Co-infection of mammarenaviruses in a wild mouse, Tanzania.

Mammarenaviruses are bi-segmented RNA viruses. They encompass viruses responsible for several severe diseases in humans. While performing a de novo assembly of a new virus found in a wild single-striped grass mouse in Tanzania, we found a single S but two divergent L segments.

New Perspective on the Geographic Distribution and Evolution of Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus, Central Europe.

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is an Old World mammarenavirus found worldwide because of its association with the house mouse. When LCMV spills over to immunocompetent humans, the virus can cause aseptic meningitis; in immunocompromised persons, systemic infection and death can occur. Central Europe is a strategic location for the study of LCMV evolutionary history and host specificity because of the presence of a hybrid zone (genetic barrier) between 2 house mouse subspecies, Mus musculus musculus and M.

Mitogenomics and Evolutionary History of Rodent Whipworms ( spp.) Originating from Three Biogeographic Regions.

spp. is a widespread nematode which parasitizes a wide range of mammalian hosts including rodents, the most diverse mammalian order. However, genetic data on rodent whipworms are still scarce, with only one published whole genome () despite an increasing demand for whole genome data.

Prevalence of Orthohantavirus-Reactive Antibodies in Humans and Peri-Domestic Rodents in Northern Ethiopia.

In 2012, Tigray orthohantavirus was discovered in Ethiopia, but its seasonal infection in small mammals, and whether it poses a risk to humans was unknown. The occurrence of small mammals, rodents and shrews, in human inhabitations in northern Ethiopia is affected by season and presence of stone bunds. We sampled small mammals in two seasons from low- and high-density stone bund fields adjacent to houses and community-protected semi-natural habitats in Atsbi and Hagere Selam, where Tigray orthohantavirus was first discovered.

Evolutionary history of Pneumocystis fungi in their African rodent hosts.

Pneumocystis is a genus of parasitic fungi infecting lung tissues in a wide range of mammal species, displaying a strong host specificity and patterns of co-speciation with their hosts. However, a recent study on Asiatic murids challenged these patterns reporting several Pneumocystis lineages/species shared by different host species or even genera in the Rattini and Murini tribes. Here we screened lung samples of 27 species of African rodents from five families for the presence of Pneumocystis DNA.

A novel machine learning-derived decision tree including uPA/PAI-1 for breast cancer care.

Background uPA and PAI-1 are breast cancer biomarkers that evaluate the benefit of chemotherapy (CT) for HER2-negative, estrogen receptor-positive, low or intermediate grade patients. Our objectives were to observe clinical routine use of uPA/PAI-1 and to build a new therapeutic decision tree integrating uPA/PAI-1. Methods We observed the concordance between CT indications proposed by a canonical decision tree representative of French practices (not including uPA/PAI-1) and actual CT prescriptions decided by a medical board which included uPA/PAI-1.

Arenavirus infection correlates with lower survival of its natural rodent host in a long-term capture-mark-recapture study.

Background: Parasite evolution is hypothesized to select for levels of parasite virulence that maximise transmission success. When host population densities fluctuate, low levels of virulence with limited impact on the host are expected, as this should increase the likelihood of surviving periods of low host density. We examined the effects of Morogoro arenavirus on the survival and recapture probability of multimammate mice (Mastomys natalensis) using a seven-year capture-mark-recapture time series.

De-escalating systemic therapy in triple negative breast cancer: The example of secretory carcinoma.

Triple negative breast cancers have the highest relapse risk and the least favourable prognosis of all breast cancer subtypes, leading to an escalation of chemotherapy, substantially during recent years. Secretory carcinoma of the breast is a rare triple negative neoplasm, first described in children but more often presenting in adults. We report a case of a 70-years-old woman, initially diagnosed on the biopsy with a triple negative infiltrating Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) carcinoma of the breast, before it was later correctly identified as a secretory carcinoma, notably because of an abundant intra and extracellular secretory material.

Structural abnormalities in islets from very young children with cystic fibrosis may contribute to cystic fibrosis-related diabetes.

Cystic fibrosis (CF)-related diabetes (CFRD) is thought to result from beta-cell injury due in part to pancreas exocrine damage and lipofibrosis. CFRD pancreata exhibit reduced islet density and altered cellular composition. To investigate a possible etiology, we tested the hypothesis that such changes are present in CF pancreata before the development of lipofibrosis.

No measurable adverse effects of Lassa, Morogoro and Gairo arenaviruses on their rodent reservoir host in natural conditions.

Background: In order to optimize net transmission success, parasites are hypothesized to evolve towards causing minimal damage to their reservoir host while obtaining high shedding rates. For many parasite species however this paradigm has not been tested, and conflicting results have been found regarding the effect of arenaviruses on their rodent host species. The rodent Mastomys natalensis is the natural reservoir host of several arenaviruses, including Lassa virus that is known to cause Lassa haemorrhagic fever in humans.

Adequately defining tumor cell proportion in tissue samples for molecular testing improves interobserver reproducibility of its assessment.

