人胚胎海马发育的形态学研究 Ⅴ.室管膜的发生

运用HE和Nissl染色、免疫组织化学法、透射电镜及扫描电镜，对60例6周至足月的人胚胎海马室管膜上皮变化进行了观察。发现胚胎发育过程中室管膜发生了剧烈变化。最早室管层神经上皮细胞为假复层柱状，随着未分化细胞向外迁徙，海马室管膜层神经上皮细胞迅速增殖，形成复层上皮。当室管膜层细胞停止迁徙时，室管膜开始向假复层柱状及单层柱状上皮转变。电镜观察，胚胎早期神经上皮细胞由未分化细胞构成；其特点是，细胞质内各种特化细胞器匮乏，但糖原丰富。15周左右未分化细胞开始向长突细胞及室管膜细胞分化。长突细胞电子密度高，底部有细长突起，表面有微绒毛，胞质内微丝丰富；而室管膜细胞电子密度低，底部无突起，但表面有丰富的纤毛。对长突细胞及免疫组化染色的GFAP阳性细胞进行形态和发育特征的比较，提示两者属同一类细胞。扫描电镜下，15周前室管膜表面微绒毛较多，以后纤毛逐步发育，大量密集纤毛布满于室管膜表面。此外，还能见到一类接触脑脊液神经元，这类神经元可为多极或双极，并有突起伸入室管膜上皮内。     

实时荧光定量RT-PCR监测恒河猴体内人/猴免疫缺陷病毒载量在传代过程中的变化

目的为分析中国SHIV/猕猴AIDS模型的病毒载量变化趋势,建立一种实时、灵敏、特异的针对人/猴免疫缺陷病毒的定量检测方法。方法体外转录制备RNA标准品,利用TaqManEZRT-PCR试剂盒的反应体系和针对SHIVgag保守区91个碱基的TaqMan探针和引物,建立一步法实时荧光定量RT-PCR。提取126份来自SHIV-CN97001感染恒河猴血浆病毒RNA并定量检测。结果利用梯度稀释的RNA标准品对反应体系进行优化,标准曲线下限达到2×102拷贝/ml,相关性(r>0.99)及重复性(CV=4.14%)均能达到测定要求。病毒载量的检测结果表明SHIV-CN97001在猴体内传代过程中病毒载量有先升后降的趋势,病毒载量通常在接种病毒或感染猴的全血后第14天达到高峰。血浆载量可达到105~106拷贝/ml。结论成功地建立了一步法定量SHIVRNA的实时荧光定量RT-PCR,为SHIV/恒河猴AIDS模型的建立与应用提供了灵敏的病毒载量检测方法。SHIV-CN97001的体内繁殖能力在猴体内传代过程中有所增强。     

Adenovirus-mediated intratumoral lymphotactin gene transfer potentiates the antibody-targeted superantigen therapy of cancer

Bacterial superantigens are extremely potent activators of murine and human T lymphocytes. To engineer superantigens for cancer immunotherapy, staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) was genetically fused to the Fab region of the human colon carcinoma-reactive monoclonal antibody (mAb) C215. Fusion protein C215Fab-SEA can trigger cytotoxic T cells against C215 antigen positive tumor cells and induce tumor-suppressive cytokines. However, the antitumor effect of C215Fab-SEA is often not satisfactory because of T cell deletion after activation and failure to induce potent CTL activity after repeated administration. Lymphotactin (Lptn) is a potent chemoattractant for T cells and NK cells. To improve the therapeutic efficacy of fusion protein C215Fab-SEA we investigated in this study the antitumor responses elicited by combination of C215Fab-SEA and adenovirus-mediated intratumoral Lptn gene transfer in the preestablished C215 antigen expressing B16 melanoma murine model. More significant inhibition of tumor growth and prolonged survival time were observed in tumor-bearing mice that received combined therapy of C215Fab-SEA and Ad-Lptn than those of mice treated with C215Fab-SEA or Ad-Lptn alone. The highest CTL activity of tumor-bearing mice was induced after combined therapy. Intratumoral coadministration of C215Fab-SEA and Ad-Lptn augmented splenic NK activity of tumor-bearing mice most markedly. Our data demonstrate that the in vivo antitumor effect of C215Fab-SEA immunotherapy is potentiated significantly by combination with intratumoral Lptn gene transfer through more efficient induction of specific and nonspecific antitumor immune responses.     

