Corneal Dermoid

A 20 years old boy presented with left corneal mass. The mass involved entire cornea extending to the sclera. The mass had a skin like surface and protruded outside the palpebral aperture. The eye with the mass was excised .The histopathology report confirmed the diagnosis of corneal dermoid. This late presentation of huge corneal dermoid extending to sclera is first such report in the literature

Over the counter ophthalmic drug misuse, are we aware?

Aim: To investigate the misuse of ‘over the counter’ ophthalmic medications in our city. Method: Responses of a structured questionnaire covering various aspects of over the counter drug use was obtained from pharmacy workers in and around our city. Results: Eighty nine pharmacy workers took part in this cross–sectional study. An average number of seven patients per day with ophthalmic complaints were seen by the pharmacy workers. Dispensing over the counter was practiced by 89.9% of the pharmacists. The most common complaint of the patients visiting the pharmacy, was redness and itching (86.5%). Antibiotics (96.6%) were the most common eye drops dispensed over the counter, followed by steroids (55.1%), decongestants (54.1%), antibiotic-steroid combination eye drops (29.2%) and lubricants (16.8%). Awareness regarding complications of steroid use was seen in 40.6% of pharmacists. 6.7% pharmacists had seen patients with complications following use of over the counter medications. In our study, majority of the eye drops dispensed were prescription drugs. Conclusion: Availability of prescription eye drops over the counter is an immense public threat. Educating the pharmacist and the population can decrease ocular morbidity. Research into methods to effectively deal with over-the-counter drug misuse is required and law can be enforced based on the findings

Cystic Lymphangioma of Adrenal Gland

An 18 year old female presented with vaginal bleeding at 2 months of gestation. Ultrasonography revealed a large retroperitoneal cyst. Histopathological examination of the excised cyst showed features suggestive of a cystic adrenal lymphangioma. This case is reported because of its rarity and detection during pregnancy.Key Words: Retroperitoneal cyst, adrenal cystic lymphangioma

Proteins other than the locus of enterocyte effacement-encoded proteins contribute to Escherichia coli O157:H7 adherence to bovine rectoanal junction stratified squamous epithelial cells

Background: In this study, we present evidence that proteins encoded by the Locus of Enterocyte Effacement (LEE), considered critical for Escherichia coli O157 (O157) adherence to follicle-associated epithelial (FAE) cells at the bovine recto-anal junction (RAJ), do not appear to contribute to O157 adherence to squamous epithelial (RSE) cells also constituting this primary site of O157 colonization in cattle. Results: Antisera targeting intimin-γ, the primary O157 adhesin, and other essential LEE proteins failed to block O157 adherence to RSE cells, when this pathogen was grown in DMEM, a culture medium that enhances expression of LEE proteins. In addition, RSE adherence of a DMEM-grown-O157 mutant lacking the intimin protein was comparable to that seen with its wild-type parent O157 strain grown in the same media. These adherence patterns were in complete contrast to that observed with HEp-2 cells (the adherence to which is mediated by intimin-γ), assayed under same conditions. This suggested that proteins other than intimin-γ that contribute to adherence to RSE cells are expressed by this pathogen during growth in DMEM. To identify such proteins, we defined the proteome of DMEM-grown-O157 (DMEM-proteome). GeLC-MS/MS revealed that the O157 DMEM-proteome comprised 684 proteins including several components of the cattle and human O157 immunome, orthologs of adhesins, hypothetical secreted and outer membrane proteins, in addition to the known virulence and LEE proteins. Bioinformatics-based analysis of the components of the O157 DMEM proteome revealed several new O157-specific proteins with adhesin potential. Conclusion: Proteins other than LEE and intimin-γ proteins are involved in O157 adherence to RSE cells at the bovine RAJ. Such proteins, with adhesin potential, are expressed by this human pathogen during growth in DMEM. Ongoing experiments to evaluate their role in RSE adherence should provide both valuable insights into the O157-RSE interactions and new targets for more efficacious anti-adhesion O157 vaccines

The interplay of EMT and stemness driving malignant transformation of Oral Submucous Fibrosis

Background Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a persistent oral mucosal condition that carries an elevated risk of undergoing malignant transformation. Our objective was to elucidate the involvement of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in OSF and its progression to malignancy by studying a panel of EMT markers, thereby understanding the molecular mechanisms. Methods An immunohistochemical analysis was done to detect the presence of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, pan-cytokeratin (PanCK), vimentin, α-SMA (alpha-smooth muscle actin), and CD44 in a total of 100 tissue samples. These samples comprised 40 cases of OSF, 20 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma associated with OSF (OSFSCC), and 40 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). A whole transcriptomic analysis was performed on a group of seven matched samples encompassing NOM, OSF, OSFSCC, and OSCC. Results We observed significantly decreased expression of E-cadherin and PanCK, while N-cadherin, vimentin, α-SMA, and CD44 showed significantly higher expression in OSFSCC and OSCC as compared to OSF, both at protein and RNA levels. CD44 expression was noticeably higher in OSFSCC (p < 0.001) than in OSCC. Conclusion Downregulation of epithelial markers with concomitant upregulation of mesenchymal and stem cell markers suggests the potential role of EMT and stemness in accelerating the pathogenesis and malignant transformation of OSF. The high levels of CD44 expression seen in OSFSCC indicate a high propensity for aggressiveness and acquisition of stem-like characteristics by the cells undergoing EMT

Folding pathway of an Ig domain is conserved on and off the ribosome.

Proteins that fold cotranslationally may do so in a restricted configurational space, due to the volume occupied by the ribosome. How does this environment, coupled with the close proximity of the ribosome, affect the folding pathway of a protein? Previous studies have shown that the cotranslational folding process for many proteins, including small, single domains, is directly affected by the ribosome. Here, we investigate the cotranslational folding of an all-β Ig domain, titin I27. Using an arrest peptide-based assay and structural studies by cryo-EM, we show that I27 folds in the mouth of the ribosome exit tunnel. Simulations that use a kinetic model for the force dependence of escape from arrest accurately predict the fraction of folded protein as a function of length. We used these simulations to probe the folding pathway on and off the ribosome. Our simulations-which also reproduce experiments on mutant forms of I27-show that I27 folds, while still sequestered in the mouth of the ribosome exit tunnel, by essentially the same pathway as free I27, with only subtle shifts of critical contacts from the C to the N terminus

Pediatric patient with systemic lupus erythematosus & congenital acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: An unusual case and a review of the literature

The coexistence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in patients with congenital human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is rare. This is a case report of a child diagnosed with SLE at nine years of age. She initially did well on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, hydroxychloroquine, and steroids. She then discontinued her anti-lupus medications and was lost to follow-up. At 13 years of age, her lupus symptoms had resolved and she presented with intermittent fevers, cachexia, myalgias, arthralgias, and respiratory symptoms. Through subsequent investigations, the patient was ultimately diagnosed with congenitally acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)