A primary cutaneous adenoid-cystic carcinoma in a young woman. Differential diagnosis and clinical implications

Primary cutaneous adenoid-cystic carcinoma (PCACC) is a rare slow-growing neoplasm of disputed histogenesis characterized by a cribriform pattern at histology and local aggressive behaviour. Up to date about 60 cases of PCACC have been reported in the literature. This tumour is most common in the scalp, affects middle-aged and older individuals (mean age 59) and has predilection for women. We describe an unexpected case of PCACC in a 32-years-old woman referred to our clinic for a subcutaneous nodule in the scalp showing a slow growth and indolent course. The differential diagnosis and the clinical management of this PCACC patient, successfully treated with a wide local excision, are presented and discussed

The Loss of the p53 Activator HIPK2 Is Responsible for Galectin-3 Overexpression in Well Differentiated Thyroid Carcinomas

Background: Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is an anti-apoptotic molecule involved in thyroid cells transformation. It is specifically overexpressed in thyroid tumour cells and is currently used as a preoperative diagnostic marker of thyroid malignancy. Gal-3 expression is downregulated by wt-p53 at the transcriptional level. In well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas (WDTCs) there is an unexplained paradoxical concomitant expression of Gal-3 and wt-p53. HIPK2 is a co-regulator of different transcription factors, and modulates basic cellular processes mainly through the activation of wt-p53. Since we demonstrated that HIPK2 is involved in p53-mediated Gal-3 downregulation, we asked whether HIPK2 deficiency might be responsible for such paradoxical Gal-3 overexpression in WDTC. Methodology/Principal Findings: We analyzed HIPK2 protein and mRNA levels, as well as loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the HIPK2 locus (7q32-34), in thyroid tissue samples. HIPK2 protein levels were high in all follicular hyperplasias (FHs) analyzed. Conversely, HIPK2 was undetectable in 91.7% of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) and in 60.0% of follicular thyroid carcinomas (FTCs). HIPK2 mRNA levels were upregulated in FH compared to normal thyroid tissue (NTT), while PTC showed mean HIPK2 mRNA levels lower than FH and, in 61.5% of cases, also lower than NTT. We found LOH at HIPK-2 gene locus in 37.5% of PTCs, 14.3% of FTCs and 18.2% of follicular adenomas. To causally link these data with Gal-3 upregulation, we performed in vitro experiments, using the PTC-derived K1 cells, in which HIPK2 expression was manipulated by RNA interference (RNAi) or plasmid-mediated overexpression. HIPK2 RNAi was associated with Gal-3 upregulation, while HIPK2 overexpression with Gal-3 downregulation. Conclusions/Significance: Our results indicate that HIPK2 expression and function are impaired in WDTCs, in particular in PTCs, and that this event explains Gal-3 overexpression typically observed in these types of tumours. Therefore, HIPK2 can be considered as a new tumour suppressor gene for thyroid cancers

