Laparoscopic‐endoscopic cooperative surgery for ileal lipoma: A case report

This is the first report of laparoscopic‐endoscopic cooperative surgery (LECS) for an ileal tumor. A 50‐year‐old man was admitted to our hospital with a positive fecal occult blood test. Colonoscopy detected a submucosal tumor with intussusception located in the ileum, 10 cm oral from the Bauhin valve. On further examination, he was diagnosed with an ileal lipoma. There were no signs of malignancy. LECS was performed for the ileal tumor. After submucosal elevation by injecting saline solution, a mucosal incision was made circumferentially along the tumor. A full‐thickness incision was created endoscopically and laparoscopically on the circumferential mucosal incisional line. The tumor was withdrawn intraluminally by endoscopy. The defect of the ileal wall was closed laparoscopically in an axial direction with linear staplers. Histologically, the tumor was a 25‐mm ileal lipoma with negative resection margins and no malignancy.     

Platelets prevent acute liver damage after extended hepatectomy in pigs

Background/Purpose

Platelets develop tissue repair and promote liver regeneration. We investigated whether platelets prevented acute liver damage after extended hepatectomy in pigs.

Methods

Thrombocytosis was induced by the following two methods; afterwards 80% hepatectomy was performed in pigs. In the first method, the pigs received administration of thrombopoietin [TPO (+) group], and they were compared with a control group [TPO (?) group]. In the second method, the pigs received a splenectomy [Sp (+) group], and theywere compared with another control group [Sp (?) group]. Platelet counts, biochemical examination of blood, and histopathological findings of the residual liver were examined.

Results

Serum aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and total bilirubin (T-Bil) levels were significantly decreased in the thrombocytotic groups compared with the control groups in the early period after hepatectomy. In the histopathological findings, hemorrhagic necrosis with a bile plug was observed in the control groups, but this phenomenon was not observed in the thrombocytotic groups. On transmission electron microscopy, the sinusoidal endothelial lining was destroyed and detached into the sinusoidal space with enlargement of Disse??s spaces in the thrombocytotic groups, but these findings were not observed in the control groups.

Conclusion

An increased number of platelets prevents acute liver damage after extended hepatectomy.     

Genotyping and phylogenetic analysis of the major genes in respiratory syncytial virus isolated from infants with bronchiolitis

We performed the genotyping and phylogenetic analysis of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) isolated from 17 infants with bronchiolitis in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan in 2005 and 2006. The major genes in these samples (attachment [G] glycoprotein gene, fusion [F] protein gene, and nucleoprotein [N] gene) were sequenced and analyzed genetically. Phylogenetic analysis of these genes revealed that 7 and 10 strains could be classified into subgroups A and B, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of the G gene revealed that the subgroup A and B strains were unique genotypes GA2 and BA, respectively. Moreover, the amino acid sequences for these genotypes suggested a relatively high frequency of amino acid substitutions in the G and F proteins in these strains, whereas the N protein was highly homologous. These results suggest that RSV genotypes GA2 and BA may be associated with bronchiolitis in the cases studied here.     

Acute generalized pustular bacterid concomitant with erythema nodosum,polyarthritis, and Achilles tendinitis

We report a case of acute generalized pustular bacterid (AGPB) concomitant with erythema nodosum (EN), polyarthritis, and Achilles tendinitis. The patient was admitted with a complaint of fever, widespread plural pustules, erythema, and polyarthralgia. Histopathological examination of the skin lesions demonstrated features of AGBP and EN. Although arthralgia and AGPB can be recognized together, EN and Achilles tendinitis are rare manifestations seen in patients with AGPB. In this case report, we suggest arthralgia, EN, and Achilles tendinitis could coexist with AGPB.     

In vitro and in vivo effects of bone marrow stem cells on cardiac structure and function

It is hypothesized that the protection of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) on ischemic myocardium might be related to the anti-apoptotic effect via paracrine mechanisms. In this study, a wide array of cytokines including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were detected in the BMSCs cultured medium by ELISA. Myocyte apoptosis was assayed by DNA fragmentation and annexin-V staining. Myocardial infarction model was produced by ligation of mouse left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). Before LAD ligation, mice were myoablated by irradiation and transplanted with bone marrow cells from transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP). After LAD ligation, animals were administered stem cell factor (SCF, 200 mug/day/kg, i.p.) or saline for 6 days. Animals were sacrificed at 4 weeks after SCF treatment. Apoptotic cardiomyocytes were analyzed by TUNEL. Myocardial function was analyzed by echocardiography and pressure-volume system. Bcl-2 protein was analyzed by Western blotting. Our results showed that cultured BMSCs released VEGF, bFGF, SDF-1 and IGF-1. Hypoxia-induced cell apoptosis was diminished in cardiomyocytes co-cultured with BMSCs. Smaller LV dimension and increased LV ejection fraction were seen in SCF-treated animals. SCF significantly reduced cardiomyocytes apoptosis within peri-infarct area and increased up-regulation expression of Bcl-2 in ischemic area. Moreover, conditioned medium from cultured BMSCs also induced up-regulation of Bcl-2 protein in cardiomyocytes. It is concluded that paracrine mediators secreted by BMSCs might be involved in early repair of ischemic heart by preventing cardiomyocytes apoptosis and improving cardiac function.     

