Long-term glial reactivity in rat retinas ipsilateral and contralateral to experimental glaucoma

Although glaucoma is known to alter glial reactivity, the long-term effect of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) on glial change has not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to examine how chronically elevated IOP induced by episcleral vein cauterization (EVC) in unilateral eyes affect reactivities of astrocytes and Müller cells of rats in the treated as well as contralateral eyes over time. EVC in unilateral eyes of Sprague-Dawley rats were performed to produce chronically elevated IOP. Flat mounted retina preparations were made at several points until 6 months, which were subjected to immunostaining for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Retinal homogenates were one- or two-dimensionally electrophoresed, followed by GFAP immunoblotting. EVC significantly increased IOPs up to 27.8 from 13.1 mmHg, which gradually decreased over time. In flat mounted retinas, astrocytes lost but Müller cells gained GFAP immunoreactivity at 3 days after cauterization. The glial changes were partially reversed over time but last even after IOP normalization. In the contralateral eyes, similar glial changes gradually appeared at 1 month after EVC and thereafter. Immunoblotting demonstrated not only molecular size shifts but also alteration of isoelectric focusing of GFAP both in treated and contralateral retina as compared with age-matched control retina. EVC led to opposite reactions in astrocytes and Müller cells in terms of GFAP immunoreactivity. Late-onset glial reactivity also occurred in the contralateral retina.     

A black adrenal adenoma difficult to be differentiated from a malignant adrenal tumor by CT,MRI, scintigraphy and FDG PET/CT examinations

Black adrenal adenoma (BAA) is an adrenal adenoma which contains lipofuscin and has a black or brown appearance. Preoperative diagnosis of BAA is difficult because it is diagnosed by pathologic findings. We report a case of an incidentally discovered non-hyperfunctioning BAA in the left adrenal gland of a 58-year-old man. It showed an oval lipid-poor mass, 3 cm × 2 cm in size on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), no avid uptake of ¹³¹I-norcholesterol and ¹²³I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) on scintigraphy, and intense avid uptake of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) on positron emission tomography–CT (PET/CT). FDG PET/CT showed that it was a hypermetabolic lesion, more intense than the activity of the liver, and the maximum standardized uptake value was 5.6 on 1-h early imaging and 8.3 on 2-h delayed imaging, suggesting a malignant tumor. BAA is a clinically rare benign adrenal adenoma, but it should be kept in mind that BAA may exhibit false-positive results for malignancy or inconclusive results for benignity with modern imaging modalities including CT, MRI, adrenal scintigraphy with radiolabelled cholesterol and radiolabelled MIBG, and FDG-PET like this case.     

A role of oral bacteria in bisphosphonate-induced osteonecrosis of the jaw

No consensus has yet been reached to associate oral bacteria conclusively with the etio-pathogenesis of bisphosphonate-induced osteonecrosis of the jaw (BONJ). Therefore, the present study examined the effects of oral bacteria on the development of BONJ-like lesions in a mouse model. In the pamidronate (Pam)-treated mice, but not control non-drug-treated mice, tooth extraction followed by oral infection with Fusobacterium nucleatum caused BONJ-like lesions and delayed epithelial healing, both of which were completely suppressed by a broad-spectrum antibiotic cocktail. Furthermore, in both in vitro and in vivo experiments, the combination of Pam and Fusobacterium nucleatum caused the death of gingival fibroblasts (GFs) and down-regulated their production of keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), which induces epithelial cell growth and migration. Therefore, in periodontal tissues pre-exposed to bisphosphonate, bacterial infection at tooth extraction sites caused diminished KGF expression in GFs, leading to a delay in the epithelial wound-healing process that was mitigated by antibiotics.     

Expression and possible immune-regulatory function of ghrelin in oral epithelium

Originally found in stomach mucosa, ghrelin is a peptide appetite hormone that has been implicated as an immuno-modulatory factor. Ghrelin has also been found in salivary glands and saliva; however, its expression patterns and biological properties in the oral cavity remain unclear. Therefore, we investigated the expression patterns of ghrelin in saliva, gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), and gingival tissue, as well as its in vitro effects on IL-8 production by TNF-α or LPS-stimulated oral epithelial cells. In the clinical samples obtained from 12 healthy volunteers, the concentration of ghrelin in GCF remarkably exceeded that detected in saliva. The expression of ghrelin mRNAs and growth hormone secretagogue (GHS) receptors could be detected in human oral epithelial cells. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed the expression of ghrelin in gingival epithelium, as well as in fibroblasts in the lamina propria. Ghrelin increased intracellular calcium mobilization and cAMP levels in oral epithelial cells, suggesting that ghrelin acts on epithelial cells to induce cell signaling. Furthermore, synthetic ghrelin inhibited the production of IL-8 from TNF-α or LPS-stimulated oral epithelial cells. These results indicate that ghrelin produced in the oral cavity appears to play a regulatory role in innate immune responses to inflammatory infection.     

Loss of O 6-Methylguanine-DNA Methyltransferase Protein Expression Is a Favorable Prognostic Marker in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Although aberrant promoter hypermethylation of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) is a favorable prognostic marker in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), MGMT protein expression has not been thoroughly examined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical implication of MGMT protein expression and its correlation with promoter hypermethylation of the gene. We investigated MGMT protein expression by immunohistochemical analysis of 63 DLBCL patients who received cyclophosphamide as part of multidrug regimens. In addition, promoter methylation of the MGMT gene was analyzed by a methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction assay, and correlations with chemotherapeutic effect and prognosis were statistically evaluated. Immunohistochemical assay results for MGMT protein were negative in 30.2% of patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL. Immunostaining results were closely correlated with the methylation status of the promoter. Promoter DNA methylation of the gene was not detected in 34 (81.0%) of 42 tumor samples determined to be MGMT-positive DLBCL by immunostaining and was detected in 15 (88.2%) of 17 cases of MGMT-negative DLBCL. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were significantly higher in MGMT-negative patients than in MGMT-positive patients (5-year OS, 81.3% versus 56.6% [P = .0375]; 5-year DFS, 66.3% versus 39.9% [P = .0121]). The combined rate for complete response (CR) plus unconfirmed CR was significantly higher in MGMT-negative patients (15/19, 79.0%) than in MGMT-positive patients (25/44, 56.8%) (P = .0488). A multivariate analysis showed that absence of MGMT expression was an independent prognostic factor for OS (relative risk, 4.09; P = .0258). Lack of MGMT protein expression is associated with aberrant promoter DNA methylation and appears to be a useful marker for predicting the survival of DLBCL patients.