The molecular basis of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) dissemination is still poorly understood. Previously, we identified the mannose receptor LY75 gene as hypomethylated in high-grade (HG) serous EOC tumors, compared to normal ovarian tissues. LY75 represents endocytic receptor expressed on dendritic cells and so far, has been primarily studied for its role in antigen processing and presentat...

Classic cadherins are important regulators of tissue morphogenesis. The predominant cadherin in epithelial cells, E-cadherin, has been extensively studied because of its critical role in normal epithelial development and carcinogenesis. Epithelial cells may also coexpress other cadherins, but their roles are less clear. The Madin Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell line has been a popular mammalian...

BACKGROUND Bacterial vaginosis increases the susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections and negatively affects women's reproductive health. METHODS To investigate host-vaginal microbiota interactions and the impact on immune barrier function, we colonized 3-dimensional (3-D) human vaginal epithelial cells with 2 predominant species of vaginal microbiota (Lactobacillus iners and Lactoba...

Increasing emphasis has been placed on the role of myoepithelial cells, the contractile components of secretory glands, in the in situ to invasive carcinoma transition. These cells are placed at the interface between luminal epithelial cells and the stromal compartment, which favors their cross-talk with all other cell types comprising the tumor micro-environment. To obtain some clues about thi...

BACKGROUND Integrins are transmembrane alphabeta heterodimer receptors that function as structural and functional bridges between the cytoskeleton and ECM (extracellular matrix) molecules. The RGD (arginine-glycine-aspartate tripeptide motif)-dependent integrin alpha8beta1 has been shown to be involved in various cell functions in neuronal and mesenchymal-derived cell types. Its role in epithel...

Patients with protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) fail to maintain intestinal epithelial barrier function and develop an excessive and potentially fatal efflux of plasma proteins. PLE occurs in ostensibly unrelated diseases, but emerging commonalities in clinical observations recently led us to identify key players in PLE pathogenesis. These include elevated IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, venous hypertensi...

The beta 4 integrin is expressed in epithelial cells, a few other cell types and in some carcinomas. Despite this restricted expression pattern and the functional importance of beta 4 integrin in epithelial and carcinoma biology, little is known about how its expression is regulated. Here, we assessed the epigenetic regulation of beta 4 integrin based on the presence of a large CpG island in th...

Most inhaled beta(2)-adrenergic agonist and anticholinergic bronchodilators have low lipid solubility because of their transient or permanent positive net charge at physiologic pH. Airway absorption of these cationic drugs is incompletely understood. We examined carrier-mediated mechanisms of cationic drug uptake by human airway epithelia. Airway tissues and epithelial cells, obtained from lung...

Twenty-eight compounds were screened for chemopreventive activity by using a rat tracheal epithelial cell transformation inhibition assay. In this new assay, chemicals were tested for their ability to inhibit the formation of transformed rat tracheal epithelial cell colonies which arise following exposure to the carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene. The 15 positive compounds were N-acetylcysteine, bismuth...

purpose : to evaluate the effect of topical diclofenac sodium 0.1% on the corneal epithelial healing after photorefractive keratectomy (prk) methods : in this prospective randomized double blind clinical trial, prk was performed on 82 patients. thirty-three cases of them receiving topical diclofenac four times per day after surgical procedure and 45 patients did not receive this medication as a...