Ultrastructural markers of lymph nodes in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome and in homosexual males with unexplained persistent lymphadenopathy. A quantitative study

To determine if vesicular rosettes (VR), tubuloreticular structures (TRS), and "test-tube and ring-shaped forms" (TRF) are characteristic ultrastructural features of the syndromes of acquired immune deficiency (AIDS) or of unexplained persistent lymphadenopathy (PLS), the authors studied lymph nodes from nine patients with PLS, two patients with AIDS, and seven controls by electron microscopy. An average of 122 lymphocytes per case were photographed. VR were present in only 0.37% of lymphocytes in 4 of 11 index cases and were mimicked by grouped vesicles and degenerating multivesicular bodies (MVB). TRS were found in 10 of 11 index cases, compared with only one of seven controls (P less than 0.01). In the index cases, they were more frequent in AIDS (mean 21%) than in PLS lymphocytes (mean 4%) (P less than 0.05). MVB were found in all index cases and five of seven controls and were more frequent in index lymphocytes (mean 19%) than in controls (mean 5%) (P less than 0.01). TRF were found in one Haitian male with AIDS, where they were present in 4% of lymphocytes. VR are infrequent and indistinct. MVB probably reflect the reactivity of the lymphocytes. TRF is not a feature of PLS. The authors conclude that there are no pathognomonic ultrastructural markers of AIDS or PLS but that TRS are characteristic of both syndromes and occur frequently enough to be supportive to the diagnosis of AIDS and PLS.     

Genoprotection and Cytotoxicity of Cassia surattensis Seed Extract on Vero Cell Evaluated by Comet and Cytotoxicity Assays

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences - Cassia (C.) surattensis Burm. f. (Leguminosae) is a flowering plant that has been traditionally used in many...     

Impaired Bone Marrow Microenvironment and Immune Function in T Cell Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase–deficient Mice

The T cell protein tyrosine phosphatase (TC-PTP) is one of the most abundant mammalian tyrosine phosphatases in hematopoietic cells; however, its role in hematopoietic cell function remains unknown. In this report, we investigated the physiological function(s) of TC-PTP by generating TC-PTP–deficient mutant mice. The three genotypes (+/+, +/−, −/−) showed mendelian segregation at birth (1:2:1) demonstrating that the absence of TC-PTP was not lethal in utero, but all homozygous mutant mice died by 3–5 wk of age, displaying runting, splenomegaly, and lymphadenopathy. Homozygous mice exhibited specific defects in bone marrow (BM), B cell lymphopoiesis, and erythropoiesis, as well as impaired T and B cell functions. However, myeloid and macrophage development in the BM and T cell development in the thymus were not significantly affected. BM transplantation experiments showed that hematopoietic failure in TC-PTP −/− animals was not due to a stem cell defect, but rather to a stromal cell deficiency. This study demonstrates that TC-PTP plays a significant role in both hematopoiesis and immune function.     

Community mental health in India: A rethink

Background  

Community care of the chronic mentally ill has always been prevalent in India, largely due to family involvement and unavailability of institutions. In the 80s, a few mental health clinics became operational in some parts of the country. The Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF), an NGO in Chennai had established a community clinic in 1989 in Thiruporur, which was functional till 1999. During this period various programmes such as training of the primary health center staff, setting up a referral system, setting up of a Citizen's Group, and self-employment schemes were initiated. It was decided to begin a follow up in 2005 to determine the present status of the schemes as well as the current status of the patients registered at the clinic. This we believed would lead to pointers to help evolve future community based programmes.     

Adhesion proteins in the biology of breast cancer: contribution of CD44.

One of the most important features of tumor cell invasion is the ability to establish or modulate adhesion to other cells or to an extracellular matrix, a process mediated by a large number of adhesion proteins. This review examines how CD44 participates in malignant transformation and progression of the breast epithelium. CD44 is a family of cell adhesion glycoproteins generated by alternative splicing of up to 10 variant exons. Discrete CD44 isoforms are overexpressed in different human cancers, including breast cancer. Recent studies, including our own, have shown that CD44 is involved in two of the three steps of the invasive cascade: adhesion to the extracellular matrix and motility. The overexpression of one of the CD44 variants, CD44v6, is a significant component in the malignant transformation of the breast epithelium and its use as a prognostic marker is presently investigated.     

