed. We previously described the generation of mouse models of colon cancer with and without Kras mutations (CDX2P-G22Cre;Apc(flox/flox); LSL-Kras(G12D) and CDX2P-G22Cre;Apc(flox/flox) mice, respectively). Here, the two mouse models were compared to identify candidate genes, which may represent novel therapeutic targets or predictive biomarkers. Differentially expressed genes in tumors from the two mouse models were identified using microarray analysis, and their expression was compared by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemical analyses in mouse tumors and surgical specimens of human CRC, with or without KRAS mutations, respectively. Furthermore, the functions of candidate genes were studied using human CRC cell lines. Microarray analysis of 34 000 transcripts resulted in the identification of 19 candidate genes. qRT-PCR analysis data showed that four of these candidate genes (Clps, Irx5, Bex1 and Rcan2) exhibited decreased expression in the Kras-mutated mouse model. The expression of the regulator of calcineurin 2 (RCAN2) was also observed to be lower in KRAS-mutated human CRC. Moreover, inhibitory function for cancer cell proliferation dependent on calcineurin was indicated with overexpression and short hairpin RNA knockdown of RCAN2 in human CRC cell lines. KRAS mutations in CRC lead to a decrease in RCAN2 expression, resulting in tumor proliferation due to derepression of calcineurin-nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) signaling. Our findings suggest that calcineurin-NFAT signal may represent a novel molecular target for the treatment of KRAS-mutated CRC.

Influence of ego strength on associations of alexithymia and depression.

This study examined the association of scores for ego strength with the scores on a measure of alexithymia and with depressive symptoms in two samples of 260 college students and 92 psychiatric outpatients. In both samples, scores on alexithymia were significantly correlated with those for depressive symptoms; however, correlations became nonsignificant when scores for ego strength were controlled for. The results suggest that the association between alexithymia scores and depressive symptoms is decreased by lower scores for ego strength.

Japanese Type A behavior pattern is associated with "typus melancholicus": a study from the sociocultural viewpoint.

An examination of the relationship between Type A behavior pattern (TABP) and "Typus Melancholicus" (TM) in 212 coronary heart disease (CHD) patients in Japan revealed that: CHD patients with TABP were significantly more likely to have a depression-prone personality, what Tellenbach calls "Typus Melancholicus"; this tendency was observed not only in CHD patients but also among healthy Type A subjects; and TM is positively correlated with Type A. The results of our studies from a comparative sociocultural viewpoint indicate that TM may be involved in Japanese TABP, suggesting the possibility that driving, self-sacrificing and obsessional traits are related to Type A behavior in a variety of different cultural contexts.

Transethnic adoption and personality traits: a lesson from Japanese orphans returned from China to Japan.

The authors interviewed 25 Japanese who had been left as orphans in China at the end of World War II and who had recently returned to Japan with their Chinese spouses after almost four decades. It was found that even though they had been raised as Chinese culturally for almost their entire lives, most of these subjects had retained certain Japanese personality traits and social behavior from early childhood, and these characteristics distinguished them from their Chinese counterparts.