ABSTRACT
Angiosarcoma is a rare and aggressive type of sarcoma, and primary angiosarcoma of the ovary is extremely rare. We report the case of a 29-year-old woman who was diagnosed with ovarian angiosarcoma and possible bone metastases. We treated this patient with a gemcitabine-based regimen as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, after which she achieved at least 7 years of progression-free survival, an extremely long duration given the aggressive features of this tumour. We retrospectively performed immunohistochemical analyses and fluorescence in situ hybridization to make a pathology diagnosis and to investigate the tumour features. MYC amplification and c-Myc protein overexpression were positively detected. It might be possible to correlate the effectiveness of the gemcitabine-based chemotherapeutic regimen with MYC gene amplification and c-Myc protein overexpression.
ABSTRACT
Adhesion molecules of the integrin family, including very late activation antigens (VLA), have been implicated in various cellular functions. In this study, we investigated the contribution of integrin-mediated interaction with ECM proteins to the cytokine gene expression in human chondrocytes. Human articular chondrocytes expressed VLA-1, -2, -3 and -5 on the cell surface, and could adhere to various ECM proteins, especially to fibronectin (FN). Furthermore, the production of GM-CSF and IL-6 was potently induced by culturing chondrocytes on immobilized FN. This stimulative effect of FN was completely inhibited by an anti-integrin alpha 5 chain mAb, as well as by anti-integrin beta 1 chain mAbs. These results indicate an important role of the VLA-5-mediated interaction with FN in regulating inflammatory cytokine production by human articular chondrocytes.
Subject(s)
Cartilage, Articular/immunology , Cytokines/biosynthesis , Fibronectins/pharmacology , Integrins/biosynthesis , Receptors, Fibronectin/physiology , Animals , Antibodies, Monoclonal/pharmacology , Cartilage, Articular/metabolism , Cell Adhesion , Cells, Cultured , Collagen/pharmacology , Extracellular Matrix Proteins/pharmacology , Gene Expression , Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor/biosynthesis , Humans , Integrins/analysis , Interleukin-6/biosynthesis , Macromolecular Substances , Mice , RNA, Messenger/analysis , RNA, Messenger/biosynthesis , Rats , Receptors, Fibronectin/immunologySubject(s)
Adenoma/pathology , Sweat Gland Neoplasms/pathology , Diabetes Mellitus/pathology , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
The relationship between the titer of pemphigus antibody and the clinical course of the disease was investigated in 15 patients with various types of pemphigus. Although antibody titers generally ran parallel to fluctuations of the clinical course, the elevation of antibody titer appeared to follow the re-appearance or exacerbation of the lesions on 10 occasions in 6 patients, while it appeared to precede the latter only on 2 occasions in 2 patients. In addition, the disappearance of the antibody was considerably delayed after disappearance of skin lesions in 2 cases. These findings suggest that the pemphigus antibody is the result of skin damage, rather than the cause of pemphigus itself.