El futuro después del COVID-19

El libro reúne ensayos de 27 autoras y autores en el contexto del inicio de la pandemia del Covid-19. Plantea diagnósticos, analiza dimensiones sociales, políticas y culturales. Y ofrece un panorama plural del debate en un momento de emergencia.Fil: Follari, Roberto Agustin. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco"; ArgentinaFil: Canelo, Paula Vera. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Altos Estudios Sociales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro de Innovación de los Trabajadores. Universidad Metropolitana para la Educación y el Trabajo. Centro de Innovación de los Trabajadores; ArgentinaFil: Sztulwark, Diego. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Palermo, Vicente Antonio. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones "Gino Germani"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: González, Horacio. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Tokatlian, Juan Gabriel. Universidad de San Andrés; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Colombia. Universidad de los Andes; ColombiaFil: Forster, Ricardo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Fidanza, Eduardo. Academia Nacional de Periodismo; ArgentinaFil: Boron, Atilio Alberto. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Estudios de América Latina y el Caribe; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Avellaneda; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Segato, Rita Laura. Unesco; Argentina. Universidad de Brasilia; BrasilFil: Rebón, Julián. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Centro de Estudios Avanzados; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones "Gino Germani"; Argentina. Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Svampa, Maristella Noemi. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Viale, Enrique. Asociación Argentina de Abogados Ambientalistas; ArgentinaFil: Carreiras, Helena. Instituto Universitario de Lisboa; Portugal. Instituto de Defensa Nacional de Portugal; PortugalFil: Malamud, Andrés. University of Maryland; Estados Unidos. Max-planck-institut Für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte.; AlemaniaFil: Sarlo Sabajanes, Beatriz Ercilia. Columbia University; Estados Unidos. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Barrancos, Dora Beatriz. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Estudios de Género; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Waisbord, Silvio Ricardo. The George Washington University; Estados Unidos. University of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Casullo, María Esperanza. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro; Argentina. University of Richmond; Estados Unidos. University Brown; Estados UnidosFil: Mignolo, Walter. University of Duke; Estados UnidosFil: Valdettaro, Sandra Catalina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Humanidades y Artes. Centro de Estudios Culturales Urbanos; ArgentinaFil: Alarcon, Cristian Francisco. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; ArgentinaFil: López, María Pia Luján. No especifíca;Fil: Moreno, María. No especifíca;Fil: Maffía, Diana. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras; ArgentinaFil: Giunta, Andrea Graciela. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Teoría e Historia del Arte "Julio E. Payró"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Cabezón Cámara, Gabriela. University of California at Berkeley; Estados Unidos. Universidad Nacional de las Artes; ArgentinaFil: Grimson, Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Altos Estudios Sociales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Journey to discover the Italian Mediterranean Diet: from literary sources, archaeological and medical sciences from the IV sec. BC to the post genomic era

The Mediterranean diet, a lifestyle universally regarded as the optimal scheme to promote health and, consequently, the duration and the quality of life, world-unique example of food, social and cultural practices, has been recognized as intangible heritage of UNESCO, in November 2010. Literary sources, but also the archaeological documentation and scientific, anthropological and paleobotanical analysis allow us to delineate an articulate Italian Mediterranean traditional food from the fourth century BC, from the territory of Calabria, called in the past Brutium. A diet high in grains and vegetables, an apparent consumption of olive oil, a substantial presence on the table, fish or pork, especially food high in fat like Omega3, with healthy benefits, and a consumption and marketing of wine, give the basis for recognizing a strong food culture, permeated by foreign influences but also characterized by important endogenous features, as marker of cultural identity of Italy

25-Hydroxyvitamin D serum levels and melanoma risk. A case-control study and evidence synthesis of clinical epidemiological studies

There is accumulating evidence that the vitamin D pathway may play a role in melanoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] serum levels and the risk of cutaneous melanoma. A case-control study with 137 incident cases of melanoma (serum samples collected at the time of diagnosis) and 99 healthy controls (serum samples collected between October and April) was carried out and evaluated in the framework of an evidence synthesis of clinical epidemiological studies on the topic to facilitate comparisons and summarize the scientific evidence produced so far. There was a statistically significant difference in the median levels of serum vitamin D between melanoma patients and healthy controls (18.0 vs. 27.8 ng/ml, P<0.001). Among melanoma patients, 66.2%, compared with 15.2% of healthy controls, had vitamin D deficiency (≤20 ng/ml), whereas vitamin D sufficiency (≥30 ng/ml) was observed in only 7.4% of melanoma patients and in 37.4% of the healthy controls (P<0.001). A multivariate model including age, sex, and BMI showed a statistically significant inverse association between melanoma and vitamin D sufficiency versus deficiency (odds ratio=0.04; 95% confidence interval: 0.02-0.10, P<0.001). Also, vitamin D insufficiency versus deficiency was significantly inversely associated with melanoma (odds ratio=0.13; 95% confidence interval: 0.06-0.27, P<0.001). These results suggest that both deficient and insufficient serum levels of vitamin D are associated with melanoma and that a trend seems to be present with a reduced risk of melanoma when vitamin D approaches normal values

A search for C-H···O type hydrogen bonds in Lamivudine (3TC). An exploratory conformational and electronic analysis

