Epidemiological studies have indicated that a disturbed circadian rhythm resulting from night-shift work is a potential risk factor for breast cancer. However, the mechanism of increased risk of breast cancer by night-shift work remains unclear, and there have been few in vivo studies conducted to definitively associate the two factors. In this study, BJMC3879Luc2 mouse breast cancer cells were transplanted into BALB/c mice. Mice were maintained under lighting conditions that modeled the two-shift system and were investigated for the effect of light/dark cycle disruption on tumor growth and lymph node metastasis. Circadian dysfunction, which was confirmed by measuring circadian locomotor activities using a nano tag device in our light/dark shift model, did not affect tumor growth. However, a significant increase in the number of lymph nodes with distant metastasis was observed. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, which is an adverse prognostic factor of breast cancer and also indicator of inflammation, also increased. It has been demonstrated that a chronic inflammatory response is associated with cancer malignancy and poor prognosis in various cancers. These results suggest that night-shift work may also affect distant metastasis and prognosis. In addition, we investigated whether dietary quercetin has anti-metastatic activity against light/dark shift-induced metastasis. A diet containing 0.3 % quercetin significantly inhibited distant lymph node metastasis, particularly metastasis to the iliac and kidney lymph nodes. Our results contribute to our understandings of the effects of the external light environment on breast cancer metastasis and provide a glimpse into potential protective effects of dietary quercetin on light/dark disturbance-induced metastasis.

Background: Interleukin (IL)-5, RANTES and CC chemokine receptor 3 (CCR3) are essential for induction of eosinophil recruitment in organs, but the precise pathogenesis of eosinophilic myocarditis is still unclear. We investigated the relationships between these cytokines and receptors in the development of inflammation in murine myocarditis produced by adoptive transfer, with reference to eosinophil infiltration and signal transduction. Methods: The splenocytes from male donor DBA/2 mice were separated after ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization. These cells had a CD4/CD8 ratio of approximately 3.0. Cells (2.0 × 107) were individually transfused to recipient adoptive male DBA/2 mice, and OVA challenge was performed serially. The heart and spleen of the recipient were analyzed to determine the kinetics of IL-5, RANTES, CCR3 and eosinophil production with simultaneous determination of Janus kinase 3 (JAK3) mRNA. Results: Approximately 85% of recipient mice developed myocarditis; 35% had recognizable cell infiltration in the left ventricular endocardium, an effect which was absent in control mice. Eosinophilic myocarditis was usually associated with animals having several degenerative changes in myocardial cells, and IL-5, RANTES and CCR3 expressions were usually present in these eosinophils (p < 0.05). CCR3 and JAK3 mRNAs were detected in the spleens and hearts of recipient animals providing histological evidence for kinetics related to eosinophil infiltration. Conclusion: The murine model of adoptive transferred myocarditis is suitable for studying the mechanism of eosinophilic myocarditis. A unique pathogenesis of this disorder may be controlled by the synergism of CD4 dominancy in the donor and JAK-STAT signaling in the recipient, which may cause recruitment of eosinophils into heart lesions.

Lifestyle choices play a significant role in the etiology of atherosclerosis. Male Apoe^−/− mice that develop spontaneous atherosclerotic lesions were fed 0%, 0.3%, and 0.4% mangosteen extracts, composed largely of α-mangostin (MG), for 17 weeks. Body weight gains were significantly decreased in both MG-treated groups compared to the control, but the general condition remained good throughout the study. The levels of total cholesterol (decreased very-low-density lipoprotein in lipoprotein profile) and triglycerides decreased significantly in the MG-treated mice in conjunction with decreased hepatic HMG-CoA synthase and Fatty acid transporter. Additionally, increased serum lipoprotein lipase activity and histopathology further showed a significant reduction in atherosclerotic lesions at both levels of MG exposure. Real-time PCR analysis for macrophage indicators showed a significant elevation in the levels of Cd163, an M2 macrophage marker, in the lesions of mice receiving 0.4% MG. However, the levels of Nos2, associated with M1 macrophages, showed no change. In addition, quantitative immunohistochemical analysis of macrophage subtypes showed a tendency for increased M2 populations (CD68⁺/CD163⁺) in the lesions of mice given 0.4% MG. In further analysis of the cytokine-polarizing macrophage subtypes, the levels of Interleukin13 (Il13), associated with M2 polarization, were significantly elevated in lesions exposed to 0.4% MG. Thus, MG could suppress the development of atherosclerosis in Apoe^−/− mice, possibly through an M2 macrophage-mediated mechanism.

Accumulating evidence on the association of VEGF‐C with lymphangiogenesis and lymph node metastasis implicates lymphatic vessels as a potential target in anti‐cancer therapy. To evaluate whether blocking VEGF‐C and VEGFR‐3 signaling can inhibit multi‐organ metastases, a mouse metastatic mammary cancer model was subjected to gene therapy using a soluble VEGFR‐3 expression vector (psVEGFR‐3). We showed that psVEGFR‐3 significantly diminished cell growth in vitro with or without added VEGF‐C, and significantly reduced primary tumor growth and tumor metastases to wide‐spectrum organs in vivo. Although apoptotic cell death and angiogenesis levels did not differ between the control and psVEGFR‐3 groups, cell proliferation and lymphangiogenesis in the mammary tumors were significantly decreased in the psVEGFR‐3 group. Furthermore, lymphatic vessel invasion was significantly inhibited in this group. Real‐time RT‐PCR analysis revealed significantly high expression of the Vegfr3 gene due to gene therapy, and the transcriptional levels of Pcna and Lyve1 tended to decrease in the psVEGFR‐3 group. Immunofluorescence staining indicated that phospho‐tyrosine expression was considerably lower in tumor cells of psVEGFR‐3‐treated mammary carcinomas than those of control tumors. Double immunofluorescence staining indicated that phospho‐tyrosine⁺/LYVE‐1⁺ (a lymphatic vessel marker) tended to decrease in psVEGFR‐3‐treated mammary carcinomas compared with control mice, indicating a decline in the activity of the VEGF‐C/VEGFR‐3 axis. These findings showed that a blockade of VEGF‐C/VEGFR‐3 signaling caused by sVEGFR‐3 sequestered VEGF‐C and prevented the side‐effects of anti‐angiogenesis and suppressed overall metastases, suggesting their high clinical significance.

Piglet brains generate superoxide during postischemic reperfusion, and topical application of activated oxygen species alters pial arteriolar responses. We investigated effects of pretreatment with scavengers of superoxide and H2O2 on ischemia-induced alterations of pial arteriolar responses in anesthetized newborn pigs. Four groups were studied: 1) time control, 2) untreated ischemia, 3) ischemia pretreated topically and systemically (conjugated to polyethylene glycol) with superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, and 4) ischemia pretreated with Tiron. Pretreatment with SOD conjugated to polyethylene glycol alone during postischemic reperfusion effectively removed superoxide from its site of generation during postischemic reperfusion, but topical SOD was used also as insurance. Piglets were studied before and after 20 min of total cerebral ischemia caused by maintaining intracranial pressure above mean arterial pressure. As reported previously, before ischemia, hypercapnia and isoproterenol dilated pial arteries and arterioles and hypercapnia but not isoproterenol increased cortical periarachnoid cerebrospinal fluid 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α, measured as an index of cerebral cortical prostacyclin synthesis. After cerebral ischemia, pial arterioles did not dilate in response to hypercapnia and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α did not increase, but dilation to isoproterenol was unchanged. The present study found that treatment with SOD/catalase or Tiron did not prevent loss of vasodilation to hypercapnia or the loss of hypercapnia-induced cerebral 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α synthesis after cerebral ischemia. The postischemic loss of cerebral vasodilation to hypercapnia does not appear to involve superoxide or a subsequent reduced form of oxygen.