Presence of monocytes in systemic lupus erythematosus-associated glomerulonephritis: marker study and significance

The presence and significance of monocytes in the glomerular lesions of 13 renal specimens obtained from ten patients with systemic lupus erythematosus-associated nephritis were studied. The monocytes were identified by the presence of intracytoplasmic lysozyme, as demonstrated by immunoperoxidase staining on paraffin-embedded tissue. Eight specimens obtained from six patients displayed monocytes. These were found most often associated with mesangial hypercellularity, and their appearance fluctuated with it. There was a positive correlation between the number of lysozyme-positive cells and the amount of proteinuria. We conclude that monocytes contribute to the endocapillary hypercellularity and affect protein filtration in lupus nephritis.     

Late development of purpura in a patient with glomerulonephritis

A 20-year-old man with a 10-year history of glomerulonephritis presented with a purpuric rash on his legs. A renal biopsy specimen obtained when he was 11 years old had shown mesangial glomerulonephritis; staining 9 years later for IgA had negative results. A second renal biopsy, performed when the rash was present, revealed mesangial glomerulonephritis and mesangial deposits of IgA; biopsies of the involved skin showed leukocytoclastic vasculitis. In this case isolated glomerulonephritis appeared to change to a multisystem illness, with a different immunologic character, through one of several possible pathogenetic mechanisms.     

Decreased population of Leu-7+ natural killer cells in lymph nodes of homosexual men with AIDS-related persistent lymphadenopathy.

Natural killer (NK) cells were studied in the lymph nodes of homosexual men with the persistent lymphadenopathy syndrome (PLS) and other signs of the disease complex related to the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The NK cells were identified by their Leu-7+ phenotype and enumerated in frozen sections of lymph nodes in conjunction with the quantification of T-lymphocyte subsets. Lymph nodes from patients with AIDS-related PLS contained 91% and 81% fewer NK cells than normal lymph nodes and lymph nodes from patients with non-AIDS-related hyperplastic lymphadenopathy respectively. This decrease in NK cells in PLS is consistent with the immune dysregulation leading to persistent infection and neoplasia in AIDS.     

The spectrum of diseases associated with necrotizing glomerulonephritis and its prognosis

Necrotizing glomerulonephritis (NGN) represents small-vessel vasculitis in the kidney. To assess the diseases associated with necrotizing glomerular changes and their prognosis we studied all 32 patients who had this histologic finding on kidney biopsy from 1969 to 1982 and compared them to those patients who had crescentic, diffuse, or focal and segmental glomerulonephritis without necrosis (n = 29). The diseases associated with NGN were systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 6/15), Henoch-Sch?nlein purpura (n = 3/4) Goodpasture's syndrome (n = 4/7), Wegener's granulomatosis (n = 6/6), polyarteritis (n = 4/5), infective endocarditis (n = 2/3), and idiopathic rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (n = 7/21). Necrotizing glomerulonephritis occurred significantly more often in the vasculitides than in all the other disorders put together. The most difficult diagnosis problem occurred in patients with renal disease and pulmonary hemorrhage (n = 9), in three of whom diagnosis was uncertain even after autopsy (two autopsies done within one month and one within three months of presentation). A fourth patient had a linear staining for IgG along the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) on kidney biopsy but was subsequently diagnosed as having Wegener's granulomatosis. Comparison of patients with without NGN revealed no difference in outcome (death or dialysis) one year after biopsy (38% v 43%) or in serum creatinine levels one year later (4.6 v 4.8 mg/dL). The prognostic effect of NGN was not obscured by unequal distribution of other adverse prognostic factors in the two groups. The most important prognostic characteristics we identified for outcome were serum creatinine at biopsy (chi 2 = 24.0, P less than .0004) and the sum of activity and chronicity indexes on biopsy (chi 2 = 12.7, P = .0004). These variables were similarly distributed in patients with and without necrosis, mean serum creatinine levels at biopsy being 4.3 v 4.2 mg/dL and sum of indexes 7.8 v 8.0. Other factors such as clinical diagnosis and therapy were not important prognostically and therefore could not explain our results. We conclude that NGN in patients with active proliferative glomerulonephritis has multiple causes. Diagnostic difficulties occurred in those with anti-GBM-negative pulmonary hemorrhage. The appearances of small-vessel vasculitis in the kidney did not appear to have prognostic significance.