Foi realizada traqueostomia e colocação de sonda de gastrostomia

Foi realizada traqueostomia e colocação de sonda de gastrostomia percutânea transendoscópica (PEG), pelo método de Ponski-Gauderer (pull method). O exame endoscópico efetuado durante o procedimento não revelou lesões na mucosa gástrica ( fig. 1). Três meses mais tarde,

o doente recorreu ao serviço de urgência por presença de conteúdo hemático na sonda de gastrostomia. Foi realizada endoscopia digestiva alta, que revelou múltiplas lesões vegetantes na parede anterior do estômago, adjacentes ao botão interno da PEG, algumas das quais ulceradas (Figura 2 and Figura 3). O exame histológico das biopsias efetuadas mostrou tratar-se de um carcinoma pouco diferenciado, sendo a análise imuno-histoquímica consistente com metastização de carcinoma da laringe, com elevada expressão

de citoqueratina CK34B12 e baixa GSK2118436 expressão de citoqueratinas CK8/18. Em neoplasias do trato aerodigestivo superior, a gastrostomia percutânea endoscópica é frequentemente utilizada para suporte nutricional. O método de Ponski-Gauderer (pull method) foi inicialmente descrito para a colocação da PEG e é o mais amplamente utilizado. Neste método, a sonda de gastrostomia passa através da boca, faringe e esófago antes de atingir a parede abdominal. A disseminação tumoral ou metástases no local da PEG é uma complicação rara com o pull method (0,7 a 2%) 1. Existe uma grande variedade de teorias acerca do mecanismo de propagação, sendo o mais provável a sementeira direta RG7420 research buy durante a passagem do dispositivo, pelo cisalhamento de células tumorais 2 and 3. Em 2007, uma revisão dos casos publicados tentou identificar Oxymatrine os fatores de risco associados à disseminação tumoral e desenvolver estratégias para minimizá-lo4. Os fatores patológicos identificados incluíram: localização

faringoesofágica da neoplasia primitiva, fatores relacionados com a histologia da lesão (tipo pavimento-celular e pouco ou moderadamente diferenciado), estadio patológico avançado e lesão primária de grandes dimensões ao diagnóstico. No que diz respeito a fatores de risco relacionados com a terapêutica, estes incluíram: colocação de PEG por via endoscópica, utilização do pull method, tumor primário não tratado e intervalo superior a 3 meses após colocação inserção da PEG. Embora o risco metastização pelo trato de PEG seja pequeno, devem ser tomadas precauções especiais durante o procedimento. A opção por métodos de inserção do tubo de gastrostomia que não necessitem da sua passagem através da faringe, minimizando o contacto direto com as células tumorais, deverá ser tomada em consideração. Os métodos alternativos de colocação de PEG incluem opções com apoio endoscópico, radiológico (guiado por ecografia ou fluoroscopia) ou cirúrgico (mini-laparotomia ou laparoscopia).

Here pre-SMA and SMA have been found to maintain separate project

Here pre-SMA and SMA have been found to maintain separate projections with two subcortical regions that have frequently selleck compound been associated with response inhibition: the STN and striatum (Inase et al., 1999). The frontosubthalamic and frontostriatal pathways are thought to mediate ‘hyperdirect/reactive’ and ‘indirect/proactive’ modes of inhibition respectively. Evidence from intracellular recordings suggests that the convergence of these pathways in the basal ganglia may

explain their complementary functionality. When STN and globus pallidus neurons are activated in response to cortical or corticofugal stimulation, they are subsequently inhibited via activation of the slower frontostriatal projection (Smith, Beyan, Shink, & Bolam, 1998). Although the microcircuitry of the basal ganglia is highly complex and still not fully understood, this feedback mechanism might facilitate the process of halting an action in order to then initiate an alternative response, and provides a possible explanation for the existence of separate cortico-subcortical inhibitory pathways. In humans, changes in motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) recorded during performance of response inhibition tasks have been used to explore how differences in task requirements can affect the rest of the motor system. In a simple STOP-signal task that required only a left or right thumb press in response to the direction of a go

signal, suppression of motor activity in successful STOP trials was observed bilaterally Everolimus clinical trial in both hand and leg muscles up to 400 msec after the stimulus was presented ( Badry et al., 2009). Thus this result appears to exemplify global inhibition. In a separate experiment where participants were cued as to which Erastin hand movement they were likely to have to inhibit, preparatory suppression was observed more specifically, occurring

