To assess the structure and extracellular matrix molecule expression of osteogenic cell sheets created via culture in medium with both dexamethasone (Dex) and ascorbic acid phosphate (AscP) compared either Dex or AscP alone. Osteogenic cell sheets were prepared by culturing rat bone marrow stromal cells in a minimal essential medium (MEM), MEM with AscP, MEM with Dex, and MEM with Dex and AscP (Dex/AscP). The cell number and messenger (m)RNA expression were assessed Objectives
Methods
The recent discovery of small non-coding RNAs, so-called micro RNAs (miRNAs), has provided new insights into cancer diagnosis. Several studies have shown that profiles of miRNA expression differ between normal tissue and tumour tissue and vary among tumour types. To exploit this difference, we evaluated the feasibility of using muscle-specific miRNAs (miR-1, 133a, 133b, 206) as biomarkers of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). Total RNA was extracted from 16 cell lines (7 RMS, 4 neuroblastoma, 3 Ewing sarcoma and 2 malignant rhabdoid tumour) and 21 tumour specimens (7 RMS, 1 Ewing sarcoma, 4 undifferentiated sarcoma, 1 osteosarcoma, 1 alveolar soft part sarcoma, 2 neuroblastoma, 2 Wilms tumour, 1 malignant rhabdoid tumour, 1 adrenal carcinoma and 1 retinoblastoma). miRNA was quantified by real-time RT-PCR. The expression levels of miRNAs were calculated utilizing the delta-delta Ct method, normalised to the level of miR-16, and compared using the Mann-Whitney U test.Aim
Method
Two patients, a Japanese man and woman both aged eighteen, developed symptoms and signs of osteomalacia over a period of five years. Each of them had a benign osteoblastoma, one in the right fourth metacarpal and the other in the uppermost third of the right humerus. Resection of the tumours without any treatment by vitamin D resulted in rapid cure of the osteomalacia. Attempts to prove a phosphaturic humoral substance or vitamin D antagonist in the osteoblastoma of the humerus were unsuccessful, probably due to prompt excretion from the tumour cells.
