In settings where patient return for treatment is a problem, point-of-care tests contribute significantly to the detection and treatment of chlamydial infections among women.

Telomerase is elevated in >90% of breast carcinomas and therefore has received much attention as a target for breast cancer therapy and cancer diagnostic research. Dietary components that are capable of inhibiting the growth of cancer cells without affecting the growth of normal cells are receiving considerable attention in developing novel cancer-preventive approaches. Studies have shown that (-)epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) from green tea imparts a growth inhibitory effect on cancer cells. Here, we show that treatment of EGCG dose-dependently inhibited (20-100%) the reproductive or colony forming potential, and also decreased cell viability at different time points studied (~80% inhibition) in human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells but had no adverse effect on the growth of normal mammary cells. Treatment of EGCG for 48 and 72 h markedly increased the percentage of apoptotic cells (32-51%) in MCF-7 cells compared to that of non-EGCG treated cells (8-14%). In order to identify the possible mechanism of decreased cell viability and induction of apoptosis in breast carcinoma cells by EGCG, we found that treatment of MCF-7 cells with EGCG dose-dependently inhibited telomerase activity (40-55%), and also inhibited the mRNA expression (40-55%) of hTERT, a catalytic subunit of telomerase. Additional studies demonstrated that EGCG also inhibited the protein expression of hTERT, which indicated that inhibition of telomerase was associated with down-regulation of hTERT. Together, our results indicate that EGCG down-regulates telomerase in human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells, leading to the suppression of cell viability and induction of apoptosis, thus providing the molecular basis for the development of EGCG as a novel chemopreventive and pharmacologically safe agent against breast cancer.

In contrast to numerous studies of female genital tract secretions, the molecular properties of Abs and the magnitude of humoral responses in human male genital tract secretions to naturally occurring Ags and to mucosal and systemic immunizations have not been extensively investigated. Therefore, seminal plasma (SP) collected from healthy individuals was analyzed with respect to Ig levels, their isotypes, molecular forms of IgA, and for the presence of Abs to naturally occurring Ags, or induced by systemic or mucosal immunizations with viral and bacterial vaccines. The results indicated that in SP, IgG and not IgA, is the dominant Ig isotype, and that IgM is present at low levels. IgA is represented by secretory IgA, polymeric IgA, and monomeric IgA. In contrast to the female genital tract secretions in which IgA2 occurs in slight excess, the distribution of IgA subclasses in SP resembles that in plasma with a pronounced preponderance of IgA1. The IgG subclass profiles in SP are also similar to those in serum. Thus, SP is an external secretion that shares common features with both typical external secretions and plasma. Specifically, SP contains naturally occurring secretory IgA Abs to environmental Ags of microbial origin and to an orally administered bacterial vaccine, and plasma-derived IgG Abs to systemically injected vaccines. Therefore, both mucosal and systemic immunization with various types of Ags can induce humoral responses in SP. These findings should be considered in immunization strategies to induce humoral responses against sexually transmitted infections, including HIV-1.

The human telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene is transcriptionally inactivated in most differentiated cells but is reactivated in the majority of cancer cells. To elucidate how TERT is inactivated during differentiation, we applied all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) to induce the differentiation of human teratocarcinoma (HT) cells and human acute myeloid leukemia (HL60) cells. We first showed that TERT promoter activity decreased rapidly, which preceded a gradual loss of endogenous telomerase activity following ATRA induction. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the reduced TERT promoter activity during differentiation, we performed epigenetic studies on the TERT promoter and found a progressive histone hypoacetylation coupled with a gradual accumulation of methylated cytosines in the TERT promoter. We also observed that the TERT promoter was less methylated in pluripotent HT cells than in multipotent HL60 cells throughout a 12-day differentiation process. This origin-dependent epigenetic change was also confirmed in histone acetylation studies, indicating that the TERT promoter was more resistant to deacetylation in HT cells than in HL60 cells. Taken together, our results demonstrate synergistic involvement of DNA methylation and histone deacetylation in the down-regulation of TERT promoter activity that may be dependent on the origin of the cell types, and they add new insight into the way telomerase activity may be regulated during differentiation.

Penile urethral swabs collected from PCR-confirmed Chlamydia trachomatis-infected, C. trachomatis-uninfected, and non-C. trachomatis-infected, nongonococcal urethritis-infected males were analyzed for cytokine, total immunoglobulin (Ig), and specific antibody levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Differential cellular components of the swab transport medium were also enumerated for the same groups. Although low, the levels of C. trachomatis-specific IgA and IgG antibodies and interleukin 8 cytokine were significantly higher in C. trachomatis-infected individuals. There were no significant differences in the levels of seven additional cytokines evaluated.Chlamydial infections affect more than 89 million people per year (8) globally. In much of the developing world, Chlamydia trachomatis causes blinding trachoma and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) worldwide. Chlamydial infections are the most common bacterial STD (4) in the United States, with approximately 4 million new cases per year.Recent studies using the C. trachomatis-infected mouse model have characterized the immunoregulatory response as Th1 type, reflecting production of gamma interferon (IFN-␥) and cell-mediated immunity, which are critical components of an effective immune response (13,21). Despite the plethora of information on immune responses to C. trachomatis in animal models, there exists a paucity of information about the C. trachomatis-induced response(s) in humans. In the present study, we have evaluated human male urethral specimens for characteristic evidence of a C. trachomatis immune response in a well-defined patient population.