Citations

SEEK and you may find cancer earlier Many cancers can be cured by surgery and/or systemic therapies when detected before they have metastasized. This clinical reality, coupled with the growing appreciation that cancer's rapid genetic evolution limits its response to drugs, have fueled interest in methodologies for earlier detection of the disease. Cohen et al. developed a noninvasive blood test, called CancerSEEK that can detect eight common human cancer types (see the Perspective by Kalinich and Haber). The test assesses eight circulating protein biomarkers and tumor-specific mutations in circulating DNA. In a study of 1000 patients previously diagnosed with cancer and 850 healthy control individuals, CancerSEEK detected cancer with a sensitivity of 69 to 98% (depending on cancer type) and 99% specificity. Science , this issue p. 926 ; see also p. 866

Bacteria growing in biofilms cause a wide range of human infections. Biofilm bacteria are resistant to antimicrobics at levels 500 to 5,000 times higher than those needed to kill non-biofilm bacteria. In vitro experiments have shown that electric current can enhance the activity of some antimicrobial agents against certain bacteria in biofilms; this has been termed the “bioelectric effect”. Direct electrical current has already been safely used in humans for fracture healing. Application of direct electric current with antimicrobial chemotherapy in humans could theoretically abrogate the need to remove the device in device-related infections, a procedure associated with substantial morbidity and cost. In this article, we review what has been described in the literature with regards to the bioelectric effect. (Int J Artif Organs 2008; 31: 786–95)

Cross-linked hemoglobin (XL-Hb) infused into dogs increases mean arterial pressure (MAP) but decreases blood flow to the renal (RBF), mesenteric (MBF), and iliac (IBF) circulations. These actions differ markedly from dextran infusion (which increases RBF, MBF, and IBF without altering MAP) and may be due to scavenging of nitric oxide by XL-Hb. However, because the hormonal milieu regulating regional circulation is altered during hemorrhage (when XL-Hb may be used), we studied whether systemic hemodynamics, RBF, MBF, IBF, and renal excretory function in hemorrhaged dogs was altered when resuscitated with XL-Hb compared with dextran ( n = 6 each). Hemorrhage decreased MAP by 25% due to a 75% decline in cardiac output. RBF, MBF, and IBF all fell by 33, 64, and 72%, respectively ( P < 0.05 each). There was also a fall in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), urinary flow, and sodium excretion ( P < 0.05 each). After resuscitation, MAP, cardiac output, RBF, MBF, IBF, and GFR all recovered to basal values with either XL-Hb or dextran. Urinary flow and sodium excretion increased to above basal levels with dextran (both by 3.5-fold; P < 0.05) or XL-Hb (by 7.5- and 10-fold, respectively; P < 0.05). We conclude that resuscitation with XL-Hb after hemorrhage not only increases MAP, but also restores RBF, MBF, IBF, GFR, and urinary sodium and volume excretion analogously to dextran. The results contrast with those in normal dogs and suggest that nitric oxide inhibition does not impair hemodynamic and renal function recovery during hemorrhage.

The efficacy with which sulfonylurea drugs inhibit cardiac ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels is reduced during metabolic compromise and cellular contracture. Disruption of the actin microfilament network, which occurs under similar conditions, reduces the sensitivity of the channel toward intracellular ATP. To investigate whether a disrupter of actin microfilaments could also affect the responsiveness of the KATP channel to sulfonylurea drugs, single-channel currents were measured in the inside-out configuration of excised patches from guinea pig ventricular myocytes. Treatment of the internal side of patches with deoxyribonuclease (DNase) I (100 micrograms/ml), which forms complexes with G actin and prevents actin filament formation, antagonized sulfonylurea-induced inhibition of KATP channels that was coupled with a loss of sensitivity to ATP. The apparent dissociation constant and Hill coefficient for the inhibitory effect of glyburide, a prototype sulfonylurea, on KATP-channel opening were, respectively, 0.13 microM and 0.95 before and 2.7 microM and 0.98 after DNase treatment. DNase did not alter intraburst kinetic properties of the channel. When DNase was denatured or coincubated with purified actin (200 micrograms/ml), it no longer decreased glyburide-induced channel inhibition. This suggests that sulfonylurea-inhibitory gating of cardiac KATP channels may also be regulated through a mechanism involving subsarcolemmal actin microfilament networks.

In addition to stem cells, T‐cells, natural killer cells, dendritic cells, and monocytes are also collected and infused from the autograft in patients undergoing autologous peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Recent reports have shown that these autograft immune effector cells can affect the clinical outcome postautologous peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In this article, I will review the clinical impact on the survival of these autograft immune effector cells conferring the concept of autologous graft versus tumor effect.