Microcystic Cerebral Neoplasm in a Nilgai Antelope (Boselaphus tragocamelus): Putative Microcystic Meningioma

Tumours of the nervous system are rare in wild and captive mammals. In this report, we describe an intracranial, solid, space-occupying lesion originating from the meninges in a Nilgai antelope (Boselaphus tragocamelus). Histologically, the tumour had a conspicuous microcystic appearance with features similar to the histological subtype of microcystic meningioma described in humans. This is the first such tumour reported in this species

Hepatic Lipodystrophy in Galloway Calves

Hepatic lipodystrophy in Galloway calves is a fatal liver disease affecting a small proportion of the Galloway breed described in different parts of Europe and North America during the past decades. The clinical findings include a diversity of neurological signs. Clinical pathology findings frequently indicate hepatobiliary disease. Postmortem examination reveals an enlarged, pale yellow, and firm liver. Histologic lesions include hepatic fibrosis, hepatic lipidosis, and bile duct hyperplasia. To date, the etiopathogenesis remains obscure. Infectious causes, intoxications, and a hereditary origin have been considered. We describe hepatic lipodystrophy in Galloway calves from an extensively farmed cow-calf operation in southern Germany. Main clinical findings in 6 calves were consistent with hepatic encephalopathy. Clinical pathology findings in 5 of 6 tested animals revealed increased concentration of total bilirubin (maximum value [MV], 54 mol/l;reference range [RR], 250 U/g Hb). Postmortem examination in 6 calves revealed a firm, diffusely enlarged yellow liver with a finely nodular surface. Histologic lesions included hepatic fibrosis, hepatic lipidosis, and bile duct hyperplasia. Our findings add to the existing data on hepatic lipodystrophy in the Galloway breed and outline a protocol to aid in the diagnosis of this disorder

Tumor Associated Stromal Cells Play a Critical Role on the Outcome of the Oncolytic Efficacy of Conditionally Replicative Adenoviruses

The clinical efficacy of conditionally replicative oncolytic adenoviruses (CRAd) is still limited by the inefficient infection of the tumor mass. Since tumor growth is essentially the result of a continuous cross-talk between malignant and tumor-associated stromal cells, targeting both cell compartments may profoundly influence viral efficacy. Therefore, we developed SPARC promoter-based CRAds since the SPARC gene is expressed both in malignant cells and in tumor-associated stromal cells. These CRAds, expressing or not the Herpes Simplex thymidine kinase gene (Ad-F512 and Ad(I)-F512-TK, respectively) exerted a lytic effect on a panel of human melanoma cells expressing SPARC; but they were completely attenuated in normal cells of different origins, including fresh melanocytes, regardless of whether cells expressed or not SPARC. Interestingly, both CRAds displayed cytotoxic activity on SPARC positive-transformed human microendothelial HMEC-1 cells and WI-38 fetal fibroblasts. Both CRAds were therapeutically effective on SPARC positive-human melanoma tumors growing in nude mice but exhibited restricted efficacy in the presence of co-administered HMEC-1 or WI-38 cells. Conversely, co-administration of HMEC-1 cells enhanced the oncolytic efficacy of Ad(I)-F512-TK on SPARC-negative MIA PaCa-2 pancreatic cancer cells in vivo. Moreover, conditioned media produced by stromal cells pre-infected with the CRAds enhanced the in vitro viral oncolytic activity on pancreatic cancer cells, but not on melanoma cells. The whole data indicate that stromal cells might play an important role on the outcome of the oncolytic efficacy of conditionally replicative adenoviruses

Demographic, clinical and antibody characteristics of patients with digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis: data from the DUO Registry

OBJECTIVES: The Digital Ulcers Outcome (DUO) Registry was designed to describe the clinical and antibody characteristics, disease course and outcomes of patients with digital ulcers associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: The DUO Registry is a European, prospective, multicentre, observational, registry of SSc patients with ongoing digital ulcer disease, irrespective of treatment regimen. Data collected included demographics, SSc duration, SSc subset, internal organ manifestations, autoantibodies, previous and ongoing interventions and complications related to digital ulcers. RESULTS: Up to 19 November 2010 a total of 2439 patients had enrolled into the registry. Most were classified as either limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc; 52.2%) or diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc; 36.9%). Digital ulcers developed earlier in patients with dcSSc compared with lcSSc. Almost all patients (95.7%) tested positive for antinuclear antibodies, 45.2% for anti-scleroderma-70 and 43.6% for anticentromere antibodies (ACA). The first digital ulcer in the anti-scleroderma-70-positive patient cohort occurred approximately 5 years earlier than the ACA-positive patient group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides data from a large cohort of SSc patients with a history of digital ulcers. The early occurrence and high frequency of digital ulcer complications are especially seen in patients with dcSSc and/or anti-scleroderma-70 antibodies

Biosensing by densely packed and optically coupled plasmonic particle arrays

Densely packed plasmonic particle arrays are investigated for biosensing applications. Such particle arrays exhibit interparticle optical coupling creating a strong field between the particles, which is useful for sensing purposes. The sensor properties, such as bulk sensitivity, layer sensitivity, and the depth of sensitivity are investigated with the aid of a multiple multipole program. Sensitivity to the analyte with low concentration is also examined by a dynamic adsorption processes. The detectable concentration limit of streptavidin within 3000 s in the detection system is expected from the signal-to-noise to be less than 150 pM