Application of Ultrasonography in Thyroid Cysts

Thyroid ultrasonography has been used to detect thyroid lesions since the 1960s. In early 1970s, thyroid cyst had been reported to present as thyroid nodules. With over one-third of all isolated thyroid nodules being cystic, over half exhibit cystic degeneration and approximately 17–32% of the cystic thyroid nodules are malignant. The pathogenesis of thyroid cysts is unknown. Possible causes include infarcts and other destructive processes including hemorrhaging in the thyroid follicle, clustering of thyroid follicles followed by cystic degeneration, and benign or malignant tumor necrosis. Cystic fluid analysis for amylase, lactate dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase reveals substantially higher levels than in the serum. Immunoreactive endothelin, vascular epithelial growth factor and β2-microglobulin were investigated in the cystic fluid of developing and recurrent thyroid nodules. Ultrasound-guided aspiration near the solid part of the thyroid cysts, combined with cytologic study by experienced endocrine cytopathologists, constitutes the best form of preoperative diagnosis of malignant thyroid cysts. Of the malignant cysts, most are papillary thyroid carcinoma. However, medullary cystic carcinoma and anaplastic thyroid carcinoma with cystic changes are also reported. Observation, repeated aspiration, thyroid hormone therapy, percutaneous ethanol injection, ultrasound-guided interstitial laser photocoagulation and surgical treatment are the most common treatment for thyroid cysts. Depending on the definition of response rate and the period of follow-up, the response rate to ethanol injection for thyroid cysts ranges from 72.1% to 93.9%. In conclusion, the pathogenesis of the thyroid cysts requires further investigation. Recurrent thyroid cysts larger than 3 cm may require surgical treatment

TNFAIP3, a negative regulator of the TLR signaling pathway, is a potential predictive biomarker of response to antidepressant treatment in major depressive disorder

AbstractInflammation and abnormalities in Toll-like receptor (TLR) expression and activation have been linked to major depressive disorder (MDD). However, negative regulators of TLR pathways have not been previously investigated in this context. Here, we sought to investigate the association of depression severity, measured by the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), with mRNA expression levels of negative regulators of the TLR pathway, including SOCS1, TOLLIP, SIGIRR, MyD88s, NOD2 and TNFAIP3, in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 100 patients with MDD and 53 healthy controls, before and after treatment with antidepressants. Positive regulators of the TLR4 pathway, including Pellino 1, TRAF6 and IRAK1, were also investigated. Among all patients, MyD88s, and TNFAIP3 mRNAs were expressed at lower levels in PBMCs from patients with MDD. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that TNFAIP3 mRNA expression before treatment was inversely correlated with severity of depression and effectively predicted improvement in HAMD-17 scores. Among 79 treatment-completers, only TNFAIP3 mRNA was significantly increased by treatment with antidepressants for 4 weeks. Treatment of human monocytes (THP-1) and mouse microglia (SIM-A9) cell lines with fluoxetine significantly increased TNFAIP3 mRNA expression and suppressed IL-6 levels. The suppressive effect of fluoxetine on IL-6 was attenuated by knockdown of TNFAIP3 expression. These findings suggest that both dysfunction of the negative regulatory system in patients with MDD and antidepressant treatment exert anti-inflammatory effects, at least in part through increased expression of the TNFAIP3 gene. They also indicate that modulating expression of the TNFAIP3 gene to rebalance TLR-mediated inflammatory signaling may be potential therapeutic strategy for treating MDD

Changes in corneal curvature after wearing the orthokeratology lens

AbstractIntroductionThe orthokeratology lens (OK lens) is designed to reshape the cornea and correct refraction error. Owing to the convenience of ceasing the use of glasses during the day, the use of the OK lens is increasing in myopic children. In this study, changes in corneal curvature and astigmatism after wearing the OK lens were analyzed.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included 65 children (130 eyes) who underwent full and regular examinations. None of the participants had any ocular disease other than myopia and astigmatism. The OK lenses used in this study were four-zone, reverse-geometry lenses. The corneal curvature of each patient was checked annually after the patients discontinued daily wearing of the OK lens for 10 days. Student t test and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyses were performed to compare the results.ResultsThe radius of corneal curvature showed a progressive annual increase with significant differences, both in the steepest and flattest radius of the corneal curvature (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). The mean radius of the steepest and flattest corneal curvature increased significantly from baseline to the following years consecutively (all p < 0.001). Nevertheless, astigmatism did not change significantly in any of the tests.ConclusionCorneal curvature changed as the patients grew older. There was a statistically significant increase in the radius of the corneal curvature in the myopic children studied. For correct fit of OK lenses, the radius of the corneal curvature should be regularly checked prior to dispensing a new set of lenses

Inhibitory Effects of Resveratrol on PDGF-BB-Induced Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cell Migration via PDGFRβ, PI3K/Akt and MAPK Pathways

