Pinealectomy interferes with the circadian clock genes expression in white adipose tissue

Melatonin, the main hormone produced by the pineal gland, is secreted in a circadian manner (24‐hr period), and its oscillation influences several circadian biological rhythms, such as the regulation of clock genes expression (chronobiotic effect) and the modulation of several endocrine functions in peripheral tissues. Assuming that the circadian synchronization of clock genes can play a role in the regulation of energy metabolism and it is influenced by melatonin, our study was designed to assess possible alterations as a consequence of melatonin absence on the circadian expression of clock genes in the epididymal adipose tissue of male Wistar rats and the possible metabolic repercussions to this tissue. Our data show that pinealectomy indeed has impacts on molecular events: it abolishes the daily pattern of the expression of Clock, Per2, and Cry1 clock genes and Pparγ expression, significantly increases the amplitude of daily expression of Rev‐erbα, and affects the pattern of and impairs adipokine production, leading to a decrease in leptin levels. However, regarding some metabolic aspects of adipocyte functions, such as its ability to synthesize triacylglycerols from glucose along 24 hr, was not compromised by pinealectomy, although the daily profile of the lipogenic enzymes expression (ATP‐citrate lyase, malic enzyme, fatty acid synthase, and glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase) was abolished in pinealectomized animals.     

Granulomatous slack skin T-cell lymphoma: an important differential diagnosis with giant cell tumor of soft tissue

Granulomatous slack skin is an indolent T-cell lymphoma, considered to be a variant of mycosis fungoides. Clinically it is characterized by areas of redundant skin, wrinkled, inelastic, with variable erythema and infiltration besides a poikilodermic surface. A differential diagnosis unknown to most dermatologists is the giant cell tumor of soft tissue, which is an extremely rare low-grade sarcoma. The authors report a patient who had undergone extensive surgery because of a primary diagnosis of giant cell tumor of soft tissue, but which proved to be granulomatous slack skin after a second interventional procedure with confirmatory histopathology.     

Reconstruction of parietal bone defects with adiposederived mesenchymal stem cells. Experimental study

Purpose:This study assessed the regeneration potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from adipose tissue associated with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in bone regeneration.Methods:Thirty Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus albinos) were divided into five groups (according to the grafting material and time to euthanasia): (1) autograft - 14 days (control), (2) autograft - 28 days (control), (3) MSC + PRP - 14 days, (4) MSC + PRP + papaverine - 14 days and (5) MSC + PRP + papaverine - 28 days. After euthanasia, the graft was removed and histological slides were prepared. They were assessed by a blinded pathologist using a previously published histological scale as parameter.Results:There was some degree of neoformed bone trabeculae (NBT) in 93.3% of the samples, as well as osteoblastic activity (OA). The autograft groups (14 and 28 days) had higher levels in the formation of bone trabeculae. Nonparametric data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test and proved not to be statistically significant at p < 0.05.Conclusions:Experimental parietal bone reconstruction, combining MSC, PRP and papaverine presented regeneration in all groups with no significant difference among them.Key words: Bone Regeneration, Platelet-Rich Plasma, Tissue Engineering, Rats     

Evidence for the presence of a type III secretion system in diffusely adhering Escherichia coli (DAEC).

Diffusely adhering Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains (DAEC) represent a potential cause of diarrhoea in infants, and the detection of type three secretion system (TTSS) genes in DAEC would substantiate their pathogenic nature. In this work, four isolates of DAEC, recovered from stools of diarrhoeic children, were analysed by PCR, in order to detect the presence of TTSS genes. Primers targeted to the escC, escJ, escN and escV, some of the most conserved TTSS genes in enteropathogenic and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EPEC and EHEC), were used in order to verify the occurrence of homologous genes in our DAEC isolates. By this approach, we were able to characterise DNA fragments corresponding to putative escJ and escN genes in all DAEC isolates. Furthermore, DNA fragments homologous to the escC and escV genes were also amplified from all isolates. Besides the similarity found among the DAEC esc homologues with EPEC and EHEC esc genes, the nucleotide sequence analysis of the flanking regions of the amplified DNA fragments suggests that the putative DAEC esc genes are organised in the same manner as observed in EPEC and in EHEC strains. The results described here provide strong evidence for the presence of a TTSS in the DAEC strains analysed, implicating a pathogenic nature of these isolates.     

Juvenile Parkinsonism: clinical and metabolic characteristics.

Twenty one patients with idiopathic Parkinsonism beginning before the age of 40 years were investigated. The mean duration of the disease was 19 years. There was a good and sustained response to levodopa. Only four patients reached stages IV and V (Hoehn and Yahr). Intolerance to levodopa was observed in the more advanced stages of the disease. In the series the familial incidence of Parkinsonism (2 cases) and essential tremor (3 cases) was very low. Thyroid disorder, diabetes mellitus or macrocytic anaemia was not found in any of the cases.