0000000000314002
AUTHOR
M. La Farina
Specific codon 13 K-ras mutations are predictive of clinical outcome in colorectal cancer patients, whereas codon 12 K-ras mutations are associated with mucinous histotype
Background: K-ras mutations, one of the earliest events observed in colorectal carcinogenesis, are mostly found in codons 12 and 13, and less frequently in codon 61, all three of which are estimated to be critical for the biological activity of the protein. Nevertheless the prognostic significance of such mutations remains controversial. Our purpose was to assess whether any or specific K-ras mutations in primary colorectal cancer had prognostic significance and were linked to clinico-pathological parameters. Patients and methods: Paired tumor and normal tissue samples from a consecutive series of 160 untreated patients (median of follow up 71 months), undergoing resective surgery for prima…
p53 mutations in L3-loop zinc-binding domain, DNA-ploidy, and S phase fraction are independent prognostic indicators in colorectal cancer: A prospective study with a five-year follow-up
p53 gene alterations are among the most common events observed in colorectal cancer,and are accompanied frequently by DNA aneuploidy and high proliferative activity. The prognostic significance of such mutations remains controversial. We prospectively evaluated the prognostic significance of p53 mutations, DNA-ploidy, and S phase fraction (SPF) in a consecutive series of 160 colorectal cancer patients (median follow-up 71 months). Tumor DNA was screened for p53 mutations by PCR/single-strand conformational polymorphism/sequencing. DNA-ploidy and SPF were assessed by DNA flow cytometry. p53 mutations were detected in 68 of 160 (42.5%) cases. In 56% (38 of 68) of these, p53 mutations were fou…
Characterization of Streptomyces venezuelae ATCC 10595 rRNA gene clusters and cloning of rrnA
Streptomyces venezuelae ATCC 10595 harbors seven rRNA gene clusters which can be distinguished by BglII digestion. The three rRNA genes present in each set are closely linked with the general structure 16S-23S-5S. We cloned rrnA and sequenced the 16S-23S spacer region and the region downstream of the 5S rRNA gene. No tRNA gene was found in these regions.
Characterization of the Apical Membrane Antigen-1 in Italian Strains of Babesia bigemina
Summary Babesia bigemina is a parasite endemic in different parts of the world, including Europe and the Americas. One of the few genes characterized in this species codifies for the Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (AMA-1), a trans-membrane antigen recently identified. In this research, we characterized the ama-1 gene from three Italian B. bigemina strains, two B. bigemina strains obtained from Ragusa, Sicily (ITA1 and ITA3) and a third one obtained from Benevento, Campania (ITA2). Italian sequences were compared with those of the Australian strain obtained from the Sanger Institute web site and to strains from different parts of the world. The results obtained confirmed that this newly described…