Cervicovaginal (Papanicolaou) smear findings in patients with malignant mixed Müllerian tumors

Malignant mixed Müllerian tumor is a rare neoplasm that occurs most frequently in elderly patients. It is characterized by a mixture of malignant epithelial and sarcomatous components. Little has been published about Papanicolaou smear findings pertaining to malignant mixed Müllerian tumors. We present our experience, with an emphasis on cytologic detail. Nine patients (median age, 65 yr) met our study criteria. All available smears and surgical specimens were reviewed. Four smears were positive for malignancy, with a sensitivity of 44% (3 adenocarcinoma, and 1 squamous-cell carcinoma, small-cell type). The results of our study showed that Papanicolaou smear findings pertaining to malignant mixed Müllerian tumors are seen in patients with advanced-stage disease with involvement of the lower uterine segment or cervix. The usual finding is large numbers of high-grade epithelial malignant cells in a necrotic background. The mesenchymal component rarely sheds cells visible on Papanicolaou smear.     

Epidemiology of the most frequent diseases in the European a-symptomatic post-menopausal women. Is there any difference between Ireland and the rest of Europe?

Osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and genitourinary diseases are some of the most frequently diagnosed diseases in a-symptomatic post-menopausal women. There is a marked European geographic distribution of osteoporosis. Rates are higher in Scandinavia than in the Southern European countries. The possible reasons for this higher incidence of osteoporotic fractures in the Northern European countries is associated with the climate, which limits physical activity and exposure to sunlight and increases the risk of falls. During the next two decades, the number of hip fractures for European women over 65 years is expected to nearly double. Despite these figures, osteoporosis prevention has not yet been adopted in many European countries. There is a devastating impact and a huge financial burden on the European economy and health care system. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in females in Europe. The regions of highest incidence are Western and Northern Europe, while Southern and Eastern Europe have lower incidence rates. The causes of differences in breast cancer incidences between Northern and Southern Europe are not known, but the average 5-year survival of women with breast cancer has increased in Europe in the last three decades. Studies have revealed marked differences in cardiovascular diseases across Europe, showing cardiovascular death rates as highest among the Eastern and Central European countries and lowest in the Mediterranean countries. Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of mortality in European women. However, in North European countries, there are more ischaemic heart diseases in women than in Mediterranean countries. In Mediterranean countries, on the other hand, there are more strokes than in Northern Europe. These strokes events occur 10 years later than the ischaemic heart attacks.     

Both Th1 and Th2 cells require P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 for optimal rolling on inflamed endothelium

The acquisition of homing receptors that redirect lymphocyte trafficking to nonlymphoid tissues after antigen encounter is a fundamental aspect of effector T-cell development. Although a role for selectins and their ligands has been well characterized for trafficking of Th1 cells to nonlymphoid sites, mechanisms responsible for Th2 trafficking are not well understood. Using a flow chamber system in which the endothelial interactions of two distinct T-cell populations could be examined simultaneously, we directly compared the requirements for Th1 and Th2 cell tethering and rolling. We found that although Th2 cells expressed significantly lower levels of selectin ligands than Th1 cells, activation of the endothelium by Th2-derived factors induced rolling interactions that were comparable for both Th1 and Th2 populations. Further, in the absence of PSGL-1, no other adhesion molecule could effectively compensate for lack of PSGL-1 to mediate rolling of either Th1 or Th2 cells. Thus, both Th1 and Th2 populations express functional PSGL-1-based selectin ligands for tethering and rolling on activated endothelium, and both effector populations can use PSGL-1 as the dominant scaffold for functional selectin ligand expression.     

