Receptor tyrosine kinase and p16/CDKN2 expression in a case of tripe palms associated with non-small-cell lung cancer

Background: Tripe palms is a descriptive term for a cutaneous paraneoplastic keratoderma. Tripe palms are frequently associated with gastric and pulmonary carcinoma. The pathogenetic mechanism remains unknown. Objective: To determine the influence of receptor tyrosine kinases, which are both expressed in pulmonary carcinomas and in human skin, we performed expression studies on epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), HER2, HERS in a skin sample of tripe palms obtained from a patient with non-small-cell lung cancer with lymph node involvement. Two months after diagnosis, the patient had developed palmoplantar `tripe palms'. Additionally, the expression of SRC, c-myc and p16/CDKN2 were studied. Method: Conventional reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed on a tissue sample of tripe palms. Results: Weak expression of HER2 and of p16/CDKN2 was found. EGFR, HERS, c-myc and SRC were not expressed. Conclusion: Receptor tyrosine kinases of subclass I, the tyrosine kinase SRC and the oncogene c-myc play no major role in the pathogenesis of this case of tripe palms. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG. Basel

Polyphosphate granule biogenesis is temporally and functionally tied to cell cycle exit during starvation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Polyphosphate (polyP) granule biogenesis is an ancient and ubiquitous starvation response in bacteria. Although the ability to make polyP is important for survival during quiescence and resistance to diverse environmental stresses, granule genesis is poorly understood. Using quantitative microscopy at high spatial and temporal resolution, we show that granule genesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is tightly organized under nitrogen starvation. Following nucleation as many microgranules throughout the nucleoid, polyP granules consolidate and become transiently spatially organized during cell cycle exit. Between 1 and 3 h after nitrogen starvation, a minority of cells have divided, yet the total granule number per cell decreases, total granule volume per cell dramatically increases, and individual granules grow to occupy diameters as large as ∼200 nm. At their peak, mature granules constitute ∼2% of the total cell volume and are evenly spaced along the long cell axis. Following cell cycle exit, granules initially retain a tight spatial organization, yet their size distribution and spacing relax deeper into starvation. Mutant cells lacking polyP elongate during starvation and contain more than one origin. PolyP promotes cell cycle exit by functioning at a step after DNA replication initiation. Together with the universal starvation alarmone (p)ppGpp, polyP has an additive effect on nucleoid dynamics and organization during starvation. Notably, cell cycle exit is temporally coupled to a net increase in polyP granule biomass, suggesting that net synthesis, rather than consumption of the polymer, is important for the mechanism by which polyP promotes completion of cell cycle exit during starvation

Dringliche Eingriffe in der endokrinen Chirurgie

Während Notfalloperationen aus mechanischer Indikation immer wieder vorkommen (z. B. Chiasma-Syndrom, Atemwegsobstruktion), sind die kritischen Überfunktionen der endokrinen Drüsen in der Regel durch konservativ-medikamentöse Therapie ausreichend zu beherrschen. Ausnahmen: z. B. thyreotoxische Krise (bei nur kurz anhaltender Besserung durch Plasmapherese bei einer jodinduzierten Hyperthyreose) oder akutes Cushing-Syndrom (nicht beherrschbare hypokaliämische Alkalose). Solche Einzelfälle hängen von der optimalen Kooperation von Anaesthesie, Chirurgie und internistischer Intensivmedizin ab. Gesetze der Diagnose und der konservativen Vorbereitung für die operative Behandlung von endokrinen Überfunktionszuständen nur ultima ratio übertreten!Urgent surgery for emergency situations in endocrine diseases is needed for mechanical problems (e.g., chiasma syndrome or tracheal obstruction) and very rarely for endocrine hyperfunction, which can usually be treated by nonsurgical means. Exceptions are patients suffering from thyroid storm (impending early relapse after plasmapheresis due to excess iodine) or from acute Cushing's syndrome (intractable potassium loss and alkalosis whom we have successfully transferred to surgery. The rules for diagnosis and medical preparation for surgery of endocrine hyperfunctional states should only be disregarded ultima ratio

Making the Connection: Creating Leaders in Research, Education, and Practice through Doctoral Study in Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy

Current students and recent graduates of USC\u27s OTD and PhD programs share innovative projects that address the Centennial Vision priority areas of practice. They share practical and creative strategies for bridging the gaps between research, education, and practice, and developing and implementing changes in a variety of practice settings

Heat shock protein expression during gametogenesis and embryogenesis.

When cells are subjected to various stress factors, they increase the production of a group of proteins called heat shock proteins (hsp). Heat shock proteins are highly conserved proteins present in organisms ranging from bacteria to man. Heat shock proteins enable cells to survive adverse environmental conditions by preventing protein denaturation. Thus the physiological and pathological potential of hsps is enormous and has been studied widely over the past two decades. The presence or absence of hsps influences almost every aspect of reproduction. They are among the first proteins produced during mammalian embryo development. In this report, the production of hsps in gametogenesis and early embryo development is described. It has been suggested that prolonged and asymptomatic infections trigger immunity to microbial hsp epitopes that are also expressed in man. This may be relevant for human reproduction, since many couples with fertility problems have had a previous genital tract infection. Antibodies to bacterial and human hsps are present at high titers in sera of many patients undergoing in vitro fertilization. In a mouse embryo culture model, these antibodies impaired the mouse embryo development at unique developmental stages. The gross morphology of these embryos resembled cells undergoing apoptosis. The TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated X-dUTP nick end labeling) staining pattern, which is a common marker of apoptosis, revealed that embryos cultured in the presence of hsp antibodies stained TUNEL-positive more often than unexposed embryos. These data extend preexisting findings showing the detrimental effect of immune sensitization to hsps on embryo development

Search for neutrino oscillations on a long base-line at the CHOOZ nuclear power station

This final article about the CHOOZ experiment presents a complete description of the electron antineutrino source and detector, the calibration methods and stability checks, the event reconstruction procedures and the Monte Carlo simulation. The data analysis, systematic effects and the methods used to reach our conclusions are fully discussed. Some new remarks are presented on the deduction of the confidence limits and on the correct treatment of systematic errors.Comment: 41 pages, 59 figures, Latex file, accepted for publication by Eur.Phys.J.