Cases of primary malignant melanoma and melanocytosis of the esophagus observed by magnifying endoscopy : Application to differential diagnosis : case series

Rationale: Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus (PMME) is a rare disease with an extremely poor prognosis. In contrast, melanocytosis is a benign condition defined as melanocytic proliferation with melanin deposition. PMME is often accompanied by melanocytosis, but differentiating between them is difficult because of their similar appearance. Patient concerns: Here, we reported 3 PMME cases, 2 with melanocytosis. Diagnoses: Magnifying endoscopy revealed characteristic non-uniform pigmented spots along deformed intrapapillary capillary loops (IPCLs) in PMME, while melanocytosis showed fine granule-like or linearly arranged spots and intact IPCLs. Interventions: The patients underwent endoscopic or surgical resection of each lesion. Outcomes: Histologically, magnified images reflected melanocyte growth. For cases 1 and 2, the patients remained disease-free for 61 and 15 months after endoscopic resection, respectively. In case 3, liver metastases developed two months after surgery, and the patient died from liver failure after six months. Lessons: This is the first report describing differences in magnified views of the 2 diseases, which aids a differential diagnosis

Genetic analysis of the GLUT10 glucose transporter (SLC2A10) polymorphisms in Caucasian American type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND: GLUT10 (gene symbol SLC2A10) is a facilitative glucose transporter within the type 2 diabetes (T2DM)-linked region on chromosome 20q12-13.1. Therefore, we evaluated GLUT10 as a positional candidate gene for T2DM in Caucasian Americans. METHODS: Twenty SNPs including 4 coding, 10 intronic and 6 5' and 3' to the coding sequence were genotyped across a 100 kb region containing the SLC2A10 gene in DNAs from 300 T2DM cases and 310 controls using the Sequenom MassArray Genotyping System. Allelic association was evaluated, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype structure of SLC2A10 were also determined to assess whether any specific haplotypes were associated with T2DM. RESULTS: Of these variants, fifteen had heterozygosities greater than 0.80 and were analyzed further for association with T2DM. No evidence of significant association was observed for any variant with T2DM (all P ≥ 0.05), including Ala206Thr (rs2235491) which was previously reported to be associated with fasting insulin. Linkage disequilibrium analysis suggests that the SLC2A10 gene is contained in a single haplotype block of 14 kb. Haplotype association analysis with T2DM did not reveal any significant differences between haplotype frequencies in T2DM cases and controls. CONCLUSION: From our findings, we can conclude that sequence variants in or near GLUT10 are unlikely to contribute significantly to T2DM in Caucasian Americans

Pediatric differentiated thyroid carcinoma in stage I: risk factor analysis for disease free survival

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To examine the outcomes and risk factors in pediatric differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients who were defined as TNM stage I because some patients develop disease recurrence but treatment strategy for such stage I pediatric patients is still controversial.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We reviewed 57 consecutive TNM stage I patients (15 years or less) with DTC (46 papillary and 11 follicular) who underwent initial treatment at Ito Hospital between 1962 and 2004 (7 males and 50 females; mean age: 13.1 years; mean follow-up: 17.4 years). Clinicopathological results were evaluated in all patients. Multivariate analysis was performed to reveal the risk factors for disease-free survival (DFS) in these 57 patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Extrathyroid extension and clinical lymphadenopathy at diagnosis were found in 7 and 12 patients, respectively. Subtotal/total thyroidectomy was performed in 23 patients, modified neck dissection in 38, and radioactive iodine therapy in 10. Pathological node metastasis was confirmed in 37 patients (64.9%). Fifteen patients (26.3%) exhibited local recurrence and 3 of them also developed metachronous lung metastasis. Ten of these 15 achieved disease-free after further treatments and no patients died of disease. In multivariate analysis, male gender (p = 0.017), advanced tumor (T3, 4a) stage (p = 0.029), and clinical lymphadenopathy (p = 0.006) were risk factors for DFS in stage I pediatric patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Male gender, tumor stage, and lymphadenopathy are risk factors for DFS in stage I pediatric DTC patients. Aggressive treatment (total thyroidectomy, node dissection, and RI therapy) is considered appropriate for patients with risk factors, whereas conservative or stepwise approach may be acceptable for other patients.</p

Insights into Land Plant Evolution Garnered from the Marchantia polymorpha Genome.

The evolution of land flora transformed the terrestrial environment. Land plants evolved from an ancestral charophycean alga from which they inherited developmental, biochemical, and cell biological attributes. Additional biochemical and physiological adaptations to land, and a life cycle with an alternation between multicellular haploid and diploid generations that facilitated efficient dispersal of desiccation tolerant spores, evolved in the ancestral land plant. We analyzed the genome of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, a member of a basal land plant lineage. Relative to charophycean algae, land plant genomes are characterized by genes encoding novel biochemical pathways, new phytohormone signaling pathways (notably auxin), expanded repertoires of signaling pathways, and increased diversity in some transcription factor families. Compared with other sequenced land plants, M. polymorpha exhibits low genetic redundancy in most regulatory pathways, with this portion of its genome resembling that predicted for the ancestral land plant. PAPERCLIP

