Hormonally Functional Ovarian Neoplasms

Hormonally functional ovarian neoplasms are those tumors that secrete one or more hormones that are clinically manifested in the patient. The hormone production may have implications for the diagnosis, management, or treatment of the patient. Hormonally functional ovarian neoplasms include tumors that belong to various histologic categories and produce a variety of hormonal effects. Functional ovarian tumors most commonly produce steroid hormones, and such tumors frequently belong in the sec cordstromal and steroid cell categories. In addition, a wide variety of peptide hormones may be produced by ovarian tumors. Although in most instances the neoplastic cells themselves produce the hormones, a wide variety of tumors may induce their stroma to produce steroid hormones. The stroma of ovarian tumors is derived from the ovarian stroma and may, on occasion, resemble specialized ovarian stroma and its derivatives. Cells resembling luteinized stromal cells or luteinized theca cells may be present and appear to be responsible for the resultant hormone secretion.     

Rare-male mating advantage: An artifact caused by differential storage conditions?

Virgin males (or females) of some species ofDrosophila, when stored singly, are known to be superior in mating to males (or females) stored in groups. This may create a spurious rare-male effect on some occasions. When no account is taken of this storage effect in an experimental setup designed to show rare-male mating advantage, bias in favor of a raremale effect may result. It is shown that merely by storing the rare males singly and the common males in groups, with males not differing in any other respect, a very strong spurious rare-male effect can be produced. Similarly, it is shown that a spurious rare-female effect is possible too. It is proposed that the very strong rare-male effect for pepperment scent as found by Dal Molin [(1979).Am. Nat. 113:951–954] is merely a result of such a bias. The relevance for natural populations of the mating advantage associated with the single housing condition is discussed. In the experiments designed to show a spurious rare-male effect, mating chambers of two different sizes were used. It is shown that sexual selection is more severe in the small chambers, for both males and females.     

Genetic obestiy: estrogenic influences on the body weight and food intake of lean and obese adult Zucker (fa/fa) rats

The effects of chronic estrogen withdrawal and subsequent hormone replacement on the feeding and body weight of adult lean and genetically obese Zucker rats were investigated. Following confirmation of a delay in the vaginal canalization of the fatty rat, subgroups of each genotype received either ovariectomy or sham surgery (Experiment 1). One hundred days later all subjects were injected subcutaneously (SC) with 1.0 microgram of estradiol benzoate (EB) daily for 16 treatment days (Experiment 2A). A second series of daily 2.0 microgram EB injections was administered intraperitoneally (IP) for 1 week (Experiment 2B). The first experiment revealed that ovariectomy produced overeating and similar weight gains in both genotypes. In the second experiment, SC hormone treatment completely reversed ovarian obesity in lean animals but failed to alter the food intake or weight gain of fatty rats. IP administration of EB depressed the feeding of fatty and lean animals to a comparable degree but a reduction in weight gain was observed only in the lean rats. These findings are discussed in light of current theories of estrogenic modulation of energy balance.     

低氧诱导因子1α诱导卵巢癌细胞周期阻滞的研究

目的：探讨低氧诱导因子1α（HIF-1α）对卵巢癌细胞周期的阻滞作用。方法: 采用化学性低氧诱导剂氯化钴（CoCl2）和物理性低氧培养箱两种方法对体外培养的卵巢癌SW626细胞诱导低氧，用诱骗法（decoy）阻断HIF-1α功能，Western blotting、RT-PCR和流式细胞术分别检测HIF-1α蛋白、mRNA的表达水平和细胞周期比率。结果： B1组(3.75±1.31)和C1组(3.48±1.01) HIF-1α蛋白表达水平明显高于A1组(0.97±0.31)（P<0.05), decoy法对HIF-1α蛋白表达没有明显影响(P>0.05)；A1组（0.65±0.32）和B1组（0.64±0.34）HIF-1α mRNA表达水平明显低于C1组（1.28±0.62）（P<0.05），decoy法对HIF-1α mRNA 表达没有明显影响（P>0.05）；流式细胞术检测发现B1组（81.78±24.33）和C1组（77.62±22.76）G0/G1期细胞比率显著高于A1组（49.49±18.54）（P<0.05）；B2组（61.54±20.84）明显低于B1组（P<0.05），C2组明显低于C1组（56.03±21.42），而A1组和A2组之间无明显差异（P>0.05）。结论：CoCl2或物理性低氧均能明显诱导卵巢癌细胞SW626 G0/G1期细胞周期阻滞和HIF-1α的表达，HIF-1α在低氧引起的卵巢癌细胞SW626的细胞周期阻滞中起重要作用。     

Ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumour with raised serum alpha fetoprotein

Summary A case of ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumour with a raised serum alpha fetoprotein in reported. The patient first presented at the age of 27 years with a history of 6 years' amenorrhoea followed by 3 months irregular vaginal bleeding. A ovarian tumour was found and excised and shown microscopically to be a spindle cell malignant tumour. The patient was treated with chemotherapy and had a complete response. Thirty months after first presentation there was a recurrence in the pelvis which microscopically showed the typical features of a Sertoli-Leydig cell tumour. Six months later a second recurrence had the microscopic appearance of a lipid cell tumour. A raised serum alpha fetoprotein was found at the time of the second recurrence and immunohistochemistry showed this protein in the Leydig and luteinized cells of the recurrent tumours but not in the spindle cells of the original ovarian neoplasm.     

Ventral specification and perturbed boundary formation in the mouse midbrain in the absence of Hedgehog signaling.

Although Hedgehog (HH) signaling plays a critical role in patterning the ventral midbrain, its role in early midbrain specification is not known. We examined the midbrains of sonic hedgehog (Shh) and smoothened (Smo) mutant mice where HH signaling is respectively attenuated and eliminated. We show that some ventral (Evx1+) cell fates are specified in the Shh-/- mouse in a Ptc1- and Gli1-independent manner. HH-independent ventral midbrain induction was further confirmed by the presence of a Pax7-negative ventral midbrain territory in both Shh-/- and Smo-/- mice at and before embryonic day (E) 8.5. Midbrain signaling centers are severely disrupted in the Shh-/- mutant. Interestingly, dorsal markers are up-regulated (Wnt1, Gdf7, Pax7), down-regulated (Lfng), or otherwise altered (Zic1) in the Shh-/- midbrain. Together with the increased cell death seen specifically in Shh-/- dorsal midbrains (E8.5-E9), our results suggest specific regulation of dorsal patterning by SHH, rather than a simple deregulation due to its absence.     

Neurobehavioral phenotype in carriers of the fragile X premutation

There have been contradictory findings in the fragile X (fraX) literature about possible neurocognitive and psychological symptoms due to the fraX premutation (pM). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between CGG repeat length and neurobehavioral functioning in carriers of the fraX pM. Eighty‐five female carriers of the pM with allele sizes ranging from 59–166 were administered a comprehensive IQ test (WAIS‐III) and completed a questionnaire designed to measure psychopathology (Symptom Checklist (SCL)‐90‐R). No relationship between allele size and cognition was identified. A significant negative relationship between allele size and age was found, as well as a positive relationship between allele size and depression. Follow‐up analyses separating small and large allele sizes (below and above 100 CGG repeats) indicated that individuals with larger allele sizes scored significantly higher on the Interpersonal Sensitivity and Depression subscales of the SCL‐90‐R. Despite the limitation of few individuals with high CGG repeat lengths, our findings suggest that females with larger premutated alleles (≥ 100 repeats) display some clinical manifestations of fraX syndrome. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Histomorphometry of bone marrow biopsies in primary osteomyelofibrosis/-sclerosis (agnogenic myeloid metaplasia) - correlations between clinical and morphological features

