Struma ovarii coincident with Hashimoto's thyroiditis: an unusual cause of hyperthyroidism.

Objective: To report the identification of struma ovarii in a patient with a history of struma ovarii and new hyperthyroidism.

Design: Case report.

Setting: Academic research hospital.

Persistence of dysmenorrhea and nonmenstrual pain after optimal endometriosis surgery may indicate adenomyosis.

Objective: To evaluate whether persistence of pelvic pain after excision of endometriosis was associated with adenomyosis as defined by a thickened uterine junctional zone (JZ) on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

Design: Prospective clinical trial.

Setting: Government research hospital.

Amantadine inhibits the function of an ion channel encoded by GB virus B, but fails to inhibit virus replication.

A chemically synthesized peptide representing the C-terminal subunit (p13-C) of the p13 protein of GB virus B (GBV-B), the most closely related virus to hepatitis C virus (HCV) showed ion channel activity in artificial lipid bilayers. The channels had a variable conductance and were more permeable to potassium ions than to chloride ions. Amantadine but not hexamethylene amiloride (HMA) inhibited the ion channel function of p13-C in the lipid membranes.

Current treatment options and biology of peritoneal mesothelioma: meeting summary of the first NIH peritoneal mesothelioma conference.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the peritoneum with about 250 new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. It is the second most common site for mesothelioma development and accounts for 10-20% of all mesotheliomas diagnosed in the United States. A meeting sponsored by the NIH Office of Rare Diseases was held in Bethesda, Maryland on September 13 and 14, 2004.

The HIV-1 Vpr and glucocorticoid receptor complex is a gain-of-function interaction that prevents the nuclear localization of PARP-1.

The Vpr protein of HIV-1 functions as a vital accessory gene by regulating various cellular functions, including cell differentiation, apoptosis, nuclear factor of kappaB (NF-kappaB) suppression and cell-cycle arrest of the host cell. Several reports have indicated that Vpr complexes with the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), but it remains unclear whether the GR pathway is required for Vpr to function. Here, we report that Vpr uses the GR pathway as a recruitment vehicle for the NF-kappaB co-activating protein, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1).

Pilot study investigating the age-related decline in ovarian function of regularly menstruating normal women.

Objective: To use a pilot study to investigate markers of the age-related decline in ovarian function of regularly menstruating normal women.

Design: Prospective.

Setting: Tertiary research center.

Autoimmune oophoritis as a mechanism of follicular dysfunction in women with 46,XX spontaneous premature ovarian failure.

Objective: To assess the association between serum adrenal cortex autoantibodies and histologically confirmed autoimmune lymphocytic oophoritis.

Design: Controlled, prospective.

Setting: Tertiary research center.

The peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor and tumorigenicity: isoquinoline binding protein (IBP) antisense knockdown in the C6 glioma cell line.

Peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptors (PBR) are constituted by three protein components, the isoquinoline binding protein (IBP), the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), and the adenine nucleotide transporter (ANT). Recently, we found that high levels of PBR ligand binding in glioma cell lines correlate with in vitro tumorigenicity. To study whether enhanced PBR expression is causative or in response to cancer, we genetically modified C6 glioma cells.

Dengue virus M protein C-terminal peptide (DVM-C) forms ion channels.

A chemically synthesized peptide consisting of the C-terminus of the M protein of the Dengue virus type 1 strain Singapore S275/90 (DVM-C) produced ion channel activity in artificial lipid bilayers. The channels had a variable conductance and were more permeable to sodium and potassium ions than to chloride ions and more permeable to chloride ions than to calcium ions. Hexamethylene amiloride (100 microM) and amantadine (10 microM), blocked channels formed by DVM-C.

HIV-1 Viral protein-r (Vpr) protects against lethal superantigen challenge while maintaining homeostatic T cell levels in vivo.

The HIV-1 accessory protein Vpr exhibits many interesting features related to macrophage and T cell biology. As a viral protein or as a soluble molecule it can suppress immune cell activation and cytokine production in vitro in part by targeted inhibition of NF-kappaB. In this regard we sought to test its effects in vivo on an NF-kappaB-dependent immune pathway.

HIV-1 Nef-induced FasL induction and bystander killing requires p38 MAPK activation.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been reported to target noninfected CD4 and CD8 cells for destruction. This effect is manifested in part through up-regulation of the death receptor Fas ligand (FasL) by HIV-1 negative factor (Nef), leading to bystander damage. However, the signal transduction and transcriptional regulation of this process remains elusive.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Vpr-regulated cell death: insights into mechanism.