Clinical Outcome by AMES Risk Definition in Japanese Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma Patients

This study aimed to analyse whether age, metastasis, extrathyroidal invasion and size (AMES) risk definition is valuable for Japanese patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). Methods: Two hundred and fifteen Japanese DTC patients (43 men, 172 women; mean age, 51.0 years; mean follow-up, 102 months) treated surgically at our institutions between 1981 and 2001 were retrospectively analysed. Clinicopathological features were compared between high-risk and low-risk patients by AMES criteria. Various risk factors were also evaluated for each group of patients. Results: There were 57 high-risk and 158 low-risk patients. Recurrence and mortality rates were 43.9% and 24.6% in high-risk patients and 7.6% and 0.6% in low-risk patients, respectively (p < 0.0001). Disease-specific survival rates at 5, 10 and 15 years were 84.3%, 74.0% and 63.5% in high-risk patients and 100%, 100% and 98.3% in low-risk patients, respectively (p < 0.0001). Univariate analysis revealed that curative resection, local recurrence and distant metastasis were risk factors for mortality in the high-risk group. Multivariate analysis revealed that curative resection (hazard ratio [HR], 4.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23-17.83; p = 0.024) and distant metastasis (HR, 4.79; 95% CI, 1.24-18.40; p = 0.023) were significantly related to mortality in high-risk patients. Conclusion: AMES can identify high-risk and low-risk Japanese patients. Distant metastasis and curative resection are prognostic factors for disease-specific death

Genetic analysis of the GLUT10 glucose transporter (<it>SLC2A10</it>) polymorphisms in Caucasian American type 2 diabetes

Abstract Background GLUT10 (gene symbol SLC2A10) is a facilitative glucose transporter within the type 2 diabetes (T2DM)-linked region on chromosome 20q12-13.1. Therefore, we evaluated GLUT10 as a positional candidate gene for T2DM in Caucasian Americans. Methods Twenty SNPs including 4 coding, 10 intronic and 6 5' and 3' to the coding sequence were genotyped across a 100 kb region containing the SLC2A10 gene in DNAs from 300 T2DM cases and 310 controls using the Sequenom MassArray Genotyping System. Allelic association was evaluated, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype structure of SLC2A10 were also determined to assess whether any specific haplotypes were associated with T2DM. Results Of these variants, fifteen had heterozygosities greater than 0.80 and were analyzed further for association with T2DM. No evidence of significant association was observed for any variant with T2DM (all P ≥ 0.05), including Ala206Thr (rs2235491) which was previously reported to be associated with fasting insulin. Linkage disequilibrium analysis suggests that the SLC2A10 gene is contained in a single haplotype block of 14 kb. Haplotype association analysis with T2DM did not reveal any significant differences between haplotype frequencies in T2DM cases and controls. Conclusion From our findings, we can conclude that sequence variants in or near GLUT10 are unlikely to contribute significantly to T2DM in Caucasian Americans.</p

A novel electron emission-based cell culture device promotes cell proliferation and differentiation of pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells.

In this report we demonstrate the effect of a novel electron emission-based cell culture device on the proliferation and differentiation of pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. Our device has an electron emission element that allows, for the first time, stable emission of electrons into an atmosphere. Atmospheric electrons react with gas molecules to generate radicals and negative ions, which induce a variety of biochemical reactions in the attached cell culture system. In this study, we demonstrated the effect of this new electron emission-based cell culture device on cell proliferation and differentiation using pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. Electron emission stimulation (EES) was applied directly to culture medium containing plated cells, after which the number of living cells, the mRNA levels of osteogenesis-related genes, and the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were evaluated. The growth rate of EES-exposed cells increased by approximately 20% in comparison with unexposed control cells. We also found the mRNA levels of osteogenic specific genes such as collagen type I α-1, core-binding factor α-1, and osteocalcin to be up-regulated following EES. ALP activity, a marker for osteogenic activity, was significantly enhanced in EES-treated cells. Furthermore, reactive oxygen species generated by EES were measured to determine their effect on MC3T3-E1 cells. These results suggest that our new electron emission-based cell culture device, while providing a relatively weak stimulus in comparison with atmospheric plasma systems, promotes cell proliferation and differentiation. This system is expected to find application in regenerative medicine, specifically in relation to bone regeneration

Superior vena cava (SVC) reconstruction using autologous tissue in two cases of differentiated thyroid carcinoma presenting with SVC syndrome

Abstract Herein, we report two extremely rare cases of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) with extended tumor thrombus or mediastinum lymph node metastasis (LNM) involving the superior vena cava (SVC), causing SVC syndrome. Both of these patients were successfully treated with radical resection and reconstruction of the SVC using autologous tissue instead of an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) graft. The left brachiocephalic vein was used to reconstruct the SVC in a papillary thyroid carcinoma patient with mediastinum LNM and a pericardial patch was used in a follicular thyroid carcinoma patient with tumor thrombus. Our search of the English-language literature found sporadic reports of SVC resection with reconstruction by vascular graft (ePTFE), interposed between the brachiocephalic vein and the right atrium. However, SVC reconstruction using autologous tissue in thyroid carcinoma has not been reported to date. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing such an unusual technique in DTC patients.</p