Luminescent hybrid nanoparticles with a paramagnetic Gd2O3 core were applied as contrast agents for both in vivo fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging. These hybrid particles were obtained by encapsulating Gd2O3 cores within a polysiloxane shell which carries organic fluorophores and carboxylated PEG covalently tethered to the inorganic network. Longitudinal proton relaxivities of these particles are higher than the positive contrast agents like Gd-DOTA which are commonly used for clinical magnetic resonance imaging. Moreover these particles can be followed up by fluorescence imaging. This study revealed that these particles suited for dual modality imaging freely circulate in the blood vessels without undesirable accumulation in lungs and liver.

Gay et al. identify a Toxoplasma gondii secreted effector that recruits NuRD transcriptional repressor and blocks IFN-γ–stimulated STAT1-dependent gene expression, thus dampening host responses to infection.

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The Kr€ uppel-like zinc finger protein ZNF217 is a candidate oncogene in breast cancer. In this study, we showed that high levels of expression of ZNF217 mRNA are associated with poor prognosis and the development of metastases in breast cancer. Overexpression of ZNF217 in breast cancer cells stimulated migration and invasion in vitro and promoted the development of spontaneous lung or node metastases in mice in vivo. ZNF217 also promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human mammary epithelial cells, and the TGF-b-activated Smad signaling pathway was identified as a major driver of ZNF217-induced EMT. In addition, a TGF-b autocrine loop sustained activation of the TGF-b pathway in ZNF217-overexpressing mammary epithelial cells, most likely because of ZNF217-mediated direct upregulation of TGFB2 or TGFB3. Inhibition of the TGF-b pathway led to the reversal of ZNF217-mediated EMT. Together, our findings indicate that ZNF217 mRNA expression may represent a novel prognostic biomarker in breast cancer. Therapeutic targeting of ZNF217 of the TGF-b signaling pathway may benefit the subset of patients whose tumors express high levels of ZNF217. Cancer Res; 72(14); 3593-606. Ó2012 AACR.