Hormonal and metabolic response to three types of exercise of equal duration and external work output

Summary Five normal men, aged 20–30 years, participated in three types of exercise (I, II, III) of equal duration (20 min) and total external work output (120–180 kJ) separated by ten days of rest. Exercises consisted of seven sets of squats with barbells on the shoulders (I; Maximal Power Output _max=600−900 W), continuous cycling at 50 rev · min⁻¹ (II; _max=100−150 W) and seven bouts of intermittent cycling at 70 rev · min⁻¹ (III; _max=300−450 W). Plasma cortisol, glucagon and lactate increased significantly (P<0.05) during the exercise and recovery periods of the anaerobic, intermittent exercise (I and III) but not in the continuous, aerobic exercise (II). No consistent significant changes were found in plasma glucose. Plasma insulin levels decreased only during exercise II. The highest increase in cortisol and glucagon was not associated with the highest , , _max or HR; however it was associated with the anaerobic component of exercise (lactic acid). It is suggested that in exercises of equal duration and total external work output, the continuous, aerobic exercise (II) led to lowest levels of glucogenic hormones.     

Post-awakening cortisol secretion during basic military training.

Salivary free cortisol concentrations in the first 30 min after awakening were assessed in 12 healthy army recruits at the beginning, middle and end of an 11-week intensive physical training course. To ensure strict adherence to protocol saliva collection was supervised and collected on each sampling day immediately on waking and again 15 and 30 min later. Self-rated psychological assessments of state levels of stress, arousal and fatigue were performed in the evening of each sampling day. A within-subjects repeated-measures analysis of participants who completed the course (12 of the original 20) showed a significant main effect of cortisol concentration across all three sampling points after awakening (F((2,22))=54.516, p<0.0001) and a significant main effect of weeks into the training course (F((3,33))=4.390, p=0.010). Further analysis of this effect of measurement-week revealed that at weeks 3 and 6 total cortisol secretion estimated by area under the curve was lower (F((3,33))=4.602, p=0.008) compared to the beginning and end of the course. Surprisingly self-reported stress, arousal and fatigue did not differ significantly across weeks, despite the large dropout rate (40%) and self-evident pressures of the course. We conclude that when controlling for many confounding variables, including participant adherence, post-awakening cortisol levels are sensitive to stressful challenge over a period of weeks.     

Taurine reduces high glucose induced leukocyte–endothelial interactions via down-regulation of ICAM-1

Taurine is a semiessential amino acid and naturally occurring antioxidant. One of its main roles is to protect tissues against attack by chlorinated oxidants particularly hypochlorous acid (HOCl). It is found in high concentrations in neutrophils and previous studies showed it possesses potent antimicrobial properties and attenuates high glucose induced endothelial cell apoptosis. In humans taurine has been shown to up-regulate constitutive nitric oxide synthase (cNOS), a known cytoprotector.
No reported studies to date have looked at the possible therapeutic role of taurine in preventing diabetic endothelial dysfunction. We therefore hypothesised that taurine would attenuate the microvascular changes associated with hyperglycaemia in an animal model through alteration of leucocyte–endothelial interactions.
Male Sprague Dawley rats were randomised into control, hyperglycaemia, and taurine + hyperglycaemia groups. Taurine was gavaged (200 mg/kg) for 5 d prior to the experiment. Hyperglycaemia was established by intravenous infusion of 50% glucose. Blood glucose reached a steady state of 3 times baseline at 30 min. Using intravital microscopy leukocyte rolling, adhesion and transendothelial migration was determined in mesenteric postcapillary venules for 3 h. Intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) was immunohistochemically graded using a scoring system to determine the expression in mesenteric tissue.
Taurine pretreatment significantly attenuates leukocyte-endothelial adhesion and transendothelial migration following acute hyperglycaemia but not leukocyte rolling velocity. The mechanism by which taurine protects against these effects is in part by inhibition of ICAM-1 expression .  

      

89.