only in the cued effector muscles ( Claffey, Sheldon, Stinear, Verbruggen, & Aron, 2010). These findings suggest that inhibition can be applied globally or in a selective fashion depending on the behavioural context. They may therefore reflect the difference between deployment of reactive vs. proactive inhibition. If there are different mechanisms for inhibition, how could this explain the findings reported here in our patient? Consider a situation where reactive inhibition is initiated by SMA and proactive inhibition by pre-SMA. First, following a lesion of the pre-SMA region mediating proactive inhibition, performance of the STOP task would remain intact if reactive stopping were mediated by SMA. Paradoxically, response times might even improve, as it would minimize involvement of the slower, frontostriatal selective stopping mechanisms. Second, in a situation where there is a selective deficit in proactive inhibition, performance of the CHANGE task would now have to rely on the reactive inhibitory mechanisms.

As in the 2D sequence, there are two acquisitions, which will be

As in the 2D sequence, there are two acquisitions, which will be added together to measure the slice that has been

selected. Both acquisitions are Fourier transformed to show the real signal as an absorption peak and the imaginary signal as a dispersion peak. These can be added together to achieve a purely real Gaussian excitation. The slice measurement selleck sequence is used to ensure accurate timing of the r.f. excitation and slice select gradient, such that these end simultaneously. A pure phase encode method was also tested for imaging the slice selection. The results were equivalent. The slice bandwidth was measured from the full width at half of the maximum (FWHM) of the real excitation profile. The absolute value could also be used for the optimized acquisition as the imaginary signal is zero. The measured slice bandwidth was used to calculate the slice thickness in subsequent UTE imaging experiments. Four samples are used in this study. A homogeneous sample of doped water is used for all gradient measurements and for 1D slice selection imaging. The water is doped with 0.23 mM gadolinium chloride to give a T1 of 120 ms and a T2 of 105 ms. To test the UTE imaging sequence, two samples are used with different T2 and T2* relaxation times. The second sample was comprised of 5 mm check details glass beads randomly packed into a 20 mm inner diameter glass tube.

The glass beads were surrounded by water doped with 0.23 mM gadolinium chloride. The sample has a T1 of 690 ms, T2 of 540 ms, and a T2* of 2 ms. The third sample is composed of two rectangular pieces of cork with a T1 of 420 ms and a T2* of 0.12 ms. The T2 for the cork was too short to measure with the available hardware however is assumed to be less than 0.5 ms and likely on the order of the T2*. The fourth sample is comprised of 10 mm glass Interleukin-2 receptor beads surrounded by rubber particles (a cured blend of thermoset rubber, SoftPoint Industries Inc.).

The T2* of the rubber is approximately 75 μs and, again, it is not possible to measure T2 with the available hardware. The bead pack is used to quantify the accuracy of slice selection during imaging by providing a system on which both spin echo and UTE can be used. Cork and this rubber both have a short T2 and T2* making them impossible to image with a spin echo technique, and good candidates for UTE imaging. The development of the r.f. excitation pulse for the UTE imaging sequence started with a 1024 μs Gaussian pulse, 1500 Hz FWHM. The re-shaped VERSE excitation pulse was 537 μs in length. A slice selection gradient of 5.1 G cm−1 was used to give a 1 mm thick slice. Both r.f. and gradient pulses were switched off using a 50 μs ramp. A ring down delay of 10 μs was set before the acquisition started. The acquisition gradient strength was increased over 50 μs prior to reaching a maximum value of 10.6 G cm−1.

The mean event soil loss in those large storms was 530 g/m2 on wo

The mean event soil loss in those large storms was 530 g/m2 on woodland, 922.9 g/m2 SB431542 purchase on alfalfa land, 477.2 g/m2

on grassland, 228.5 g/m2 on terraceland, and 1690 g/m2 on earth bank, representing 15.7%, 27.4%, 14.1%, 6% and 50.1% of the soil loss detected from the cropland, 3373 g/m2. Of those large storms, there were three extreme storms with recurrence intervals greater than 10 years, in which the mean event soil loss was 205.5 g/m2 on woodland, 2322.1 g/m2 on alfalfa land, 1271.8 g/m2 on grassland, 434.9 g/m2 on terraceland, and 4203.3 g/m2 on earth banks, representing 2.3%, 26%, 14.4%, 4.9% and 47.7% of the soil loss detected from cropland, 8809.3 g/m2. With respective of runoff reduction, it is important to know how effective of those practices in reducing runoff in extreme large storms which may selleck compound cause flooding. The mean event runoff for storms with recurrence intervals of greater than 10 years was 17.6 mm on woodland, 22.7 mm on alfalfa land, 5.2 mm on grassland, 5.9 mm on terraces, and 17.7 mm on earth banks, representing 75.9%, 97.8%,

