Endometrial carcinoma (EC) is the sixth most common cancer in women worldwide. The distinction between atypical endometrial hyperplasia (EH) and endometrioid carcinoma, especially the well-differentiated grade, is particularly difficult with overlapping distinguishing criteria and small biopsy. Ghrelin is a 28 amino acid peptide that is synthesized by gastric mucosa and is expressed in a variet...

Cell lines derived from human small cell carcinoma of the lung express high levels of a surface polypeptide termed the cluster-w4 antigen, which was previously identified as a potential target for toxin-based immunotherapy of lung cancer. We have cloned a complementary DNA encoding the cluster-w4 antigen from COS-1 fibroblasts transfected with a SW2 small cell carcinoma library, by panning with...

Glomerular injury can involve excessive proliferation of glomerular epithelial cells, resulting in crescent formation and obliteration of Bowman's space. The origin of these hyperplastic epithelial cells in different glomerular disorders is controversial. Renal progenitors localized to the inner surface of Bowman's capsule can regenerate podocytes, but whether dysregulated proliferation of thes...

Helicobacter pylori infection occurs in more than half of the world's population and is the main cause for gastric cancer. A series of lifestyle and nutritional factors, such as tobacco smoking and obesity, have been found to elevate the risk for cancer development. In this study, we sought to determine the immunological aspects during H. pylori infection and gastric cancer development. We foun...

Cell lines derived from human small cell carcinoma of the lung ex press high levels of a surface polypeptide termed the cluster-w4 antigen, which was previously identified as a potential target for toxin-based immunotherapy of lung cancer. We have cloned a complementary DNA encoding the cluster-«-! antigen from COS-1 fibroblasts transfected with a SW2 small cell carcinoma library, by panning w...

Using a syngeneic p53-null mouse mammary gland tumor model that closely mimics human breast cancer, we have identified, by limiting dilution transplantation and in vitro mammosphere assay, a Lin(-)CD29(H)CD24(H) subpopulation of tumor-initiating cells. Upon subsequent transplantation, this subpopulation generated heterogeneous tumors that displayed properties similar to the primary tumor. Analy...

Germline mutations in LKB1 (STK11) are associated with the Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS), which includes aberrant mucocutaneous pigmentation, and somatic LKB1 mutations occur in 10% of cutaneous melanoma. By somatically inactivating Lkb1 with K-Ras activation (±p53 loss) in murine melanocytes, we observed variably pigmented and highly metastatic melanoma with 100% penetrance. LKB1 deficiency res...

In the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model for multiple sclerosis (MS), autoreactive T cells must be activated and clonally expand in the lymphoid organs, and then migrate into the central nervous system (CNS) where they undergo further activation. It is unclear whether the autoreactive T cells further expand in the CNS and if so, what interactions are requir...

We have isolated, by subtractive and differential hybridization from a library constructed from keratinocyte colony-forming cells (K-CFCs), a cDNA coding for the rat CD24 (nectadrin, heat stable antigen). CD24, a glycoprotein thought to be involved in cell-cell adhesion and signalling, is highly expressed in keratinocytes located in the bulge area of the rat vibrissa which contains the most K-C...

Metastasis is the leading cause of morbidity for lung cancer patients. Here we demonstrate that murine tumor propagating cells (TPCs) with the markers Sca1 and CD24 are enriched for metastatic potential in orthotopic transplantation assays. CD24 knockdown decreased the metastatic potential of lung cancer cell lines resembling TPCs. In lung cancer patient data sets, metastatic spread and patient...