Gastroschisis is a defect of the umbilical ring: evidence from morphological evaluation of stillborn fetuses.

Background: Gastroschisis (GS) is usually described as an abdominal wall defect, to the right of a normally inserted umbilical cord, without membraneous covering of the extruded organs. However, precise anatomical descriptions are lacking in the literature. Our aims were to provide evidence that allows reconsideration of its current definition, as well as an explanation for prenatal death, based on detailed observation of stillborn fetuses with GS and a review of the literature.

Acephaly: further evidence for disruption but not for amniotic bands.

Complete absence of the fetal head in singleton pregnancies is a very rare defect; to our knowledge there are only 7 reported cases. Decapitation by amniotic bands has been considered as the most probable cause. However, in none of the described cases except one were amniotic bands, constriction rings, or other related findings observed, raising the possibility that mechanisms other than amputation by amniotic bands are involved.

Novel invasive orthotopic bladder cancer model with high cathepsin B activity resembling human bladder cancer.

Purpose: We developed and characterized an orthotopic invasive bladder tumor model.

Material And Methods: The MB49-I invasive bladder tumor cell line was obtained after 13 consecutive in vivo passages of primary tumor obtained by subcutaneous inoculation of MB49 bladder tumor cells in C57Bl/6J male mice.

Results: MB49-I tumor local invasiveness, tumor weight and spontaneous metastatic capacity were higher than in MB49 tumors.

Patterns of severe abdominal wall defects: insights into pathogenesis, delineation, and nomenclature.

Background: During the last decade, descriptions of malformation complexes involving an abdominal wall defect (AWD) have repeatedly appeared in the literature, and there has been frequent confusion regarding nomenclature, definitions, and delineations. The aims of this work were to evaluate possible embryological relationships among AWD cases, review the related nomenclature, identify patterns involving AWDs, and stress the importance of complete clinical descriptions. METHODS Cases diagnosed as AWD complexes were selected from live--and stillborn infants of the Hospital Materno Infantil Ramón Sardá, Buenos Aires, and from the Laboratory of Perinatal Pathology, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Tissue-type plasminogen activator activity in morphologically normal tissues adjacent to gastrointestinal carcinomas is associated with the degree of tumor progression.

Purpose: To investigate whether the level of plasminogen activator (PA) activity assayed in gastrointestinal carcinomas and the "morphologically normal tissues" adjacent to them is associated with the degree of tumor progression.

Methods: Tumor and "normal tissues" were obtained from gastrointestinal surgical samples to assess urokinase-type (u-PA) and tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) activities by radial caseinolytic assay and the expression of PA inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) by ELISA. We compared the PA system between the tumor and "normal tissues" and we investigated the existence of correlations between: (a) PA production in the tumor and "normal tissues", (b) different components of the PA system, and (c) PA system and the degree of tumor progression.

Exogenous interferon-gamma alters murine inner cell mass and trophoblast development. Effect on the expression of ErbB1, ErbB4 and heparan sulfate proteoglycan (perlecan).

Implantation is a crucial event in human pregnancy. The participation of cytokines in the implantation process has been widely documented, although the role of many of these molecules is still a matter of controversy. In a previous report from our laboratory, we demonstrated that addition of interferon-gamma to the culture medium produces deleterious effects on mouse embryo development.

Reviewing old concepts at the start of a new millenium: growth restriction, adrenal hypoplasia, and thymomegaly in human anencephaly.

Background: Anencephaly has been associated frequently with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), consistently with adrenal hypoplasia, and occasionally with an enlarged thymus. Few studies have analyzed the relationship between gestational age (GA), IUGR, associated anomalies and thymomegaly in anencephaly. The aims of our study were to evaluate this relationship and to highlight the usefulness of anencephaly as a model when investigating immune-endocrine interactions.