The destruction of CD4(+) T cells and eventual induction of immunodeficiency is a hallmark of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection (HIV-1). However, the mechanism of this destruction remains unresolved. Several auxiliary proteins have been proposed to play a role in this aspect of HIV pathogenesis including a 14 kDa protein named viral protein R (Vpr).

Leptin reverses nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in patients with severe lipodystrophy.

Severe lipodystrophy is characterized by diminished adipose tissue and hypoleptinemia, leading to ectopic triglyceride accumulation. In the liver, this is associated with steatosis, potentially leading to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We investigated the prevalence of NASH and the effect of leptin replacement in these patients.

Both subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue correlate highly with insulin resistance in african americans.

Objective: The contribution of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) to insulin resistance is well-established; however, the role of subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAT) in insulin resistance remains controversial. Sex may determine which of these two components of abdominal obesity is more strongly related to insulin resistance and its consequences. The aim of this study was to determine whether both VAT and SAT contribute to insulin resistance in African Americans and to examine the effects of sex on this relationship.

Thromboembolism following removal of femoral venous apheresis catheters in patients with breast cancer.

Background: Apheresis catheters have simplified collection of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC), but may be associated with thrombosis of the instrumented vessels. We performed a retrospective analysis to study the prevalence of thromboembolism associated with the use of femoral apheresis catheters in patients with breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: Patients were participants in clinical trials of high-dose chemotherapy with autologous PBSC rescue.

An amino-acid substitution in the influenza-B NB protein affects ion-channel gating.

The effects of site-directed mutations in NB, a protein encoded by the influenza B virus that has been shown to form cation-selective ion channels at pH 6.0, were studied on ion channel characteristics in artificial lipid bilayers. It was thought that the residues in the hydrophobic region of NB we selected for mutation might be involved in the transport of cations across the channel and that changes in these residues might affect channel properties such as gating and ion-selectivity.

A pilot study of pioglitazone treatment for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common chronic liver disease for which there is no known effective therapy. A proportion of patients with NASH progress to advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. NASH is considered one of the clinical features of the metabolic syndrome in which insulin resistance plays a central role.

Cation-selective ion channels formed by p7 of hepatitis C virus are blocked by hexamethylene amiloride.

A 63 residue peptide, p7, encoded by hepatitis C virus was synthesised and tested for ion channel activity in lipid bilayer membranes. Ion channels formed by p7 had a variable conductance: some channels had conductances as low as 14 pS. The reversal potential of currents flowing through the channels formed by p7 showed that they were permeable to potassium and sodium ions and less permeable to calcium ions.

The Keeper, a menstrual collection device, as a potential cause of endometriosis and adenomyosis.

Barrier contraceptive devices like the cervical cap and diaphragm and menstrual collecting devices may block menstrual flow, increase retrograde menstruation, and thus theoretically increase the likelihood of developing endometriosis or adenomyosis. We describe the case of a woman with a prior tubal ligation who after four years of regular use of the Keeper, a menstrual collecting device, developed endometriosis and adenomyosis.

Diagnostic accuracy of laparoscopy, magnetic resonance imaging, and histopathologic examination for the detection of endometriosis.

Objective: To evaluate the utility of fat-suppressed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of endometriosis.

Design: A prospective clinical trial.

Setting: A government research hospital.

Ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and posterior tibialis dysfunction.

The authors studied posterior tibialis tendons in 31 subjects with posterior tibialis tendon pain to compare clinical findings with those of magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound images. All subjects received clinical, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging examinations using T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, and high resolution ultrasound using power Doppler. Forty-four tendons in 25 women and six men with a mean age 43.

Identification of a functionally important conformation-sensitive region of the secretory Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransporter (NKCC1).

The secretory Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl(-) cotransporter (NKCC1) is a member of a small gene family of electroneutral salt transporters that play essential roles in salt and water homeostasis in many mammalian tissues. We have identified a highly conserved residue (Ala-483) in the sixth membrane-spanning segment of rat NKCC1 that when mutated to cysteine renders the transporter sensitive to inhibition by the sulfhydryl reagents 2-aminoethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSEA) and 2-(trimethylammonium)ethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSET). The mutation of Ala-483 to cysteine (A483C) results in little or no change in the affinities of NKCC1 for substrate ions but produces a 6-fold increase in sensitivity to the inhibitor bumetanide, suggesting a specific modification of the bumetanide binding site.