Suitability of dyed latex bead agglutination test for immunodiagnosis of Karnal bunt (Tilletia indica) teliospores in a single seed of wheat

The immunodiagnosticum for this test was prepared extempore by mixing blue color dyed latex beads (1% suspension) with equal volume of diluted anti-teliospore serum. This test was considered to be better for the detection of solubilized teliosporic antigens over intact teliospores of Karnal bunt. The teliosporic antigens solubilized using sonication and detergent extraction were used for the standardization of the test by optimizing the dilution of latex bead suspension and determining the detection limits. For determining the sensitivity of test, antigen concentration kinetics analysis was performed by adding 15 µl of antibodies sensitized latex beads to 15 µl of different concentrations of solubilized antigens on glass slide. The detection limit of this test was 7.5 µg solubilized teliosporic antigens equivalent to 750 teliospores and suitable for single seed analysis. Small agglutinin formation with solubilized antigen of Puccinia recondita and T. barclayana interpreted on the basis of partial cross reactivity of immunodignosticum with these pathogens. However, no cross reactivity was found with teliosporic antigen(s) of spores of Curvularia lunata, Ustilaga tritici, Helminthosporium sativum, Ustilaginoidea vircns and Alternaria triticina.     

Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis caused by Bipolaris spicifera after heart transplantation

L. Rosow, J.X. Jiang, T. Deuel, M. Lechpammer, A.A. Zamani, D.A. Milner, R. Folkerth, F.M. Marty, S. Kesari. Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis caused by Bipolaris spicifera after heart transplantation.
Transpl Infect Dis 2011: 13: 419–423. All rights reserved Abstract: Phaeohyphomycosis is an increasingly recognized cause of brain abscess in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts. We report a case of cerebral phaeohyphomycosis in a 55‐year‐old male heart transplant recipient caused by Bipolaris spicifera. We review the literature regarding the pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of infections with dematiaceous fungi.     

Recessive ACTA1 variant causes congenital muscular dystrophy with rigid spine

Variants in ACTA1, which encodes α-skeletal actin, cause several congenital myopathies, most commonly nemaline myopathy. Autosomal recessive variants comprise approximately 10% of ACTA1 myopathy. All recessive variants reported to date have resulted in loss of skeletal α-actin expression from muscle and severe weakness from birth. Targeted next-generation sequencing in two brothers with congenital muscular dystrophy with rigid spine revealed homozygous missense variants in ACTA1. Skeletal α-actin expression was preserved in these patients. This report expands the clinical and histological phenotype of ACTA1 disease to include congenital muscular dystrophy with rigid spine and dystrophic features on muscle biopsy. This represents a new class of recessive ACTA1 variants, which do not abolish protein expression.     

A clinical, magnetic resonance imaging, and survival motor neuron gene deletion study of Hirayama disease

BACKGROUND: Hirayama disease (HD) is a segmental nonprogressive spinal muscular atrophy found in male patients. OBJECTIVE: To report the results of a comprehensive evaluation of clinical, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electromyography (EMG), and survival motor neuron (SMN) gene analysis of HD. DESIGN: Clinical, MRI, and SMN gene deletion study. SETTING: Tertiary care teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Patients with HD diagnosed according to defined criteria were included in the study. INTERVENTIONS: Patients underwent a neurologic evaluation and pedigree charting. Concentric needle EMG was performed on a number of muscles. Motor nerve conduction study of the median, ulnar, and peroneal nerves and sensory conduction study of the median, ulnar, and sural nerves were also performed. Spinal MRI of the cervical region was performed with the 2-T scanner operating at 1.5 T. Gene deletion study of SMN1 and SMN2 was performed in all patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: History of trauma, occupation, exercise, associated medical disease, and cold paresis and muscle wasting, power, reflex changes, and tone. RESULTS: Fifteen male patients with HD from 14 families participated in the study (mean age at the onset of disease, 18 years; range, 15-23 years). Muscle weakness and wasting were noted in the right upper limb in 12 and the left upper limb in 3, which became bilateral in 8 patients. Cold paresis was present in 6 patients and polyminimyoclonus in all patients. The EMG revealed fibrillations in 10, fasciculations in 15, and neurogenic motor unit potentials in C7, C8, and T1 myotomes in all patients. The EMG abnormalities were unilateral in 5, bilateral in 10, and subclinical in 2 patients. Spinal MRI revealed cord atrophy in 3 of 11 patients. Although family history was present in 1 brother only, the results of both SMN1 and SMN2 gene deletion studies were negative in all patients. CONCLUSIONS: The SMN gene deletion is not found in HD. Exclusive occurrence in male patients and the presence of this disease in 2 brothers suggest a possible role of the X chromosome, which needs further evaluation.     

Clinicopathological significance of tissue homeostasis in Indian breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Tissue homeostasis and the maintenance of cell populations depend on a delicate balance between the rates of cell proliferation and cell death. Disruption of this balance is an important factor in development and progression of tumors. In the present study we evaluated the growth index in a large group of breast cancer patients and correlated it with various clinical and histopathological features of the tumor. METHODS: Estimation of apoptosis was determined by TUNEL assay while immunocytochemistry for proliferating nuclear cell antigen (PCNA) was used as a measure of proliferation. Necrosis was identified morphologically by haematoxylin and eosin staining. RESULTS: A positive correlation was observed between the percentage of PCNA positive cells and the frequency of mitosis (r=0.6117, p<0.0001). A highly statistical significant correlation was observed between type of tissue analyzed and growth index (r=0.46869, p<0.0001). No significant association was observed between hormone receptor status and growth index. CONCLUSIONS: The growth index was found to be higher in carcinoma cells that metastasised into lymph nodes compared with primary lesions with no nodal metastasis. Growth index was particularly prominent in high-grade tumors in which increased proliferative activity was evident. Apoptotic cells were detected more frequently in tumor cells with higher rather than lower proliferative activity. This suggests that not only proliferative activity but also capacity for apoptosis is altered in breast tumors.     

Infection and establishment of latency in the dog brain after direct inoculation of a nonpathogenic strain of herpes simplex virus-1

A number of diseases affecting the CNS occur in the dog and can be used as models for gene therapy in a large brain. HSV-1 has several potential advantages as a vector to transfer genes into the CNS. However, the ability of HSV-1 to infect CNS cells varies among species and no information was available for the dog. When the nonpathogenic 1716 strain of HSV-1 was injected into the brains of normal dogs it established a latent infection without signs of pathology. Thus, it appears to be suitable as a vector for therapeutic, or marker genes, in this species.