Immunohistochemical study of Langerhans cells in cutaneous lesions of the Jorge Lobo's disease

Jorge Lobo's disease is a chronic infection caused by the fungus Lacazia loboi endemic in South America. The infection is characterized by the appearance of parakeloidal, ulcerated or verrucous nodular or plaque-like cutaneous lesions. The histopathological aspect is characterized by poorly organized granulomas with histiocytes and multinucleated giant cells. Little is known about local immune response in lobomycosis skin lesions. Thirty-three skin biopsies from patients with Jorge Lobo's disease were selected from Ambulatory of Dermatology, UFPA. The control group was constituted by ten biopsies from normal skin. Langerhans cells were identified by immunohistochemistry using anti-CD1a antibody (Serotec). The number of positive cells was statistically analyzed. Langerhans cells were visualized along the epidermis in biopsies from Jorge Lobo's disease and the morphology and the number of Langerhans cells did not differ from normal skin (p > 0.05). In Jorge Lobo's disease, this cell population probably presents some escape mechanism of the local immune system to evade the antigen presentation by those cells.     

Ten years experience with Jorge Lobo's disease in the state of Acre, Amazon region, Brazil

Jorge Lobo's disease is a cutaneous and subcutaneous mycosis that affects patients in the Amazon region. The number of patients is relatively small, but the real situation of the disease as public health problem is not known, because Jorge Lobo's disease is not a notifiable disease. This study aims to report the clinical evolution in patients affected and to determine the prevalence and areas of occurrence of the disease. A retrospective study was carried out based on the analysis of the clinical records, which included a collection of photographs of patients in the Department of Sanitary Dermatology, in Rio Branco, and patients seen in the interior of the state. In a decade, in Rio Branco, 249 cases of the disease were reported, 30 were females and 219 males. Of these patients, 153 had localized lesions, 94 of them were on one ear, 55 had multifocal lesions and 41 had disseminated lesions. The average time between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis was 19 years. The average age at the time of diagnosis was 53 years, and ages ranged from 14 to 96 years.     

Influence of microbiota in experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis in Swiss mice.

Infection of Swiss/NIH mice with Leishmania major was compared with infection in isogenic resistant C57BL/6 and susceptible BALB/c mice. Swiss/NIH mice showed self-controlled lesions in the injected foot pad. The production of high levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and low levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4) by cells from these animals suggests that they mount a Th1-type immune response. The importance of the indigenous microbiota on the development of murine leishmaniasis was investigated by infecting germfree Swiss/NIH in the hind footpad with L. major and conventionalizing after 3 weeks of infection. Lesions from conventionalized Swiss/NIH mice were significantly larger than conventional mice. Histopathological analysis of lesions from conventionalized animals showed abscesses of variable shapes and sizes and high numbers of parasitized macrophages. In the lesions from conventional mice, besides the absence of abscess formation, parasites were rarely observed. On the other hand, cells from conventional and conventionalized mice produced similar Th1-type response characterized by high levels of IFN-gamma and low levels of IL-4. In this study, we demonstrated that Swiss/NIH mice are resistant to L. major infection and that the absence of the normal microbiota at the beginning of infection significantly influenced the lesion size and the inflammatory response at the site of infection.     

Griseofulvin-induced cholestasis in Swiss albino mice.

Griseofulvin was fed to male Swiss albino mice, which were sacrificed at varying times after the initiation of the feeding. The following were compared with mice fed a control diet: hepatic histology, hepatic weight, plasma glycocholate, glycolithocholate, cholesterol, bilirubin, and alkaline phosphatase. Concurrent with the development of hepatic protoporphyria, a progressive cholestatic lesion was produced with marked bile canalicular dilatation and elevation of the plasma bile salts, alkaline phosphatase, and cholesterol without a rise in bilirubin. Adaptation to the cholestatic injury occurred in about 60 days despite continued griseofulvin feeding. This was evidenced by decreased values in the biochemical profile with concomitant improvement in the bile canalicular morphology. Following this event of adaptation, Mallory bodies began to appear in the livers, often in the periphery of the hepatic lobule. This model may be useful in studying mechanisms of cholestasis, Mallory body formation, and their relationship to altered microtubular systems in the hepatocyte.     

Coping is excellent in Swiss Children with inflammatory bowel disease: Results from the Swiss IBD cohort study

BackgroundInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) starting during childhood has been assumed to impair quality of life (QoL) of affected children. As this aspect is crucial for further personality development, the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was assessed in a Swiss nationwide cohort to obtain detailed information on the fields of impairment.MethodsData were prospectively acquired from pediatric patients included in the Swiss IBD Cohort Study. IBD activity was evaluated by PCDAI and PUCAI. The age adapted KIDSCREEN questionnaire was evaluated for 110 children with IBD (64 with Crohn's disease 46 with ulcerative colitis). Data were analyzed with respect to established reference values of healthy controls.ResultsIn the KIDSCREEN index a moderate impairment was only found for physical wellbeing due to disease activity. In contrast, mental well-being and social support were even better as compared to control values. A subgroup analysis revealed that this observation was restricted to the children in the German speaking part of Switzerland, whereas there was no difference compared to controls in the French part of Switzerland. Furthermore, autonomy and school variables were significantly higher in the IBD patients as compared to controls.ConclusionsThe social support for children with IBD is excellent in this cohort. Only physical well-being was impaired due to disease activity, whereas all other KIDSCREEN parameters were better as compared to controls. This indicates that effective coping and support strategies may be able to compensate the burden of disease in pediatric IBD patients.     

