Cranial sutures and craniometric points detected on MRI

The main goal of the study was to determine on MRI the cranial sutures, the craniometric points and craniometric measurements, and to correlate these results with classical anthropometric measurements. For this purpose, we reviewed 150 cerebral MRI examinations considered as normal (Caucasian population aged 2049 years). For each examination we individualized 11 craniometric landmarks (Glabella, Bregma, Lambda, Opisthocranion, Opisthion, Basion, Inion, Porion, Infra-orbital, Eurion) and three measurements. Measurements were also calculated independently on 498 dry crania (Microscribe 3-DX digitizer). To validate the MRI procedure, we measured four dry crania by MRI and with compass or digital caliper gauges. Cranial sutures always appeared without signal (black), whatever the MRI sequence used, and they are better visualized with a 5 mm slice thickness (compact bone overlapping). Slice dynamic analysis and multiplanar reformatting allowed the detection of all craniometric points, some of these being more difficult to detect than others (Porion, Infra-orbital). The measurements determined by these points were as follows: VertexBasion height=135.66±6.56 mm; EurionEurion width=141.17±5.19 mm; GlabellaOpisthocranion length=181.94±6.40 mm. On the midline T1-weighted sagittal image, all median craniometric landmarks can be individualized and the GlabellaOpisthocranion length, VertexBasion height and parenchyma indices can be calculated. Craniometric points and measurements between these points can be estimated with a standard cerebral MRI examination, with results that are similar to anthropometric data.     

Estimation of estrogen receptor content in fine-needle aspirates from breast cancer using the monoclonal antibody 1d5 and microwave oven processing: Correlation with paraffin embedded and frozen sections determinations

We describe a method of immunocytochemically assessing estrogen receptor (ER) status on alcohol-fixed smears obtained by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) from breast cancer patients, using a commercially available monoclonal antibody (1D5) with microwave oven processing. A series of 31 cases of aspirates from breast cancer were analysed and the results were compared with assessment by ER immunocytochemical assay using the same procedure on formalin-fixed tissue and with assessment by ER-ICA assay on frozen sections. The results were scored semiquantitatively using a five grade scoring system. Of the 31 cases examined, 21 were positive at least by two methods and 10 were negative for all three determinations. The results obtained in the ER immunocytochemical assay on aspirates and paraffin-sections using the antibody 1D5 and those obtained on frozen sections using the antibody H222 were closely similar. In only one case was it not possible to interpret the reaction in the cytological specimen because there was a strong background in the smear. In general, we obtained more intense positivity with the antibody 1D5 in aspirates and formalin-fixed material than with the antibody H222 in frozen sections. The scoring results of the three methods were almost identical. We conclude that the application of ER method on alcohol-fixed smears will eliminate the need for using a special fixation procedure and will provide several advantages, such as: improvement in morphological concomitant analysis, utilization whenever malignancy is found without necessity to re-aspirate the patient, and adequacy of archival material. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Soft-tissue angiomatosis in adulthood: a case in the forearm showing a prominent myxoid adipose tissue component mimicking liposarcoma

Soft-tissue angiomatosis is a rare condition characterized by diffuse proliferation of benign vascular structures, accompanied by mature adipose tissue, which affect a large segment of the body in a contiguous fashion. Most patients present in childhood or adolescence. We report a case of large soft-tissue angiomatosis, located in the left forearm of a 65-year-old man, which showed extensive intramuscular and intermuscular infiltration, and embracement of the radius and the main vascular and neural bundles of the forearm. Due to the deep location, large size, ill-defined limits and non-homogeneous composition with areas suggestive of an adipose component in the radiological examination, the lesion raised the possibility clinically of a liposarcoma. The myxoid adipose tissue component of the lesion, a feature previously undescribed, and the predominance of small, capillary-sized vessels were considered concordant with the clinical diagnosis. This presentation is rare. The features of the lesion made complete surgical excision impossible and amputation of the extremity was considered the best treatment. The main differential diagnoses include infiltrating lipoma, myxolipoma, angiomyxolipoma, angiolipoma, intramuscular angioma, liposarcoma and low-grade myxofibrosarcoma. In conclusion, angiomatosis might simulate liposarcoma, particularly if the mass is large, heterogeneous, myxoid and appears later in life.     

B7/BB-1 is a leucocyte differentiation antigen on human dendritic cells induced by activation.

Activation of a primary T-lymphocyte response requires additional signals apart from interaction of the T-cell receptor (TcR)/CD3 complex with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens on the antigen-presenting cell. The CD28 antigen on T lymphocytes provides an important co-stimulatory signal to T lymphocytes and we therefore searched for the presence of its ligand, the B7/BB-1 antigen, on blood and tonsil dendritic cells (DC). Blood DC, prepared from peripheral blood mononuclear cells with a minimal period of in vitro culture, did not stain with the monoclonal antibody BB-1 using flow cytometry analysis. In contrast, tonsil DC stained weakly for B7/BB-1 compared to positive control cell lines. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify a 605 base pair (bp) fragment from human B7/BB-1 mRNA and demonstrated significant amounts of B7/BB-1 mRNA in tonsil DC but no specific product was obtained from blood DC, confirming the surface-staining results. Weak expression of B7/BB-1 antigen was detected by immunofluorescence analysis following culture of blood DC with either interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). These data support the concept that blood DC give rise to tissue and/or lymphoid DC, which acquire co-stimulatory ligands as a result of activation and/or differentiation.     

