Human papillomavirus subtype 16 is common in Pakistani women with cervical carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as a major causative agent for cervical carcinomas. Based on their oncogenic potential, HPV subtypes have been divided into high- and low-risk. In Pakistan, screening for HPV in female patients is not commonly practiced, and as a consequence, the degree of HPV prevalence and its correlation with cervical cancer is unknown. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we have attempted to estimate the prevalence of HPV infection, and also the HPV subtype profile, among Pakistani women with cervical cancer from varied geographical, racial, and social backgrounds within Pakistan. METHODOLOGY: Women visiting two tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, diagnosed with carcinoma of the cervix within the past 15 years, were analyzed for HPV subtypes in their cancer specimens. Retrospectively, 60 paraffin-embedded cervical cancer biopsies were examined for the presence of HPV DNA. After DNA extraction from these samples, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the HPV L1 gene using the consensus (general) primers, and primers specific for subtypes 16 and 18. RESULTS: Of the 60 samples analyzed, only one sample was HPV negative; the rest of the samples were positive for the presence of HPV. Of the 59 HPV positive samples, 56 showed the presence of HPV16 and one sample was positive for HPV18; HPV subtype could not be determined in two samples. CONCLUSION: Our results show a strong relationship between HPV infection and cervical cancer among Pakistani women. These results underscore the need to implement regular HPV screening for Pakistani women. An early diagnosis of HPV infection will allow better health management to reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer.     

早产儿和足月儿脐血及母亲静脉血硒含量的比较

目的：硒是一种人体必需的微量元素,在细胞抗氧化防御系统中发挥着主要的作用。在早期早产儿中,低水平的硒会增加诸如慢性新生儿肺疾病、早产儿视网膜病等并发症的发生。该研究旨在检测并比较早产儿和足月儿脐血及母亲静脉血硒含量。方法：选取2008年3~7月间30个足月儿（胎龄>37 周）和30个早产儿（胎龄< 34 周）及他们的母亲作为研究对象。用原子吸收光谱法测定脐血和母亲静脉血的硒含量。结果：足月儿的脐血硒平均含量高于早产儿,差异有非常显著性(124.80± 13.72 μg/L vs 100.30 ± 11.72 μg/L, P=0.0001) 。 足月儿母亲与早产儿母亲的的平均硒含量差异无显著性 (117.03±17.15 μg/L vs 110.56±17.49 μg/L, P=0.15)。将所有婴儿的资料一起分析时,发现脐血硒含量与胎龄和出生体重显著正相关(r=0.66, P<0.0001;r=0.59, P<0.0001)。60例婴儿母亲中,无一例的血硒含量低于正常参考值的下限（70.0 μg/L）。将所有婴儿及其母亲的资料一起分析时,发现母亲血硒含量与其婴儿脐血硒含量呈显著正相关 (r=0.40, P<0.001)。结论：在伊斯法罕地区,孕母的血硒水平处于一个良好的状态,血硒水平不是早产的预测指标。足月儿的脐血硒含量高于早产儿,但足月儿和早产儿的脐血硒含量均在正常参考范围。［中国当代儿科杂志,2009,11（7）：513-516］     

Outcome of living donor renal allograft survival in children with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

Abstract:  FSGS is the most frequent GN that may recur in a renal allograft. Compared with adults, the impact of FSGS on graft survival appears to be more significant in children. Thus we decided to assess graft survival and complications after renal transplantation in children with FSGS. Outcome of renal transplantation in 25 children with FSGS who received a renal transplant at Labafi Nejad Hospital was studied and compared with 75 patients as a control group. The mean follow-up duration was 68.16 (s.d. = 41.93) months. Other than demographics, variables such as DGF, acute rejection, number of acute rejection episodes, and graft failure in both groups were evaluated. Acute rejection was seen in 22/25 (88%) of FSGS group, compared to 40/75 (53.3%) in the control group. This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.001). DGF was seen in 4/25 (16%) and 13/75 (17.3%) in the FSGS and control groups, respectively (p = N.S.). The mean graft survival time was 115.61 (s.e.m. = 12.56) and 155.56 (s.e.m. = 7.16) month in FSGS and control group, respectively (p = N.S.). We demonstrated that graft function and survival were not significantly different in the FSGS and control patients. However, acute rejection episodes were more common in FSGS patients but without a significant impact on graft survival.     

Cyclin D1 and t(11;14)-positive B-cell neoplasms resembling marginal zone B-cell lymphoma: a morphological variant of mantle cell lymphoma

We describe 3 unusual B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in which the entire tumors histologically mimicked marginal zone B-cell lymphoma. All patients were male (mean age, 65 years). Excisional biopsy from lymph node (2 of 3) and parotid gland (1 of 3) showed proliferation of monocytoid B-cells with plasmacytoid features (2 of 3) and conspicuous absence of large lymphoma cells (3 of 3). By immunohistochemistry, cyclin D1 was positive (3 of 3), CD23 was negative (3 of 3), and aberrant expression of CD5/CD43 was present in 1 case. Ki67 labeling was greater than 50% in 1 case and 10% to 25% in the other 2 cases. Evidence of the t(11;14) was detectable in all by molecular techniques. One patient died within 15 months, and the other 2 patients had widely disseminated diseases at the last follow-up (8 months). Based on these features, we believed that the best classification for these lesions is the marginal zone B-cell lymphoma-like mantle cell lymphoma.     

