Clinical significance of the G8 screening tool in elderly patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

Clinical Oral Investigations - The present study investigated the clinical significance of the G8 screening tool in elderly oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients using a multicenter...     

Granular cell ameloblastoma: Case report of a particular ameloblastoma histologically resembling oncocytoma

Granular cell ameloblastoma is classified as a histological subtype of solid/multicystic ameloblastoma. Usual granular cell ameloblastoma is histologically characterized by granular changes of stellate‐like cells located in the inner portion of the epithelial follicles. Here we report a case of another type of granular cell ameloblastoma, showing predominant anastomosing double‐stranded trabeculae of granular cells. This type of granular cell ameloblastoma is extremely rare, and the World Health Organization classification does not contain the entity. We tentatively termed it ‘anastomosing granular cell ameloblastoma’ in this report. The present case suggests the importance of differential diagnosis because the histology of ‘anastomosing granular cell ameloblastoma’ resembles that of salivary gland oncocytoma rather than that of usual granular cell ameloblastoma. The trabeculae observed in our case continued to the peripheral cells of a small amount of epithelial sheets of plexiform ameloblastoma, and the tumor cells were positive for CK19, which is regarded as an immunohistochemical marker of odontogenic epithelium. Similar to usual granular cell ameloblastoma, the tumor cells had CD68‐positive granules. For precise diagnosis of this condition, immunohistochemistry using CK19 and CD68, as well as detailed histological observation, are recommended.     

Galectin-9 expands unique macrophages exhibiting plasmacytoid dendritic cell-like phenotypes that activate NK cells in tumor-bearing mice

Galectin-9 (Gal-9) inhibits the metastasis of tumor cells by blocking their adhesion to endothelium and the extracellular matrix. In this study, we addressed the involvement of Gal-9 in anti-tumor activity. Gal-9 significantly prolonged the survival of B16F10 melanoma-bearing mice. Gal-9 increased the numbers of NK cells, CD8 T cells and macrophages in tumor-bearing mice. Gal-9-mediated anti-tumor activity was not induced in NK cell-, macrophage- and CD8 T cell-depleted mice. NK cells from Gal-9-treated mice, compared to PBS-treated mice, exhibited significantly higher cytolytic activity. Co-culture of naïve NK cells with macrophages from Gal-9-treated mice resulted in enhanced NK activity, although Gal-9 itself did not enhance the NK activity. We also found that Ly-6C⁺CD11b⁺F4/80⁺ macrophages with plasmacytoid cell (pDC)-like phenotypes (PDCA-1 and B220) were responsible for the enhanced NK activity. These results provide evidence that Gal-9 promotes NK cell-mediated anti-tumor activity by expanding unique macrophages with a pDC-like phenotype.