Filth flies, cockroaches, and dung beetles have been close neighbors with humans and animals throughout our joint histories. However, these insects can also serve as vectors for many zoonotic enteric parasites (ZEPs). Zoonoses by ZEPs remain a paramount public health threat due to our close contact with animals, combined with poor water, sanitation, and hygiene access, services, and behaviors in many global regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFlorida represents a unique challenge for preventing and responding to infectious disease associated with water. This study cataloged the prevalence of reportable waterborne and water-related disease within Florida residents over the last twenty years and identified relationships between confirmed cases by location and additional risk factors. Data was collected through FLHealthCHARTS for confirmed cases between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) reported to alter thyroid function. Iodide uptake by thyroid follicular cells, an early step in the synthesis of thyroid hormones, is a potential target for thyroid disruption by EDCs. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the acute effects of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctane carboxylic acid (PFOA), two of the most abundant PFAS in the environment, on iodide transport by thyroid follicular cells in vitro.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFexon 15 mutations are the most common molecular alterations found in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). To date, there is no information regarding alterations in the thyroid parenchyma surrounding the tumor. To explore the early events associated with the development of PTC, we used massively parallel sequencing to investigate exon 15 in 30 PTCs and in 100 samples from the thyroid parenchyma surrounding the tumor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is unclear whether the site of origin of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (mPTC) with respect to the thyroid surface has an influence on clinicopathologic parameters. The objectives of the study were to: (i) Accurately measure the mPTC distance from the thyroid surface; (ii) analyze whether this distance correlates with relevant clinicopathologic parameters; and (iii) investigate the impact of the site of origin of the mPTC on risk stratification. Clinicopathologic features and mutational status were analyzed and correlated with the site of origin of the mPTC in a multicenter cohort of 298 mPTCs from six Italian medical institutions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFamilial aggregation is a significant risk factor for the development of thyroid cancer and familial non-medullary thyroid cancer (FNMTC) accounts for 5-7% of all NMTC. Whole exome sequencing analysis in the family affected by FNMTC with oncocytic features where our group previously identified a predisposing locus on chromosome 19p13.2, revealed a novel heterozygous mutation (c.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIDH mutational status is required for proper diagnosis according to the WHO criteria revised in 2016. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs11554137 (IDH1) at codon 105 of IDH1 has been reported in patients with several tumor types, including those with glioma. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of IDH1 in a cohort of brain tumors, and its association with clinicopathologic features and IDH1 and IDH2 missense mutations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy. Knowledge of the molecular pathology of thyroid tumours originating from follicular cells has greatly advanced in the past several years. Common molecular alterations, such as BRAF p.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdvanced medullary thyroid cancers (MTCs) are now being treated with drugs that inhibit receptor tyrosine kinases, many of which involved in angiogenesis. Response rates vary widely, and toxic effects are common, so treatment should be reserved for MTCs likely to be responsive to these drugs. RET mutations are common in MTCs, but it is unclear how they influence the microvascularization of these tumors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although serological tests are useful for identifying celiac disease, it is well established that a minority of celiacs are seronegative.
Aim: To define the prevalence and features of seronegative compared to seropositive celiac disease, and to establish whether celiac disease is a common cause of seronegative villous atrophy.
Methods: Starting from 810 celiac disease diagnoses, seronegative patients were retrospectively characterized for clinical, histological and laboratory findings.
