Congenital maldevelopment of intervertebral disc simulating a neurofibroma

Intervertebral disc herniation is a common cause of radiculopathy and myelopathy in adulthood. It is an uncommon tumor mimic. We report on an extradural disc associated with an osseous defect ostensibly caused by pressure erosion and appearing as a neural tumor. It showed homogeneous enhancement on a contrast-enhanced MR examination, leading to an erroneous diagnosis of nerve sheath tumor. An attempt has been made to explain the likely mechanism of formation accounting for the imaging appearances, along with a review of the literature.     

微小RNA-126基因在CD4+T细胞介导小鼠自身免疫性肠炎中的作用

目的 研究微小RNA-126(microRNA-126,miR-126)基因敲减(knock down,KD)对CD4+T细胞介导的自身免疫性结肠炎模型的影响并探讨其意义.方法 常规利用DSS溶液喂养野生型(WT)和miR-126基因敲减(miR-126KD)小鼠,诱导急性自身免疫性结肠炎模型.HE染色观察小鼠结肠组织病理变化;FACS检测CD4+T细胞的比例变化及其表面活化分子CD62L、CD44的表达;MACS分选出WT和miR-126KD小鼠脾脏中CD4+ CD62L+T细胞,CFSE染色标记后,分别经尾静脉转输给WT小鼠,再诱导自身免疫性结肠炎模型;HE染色观察结肠组织病理变化;FACS检测CFSE阳性CD4+T细胞表面活化分子CD62L、CD44的表达变化.结果 与对照组相比,miR-126KD小鼠肠组织绒毛缺失不完整,黏膜上皮出现较大溃疡,炎性细胞浸润增加;FACS结果显示,miR-126KD组小鼠CD4+T细胞比例和总数显著上调(P＜0.01);且高表达CD44,低表达CD62L;过继转输实验结果显示,miR-126KD小鼠CD4+T细胞转输组结肠组织损伤加重;同时,CFSE+细胞高表达CD44,低表达CD62L.结论 miR-126基因敲减加重葡聚糖硫酸钠所致肠炎的病变程度.     

Evaluation of methods for rapid detection of resistance to isoniazid and rifampin in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates collected in the Caribbean

The rapid identification of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is crucial for the timely initiation of appropriate antituberculosis therapy. The performance of the Genotype MTBDRplus assay was compared with that of the Bactec 460 TB system, a “gold standard” culture-based method. The Genotype MTBDRplus assay was quicker and more cost-effective for the detection of rifampin resistance, but it was not as good for the detection of isoniazid-resistant strains in our setting.     

The role of cathepsin C in Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome, prepubertal periodontitis, and aggressive periodontitis

We have previously reported that loss-of-function mutations in the cathepsin C gene (CTSC) result in Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome, an autosomal recessive condition characterized by palmoplantar keratosis and early-onset, severe periodontitis. Others have also reported CTSC mutations in patients with severe prepubertal periodontitis, but without any skin manifestations. The possible role of CTSC variants in more common types of non-mendelian, early-onset, severe periodontitis ("aggressive periodontitis") has not been investigated. In this study, we have investigated the role of CTSC in all three conditions. We demonstrate that PLS is genetically homogeneous and the mutation spectrum that includes three novel mutations (c.386T>A/p.V129E, c.935A>G/p.Q312R, and c.1235A>G/p.Y412C) in 21 PLS families (including eight from our previous study) provides an insight into structure-function relationships of CTSC. Our data also suggest that a complete loss-of-function appears to be necessary for the manifestation of the phenotype, making it unlikely that weak CTSC mutations are a cause of aggressive periodontitis. This was confirmed by analyses of the CTSC activity in 30 subjects with aggressive periodontitis and age-sex matched controls, which demonstrated that there was no significant difference between these two groups (1,728.7 +/- SD 576.8 micro moles/mg/min vs. 1,678.7 +/- SD 527.2 micro moles/mg/min, respectively, p = 0.73). CTSC mutations were detected in only one of two families with prepubertal periodontitis; these did not form a separate functional class with respect to those observed in classical PLS. The affected individuals in the other prepubertal periodontitis family not only lacked CTSC mutations, but in addition did not share the haplotypes at the CTSC locus. These data suggest that prepubertal periodontitis is a genetically heterogeneous disease that, in some families, just represents a partially penetrant PLS.     

