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Biomedical subjects

Apiwat Mutirangura

Publications and source records attributed to Apiwat Mutirangura.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Contiguous gene syndrome of holoprosencephaly and hypotrichosis simplex: association with an 18p11.3 deletion.

We report a patient with a unique combination of features, including microcephaly; mental retardation; poorly developed frontal lobes; hypoplastic pituitary gland; hypothyroidism; alopecia universalis; single maxillary central incisor; taurodontism; median palatal ridge; longitudinally grooved nails; and scoliosis. His unbalanced karyotype was found to be 45,XY,der(15;18)(q10;q10). The constellation of anomalies appears to represent a contiguous gene syndrome caused, at least in part, by deletion of TGIF and the gene responsible for hereditary hypotrichosis simplex. The phenotype of our patient differs other reported patients with del(18p). Possible explanations include (1) the effects of a different deleted region, (2) a positional effect caused by a gene close by, or (3) by interruption of a different gene resulting from chromosomal translocation.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Cyclin A1 promoter hypermethylation in human papillomavirus-associated cervical cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate epigenetic status of cyclin A1 in human papillomavirus-associated cervical cancer. Y. Tokumaru et al., Cancer Res 64, 5982-7 (Sep 1, 2004)demonstrated in head and neck squamous-cell cancer an inverse correlation between cyclin A1 promoter hypermethylation and TP53 mutation. Human papillomavirus-associated cervical cancer, however, is deprived of TP53 function by a different mechanism. Therefore, it was of interest to investigate the epigenetic alterations during multistep cervical cancer development. METHODS: In this study, we performed duplex methylation-specific PCR and reverse transcriptase PCR on several cervical cancer cell lines and microdissected cervical cancers. Furthermore, the incidence of cyclin A1 methylation was studied in 43 samples of white blood cells, 25 normal cervices, and 24, 5 and 30 human papillomavirus-associated premalignant, microinvasive and invasive cervical lesions, respectively. RESULTS: We demonstrated cyclin A1 methylation to be commonly found in cervical cancer, both in vitro and in vivo, with its physiological role being to decrease gene expression. More important, this study demonstrated that not only is cyclin A1 promoter hypermethylation strikingly common in cervical cancer, but is also specific to the invasive phenotype in comparison with other histopathological stages during multistep carcinogenesis. None of the normal cells and low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions exhibited methylation. In contrast, 36.6%, 60% and 93.3% of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, microinvasive and invasive cancers, respectively, showed methylation. CONCLUSION: This methylation study indicated that cyclin A1 is a potential tumor marker for early diagnosis of invasive cervical cancer.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

Future cancer management with stem cell knowledge and technology.

Cancer has been proposed as a result of abnormal control of growth and development of stem cells for more than century. This is the "cancer stem cell hypothesis". Both cancer and stem cells share many common especial properties. They are immortal and have good differentiation potential. In addition, organogenesis and carcinogenesis are very similar processes. Recently, more evidence and convincing data from stem cell biology research are supporting this concept. Furthermore, the research provides new promising approaches for cancer diagnosis and treatment based on stem cell knowledge and technology. Upcoming data and evidence may revolutionize cancer management, making it more effective and safer.

Forecasting↗

SHP-1 promoter 2 methylation in normal epithelial tissues and demethylation in psoriasis.

SHP-1 promoter hypermethylation has been studied in hematopoietic cells and observed only in various types of lymphoma and leukemia. This study reports a contrasting situation in normal epithelial tissues and an association with skin pathogenesis, particularly in psoriasis. We investigated several cell lines, five of them were epithelial and six were hematopoietic, white blood cells from normal, healthy donors, and normal microdissected epithelium of kidney, liver, breast, cervix, lung, prostate, bladder, and skin. Interestingly, promoter 2 hypermethylation was apparent in all epithelial cell lines and tissues. However, distinctive degrees of demethylation were noted in some skin samples. The methylation patterns of each cell line corresponded to their mRNA isoforms, in that isoforms I and II could not be detected with either promoter 1 or 2 hypermethylation, respectively. We further explored whether an enhanced degree of demethylation could be observed in various dermatopathology lesions. While the promoter 2 methylation levels of squamous cell cancers, eczemas, and normal skins were not different, a significant degree of demethylation can be observed in psoriasis (p<0.005). In addition, psoriasis displays a higher level of SHP-1 isoform II than normal skin (p<0.05). In conclusion, this study discovered an unprecedented role of SHP-1 methylation in tissue-specific expression and its alteration in a nonmalignant human disease besides the transcription inhibition in leukemia and lymphoma. Furthermore, the promoter demethylation may play an important role in skin pathogenesis by enhancing SHP-1 isoform II transcription in psoriatic skin lesions.

