Splenic hamartoma with bizarre stromal cells: a case report and literature review

Abstract Background Splenic hamartoma is a rare benign vascular proliferative lesion composed of unorganized sinusoid-like channels lined with plump or flat endothelial cells and characterized by a CD8-positive immunophenotype of the lining cells. Scattered bizarre stromal cells can be found in some splenic hamartomas. The presence of splenic hamartoma with bizarre stromal cells is extremely rare and these bizarre cells make it possible to be regarded as a malignancy. Recognition of this rare histologic variant will help to avoid diagnostic confusion and overtreatment of this benign entity. Case presentation We report a case of a 40-year-old man with occasional left-sided waist back pain. A splenic space-occupying lesion was detected by ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. Microscopically bizarre large cells were scattered throughout the splenic hamartoma. The cells exhibited atypical nuclei, scarcely visible cytoplasm, and vesicular chromatin, and they did not form expansile clusters and lacked mitotic activity. An immunohistochemical panel was performed. The bizarre cells strongly expressed vimentin, and the Ki-67 index was very low. The lesion was diagnosed as a splenic hamartoma with bizarre stromal cells. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic review on a splenic hamartoma with bizarre stromal cells; only six cases have been described in the literature. Proper identification is important to secure adequate treatment

LncRNA PVT1 triggers Cyto-protective autophagy and promotes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma development via the miR-20a-5p/ULK1 Axis

Abstract Background Defective autophagy is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cancer. Human plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (PVT1) is an oncogenic long non-coding RNA that has been identified as a prognostic biomarker in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, but how PVT1 operates in the regulation of autophagy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is unclear. Methods PVT1 expression level was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and hybridization in situ (ISH). Western blot or qRT-PCR was performed to assess the ULK1 protein or mRNA level. Autophagy was explored via autophagic flux detection under a confocal microscope and autophagic vacuoles investigation under a transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The biological role of PVT1 in autophagy and PDA development was determined by gain-of-function and loss-of-function assays. Results We found that PVT1 levels paralleled those of ULK1 protein in PDA cancer tissues. PVT1 promoted cyto-protective autophagy and cell growth by targeting ULK1 both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, high PVT1 expression was associated with poor prognosis. Furthermore, we found that PVT1 acted as sponge to regulate miR-20a-5p and thus affected ULK1 expression and the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Conclusions The present study demonstrates that the “PVT1/miR-20a-5p/ULK1/autophagy” pathway modulates the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and may be a novel target for developing therapeutic strategies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma