Characterization and Development of UCI 107, a Primary Human Ovarian Carcinoma Cell Line

We introduce a new epithelial ovarian carcinoma cell line (UCI 107) from a patient with papillary adenocarcinoma of the ovary who had not been previously treated. The growth characteristics, chemosensitivity, tumorgenicity, cytogenetics, antigen expression, and receptor status were examined. A standardized photometric assay was implemented to determine the response to single drug agents including doxorubicin (ADR), cisplatin (CDDP), and Taxol. Tumorgenicity was determined utilizing female athymic mice implanted either subcutaneously (sc) or intraperitoneally (ip) with 1 × 10⁷ UCI 107 cells. UCI 107 cells grow rapidly in culture with lag phase of approximately 48 hr, population doubling time of 24-36 hr, and saturation density of 4.8 × 10⁵ cells/cm². The 50% inhibitory concentration values for the chemotherapeutic agents were 0.170, 0.029, and 0.330 μM for ADR, Taxol, and CDDP, respectively. Nude mice produced ip tumors within 15 days, resulting in death from carcinomatosis 40-45 days postimplantation. Subcutaneous tumor nodules (100 mm³ were observed in nude mice 12-13 days post-tumor implantation reaching a maximum tumor volume of approximately 10,000 mm³ by Day 30. The cytogenetic composite karyotype is as follows: 46, X, der (X) t (X;7) (p11;q22), inv dup (1) (q12;q32), t (6;6;11;22) (p21.3;q16;q23.3;q13.3), del (13) (q14.1). The cell line expresses progesterone receptor, increased levels of p53 protein, and cytokeratins. It does not appear to express Her-2/neu protein, estrogen receptor, nor the CA 125 tumor marker. In conclusion, UCI 107 displays unique cellular properties which make it an attractive model for the study of ovarian cancer.     

Nucleotide sequence of barley stripe mosaic virus RNAα: RNAα encodes a single polypeptide with homology to corresponding proteins from other viruses

The complete nucleotide sequence of RNAα from the Type strain of barley stripe mosaic virus has been determined. The RNA is 3768 nucleotides long and contains a single open reading frame which codes for a polypeptide of 1139 amino acids (mw 129,634). The open reading frame is flanked by a 5′-terminal sequence of 91 nucleotides and a 3′-nontranslated region composed of a short poly(A) tract followed by a 238-nucleotide tRNA-like structure. The amino acid sequence of the polypeptide (αa) encoded by the open reading frame has homology with the TMV 126K protein and with related polypeptides from other viruses. The carboxy-terminal portion of the as polypeptide also has limited homology with the 58K (βb) protein encoded by BSMV RNAβ and includes a consensus sequence found in mononucleotide-binding polypeptides.     

Comparative evaluation of two commercial assays for direct detection ofMycobacterium tuberculosis in respiratory specimens

Two commercial systems for the amplification and detection ofMycobacterium tuberculosis directly from respiratory samples were compared. The Roche Cobas Amplicor MTB Test and the Roche manual Amplicor MTB Test (Roche Diagnostic Systems, USA) were applied to 755 decontaminated respiratory specimens collected from 470 patients. Results were compared with those of acid-fast staining and culture. A total of 251 specimens were collected from 156 patients diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, including 28 specimens corresponding to 13 patients that were receiving antituberculous treatment. Given the overall positivity rate of 33.2% (251/755), the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 92.4, 100, 100, and 96.5%, respectively, for the Cobas Amplicor MTB Test and 90.8, 100, 100, and 95.8%, respectively, for the Amplicor MTB Test. For 204 (81.3%) smear positive specimens and 47 (19.7%) smear negative specimens, the sensitivity values were 100 and 59.6%, respectively, for the Cobas Amplicor MTB Test and 100 and 51%, respectively, for the Amplicor MTB Test. There were no statistically significant differences in sensitivity or specificity between the two assays and culture (p>0.05). The overall results of both assays were concordant for 99.5% of the samples. It is concluded that although both nucleic acid amplification methods are rapid and specific for the detection ofMycobacterium tuberculosis complex in respiratory specimens, the Cobas Amplicor MTB Test appears to be slightly more sensitive than the Amplicor MTB Test when smear negative specimens are investigated.     

Heat-shock protein (HSP70-2) allelic frequencies in three distinct Mexican populations

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are highly polymorphic and therefore have been useful in population genetics and disease association studies. We analyzed restriction fragment length polymorphism of HSP70-2 alleles in healthy unrelated Mestizo, Mazatecan and Nahua populations. Both Indian groups, Mazatecans and Nahuas, were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, while Mestizos were in disequilibrium (chi 2 = 0.399; P < 0.05). The Mazatecan Indians presented a high frequency of BB homozygosity (17.35%) compared to Mestizos (5%) (P = 0.01). Mexican ethnic groups present differences in distribution of BB genotype. The low frequency of BB genotype in Mestizos may be the result of a negative selection process.     

