With advances in imaging technology and increased alertness by clinicians, the reported incidence of primary vertebral osteosarcoma (PVOS) has increased in recent times and, therefore, the importance of its correct diagnosis has repeatedly been emphasized. One such case of PVOS is reported, that presented with insidious clinical, radiological and pathological findings, resulting in a slightly d...

The propagation of mechanically induced intercellular calcium waves (ICW) among osteoblastic cells occurs both by activation of P2Y (purinergic) receptors by extracellular nucleotides, resulting in "fast" ICW, and by gap junctional communication in cells that express connexin43 (Cx43), resulting in "slow" ICW. Human osteoblastic cells transmit intercellular calcium signals by both of these mech...

Prostate cancer (CaP) is unique among all cancers in that when it metastasizes to bone, it typically forms osteoblastic lesions (characterized by increased bone production). CaP cells produce many factors, including Wnts that are implicated in tumor-induced osteoblastic activity. In this prospectus, we describe our research on Wnt and the CaP bone phenotype. Wnts are cysteine-rich glycoproteins...

Prostate cancer produces painful osteoblastic bone metastases. Although prostate cancer cells produce numerous osteogenic factors, to date, none have been shown to mediate osteoblastic bone metastases in an in vivo model of prostate cancer. Wnts are a large family of proteins that promote bone growth. Wnt activity is antagonized by endogenous proteins including dickkopf-1 (DKK-1). We explored i...

Substance P (SP) is a widely distributed neuropeptide that works as a neurotransmitter and neuromodulator. Recently, SP receptors, particularly neurokinin-1 receptors (NK(1)-Rs) that have a high affinity for SP, have been observed not only in neuron and immune cells, but also in other peripheral cells, including bone cells. To identify the role of SP in bone formation, we investigated the expre...

objective(s): bonenavi, a computer-aided diagnostic system, is used in bone scintigraphy. this system provides the artificial neural network (ann) and bone scan index (bsi) values. ann is associated with the possibility of bone metastasis, while bsi is related to the amount of bone metastasis. the degree of uptake on bone scintigraphy can be affected by the type of bone metastasis. therefore, t...

Adenocarcinoma with osteoblastic metastases is classically seen in prostate, breast, and lung primaries. Less common primary sites include thyroid, kidney, and stomach. We present two cases of primary gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma with metastatic osteoblastic activity from two previously unreported sites. The first case represents an esophageal adenocarcinoma arising in a background of intest...

Osteoblastic bone metastases are common in prostate and breast cancer patients, but mechanisms by which tumor cells stimulate new bone formation are unclear. We identified three breast cancer cell lines that cause osteoblastic metastases in a mouse model and secrete endothelin-1. Tumor-produced endothelin-1 stimulates new bone formation in vitro and osteoblastic metastases in vivo via the endot...

Many studies have now demonstrated that osteoblasts express the protein components necessary for functional neuronal-like glutamatergic signalling to occur, and as a result a physiological role for receptor mediated osteoblastic glutamate signalling has been proposed. Osteoblastic ionotropic type glutamate receptors (iGluRs) have been shown to be functional; they possess electrophysiological ch...