SARS-CoV-2 can infect the placenta and is not associated with specific placental histopathology: a series of 19 placentas from COVID-19-positive mothers.

Congenital infection of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be exceptionally rare despite many cases of COVID-19 during pregnancy. Robust proof of placental infection requires demonstration of viral localization within placental tissue. Only two of the few cases of possible vertical transmission have demonstrated placental infection.

Primary Renal Carcinoid Tumor: Report of Two Cases.

Introduction: Primary renal carcinoid tumors are a rare subset of neuroendocrine tumors arising in the kidneys. Although carcinoid syndrome has occasionally been described, most patients are asymptomatic at presentation.

Case Presentations: We present 2 cases of primary renal carcinoid tumor and describe the workup, immunohistochemical analysis, treatment, and surveillance of each female patient.

Integrative Analysis Reveals Across-Cancer Expression Patterns and Clinical Relevance of Ribonucleotide Reductase in Human Cancers.

Mining cancer-omics databases deepens our understanding of cancer biology and can lead to potential breakthroughs in cancer treatment. Here, we propose an integrative analytical approach to reveal across-cancer expression patterns and identify potential clinical impacts for genes of interest from five representative public databases. Using ribonucleotide reductase (RR), a key enzyme in DNA synthesis and cancer-therapeutic targeting, as an example, we characterized the mRNA expression profiles and inter-component associations of three subunit genes and assess their differing pathological and prognostic significance across over 30-types of cancers and their related subtypes.

Osteoclast proton pump regulator Atp6v1c1 enhances breast cancer growth by activating the mTORC1 pathway and bone metastasis by increasing V-ATPase activity.

It is known that V-ATPases (vacuolar H+-ATPase) are involved in breast cancer growth and metastasis. Part of this action is similar to their role in osteoclasts, where they're involved in extracellular acidification and matrix destruction; however, the roles of their subunits in cancer cell proliferation, signaling, and other pro-tumor actions are not well established. Analysis of TCGA data shows that V-ATPase subunit Atp6v1c1 is overexpressed or amplified in 34% of human breast cancer cases, with a 2-fold decrease in survival at 12 years.

ERBB2 mutation is associated with a worse prognosis in patients with CDH1 altered invasive lobular cancer of the breast.

E-cadherin (CDH1) is a glycoprotein that mediates adhesion between epithelial cells and also suppresses cancer invasion. Mutation or deletion of the CDH1 gene has been reported in 30-60% cases of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). However, little is known about genomic differences between ILC with and without a CDH1 alteration.

Invasive Renal Angiomyolipoma With Cytologic Atypia.

Renal angiomyolipoma (AML) is a benign neoplasm of the kidney arising sporadically in an idiopathic manner, or syndromically as a component of tuberous sclerosis complex. Although the classic AML has no malignant potential, and is the most common mesenchymal tumor of the kidney, variant AML cases with epithelioid morphology have demonstrated aggressive or invasive behavior. Classic AML, on the other hand, can occasionally display focal histology concerning for sarcomatous transformation, but in the absence of invasive features, it is easy to distinguish from a malignancy.

A microscopic landscape of the invasive breast cancer genome.

Histologic grade is one of the most important microscopic features used to predict the prognosis of invasive breast cancer and may serve as a marker for studying cancer driving genomic abnormalities in vivo. We analyzed whole genome sequencing data from 680 cases of TCGA invasive ductal carcinomas of the breast and correlated them to corresponding pathology information. Ten genetic abnormalities were found to be statistically associated with histologic grade, including three most prevalent cancer driver events, TP53 and PIK3CA mutations and MYC amplification.

The Utility of Phosphohistone H3 in Breast Cancer Grading.

The commonly used Nottingham Grading System in breast cancer takes into consideration the presence of tubular formation, nuclear pleomorphism, and the mitotic index (MI), among which the latter has been shown to be the most powerful prognostic factor. In practice, histologic grading is highly subjective, with only moderate interobserver reproducibility. Phosphorylation of histone H3 has been demonstrated to be a specific event in the mitotic phase, and is negligible during interphase.

Assessment of breast pathologies using nonlinear microscopy.

Rapid intraoperative assessment of breast excision specimens is clinically important because up to 40% of patients undergoing breast-conserving cancer surgery require reexcision for positive or close margins. We demonstrate nonlinear microscopy (NLM) for the assessment of benign and malignant breast pathologies in fresh surgical specimens. A total of 179 specimens from 50 patients was imaged with NLM using rapid extrinsic nuclear staining with acridine orange and intrinsic second harmonic contrast generation from collagen.

Mining genome sequencing data to identify the genomic features linked to breast cancer histopathology.

Background: Genetics and genomics have radically altered our understanding of breast cancer progression. However, the genomic basis of various histopathologic features of breast cancer is not yet well-defined.

Materials And Methods: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) is an international database containing a large collection of human cancer genome sequencing data.

Insulin-like growth factor-1, insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 and lobule type in the Nurses' Health Study II.

Introduction: Previous research in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and the NHSII observed that, among women diagnosed with benign breast disease (BBD), those with predominant type 1/no type 3 lobules (a marker of complete involution) versus other lobule types were at lower risk of subsequent breast cancer. Studies in animal models suggest that insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) may inhibit involution of lobules in the breast; however, this has not been studied in humans.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 472 women in the NHSII who were diagnosed with biopsy-confirmed proliferative BBD between 1991 and 2002 and provided blood samples between 1996 and 1999.

Integrated optical coherence tomography and optical coherence microscopy imaging of ex vivo human renal tissues.

