Increased serum concentrations of estrogen-induced growth factors Midkine and FGF2 in NF1 patients with plexiform neurofibroma.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) predisposes to the development of dermal and plexiform neurofibromas and serum of NF1 patients stimulates neurofibroma proliferation in vitro. This study aimed to determine whether, in NF1 patients, serum levels of midkine (MK) and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) were associated with the number and/or type of neurofibromas. In addition, their concentrations were correlated with serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), a neurosteroid secreted by the peripheral nervous system.

Mycobacterium avium complex infected cells promote growth of the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Bronchiectasis is considered a consequence of the neutrophilic inflammatory response to infection. Mycobacterial infections, mainly from the Mycobacterium avium complex and M. abscessus, have been inextricably linked to bronchiectasis development.

EGFR-mutated advanced lung cancer. Data from a single institution, the Hospital of Leon, in Spain.

Introduction: 10-16% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases have the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) amplified and/or mutated. Studies show that EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) significantly prolong progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced NSCLC compared to those treated with platinum-based chemotherapy (CT) doublets. Our aim is to perform a real-world survival analysis of patients treated with TKI as first-line therapy at the Hospital of Leon (CAULE) in Spain.

A strategy based on Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) for routine genotyping of nontuberculous mycobacteria at the clinical laboratory.

The increasing worldwide incidence of mycobacteriosis and the need to achieve improved clinical management makes nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) genotyping a useful tool. However, because of technical difficulties, medium size microbiology laboratories do not attempt to compare the genetic patterns that each of their isolates present. We have aimed to optimize a genotyping method with a reduced hands-on experimental time and that requires few technical resources.

The role of EZH2 in overall survival of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis.

Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is the catalitic subunit of polycomb repressive complex 2 and mediates gene silencing. EZH2 is overexpressed in many cancers and correlates with poor prognosis. The role of the gene EZH2 in colorectal cancer survival is uncertainly, the aim of this study is clear this relationship.

In vitro infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis induces a distinct immunological pattern in blood from healthy relatives of tuberculosis patients.

Part of the susceptibility to tuberculosis has a genetic basis, which is clear in primary immunodeficiencies, but is less evident in apparently immunocompetent subjects. Immune responses were analysed in blood samples from tuberculosis patients and their healthy first-degree relatives who were infected in vitro with mycobacteria (either Mycobacterium tuberculosis or M. bovis BCG).

Immunological response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in blood from type 2 diabetes patients.

The convergence of tuberculosis and diabetes represents a co-epidemic that threatens progress against tuberculosis. We have investigated type 2 diabetes as a risk factor for tuberculosis susceptibility, and have used as experimental model whole blood infected in vitro with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Blood samples from diabetic patients were found to have a higher absolute neutrophil count that non-diabetic controls, but their immune functionality seemed impaired because they displayed a lower capacity to phagocytose M.

Macrophages from elders are more permissive to intracellular multiplication of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The elderly account for a disproportionate share of all tuberculosis cases, and the population ageing may not fully explain this phenomenon. We have performed in vitro infection experiments to investigate whether there is an immunological basis for the apparent susceptibility of elders to tuberculosis. In our infection model, Mycobacterium tuberculosis induces a higher production of interleukin (IL)-6 and reactive oxygen species in macrophages from elders than from younger adults.

Delineation of commonly deleted chromosomal regions in meningiomas by high-density single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping arrays.

Despite recent advances in the identification of the cytogenetic profiles of meningiomas, a significant group of tumors still show normal karyotypes or few chromosomal changes. The authors analyzed the cytogenetic profile of 50 meningiomas using fluorescence in situ hybridization and high-density (500 K) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays. Our results confirm that del(22q) (52%) and del(1p) (16%) (common deleted regions: 22q11.

[Enteropathy-associated intestinal t-cell lymphoma without celiac disease].

Type II enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL) is an uncommon intestinal lymphoma. We report the case of a 73-year-old man with diarrhea and weight loss. Duodenal biopsy showed atrophy and infiltration of irregular lymphocytes.

Non-chemotactic influence of CXCL7 on human phagocytes. Modulation of antimicrobial activity against L. pneumophila.

We have investigated the role of CXCL7 in the immune response of human phagocytes against the intracellular bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Legionella pneumophila. We have observed that polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) chemotaxis induced by the supernatants of infected monocyte derived macrophages (MDM) may be attributed to CXCL8 rather than CXCL7, although both chemokines are present in large quantities. We have also found that CXCL7 is present not only in the supernatants of MDM, but also in the supernatants of PMN of some, but not all, individuals.

Research resource: Transcriptional profiling reveals different pseudohypoxic signatures in SDHB and VHL-related pheochromocytomas.

The six major genes involved in hereditary susceptibility for pheochromocytoma (PCC)/paraganglioma (PGL) (RET, VHL, NF1, SDHB, SDHC, and SDHD) have been recently integrated into the same neuronal apoptotic pathway where mutations in any of these genes lead to cell death. In this model, prolyl hydroxylase 3 (EglN3) abrogation plays a pivotal role, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its inactivation are currently unknown. The aim of the study was to decipher specific alterations associated with the different genetic classes of PCCs/PGLs.

Apoptosis and oxidative burst in neutrophils infected with Mycobacterium spp.

Two of the better characterized antimicrobial mechanisms displayed by human neutrophils are the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the induction of apoptosis. Their importance in mycobacterial infections is, however, controversial and we aimed to analyze them simultaneously in neutrophils infected with either Mycobacterium tuberculosis or the non-pathogenic M. gordonae.

Discovery of quantitative trait loci for resistance to parasitic nematode infection in sheep: I. Analysis of outcross pedigrees.

Background: Currently most pastoral farmers rely on anthelmintic drenches to control gastrointestinal parasitic nematodes in sheep. Resistance to anthelmintics is rapidly increasing in nematode populations such that on some farms none of the drench families are now completely effective. It is well established that host resistance to nematode infection is a moderately heritable trait.

Microarray analysis of selection lines from outbred populations to identify genes involved with nematode parasite resistance in sheep.

Gastrointestinal nematodes infect sheep grazing contaminated pastures. Traditionally, these have been controlled with anthelmintic drenching. The selection of animals resistant to nematodes is an alternative to complete reliance on drugs, but the genetic basis of host resistance is poorly understood.