uses a cluster of polar, sheathed flagella for swimming motility. A search for homologs of proteins that were conserved in species that possess flagellar sheaths but were underrepresented in species with unsheathed flagella identified several candidate proteins. Four of the identified proteins are predicted to form part of a tripartite efflux system that includes two transmembrane domains of an ABC transporter (HP1487 and HP1486), a periplasmic membrane fusion protein (HP1488), and a TolC-like outer membrane efflux protein (HP1489).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe podovirus BPP-1 is currently the only member of the Podovirus genus Rauchvirus. Here, we describe three new Caulobacter bacteriophages (Jess A, SR18, and RW) that show genetic similarity to BPP-1 but have many different genetic and structural features that differentiate them from BPP-1. Jess A and SR18 are closely related to each other and should be considered two members of a new species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Microbiol
June 2018
Bacteriophages remain an understudied component of bacterial communities. Therefore, our laboratory has initiated an effort to isolate large numbers of bacteriophages that infect Caulobacter crescentus to provide an estimate of the diversity of bacteriophages that infect this common environmental bacterium. The majority of the new isolates are phicbkviruses, a genus of giant viruses that appear to be Caulobacter specific.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnalysis of lung adenocarcinomas for actionable mutations has become standard of care. Here, we report our experience using next generation sequencing (NGS) to examine , , , , , , and genes in 1006 non-small cell lung cancers in a clinical diagnostic setting. NGS demonstrated high sensitivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExtramammary Paget disease is an intraepithelial neoplasm affecting cells rich in apocrine glands-often located in the vulvar, scrotal, or perianal region. It typically affects older patients, between the ages of 50 and 80years old, and is most often limited to the epidermis. A 47-year-old Asian male first presented with enlargement of the right inguinal lymph node.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMolecular tumor profiling is now a routine part of patient care, revealing targetable genomic alterations and molecularly distinct tumor subtypes with therapeutic and prognostic implications. The widespread adoption of next-generation sequencing technologies has greatly facilitated clinical implementation of genomic data and opened the door for high-throughput multigene-targeted sequencing. Herein, we discuss the variability of cancer genetic profiling currently offered by clinical laboratories, the challenges of applying rapidly evolving medical knowledge to individual patients, and the need for more standardized population-based molecular profiling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSomatic activating mutations in the promoter of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene are the most common genetic alterations in urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the bladder and upper urinary tract. Little is known, however, about TERT-mutation status in the relatively uncommon but clinically aggressive micropapillary (MPC) variant. We evaluated the presence of TERT promoter mutations in MPC of the bladder and upper urinary tract.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTERT promoter mutations (TERT-mut) have been detected in 60% to 80% of urothelial carcinomas. A molecular urine-based screening assay for the detection of TERT-mut is currently being pursued by our group and others. A small but significant number of bladder carcinomas are adenocarcinoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTERT promoter mutations (TERT-mut) are detectable in the majority of urothelial carcinomas. The detection of TERT-mut in urine is under investigation as a potential urine-based molecular-screening assay for bladder cancer. A small but significant number of bladder carcinomas are pure squamous cell carcinoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetaplastic squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the breast is a rare type of breast cancer. Metastases to the lung, which can be a major site of second primary tumor development among breast cancer patients, are difficult to distinguish from primary SCC of the lung and present a unique challenge for pathologists. There are few available discriminating immunohistochemical markers as squamous differentiation typically leads to loss of expression of characteristic primary epithelial cell markers of both breast and lung origin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent studies suggest that the telomere maintenance mechanism known as alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) is relatively more common in specific glioma subsets and strongly associated with ATRX mutations. We retrospectively examined 116 high-grade astrocytomas (32 pediatric glioblastomas, 65 adult glioblastomas, 19 anaplastic astrocytomas) with known ALT status using tissue microarrays to identify associations with molecular and phenotypic features. Immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies against ATRX, DAXX, p53 and IDH1(R132H) mutant protein.
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