Adenosine A<Subscript>2A</Subscript> Receptor Blockade or Deletion Diminishes Fibrocyte Accumulation in the Skin in a Murine Model of Scleroderma,Bleomycin-induced Fibrosis

Peripheral blood fibrocytes are a newly identified circulating leukocyte subpopulation that migrates into injured tissue where it may display fibroblast-like properties and participate in wound healing and fibrosis of skin and other organs. Previous studies in our lab demonstrated that A_2A receptor-deficient and A_2A antagonist-treated mice were protected from developing bleomycin-induced dermal fibrosis, thus the aim of this study was to determine whether the adenosine A_2A receptor regulates recruitment of fibrocytes to the dermis in this bleomycin-induced model of dermal fibrosis. Sections of skin from normal mice and bleomycin-treated wild type, A_2A knockout and A_2A antagonist-treated mice were stained for Procollagen α2 Type I and CD34 and the double stained cells, fibrocytes, were counted in the tissue sections. There were more fibrocytes in the dermis of bleomycin-treated mice than normal mice and the increase was abrogated by deletion or blockade of adenosine A_2A receptors. Because fibrocytes play a central role in tissue fibrosis these results suggest that diminished adenosine A_2A receptor-mediated recruitment of fibrocytes into tissue may play a role in the pathogenesis of fibrosing diseases of the skin. Moreover, these results provide further evidence that adenosine A_2A receptors may represent a new target for the treatment of such fibrosing diseases as scleroderma or nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy.     

Prophage and antibiotic resistance profiles of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains in Iran

A total of 114 isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were collected from hospitals in Tehran, Iran. A multiplex PCR was designed to examine the presence of six different prophage classes. The results showed high diversity of bacteriophages, with four different prophage types and eight prophage patterns. An important S. aureus phage coding for several virulence factors, Φ-77-like phage, was detected in 97?% of the isolates. We found a high rate of resistance of MRSA isolates to penicillin, ciprofloxacin, tobramycin and kanamycin. This is the first study showing high prevalence and diverse bacteriophage populations in MRSA strains in Iranian hospitals.     

Progress and prospects for the use and the understanding of the mode of action of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the treatment of multiple sclerosis

Introduction: A substantial proportion of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) do not respond to pharmacological treatments and no currently approved therapy has been convincingly demonstrated to prevent or stop disease progression. With MS widely believed to be an auto-immune disease, immunoablative therapy followed by autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (I/AHSCT) is being investigated as an alternative therapeutic option.

Areas covered: With the results of phase III comparative trials only a few years away, this article reviews animal and clinical trials of I/AHSCT in the treatment of MS and discusses possible immunological mechanisms behind its action.

Expert commentary: I/AHSCT can induce long-term suppression of inflammatory disease activity and can halt or reverse neurological deterioration even in progressive stages of the disease, altering the fundamental disease course. However, toxicity of the therapy remains a problem and longer term follow up is required. Immunological investigations of the reconstituting immune system have discovered that qualitative changes take place at the cellular and molecular levels, which support the hypothesis of a ‘resetting’ of the immune system towards a tolerant and anti-inflammatory state.     

Microarray hybridization for assessment of the genetic stability of chimeric West Nile/dengue 4 virus

Genetic stability is an important characteristic of live viral vaccines because an accumulation of mutants can cause reversion to a virulent phenotype as well as a loss of immunogenic properties. This study was aimed at evaluating the genetic stability of a live attenuated West Nile (WN) virus vaccine candidate that was generated by replacing the pre-membrane and envelope protein genes of dengue 4 virus with those from WN. Chimeric virus was serially propagated in Vero, SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma and HeLa cells and screened for point mutations using hybridization with microarrays of overlapping oligonucleotide probes covering the entire genome. The analysis revealed several spontaneous mutations that led to amino acid changes, most of which were located in the envelope (E) and non-structural NS4A, NS4B, and NS5 proteins. Viruses passaged in Vero and SH-SY5Y cells shared two common mutations: G(2337) C (Met(457) Ile) in the E gene and A(6751) G (Lys(125) Arg) in the NS4A gene. Quantitative assessment of the contents of these mutants in viral stocks indicated that they accumulated independently with different kinetics during propagation in cell cultures. Mutant viruses grew better in Vero cells compared to the parental virus, suggesting that they have a higher fitness. When tested in newborn mice, the cell culture-passaged viruses did not exhibit increased neurovirulence. The approach described in this article could be useful for monitoring the molecular consistency and quality control of vaccine strains.