The results show carotid calcifications detected on panoramic radiographs can be used to help predict vascular strokes in patients. In cases where calcified carotid artery atheromas are detected, the dentist or oral and maxillofacial surgeon should refer the patient to a specialized physician.

Gene delivery via transferrin receptors, which are highly expressed by cancer cells, can be used to enhance the effectiveness of gene therapy for cancer. In this study, we examined the efficacy of p53 gene therapy in human osteosarcoma (HOSM-1) cells derived from the oral cavity using a cationic liposome supplemented with transferrin. HOSM-1 cells were exposed to transferrin-liposome-p53 in vitro, and the growth inhibition rate, expression of p53 and bax, and induction of apoptosis were measured 48 hours later. Treatment of HOSM-1 cells with transferrinliposome-p53 resulted in 60.7% growth inhibition. Wildtype p53 expression and an increase in bax expression were observed following transfection with transferrinliposome-p53, and 20.5% of the treated HOSM-1 cells were apoptotic. In vivo, the HOSM-1 tumor transplanted into nude mice grew to 5 to 6 mm in diameter. Following growth of the tumor to this size, transferrin-liposome-p53 was locally applied to the peripheral tumor (day 0) and then applied once every 5 days for a total of six times. During the administration period, tumor growth did not occur, and the mean tumor volume on the last day of administration (day 25) was 10.0% of that in the saline control group. These results suggest that p53 gene therapy via cationic liposome modification with transferrin is an effective strategy for treatment of osteosarcoma. [Mol Cancer Ther 2005;4(4):625 -31]

SGR is an effective treatment for glossodynia. The mechanism by which SGR improves symptoms associated with glossodynia is thought to be as follows: SGR inhibits abnormally increased sympathetic activity associated with glossodynia. This is followed by normalization of decreased tongue blood flow, thereby alleviating pain.

Bax mRNA therapy using liposomes has stronger anti-tumor effects than Bax gene therapy using a plasmid, and the results suggest that Bax mRNA lipofection may be a viable treatment for malignant melanoma.

Abstract. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anti-tumor effect of human osteosarcoma (HOSM-1) tumor xenografts in nude mice via transfer of the Bax gene using cationic liposomes. The HOSM-1 tumors transplanted into nude mice grew to 5-6 mm in diameter. Following growth of the tumor to this size, liposomes with the Bax plasmid were applied locally to the peripheral tumor (day 0) and were applied 3 times per week for 2 weeks (6 times in total). The tumor growth inhibitory effect was evaluated by measuring the tumor volume up to day 40. The expression of Bax was observed by immunohistochemical analysis and apoptosis was detected using the TUNEL assay. Tumor growth increased only slightly during the administration period, and tumor volume on day 50 was 43% of that in the saline control group. In the tumor margin 48 h after the completion of administration, Bax immunoreactivity was detected and apoptotic cells were clearly increased. Since these results suggested that Bax gene therapy using cationic liposome induced apoptosis in HOSM-1 tumor in vivo, we anticipate that this therapy will be useful for the treatment of osteosarcoma. IntroductionOsteosarcoma is one of the malignant tumors that has a poor prognosis. In particular, relapsed or inoperable cases may require the development of new therapeutic approaches. Gene therapy is an innovative treatment for cancer, and is currently being investigated for osteosarcoma (1).Bcl-2 belongs to a family of proteins that control cell life and death, and may provide an important clue to the development of new treatments for malignant tumors. Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL inhibit cell death, whereas Bax promotes apoptosis. Bax forms a channel with the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) and the adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) in the mitochondrial membrane, and promotes the release of cytochrome c (2,3). Cytochrome c forms complexes with Apaf-1 and caspase-9, and apoptosis is induced through the activation of caspase-3 (4,5). Thus, Bax gene therapy has been studied for a variety of lung (6), prostate (7), and gastric cancers (8) in vivo. Our in vitro study using osteosarcoma HOSM-1 cells demonstrated good results (9). Therefore, these positive antitumor effects are anticipated to be translated to the in vivo situation.A variety of vectors can be used for gene transfer. Viral vectors and liposomes are currently used as the primary gene transfer vectors for transfer into tumor cells. Viral vectors exhibit antigenicity and toxicity in addition to their excellent gene transfer efficiency, and several studies of viral vectors developing pathogenically have been reported in clinical practice (10-13). Cationic liposomes comprise a positively charged lipid-bilayer membrane that can be used to transfer genes into cells by forming a complex with negatively charged DNA. Liposomal vectors are characterized by their ready availability, low antigenicity and toxicity, and high margin of safety. The number of clinical trials for gene therapy using cationic liposome has recently increased...