Lipomatous tumors of the liver: evaluation with CT and US

Seven cases of lipomatous masses within the liver parenchyma were demonstrated with computed tomography (CT). Five of these cases were obtained from a retrospective review of 50 cases of renal angiomyolipoma in which the liver was adequately demonstrated. The other two cases were from the files of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and had no associated renal lesions. Three of the five cases were associated with tuberous sclerosis. In all seven cases, the fatty tumors appeared on CT scans as a well-defined, 0.8-13-cm mass, with attenuation coefficients of less than -30 HU. On ultrasound studies, the lesions were well circumscribed, highly echogenic, and similar to hemangiomas. While distinctly rare lesions, these lipomatous masses are not as unusual as the literature would indicate. One may anticipate such masses in patients with renal angiomyolipomas and in a relatively high percentage of those with tuberous sclerosis.     

Cluster size regulates protein sorting in the immunological synapse

During antigen recognition by T cells, signaling molecules on the T cell engage ligands on the antigen-presenting cell and organize into spatially distinctive patterns. These are collectively known as the immunological synapse (IS). Causal relationships between large-scale spatial organization and signal transduction have previously been established. Although it is known that receptor transport during IS formation is driven by actin polymerization, the mechanisms by which different proteins become spatially sorted remain unclear. These sorting processes contribute a facet of signal regulation; thus their elucidation is important for ultimately understanding signal transduction through the T cell receptor. Here we investigate protein cluster size as a sorting mechanism using the hybrid live T cell−supported membrane system. The clustering state of the co-stimulatory molecule lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) is modulated, either by direct antibody crosslinking or by crosslinking its intercellular adhesion molecule-1 ligand on the supported bilayer. In a mature IS, native LFA-1 generally localizes into a peripheral ring surrounding a central T cell receptor cluster. Higher degrees of LFA-1 clustering, induced by either method, result in progressively more central localization, with the most clustered species fully relocated to the central zone. These results demonstrate that cluster size directly influences protein spatial positioning in the T cell IS. We discuss a sorting mechanism, based on frictional coupling to the actin cytoskeleton, that is consistent with these observations and is, in principle, extendable to all cell surface proteins in the synapse.     

Human gut microbiome adopts an alternative state following small bowel transplantation

Small bowel transplants provide an exceptional opportunity for long-term study of the microbial ecology of the human small bowel. The ileostomy created at time of transplant for ongoing monitoring of the allograft provides access to samples of ileal effluent and mucosal biopsies. In this study, we used qPCR to assay the bacterial population of the small bowel lumen of 17 small bowel transplant patients over time. Surprisingly, the posttransplant microbial community was found to be dominated by Lactobacilli and Enterobacteria, both typically facultative anaerobes. This represents an inversion of the normal community that is dominated instead by the strictly anaerobic Bacteroides and Clostridia. We found this inverted community also in patients with ileostomies who did not receive a transplant, suggesting that the ileostomy itself is the primary ecological determinant shaping the microbiota. After surgical closure of the ileostomy, the community reverted to the normal structure. Therefore, we hypothesized that the ileostomy allows oxygen into the otherwise anaerobic distal ileum, thus driving the transition from one microbial community structure to another. Supporting this hypothesis, metabolomic profiling of both communities demonstrated an enrichment for metabolites associated with aerobic respiration in samples from patients with open ileostomies. Viewed from an ecological perspective, the two communities constitute alternative stable states of the human ileum. That the small bowel appears to function normally despite these dramatic shifts suggests that its ecological resilience is greater than previously realized.     

The combined self- and parent-rated SDQ score profile predicts care use and psychiatric diagnoses

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry - The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is widely used, based on evidence of its value for screening. This evidence primarily regards the...     

Region-specific differentiation of embryonic stem cell-derived neural progenitor transplants into the adult mouse hippocampus following seizures

Embryonic stem (ES) cells can generate neural progenitors and neurons in vitro and incorporate into the adult central nervous system (CNS) following transplantation, suggesting their therapeutic potential for treating neurological disorders. However, our understanding of the conditions that direct ES-derived neural progenitor (ESNP) migration and differentiation within different regions of the adult CNS is incomplete. Rodents treated with the chemoconvulsant kainic acid (KA) experience seizures and display hippocampal sclerosis, as well as enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis, similar to pathological findings in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). To examine the potential for ESNPs to incorporate into the adult hippocampus and differentiate into hippocampal neurons or glia following seizure-induced damage, we compared the fates of ESNPs after they were transplanted into the CA3 region or fimbria 1 week following KA-induced seizures. After 4-8 weeks, ESNPs grafted into the CA3 region had migrated to the dentate gyrus (DG), where a small subset adopted neural stem cell fates and continued to proliferate, based on bromodeoxyuridine uptake. Others differentiated into neuroblasts or dentate granule neurons. In contrast, most ESNPs transplanted into the fimbria migrated extensively along existing fiber tracts and differentiated into oligodendrocytes or astrocytes. Hippocampal grafts in mice not subjected to seizures displayed a marked tendency to form tumors, and this effect was more pronounced in the DG than in the fimbria. Taken together, these data suggest that seizures induce molecular changes in the CA3 region and DG that promote region-specific neural differentiation and suppress tumor formation.     

Application of Screening Methods,Shape Signatures and Engineered Biosensors in Early Drug Discovery Process

Purpose  

In this study, two unreported estrogen antagonists were identified using a combination of computational screening and a simple bacterial estrogen sensor.