Proteomic analysis of Nrk gene-disrupted placental tissue cells explains physiological significance of NRK.

Objective: NRK is a unique X chromosome-linked protein kinase expressed predominantly in placenta. The gene knockout causes placental overgrowth and delayed labor of Nrk-null fetuses from dams in mouse. To clarify unknown mechanisms behind the Nrk-null phenotypes, protein expression profiles were analyzed in the Nrk-null placenta using a high-performance two-dimensional electrophoresis methodology.

Respiratory bronchiolitis and lung carcinoma.

Background: Cigarette smoking is the primary causative factor for lung carcinoma and respiratory bronchiolitis (RB), particularly RB-associated interstitial lung disease (RB-ILD). However, the link between lung cancer and RB/RB-ILD remains undefined. We examined whether pathological fibrosis lesions exist simultaneously in patients with lung carcinoma because the fibrous lesions could be precancerous.

Surgical resection of cystic intraductal papillary adenocarcinoma of the bile duct: report of a case.

We describe a cystic intraductal papillary neoplasm of bile duct (IPNB) of adenocarcinoma treated with surgical resection. An 82-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of distension of the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. On admission, a huge nontender mass was palpated in the right upper abdomen.

Malignant granular cell tumor in the gluteal region with unusual pathologic features.

Malignant granular cell tumors (MGCTs) are very rare soft tissue sarcomas. Definite criteria for pathologic diagnosis and the optimal treatment strategy have not been fully established. Here, we describe a 76-year-old woman with a huge MGCT in the right gluteal region, who developed a local recurrence and died from that tumor 14 months after undergoing an operation for the primary tumor.

Oligonol, an oligomerized lychee fruit-derived polyphenol, activates the Ras/Raf-1/MEK1/2 cascade independent of the IL-6 signaling pathway in rat primary adipocytes.

Oligonol is a lychee fruit-derived low-molecular form of polyphenol. In this study, the effect of Oligonol on the mitogen activated-protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway in primary adipocytes was investigated to examine the mechanism underlying the enhanced levels of phosphorylated extracellular-signaling regulatory kinase1/2 (ERK1/2) that accompany an in vitro increase in lipolysis. Oligonol significantly elevated the levels of activated Ras and the phosphorylation of Raf-1 and MAPK/ERK kinase1/2 (MEK1/2) with no increase in pan-Raf-1 and -MEK1/2 proteins.

Amebic colitis in asymptomatic subjects with positive fecal occult blood test results: clinical features different from symptomatic cases.

Amebiasis is a common parasitic infectious disease in developing countries. In developed countries, it is occasionally encountered in travelers to the tropics and in homosexual males. During the past eight years, we detected four cases of amebic colitis among 5,193 subjects who underwent colonoscopy because of positive fecal occult blood test results in a mass screening.

BCL-6-positive human herpesvirus 8-associated solid lymphoma arising from liver and spleen as multiple nodular lesions.

We report a case of BCL-6-positive B cell lymphoma with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection. A human immunodeficiency virus-infected patient developed a diffuse large B cell lymphoma, which was found exclusively in the liver and spleen with the absence of lymphadenopathy and effusion in any body cavities. The lymphoma cells were composed of medium to large-sized cells positive for CD20, CD45, and BCL-6, and negative for epithelial cell membrane antigen, CD30, CD45RO, and CD138/syndecan-1, suggesting a germinal center B cell origin.