Haematology of Persian Fallow Deer ( Dama mesopotamica )

The haematology of Persian fallow deer was studied and the means of various parameters were determined for sex and age groups. For total samples, the mean ± standard deviation of haematological parameters were: red blood cells (RBC), 7.42 ± 1.27 × 10¹²/l; haematocrit (PCV), 38.83 ± 7.38%; haemoglobin (Hb), 148.0 ± 17.3 g/l; mean cell volume (MCV), 50.84 ± 7.26 fl; mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), 20.17 ± 1.98 pg; mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), 38.71 ± 3.88%; white blood cells (WBC) 3.200 ± 1.697 × 10⁹/l; neutrophils, 1.410 ± 0.446 × 10⁹/l, lymphocytes, 1.382 ± 1.116 × 10⁹/l, monocytes, 0.048 ± 0.100 × 10⁹/l, eosinophils, 0.341 ± 0.339 × 10⁹/l, basophils, 0.009 ± 0.005 × 10⁹/l, neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (N:L), 2.11 ± 2; platelets, 354.8 ± 116.62 × 10⁹/l and fibrinogen, 2.855 ± 1.126 g/l. Three types of haemoglobin were separated by electrophoresis: HbC with higher migration, HbB and HbA with lowest movement. Significant differences were seen for RBC, MCV, MCH, HbC, and HbB concentrations between sexes.     

Detection of toxoplasmosis in patients with end-stage renal disease by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and polymerase chain reaction methods

Toxoplasmosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic infection. In healthy individuals, the infection is largely asymptomatic, but in immunocompromised people the parasite can become widely disseminated, causing severe toxoplasmosis. In patients undergoing haemodialysis, the phagocytic process shows a highly significant impairment. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate toxoplasmosis in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing haemodialysis in Ahvaz hospitals, southwest of Iran. A total of 280 patients and 100 healthy subjects participated in this study. The presence of serum IgM and IgG antibodies against T. gondii was detected by ELISA and the presence of Toxoplasma parasites in whole blood was evaluated by GRA6 PCR. Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were detected in 82 (29.3 %) haemodialysis patients and 26 (26 %) controls. In addition, anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies were detected in 7.9 % of patients and in 4 % of controls. For both the antibodies, the differences were statistically significant (P?<?0.05). PCR was performed with DNA extracted from blood samples of all patients and controls. PCR gave positive results with four of the 280 blood samples from patients but none for the control blood samples. The results revealed a high percentage of positivity for Toxoplasma antibodies in patients with ESRD undergoing haemodialysis and also confirmed the parasite in whole blood, indicating disseminated infection in these patients. Patients undergoing dialysis have a higher rate of active infection with Toxoplasma likely due to reactivation of a chronic infection. Thus, parasitological examinations of ESRD patients should be periodically carried out for monitoring and evaluating the possible dissemination of toxoplasmosis during haemodialysis.     

Evaluation of multiple component relaxation training with developmentally disabled persons

Prior studies evaluating the response of developmentally disabled persons to relaxation training procedures are largely limited to case study reports. Most often relaxation training procedures are vaguely described in these studies, and limited outcome measures are employed. In the present comparative group outcome study a specific progressive muscle relaxation training procedure was combined with auditory electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback, modeling, and reinforcement procedures in an attempt to teach relaxation skills to mentally retarded persons (N = 32) who functioned in the profound to mild range. The procedure was effective in reducing experimental group subjects' EMG levels, F (1,28) = 6.39, p less than .05, and activity level as measured with an interval recording behavior rating procedure, F (1,28) = 58.05, p less than .05. No effect was found on peripheral skin temperature. Additionally, no significant difference between the response of low functioning and high functioning subjects was seen indicating that intellectual level and adaptive behavior level failed to predict success in treatment. Scoring on a simple behavioral assessment designed to measure receptive language skills and modeling abilities thought to relate to relaxation training success also failed to correlate with outcome measures. The need to develop other predictors of relaxation training success with a mentally retarded population is discussed.     

