Characterization of the inflammatory and apoptotic cells in the aortas of patients with ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections.

OBJECTIVE: The histopathologic abnormality underlying ascending aortic aneurysm and dissection is medial degeneration, a lesion that is described as the noninflammatory loss of smooth muscle cells and elastic fibers. This study sought to determine whether inflammatory cells are present in medial degeneration and assess any possible contribution of these cells to apoptosis of smooth muscle cells. METHODS: Aortic specimens were obtained from patients undergoing prophylactic surgical repair of an ascending aortic aneurysm (n = 9) and type A dissection (n = 7), along with control patients dying of causes unrelated to aortic disease (n = 5). Immunohistochemical staining was performed to evaluate the presence of lymphocytes and macrophages, and markers of apoptosis were assessed in the aortas of patients with ascending aortic aneurysm and dissection. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical study indicated significantly more CD3+ cells in the aortas of patients with aneurysms or dissections than in control aortas (P = .020 and P = .0022, respectively). In addition, aortas of patients with aneurysms or dissections had more CD68+ cells (P = .01 and P = .005, respectively). CD3+ cells were localized in the media and surrounding the vasa vasorum in the adventitia. Cells yielding a positive result on in situ terminal transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end-labeling were found in increased numbers in the aortas of patients with aneurysms or dissections relative to control aortas (P = .005 and P = .002, respectively). Furthermore, Fas and FasL were increased in the aortic samples from patients with aneurysms and dissections relative to control aortas. CONCLUSION: The coexistence of inflammatory cells with markers of apoptotic vascular cell death in the media of ascending aortas with aneurysms and type A dissections raises the possibility that activated T cells and macrophages may contribute to the elimination of smooth muscle cells and degradation of the matrix associated with thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections.

Genomic profiles in stage I primary non small cell lung cancer using comparative genomic hybridization analysis of cDNA microarrays.

To investigate the genomic aberrations that are involved in lung tumorigenesis and therefore may be developed as biomarkers for lung cancer diagnosis, we characterized the genomic copy number changes associated with individual genes in 14 tumors from patients with primary non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Six squamous cell carcinomas (SQCAs) and eight adenocarcinomas (ADCAs) were examined by high-resolution comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis of cDNA microarray. The SQCAs and ADCAs shared common frequency distributions of recurrent genomic gains of 63 genes and losses of 72 genes. Cluster analysis using 57 genes defined the genomic differences between these two major histologic types of NSCLC. Genomic aberrations from a set of 18 genes showed distinct difference of primary ADCAs from their paired normal lung tissues. The genomic copy number of four genes was validated by fluorescence in situ hybridization of 32 primary NSCLC tumors, including those used for cDNA microarray CGH analysis; a strong correlation with cDNA microarray CGH data emerged. The identified genomic aberrations may be involved in the initiation and progression of lung tumorigenesis and, most importantly, may be developed as new biomarkers for the early detection and classification of lung cancer.