Spontaneous waves in the dentate gyrus of slices from the ventral hippocampus

Spontaneous negative-going potentials occurring at an average frequency of 0.7 Hz were recorded from the dentate gyrus of slices prepared from the temporal hippocampus of young adult rats. These events (here termed "dentate waves") in several respects resembled the dentate spikes described for freely moving rats during immobile behaviors and slow-wave sleep. Action potentials were observed on the descending portion of the in vitro waves and, as expected from this, whole cell recordings established that the waves were composed of depolarizing currents. Dentate waves appeared to be locally generated within the granule cell layer and were greatly reduced by antagonists of AMPA-type glutamate receptors or by lesions to the entorhinal cortex. Simultaneous recordings indicated that the waves were often synchronized in the inner and outer blades of the dentate gyrus. Knife cuts through the perforant path and the commissural/associational system did not eliminate synchronization, leaving electrotonic propagation via gap junctions as its probable cause. In accord with this, cuts that separated the two blades of the dentate eliminated synchronization between them, and a compound that inhibits gap junctions reduced wave activity. Dentate waves were regularly accompanied by sharp waves in field CA3 and were reduced in size by the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, physostigmine. It is hypothesized that dentate waves occur when spontaneous glutamate release from dentate afferents produces action potentials in neighboring granule cells that then summate electrotonically into a population event; once initiated, the waves propagate, again electrotonically, and thereby engage a significant portion of the granule cell population.     

Brucella lumazine synthase elicits a mixed Th1-Th2 immune response and reduces infection in mice challenged with Brucella abortus 544 independently of the adjuvant formulation used

The immunogenicity and protective efficacy of recombinant lumazine synthase from Brucella spp. (rBLS) administered with different adjuvants was evaluated in mice. Mice were immunized with rBLS in the absence or the presence of aluminum hydroxide gel (BLS-Al), monophosphoryl lipid A (BLS-MPA), or incomplete Freund's adjuvant (BLS-IFA). rBLS per se induced a vigorous immunoglobulin G (IgG) response, with high titers of IgG1 as well as IgG2. All the adjuvants increased this response; the BLS-IFA formulation was the most effective at inducing BLS-specific IgG antibodies. In addition, after in vitro stimulation with rBLS, spleen cells from BLS-IFA-, BLS-Al-, or BLS-MPA-immunized mice proliferated and produced interleukin-2 (IL-2), gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), IL-10, and IL-4, suggesting the induction of a mixed Th1-Th2 response. Immunization with rBLS protected mice against challenge with B. abortus 544. The levels of protection in the spleen were similar for all adjuvants, but only BLS-Al and BLS-IFA were effective in the liver. Our results indicate that BLS might be a useful candidate for the development of subunit vaccines against brucellosis, since it elicits antigen-specific cellular responses, with production of IFN-gamma and protection, independently of the adjuvant formulation used.     

Impaired hair follicle morphogenesis and cycling with abnormal epidermal differentiation in nackt mice,a cathepsin L-deficient mutation

We previously described an autosomal-recessive mutation named nackt (nkt) exhibiting partial alopecia associated with CD4(+) T-cell deficiency. Also, we recently reported that nkt (now Ctsl(nkt)) comprises a deletion in the cathepsin L (Ctsl) gene. Another recent study reported that Ctsl knockout mice have CD4(+) T-cell deficiency and periodic shedding of hair, which recapitulate the nkt mutation and the old furless (fs) mutation. The current study focuses on the dermatological aspects of the nkt mutation. Careful histological analysis of skin development of homozygous nkt mice revealed a delayed hair follicle morphogenesis and late onset of the first catagen stage. The skin of Ctsl(nkt)/Ctsl(nkt) mice showed mild epidermal hyperplasia and hyperkeratosis, severe hyperplasia of the sebaceous glands, and structural alterations of hair follicles. Epidermal differentiation seems to be affected in nkt skin, with overexpression of involucrin and profilaggrin/filaggrin along with focal areas of keratin 6 expression in the interfollicular epidermis. Severe epidermal hyperplasia, acanthosis, orthokeratosis, and hyperkeratosis were only observed in mice maintained in nonpathogen-free environments. The analysis of Rag2-/- Ctsl(nkt)/Ctsl(nkt) double-mutant mice indicates that the skin defect remains under the absence of T and B cells. This animal model provides in vivo evidence that cysteine protease cathepsin L plays a critical role in hair follicle morphogenesis and cycling, as well as epidermal differentiation.     

Allele-Specific PCR Method Based on pncA and oxyR Sequences for Distinguishing Mycobacterium bovis from Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Intraspecific M. bovis pncA Sequence Polymorphism

An allele-specific amplification method based on two genetic polymorphisms to differentiate Mycobacterium tuberculosis from Mycobacterium bovis was tested. Based on the differences found at position 169 in the pncA genes from M. tuberculosis and M. bovis, a PCR system which was able to differentiate most of the 237 M. tuberculosis complex isolates tested in one of the two species was developed. All 121 M. tuberculosis strains showed the expected base (cytosine) at position 169. Most of the M. bovis isolates had a guanine at the cited position. Nevertheless, 18 of the 116 M. bovis isolates, all of them goat isolates, showed the pncA polymorphism specific to M. tuberculosis. These results suggest that goat M. bovis may be the nicotinamidase-missing link at the origin of the M. tuberculosis species. Based on the polymorphism found at position 285 in the oxyR gene, the same system was used to differentiate M. tuberculosis from M. bovis. In this case, DNAs from all 121 M. tuberculosis isolates had the expected base (guanine) at this position. In addition, all 116 M. bovis isolates, including those from goats, showed the identical polymorphism (adenine). The oxyR allele-specific amplification method can differentiate M. bovis from M. tuberculosis, is rapid (results can be obtained in less than 3 h), and is easy to perform.