Publications by authors named "Cassai N"

Iron pill gastritis has been shown to be associated with superficial gastric erosion and deposition of iron in lamina propria and gastric antral glands. However, iron absorption in gastric parietal and chief cells is rare. We present a case of a 62-year-old man with iron deficiency anemia.

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Carcinosarcoma of the anus is rare and has yet to be reportedly associated with the keratinocyte-specific Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). We describe a case of anal carcinosarcoma with HPV infection in both the epithelial and mesenchymal components of the tumor by immunohistochemistry, chromogenic in-situ hybridization (CISH) and further supported by electron microscopy (EM). Microscopic examination of the tumor showed nests of poorly-differentiated invasive squamous cell carcinoma with basaloid features intermixed with a hypercellular, atypical spindle cell proliferation.

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Tubulocystic renal cell carcinoma (TC-RCC) is a rare renal tumor composed of well-differentiated tubules and cysts lined by neoplastic cells with eosinophilic cytoplasm and prominent nucleoli. The origin of the tumor cells is still controversial. TC-RCC typically arises unilaterally.

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Pancreatic cancer cell lines with mutated ras underwent an alternative form of cell death (aponecrosis) when treated concomitantly with clinically achievable concentrations of arsenic trioxide, ascorbic acid, and disulfiram (Antabuse; AAA). AAA's major effects are mediated through generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and more than 50% decline in intracellular ATP. N-acetyl cysteine and a superoxide dismutase mimetic prevented aponecrosis and restored intracellular ATP levels.

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Rosai-Dorfman disease is a rare, benign histiocytic proliferative disorder that commonly affects the lymph nodes. Although extranodal involvement has been reported in diverse sites, manifestation in the cardiovascular system is extremely uncommon. Specifically, the involvement of the heart by Rosai-Dorfman disease is an extraordinarily infrequent event.

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We report the first case of adult meningitis confirmed to be due to Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus. Phenotypically reported as Streptococcus bovis biotype II/2, 16S rRNA sequencing revealed S.

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Paenibacilli are gram-positive, aerobic bacteria that are related to Bacilli but differ in the DNA encoding their 16S rRNA. Until recently, these organisms were not known to cause human disease. There are now several reports of human infection caused by a few members of this genus, most commonly by P.

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Cancer cells escape apoptosis by intrinsic or acquired mechanisms of drug resistance. An alternative strategy to circumvent resistance to apoptosis could be through redirection into other death pathways, such as necrosis. However, necrosis is a nonspecific, nontargeted process resulting in cell lysis and inflammation of both cancer and normal cells and is therefore not a viable alternative.

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DC-LAMP is a molecule expressed in mature dendritic cells, but its mRNA is also found in the lung. This study compares the immunostaining spectrum of PE-10, an antisurfactant protein monoclonal antibody; thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1); and DC-LAMP in normal and neoplastic lung in an attempt to characterize the cell type(s) that express DC-LAMP. Electron microscopy was used to define cell types.

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It is well-established that the endoplasmic reticulum is the major site of phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) synthesis. The PtdIns synthetic ability of other organelles, such as plasma membrane and nucleus, remains controversial. In the present study, we re-examine this question by comparing PtdIns synthesis in isolated cytoplasts (enucleated cells) with that in corresponding karyoplasts (nuclei surrounded by plasma membrane but lacking most cytoplasmic components).

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The effect of alkaline stress, or an increase in extracellular pH (pHext), on cell viability is poorly defined. Human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAEC) were subjected to alkaline stress using different methods of increasing pHext. Viability and mode of cell death following alkaline stress were determined by assessing nuclear morphology, ultrastructural features, and caspase-3 activity.

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Pancreatoblastoma is a rare tumor and has been reported only four times in the cytologic literature, three times in fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy and once in an imprint of resected tumor. We are reporting the fourth case of FNA cytology with immunohistochemical and electron microscopic studies. The patient is a 24-yr-old African American woman, who presented with a pancreatic mass, hepatic masses, and abdominal lymphadenopathy.

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Merkel cells (MC) occur in the basal epidermal layer, hair follicles, and oral mucosa, as complexes with sensory axons. The axons transduce slowly adapting type I mechanoreception, and MC modulate their sensitivity. MC also determine and maintain the 3-dimensional epidermal structure.