Studies from single institutions have analyzed BRAF in papillary microcarcinomas, sometimes with contradictory results. Most of them have provided limited integration of histological and clinical data. To obtain a comprehensive picture of BRAF V600E-mutated microcarcinomas and to evaluate the role of BRAF testing in risk stratification we performed a retrospective multicenter analysis integrating microscopical, pathological, and clinical information.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aims: Iodide efflux from thyroid cells into the follicular lumen is essential for the synthesis of thyroid hormones, however, the pathways mediating this transport have only been partially identified. A calcium-activated pathway of iodide efflux has long been recognized, but its molecular identity unknown. Anoctamin 1 (ANO1) is a calcium-activated chloride channel (CaCC), and this study aims to investigate its contribution to iodide fluxes in thyroid cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFShiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Salmonella are food-borne pathogens commonly associated with beef, and reliable methods are needed to determine their prevalence in beef and to ensure food safety. Retail ground beef was tested for the presence of E. coli O157:H7, STEC serogroups O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145, and Salmonella using the DuPont™ BAX® system method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy (MNGIE) is a rare autosomal recessive mitochondrial disease associated with mutations in the nuclear TYMP gene. As a result, the thymidine phosphorylase (TP) enzyme activity is markedly reduced leading to toxic accumulation of thymidine and therefore altered mitochondrial DNA. MNGIE is characterized by severe gastrointestinal dysmotility, neurological impairment, reduced life expectancy and poor quality of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe "top-six" non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) serogroups (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) most frequently associated with outbreaks and cases of foodborne illnesses have been declared as adulterants in beef by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the last decade, in vivo studies have revealed that even subtle differences in size, concentration of components, cell cycle stage, make the cells in a population respond differently to the same stimulus. In order to characterize such complexity of behavior and shed more light on the functioning and communication amongst cells, researchers are developing strategies to study single live cells in a population. In this paper, we describe the methods to design and prepare DNA-based fluorescent tetrahedral nanostructures, to deliver them to live cells and characterize such cells with epifluorescence microscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGnathodiaphyseal dysplasia (GDD) is an autosomal dominant syndrome characterized by frequent bone fractures at a young age, bowing of tubular bones and cemento-osseus lesions of the jawbones. Anoctamin 5 (ANO5) belongs to the anoctamin protein family that includes calcium-activated chloride channels. However, recent data together with our own experiments reported here add weight to the hypothesis that ANO5 may not function as calcium-activated chloride channel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSunitinib is a multikinase inhibitor approved for use in some human solid malignancies, including renal clear cell and gastrointestinal stromal cancer, and under investigation for many other neoplasias. In many preclinical cancer models sunitinib has shown anti-angiogenic and antitumor effects, acting mainly by inhibiting the activity of pro-angiogenic growth factor receptors. However, a percentage of tumors develop resistance to this treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are evaluated for treatment of radioiodine refractory thyroid cancer. Their effects in this setting are based on blockade of proangiogenic signaling mediated by receptors for vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) and platelet-derived growth factors (PDGF). Most TKIs also block other cancer-relevant kinases, such as B-type Raf kinase (BRAF), which are constitutively activated in approximately half of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs), but the impact of these effects is not clear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe sodium/iodide symporter (NIS) is primarily responsible for iodide accumulation in the thyroid gland for the synthesis of thyroid hormones; however, it can also transport other lyotropic anions in the thyroid gland and nonthyroid tissues. Some NIS substrates have important physiological or clinical roles, and others are environmental contaminants with health-related consequences. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of a yellow fluorescent protein variant, YFP-H148Q/I152L, as a biosensor to monitor the cellular uptake of NIS substrates, including thiocyanate (SCN(-)), nitrate (NO(3)(-)), chlorate (ClO(3)(-)), perchlorate (ClO(4)(-)), and perrhenate (ReO(4)(-)).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerchlorate is an environmental contaminant that impairs thyroid function by interacting with the sodium iodide symporter (NIS), the transporter responsible for iodide uptake in the thyroid gland. Perchlorate is well known as a competitive inhibitor of iodide transport by NIS, and recent evidence demonstrates that NIS can also transport perchlorate. In this study, we evaluated the yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) variant YFP-H148Q/I152L, as a genetically encodable biosensor of intracellular perchlorate concentration monitored by real-time fluorescence microscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe thyroid gland accumulates iodide for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. The aim of the current study was to quantify iodide accumulation in cultured thyroid cells by live cell imaging using the halide-sensitive yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) variant YFP-H148Q/I152L. In vivo calibrations were performed in FRTL-5 thyrocytes to determine the sensitivity of YFP-H148Q/I152L to iodide.
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