In-house growth-promoting transport system for Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Eno powder (GlaxoSmithKline), an antacid preparation readily available over the counter, was used instead of a CO(2) generator for the growth of 15 strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae obtained from men with urethritis. Due to its easy accessibility and low cost, Eno powder can be useful in developing countries for transporting clinical specimens from resource-poor peripheral labs to reference laboratories.     

High-sensitivity Troponin I Predicts Galectin-3 in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

International Urology and Nephrology - Plasma galectin-3 (pG3) regulates inflammation. B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), high-sensitivity Troponin I (hsTnI), and pG3 concentrations are elevated in...     

Membranous nephropathy associated with angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma in a pediatric patient

Background

Though membranous nephropathy is a much more common cause of nephrotic syndrome in the adult population, it accounts for only a small fraction of cases in pediatrics.

Case-Diagnosis/Treatment

We report a case of a 16-year-old boy with nephrotic syndrome due to membranous nephropathy in the setting of a rare tumor, angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma. This patient’s nephrotic-range proteinuria completely resolved following resection of this tumor. Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma, while known to cause other paraneoplastic syndromes such as anemia, has never been reported to cause membranous nephropathy.

Conclusions

This case highlights a novel and treatable secondary cause of membranous nephropathy. Because secondary causes are more common in children than in adults, a high index of suspicion for other underlying pathology including malignancy should be considered. It also suggests that urinalysis may be a helpful screening tool in cases of angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma.     

Airway Microbiome Dynamics in Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Specific bacterial species are implicated in the pathogenesis of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, recent studies of clinically stable COPD patients have demonstrated a greater diversity of airway microbiota, whose role in acute exacerbations is unclear. In this study, temporal changes in the airway microbiome before, at the onset of, and after an acute exacerbation were examined in 60 sputum samples collected from subjects enrolled in a longitudinal study of bacterial infection in COPD. Microbiome composition and predicted functions were examined using 16S rRNA-based culture-independent profiling methods. Shifts in the abundance (≥2-fold, P < 0.05) of many taxa at exacerbation and after treatment were observed. Microbiota members that were increased at exacerbation were primarily of the Proteobacteria phylum, including nontypical COPD pathogens. Changes in the bacterial composition after treatment for an exacerbation differed significantly among the therapy regimens clinically prescribed (antibiotics only, oral corticosteroids only, or both). Treatment with antibiotics alone primarily decreased the abundance of Proteobacteria, with the prolonged suppression of some microbiota members being observed. In contrast, treatment with corticosteroids alone led to enrichment for Proteobacteria and members of other phyla. Predicted metagenomes of particular microbiota members involved in these compositional shifts indicated exacerbation-associated loss of functions involved in the synthesis of antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory products, alongside enrichment in functions related to pathogen-elicited inflammation. These trends reversed upon clinical recovery. Further larger studies will be necessary to determine whether specific compositional or functional changes detected in the airway microbiome could be useful indicators of exacerbation development or outcome.     

In vivo studies with Interleukin-12 alone and in combination with monocyte colony-stimulating factor and/or fractionated radiation treatment

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) was found to be an active anti-tumor agent in 3 established murine solid tumors: B16 melanoma, Lewis lung carcinoma and renal cell carcinoma (RenCa). IL-12 was well tolerated over a 100-fold dose range. Only the high-dose treatment of IL-12 resulted in a clear reduction in the number of lung metastases from B16 melanoma and Lewis lung carcinoma. Treatment of animals bearing Lewis lung carcinoma with IL-12 in combination with fractionated radiation therapy was markedly dose-modifying, indicating that IL-12 was acting synergistically with radiation. Treatment of animals bearing the same tumor with monocyte colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) along with fractionated radiation therapy resulted in a parallel increase in tumor growth delay with increasing dose of M-CSF, indicating that M-CSF was affecting a subpopulation of tumor cells in addition to those killed by radiation therapy. The combination of IL-12 with M-CSF was most effective with radiation therapy, especially in the clinically relevant dosages of 2 and 3 Gy per fraction. By isobologram analysis, IL-12 and M-CSF, along with fractionated radiation therapy, resulted in a greater-than-additive (synergistic) tumor response. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.