Matrix Metalloproteinases 2 and 9 Polymorphism in Patients With Myeloproliferative Diseases: A STROBE-Compliant Observational Study

Chronic myeloproliferative disorders such as polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocytosis (ET), and idiopathic myelofibrosis arise from clonal proliferation of neoplastic stem cells in the bone marrow. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc-dependent endopeptidases that have potential to degrade all types of extracellular matrix (ECM) and also play a role in remodeling of the ECM. It is known that MMPs play a role in bone marrow remodeling.The primary goal of our study is to explore the relationship between chronic myeloproliferative diseases and some of MMP gene polymorphisms. The demonstration of a relationship will help to understand whether these polymorphisms may be a potential early diagnosis marker of the diseases.Patients were selected from outpatient clinics of Turgut Ozal University Hospital, Ankara, Turkey, between December 2010 and May 2011. Twenty-eight patients that previously diagnosed and followed-up with PV, 17 with secondary polycythemia (SP), and 12 with ET were enrolled in the study, along with a control group of 22 healthy people.DNA was isolated from peripheral blood. Using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism method, MMP2 and MMP9 gene polymorphisms were analyzed with agarose gel electrophoresis. There was a statistically significant difference between the study groups and the control group in terms of Gln279Arg polymorphisms rates of MMP9. The highest MMP9 Gln279Arg polymorphism rate was observed in the ET group. But nobody from the control group had polymorphic MMP9. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of MMP2-735 C > T polymorphism rates.In conclusion, MMP9 gene Gln279Arg polymorphism was associated with ET, SP, and PV diseases. Hence, we believe that these gene polymorphisms may play a role in the mechanism of bone marrow fibrosis and may be a factor that increases the risk of thrombosis. Illumination of the molecular basis of the relationship between MMP-thrombosis and MMP-fibrosis provides a better understanding of the pathophysiology of PV and ET diseases and will allow new approaches to diagnosis and treatment.     

Prefabrication of bone by vascular induction: an experimental study in rabbits.

The various methods of prefabricating flaps include vascular induction through staged transfer; pretransfer delay, expansion, and grafting; the use of alloplastic materials; and tissue bioengineering. In this experimental study, vascular induction was used to provide an axial vascular pedicle to randomly nourished tissue. Twenty-six New Zealand rabbits, ages and weights ranging between 6 months-1 year and 1.5-3.5 kg, respectively, were used. The sex difference was not considered. The deep inferior epigastric artery and vein were used to carry blood and were placed into a segment of femur to prefabricate the bone. Four weeks later, the viability of the segment of bone prefabricated by new axial pedicle was shown by scintigraphic study, and the new axial pedicle was ready for free transfer.     

Percutaneous radiofrequency rhizotomy of lumbar spinal facets: The results of 46 cases

The results of percutaneous radiofrequency rhizotomy of lumbar spinal facets in 46 patients followed at least three months (mean 15 months) are reported and compared with those reported previously. Satisfactory pain relief three months after the procedure was achieved in 36.4 percent of patients without operations and in 41.7 percent of patients with operations other than fusion.No patient had previously undergone fusion.Treatment of low-back pain by using radio-frequency thermocoagulation of spinal facets is a simple, safe, and well-tolerated procedure. It can be used to relief of pain in spite of decreasing rates of success within the follow-up period.     

Per operative localization of a carcinoid tumour of the breast using indium-111 pentetreotide and a nuclear surgical probe

A 69-year-old woman presented with a single enlarged lymph node in the left axilla. Clinical examination and other investigations, including various imaging methods, failed to reveal the primary tumour. However, indium-111 pentetreotide scan revealed a site of uptake in the anterior region of the left thorax. Peroperative imaging with t¹¹¹In-pentetreotide confirmed the tumour uptake and use of a nuclear surgical probe allowed precise localization of the tumour, which was completely resected.     

Anticonvulsive effects of quinine on penicillin-induced epileptiform activity: an in vivo study.

