Histopathological features of the gastroesophageal junction: an Eastern view.

The definition and features of the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) and the histopathologic features of the cardiac mucosa remain controversial. Most reports originate from western countries, which have different prevalence of GEJ adenocarcinoma and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) compared to eastern countries. Therefore, we investigated GEJ anatomic and histopathologic features by histological mapping in 30 esophagogastrectomy specimens of middle and lower esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. We measured the lengths of the cardiac mucosa, oxyntocardiac mucosa, and esophageal cardiac-type glands. We assessed the presence of intestinal metaplasia, pancreatic acinar cells, Brunner's-like glands, and submucosal esophageal gland beneath cardiac mucosa and the relationship of these features with age and the circumferential location of cardiac mucosa. The lengths of cardiac mucosa and esophageal cardiac-type glands significantly increased with age (<63 years, 2767.86±734.95 µm vs. ≥63 years, 5453.12±839.52 µm, P=0.025 and <63 years, 1151.78±452.81 µm vs. ≥63 years, 2273.44±321.58 µm, P=0.049, respectively) and the presence of circumferential cardiac mucosa (+, 5731.25±721.57 vs. -, 2625.00±356.00 µm, P=0.007; +, 2425.00±326.13 µm vs. -, 400.00±204.80 µm, P<0.0001 respectively). The presence of intestinal metaplasia and irregular GEJ increased with age and the circumferential location of cardiac mucosa. The presence of esophageal submucosal glands beneath the cardiac mucosa, pancreatic acinar cells, and Brunner-like glands were seen in 8/30 (26.7%), 15/30 (50%), and 14/30 (46.7%) cases, respectively. These data indirectly suggest that cardiac mucosa originated from the distal esophagus and that the presence of cardiac mucosa may indicate GERD, in accordance with data from Western countries.

Depot-specific gene expression profiles during differentiation and transdifferentiation of bovine muscle satellite cells, and differentiation of preadipocytes.

We report a systematic study of gene expression during myogenesis and transdifferentiation in four bovine muscle tissues and of adipogenesis in three bovine fat tissues using DNA microarray analysis. One hundred hybridizations were performed and 7245 genes of known and unknown function were identified as being differentially expressed. Supervised hierarchical cluster analysis of gene expression patterns revealed the tissue specificity of genes. A close relationship in global gene expression observed for adipocyte-like cells derived from muscle and adipocytes derived from intramuscular fat suggests a common origin for these cells. The role of transthyretin in myogenesis is a novel finding. Different genes were highly induced during the transdifferentiation of myogenic satellite cells and in the adipogenesis of preadipocytes, indicating the involvement of different molecular mechanisms in these processes. Induction of CD36 and FABP4 expression in adipocyte-like cells and adipocytes may share a common pathway.

Effects of gender-specific adult bovine serum on myogenic satellite cell proliferation, differentiation and lipid accumulation.

The study was performed to explore the effects of adult bovine male serum (MS), female serum (FS), and castrated male serum (C-MS) on myogenic satellite cells (MSCs) proliferation and differentiation into myotubes or into adipocyte-like cells (ALCs). MSC proliferation and differentiation was highest in the medium supplemented with MS, implying the important role of male steroid hormones. Myogenin and desmin were highly upregulated in cells cultured in MS-supplemented medium. In contrast, lipid accumulation in ALCs was highest in the medium supplemented with FS. Fatty acid transporter (FAT/CD36) was upregulated in FS-supplemented cultures. Detection of higher FAT/CD36 inducing fatty acids (arachidic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid) in FS compared with MS and C-MS suggests that these fatty acids may have influenced the enhanced formation of lipid droplets in ALCs. Effect of sex steroids on cell proliferation and cell growth of bovine MSCs and C2C12 cell in C-MS was greater than charcoal-dextran-treated fetal bovine serum (CDFBS). Concluding the above facts, the results indicate that each gender-specific bovine serum constitutes of different component, which leads to unique effects on cell behavior.