Liver-intestine cadherin (LI-cadherin) represents a novel type of cadherin within the cadherin superfamily that comprises seven cadherin repeats and a short cytoplasmic domain. In this study, we first examined LI-cadherin expression immunohistochemically in 34 specimens of human intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). LI-cadherin expression was positive (defined as positivity in > or = 10% of ce...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and significance of neuroligins in myenteric cells of Cajal (ICC-MY) in Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR). METHODS Longitudinal muscle with adherent myenteric plexus (LMMP) from surgical excision waste colon of HSCR children were prepared by peeling off the mucous layer, sub-mucosal layer and circular muscle. Neuroligins, c-Kit (c-Ki...

The paper reviews the present-day knowledge on the origin, location, morphology, function, and identification of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC). ICC include several types of mesenchymal cells, spindle-shaped or stellate, found within the musculature of the gastrointestinal tract. Some types of ICC act as pacemakers of the intestinal musculature, while others are implicated in the modulation ...

BACKGROUND Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) provide a statistical means of testing the reliability. However, their interpretation is not well documented in the orthopedic field. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of ICCs in the orthopedic literature and to demonstrate pitfalls regarding their use. METHODS First, orthopedic articles that used ICCs were retrieved fr...

In this study, we studied whether hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) has an effect on the pacemaker activity of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC), in the small intestine of mice. The actions of H(2)S on pacemaker activity were investigated using whole-cell patch-clamp technique, intracellular Ca(2+) analysis at 30 and RT-PCR in cultured mouse intestinal ICC. Exogenously applied sodium hydrogen sulfide (N...

Populations of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are altered in several gastrointestinal neuromuscular disorders. ICC are identified typically by ultrastructure and expression of Kit (CD117), a protein that is also expressed on mast cells. No other molecular marker currently exists to independently identify ICC. The expression of ANO1 (DOG1, TMEM16A), a Ca(2+)-activated Cl(-) channel, in gastro...

BACKGROUND The COMPASS study is designed to follow a cohort of ~30,000 grade 9 to 12 students attending ~60 secondary schools for four years to understand how changes in school characteristics (policies, programs, built environment) are associated with changes in youth health behaviours. Since the student-level questionnaire for COMPASS (Cq) is designed to facilitate multiple large-scale school...

Gastrointestinal motility research is progressing rapidly, leading to significant advances in the last 15 years in understanding the cellular mechanisms underlying motility, following the discovery of the central role played by the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC). As experimental knowledge of ICC physiology has expanded, biophysically based modeling has become a valuable tool for integrating ...

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a fatal, malignant tumor of the liver; effective diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for ICC have not been identified yet. High expression of H2A histone family member Z (H2A.Z) is a high-risk factor for poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer and primary hepatocellular cancer. However, the significance of H2A.Z and its expression in ICC ...

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive technique evaluating microvascular function. The aim of this study was to assess the reproducibility of NIRS parameters during reactive hyperemia induced by a 5 min brachial artery occlusion. Twenty-four healthy young males (mean 34 ± 8 years old) had two microvascular function evaluations by NIRS over a 7 to 30-day period (mean 16 ± 10 days). ...