Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, human herpesvirus 8 viremia, and HIV-associated multicentric Castleman disease.

Kaposi's sarcoma and multicentric Castleman Disease are HIV-related disease processes that are associated with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection. The development of multicentric Castleman disease can often be a manifestation of the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome phenomenon and is associated with markedly elevated levels of HHV-8 viremia, as illustrated by this case.

Identification of immunodominant antigens for the laboratory diagnosis of toxocariasis.

Objectives: To identify immunodominant antigens of Toxocara canis recognised by Toxocara-infected sera as recombinant reagents for immunodiagnosis of toxocariasis.

Methods: Pooled sera from human cases of toxocariasis were used to identify immunodominant antigens by immunoscreening a T. canis larval expression cDNA library.

Appendicitis associated with Taenia species: cause or coincidental?

A 23-year-old woman from Ethiopia presented with acute abdominal pain. Exploratory laparotomy revealed appendicitis, pathology of which showed numerous eggs consistent with Taenia species. Although Taenia appendicitis is rare, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with appendicitis from endemic parts of the world.

Characterization of functional domains within Smad4/DPC4.

Smad proteins are a family of highly conserved, intracellular proteins that signal cellular responses downstream of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) family serine/threonine kinase receptors. One of these molecules, Smad4, originally identified as the candidate tumor suppressor gene dpc-4, reconstitutes TGF-beta- and activin-dependent transcriptional responses in Smad4 null cell lines and interacts in a ligand-dependent manner with other Smad family members in both TGF-beta, activin, and bone morphogenetic protein-2/-4 pathways. Here, we used an assay based on the restoration of ligand-dependent transcriptional responses in a Smad4 null cell line to characterize functional domain structures within Smad4.

Cancer profile in eastern Rajasthan.

A study to determine the pattern of various malignancies in Eastern Rajasthan was conducted for the year 1990 by Cancer Registry, S.M.S.