Summary Histomorphometry was performed on representative trephine biopsies of the bone marrow on admission of 50 patients (21 male, 29 female-age 67 years) with so-called primary osteomyelofibrosis/-sclerosis (OMF) not preceded by any other subtype of chronic myeloproliferative disorders. This study was firstly aimed at testing correlations between histological features (amount of haematopoiesis, cytological aspects of mega-karyocytes, density of reticulin and collagen fibres and degree of osteosclerosis) and laboratory data, as well as spleen size and duration of relevant prediagnostic symptoms. Secondly, we concentrated on a discrimination of OMF patients into two sub-groups according to bone marrow morphology and clinical variables. Statistical evaluation of histomorphometric variables and haematological findings disclosed that there was a progressive fibro-osteosclerotic process in the evolution of disease features. Increase in medullary fibrosis was significantly paralleled by an abnormal or pleomorphic megakaryopoiesis in the bone marrow: there was an increase in irregularity of perimeters for megakaryocytes and naked nuclei combined with smaller sizes of these elements including the nuclei. Additionally, there was a greater number of pycnotic bare nuclei. A number of morphometric features (density of fibres, degree of osteosclerosis, amount of haematopoiesis) were associated with corresponding clinical data (spleen size, length of preclinical history). By consideration of a set of basic histomorphometric variables our co-hort of 50 patients could be divided into an early hyperplastic subtype with no or minimal medullary reticulin and another group with conspicuous fibrotic and osteosclerotic alterations of the bone marrow. It was noticeable that we found no significant correlation between amount of haematopoiesis or marrow cellularity with splenomegaly. This result suggests that splenic haematopoiesis (myeloid metaplasia) may represent an autonomous or neoplastic process and not only compensation for a failing fibro-osteosclerotic bone marrow.Supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG-Th 390/1-1)     

Diagnosis of squamous-cell carcinoma of the lung by sputum cytology: with special reference to correlation of diagnostic accuracy with size and proximal extent of resected tumor

Sputum cytology was performed in 179 cases of squamous-cell carcinoma of the lung; 134 cases were diagnosed as positive. There were no significant differences in diagnostic accuracy of sputum cytology between tumors sizes. In cases with tumors extending proximally into the main, lobar, or segmental bronchi, the diagnostic accuracy of sputum cytology was significantly higher than in cases where the proximal invasion of tumor was limited to the peripheral bronchi. In cases with tumors 3 cm or less in diameter, when tumors extended proximally into main, lobar, or segmental bronchi, the diagnostic accuracy of sputum cytology was significantly higher than in cases with tumors extending proximally into subsegmental or subsubsegmental bronchi. In peripherally located squamous-cell carcinoma, in cases in which the tumor arose in subsegmental or subsubsegmental bronchi, carcinoma could be detected by sputum cytology even when it was roentgenographically occult.     

Effect of a Polymeric Additive on the Pore‐Size Distribution and Shrinking Process of a Hydrogel Network

A systematic comparison of the effect of architectural modifications to the network structure on the internal microstructure of N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPA) based hydrogels showed that the addition of a second component to the network significantly increased the proportion of macropores in the network. The second components considered were short poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) chains grafted to the network backbone, high‐molecular‐weight polyacrylamide (PAM) chains, or microsphere particles of PNIPAM. Structures are proposed for each of the modified gel networks taking into account the new structural information. Through a combination of the pore size and network structure data reported here, and with the shrinking data obtained previously, shrinking mechanisms are proposed for each of the modified network structures. In all cases, the enhanced shrinking rates were directly caused by the presence of the second component, which acted as nuclei for shrinking (graft‐PNIPAM and PNIPAM microspheres) or as water‐release channels (PAM gel), and indirectly caused by the second components via their affect on the network microstructure.

Proposed structures for the architecturally modified gels based on the pore‐size information. Graft‐PNIPAM gel. The freely mobile graft chains prevent chains from meeting resulting in larger pores.