Expression of cytokeratins 7 and 20 in primary carcinomas of the stomach and colorectum and their value in the differential diagnosis of metastatic carcinomas to the ovary

The expressions of cytokeratin (CK) 7 and 20 have been studied in various primary and metastatic carcinomas, and their determination may help distinguish the site of origin of metastatic carcinomas. However, little is known about the factors that determine variations in their expression patterns in primary gastric and colorectal carcinomas. We investigated the expressions of CK7 and CK20 in 289 cases of gastric carcinoma and 225 cases of colorectal carcinoma using a tissue microarray. To evaluate CK7 and CK20 expression patterns of ovarian metastases from gastric or colorectal carcinomas, 54 cases of metastatic carcinomas to the ovary were examined. It was found that 71% (207 of 289) of the gastric carcinomas stained positively for CK7, whereas only 9% (21 of 225) of the colorectal carcinomas proved to be CK7 positive, and that 41% (117 of 289) of the gastric carcinomas and 73% (165 of 225) of the colorectal carcinomas were CK20 positive. The proportion of CK7+/CK20- was highest in the gastric carcinomas at 46% (132 of 289), and was independent of the histologic classification of Lauren (46% of the intestinal type, 45% of the diffuse type). The CK7 and CK20 expression patterns were different in colorectal carcinomas according to histologic grade and location of the tumor. CK7-/CK20+ had the greatest proportion (68%) in colorectal carcinomas, and this was dependent on the tumor's histologic grade (75% of low-grade versus 52% of high-grade) and location (46% of right-sided versus 76% of left-sided). Moreover, 42% (18 of 43) of gastric carcinomas metastatic to the ovary were CK7+/CK20-, whereas 19% (8 of 43) were CK7-/CK20+. All colorectal cancers metastatic to the ovary were CK7-/CK20+, except 1 case that was CK7-/CK20-. In conclusion, the CK7 and CK20 expression patterns in primary gastric carcinomas vary considerably, and those in colorectal carcinomas are associated with histologic grade and tumor location. The CK7-/CK20+ expression pattern is specific for metastatic colorectal carcinomas to the ovary, but has low predictability for colorectal origin in metastatic ovarian carcinoma.     

Primary pulmonary low-grade marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue type with prominent hyalinosis. A case report

We report a case of primary pulmonary low-grade marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT)-type with prominent sclerosis, which morphologically resembled pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma (PHG) or inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) of the lung. The patient, a 66-year-old Japanese female with a history of Sj?gren's syndrome and primary biliary cirrhosis, presented with a lower left lobe mass 6.8 cm in diameter. Histologically, the lesion is characterized by dense bundles of collagen with scattered plasma cells, mature small lymphocytes, and histiocytes among the collagen bundles. Only the peripheral area of the nodule contained dense lymphoplasmacytoid and histiocytoid infiltrates. A few centrocyte-like cells were obscured by the numerous plasma cells and plasmacytoid cells. In addition, lymphoepithelial lesions and colonalized lymphoid follicles were identified by immunohistochemistry alone. Although PHG and IPT are unlikely to be confused with pulmonary MALT-type lymphomas, the present case suggests that MALT-type lymphoma should be added to the list of differential diagnoses for PHG and IPT.     

Structure and immersion behavior of plasma-sprayed apatite-matrix coatings

The microstructure and properties of a series of plasma-sprayed coatings from sinter-granulated powders fabricated from SiO2, CaO, P2O5 and Na2O-containing HA composite powders on Ti-6Al-4V substrate were reported. The immersion behavior of these coatings in a simulated body fluid (SBF) was also investigated. The results showed that sinter-granulated apatite-matrix powders were irregularly shaped and appeared quite similar. XRD patterns showed that during fabrication of the powders, P2O5 and SiO2 enhanced the decomposition of HA structure, while CaO and Na2O did not. Reasonably high bond strengths (45-50 MPa) were obtained from all coatings. The plasma spray process itself enhanced the decomposition of apatite and chemical reactions among different phases. When immersed in SBF, the intensities of such phases as alpha- and beta-TCP in all coatings decreased with immersion time and an apatite precipitation took place on all coating surfaces. The immersed SiO2- and CaO-containing HA (HSC) coating had the highest rate of apatite precipitation among all coatings. The variations in calcium ion concentration in simulated body fluid indicated that the HSC-immersed solution reached its maximal Ca concentration the earliest, while the HSCP (HA, SiO2, CaO and P2O5)-immersed solution reached its maximum the latest.     