Neurological manifestations in chronic mountain sickness: the burning feet-burning hands syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To characterise the clinical features and nerve biopsy findings in patients with chronic mountain sickness (CMS) living in the Peruvian Andes, with particular attention to the occurrence of the "burning feet-burning hands" syndrome. METHODS: Symptoms and signs were documented clinically in 10 patients with CMS and compared with those in five healthy subjects all living at 4338 metres altitude. Sural nerve biopsies were obtained from three patients with CMS.The nerve fibre population and endoneurial microvessels were analyzed morphometrically. RESULTS: All patients with CMS experienced burning and tingling paraesthesiae in the distal parts of their limbs. Similar but milder symptoms confined to the feet occurred in four of five controls. Three patients with CMS had a mild sensory neuropathy on examination, controls were clinically normal. Nerve biopsies showed a mild demyelinating neuropathy in all three with a reduction in the unmyelinated axon population in one. The endoneurial blood vessels showed a reduced thickness in the basal laminal zone compared with control values but were otherwise normal. CONCLUSIONS: Apart from well recognised symptoms and signs of CMS, the study has shown that such patients may also exhibit a mild sensory neuropathy. Its relation to the burning feet-burning hands syndrome, which was not confined to the patients but was also found in controls at altitude, is uncertain. The time course and pattern of the centrifugal resolution of the burning paraesthesiae complex on low altitude sojourn of high altitude natives raises the possibility that a mechanism involving altered axonal transport may be involved. The reduced thickness of the basal laminal zone of microvessels implies that adaptive structural changes to hypobaric hypoxia may also occur in peripheral nerve and are similar to those reported in other tissues of high altitude natives.     

Hematological parameters in high altitude residents living at 4,355, 4,660, and 5,500 meters above sea level

There have been a number of reports describing the hematological indicators of Andean residents living at altitudes above 4,000 m, but several confounding factors have made the published results difficult to interpret. To clear up the effect of hypoxia on hemoglobin concentration (Hb, g/dL), hematocrit (Hct, %) and red blood cell concentration (RBC, cells/microL), this publication describes and analyzes these variables in children, men, and women from three large and homogeneous populations living at 4,355 m (n = 151), 4,660 m (n = 400), and 5,500 m (n = 273) in the Southern Peruvian Andes. Hb, Hct, and RBC increase with age in men (p < 0.001), as well as in women (p < 0.001) at the three altitudes of the study. In children (boys and girls) living at 5,500, Hb increases 11% when compared with children living at 4,355 m, and in adults, Hb increases 9.6% when comparing the same altitudes. The maximum percentage increase in Hb with age was 5.6% at 5,500 m, in men and 3.2% at 4,355 m, in women. The average percentage of difference for the Hb concentration between adult men and women is 6.6% at 4,355 m, 9.8% at 4,660 m, and 11.6% at 5,500 m. The differences in Hb concentration between men and women can only be seen after puberty. Finally, Hb is higher in older than younger women, which confirms the role of menopause in the development of erythremia. The result of this analysis reinforces the notion that Hb and Hct seem to be stable and useful parameters for acclimatization only at moderate altitudes; with aging or with increasing altitude, they may become excessive and lose their efficiency to protect the venous oxygen pressure.     

pH,base deficit or lactate. Which is better for predicting neonatal morbidity?

Objective: To determine which parameter of the umbilical arterial cord gas analysis, pH, base deficit (BD) or lactate has a bigger predictive ability for neonatal morbidity at term.

Method: We conducted a four-year retrospective cohort study including all non-anomalous, singleton, vertex, term births with neonatal acidemia (umbilical arterial cord gas pH?≤?7.1). The primary outcomes were a composite neurological morbidity and a composite systemic morbidity. The predictive ability of lactate, BD and pH was compared using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves. Optimal cutoff values of lactate, BD and pH were estimated based on their maximal Youden Index.

Results: We identified 466 acidemic neonates who had paired and validated cord blood gas data. The ROC curve analysis revealed that pH, BD and lactate had a similar predictive ability for neurological (AUC: 0.81; 0.78; 0.83, respectively) and systemic neonatal morbidity (AUC: 0.77; 0.82; 0.82, respectively). The combination of pH?≤?7.0 and lactate?≥?7.0?mmol/L presented similar validity to that of pH?≤?7.0 and BD?≥?12?mmol/L, but both were comparable to pH alone.

Conclusions: pH, BD and lactate have similar predictive ability for adverse neonatal outcomes among acidemic neonates. Umbilical arterial lactate could replace BD as a measure of the metabolic component in acidemic neonates. However, neither BD nor lactate demonstrated in this study to improve the predictive ability of pH alone for short-term neonatal outcomes.     

Molecular Epidemiology of Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Outbreak,Tumbes, Peru, 2010–2012

During 2010–2012, an outbreak of 210 cases of malaria occurred in Tumbes, in the northern coast of Peru, where no Plasmodium falciparum malaria case had been reported since 2006. To identify the source of the parasite causing this outbreak, we conducted a molecular epidemiology investigation. Microsatellite typing showed an identical genotype in all 54 available isolates. This genotype was also identical to that of parasites isolated in 2010 in the Loreto region of the Peruvian Amazon and closely related to clonet B, a parasite lineage previously reported in the Amazon during 1998–2000. These findings are consistent with travel history of index case-patients. DNA sequencing revealed mutations in the Pfdhfr, Pfdhps, Pfcrt, and Pfmdr1 loci, which are strongly associated with resistance to chloroquine and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine, and deletion of the Pfhrp2 gene. These results highlight the need for timely molecular epidemiology investigations to trace the parasite source during malaria reintroduction events.