Enhanced lung injury and delayed clearance of Pneumocystis carinii in surfactant protein A-deficient mice: attenuation of cytokine responses and reactive oxygen-nitrogen species          下载免费PDF全文

Atochina EN  Beck JM  Preston AM  Haczku A  Tomer Y  Scanlon ST  Fusaro T  Casey J  Hawgood S  Gow AJ  Beers MF 《Infection and immunity》2004,72(10):6002-6011

Surfactant protein A (SP-A), a member of the collectin family, selectively binds to Pneumocystis carinii and mediates interactions between pathogen and host alveolar macrophages in vitro. To test the hypothesis that mice lacking SP-A have delayed clearance of Pneumocystis organisms and enhanced lung injury, wild-type C57BL/6 (WT) and SP-A-deficient mice (SP-A(-/-)) with or without selective CD4(+)-T-cell depletion were intratracheally inoculated with Pneumocystis organisms. Four weeks later, CD4-depleted SP-A-deficient mice had developed a more severe Pneumocystis infection than CD4-depleted WT (P. carinii pneumonia [PCP] scores of 3 versus 2, respectively). Whereas all non-CD4-depleted WT mice were free of PCP, intact SP-A(-/-) mice also had evidence of increased organism burden. Pneumocystis infection in SP-A-deficient mice was associated histologically with enhanced peribronchial and/or perivascular cellularity (score of 4 versus 2, SP-A(-/-) versus C57BL/6 mice, respectively) and a corresponding increase in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cell counts. Increases in SP-D content, gamma interferon, interleukin-4, interleukin-5, and tumor necrosis factor alpha in BAL fluid occurred but were attenuated in PCP-infected SP-A(-/-) mice compared to WT mice. There were increases in total BAL NO levels in both infected groups, but nitrite levels were higher in SP-A(-/-) mice, indicating a reduction in production of higher oxides of nitrogen that was also reflected in lower levels of 3-nitrotyrosine staining in the SP-A(-/-) group. We conclude that despite increases in inflammatory cells, SP-A-deficient mice infected with P. carinii exhibit an enhanced susceptibility to the organism and attenuated production of proinflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen-nitrogen species. These data support the concept that SP-A is a local effector molecule in the lung host defense against P. carinii in vivo.     

90.

Analysis of murine leukemia virus replication complemented by yeast tRNA(Phe) reveals inherent preferences for the tRNA primer selected for reverse transcription     

Palmer MT  Morrow CD 《Virology》2004,324(2):430-438

     

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Enhanced lung injury and delayed clearance of Pneumocystis carinii in surfactant protein A-deficient mice: attenuation of cytokine responses and reactive oxygen-nitrogen species

Surfactant protein A (SP-A), a member of the collectin family, selectively binds to Pneumocystis carinii and mediates interactions between pathogen and host alveolar macrophages in vitro. To test the hypothesis that mice lacking SP-A have delayed clearance of Pneumocystis organisms and enhanced lung injury, wild-type C57BL/6 (WT) and SP-A-deficient mice (SP-A(-/-)) with or without selective CD4(+)-T-cell depletion were intratracheally inoculated with Pneumocystis organisms. Four weeks later, CD4-depleted SP-A-deficient mice had developed a more severe Pneumocystis infection than CD4-depleted WT (P. carinii pneumonia [PCP] scores of 3 versus 2, respectively). Whereas all non-CD4-depleted WT mice were free of PCP, intact SP-A(-/-) mice also had evidence of increased organism burden. Pneumocystis infection in SP-A-deficient mice was associated histologically with enhanced peribronchial and/or perivascular cellularity (score of 4 versus 2, SP-A(-/-) versus C57BL/6 mice, respectively) and a corresponding increase in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cell counts. Increases in SP-D content, gamma interferon, interleukin-4, interleukin-5, and tumor necrosis factor alpha in BAL fluid occurred but were attenuated in PCP-infected SP-A(-/-) mice compared to WT mice. There were increases in total BAL NO levels in both infected groups, but nitrite levels were higher in SP-A(-/-) mice, indicating a reduction in production of higher oxides of nitrogen that was also reflected in lower levels of 3-nitrotyrosine staining in the SP-A(-/-) group. We conclude that despite increases in inflammatory cells, SP-A-deficient mice infected with P. carinii exhibit an enhanced susceptibility to the organism and attenuated production of proinflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen-nitrogen species. These data support the concept that SP-A is a local effector molecule in the lung host defense against P. carinii in vivo.