Clinical, immunological and molecular characteristics of 37 Iranian patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia.

Background: X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) is a hereditary immunodeficiency characterized by an early onset of recurrent bacterial infections, a profound deficiency of all immunoglobulin isotypes and a markedly reduced number of peripheral B lymphocytes. Eighty-five percent of the patients with this phenotype have mutations in Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) gene.

Methods: To provide an informative outlook of clinical and immunological manifestations of XLA in Iran, 37 Iranian male patients with an age range of 1-34 years, followed over a period of 25 years, were studied.

Immature neuronal phenotype derived from mouse skin precursor cells differentiated in vitro.

Recent findings indicate that skin-derived precursor cells (SKPs) of mouse dermis can differentiate in cells with neuronal-like morphology. However, direct evidence supporting the establishment of functional phenotype is missing. In the present study, SKP cells were obtained using published in vitro techniques and studied at 14- to 21-day differentiation, when neuronal-like morphology was observed.

Curative resection plus adjuvant chemotherapy for early stage primary gastric non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a retrospective study with emphasis on prognostic factors and treatment outcome.

Background: There is controversy regarding the optimal therapy for primary non-Hodgkin gastric lymphoma with some authors defending surgical extirpation either alone or in association with radiotherapy and or chemotherapy, especially in relation to the earlier stages of the disease.

Aim: To analyze the clinical-pathological features and the results of management approaches for patients with primary early-stage non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the stomach operated in Surgical Gastroenterology Department, "Hospital do Servidor Público Estadual", São Paulo, SP, Brazil. The literature is reviewed to highlight the aspects of diagnosis, prognostic factors and role of the various treatment regimens.

Benign obstruction of the common hepatic duct (Mirizzi syndrome): diagnosis and operative management.

Background: Mirizzi syndrome is a rare complication of prolonged cholelithiasis, characterized by narrowing of the common hepatic duct due to mechanical compression and/or inflammation due to biliary calculus impacted in the infundibula of the gallbladder or in the cystic duct.

Objectives: To describe a series of eight consecutive patients with Mirizzi syndrome, at a single institution, submitted to surgical treatment and to comment on their aspects with emphasis on the diagnosis and treatment.

Methods: Four women and four men, with a mean age of 61.

The inhibitor of I kappa B alpha phosphorylation BAY 11-7082 prevents NMDA neurotoxicity in mouse hippocampal slices.

NF-kappaB is a nuclear transcription factor involved in the control of fundamental cellular functions including cell survival. Among the many target genes of this factor, both pro- and anti-apoptotic genes have been described. To evaluate the contribution of NF-kappaB activation to excitotoxic insult, we analysed the effect of IkappaBalpha (IkappaBalpha) phosphorylation blockade on glutamate-induced toxicity in adult mouse hippocampal slices.

Determination of carcinoembryonic antigen levels in peripheral and draining venous blood in patients with colorectal carcinoma.

Background: The problem of the relationship between blood carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels and tissue CEA content in colorectal carcinoma, and the mechanisms for CEA release from tumor cells in tissue adjacent to the neoplasm is important to understanding the biology of colorectal carcinoma. It has not been adequately explained whether CEA in the peripheral blood is drained mainly by portal system blood or by the lymphatic system, or indeed by both systems.

Aim: To study the behavior of CEA levels in peripheral blood (CEA-p) and venous effluent blood (CEA-d) among patients with colorectal tumors, who underwent curative operation.

Biliary carcinoembryonic antigen levels in diagnosis of occult hepatic metastases from colorectal carcinoma.

Aim: To prospectively explore the role of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in gallbladder bile in patients with colorectal carcinoma and the morphological and clinical features of neoplasia and the occurrence of hepatic metastases.

Methods: CEA levels in the gallbladder and peripheral blood were studied in 44 patients with colorectal carcinoma and 10 patients with uncomplicated cholelithiasis. CEA samples were collected from the gallbladder bile and peripheral blood during the operation, immediately before extirpating the colorectal neoplasia or cholecystectomy.

Expression of functional NR1/NR2B-type NMDA receptors in neuronally differentiated SK-N-SH human cell line.

The present study demonstrates that human SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells, differentiated by retinoic acid (RA), express functional NMDA receptors and become vulnerable to glutamate toxicity. During exposure to RA, SK-N-SH cells switched from non-neuronal to neuronal phenotype by showing antigenic changes typical of postmitotic neurons together with markers specific for cholinergic cells. Neuronally differentiated cells displayed positive immunoreactivity to the vesicular acetylcholine transporter and active acetylcholine release in response to depolarizing stimuli.

Opposing roles for NF-kappa B/Rel factors p65 and c-Rel in the modulation of neuron survival elicited by glutamate and interleukin-1beta.