Cell Line↗

Epstein-Barr virus infection-associated smooth-muscle tumors in patients with AIDS.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study is to describe the unusual clinical manifestations of smooth-muscle tumors (SMTs) in patients with acquired immunodeficiency virus (AIDS) and to demonstrate the association between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and SMTs. METHODS: Nine patients with AIDS and SMTs were characterized at Chulalongkorn Hospital (Bangkok, Thailand) from 2001 through 2003. Tumor tissues suitable for immunohistochemical analysis and in situ hybridization were assayed for SMTs and EBV, respectively. Plasma and serum samples were tested for EBV by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and serologic analysis. RESULTS: The study included 8 adults and 1 child (3 males and 6 females). All patients had CD4 cell counts of <200 cells/microL. By the end of the study, 3 patients had died, and 6 patients had survived. The sites of SMTs were the epidura (5 intracranial and 4 intraspinal SMTs), vocal cords (2), adrenal glands (2), abdominal wall (2), iris (1), liver (1), lung (1), orbit (1), and thigh (1). Seven patients had multicentric SMTs involving intracranial sites only (4 SMTs), extra- and intracranial sites (3), or extracranial sites only (2), which occurred either concurrently or sequentially. We found evidence of EBV infection, as determined by in situ hybridization, in all SMTs. Furthermore, EBV DNA was detectable in plasma samples from 2 patients. The results of serologic analysis were consistent with past EBV infection. CONCLUSIONS: SMTs in patients with AIDS typically arise in multiple and very unusual sites that are not often observed in SMTs among immunocompetent individuals. Our series also suggests association between EBV infection and SMTs in patients with AIDS. The exact role of EBV in smooth-muscle oncogenesis awaits further study.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Histopathologic characteristics of pulmonary adenocarcinomas with and without EGFR mutation.

UNLABELLED: EGFR mutation played crucial role for responsiveness of non-small cell lung cancers to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Almost the mutations were present in adenocarcinomas. Few had studied on histopathologic correlation with EGFR mutation in pulmonary adenocarcinomas. To obtain better view on pathobiology of pulmonary adenocarcinomas, we correlated exons 19 and 21 mutations with various histopathologic features by dissecting particular histological patterns from 60 surgically resected adenocarcinomas. RESULTS: Gland-forming pattern, including bronchiloloalveolar carcinoma (BAC), well-formed acinar, and poorly-formed acinar patterns more frequently contains EGFR mutations than solid pattern (72.7% vs. 23.1%, p = 0.002). EGFR mutations of each within the gland-forming pattern are not significantly different. Micropapillary pattern revealed less exon 19 mutations than the gland-forming pattern (12.5% vs. 66.7%, p = 0.018), but tended to have more Exon 21 mutations than the others (33.3% vs. 11.9%, p = 0.10). Tumors predominated by BAC pattern more commonly had exon 19 mutations than non-BAC predominated tumors (68.8% vs. 39.5%, p = 0.046). EGFR-mutated tumors comprised less proportion of papillary pattern than tumors without mutation (mean = 1.5% vs. 11.2%, p = 0.049). Terminal respiratory unit (TRU) histology was associated with more EGFR mutations (72.4% vs. 42.1%, p = 0.036). Tumors smaller than 3.5 cm had more EGFR mutations than larger tumors (73.1% vs. 41.9%, p = 0.018). CONCLUSION: High frequency of the mutation does not present only in BAC pattern, but also in well-formed and poorly-formed acinar patterns, suggesting them as usual spectrum of EGFR mutated adenocarcinomas. Other characteristics of EGFR-mutated adenocarcinomas include TRU-type histology, smaller size, and less solid phenotype.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Distinctive pattern of LINE-1 methylation level in normal tissues and the association with carcinogenesis.

Genome-wide losses of DNA methylation have been regarded as a common epigenetic event in malignancies and may play crucial roles in carcinogenesis. Limited information is available on the global methylation status in normal tissues and other cancer types beyond colonic carcinoma. Here we applied the combined bisulfite restriction analysis PCR to evaluate the methylation status of LINE-1 repetitive sequences in genomic DNA derived from microdissected samples from several human normal and neoplastic tissues. We found that methylation of LINE-1 in leukocytes was independent of age and gender. In contrast, normal tissues from different organs showed tissue-specific levels of methylated LINE-1. Globally, most carcinomas including breast, colon, lung, head and neck, bladder, esophagus, liver, prostate, and stomach, revealed a greater percentage of hypomethylation than their normal tissue counterparts. Furthermore, DNA derived from sera of patients with carcinoma displayed more LINE-1 hypomethylation than those of noncarcinoma individuals. Finally, in a colonic carcinogenesis model, we detected significantly greater hypomethylation in carcinoma than those of dysplastic polyp and histological normal colonic epithelium. Thus, the methylation status is a unique feature of a specific tissue type and the global hypomethylation is a common epigenetic process in cancer, which may progressively evolve during multistage carcinogenesis.