Gene mutation status assessment of tumors has become standard practice in diagnostic pathology. This is done using samples comprising tumor cells but also non-tumor cells, which may dramatically dilute the proportion of tumor DNA and induce false negative results. Increasing sensitivity of molecular tests presently allows detection of a targeted mutation in a sample with a small percentage of tumor cells, but assessment of tumor cellularity remains essential to adequately interpret the results of molecular tests.

A prospective study to assess the clinical utility of serum HER2 extracellular domain in breast cancer with HER2 overexpression.

Purpose: We explored the clinical utility of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 extracellular domain (HER2/ECD) in patients treated for an invasive breast cancer with HER2 overexpression.

Methods: We prospectively studied HER2/ECD levels in the sera of 334 women included between 2007 and 2014, all treated with trastuzumab. HER2/ECD levels were measured at diagnosis, during treatments, and along the follow-up.

Guidelines for May-Grünwald-Giemsa staining in haematology and non-gynaecological cytopathology: recommendations of the French Society of Clinical Cytology (SFCC) and of the French Association for Quality Assurance in Anatomic and Cytologic Pathology (AFAQAP).

Objective: Since the guidelines of the International Committee for Standardisation in Haematology (ICSH) in 1984 and those of the European Committee for External Quality Assessment Programmes in Laboratory Medicine (EQALM) in 2004, no leading organisation has published technical recommendations for the preparation of air-dried cytological specimens using May-Grünwald-Giemsa (MGG) staining.

Data Sources: Literature data were retrieved using reference books, baseline-published studies, articles extracted from PubMed/Medline and Google Scholar, and online-available industry datasheets.

Rationale: The present review addresses all pre-analytical issues concerning the use of Romanowsky's stains (including MGG) in haematology and non-gynaecological cytopathology.

Consistency in recognizing microinvasion in breast carcinomas is improved by immunohistochemistry for myoepithelial markers.

Microinvasion is the smallest morphologically identifiable stage of invasion. Its presence and distinction from in situ carcinoma may have therapeutic implications, and clinical staging also requires the recognition of this phenomenon. Microinvasion is established on the basis of several morphological criteria, which may be difficult and not perfectly reproducible among pathologists.

Three Rounds of External Quality Assessment in France to Evaluate the Performance of 28 Platforms for Multiparametric Molecular Testing in Metastatic Colorectal and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Personalized medicine has gained increasing importance in clinical oncology, and several clinically important biomarkers are implemented in routine practice. In an effort to guarantee high quality of molecular testing in France, three subsequent external quality assessment rounds were organized at the initiative of the National Cancer Institute between 2012 and 2014. The schemes included clinically relevant biomarkers for metastatic colorectal (KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, microsatellite instability) and non-small cell lung cancer (EGFR, KRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, ERBB2), and they represent the first multigene/multicancer studies throughout Europe.

Spotted fever group rickettsiae detected in immature stages of ticks parasitizing on Iberian endemic lizard Lacerta schreiberi Bedriaga, 1878.

Spotted fever rickettsioses are tick-borne diseases of growing public health concern. The prevalence of rickettsia-infected ticks and their ability to parasitize humans significantly influence the risk of human infection. Altogether 466 Ixodes ricinus ticks (428 nymphs and 38 larvae) collected from 73 Lacerta schreiberi lizards were examined by PCR targeting the citrate synthetase gene gltA for the presence of Rickettsia spp.

HER2 gene and protein expression status of breast carcinoma can be reliably tested on a single slide.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status in breast carcinomas serves as a predictor of benefit from anti-HER2 therapy. In providing clinicians with the information necessary to decide whether or not to treat with targeted therapy, it might be necessary to choose between methods assessing HER2 protein overexpression or gene amplification. A new diagnostic approach could be a combination of both tests on the same slide.

[uPA/PAI-1, Oncotype DX™, MammaPrint(®). Prognosis and predictive values for clinical utility in breast cancer management].

Context And Aims: Breast cancer prognosis and predictive biomarkers development would allow sparing some patients from chemotherapy or identifying patients for whom chemotherapy would be indicated. In this context, in 2009, the French National Cancer Institute, a National Health and Science Agency dedicated to cancer, in collaboration with the French society of senology and breast pathology (SFSPM) published a report on the assessment of the prognostic and the predictive clinical validity of tissular biomarkers, uPA/PAI-1, Oncotype DX™ and MammaPrint(®), in breast cancer management. They concluded that only the uPA/PAI-1 prognosis value reached the highest level of evidence (LOE I according to Hayes 1998 classification).

Age at weaning, immunocompetence and ectoparasite performance in a precocial desert rodent.

We studied the effects of early weaning on immunocompetence and parasite resistance in a precocial rodent Acomys cahirinus. We hypothesized that if parasite resistance is energetically expensive and nutritional and immunological support from mothers are necessary for the long-term health of offspring, then early weaned animals would be immunologically weaker and less able to defend themselves against parasites than later weaned animals. We weaned pups at 14, 21 or 28 days after birth and assessed their immunocompetence and resistance against fleas Parapulex chephrenis when they attained adulthood.