Mandibular Ameloblastoma in an Elderly Patient: A Case Report

Ameloblastomas frequently occur in relatively young people, but are rarely seen in people aged 80 years or older. We report a case of mandibular ameloblastoma in an elderly patient with a review of the literature. The patient was a 82-year-old man who noticed swelling of the gingiva approximately 2 weeks prior to his initial visit. Computed tomography showed a radiolucent area with little radiopacity. Internal uniformity was observed at the site, with thinning of cortical bone which lacked continuity in some areas. The excision and curettage were performed under general anaesthesia. No recurrence has been observed 14 months after surgery

Effects of common genetic variants of human uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase subfamilies on irinotecan glucuronidation.

The adverse effects (diarrhea and neutropenia) of irinotecan (7-ethyl-10-[4-(1-piperidino)-1-piperidino]carbonyloxycamptothecin) are associated with genetic variants of uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase 1A subfamilies (UGT1As). UGT1As are enzymes that metabolize the active form of irinotecan, 7-ethyl-10 hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38), by glucuronidation in the liver. They are widely known as predictive factors of severe adverse effects, such as neutropenia and diarrhea. Some studies have suggested that variants of UGT1As affect SN-38 glucuronidation activities, thus exerting severe adverse effects. We aimed to identify UGT1A isoforms that show SN-38 glucuronidation activity and determine the relationship between UGT1A variants and SN-38 glucuronidation in vitro. We found that UGT1A1 and UGT1A6-UGT1A10 displayed SN-38 glucuronidation activity. Among these, UGT1A1 was the most active. Furthermore, the variants of these isoforms showed decreased SN-38 glucuronidation activity. In our study, we compared the different variants of UGT1As, such as UGT1A1.6, UGT1A1.7, UGT1A1.27, UGT1A1.35, UGT1A7.3, UGT1A8.4, UGT1A10M59I, and UGT1A10T202I, to determine the differences in the reduction of glucuronidation. Our study elucidates the relationship between UGT1A variants and the level of glucuronidation associated with each variant. Therefore, testing can be done before the initiation of irinotecan treatment to predict potential toxicities and adverse effects

Evaluation of Pulmonary Angioplastic Procedure with Bronchoplasty for Cancers

Postoperative pulmonary function is essential for ensuring the quality of life for aged lung cancer patients who underwent pulmonary resection. The operative procedures of bronchoplasty and pulmonary angioplasty are reliable for maintaining pulmonary function. The values of this procedures were evaluated on the basis of clinical experience. Pulmonary angioplasty which was concurently performed in 28 patients with bronchoplasty (29.2 %) and in eight with lobectomy was subjected to this study in relation to the survival and postoperative pulmonary function. The operative procedure of pulmonary angioplasty was of great use to preserve the pulmonary function as well as to predict the favorable survival in the selected patients with localized hilar carcinoma of squamous cell carcinoma and with no nodal involvement In addition, direct cancer infiltration to the wall of the pulmonary artery is better candidate rather than by way of metastatic nodes with respect to the survival. In conclusion, pulmonary angioplasty should be widely used in combination with lobectomy and brochoplasty to ensure high quality of life following pulmonary resection

Differences among epitopes recognized by neutralizing antibodies induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccination

SARS-CoV-2 has gradually acquired amino acid substitutions in its S protein that reduce the potency of neutralizing antibodies, leading to decreased vaccine efficacy. Here, we attempted to obtain mutant viruses by passaging SARS-CoV-2 in the presence of plasma samples from convalescent patients or vaccinees to determine which amino acid substitutions affect the antigenicity of SARS-CoV-2. Several amino acid substitutions in the S2 region, as well as the N-terminal domain (NTD) and receptor-binding domain (RBD), affected the neutralization potency of plasma samples collected from vaccinees, indicating that amino acid substitutions in the S2 region as well as those in the NTD and RBD affect neutralization by vaccine-induced antibodies. Furthermore, the neutralizing potency of vaccinee plasma samples against mutant viruses we obtained or circulating viruses differed among individuals. These findings suggest that genetic backgrounds of vaccinees influence the recognition of neutralizing epitopes

Mutation Analysis of 2009 Pandemic Influenza A(H1N1) Viruses Collected in Japan during the Peak Phase of the Pandemic

BACKGROUND: Pandemic influenza A(H1N1) virus infection quickly circulated worldwide in 2009. In Japan, the first case was reported in May 2009, one month after its outbreak in Mexico. Thereafter, A(H1N1) infection spread widely throughout the country. It is of great importance to profile and understand the situation regarding viral mutations and their circulation in Japan to accumulate a knowledge base and to prepare clinical response platforms before a second pandemic (pdm) wave emerges. METHODOLOGY: A total of 253 swab samples were collected from patients with influenza-like illness in the Osaka, Tokyo, and Chiba areas both in May 2009 and between October 2009 and January 2010. We analyzed partial sequences of the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes of the 2009 pdm influenza virus in the collected clinical samples. By phylogenetic analysis, we identified major variants of the 2009 pdm influenza virus and critical mutations associated with severe cases, including drug-resistance mutations. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Our sequence analysis has revealed that both HA-S220T and NA-N248D are major non-synonymous mutations that clearly discriminate the 2009 pdm influenza viruses identified in the very early phase (May 2009) from those found in the peak phase (October 2009 to January 2010) in Japan. By phylogenetic analysis, we found 14 micro-clades within the viruses collected during the peak phase. Among them, 12 were new micro-clades, while two were previously reported. Oseltamivir resistance-related mutations, i.e., NA-H275Y and NA-N295S, were also detected in sporadic cases in Osaka and Tokyo

Biological and Structural Characterization of a Host-Adapting Amino Acid in Influenza Virus

Two amino acids (lysine at position 627 or asparagine at position 701) in the polymerase subunit PB2 protein are considered critical for the adaptation of avian influenza A viruses to mammals. However, the recently emerged pandemic H1N1 viruses lack these amino acids. Here, we report that a basic amino acid at position 591 of PB2 can compensate for the lack of lysine at position 627 and confers efficient viral replication to pandemic H1N1 viruses in mammals. Moreover, a basic amino acid at position 591 of PB2 substantially increased the lethality of an avian H5N1 virus in mice. We also present the X-ray crystallographic structure of the C-terminus of a pandemic H1N1 virus PB2 protein. Arginine at position 591 fills the cleft found in H5N1 PB2 proteins in this area, resulting in differences in surface shape and charge for H1N1 PB2 proteins. These differences may affect the protein's interaction with viral and/or cellular factors, and hence its ability to support virus replication in mammals