Base Sequence↗

Global gene expression profile of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by laser capture microdissection and complementary DNA microarrays.

A number of genetic and epigenetic changes underlying the development of nasopharyngeal carcinomas have recently been identified. However, there is still limited information on the nature of the genes and gene products whose aberrant expression and activity promote the malignant conversion of nasopharyngeal epithelium. Here, we have performed a genome-wide transcriptome analysis by probing cDNA microarrays with fluorescent-labeled amplified RNA derived from laser capture microdissected cells procured from normal nasopharyngeal epithelium and areas of metaplasia-dysplasia and carcinoma from EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinomas. This approach enabled the identification of genes differentially expressed in each cell population, as well as numerous genes whose expression can help explain the aggressive clinical nature of this tumor type. For example, genes indicating cell cycle aberrations (cyclin D2, cyclin B1, activator of S-phase kinase, and the cell cycle checkpoint kinase, CHK1) and invasive-metastatic potential (matrix metalloproteinase 11, v-Ral, and integrin beta(4)) were highly expressed in tumor cells. In contrast, genes underexpressed in tumors included genes involved in apoptosis (B-cell CLL/lymphoma 6, secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor, and calpastatin), cell structure (keratin 7 and carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 6), and putative tumor suppressor genes (H-Ras-like suppressor 3, retinoic acid receptor responder 1, and growth arrested specific 8) among others. Gene expression patterns also suggested alterations in the Wnt/beta-catenin and transforming growth factor beta pathways in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Thus, expression profiles indicate that aberrant expression of growth, survival, and invasion-promoting genes may contribute to the molecular pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Ultimately, this approach may facilitate the identification of clinical useful markers of disease progression and novel potential therapeutic targets for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Carcinoma↗

Polymeric immunoglobulin receptor polymorphisms and risk of nasopharyngeal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) associated nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is an important squamous cell cancer endemic in Southeast Asia and the Far East and can be considered a multifactorial genetic disease. This research explores potential associations between nasopharyngeal epithelial EBV receptor and NPC susceptibility. To prove the hypothesis, we evaluated two candidate genes, complement receptor 2 (CR2) and polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (PIGR) by using 4 SNPs, CR2IVS2-848C-->T, PIGRIVS3-156G-->T, PIGR1093G-->A and PIGR1739C-->T, to genotype 175 cases and 317 controls, divided into Thai, Chinese and Thai-Chinese based on their respective ethnic origins. RESULTS: The results obtained indicated that PIGR is an NPC susceptibility gene. The risk association pertaining to each ethnic group was detected for homozygous PIGR1739C with a significant ethnic group adjusted OR (95%CI) of 2.71(1.72-4.23) and p < 0.00001. Haplotype of the two missense PIGR SNPs, 1093G-->A and 1739C-->T, and sequence analyses have confirmed the role of the nucleotide PIGR1739 and excluded possibility of an additional significant nonsynonymous NPC susceptibility SNP. CONCLUSIONS: We present genetic evidence leading to hypothesize a possibility of PIGR to function as the EBV nasopharyngeal epithelium receptor via IgA-EBV complex transcytosis failure. The PIGR1739C-->T is a missense mutation changing alanine to valine near endoproteolytic cleavage site. This variant could alter the efficiency of PIGR to release IgA-EBV complex and consequently increase the susceptibility of populations in endemic areas to develop NPC.

Case-Control Studies↗

Distribution of human leukocyte antigens-E alleles in Thailand.

The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) -E alleles in Thailand. HLA-E alleles were assigned by using a polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide probes (PCR-SSOP) method and direct sequencing in 200 healthy individuals. They comprised 100 Thai, 50 Chinese and 50 Thai-Chinese. From the results, three alleles of HLA-E could be detected in these populations. The E*0101 was the most common allele in Thai and Thai-Chinese with allelic frequencies of 42.5 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively. The other HLA-E allele frequencies of Thai origin were 33 per cent for E*01031 and 24.5 per cent for E*01032, respectively. Among Thai-Chinese, the allele frequencies of HLA-E were 31 per cent for E*01031 and E*01032, respectively. Whereas, the E*01031 was the predominant allele in Chinese origin with a frequency of 39 per cent, followed by E*0101 and E*01032 with 32 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively. No E*01033, E*0102 and E*0104 could be detected in all individuals. When comparing the distribution of HLA-E alleles between each of the populations (Thai vs Chinese, Thai vs Thai-Chinese and Chinese vs Thai-Chinese), no significant difference could be found among these populations. In addition, there was no significant difference of the distribution of HLA-E alleles between the study populations and other populations from Asian countries, reported previously. However, there were significant differences between the populations (Thai, Chinese and Thai-Chinese) and Danish (chi2 = 15.64, p = 0.0004; chi2 = 24.58, p = 0.0000046; chi2 = 14.69, p = 0.00065, respectively).

Adolescent↗