Purpose: In diseases such as proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration, retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells proliferate and migrate. Moreover, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) has been shown to enhance proliferation and migration of RPE cells in PVR. Even resveratrol can suppress the migration and adhesion of many cell types, its effects on RPE cell migration and adhesion remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of resveratrol on RPE cell migration induced by PDGF-BB, an isoform of PDGF, and adhesion to fibronectin, a major ECM component of PVR tissue. Methods: The migration of RPE cells was assessed by an electric cell-substrate impedance sensing migration assay and a Transwell migration assay. A cell viability assay was used to determine the viability of resveratrol treated-cells. The cell adhesion to fibronectin was examined by an adhesion assay. The interactions of resveratrol with PDGF-BB were analyzed by a dot binding assay. The PDGF-BB-induced signaling pathways were determined by western blotting and scratch wound healing assay. Results: Resveratrol inhibited PDGF-BB-induced RPE cell migration in a dose-dependent manner, but showed no effects on ARPE19 cell adhesion to fibronectin. The cell viability assay showed no cytotoxicity of resveratrol on RPE cells and the dot binding assay revealed no direct interactions of resveratrol with PDGF-BB. Inhibitory effects of resveratrol on PDGF-BB-induced platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ) and tyrosine phosphorylation and the underlying pathways of PI3K/Akt, ERK and p38 activation were found; however, resveratrol and PDGF-BB showed no effects on PDGFRα and JNK activation. Scratch wound healing assay demonstrated resveratrol and the specific inhibitors of PDGFR, PI3K, MEK or p38 suppressed PDGF-BB-induced cell migration. Conclusions: These results indicate that resveratrol is an effective inhibitor of PDGF-BB-induced RPE cell migration via PDGFRβ, PI3K/Akt and MAPK pathways, but has no effects on the RPE cell adhesion to fibronectin

Indigenous Case of Disseminated Histoplasmosis, Taiwan

We report the first indigenous case of disseminated histoplasmosis in Taiwan diagnosed by histopathology of bone marrow, microbiologic morphology, and PCR assay of the isolated fungus. This case suggests that histoplasmosis should be 1 of the differential diagnoses of opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients in Taiwan

Effective gene expression in the rat dorsal root ganglia with a non-viral vector delivered via spinal nerve injection

Delivering gene constructs into the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) is a powerful but challenging therapeutic strategy for sensory disorders affecting the DRG and their peripheral processes. The current delivery methods of direct intra-DRG injection and intrathecal injection have several disadvantages, including potential injury to DRG neurons and low transfection efficiency, respectively. This study aimed to develop a spinal nerve injection strategy to deliver polyethylenimine mixed with plasmid (PEI/DNA polyplexes) containing green fluorescent protein (GFP). Using this spinal nerve injection approach, PEI/DNA polyplexes were delivered to DRG neurons without nerve injury. Within one week of the delivery, GFP expression was detected in 82.8% ± 1.70% of DRG neurons, comparable to the levels obtained by intra-DRG injection (81.3% ± 5.1%, p = 0.82) but much higher than those obtained by intrathecal injection. The degree of GFP expression by neurofilament(+) and peripherin(+) DRG neurons was similar. The safety of this approach was documented by the absence of injury marker expression, including activation transcription factor 3 and ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 for neurons and glia, respectively, as well as the absence of behavioral changes. These results demonstrated the efficacy and safety of delivering PEI/DNA polyplexes to DRG neurons via spinal nerve injection.National Science Council of Taiwan (100-2321-B-002-007)National Science Council of Taiwan (100-2320-B-002-083-MY3)Taiwan. Ministry of Science and Technology (104-2300-B-002-019-MY3)National Taiwan University. College of Medicine (Translational Medicine Project)National Taiwan University Hospital (101C101-201

Subcellular localization and expression of bamboo mosaic virus satellite RNA-encoded protein

The satellite RNA of bamboo mosaic virus (satBaMV) has a single open reading frame encoding a non-structural protein, P20, which facilitates long-distance movement of satBaMV in BaMV and satBaMV co-infected plants. Immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy revealed that the P20 protein accumulated in the cytoplasm and nuclei in co-infected cells. P20 and the helper virus coat protein (CP) were highly similar in their subcellular localization, except that aggregates of BaMV virions were not labelled with anti-P20 serum. The BaMV CP protein was fairly abundant in mesophyll cells, whilst P20 was more frequently detected in mesophyll cells and vascular tissues. The expression kinetics of the P20 protein was similar to but slightly earlier than that of CP in co-infected Bambusa oldhamii protoplasts and Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. However, satBaMV-encoded protein levels declined rapidly in the late phase of co-infection. During co-infection, in addition to the intact P20, a low-molecular-mass polypeptide of 16 kDa was identified as a P20 C-terminally truncated product; the possible method of generation of the truncated protein is discussed