22.4%, 25.4% and 76.3% of runoff generating from cropland, 23.2 mm on cropland. The following are the supplementary data to this article. Finally, soil loss by the maximum annual erosion event was compared to annual total soil loss on the cropland plot (Fig. 10). It can be seen that erosion rate by the maximum annual erosion event was widely varied among years, ranging from 409 to 19,127 g/m2, which contributed to a mean value

of 64% of the annual total Oxymatrine soil loss, ranging from 22.2 to 90.6%. The rainfall amount of the maximum annual erosion event accounted for a mean value of 9.1% of annual precipitation, ranging from 3.4 to 15.7%. In other words, a fraction of annual precipitation was often responsible for majority of annual total erosion in this semi-arid region. However, it is noted that the maximum annual erosion event was not necessarily the maximum annual rainfall event. For example, in 1958, the largest storm event with rainfall amount of 78.8 mm merely generated soil loss of 529 g/m2, in comparison of the largest erosion event of 5651 g/m2 caused by a storm of 50.9 mm in rainfall amount. This indicated the significance of other rainfall characteristics (e.g. intensity, pattern, duration, and antecedent rainfall) besides event rainfall amount in determining rainfall erosivity. The hilly loess region in China is dissected by dense gullies and the individual households farm the narrow and often steep lands in inter-gully areas. This justifies the purpose of the present study on soil and water loss on the slope plots with relatively short lengths and a wide range of slope angles up to 30°.

Recently,

other environmental concerns associated with HV

Recently,

other environmental concerns associated with HVHF in New York have come to the forefront of discussion. This includes a water quantity perspective, which is traditionally less critical in regions that have ample freshwater supplies in humid climates and/or large, proximate freshwater bodies (Rahm and Riha, 2012). HVHF requires large volumes of water which will ultimately increase water demand from the regions that will experience development. Increased water demand will prompt regulators to determine from where, and at what rate, this water should VRT752271 order be extracted to protect sustainable use for drinking water, agriculture, and other industry demands. Altered stream geochemistry and consequences to stream ecosystems, as a result of decreased stream discharge, are factors beyond the anthropogenic freshwater demands mentioned

above that may merit consideration. Although water budgets from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) demonstrate that increased water demands from HVHF in New York would make up a minor fraction of total water use (NYSDEC, 2011), it is unclear how hydraulically linked groundwater–surface water systems might respond to such a development. Water budgets alone may not be sufficient in predicting the spatially variable response of these systems, particularly in identifying areas which present heightened sensitivity to withdrawals. For example, the response of aquifers and streams to increased withdrawals of water might vary as a function S3I-201 mouse of valley width, thickness and depth of aquifers within the valley fill. Additionally, smaller streams might be vulnerable to induced changes in groundwater discharge during drought. The projected path of HVHF development of the Marcellus Shale in New York will most likely focus on the Southern Tier of the state, including Broome and Tioga counties (Fig. Baricitinib 1). The major valleys within these counties overlie an unconsolidated glacial valley-fill aquifer

network which has been classified as a sole source aquifer since 1985 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2010). Such a designation emphasizes the importance of this groundwater source to the overlying municipalities, which receive more than half of their drinking water from the aquifer. In this region there is a high degree of hydraulic connectivity between streams and underlying unconsolidated glacial deposits (Randall, 1977, Wolcott and Coon, 2001 and Yager, 1993). High-volume withdrawals of water from groundwater may elicit a response from surface water, or vice versa, due to their physical connectivity (Winter et al., 1998). It is therefore necessary to investigate how different development scenarios might affect both the water table and stream flow.

