Posttraumatic Progressive Vertebral Hemangioma Induced by a Fracture

The authors present an extremely rare case of an aggressive and progressive vertebral capillary hemangioma of the lumbar spine secondary to a trauma. A 40-year-old man who complained of back and leg pain due to a hemangioma of L1 that had begun a year after the fracture of the same vertebra was subsequently operated on. Due to the profuse bleeding, only a subtotal removal was possible. Histopathological diagnosis of the lesion revealed a capillary hemangioma. Postoperative control MRI taken at eight months showed that the lesion and destruction of the L1 vertebra were progressive. A second embolization procedure was performed and this time the hemangioma was totally removed via an anterior approach and corpectomy. Fusion was achieved by Th12-L2 graft and plaque. In the fourteenth year of follow-up, he was symptom-free and radiologically clear of this lesion. We propose that progressive hemangioma is extremely rare and that its cure is possible by total surgical removal of the lesion. This case is the second extradural capillary hemangioma secondary to spinal trauma ever to have been documented in English literature. The emergence of a hemangioma in a fractured vertebra suggests that its pathogenesis can be related to the deviation of the angiogenetic pathways from the normal healing process

The Effect of Matrix Metalloproteinase-3 on the Prognosis and Biological Behaviour of Meningiomas

AIM: To analyse the effect of MMP-3 (Matrix Metalloproteinase Enzyme-3)-one of the extracellular matrix proteins-on the prognosis and biological behaviour of meningiomas. MATERIAL and METHODS: 79 cases of meningioma that were operated in our clinic between 2005 and 2010 were retrospectively analysed. Age, sex, preoperative peritumoral edema, histological subtype, grade, Ki-67 expression, MMP-3 staining pattern and recurrence rate were analysed. Pathological preparations were graded according to the WHO (World Health Organisation) 2007 grading system. RESULTS: Of the MMP-III positive cases; 24 cases (60%) were grade I, 16 cases were grade II. The MMP-3 staining pattern was significantly positive (80%) in grade II meningioma. 14 of the MMP-3 positive cases were atypical meningiomas. Of the 20 cases with high Ki-67 proliferation index (PI), 12 cases (60%) were MMP-3 positive and 8 cases (40%) were MMP-3 negative. Rates of recurrence and preoperative peritumoral edema were high in cases with MMP-3 positivity. CONCLUSION: In this study it was determined that MMP-3 positivity has a strong relationship with meningiomas having an aggressive character. MMP-3 may be used as a proliferation marker for biological behaviour, recurrence rate and prognosis of meningiomas

Correction: Retinal Electrophysiological Effects of Intravitreal Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Rats.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156495.]

Clinical importance of phosphatase of regenerating liver-3 expression in breast cancer

Several biomarkers have been previously studied for breast cancer to define risk of recurrence and metastasis. Phosphatase of regenerating liver-3 (PRL-3) is one of them. High PRL-3 expression has been found to be correlated with axillary lymph node metastasis and survival in breast cancer. Herein, we evaluated the prognostic significance of PRL-3 expression and the relationship between PRL-3 and other clinicopathological factors

Association of CTLA4 and CD28 Gene Variants and Circulating Levels of Their Proteins in Patients with Breast Cancer

Background/Aim: Breast cancer is one of the most common and lethal types of cancer among women. We focused on the importance of the immune system in the etiology of breast cancer by investigating critical polymorphisms of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4) and cluster of differentiation 28 (CD28) gene, and circulating levels of these proteins. Materials and Methods: A total of 79 patients with breast cancer and 76 healthy controls were enrolled. Molecular assessment of CTLA4 (rs231775& rs5742909) and CD28 (rs3116496) variants were determined with polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism techniques. Circulating levels of soluble forms of CTLA4 and CD28 were analyzed by ELISA. Results: Although no significant association was found between study groups, CTLA4 +49AA genotypic frequency, and sCTLA4 and sCD28 levels were higher in patients. Some clinicopathological features were also related with CTLA4 and CD28 variants and blood levels. Conclusion: While CTLA4 +49AA genotype is increased in patients with breast cancer, the CTLA4 -318T allele may have a prognostic value. In addition, sCTLA4 and sCD28 can be used for diagnostic purposes in patients with breast cancer

Main study design.

<p>All rats underwent a baseline ERG which were labelled as <i>Baseline</i> group. Among these animals 46 underwent intraperitoneal STZ injection and were labelled as <i>Diabetic</i> group afterwards for induced diabetes, the rest did not receive STZ. Diabetic animals were followed for 3 months. At the end of the three months all rats received intravitreal 20x103 bone marrow derived stem cell containing solution into the right eyes and balanced salt solution into the left eyes to make up the <i>Healthy +BMSC</i>, <i>Healthy + Sham</i>, <i>Diabetic +BMSC</i> and <i>Healthy + Sham</i> groups. These groups underwent ERG analysis at 1^st week, 1^st week and 2^nd week after the intravitreal injection and were sacrificed thereafter.</p

Vimentin expression in (A) <i>Healthy+Sham</i>, (B) <i>Healthy+BMSC</i>, (C) <i>Diabetic+Sham</i>, (D) <i>Diabetic+ BMSC</i> groups and GFAP expression in (E) <i>Healthy+Sham</i>, (F) <i>Healthy+BMSC</i>, (G) <i>Diabetic+Sham</i>, (H) <i>Diabetic+ BMSC</i> groups All slides were scored manually in a blind manner.

<p>The results showed an increased vimentin and GFAP expression in the diabetic groups possibly indicating an increased gliosis in diabetic animals, and a relatively reduced gliosis in <i>Diabetic+BMSC</i> groups.</p