Abstract

Objectives: The goal of this study was to determine the correlation of clinicopathological factors and the up-regulation of Int-8 receptors and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Materials and Methods: Clinical data (age, gender, size of the tumor, location of the tumor, lymph nodes status,..) were collected from 20 patients with OSCC, tabulated and statistically analyzed (SPSS17).Immunohistochemical stainings of Int-8 receptors, CXCR1 and CXCR2 (united states biological, United Bio, USA) and VEGF (Abcam, Cambridge, MA, USA) were done.

Results: Our immunohistochemical study demonstrated: 1)expression of Int-8 receptors in all cases of OSCC with variable intensities, 2) high-level staining of VEGF In poorly differentiated and invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma. Significant correlation was observed between immunohistochemical expression of Int-8 receptors, VEGF and histologic differentiation and clinical stages(Analysis of variance ANOVA, P<0.05).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the reactivity to Int-8 receptors

observed in OSCC cases could be used as a parameter for tumor aggressiveness and as potential prognostic marker. Also, up-regulation of VEGF may play a role in the angiogenesis and progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: The first aim of this study was to analyse the presence of circulating Claudin 4 (CLDN4) mRNA in serum and to evaluate whether the rate of CLDN4 mRNA can be used as a tumor marker to discriminate breast cancer patients and healthy women. The second aim was to compare CLDN4 mRNA measured using real-time quantitative RT-PCR with CA 15-3 measured using immunoassay as biomarker for the diagnosis of breast cancer.

Experimental Design: The present study collected serum samples

from 118 patients with recently diagnosed breast cancer and 30 matched healthy women. The number of copies of CLDN4 mRNA and the CA-15-3 rate were analysed and the percentage of patients with increased marker level were compared.

Results: The quality and the stability of mRNA which were evaluated

using the housekeeping RPLPO gene in all studied serum samples were confirmed (p>0.05). The expression level of CLDN4 mRNA was found significantly increased in serum of 64% patients with breast cancer from the threshold calculated in healthy women (p<0.001) versus 6% for CA 15-3. The expression of claudin4 was not correlated with histological type, tumour size, nodal status, tumor grade, and status of ER, PR and Her2 but only with age.

Conclusions:

Our results showed that the expression of CLDN4 mRNA by real-time quantitative PCR give the opportunity to predict breast cancer before pathological diagnosis in a large majority of patients.

This paper focuses on the revision of the literature related to the reading skills as a background and reading for comprehension as the final desirable product of practising reading. This includes an overview of reading theories, reading skills, and reading strategies and the difference between them. The involvement of conjunctions as defined and classified by Halliday and Hasan (1975) in the reading theories, reading skills, and reading strategies will be highlighted. The study offers important pedagogical recommendations for teachers and curriculum designers. Explicit teaching of reading strategies with clear focus on conjunctions may contribute to the development of reading for comprehension and other English language skills.

Key words: reading comprehension, skills, strategies, conjunctions.

Abstract

The mechanisms of axonal trafficking and membrane targeting are well established for sodium channels, which are the principle targets for perineurally applied local anaesthetics. However, they have not been thoroughly investigated for G protein coupled receptors such as mu-opioid receptors (MOR). Focusing on these axonal mechanisms, we found that axonal MOR functionality is quite distinct in two different pain states, i.e. hindpaw inflammation and nerve injury. We observed axonal membrane MOR binding and functional G protein coupling exclusively at sites of CCI nerve injury. Moreover at these axonal membrane sites, MOR exhibited extensive co-localization with the membrane proteins SNAP and Na/K-ATPase as well as NGF-dependent enhanced lipid rafts and L1CAM anchoring proteins. Silencing endogenous L1CAM with intrathecal L1CAM specific siRNA, disrupting lipid rafts with the perineurial cholesterol-sequestering agent MβCD, as well as suppressing NGF receptor activation with the perineurial NGF receptor inhibitor K252a abrogated MOR axonal membrane integration, functional coupling, and agonist-elicited antinociception at sites of nerve injury. These findings suggest that local conceptual changes resulting from nerve injury are required for the establishment of functional axonal membrane MOR. Axonal integration and subsequent accessibility of functionally coupled MOR are of great relevance particularly for patients suffering from severe pain due to nerve injury or tumour infiltration.