These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that reduci

These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that reducing tobacco protein content would reduce bacterial mutagenicity, without introducing any new genotoxic or cytotoxic hazard. Further toxicity testing is warranted to investigate the effects of the tobacco treatment in more detail, and to add to the data already obtained. The authors are employees of BAT, except for Dr. R Combes who acts as a consultant to BAT and who was paid for his contribution to this manuscript. BAT funded this research as part of its tobacco harm reduction scientific programme. The Authors declare that no financial or

personal conflicts of interest exist with regard to the submission of the manuscript entitled “The effect of a novel tobacco selleck products process on the in vitro Hydroxychloroquine clinical trial cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of cigarette smoke particulate matter”. The MLA was performed by Covance Laboratories. “
“Organophosphates (OPs), which inhibit cholinesterase,

have been widely used as pesticides and additives for lubricants and have been developed as warfare nerve agents (WHO, 1993). The toxic action of OPs is related to the binding of these compounds to the active site of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7), thus inhibiting hydrolysis of the acetylcholine neurotransmitter (ACh) at central and peripheral synapses (Holmstedt, Thiamine-diphosphate kinase 1959 and Taylor et al., 1995). The inactivation of AChE results in an accumulation of acetylcholine at cholinergic receptor sites and a cholinergic crisis that can lead to death, usually via respiratory failure due to paralysis of the diaphragm and intercostals muscles, as well as cerebral respiratory center depression and excessive bronchial secretion (Marrs, 1993). The enzymes associated with antioxidant defense mechanisms are altered under the influence of pesticides, leading to

an imbalance between generation of oxidant molecules and intracellular antioxidant systems (Banerjee et al., 1999), which may induce oxidative stress in rats (Gultekin et al., 2000 and Gupta et al., 2001), mice (da Silva et al., 2006 and da Silva et al., 2008), and humans (Banerjee et al., 1999). Moreover, OPs cause lipid peroxidation in rat brains (Verma and Srivastava, 2001) and human erythrocytes (Gultekin et al., 2000). However, the exact mechanism by which OPs induce oxidative damage is not fully understood (Abdollahi et al., 2004). Methamidophos (MAP) is an OP and a potent AChE inhibitor used to control insects that plague a variety of crops such as brassica, cotton, tobacco, sugar beet, lettuce, potatoes, and tree fruits (WHO, 1993). MAP is highly toxic to aquatic organisms (Tomlin, 1994) and mice (Zayed et al., 1984). It also has anticholinesterase activity in humans (Worek et al., 2007 and Worek et al., 2004).

This could explain the lack of a clear difference between the two

This could explain the lack of a clear difference between the two variants following unilateral administration; therefore, the variants were dosed bilaterally. The total brain dose of 2.4 µg was the same as in the previous study, but a 1.2 µg (0.6 µL) dose of either N434A or H435A was administered bilaterally. Serum levels were measured at 5 min, 4, and 24 h and rats were allowed to recover from anesthesia immediately after surgery. After 24 h, N434A serum levels reached 25.9±5.2 ng/mL which was significantly greater (P<0.001) than the serum levels of the low FcRn binding variant, H435A, at 6.6±0.6 ng/mL.

The rate of efflux of N434A was calculated to be three times greater MI-773 concentration than H435A ( Fig. 4A). In a separate group of animals, brain hemispheres were excised 5 min after either N434A or H435A antibody administration. Levels of N434A detected at 5 min were 2.2±0.5 µg/g

of tissue (average mass of the hemispheres was 1.0 g) which was the expected range after administration. After 24 h, levels of N434A in the hemispheres decreased by 48%. Levels of the non-FcRn binding mAb, H435A, did not change over the same time period (Fig. 4B). In order to visualize the presence of human IgG immunohistochemically in the rat brain, three animals were dosed either N434A or H435A bilaterally into the SiFl region of the cortex similar to the previous experiment. After 24 h rats were perfused and brains prepared for immunohistochemistry LGK-974 cell line using an anti-human Fc rabbit polyclonal in thin (5 µm) brain sections. Brains were processed for routine histology (hematoxylin and eosin and Luxol fast blue), as well as human IgG and anti-rabbit IgG negative controls. At 24 h after dosing both N434A and H435A mAb variants were visualized in brain tissue (Fig. 5). There was a range of staining intensity visualized in sections at an equivalent coronal plane in the region of the somatosensory cortex in pyramidal and supporting cells that was localized to the cortex or spread into the corpus callosum region. The staining intensity of N434A (Fig. 5A) in the cortex was consistently

less than brains injected with clonidine H435A (Fig. 5B). There was no specific staining detected in PBS microinjected brains (Fig. 5C) or mAb injected brains incubated in serum (Fig. 5D). Semi-quantitative immunostaining scores supported the impression that less of the FcRn binding variant was visualized in brain after 24 h (HA=7.0±1.4 vs. NA=4.4±1.7 of a total of 12.0 maximum staining; P=0.3 by unpaired t-test), which is consistent with greater efflux of the FcRn binding mAb variant. This study used two in vivo drug delivery models in rats, intranasal-to-CNS and direct intra-cranial dosing, to determine the contribution of FcRn to IgG receptor-dependent reverse-transcytosis (efflux) from the brain parenchyma to the circulation.