Outcome of renal transplantation in children: a multi-center national report from Iran

The outcome of pediatric renal transplantation was previously reported by a single-center study at the year 2006. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate and report the characteristics and outcome of renal pediatric renal transplantation in a multi-center nationwide study. In this nationwide report, medical records of 907 children (≤18yr) with renal transplantation in eight major pediatric transplant centers of Iran were recorded. These 907 patients received a total of 922 transplants. All children who failed to follow-up were excluded. Rather than baseline characteristics, graft and patient outcomes were considered for survival analysis. For further analysis, they were divided into two groups: patients who had graft survival time more than 10yr (n=91) and the ones with graft survival time of equal or less than 10yr (n=831). Of 922 recipients, 515 (55.8%) were boys and 407 (44.2%) were girls with the mean age of 13.10 (s.d.=3.54) yr. DGF and AR were occurred in 10% and 39.5% of the transplanted children, respectively. Transplantation year, dialyzing status before transplantation, DGF, and AR were significant enough to predict graft survival in cox regression model (overall model: p<0.001). Nowadays, there is a successful live donor pediatric renal transplantation in Iran. Graft survival has improved in our recipients and now the graft survival rates are near to international standards.     

Implementation of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded cell line pellets as high-quality process controls in quality assessment programs for KRAS mutation analysis

In recent years, the mutational status of the KRAS oncogene has become incorporated into standard medical care as a predictive marker for therapeutic decisions related to patients with metastasized colorectal cancer. This is necessary, because these patients benefit from epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted therapy with increased progression-free survival only if the tumor does not carry a mutation in KRAS. Many different analytical platforms, both those commercially available and those developed in house, have been used within pathology laboratories to assess KRAS mutational status. For a testing laboratory to become accredited to perform such tests, it is essential that they perform reliability testing, but it has not previously been possible to perform this kind of testing on the complete workflow on a large scale without compromising reproducibility or the mimicry of the control sample. We assessed a novel synthetic control for formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor samples in a blind study conducted within nine laboratories across Europe. We show that FFPE material can, at least in part, mimic clinical samples and we demonstrate this control to be a valuable tool in the assessment of platforms used in testing for KRAS mutational status.     

C‐X‐C chemokine receptor 7

BACKGROUND:

C‐X‐C chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and CXCR7 are 7‐transmembrane chemokine receptors of the stroma‐derived factor (SDF‐1). CXCR4, but not CXCR7, has been examined in bladder cancer (BCa). This study examined the functional and clinical significance of CXCR7 in BCa.

METHODS:

CXCR4 and CXCR7 levels were measured in BCa cell lines, tissues (normal = 25; BCa = 44), and urine specimens (n = 186) by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and/or immunohistochemistry. CXCR7 function in BCa cells were examined by transient transfections using a CXCR7 expression vector or small interfering RNA.

RESULTS:

In BCa cell lines, CXCR7 messenger RNA levels were 5‐ to 37‐fold higher than those for CXCR4. Transient overexpression of CXCR7 in BCa cell lines promoted growth and chemotactic motility. CXCR7 colocalized and formed a functional complex with epidermal growth factor receptor, phosphoinositide 3‐kinase/Akt, Erk, and src and induced their phosphorylation. CXCR7 also induced up‐regulation of cyclin‐D1 and bcl‐2. Suppression of CXCR7 expression reversed these effects and induced apoptosis. CXCR7 messenger RNA levels and CXCR7 staining scores were significantly (5‐ to 10‐fold) higher in BCa tissues than in normal tissues (P < .001). CXCR7 expression independently associated with metastasis (P = .019) and disease‐specific mortality (P = .03). CXCR7 was highly expressed in endothelial cells in high‐grade BCa tissues when compared to low‐grade BCa and normal bladder. CXCR7 levels were elevated in exfoliated urothelial cells from high‐grade BCa patients (P = .0001; 90% sensitivity; 75% specificity); CXCR4 levels were unaltered.

CONCLUSIONS:

CXCR7 promotes BCa cell proliferation and motility plausibly through epidermal growth factor receptor receptor and Akt signaling. CXCR7 expression is elevated in BCa tissues and exfoliated cells and is associated with high‐grade and metastasis. Cancer 2013. © 2012 American Cancer Society.