Frequentin

Aberrant DNA methylation is a common phenomenon in human cancer. The aims of this study were to investigate the methylation profiles of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the Chinese population. Twenty tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) were determined of the methylation status using methylation-specific PCR in 78 paired NSCLC specimens and adjacent normal tissues, as well as in 110 Stage I/II NSCLC and 50 cancer-free plasmas. The results showed that, nine genes (APC, CDH13, KLK10, DLEC1, RASSF1A, EFEMP1, SFRP1, RARβ and p16(INK4A)) demonstrated a significantly higher frequency of methylation in NSCLC compared with the normal tissues (P≤0.001), while the others (RUNX3, hMLH1, DAPK, BRCA1, p14(ARF), MGMT, NORE1A, FHIT, CMTM3, LSAMP and OPCML) showed relatively low sensitivity or specificity. Furthermore, methylation of multiple genes was more frequentin cancerous tissue, CpG island methylator phenotype positive (CIMP+) cases were detected in 65.38% of (51/78) NSCLC while only in 1.28% (1/78) of adjacent normal tissues (P<0.001), and CIMP+ was associated with advanced stage (P=0.017), lymphatic metastasis (P=0.001) and adverse 2-year progression-free survival (P=0.027). The nine genes validated in tissues also showed a significantly higher frequency of tumor-specific hypermethylation in NSCLC plasma, as compared with the cancer-free plasmas, and a 5-gene set (APC, RASSF1A, CDH13, KLK10 and DLEC1) achieved a sensitivity of 83.64% and a specificity of 74.0% for cancer diagnosis. Thus, the results indicated that methylated alteration of multiple genes plays an important role in NSCLC pathogenesis and a panel of candidate epigenetic biomarkers for NSCLC detection in the Chinese population was identified.

Purpose: In diabetic patients, single-fiber electromyography (SFEMG) is often abnormal in the limb muscles and is considered unreliable in diagnosis of synaptic disorders. We aimed to compare SFEMG abnormalities of frontalis muscle (FM) and extensor digitorum communis muscle in diabetic patients with neuropathy and without neuropathy. Methods: Stimulation SFEMG of FM and extensor digitorum communis muscle was performed in matched groups of 30 diabetic patients with neuropathy and 20 diabetic patients without neuropathy. Results: Single-fiber electromyography in the FM was abnormal in four diabetic patients with neuropathy and in one diabetic patient without neuropathy. Changes were rather mild. Extensor digitorum communis abnormalities were significantly more frequent-in 20 diabetic patients with neuropathy and in 7 diabetic patients without neuropathy (P < 0.001). We never observed a patient with abnormal FM but normal extensor digitorum communis muscle. Conclusions: In diabetes, FM exhibits rare and quite mild SFEMG changes. This muscle may be suitable for SFEMG in diabetic patients with clinical suspicion for synaptic disorder.

The potential protection of Picea glehnii seedlings from damping-off by seed-epiphytic Penicillium species was investigated. We studied the chemical response of seed-epiphytic Penicillium species (Pen. cyaneum, Pen. damascenum, and Pen. implicatum) to Pythium vexans, a damping-off fungus, in vitro. Penicillium species were cultured singly or cocultured with Pyt. vexans for 14 or 18 d, and mycelial growth, pH of culture filtrate, antifungal activity of the culture filtrate against Pyt. vexans, and the amount of antifungal compound produced by each Penicillium species, were examined. The filtrate of both the single culture of Penicillium and the coculture of Penicillium and Pyt. vexans showed antifungal activity against Pyt. vexans. In a coculture with Pyt. vexans, Pen. cyaneum produced an antifungal compound (patulin) as in the single culture. Pen. damascenum cocultured with Pyt. vexans produced an antifungal compound (citrinin), as it did in the single culture and in larger amounts on day 10. Pen. implicatum produced two antifungal compounds, frequentin and palitantin, and the ratio of frequentin (with higher antifungal activity than palitantin) to palitantin was higher in the coculture with Pyt. vexans than in the single culture. Our results indicate that these Penicillium species have the ability to produce antifungal compounds and to keep anti-fungal activity under competitive condition with Pyt. vexans. The chemical response of these Penicillium species to Pyt. vexans may contribute to protect P. glehnii seedlings from damage by Pyt. vexans.