Protein expression and gene polymorphism of CXCL10 in patients with colorectal cancer

Chemokines (chemotactic cytokines) promote leukocyte attraction to sites of inflammation and cancer. Certain chemokines promote and regulate neoplastic progression, including metastasis and angiogenesis. One such chemokine, CXCL10, was found to be expressed in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissue. To gain insight into the prognostic significance of CXCL10, we investigated whether the levels of this chemokine were altered in the colorectal tissue or plasma of CRC patients. Using Luminex technology for protein analyses, we observed a significantly higher CXCL10 protein level in cancer tissue compared to that in paired normal tissue. Moreover, significantly higher plasma levels of CXCL10 were detected in patients compared to those in control subjects and the plasma levels of CXCL10 in disseminated disease were found to be significantly higher compared to those in localized disease. The single‑nucleotide polymorphism rs8878, which has been described in exon 4 in the 3'‑untranslated region of the CXCL10 gene, was investigated using a TaqMan system. There were significant differences in genotype distribution and allelic frequencies between CRC patients and control subjects. In conclusion, altered CXCL10 protein concentrations in CRC tissues or plasma and the rs8878 genotype variant of CXCL10 may contribute to the prediction of clinical outcome.

Identidade em Jogos Digitais: Entre a Identificação e a Mecânica do Jogo

James Paul Gee (2007) define identidade, para o jogador digital, de três maneiras: virtual, real e projetiva. Ele afirma também que a aprendizagem pode ser um convite para se experimentar uma nova identidade ou se tornar uma nova pessoa. Neste trabalho, discutirei a maneira como jogadores se identificam com suas personagens ou avatares durante o jogo. Alguns deles podem se identificar com essas personagens, mas por outro lado podem escolhê-las simplesmente porque a mecânica do jogo lhes dá condições mais vantajosas. Nesse processo, aspectos como gênero e etnia podem assumir papel relevante.