It was previously shown that CEACAM1 on melanoma cells strongly predicts poor outcome. Here, we show a statistically significant increase of serum CEACAM1 in 64 active melanoma patients, as compared to 48 patients with no evidence of disease and 37 healthy donors. Among active patients, higher serum CEACAM1 correlated with LDH values and with decreased survival. Multivariate analysis with neutralization of LDH showed that increased serum CEACAM1 carries a hazard ratio of 2.40. In vitro, soluble CEACAM1 was derived from CEACAM1(+), but neither from CEACAM1(-) melanoma cells nor from CEACAM1(+) lymphocytes, and directly correlated with the number of CEACAM1(+) melanoma cells. Production of soluble CEACAM1 depended on intact de novo protein synthesis and secretion machineries, but not on metalloproteinase function. An unusually high percentage of CEACAM1(+) circulating NK and T lymphocytes was demonstrated in melanoma patients. CEACAM1 inhibited killing activity in functional assays. CEACAM1 expression could not be induced on lymphocytes by serum from patients with high CEACAM1 expression. Further, expression of other NK receptors was impaired, which collectively indicate on a general abnormality. In conclusion, the systemic dysregulation of CEACAM1 in melanoma patients further denotes the role of CEACAM1 in melanoma and may provide a basis for new tumor monitoring and prognostic platforms.
Alopecia-neurological defects-endocrinopathy (ANE) syndrome is a rare inherited hair disorder, which was shown to result from decreased expression of the RNA-binding motif protein 28 (RBM28). In this study, we attempted to delineate the role of RBM28 in hair biology. First, we sought to obtain evidence for the direct involvement of RBM28 in hair growth. When RBM28 was downregulated in human hair follicle (HF) organ cultures, we observed catagen induction and HF growth arrest, indicating that RBM28 is necessary for normal hair growth. We also aimed at identifying molecular targets of RBM28. Given that an RBM28 homologue was recently found to regulate miRNA biogenesis in C. elegans and given the known pivotal importance of miRNAs for proper hair follicle development, we studied global miRNA expression profile in cells knocked down for RBM28. This analysis revealed that RBM28 controls the expression of miR-203. miR-203 was found to regulate in turn TP63, encoding the transcription factor p63, which is critical for hair morphogenesis. In conclusion, RBM28 contributes to HF growth regulation through modulation of miR-203 and p63 activity.
Many women have a dwindled ptotic breast. The surgical solution for these two concurring problems has two separate procedures: augmentation and mastopexy. Combining these two procedure into one surgery is considered unpredictable and avoided by many physicians. This study presents a revised mastopexy-augmentation technique found to be safer and more simple, enabling these two procedures to be performed together. A retrospective review of 60 patients who underwent surgery by a single surgeon is presented. The presented method has yielded a relatively low reoperation rate of 10% and a high satisfaction rate.
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