Bone marrow stem cells prevent left ventricular remodeling of ischemic heart through paracrine signaling

In this study, we hypothesized that bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) protect ischemic myocardium through paracrine effects that can be further augmented with preconditioning. In in vitro experiments, cell survival factors such as Akt and eNOS were significantly increased in BMSCs following anoxia. In the second series of experiments following coronary ligation in mice, left ventricles were randomly injected with the following: DMEM (G-1), BMSCs (G-2), and preconditioned BMSCs (G-3). Four days after myocardial infarction, BMSCs were observed within injured myocardium in G-2 and G-3. Apoptotic cardiomyocytes within periinfarct area were significantly reduced in G-3. Four weeks after myocardial infarction, smaller left ventricular (LV) dimension and increased LV ejection fraction were observed in G-3. Infarct area was significantly reduced in G-3. However, GFP+ cardiomyocytes were observed in low numbers within periinfarct area in G-2 and G-3. In conclusion, BMSCs secreted cell survival factors under ischemia, and they prevented apoptosis in cardiomyocytes adjacent to the infarcted area. Preconditioning of BMSCs enhanced their survival and ability to attenuate LV remodeling, which was attributable, in part, to paracrine effects.     

Glutamate Networks Implicate Cognitive Impairments in Schizophrenia: Genome-Wide Association Studies of 52 Cognitive Phenotypes

Cognitive impairments are a core feature in patients with schizophrenia. These deficits could serve as effective tools for understanding the genetic architecture of schizophrenia. This study investigated whether genetic variants associated with cognitive impairments aggregate in functional gene networks related to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Here, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of a range of cognitive phenotypes relevant to schizophrenia were performed in 411 healthy subjects. We attempted to replicate the GWAS data using 257 patients with schizophrenia and performed a meta-analysis of the GWAS findings and the replicated results. Because gene networks, rather than a single gene or genetic variant, may be strongly associated with the susceptibility to schizophrenia and cognitive impairments, gene-network analysis for genes in close proximity to the replicated variants was performed. We observed nominal associations between 3054 variants and cognitive phenotypes at a threshold of P < 1.0 × 10^{− 4}. Of the 3054 variants, the associations of 191 variants were replicated in the replication samples (P < .05). However, no variants achieved genome-wide significance in a meta-analysis (P > 5.0 × 10^{− 8}). Additionally, 115 of 191 replicated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have genes located within 10 kb of the SNPs (60.2%). These variants were moderately associated with cognitive phenotypes that ranged from P = 2.50 × 10^{− 5} to P = 9.40 × 10^{− 8}. The genes located within 10 kb from the replicated SNPs were significantly grouped in terms of glutamate receptor activity (false discovery rate (FDR) q = 4.49 × 10^{− 17}) and the immune system related to major histocompatibility complex class I (FDR q = 8.76 × 10^{− 11}) networks. Our findings demonstrate that genetic variants related to cognitive trait impairment in schizophrenia are involved in the N-methyl-d-aspartate glutamate network.Key words: schizophrenia, genome-wide association study, cognitive phenotypes, glutamate receptor activity, immune function, functional gene network     

Potential prognostic implications of myocardial thallium-201 and iodine-123-beta-methylpentadecanoic acid dual scintigraphy in patients with Anderson–Fabry disease

Annals of Nuclear Medicine - Information on the relationship between myocardial damage assessed by myocardial scintigraphy and prognosis in patients with Anderson–Fabry disease (AFD) is...     

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N8) Virus Clade 2.3.4.4b,Western Siberia,Russia, 2020

Two variants of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) virus were detected in dead poultry in Western Siberia, Russia, during August and September 2020. One variant was represented by viruses of clade 2.3.4.4b and the other by a novel reassortant between clade 2.3.4.4b and Eurasian low pathogenicity avian influenza viruses circulating in wild birds.