Lifestyle Risk Score: handling missingness of individual lifestyle components in meta-analysis of gene-by-lifestyle interactions

Recent studies consider lifestyle risk score (LRS), an aggregation of multiple lifestyle exposures, in identifying association of gene-lifestyle interaction with disease traits. However, not all cohorts have data on all lifestyle factors, leading to increased heterogeneity in the environmental exposure in collaborative meta-analyses. We compared and evaluated four approaches (Naïve, Safe, Complete and Moderator Approaches) to handle the missingness in LRS-stratified meta-analyses under various scenarios. Compared to “benchmark” results with all lifestyle factors available for all cohorts, the Complete Approach, which included only cohorts with all lifestyle components, was underpowered due to lower sample size, and the Naïve Approach, which utilized all available data and ignored the missingness, was slightly inflated. The Safe Approach, which used all data in LRS-exposed group and only included cohorts with all lifestyle factors available in the LRS-unexposed group, and the Moderator Approach, which handled missingness via moderator meta-regression, were both slightly conservative and yielded almost identical p values. We also evaluated the performance of the Safe Approach under different scenarios. We observed that the larger the proportion of cohorts without missingness included, the more accurate the results compared to “benchmark” results. In conclusion, we generally recommend the Safe Approach, a straightforward and non-inflated approach, to handle heterogeneity among cohorts in the LRS based genome-wide interaction meta-analyses.Subject terms: Genetics, Risk factors     

Differentiation of Campylobacter jejuni Serotype O19 Strains from Non-O19 Strains by PCR

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a neurologic disease characterized by acute paralysis, is frequently preceded by Campylobacter jejuni infection. Serotype O19 strains are overrepresented among GBS-associated C. jejuni isolates. We previously showed that all O19 strains tested were closely related to one another by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses. RAPD analysis demonstrated a 1.4-kb band in all O19 strains tested but in no non-O19 strains. We cloned this O19-specific band; nucleotide sequence analysis revealed a truncated open reading frame with significant homology to DNA gyrase subunit B (gyrB) of Helicobacter pylori. PCR using the random primer and a primer specific for gyrB showed that in non-O19 strains, the random primer did not recognize the downstream gyrB binding site. The regions flanking each of the random primer binding sites were amplified by degenerate PCR for further sequencing. Although the random primer had several mismatches with the downstream gyrB binding site, a single nucleotide polymorphism 6 bp upstream from the 3′ terminus was found to distinguish O19 and non-O19 strains. PCR using 3′-mismatched primers based on this polymorphism was designed to differentiate O19 strains from non-O19 strains. When a total of 42 (18 O19 and 24 non-O19) strains from five different countries were examined, O19 strains were distinguishable from non-O19 strains in each case. This PCR method should permit identification of O19 C. jejuni strains.     

Immunohistochemical evidence for a spinothalamic pathway co-containing cholecystokinin- and galanin-like immunoreactivities in the rat

Using indirect immunofluorescence technique combined with retrograde tracing as well as surgical lesions, a system of spinothalamic neurons containing both galanin- and cholecystokinin-like immunoreactivity has been defined. The cell bodies are located in the lumbar segments L1-L5 with a preferential localization dorsal to the central canal at rostral levels and lateral to the canal at caudal levels. The cells project via the ventral part of the lateral funiculus to the most ventral and posterior parts of thalamus. Here a distinct, varicose terminal network was seen extending caudally from an area lateral to the medial lemniscus, running medially over the medial lemniscus, traversing the parafascicular nucleus and running dorsal to the fasciculus retroflexus into the periventricular gray matter. Transection of various parts of the spinal cord as well as retrograde tracing experiments indicate that the spinothalamic galanin cholecystokinin system represents a crossed pathway. The present results demonstrate that a spinothalamic system can be characterized by its content of galanin- and cholecystokinin-like peptides, two putative messenger molecules. It is only a minor component of the total spinothalamic projection.