Preparation and Observation of Fresh-frozen Sections of the Green Fluorescent Protein Transgenic Mouse Head

Hard tissue decalcification can cause variation in the constituent protein characteristics. This paper describes a method of preparating of frozen mouse head sections so as to clearly observe the nature of the constituent proteins. Frozen sections of various green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic mouse heads were prepared using the film method developed by Kawamoto and Shimizu. This method made specimen dissection without decalcification possible, wherein GFP was clearly observed in an undamaged state. Conversely, using the same method with decalcification made GFP observation in the transgenic mouse head difficult. This new method is suitable for observing GFP marked cells, enabling us to follow the transplanted GFP marked cells within frozen head sections

The baseline recurrence risk of patients with intermediate-risk cervical cancer.

Objective:This study aimed to investigate the prognosis of patients with intermediate-risk cervical cancer and to evaluate the necessity of adjuvant therapy.Methods:We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients with stage IB-II cervical cancer who underwent type III radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy between 2008 and 2017. In our institution, radical hysterectomy is performed as an open surgery and not as a minimally invasive surgery, and adjuvant therapy is not administered to patients with intermediate-risk cervical cancer. The intermediate-risk group included patients with 2 or more of the following factors: tumor size >4 cm, stromal invasion >1/2, and lymphovascular stromal invasion. Intermediaterisk patients with squamous cell carcinoma were included in the I-SCC group, whereas those with endocervical adenocarcinoma, usual type, or adenosquamous carcinoma were included in the I-Adeno group.Results:There were 34 and 18 patients in the I-SCC and I-Adeno groups, respectively. The 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival rates in the I-SCC group were 90.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 85.3-95.7%) and 100% (95% CI, 100%), respectively, whereas those in the I-Adeno group were 54.9% (95% CI, 42.0-67.9%) and 76.1% (95% CI, 63.7-88.4%), respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that endocervical adenocarcinoma, usual type, or adenosquamous carcinoma, and tumor size >4 cm had worse RFS.Conclusion:The I-SCC group had good prognosis without adjuvant therapy; therefore, adjuvant therapy may be omitted in these patients. In contrast, the I-Adeno group had poor prognosis without adjuvant therapy; therefore, adjuvant therapy should be considered in their treatment

Potential diagnostic value of quantitative superb microvascular imaging in premalignant and malignant cervical lesions

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic efficacy of the vascular index (VI) on superb microvascular imaging (SMI) in distinguishing normal uterine cervical epithelium, high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and cervical cancer.MethodsThe retrospective study included women with pathology-confirmed CIN or cervical cancer, who underwent transvaginal ultrasound and SMI between April 2021 and October 2022. The SIM manifestations of normal cervix and cervical lesions were reviewed. SIM were measured and converted into vascular index (VI) which compared between cervical lesions and control groups. We have retrospectively compared ultrasound features of cervical lesions and characteristics of patients. Measurement reliability was evaluated by intra class correlation coefficient (ICC).ResultsA total of 235 consecutive females were enrolled, comprising 38 with high-grade CIN, 96 with cervical cancer, and 101 with a normal uterine cervix. The microvascular architecture exhibited significant variations between premalignant and malignant cervical lesions. Branch-like patterns were predominantly observed in high-grade CIN, while crab claw-like and fireball-like patterns were more commonly associated with cervical cancer. The median VI of cervical cancer (34.7 ± 10.3) was significantly higher than that of high-grade CIN (17.6 ± 4.2) (P < 0.001). Moreover, the VI values of cervical cancer differed significantly among different FIGO stages and pathological types (P < 0.001 and P = 0.003, respectively). The VI demonstrated superior diagnostic performance for cervical lesions compared to vascular patterns (AUC = 0.974 and 0.969, respectively). Using a cut-off value of 25.5, the VI yielded a sensitivity of 82.3% and a specificity of 99.3% for cervical lesion detection.ConclusionsThe SMI parameter (VI) exhibited a significantly higher value in cervical cancer compared to high-grade CIN, with a high level of agreement among observers. These findings suggest that quantitative SMI holds promise as an imaging technique for the detection and characterization of cervical lesions

CNVs in Three Psychiatric Disorders

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine the similarities and differences in the roles of genic and regulatory copy number variations (CNVs) in bipolar disorder (BD), schizophrenia (SCZ), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS: Based on high-resolution CNV data from 8708 Japanese samples, we performed to our knowledge the largest cross-disorder analysis of genic and regulatory CNVs in BD, SCZ, and ASD. RESULTS: In genic CNVs, we found an increased burden of smaller (500 kb) exonic CNVs in SCZ/ASD. Pathogenic CNVs linked to neurodevelopmental disorders were significantly associated with the risk for each disorder, but BD and SCZ/ASD differed in terms of the effect size (smaller in BD) and subtype distribution of CNVs linked to neurodevelopmental disorders. We identified 3 synaptic genes (DLG2, PCDH15, and ASTN2) as risk factors for BD. Whereas gene set analysis showed that BD-associated pathways were restricted to chromatin biology, SCZ and ASD involved more extensive and similar pathways. Nevertheless, a correlation analysis of gene set results indicated weak but significant pathway similarities between BD and SCZ or ASD (r = 0.25–0.31). In SCZ and ASD, but not BD, CNVs were significantly enriched in enhancers and promoters in brain tissue. CONCLUSIONS: BD and SCZ/ASD differ in terms of CNV burden, characteristics of CNVs linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, and regulatory CNVs. On the other hand, they have shared molecular mechanisms, including chromatin biology. The BD risk genes identified here could provide insight into the pathogenesis of BD