Metallothionein 2A expression is associated with cell proliferation in breast cancer

Metallothioneins (MTs) belong to a family of cysteine-rich, metal-binding intracellular proteins, which have been linked with cell proliferation. In this study, expression levels of the 8 known MT-1 and MT-2 functional isoforms in human invasive ductal breast cancer specimens were determined by RT–PCR. The expression profiles of the MT protein and MT-2A mRNA were further evaluated in 79 cases of human invasive ductal breast carcinoma by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, and correlated with cancer cell proliferation (determined by Ki-67 nuclear antigen immunolabeling). MT-1A, MT-1E, MT-1F, MT-1G, MT-1H, MT-1X and MT-2A but not MT-1B, were detected in breast cancer tissue samples. The MT-2A mRNA transcript was the highest among all the isoforms detected. A positive correlation was observed between MT-2A mRNA and MT protein expression with Ki-67 labeling (P = 0.0003 and P < 0.0001, respectively) but not with apoptosis (P = 0.1244 and P = 0.8189, respectively). Co-localization of the MT protein and Ki-67 nuclear antigen in breast cancer cells was demonstrated by double immunofluorescence staining. There was also significantly higher MT protein and MT-2A mRNA expression in histological grade 3 tumors than in histological grade 1 and 2 tumors. The finding that MT 2A appears to be the main isoform associated with cell proliferation in invasive ductal breast cancer tissues, may have therapeutic implications.

Therapeutic effects of matrine on primary and metastatic breast cancer

Matrine, one of the main components extracted from a traditional Chinese herb, Sophora flavescens Ait, has displayed anti-cancer activity in several types of cancer cells. This study aims to evaluate the therapeutic benefits of matrine on primary and metastatic breast cancer. Matrine inhibited the viability of and induced apoptosis in human MCF-7 and mouse 4T1 breast cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner in vitro as shown by MTT assay, flow cytometry and laser scanning confocal microscopy. Administration of matrine inhibited the growth of primary tumors and their metastases to lungs and livers, in a dose-dependent manner, in a highly metastatic model of 4T1 breast cancer established in syngeneic Balb/c mice. Tumors from matrine-treated mice had a smaller proliferation index, shown by immunostaining with an anti-Ki-67 antibody, a greater apoptosis index, shown by TUNEL-staining, and a less microvessel density, shown by immunostaining with an anti-CD31 A antibody, compared to the controls. Western blot analysis of tumoral homogenates indicated that matrine therapy reduced the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax, downregulated the expressions of VEGF and VEGFR-2, and increased the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9. This study suggests matrine may be a potent agent, from a natural resource, for treating metastatic breast cancer because of its anti-apoptotic, anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic activities.

Raat Ki Rani : nightclubs, vamps and urban transgressive spaces in Hindi cinema

This paper considers how city spaces in Hindi cinema have repeatedly been viewed as sites of transgressive sexual experience, particularly via representations of female sexuality in nightclubs and the flagrant performances of the women or ‘vamps’ that inhabit them. Emerging in Hindi cinema in the 1950s, and becoming a staple in films of the 1960s and 1970s, the ‘vamp’ became synonymous with unrestrained sexuality and the immorality of the city. The dichotomy between the idealised, bucolic, timeless village and the city as an icon of degenerate modernity was repeatedly seen in Hindi cinema, and the strongest signifier of this urban immorality was the ‘vamp’ who was seen as an outsider, and connoted urban vice, excess and desire. By and large the actresses that played ‘vamps’ (such as the blonde haired and blue eyed Helen) were of ‘Western’ appearance. The cabaret and nightclub were thus seen as being ‘Western’ in origin. This paper discusses how this was perhaps a response to colonial and Orientalist stereotyping, where the ‘Indian’ woman and the ‘Western’ woman operated as binary oppositional structures. Such oppositions were clearly present in nightclub dance performances, which were full of meaning to the cinematic audience, who would be able to ‘read’ the seductive, gyrating and explicit movements. This paper decodes examples of the movements in these ‘decadent’ performances, as it was through these movements and performances that the ‘westernised vamp’ became firmly located in urban transgressive spaces, closely tied with national anxiety about the depravity of city spaces.