Epilepsy is an important problem in neurological disorders. The common features of all types of epilepsy are the synchronized and uncontrolled discharges of nerve cell assemblies. Recent studies claimed that gap junctions have a critical role in epileptic neuronal events. The aim of present study is to investigate the effects of connexin36 (Cx36) channel blocker quinine on penicillin-induced experimental epilepsy. For this purpose, 4 months old male Wistar rats were used in the present study. Permanent screw electrodes allowing EEG monitoring from conscious animals and permanent cannula providing the administration of the substances to the brain ventricle were placed into the cranium of rats under general anesthesia. At the end of the postoperative recovery period, epileptiform activity was generated by injecting 300 IU crystallized penicillin through the ventricular cannula. When the epileptiform activity, monitored from a digital recording system, reached maximal frequency and amplitude, quinine (200, 400 or 1000 nmol) was administered similar to penicillin. Effects of quinine on epileptiform activity were assessed by both electrophysiological and behavioral analysis. Quinine suppressed epileptiform activity by decreasing the amplitude and frequency of epileptiform spikes and by attenuating the epileptiform behavior. The outcomes of this study suggest that the blockade of Cx36 channels may contribute to the amelioration of epileptic activity.     

The sodium channels of the neuroblastoma x glioma 108 CC 15 hybrid cell change their sensitivity for volatile and local anesthetics upon continuous passage

Summary We have studied the ion flux through the sodium channels of low passage number (<50p.) and high passage number (>150p.) neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid cells using [¹⁴C] guanidinium and specific neurotoxins to induce channel opening and closing. The sodium channels of low passage number hybrid cells could be opened by veratridine alone, suggesting the presence of voltage dependent channels in agreement with electrophysiological studies reported in the literature. The sodium channels of the high passage number hybrid cells, however, needed the synergistic action of veratridine and scorpion toxin for activation suggesting that these channels are silent. The [¹⁴C] guanidinium ion flux through the sodium channels of the high passage number hybrid cells was inhibited by significantly lower concentrations of the volatile anesthetics (halothane, isoflurane and enflurane) and the lcoal anesthetics (tetracaine and bupivacaine) than the comparable flux through the sodium channels of the low passage number hybrid cells.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. E. Wecker on the occasion of his 65th birthday.     

The presence of immunosuppressive ''p15E-like'' factors in the serum and urine of patients suffering from malign and benign breast tumours.

Autoantibodies in sera from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and onchocerciasis recognize calreticulin (CaR), a calcium-binding protein, as antigen. In this study we present the immunological properties of two synthetic peptides prepared to correspond to the 1-24 and 7-24 amino acid sequence of CaR. In contrast to information previously reported for the recombinant protein, the CaR-peptide analogues appeared immunoreactive to anti-Ro/SSA autoimmune sera. Human sera from patients with SLE, Sjögren's syndrome (SS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as well as mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), demonstrated a positive autoimmune response (binding of antibodies), to the CaR-peptide analogues. These findings suggest that anti-calreticulin autoantibodies are not restricted to any disease specificity.     

Emergence of rifampicin resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated at a Turkish university hospital

Twenty-three rifampicin-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated in three wards at a university hospital in Turkey between June, 2000, and February, 2001, were studied for their genetic relatedness using a combination of antibiogram, coagulase serotyping, coagulase gene polymorphism (coa-RFLP), and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). They all expressed high-level rifampicin resistance (MIC, >256 mg/L) and were resistant to gentamicin, kanamycin, amikacin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and cadmium acetate and were susceptible to fusidic acid, vancomycin, trimethoprim, and mupirocin. They belonged to the same coagulase serotype (serotype IV) and had identical coa-RFLP patterns. In contrast, PFGE generated nine banding patterns designated type A, types A1-A5, B, C, and D. The most common PFGE pattern (type A) and its subtypes (types A1-A5) were seen in 20 (87%) of the 23 isolates in the three wards. The results demonstrated the acquisition of rifampicin resistance by different MRSA clones and the spread of one clone among patients in the three wards.