Osteopontin (OPN) has been associated with enhanced malignancy in breast cancer, but its functional role in this disease is poorly understood. To study the e ect of OPN on cellular invasiveness, basal OPN expression was ®rst assessed in members of a progression series of human mammary epithelial cell lines (21PT: immortalized, non-tumorigenic; 21NT: weakly tumorigenic; 21MT-1: tumorigenic, weakly metastatic; MDA-MB-435 cells: tumorigenic, highly metastatic). The two lines which expressed lowest basal levels of OPN (21PT, 21NT) were then examined for up-regulation of invasive behavior in response to exogenous or transfected (endogenous) OPN. Both 21PT and 21NT showed increased invasiveness through Matrigel when human recombinant (hr)OPN was added to the lower chamber of transwells. Both also showed a cell migration response to hrOPN. Populations of 21PT and 21NT cells stably transfected with an OPN-expression vector showed higher levels of cell invasiness than control vector transfectants. Examination of transfectants for mRNA of a number of secreted proteases showed that only urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) expression was closely associated with OPN expression and cellular invasiveness. Treatment of the parental 21PT and 21NT cells with exogenous hrOPN resulted in increased uPA mRNA expression and increased urokinase activity of the conditioned media. Both increased cell migration and induction of uPA expression are thus potential mechanisms of increased invasiness of breast epithelial cells in response to OPN.

Chronic garlic powder intake attenuated age-related increases in aortic stiffness. These data strongly support the hypothesis that garlic intake had a protective effect on the elastic properties of the aorta related to aging in humans.

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Twenty-three patients with hyperparathyroidism were evaluated preoperatively with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Twenty patients also underwent thallium-201/technetium-99m scintigraphy. Of 22 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism, 12 had persistent or recurrent disease. One had secondary hyperparathyroidism due to end-stage renal disease. MR imaging allowed accurate localization of abnormal parathyroid glands in 64% evaluated prospectively and 82% evaluated retrospectively. Scintigraphy allowed localization of 60% evaluated prospectively and 70% retrospectively. The two imaging modalities together allowed detection of 68% evaluated prospectively and 91% retrospectively. MR imaging allowed detection of two of five mediastinal adenomas evaluated prospectively and four of five retrospectively. In patients who underwent both imaging studies, MR was more successful in those with previous neck surgery (73% evaluated prospectively and 91% retrospectively) than in those with no prior surgery (57% prospectively and 71% retrospectively). Scintigraphy allowed accurate localization in 64% evaluated prospectively and 64% retrospectively in patients with previous surgery versus 57% prospectively and 86% retrospectively in patients with no prior neck surgery. Four false-positive results were obtained with MR imaging and three with scintigraphy. MR imaging was useful for parathyroid localization in patients with hyperparathyroidism, particularly in patients requiring additional surgery.

Quantifying maximal rest and stress LV and RV uptake with PET myocardial perfusion imaging may independently and incrementally identify patients with left main or 3 vessel disease.