Cutaneous plasmacytosis associated with lung and anal carcinomas

Cutaneous plasmacytosis is a rare disorder characterized by a benign proliferation of mature plasma cells that appears as multiple dark-brown to purplish skin lesions, often associated with polyclonal hypergammaglobulinaemia. We present the case of a 55-year-old Caucasian man who suffered from a cutaneous plasmacytosis associated with two different carcinomas. Cutaneous plasmacytosis seems to be a reactive process because most cases reported are not associated with any apparent underlying disease. Nevertheless, because few reported cases were associated with malignancies, screening of additional neoplasms would be justified.     

A new transthyretin variant (Glu61Gly) associated with cardiomyopathy.

We report the identification of a new transthyretin (TTR) gene mutation and variant protein, Glu61Gly, in a 55-year-old man with progressive cardiomyopathy, mild peripheral neuropathy and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. A diagnosis of TTR-associated familial amyloidosis (ATTR) was considered after an endomyocardial biopsy revealed amyloid deposits in the heart of a patient who had no family history of amyloidosis and no evidence of a plasma cell dyscrasia. Serum screening for a TTR variant by isoelectric focusing (IEF) was positive and prompted further studies to identify the genetic abnormality and to characterize the amyloidogenic protein. Direct DNA sequence analysis of all four coding regions in the TTR gene demonstrated heterozygosity in exon 3. Near equal amounts of guanine (G) and adenine (A) were observed at the second base position of codon 61. The wild-type (GAG) and mutated (GGG) sequences found in codon 61 correspond to glutamic acid (Glu) and glycine (Gly) residues, amino acids which differ in mass by -72 Da. Mass spectrometric analyses of TTR immunoprecipitated from serum showed the presence of both wild-type and variant proteins. The observed mass results for the wild-type and variant proteins were consistent with the predicted values calculated from the genetic analysis data.     

Arachidonic acid metabolites in CSF in hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy of newborn infants

The aim of this study was to evaluate the cerebral synthesis of eicosanoids in the asphyctic newborn and to investigate the relation between the prostanoid profiles in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the appearance and severity of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE). Levels of 6-keto-PGF _1-α, TXB₂, PGE₂ and PGF_2-α in CSF were measured in 40 full term newborns during the first day of life. Thirty of these newborns had birth asphyxia and were divided into three groups: 10 without HIE, 12 with mild HIE and 8 with moderate-severe HIE. They were compared to a control group of 10 non-hypoxic newborns. Determinations of the metabolites in CSF were performed by RIA and expressed as pg/ml (mean ± SD). The CSF TXB₂ (thromboxane A₂ metabolite) in asphyxiated newborns was always higher than in the control group (28.12 ± 10.6), and related to the severity of HIE ( p = 0:005): without HIE (50.84 ± 16.4; p = 0:02), mild HIE (80.65 ± 12.64; p ± 0:01) and moderate-severe HIE (178.14 ± 20.5; p < 0:01). The CSF 6-keto-PGF _1-α (prostacyclin metabolite) in asphyxiated newborns was always higher than in the control group (80.55 ± 12.56), but indirectly related to the severity of HIE: without HIE (240.95 ± 28.12; p < 0:01), mild HIE (183.65 ± 30.1; p < 0:01) and moderate-severe HIE (140.55 ± 25.12; p < 0:01). In the moderate-severe HIE group, the increase in TXB₂ was higher than the rise in 6-keto-PGF _1-α.     

Isolation and functional characterization of snail hemocyte-modulating polypeptide from primary sporocysts of Schistosoma mansoni.

Infection with larval trematodes has been shown to inhibit several snail-host defences, including hemocyte phagocytosis, cytotoxicity, motility, and adherence. Certain plasma factors which mediate snail defence responses, and which may be produced by host hemocytes, also appear to be altered by these parasites. In this study we present protocols for the isolation of 2 proteins from larval Schistosoma mansoni excretory-secretory (ES) products and detail the effects of these components on Biomphalaria glabrata hemocyte protein synthetic/secretory (S/S) activity. Schistosome ES proteins, separated with a combination of membrane ultrafiltration, size exclusion, and ion exchange chromatography, were tested for their in vitro effect on cultured snail hemocytes, in the presence and absence of homologous plasma. A high-molecular-weight ultrafiltration fraction of parasite ES products (H30), in combination with plasma, was found to differentially affect susceptible (M-line) and resistant (10-R2) snail hemocytes. Secretion of metabolically labeled polypeptides by M-line cells was inhibited significantly while the S/S response of 10-R2 hemocyte polypeptides was not affected. In the absence of homologous plasma, little or no differential affect of ES polypeptides on hemocyte S/S activity was seen. Much of the inhibitory activity of H30 was attributable to a partially purified fraction, Peak I (PkI), of ES products. Evidence suggests that, in its native state, PkI is a high-molecular-weight protein aggregate comprising subunits of approximately 22-24 kDa. Thus, PkI, in the presence of homologous plasma components, is a potential mediator of schistosome-induced suppression of polypeptide synthesis or secretion in hemocytes of susceptible snails. In combination with other parasite and host factors, PkI may be involved in the host-parasite interaction which leads to the state of susceptibility or resistance found in our strains of B. glabrata.