Small round and spindle cell sarcoma with neuronal differentiation and oncocyte-like features of the thoracic wall: A case report with histological,immunohistochemical and ultrastructural examinations

A case of small round and spindle cell sarcoma with neuronal differentiation and oncocyte-like features is presented. The tumor was encountered in a 32 year old Japanese woman with an initial presentation of palpable tumor in the left lateral region of the thorax. The resected tumor was a partially well encapsulated whitish medullary one and consisted of small round and spindle tumor cells, together with so-called rhabdoid cells in the small round cell area. Although pseudorosettes were often observed, true rosette formation could not be detected anywhere. Ultrastructurally, despite a histologic variety of tumor cells, most tumor cells possessed numerous mitochondria, some of which occasionally contained abnormal filamentous or crystalloid structures. Various amounts of microfilaments were present in most tumor cells and microtubules were present in a few. A minority of small round cells possessed a small number of neurosecretory granules, especially in short cytoplasmic processes. A positive immunoreaction for neuron specific enolase was found by immunohistochemical examination in several small round tumor cells and for neurofilaments in lesser numbers. Despite the lack of S-100 protein, MB2 was detected in both small round and spindle cells. On the basis of these findings, the tumor of the present case corresponds to malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor with neuronal differentiation and oncocytic features.     

Galectin-3 expression in follicular tumours: an immunohistochemical study of its use as a marker of follicular carcinoma

AIMS: Galectin-3, a member of the beta-galactoside binding family of lectins, has been regarded as a useful tool for discriminating malignant tumours from benign nodules of the thyroid, including the distinction between follicular carcinoma and adenoma. However, there are follicular tumours with unclear vascular or capsular invasion, which makes diagnosis more difficult. In this study, we investigated the relationship between galectin-3 expression and the degree of vascular or capsular invasion of follicular tumours. METHODS: We immunohistochemically investigated galectin-3 expression in 260 cases of follicular tumour with various degrees of vascular or capsular invasion classified into four categories. RESULTS: The galectin-3 expression level significantly increased with the degree of vascular or capsular invasion (p<0.0001). However, its diagnostic value for follicular carcinoma was not high because the sensitivity and specificity were 68.7% and 57.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that galectin-3 plays a role in the transformation of follicular tumours from benign to malignant; however, when diagnosing follicular tumours, the presence of this protein should not be required for diagnosing malignant transformation in all cases. Therefore, we must conclude that galectin-3 should only be considered an adjuvant marker for follicular carcinoma.     

Analysis of Host Cells Associated with the Spv-Mediated Increased Intracellular Growth Rate of Salmonella typhimurium in Mice

The 90-kb virulence plasmid of Salmonella typhimurium encodes five spv genes which increase the growth rate of the bacteria within host cells within the first week of systemic infection of mice (P. A. Gulig and T. J. Doyle, Infect. Immun. 61:504–511, 1993). The presently described study was aimed at identifying the host cells associated with Spv-mediated virulence by manipulating the mouse host and the salmonellae. To test the effects of T cells and B cells on the Spv phenotype, salmonellae were orally inoculated into nude and SCID BALB/c mice. Relative to normal BALB/c mice, nude and SCID BALB/c mice were unaffected for splenic infection with either the Spv⁺ or Spv⁻ S. typhimurium strains at 5 days postinoculation. When mice were pretreated with cyclophosphamide to induce granulocytopenia, there was a variable increase in total salmonella infection, but the relative splenic CFU of Spv⁺ versus Spv⁻ S. typhimurium was not changed after oral inoculation. In contrast, depletion of macrophages from mice by treatment with cyclophosphamide plus liposomes containing dichloromethylene diphosphate resulted in equivalent virulence of Spv⁺ and Spv⁻ salmonellae. To examine if the spv genes affected the growth of salmonellae in nonphagocytic cells, an invA::aphT mutation was transduced into Spv⁺ and Spv⁻ S. typhimurium strains. InvA⁻ Spv⁺ salmonellae were not significantly affected for splenic infection after subcutaneous inoculation compared with the wild-type strain, and InvA⁻ Spv⁻ salmonellae were only slightly attenuated relative to InvA⁺ Spv⁻ salmonellae. Invasion-defective salmonellae still exhibited the Spv phenotype. Therefore, infection of nonphagocytes is not involved with the Spv virulence function. Taken together, these data demonstrate that macrophages are essential for suppressing the infection by Spv⁻ S. typhimurium, by serving as the primary host cell for Spv-mediated intracellular replication and possibly by inhibiting the replication of salmonellae within other macrophages.     

An immunodominant haptenic epitope of carbamazepine detected in serum from patients given long-term treatment with carbamazepine without allergic reaction

An anticarbamazepine antibody was detected in the serum of a patient with severe carbamazepine-induced serum sickness. We found that the patient's T cells and IgG antibody recognized an epitope which appeared in subjects showing an allergic reaction, as well as that in subjects who showed no allergic reaction, after long-term carbamazepine therapy. These results show that an anti-carbamazepine immune response does not occur in the majority of subjects who undergo long-term carbamazepine therapy without developing allergic symptoms, although the immunodominant haptenic epitope of carbamazepine is present in their sera.     

