The sodium/iodide symporter (NIS) mediates iodide uptake in lactating breast tissue and is expressed in some breast cancers. We have previously demonstrated that all-trans retinoic acid (tRA) stimulates NIS gene expression and the selective cytotoxic effect of beta-emitting radioiodide-131 ((131)I) in both in vitro and in vivo MCF-7 breast cancer cell systems. We studied the ability of natural ...

This study evaluates the possibility of treating Bon1 and QGP pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor cells with radioactive iodide ((131)I) after stable transfection with the thyroid sodium iodide symporter (NIS). NIS expression was driven either by the strong viral cytomegalovirus promoter or by the tissue-specific chromogranin A promoter. Using either approach, NIS expression was confirmed by revers...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of α-lipoic acid (ALA) over 4 years in mild-to-moderate diabetic distal symmetric sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In a multicenter randomized double-blind parallel-group trial, 460 diabetic patients with mild-to-moderate DSPN were randomly assigned to oral treatment with 600 mg ALA once daily (n = 233) or placebo (n =...

Background Familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) is a devastating disease with continuous progression over time leading to complete disability, bedridden status, and ultimately death within 10 to 15 years from symptom onset. In order to document disease progression, it is necessary to have valid instruments which allow assessment of the severity of the sensory, motor and autonomic neuropathy co...

(131)I radiation therapy of differentiated thyroid cancer may be compromised by thyroid stunning (i.e., a paradoxical inhibition of radioiodine uptake caused by radiation from a pretherapeutic diagnostic examination). The stunning mechanism is yet uncharacterized at the molecular level. We therefore investigated whether the expression of the sodium/iodide symporter (NIS) gene is changed by irra...

Within the last 20 years, the US has mounted a massive campaign against invasions by non-indigenous species (NIS) such as zebra mussels, kudzu, water hyacinths, and brown tree snakes. NIS have disrupted native ecosystems and caused hundreds of billions of dollars of annual damage. Many in the scientific community say the problem of NIS is primarily political and economic: getting governments to...

Activity of the sodium/iodide symporter (NIS) in lactating breast is essential for iodide (I(-)) accumulation in milk. Significant NIS upregulation was also reported in breast cancer, indicating a potential use of radioiodide treatment. All-trans-retinoic acid (tRA) is a potent ligand that enhances NIS expression in a subset of breast cancer cell lines and in experimental breast cancer models. ...

This paper applies the notion of national innovation systems (NIS) to analyze the transformation of China’s NIS in the 1980s and 1990s. It focuses on two issues. Firstly it probes the interaction between policy-making and reform practice that leads to the transformation of a huge sized government-run industrial technology R&D system, becomes it fitting to the changed macro-economic conditions. ...

The sodium iodide symporter (NIS) is an intrinsic plasma membrane protein that mediates active iodide transport into the thyroid gland and into several extrathyroidal tissues, in particular the lactating mammary gland. Cloning and molecular characterization of the NIS have allowed the investigation of its key role in thyroid physiology as well as its potential pathophysiological and therapeutic...