Purpose: We evaluated the feasibility of using optical coherence tomography and optical coherence microscopy technology to assess human kidney morphology.

Materials And Methods: A total of 35 renal specimens from 19 patients, consisting of 12 normal tissues and 23 tumors (16 clear cell renal cell carcinomas, 5 papillary renal cell carcinomas and 2 oncocytomas) were imaged ex vivo after surgical resection. Optical coherence tomography and optical coherence microscopy images were compared to corresponding hematoxylin and eosin histology to identify characteristic features of normal and pathological renal tissues.

Proteomic-based biosignatures in breast cancer classification and prediction of therapeutic response.

Protein-based markers that classify tumor subtypes and predict therapeutic response would be clinically useful in guiding patient treatment. We investigated the LC-MS/MS-identified protein biosignatures in 39 baseline breast cancer specimens including 28 HER2-positive and 11 triple-negative (TNBC) tumors. Twenty proteins were found to correctly classify all HER2 positive and 7 of the 11 TNBC tumors.

The integrin alpha(v)beta(3-5) ligand MFG-E8 is a p63/p73 target gene in triple-negative breast cancers but exhibits suppressive functions in ER(+) and erbB2(+) breast cancers.

The progression from preinvasive lesion to invasive carcinoma is a critical step contributing to breast cancer lethality. We identified downregulation of milk fat globule-EGF factor 8 (MFG-E8) as a contributor to breast cancer progression using microarray analysis of laser capture microdissected (LCM) tissues. We first identified MFG-E8 downregulation in invasive lesions in transgenic mammary tumor models, which were confirmed in LCM-isolated human invasive ductal carcinomas compared with patient-matched normal tissues.

Higher levels of GATA3 predict better survival in women with breast cancer.

The GATA family members are zinc finger transcription factors involved in cell differentiation and proliferation. GATA3 in particular is necessary for mammary gland maturation, and its loss has been implicated in breast cancer development. Our goal was to validate the ability of GATA3 expression to predict survival in breast cancer patients.

Tumor proteomic profiling predicts the susceptibility of breast cancer to chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy is often used for breast cancer treatment, but individual outcome varies widely. We hypothesized that tumor proteomic profiles obtained prior to chemotherapy may predict the individual tumor response to treatment. The goal of our study was to explore feasibility of using proteomic profiling to preselect patients for an effective chemotherapeutic regimen.

Proteomics and mass spectrometry for cancer biomarker discovery.

Proteomics is a rapidly advancing field not only in the field of biology but also in translational cancer research. In recent years, mass spectrometry and associated technologies have been explored to identify proteins or a set of proteins specific to a given disease, for the purpose of disease detection and diagnosis. Such biomarkers are being investigated in samples including cells, tissues, serum/plasma, and other types of body fluids.

Taxol induced apoptosis regulates amino acid transport in breast cancer cells.

A major outcome from Taxol treatment is induction of tumor cell apoptosis. However, metabolic responses to Taxol-induced apoptosis are poorly understood. In this study, we hypothesize that alterations in specific amino acid transporters may affect the Taxol-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells.

Detection of breast cancer biomarkers in nipple aspirate fluid by SELDI-TOF and their identification by combined liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Screening mammography is the most effective tool available for breast cancer detection. While screening mammography saves lives, it has intrinsic problems that limit further improvement. We hypothesize that protein biomarkers in nipple aspirate fluid (NAF) may separate the cancer from the non-cancer state, and therefore can be used for breast cancer detection.

Decreased expression of annexin A1 is correlated with breast cancer development and progression as determined by a tissue microarray analysis.

Annexin A1 (ANXA1) is a calcium- and phospholipid-binding protein and a known mediator of glucocorticoid-regulated inflammatory responses. Using a combined multiple high-throughput approach, we recently identified a reduced expression of ANXA1 in human breast cancer. The finding was confirmed at the gene level by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and at the protein level by immunohistochemical staining of normal, benign, and malignant breast tissues.

Insulin-like growth factor I differentially regulates the expression of HIRF1/hCAF1 and BTG1 genes in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

Differential display PCR analysis (DD-PCR) was used to identify novel genes that respond to IGF-I treatment in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Fifty-three cDNAs showed alterations in their mRNA levels in IGF-I treated cells. One of these genes showed a significant increase in the mRNA level in IGF-I treated cells in comparison to non-treated cells.

In silico identification of breast cancer genes by combined multiple high throughput analyses.

Publicly available human genomic sequence data provide an unprecedented opportunity for researchers to decode the functionality of human genome. Such information is extremely valuable in cancer prevention diagnosis and treatment. Cancer Genome Anatomy Project (CGAP) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) are two bioinformatic infrastructures for studying functional genomics.

Loss of annexin A1 expression in human breast cancer detected by multiple high-throughput analyses.

To test the efficacy of combined high-throughput analyses (HTA) in target gene identification, screening criteria were set using >fivefold difference by microarray and statistically significant changes (p<0.01) in SAGE and EST. Microarray analysis of two normal and seven breast cancer samples found 129 genes with >fivefold changes.

[Preparation and characterization of polymeric ultrafine particles on Hb-SDS-Ag hydrogeles (I)].

Preparation and characterization of polymeric particles ultrafine on Hb-SDS-Ag have been reported. (Taking fixed quantity of Hb, SDS to be putting in a beaker, then Ag(NH3)2NO3 solution, pH--12 buffer, n-heptane and iso-amyl-alcohol were added. And fixed quantity formaldehyde, n-heptane and iso-amyl-alcohol were added in another beaker.