Lon,a stress-induced ATP-dependent protease,is critically important for systemic Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium infection of mice

Studies on the pathogenesis of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infections in mice have revealed the presence of two prominent virulence characteristics-the invasion of the nonphagocytic cells to penetrate the intestinal epithelium and the proliferation within host phagocytic cells to cause a systemic spread and the colonization of host organs. We have recently demonstrated that the ATP-dependent Lon protease of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium negatively regulates the efficiency of invasion of epithelial cells and the expression of invasion genes (A. Takaya et al., J. Bacteriol. 184:224-232, 2002). This study was performed to reveal the contribution of the Lon protease to the virulence of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium in mice. Determination of 50% lethal doses for the lon disruption mutant and wild-type strain revealed that the mutant was highly attenuated when administered either orally or intraperitoneally to BALB/c mice. The mutant was also found to be able to reach extraintestinal sites but unable to proliferate efficiently within the spleen and cause lethal systemic disease of mice. Macrophage survival assays revealed that the lon disruption mutant could not survive or proliferate within murine macrophages. In addition, the mutant showed extremely increased susceptibility to hydrogen peroxide, which contributes to the bactericidal capacity of phagocytes. The mutant also showed increased sensitivity to acidic conditions. Taken together, the impaired ability of the lon disruption mutant to survive and grow in macrophages could be due to the enhanced susceptibility to the oxygen-dependent killing mechanism associated with respiratory burst and the low phagosomal pH. These results suggest that the Lon protease is essentially involved in the systemic infection of mice with S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, which can be fatal. Of further interest is the finding that the lon disruption mutant persists in the BALB/c mice for long periods without causing an overwhelming systemic infection.     

Propylene Polymerization Behavior of Fluorinated Bis(phenoxy‐imine) Ti Complexes with an MgCl2‐Based Compound (MgCl2‐Supported Ti‐Based Catalysts)

Summary: Fluorinated bis(phenoxy‐imine)Ti complexes 1 – 3 combined with MgCl₂/i‐Bu_nAl(OR)_3−n (MgCl₂‐supported catalysts) were able to polymerize propylene in a living fashion at room temperature to provide slightly to highly syndiotactic poly(propylenes) (PPs) with extremely narrow distributions of molecular weight. These represent the first examples of MAO‐ and borate‐free group 4 metal‐based living catalysts. The supported complexes 2 and 3 formed PPs with higher syndiotacticity and T_m's than the corresponding homogeneous MAO‐activation systems (e.g., 3 : rr 97%, T_m 155 °C; MAO activation: rr 93%, T_m 152 °C). The measured T_m of 155 °C represents the highest known T_m for syndiotactic PPs synthesized at room temperature.

Polymerization of propylene to poly(propylene) with supported Ti‐based catalysts.     

Comparison of hippocampal synaptosome proteins in young-adult and aged rats

The hippocampus is important in learning and memory functions but its ability to aid in these functions declines during aging. In this study, we examined hippocampal proteins whose expressions changed in the aging process. A comparison of synaptosome proteins of hippocampus prepared from young-adult (9-week-old) rats with those from aged (30-month-old) rats by two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis revealed 24 spots that were expressed differently among about 1000 spots detected in both young-adult and aged rat samples. Nineteen of these 24 spots were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting. These proteins included chaperone proteins and proteins related to the cytoskeleton, neurotransmission, signal transduction and energy supply. The cytoskeleton-related proteins included actin and T-complex 1, which is thought to play a role in actin folding. Actin was up-regulated but T-complex 1 was down-regulated in aged rat synapses. These results suggest that age-dependent changes of actin filament formation are related to neuronal dysfunction associated with aging.     

Fecal microflora in a patient with short-bowel syndrome and identification of dominant lactobacilli.

Fecal microflora and lactate concentrations in blood and feces obtained from a patient (a 5 year-old boy) with short-bowel syndrome (SBS) were compared during acidosis to results for the normal condition (no SBS symptoms). The taxonomical position of the lactobacilli found predominantly in the feces sample obtained 2 days before the fifth attack was also studied. The D-lactate level in serum obtained 1 day after the fourth attack was 10-fold higher than that for the normal condition, although there was not a great difference in L-lactate levels. D-Lactate (3.91 mM) and L-lactate (2.86 mM) were also detected in the feces samples collected 2 days before the fifth attack, while no lactate was detected in the feces sample for the normal condition. The counts of total fecal bacteria, especially anaerobic bacteria such as members of the family Bacteroidaceae, were found to be low. The counts of lactobacilli and the total population of lactobacilli relative to total fecal bacteria in the feces 2 days before the fifth attack (40.4%) were extremely high. In this case, a majority of the lactobacilli were D-lactate producers as determined by homolactic fermentation. These lactobacilli were identified as Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis. The percentages of bifidobacteria relative to total fecal bacteria in feces samples obtained both 2 days before the fifth attack (50.9%) and for normal condition (61.9%) were also high, although these bacteria were L-lactate producers. In the feces samples for the normal condition, the D-lactate producers decreased to less than 10(9) per g, while the counts of L- or DL-lactate producers were 100-fold higher than the numbers in feces samples obtained 2 days before the fifth attack. These results suggested that an increase in the level of D-lactate producers, such as L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis, in the colon may be associated with the clinical expression of metabolic acidosis.     

Development of murine hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells characterized by the expression of hyaluronan receptors.

Endothelial cells (ECs) display distinct structural and functional characteristics depending on the tissue and developmental stage; however, the development of tissue-specific ECs remains poorly understood. Here, we describe the development of hepatic sinusoids in mice based on the expression of hyaluronan receptors Stab2 and Lyve-1. Flk-1(+) cells in and around the liver bud begin to express Stab2 at embryonic day (E) 9.5, before the formation of vascular lumen. Hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells (HSECs) begin to express Lyve-1 at E10.5, and both markers continue to be expressed in HSECs thereafter. Although HSECs and lymphatic ECs (LECs) are known to share functional and phenotypic characteristics, we clearly show that HSECs can be distinguished from LECs by the expression of molecular markers and higher endocytotic activity. Our results provide new insight into the development of tissue-specific ECs and phenotypic criteria to distinguish HSECs from other types of ECs, including LECs.