Læknaneminn - 01.04.2004, Page 69

Expression of activin A ligands mRNA in endometrial adeno-
carcinoma
Matthildur Sigurðardóttirl, Pasquale Florio2, Felice Petraglia2
1 Læknadeild Háskóla Islands, 2 Chair of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Reproductive
Medicine, University of Siena
Background: Endometrial adenocarcinoma ranks as the
fifth most common neoplasm in women in the western world
with an age adjusted rate of 11,33/100.000. Activin A is a
multifunctional growth and cell differentiation factor, belonging
to the TGF-_ superfamily that exerts anti-proliferative effects
on normal cells and on well-differentiated endometrial tumors.
It is produced by normal endometrium and secreted at
high levels in endometrial adenocarcinoma. The objective
of the present study is to evaluate the expression of two
inhibitory activin ligands, follistatin and FLRG, in endometrial
adenocarcinoma and normal human endometrium.
Material and methods: Endometrial adenocarcinoma tissue
samples were collected from patients (n=8). Control tissue
specimens were obtained from normal cycling endometrium
(n=8: proliferative phase=3, secretory phase=5), and from
atrophic menopausal endometrium (n=5). Total RNA was
purified from the samples and levels of mRNA expression
were assayed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, using the
housekeeping gene, F1PRT, as a standard.
Results: The FLRG/HPRT mRNA expression ratio in
endometrial adenocarcinoma specimens is significantly lower
than in normal endometrial samples (P< 0.0001). Follistatin/
HPRT expression ratios were similar in endometrial carcinoma
samples and healthy controls. There are no detectable
differences in FLRG and follistatin mRNA expression between
either fertile or menopausal endometrium or between
proliferative and secretory phases in fertile endometrium.
Conclusions: FLRG is downregulated in endometrial
carcinoma, compared to normal endometrium, but follistatin
expression remains unchanged; as measured by mRNA levels.
Taken together with the high levels of activin produced in
endometrial carcinoma and the reported co-localization of
activin and FLRG in normal endometrial tissues, we conclude
that a failure in a common pathway that involves the
regulation of activin as well as FLRG is pivotal in endometrial
tumor progression.
Key words: Follistatin, FLRG, activin A, endometrial
adenocarcinoma.
Höfuðáverki og tölvusneiðmyndarannsóknir hjá börnum
Viktor Davíð Sigurðsson
Leiðbeínendur: Ásbjörn Jónsson, Brynjólfur Mogensen, Pétur H.
Hannesson, Jón Baldursson
Inngangur: Höfuðáverkar barna eru algeng ástæða fyrir komu
á slysa- og bráðadeild (SBD) Landspítala-háskólasjúkrahúss
(LSH). Hluti þeirra fer í tölvusneiðmyndarannsókn af höfði
(TS) til útilokunar kúpu- og innankúpuáverka. Markmið er
að kanna notkun á TS vegna höfuðáverka hjá börnum. Efni
og aðferðir: Börn yngri en 18 ára sem komið höfðu á SBD
og farið í TS árin 2001 og 2002. Skráð var aldur, kyn,
meðvitundarástand á slysstað, Glascow Coma Scale (GCS),
slysagreiningar, röntgengreiningar, áverkaskor og afdrif.
Niðurstöður: Slösuð voru 284 börn, 160 drengir og 124
stúlkur. Meðvitund misstu 31%. Langflest (95%) höfðu GCS
13-15 og 4% GCS 3-7. Neikvæða TS höfðu 86% barna en
hjá 14% (42) greindist áverki; höfuðkúpubrot (15), heilamar
(4), innankúpublæðing (8) og fleiri en eina greiningu fengu
15. Stór hluti (33 af 42) var með GCS 13-15. Fleiri stúlkur
voru höfuðkúpubrotnar (15:11). Hlutfall höfuðkúpubrota var
hærra því yngri sem börnin voru. Höfuðkúpubrot eykur líkur á
innankúpuáverka tæplega sjöfalt. Allir sjúklingar með jákvæða
TS uppfylltu skilmerki klínískra leiðbeininga á SBD fyrir TS.
Heilahristingur var algengasta slysagreininging (78%). Rúmur
helmingur barnanna fóru heim (145) og rúmur fjórðungur
(76) var lagður inn yfir eina nótt en aðrir lengur. Tveir létust.
Umræður: Hátt hlutfall jákvæðra TS rannsókna (14%) bendir
til að ekki sé um ofrannsóknir að ræða. Hátt GCS barna við
komu á SBD útilokar ekki alvarlegan höfuðáverka. Við mat
fyrir TS er nauðsynlegt að hafa til hliðsjónar sögu, skoðun
og klínískar leiðbeiningar. Lykilorð: Börn, höfuðáverki,
tölvusneiðmyndarannsókn, áverkaskor, Glascow Coma Scale.
IL-6 passes the placenta in rats
Steinunn Arnardóftir 1,2 Jovanna Dahlgren MD, Ph.D 2,3, Anne-Maj
Samuelsson Ph.d stud.2, Karolina Ploj Ph.D 2 Agneta Holmáng MD;
Ph.D 2
1: University of lceland 2:Wallenberg laboratory Sahlgrenska
Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden
3:Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, Göteborg Sweden
Introduction: Several studies have suggested that
events that occur prenatally play an important role in the
pathogenesis of diseases at adult age. Different kinds of
stressors during a defined developmental stage results in
persisting changes in behavioural and hormonal responses.
Male rats, prenatally exposed to interleukin-6 get obese,
show Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal axis (HPA axis)
hypersensitzation, and insulin resistance at an adult age
and females become in addition to obesity and HPA axis
sensitisation, hyperandrogenic, but not insulin resistant.
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