The nuclear transcription factors NF-kappaB/Rel have been shown to function as key regulators of either cell death or survival in neuronal cells. Here, we investigated whether selective activation of diverse NF-kappaB/Rel family members might lead to distinct effects on neuron viability. In both cultured rat cerebellar granule cells and mouse hippocampal slices, we examined NF-kappaB/Rel activation induced by two opposing modulators of cell viability: 1) interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), which promotes neuron survival and 2) glutamate, which can elicit toxicity.

The role of surgery in the treatment of primary gastric lymphoma.

The present retrospective study of 23 patients with primary gastric lymphoma had the objective of determining the role of surgical treatment on survival. All patients were submitted to gastric resection with regional lymph node removal. Nine patients (39.

Neuroprotection by metabotropic glutamate receptor agonists on kainate-induced degeneration of motor neurons in spinal cord slices from adult rat.

Research has provided evidence about the role of excitotoxicity in the pathophysiology of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and suggests that AMPA/kainate receptor activation contributes greatly in mediating glutamate injury to motor neurons. The recent finding of variable expression of metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptor subtypes in adult rat spinal cord has prompted us to investigate their contribution to the excitotoxic process. We report here that stimulation of mGlu receptors efficiently prevents motor neuron degeneration induced by kainate.

Interleukin-1beta and glutamate activate the NF-kappaB/Rel binding site from the regulatory region of the amyloid precursor protein gene in primary neuronal cultures.

We originally reported that members of the family of transcription factors NF-kappaB/Rel can specifically recognize two identical sequences, referred to as APPkappaB sites, which are present in the 5'-regulatory region of the APP gene. Here we show that the APPkappaB sites interact specifically with a complex which contains one of the subunits of the family, defined as p50 protein, and that they act as positive modulators of gene transcription in cells of neural origin. Additionally, the nuclear complex specifically binding to the APPkappaB sites is constitutively expressed in primary neurons from rat cerebellum and it is up-regulated in response to both the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and the excitatory amino acid glutamate.

Restaging of colorectal cancer based on the identification of lymph node micrometastases through immunoperoxidase staining of CEA and cytokeratins.

The present study was performed to identify tumor cells in lymph nodes from colorectal adenocarcinomas considered free of disease by the classic hematoxylin-eosin stain, based on the detection of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cytokeratins in neoplastic epithelial cells. For this purpose, 603 lymph nodes from 46 lesions were stained by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique. Tumor cells were detected in 22 nodes from 12 patients, mainly in the subcapsular sinuses, permitting a restaging of these patients into two groups: those now considered to have metastatic disease and those free of metastases.

[Effects of parenteral nutrition on tumor growth: experimental aspects].

There still exist controversies about the effect of parenteral nutrition on cancer growth. For elucidation of this question the development of Walker 256 carcinosarcoma in rats submitted to parenteral nutrition (PN) was studied. Thirty-five Wistar rats were randomly distributed in three groups: OT group (11), tumor-bearing animals always under oral feeding for 14 days; PC group (14), tumor free animals under PN for 7 days; PT group (10), tumor-bearing rats under PT for 7 days.

An experimental study of the impact of cancer on nitrogen metabolism and wound healing.

In Wistar rats bearing a Walker-256 carcinoma flank tumor, a standard skin wound was inflicted on the backs of the animals. Nitrogen intake and nitrogen balance measures were obtained. The standard wound did not promote tumor growth.

[Body composition changes in cancer: an experimental study].

With the aim to study body composition changes in tumor bearing rats submitted to different nutritional conditions, Wistar rats were separated in three diet groups: regular chow, aproteic diet and regular chow after three weeks of aproteic diet. Afterwards the animals were divided in two subgroups: Waler 256 carcinossarcoma bearing rats and tumor free controls. After the sacrifice body composition measurements by the carcass analysis method were performed.

[Influences of antitumoral chemotherapy on body composition and nitrogen balance: experimental study].

An experimental study was carried out with the purpose to examine the 4-epidoxorubicine (4-EPI) action on malignant tumor development and its repercussion on nutritional conditions of the host. Cancer and chemotherapy can generate malnutrition. In order to study the nutritional repercussions, 48 host Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups: Group C: 12 control rats; Group T: 5 rats bearing Walker-256 carcinosarcoma; Group TE: 11 rats given 4-epidoxorubicine (4-EPI) EV simultaneously with tumor implantation; Group T6E: 8 rats given 4-EPI 6 days after the tumor implantation; Group E: 11 rats given only 4-EPI.

[Gastric epithelioid leiomyoma (leiomyoblastoma). Analysis of a case and review of the literature].

The authors report a case of gastric epithelial leiomyoma (leiomyoblastoma). Macroscopically, such tumors resemble leiomyoma, with a biological behavior between leiomyoma and leiomyosarcoma. A review of the medical literature indicates that gastrointestinal bleeding is the most usual manifestation.