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Amyloid-associated protein (AA)-type systemic amyloidosis has been referred to as secondary amyloidosis because it is secondary to an associated inflammatory condition. It is extremely rare in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Here we report an autopsy case of follicular small cleaved cell lymphoma with focal large B-cell lymphoma transformation in association with systemic AA-type amyloidosis.

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In rat ileum and colon, apical membrane Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchange and net Cl(-) absorption are stimulated by increases in Pco(2) or [HCO(3)(-)]. Because changes in Pco(2) stimulate colonic Na(+) absorption, in part, by modulating vesicular trafficking of the Na(+)/H(+) exchanger type 3 isoform to and from the apical membrane, we examined whether changes in Pco(2) affect net Cl(-) absorption by modulating vesicular trafficking of the Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchanger anion exchanger (AE)1. Cl(-) transport across rat distal ileum and colon was measured in the Ussing chamber, and apical membrane protein biotinylation of these segments and Western blots of recovered proteins were performed.

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Light microscopic examination of blood smears is the traditional approach for the diagnosis of babesiosis, but there is morphological overlap with Plasmodium falciparum. The authors describe 3 patients with babesial infection in whom the diagnosis was made by identifying extracellular merozoites in a buffy coat preparation using electron microscopy. This method resulted in a high yield of extracellular babesia, even in a case where virtually no extracellular babesia were detectable in the blood smear.

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Bronchioloalveolar cell adenocarcinoma (BACA) is bronchioloalveolar because (1) it arises in bronchioles and alveoli and (2) differentiates into bronchiolar and alveolar cells. Every entity possesses unique characteristics that separate it from other entities. The unique characteristic of BACA is its cell type.

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Pneumocystis produces respiratory infection in immunocompromised individuals of several species of mammals, including humans. Each mammalian species has its own specific Pneumocystis species, which does not cross-infect other mammals. The species infecting humans has now been renamed P.

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The case is reported of a clinically aggressive parietal cell carcinoma of the gastric cardia in a 67-year-old man. Histologically, the tumor was a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with a predominantly solid growth pattern, though with areas exhibiting glandular morphology and with extensive lymphatic invasion. The tumor cells had eosinophilic, finely granular cytoplasm, with focal Alcian blue-positive mucin in the gland lumens.

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p53 is the most frequently altered gene in human cancer and therefore represents an ideal target for cancer therapy. Several amino terminal p53-derived synthetic peptides were tested for their antiproliferative effects on breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-468 (mutant p53), MCF-7 (overexpressed wild-type p53), and MDA-MB-157 (null p53). p53(15)Ant peptide representing the majority of the mouse double minute clone 2 binding site on p53 (amino acids 12-26) fused to the Drosophila carrier protein Antennapedia was the most effective.

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The presence of long, slender, often branching microvilli on cell surfaces is a characteristic feature of malignant and benign mesothelial cells. However, these typical microvilli are seen only in better-differentiated lumens within epithelial areas of malignant mesotheliomas. Presented here are the clinical and ultrastructural findings in a biphasic malignant mesothelioma that lacked lumens, but possessed very long microvilli.

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We examined for vesicular trafficking of the Na(+)/H(+) exchanger (NHE) in pH-stimulated ileal and CO(2)-stimulated colonic Na(+) absorption. Subapical vesicles in rat distal ileum were quantified by transmission electron microscopy at x27,500 magnification. Internalization of ileal apical membranes labeled with FITC-phytohemagglutinin was assessed using confocal microscopy, and pH-stimulated ileal Na(+) absorption was measured after exposure to wortmannin.

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The case history is described of an elderly man with rheumatoid arthritis receiving treatment with sulfasalazine and the cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor celecoxib who presented with severe shortness of breath, cough, and decreased exercise tolerance. The chest radiograph showed unilateral alveolo-interstitial infiltrates and a biopsy specimen of the lung parenchyma showed changes consistent with acute eosinophilic pneumonia. Antibiotic treatment was unsuccessful, but treatment with steroids and discontinuation of sulfasalazine and celecoxib resulted in a marked clinical improvement confirmed by arterial blood gas analysis.

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Background & Aims: We examined whether CO2 affects colonic Na+ absorption by endosome recycling of the Na+/H+ exchanger NHE3.

Methods: Rat distal colon segments exposed to various acid-base conditions were examined by transmission electron microscopy at 27,500x magnification and subapical vesicles quantified. Immunocytochemistry was used to identify vesicular NHE3.

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