Proposal of a Consensus Set of Hypervariable Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive-Unit–Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Loci for Subtyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing Isolates

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing strains represent targets of special importance for molecular surveillance of tuberculosis (TB), especially because they are associated with spread of multidrug resistance in some world regions. Standard 24-locus mycobacterial interspersed repetitive-unit–variable-number tandem-repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing lacks resolution power for accurately discriminating closely related clones that often compose Beijing strain populations. Therefore, we evaluated a set of 7 additional, hypervariable MIRU-VNTR loci for better resolution and tracing of such strains, using a collection of 535 Beijing isolates from six world regions where these strains are known to be prevalent. The typeability and interlaboratory reproducibility of these hypervariable loci were lower than those of the 24 standard loci. Three loci (2163a, 3155, and 3336) were excluded because of their redundant variability and/or more frequent noninterpretable results compared to the 4 other markers. The use of the remaining 4-locus set (1982, 3232, 3820, and 4120) increased the number of types by 52% (from 223 to 340) and reduced the clustering rate from 58.3 to 36.6%, when combined with the use of the standard 24-locus set. Known major clonal complexes/24-locus-based clusters were all subdivided, although the degree of subdivision varied depending on the complex. Only five single-locus variations were detected among the hypervariable loci of an additional panel of 92 isolates, representing 15 years of clonal spread of a single Beijing strain in a geographically restricted setting. On this calibrated basis, we propose this 4-locus set as a consensus for subtyping Beijing clonal complexes and clusters, after standard typing.     

Application of sensitive and specific molecular methods to uncover global dissemination of the major RDRio Sublineage of the Latin American-Mediterranean Mycobacterium tuberculosis spoligotype family

The Latin American-Mediterranean (LAM) family of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is believed to be the cause of approximately 15% of tuberculosis cases worldwide. Previously, we defined a prevalent sublineage of the LAM family in Brazil by a single characteristic genomic deletion designated RD(Rio). Using the Brazilian strains, we pinpoint an Ag85C(103) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (screened by restriction fragment length polymorphism [RFLP] analysis) that correctly identified all LAM family strains. Importantly, all RD(Rio) strains concomitantly possessed the RD174 deletion. These genetic signatures, along with a newly developed multiplex PCR for rapid differentiation between "wild-type" and RD(Rio) strains, were then used to analyze an international collection of M. tuberculosis strains. RD(Rio) M. tuberculosis was identified from four continents involving 11 countries. Phylogenetic analysis of the IS6110-RFLP patterns from representative RD(Rio) and LAM strains from Brazil, along with all representative clusters from a South African database, confirmed their genetic relatedness and transcontinental transmission. The Ag85C(103) SNP RFLP, as compared to results obtained using a PCR method targeting a LAM-restricted IS6110 element, correctly identified 99.8% of LAM spoligotype strains. Together, these tests were more accurate than spoligotyping at categorizing strains with indefinable spoligotypes and segregated true LAM strains from those with convergent spoligotypes. The fact that RD(Rio) strains were identified worldwide highlights the importance of this LAM family sublineage and suggests that this strain is a global threat that should be specifically targeted by public health resources. Our provision of simple and robust molecular methods will assist the evaluation of the LAM family and the RD(Rio) sublineage.     

默沙东的麻疹流行性腮腺炎风疹活病毒的三价疫苗应用25年的效果评估

到 1996年 4月底为止 ,默沙东的麻疹、流行性腮腺炎、风疹活病毒三价疫苗 (Ｍ -Ｍ -ＲⅡ ○R,含ＲＡ2 7/ 3风疹活病毒减毒株和加强型稳定剂 )在全世界范围内应用已有 2 5年整 ,在那些完全采用这种疫苗的国家中 ,麻疹、流行性腮腺炎及风疹的发病率均下降 99%以上 ;遏制或停止了这些传染病在国内传播。我们根据已经使用了 1 6 3亿份剂量的疫苗数据 ,回顾了所有上报美国默克公司 (ＷｅｓｔＰｏｉｎｔ,ＰＡ ,ＵＳＡ)以及文献报导中记载的有关接种后不良反应的情况 (不管其是否与疫苗有因果关系 )。总不良反应的报告率为 17 4 / 10 0万 ,在 10年…     

CC chemokine receptor-2A is frequently overexpressed in glioblastoma

Macrophages and monocytes migrate in response to chemotactic cytokines such as monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1/CCL2) in a variety of tissues including the central nervous system. Overexpression of MCP-1 has been reported in glioblastoma (GBM), which correlates to prominent macrophage infiltration characterized by this tumor type, but whether MCP-1 receptor is also expressed by the neoplastic cells remains unclear. Expression of MCP-1 and its receptor, CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), were examined in GBM using cDNA microarrays and validated in two independent microarray datasets. We investigated the expression of the CCR2A isoform in human glioma cell lines and GBM, and found overexpression of CCR2A in most GBM specimens examined when compared to normal brain tissues. CCR2A is mainly localized in the cytoplasm of neoplastic cells, and pronounced neuronal cytoplasmic CCR2A immunoreactivity in tumor-infiltrating area was associated with prior chemo/radiation therapy. Glioma cells ectopically overexpressing CCR2A demonstrated increased migration compared to vector-transfected cells in vitro. Inhibition of MCP-1 synthesis suppressed migration of CCR2A-overexpressed glioma cells. Our data suggest that CCR2A might be associated with the pathobiology of GBM such as host response to treatment and tumor cell migration.