A conformational study of the molecule Lamivudine (3TC), or cis-1-[2′-hydroxymethyl-5′-(1,3-oxathiolanyl)] cytosine, was carried out. Rotation about the C-N bond (φ1) and about the C-CH2(OH) bond (φ2), which connects the hydroxymethyl group to the five member ring, led to a conformational potential energy surface. The conformational potential energy 2D map, obtained at the HF/3-21G level of theory, had several minima. A topological analysis of the electron density was carried out on four selected ab initio minimum energy conformations, using judiciously constructed hartree-fock (RHF) wave functions. In order to see all possible hydrogen bonding, the DFT wave function was generated using a mixed basis set; a 6-311 + +G** basis was employed on atoms involved in hydrogen bonding interactions and a 3-21G basis on all other atoms. For this analysis the theory of atoms in molecules, developed by Bader, was used. The stability of the intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions was analyzed in terms of the results obtained.Fil: Fidanza, N. G.. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Suvire, Fernando Daniel. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Sosa, Gladis Laura. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Lobayan, Rosana Maria. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Enriz, Ricardo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones Biológicas de San Luis. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones Biológicas de San Luis; ArgentinaFil: Peruchena, Nelida Maria. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentin

The loss of the p53 activator HIPK2 is responsible for Galectin-3 overexpression in well differentiated thyroid carcinomas

Background: Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is an anti-apoptotic molecule involved in thyroid cells transformation. It is specifically overexpressed in thyroid tumour cells and is currently used as a preoperative diagnostic marker of thyroid malignancy. Gal-3 expression is downregulated by wt-p53 at the transcriptional level. In well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas (WDTCs) there is an unexplained paradoxical concomitant expression of Gal-3 and wt-p53. HIPK2 is a co-regulator of different transcription factors, and modulates basic cellular processes mainly through the activation of wt-p53. Since we demonstrated that HIPK2 is involved in p53-mediated Gal-3 downregulation, we asked whether HIPK2 deficiency might be responsible for such paradoxical Gal-3 overexpression in WDTC

DLX genes as targets of ALL-1: DLX 2,3,4 down-regulation in t(4;11) acute lymphoblastic leukemias.

Dlx genes constitute a gene family thought to be essential in morphogenesis and development. We show here that in vertebrate cells, Dlx genes appear to be part of a regulatory cascade initiated by acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)-1, a master regulator gene whose disruption is implicated in several human acute leukemias. The expression of Dlx2, Dlx3, Dlx5, Dlx6, and Dlx7 was absent in All-1 -/- mouse embryonic stem cells and reduced in All-1 +/- cells. In leukemic patients affected by the t(4;11)(q21;q23) chromosomal abnormality, the expression of DLX2, DLX3, and DLX4 was virtually abrogated. Our data indicate that Dlx genes are downstream targets of ALL-1 and could be considered as important tools for the study of the early leukemic cell phenotype

Antiproliferative Effects of 1α-OH-vitD 3 in Malignant Melanoma: Potential Therapeutic implications

Early detection and surgery represent the mainstay of treatment for superficial melanoma, but for high risk lesions (Breslow’s thickness >0.75 mm) an effective adjuvant therapy is lacking. Vitamin D insufficiency plays a relevant role in cancer biology. The biological effects of 1α hydroxycholecalciferol on experimental melanoma models were investigated. 105 melanoma patients were checked for 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (circulating vitamin D) serum levels. Human derived melanoma cell lines and in vivo xenografts were used for studying 1α-hydroxycholecalciferol-mediated biological effects on cell proliferation and tumor growth. 99 out of 105 (94%) melanoma patients had insufficient 25-hydroxycholecalciferol serum levels. Interestingly among the six with vitamin D in the normal range, five had a diagnosis of in situ/microinvasive melanoma. Treatment with 1α-hydroxycholecalciferol induced antiproliferative effects on melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo, modulating the expression of cell cycle key regulatory molecules. Cell cycle arrest in G1 or G2 phase was invariably observed in vitamin D treated melanoma cells. The antiproliferative activity induced by 1α-hydroxycholecalciferol in experimental melanoma models, together with the discovery of insufficient 25-hydroxycholecalciferol serum levels in melanoma patients, provide the rationale for using vitamin D in melanoma adjuvant therapy, alone or in association with other therapeutic options