Tumorigenic effect of 4-methylphenylhydrazine hydrochloride in Swiss mice

Summary 4-Methylphenylhydrazine hydrochloride was administered as 10 weekly subcutaneous injections of 140 g/g body weight and as 7 weekly intragastric instillations of 250 g/g body weight in physiological saline to randomly bred Swiss mice. Treatments given subcutaneously resulted in induction of lung tumors in incidences of 36% in females and 44% in males, while intragastric treatment caused a 40% incidence in females. In addition, it gave rise to blood vessel tumors by intragastric route in incidences of 32% in females and 18% in males. In the two physiological saline-treated control groups, the lung tumor incidence (combined) was 20% in females and 21% in males, while the blood vessel tumor incidence (combined) was 7% in females and 6% in males. Histopathologically, the lesions were classified as adenomas and adenocarcinomas of the lungs, and angiomas and angiosarcomas of blood vessels.4-Methylphenylhydrazine was postulated to be a metabolite of 4-hydroxymethylphenylhydrazine, an ingredient of the commonly eaten mushroom Agaricus bisporus. The implications are discussed with respect to the tumorigenesis data.This study was supported by Public Health Service Contract NOl CP33278 from the National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA     

Diet-induced obesity causes hypothalamic neurochemistry alterations in Swiss mice

The aim of this study was to assess inflammatory parameters, oxidative stress and energy metabolism in the hypothalamus of diet-induced obese mice. Male Swiss mice were divided into two study groups: control group and obese group. The animals in the control group were fed a diet with adequate amounts of macronutrients (normal-lipid diet), whereas the animals in the obese group were fed a high-fat diet to induce obesity. Obesity induction lasted 10 weeks, at the end of this period the disease model was validated in animals. The animals in the obese group had higher calorie consumption, higher body weight and higher weight of mesenteric fat compared to control group. Obesity showed an increase in levels of interleukin 1β and decreased levels of interleukin 10 in the hypothalamus. Furthermore, increased lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation, and decreased level of glutathione in the hypothalamus of obese animals. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the activity of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase and catalase. The obese group had lower activity of complex I, II and IV of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, as well as lower activity of creatine kinase in the hypothalamus as compared to the control group. Thus, the results from this study showed changes in inflammatory markers, and dysregulation of metabolic enzymes in the pathophysiology of obesity.

     

The syncarcinogenic effect of methylcholanthrene and dimethylnitrosamine in Swiss mice

Summary The combined application of MCA (i.g.) and DMN (i.p.) to Swiss mice resulted in an increased incidence of tumors and in a decreased tumor latency, compared with the animals treated with each compound alone. In the MCA+DMN group the rate of lung carcinomas and neoplasms of the kidney was found to be significantly enhanced, while the DMN group showed an increase of vascular tumors. In the MCA group malignant lymphomas were seen more frequently than in the other groups. The findings concerning the lung and kidney were interpreted as a syncarcinogenic effect of the combined application of MCA + DMN.

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Zusammenfassung Die kombinierte Verabreichung von Methylcholanthren (MCA) (intragastrisch) und Dimethylnitrosamin (DMN) (intraperitoneal) führte bei Swiss-Mäusen zu erhöhter Tumorrate bei verkürzter Latenzzeit im Vergleich zu Tieren, die jeweils nur mit einer der beiden Substanzen behandelt wurden. In der MCA+DMN-Gruppe fanden sich vermehrt Lungencarcinome, Neoplasmen der Nieren und Lymphome. Bei den Tieren der DMN-Gruppe zeigten sich gehäuft Gefäßtumoren. Die Befunde der MCA + DMN-Gruppe werden als syncarcinogene Wirkung der Substanzen diskutiert.

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Supported by U. S. Public Health Service contract 43-68-959 from the National Cancer Institute.     

Tumorigenic effect of 4-methylphenylhydrazine hydrochloride in Swiss mice.

4-Methylphenylhydrazine hydrochloride was administered as 10 weekly subcutaneous injections of 140 microgram/g body weight and as 7 weekly intragastric instillations of 250 microgram/g body weight in physiological saline to randomly bred Swiss mice. Treatments given subcutaneously resulted in induction of lung tumors in incidences of 36% in females and 44% in males, while intragastric treatment caused a 40% incidence in females. In addition, it gave rise to blood vessel tumors by intragastric route in incidences of 32% in females and 18% in males. In the two physiological saline-treated control groups, the lung tumor incidence (combined) was 20% in females and 21% in males, while the blood vessel tumor incidence (combined) was 7% in females and 6% in males. Histopathologically, the lesions were classified as adenomas and adenocarcinomas of the lungs, and angiomas and angiosarcomas of blood vessels. 4-Methylphenylhydrazine was postulated to be a metabolite of 4-hydroxymethylphenylhydrazine, an ingredient of the commonly eaten mushroom Agaricus bisporus. The implications are discussed with respect to the tumorigenesis data.