In this study we show that COX-2 is ectopically expressed in malignant T-cell lines from patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) as well as in situ in lymphocytic cells in 21 out of 22 patients suffering from mycosis fungoides (MF) in plaque or tumor stage.

COX-2 is not expressed in lymphocytes of 11 patients with patch-stage MF, whereas sporadic COX-2 staining of stromal cells is observed in the majority of patients. COX-2 expression correlates with a constitutive production of PGE(2) in malignant T cells in vitro. These cells express prostaglandin receptors EP3 and EP4 and the receptor antagonist as well as small interfering RNA (siRNA) directed against COX-2, and specific COX-2 Fulvestrant mw www.selleckchem.com/products/AC-220.html inhibitors strongly reduce their spontaneous proliferation. In conclusion, our data indicate that COX-2 mediated PGE(2) exerts an effect as a tumor growth factor in MF. Leukemia (2010) 24, 1179-1185; doi:10.1038/leu.2010.66; published online 29 April 2010″
“Psychosis has been associated with aberrant brain activity concurrent with both the anticipation and integration of monetary outcomes. The extent to which abnormal reward-related neural signals can be observed in chronic, medicated patients with schizophrenia (SZ), however, is not clear. In an fMRI study involving 17 chronic outpatients with SZ and 17 matched controls, we used a monetary incentive

delay (MID) task, in which different-colored shapes predicted gains, losses, or neutral outcomes. Subjects needed to respond to a target within a time window in order to receive the indicated gain TEW-7197 nmr or avoid the indicated loss. Group differences in blood-oxygen-level-dependent responses to cues and outcomes were assessed through voxel-wise whole-brain analyses

and regions-of-interest analyses in the neostriatum and prefrontal cortex (PFC). Significant group by outcome valence interactions were observed in the medial and lateral PFC, lateral temporal cortex, and amygdalae, such that controls, but not patients, showed greater activation for gains, relative to losses. In the striatum, neural activity was modulated by outcome magnitude in both groups. Additionally, we found that ratings of negative symptoms in patients correlated with sensitivity to obtained losses in medial PFC, obtained gains in lateral PFC, and anticipated gains in left ventral striatum. Sensitivity to obtained gains in lateral PFC also correlated with positive symptom scores in patients. Our findings of systematic relationships between clinical symptoms and neural responses to stimuli associated with rewards and punishments offer promise that reward-related neural responses may provide sensitive probes of the effectiveness of treatments for negative symptoms. Neuropsychopharmacology (2010) 35, 2427-2439; doi: 10.1038/npp.2010.