Similar to previous studies, we observed significant deficits at

Similar to previous studies, we observed significant deficits at cancellous bone sites in mice that were exposed to excessive dietary fat,

which reiterates the negative effect of HFD on bone in mice [13], [14] and [15]. The simultaneous examination of skeletally immature and mature mice in this study reveals that the HFD-associated effects on the femoral trabecular BVF are more pronounced in the younger age group. Further, the HFD tended to reduce the volumetric BMD in the distal femur of only the immature animals. Taken together, these disparate effects on bone volume and volumetric BMD between the immature and mature age groups support the controversial hypothesis of increased fracture risk in obese adolescents, but not in obese adults. Similar to this study, Ionova-Martin et al. [18] examined the effects of HFD (60% kcal fat) for 16 weeks on male C57BL/6J mice beginning Gemcitabine in vitro from 3 or 15 weeks of age,

but focused on the cortical rather than cancellous bone. The whole body BMC appeared to have a greater reduction in the young mice, but the spinal areal BMD mTOR inhibitor and cortical thickness of the femur seemed to be affected more in the older mice. The HFD apparently affected all other cortical bone properties similarly across the two age groups. Considering that Ionova-Martin et al. did not test comparisons across age groups, our observations regarding potential age-dependent effects in that study can only be based on trends. The age-dependence of HFD effects on trabecular bone that were observed in the current study may depend on anatomic site. While age and diet synergistically affected the trabecular BVF in the distal femoral metaphysis, the effects of HFD on lumbar vertebrae were equivalent in the two age groups and were less substantial than those observed GPX6 in the femur. A similar observation of anatomic site difference was observed in genetic, leptin-related mouse models of

obesity [24]. Specifically, the femoral BMC, BMD and strength were affected significantly compared to lean controls, but lumbar vertebral bone was unaffected. Considering that significant differences in the vertebrae were not observed with genetically-induced obesity, but were with HFD-induced obesity, suggests that the effects observed in the current study may be independent of body mass and are more directly associated with the excessive dietary fat and resulting metabolic syndrome. Consistent with this interpretation, more dramatic decrements in femoral bone properties were observed in the HFD-fed immature mice than in the HFD-fed mature mice despite smaller increases in body mass and hyperglycemia. In addition to the variations by anatomic site, the HFD effects on cortical bone are less pronounced than those on cancellous bone in this study and in previous studies [13] and [15]. Cao et al.

Czas przeżycia jest dość zróżnicowany i waha

się od roku

Czas przeżycia jest dość zróżnicowany i waha

się od roku do drugiej dekady [14,15]. Choroby PBD są genetycznie heterogenne. Dane pochodzące z trzech głównych światowych ośrodków badawczych w USA (Kennedy Krieger Institute), Japonii (Gifu University School of Medicine) i Holandii (University of Amsterdam) wykazują, że podstawę genetyczną PBD stanowi 13 grup komplementarnych genów PEX. Dwanaście z nich związanych jest z ZS spektrum, a jedna z RCDP typu I [9, 16]. Największą różnorodność kliniczną obserwowano u pacjentów z zespołem ZS. Podstawowe geny związane z biogenezą struktury peroksysomu PEX 3, 16, 19, kodują białka niezbędne w syntezie peroksysomalnych białek błonowych, łącznie z ich importem. Patogenne mutacje w tych genach występują rzadko <3%, ale dotyczą Obeticholic Acid cost wszystkich C59 research buy najcięższych postaci klinicznych ZS. Geny PEX 2, 10, 12 kodują błonowe białka uczestniczące w translokacji białek macierzy. Mutacje w tych genach występują u co najmniej 10% chorych. Receptory dla białek

