Lymphocytic hypophysitis with lachrymal, salivary and thyroid gland involvement

We report on hypophysitis associated with a prominent lymphoid infiltration of salivary and lachrymal glands in a 35-year-old woman with a dramatic response to steroids. Four years later, overt Graves' disease developed. To our knowledge, pseudotumoral lymphocytic infiltration of both lachrymal and salivary glands has never been described in association with hypophysitis. Benign lymphocytic hypophysitis may belong to a spectrum that extends from low-grade lymphoid proliferation to autoimmune disease. Such a process may follow a regional tissue distribution including pituitary, thyroid, lachrymal and salivary glands.     

Translocation t(5;12)(q31-q33;p12-p13): a non-random translocation associated with a myeloid disorder with eosinophilia

SUMMARY. To investigate the clinical significance of determination of plasma tissue factor (TF) antigen, we have developed a highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for plasma TF, using two different monoclonal antibodies against TF apoprotein, 6B4 (catching antibody) and 5G9 (detecting antibody), and tetramethyl benzidine/H₂O₂ as substrates. Titration curves of recombinant human TF in buffer containing Triton X-100 were linear within the range from 50 to 2000pg/ml. The total assay time was 3h. Ultracentrifugation and immunoblot analysis indicated that human plasma and urine contained 50 000 g sedimentable and non-sedimentable forms of TF, both of which were detected by our ELISA method.
Plasma and urine concentrations of TF in healthy subjects and patients with various diseases were measured by the ELISA method. In healthy subjects, plasma and urinary TF levels were found to be 149± 72pg/ml (n = 30) and 175±60pg TF/urine creatinine mg (n = 95). respectively. TF was increased in plasma of patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, vasculitis associated with collagen diseases, diabetic microangiopathy and chronic renal failure receiving haemodialysis, but not in the plasma of endotoxaemic patients without DIC. The plasma TF/serum creatinine ratio did not show a positive correlation. Measurement of TF antigen in plasma may be useful for evaluating the endothelial damage and cell destruction in TF-containing tissues.     

Immunoaffinity Extraction and Alternative Approaches for the Analysis of Toxins in Environmental,Food or Biological Matrices

The evolution of instrumentation in terms of separation and detection allowed a real improvement of the sensitivity and analysis time. However, the analysis of ultra-traces of toxins in complex samples requires often a step of purification and even preconcentration before their chromatographic analysis. Therefore, immunoaffinity sorbents based on specific antibodies thus providing a molecular recognition mechanism appear as powerful tools for the selective extraction of a target molecule and its structural analogs to obtain more reliable and sensitive quantitative analysis in environmental, food or biological matrices. This review focuses on immunosorbents that have proven their efficiency in selectively extracting various types of toxins of various sizes (from small mycotoxins to large proteins) and physicochemical properties. Immunosorbents are now commercially available, and their use has been validated for numerous applications. The wide variety of samples to be analyzed, as well as extraction conditions and their impact on extraction yields, is discussed. In addition, their potential for purification and thus suppression of matrix effects, responsible for quantification problems especially in mass spectrometry, is presented. Due to their similar properties, molecularly imprinted polymers and aptamer-based sorbents that appear to be an interesting alternative to antibodies are also briefly addressed by comparing their potential with that of immunosorbents.     

Evaluation of Epstein-Barr Virus,Human Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), and HHV-8 Antiviral Drug Susceptibilities by Use of Real-Time-PCR-Based Assays

Evaluation of candidate antiviral drugs against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), and HHV-8 is hampered by the lack of convenient laboratory assays. We developed real-time quantitative PCR assays performed on supernatants of lymphoma cell lines and determined the 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀s) of nucleoside, nucleotide, and pyrophosphate analogues against these herpesviruses.     

Candida guilliermondii: biotechnological applications, perspectives for biological control, emerging clinical importance and recent advances in genetics

Candida guilliermondii (teleomorph Meyerozyma guilliermondii) is an ascomycetous species belonging to the Saccharomycotina CTG clade which has been studied over the last 40 years due to its biotechnological interest, biological control potential and clinical importance. Such a wide range of applications in various areas of fundamental and applied scientific research has progressively made C. guilliermondii an attractive model for exploring the potential of yeast metabolic engineering as well as for elucidating new molecular events supporting pathogenicity and antifungal resistance. All these research fields now take advantage of the establishment of a useful molecular toolbox specifically dedicated to C. guilliermondii genetics including the construction of recipient strains, the development of selectable markers and reporter genes and optimization of transformation protocols. This area of study is further supported by the availability of the complete genome sequence of the reference strain ATCC 6260 and the creation of numerous databases dedicated to gene ontology annotation (metabolic pathways, virulence, and morphogenesis). These genetic tools and genomic resources represent essential prerequisites for further successful development of C. guilliermondii research in medical mycology and in biological control by facilitating the identification of the multiple factors that contribute to its pathogenic potential. These genetic and genomic advances should also expedite future practical uses of C. guilliermondii strains of biotechnological interest by opening a window into a better understanding of the biosynthetic pathways of valuable metabolites.     

Expanding the clinical spectrum of STIP1 homology and U-box containing protein 1-associated ataxia

Journal of Neurology - STUB1 has been first associated with autosomal recessive (SCAR16, MIM# 615768) and later with dominant forms of ataxia (SCA48, MIM# 618093). Pathogenic variations in STUB1...