działających między cytosolem a peroksysomem, zawierających sekwencje sygnałowe PTS1 i PTS2 (peroxisomal targening signal) są kodowane przez geny PEX5 i PEX7. PEX13 i PEX14 kodują białka błonowe, obejmując miejsca kodowania, dla PEX 5 białka pośredniczącego w imporcie protein. Najczęściej zmiany dotyczą genów PEX 1, 6, 26 kodujących białka receptorowe dla odtwarzania zrębu peroksysomów (recycling matrix protein receptor), odpowiadających za przetwarzanie białek receptorowych PTS1 i PTS2. U ponad 70% pacjentów z ZS zlokalizowane mutacje dotyczą genu PEX1 [18]. RCDP typu I jest spowodowana mutacjami w genie PEX 7 kodującym receptor dla macierzy z PTS2 [9, 16, 18]. Druga grupa chorób peroksysomalnych obejmuje Amobarbital choroby spowodowane defektem pojedynczych enzymów, z których 10 było zidentyfikowanych na szlaku β- i α-oksydacji kwasów tłuszczowych, syntezy fosfolipidów, metabolizmu nadtlenku wodoru, syntezy kwasów żółciowych. Są to min. adrenoleukodystrofia sprzężona z chromosomem X, defekt białka dwufunkcyjnego (D-bifunctional protein deficiency, DBP), klasyczna postać choroby

Refsuma, chondrodystrofia rhizomeliczna typu II, akatalazemia, hyperoksaluria i niedawno zdefiniowany deficyt białka X nośnika grupy sterolowej [9]. Większość pacjentów z deficytem oksydazy acylo-CoA wykazuje umiarkowaną wiotkość, częste, lekooporne drgawki zaczynające się między 2 a 4 miesiącem życia, mniej groźne w porównaniu z DBP. Nieprawidłowości w istocie białej stwierdza się u wszystkich chorych. Uszkodzenie narządu wzroku i słuchu opisywano u 78% chorych. Dysmorfia, chociaż mniej wyraźna niż w ZS lub DBP oraz hepatomegalia występują u około połowy chorych. W większości pacjenci osiągają niewielki stopień rozwoju, (samodzielne, kilkusekundowe utrzymanie pozycji stojącej, zdolność posługiwania się kilkoma słowami ze zrozumieniem), ale później, średnio po 28 miesiącach życia, następuje zahamowanie rozwoju i regres.

40 Consistently, drug-treated Flvcr1a-null mice showed a signific

40 Consistently, drug-treated Flvcr1a-null mice showed a significantly higher induction of HO1 and reduction in the expression and activity of ALAS1 and CYPs compared with wild-type animals, indicating that heme accumulation resulting from Flvcr1a deletion resembles what occurs after hemin administration. In conclusion, the block of

heme export PLX3397 ic50 due to Flvcr1a deletion promotes the expansion of the cytosolic heme pool, thus leading to ALAS inhibition and HO induction. We propose that the lack of FLVCR1a causes a reduction in the newly synthesized heme, impairing both CYP expression and activity ( Figure 7F). It appears that in the hepatocytes, heme is formed in slight excess over its metabolic needs 28 and its levels are maintained adequate

by a combination of synthetic, degradative, and export mechanisms, suggesting that they are equipped with a “sensing” system to monitor changes in the size of “uncommitted” heme pool. We can speculate that FLVCR1a is part of this sensing system and that, by sensing heme levels and exporting heme excess out of the cell, it controls the size of the cytosolic heme ZD1839 pool, playing a crucial regulatory role in cell metabolism and in the maintenance of a proper oxidative status. We expect that mutations in Flvcr1a and/or pathologic situations that affect its expression can result in a reduced CYP activity, altering drug metabolism, in particular in individuals that routinely assume drugs for therapeutic purposes. The authors thank Ligia Goncalves and Laura Braccini for hepatocyte culture, Paolo Provero for statistical analysis, Sonia Levi for the gift of anti-ferritin antibodies, and Rolf Sprengel for mice carrying the FLP recombinase under the control of the actin promoter. “
“Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a median survival of 6 months and a 5-year survival rate of <5%.1 Ninety percent of patients have surgically unresectable disease at diagnosis and the majority of patients who undergo

resection for localized lesions develop recurrent or metastatic disease.2 Consequently, Tolmetin the development of more effective strategies to combat metastasis is of paramount importance. Human PDAC arises from pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasias (PanINs) frequently driven by activating mutations in KRas,3 followed by loss or mutation of tumor suppressors, such as p53. Pdx1-Cre−driven expression of KRasG12D and Trp53R172H in murine pancreas mimics the human disease and importantly the histopathology.4 Disease progression and sites of metastases also mirror the human disease, providing a good model for human PDAC.5 Slug is a snail family transcription factor that orchestrates the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) during developmental programs, including in the mouse pancreas.6 The snail family transcription factors repress epithelial-specific genes and enhance mesenchymal-associated genes.7 Snail proteins bind to specific E-box sequences in promoters or introns and regulate gene expression.