An effective approach for BRAF V600E mutation analysis of routine thyroid fine needle aspirates.

Introduction: Molecular testing for genetic alterations in thyroid neoplasms, including BRAF V600E (BRAF) mutation, are often applied to thyroid aspirates falling into the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology indeterminate categories. Current methods typically use dedicated aspirated material, without morphological determination of containing the cells of interest and may be of elevated cost. We describe our experience with BRAF mutation analysis on material obtained from Papanicolaou (PAP)-stained ThinPrep (TP) slides.

Urinary tract cytology: a cytologic-histopathologic correlation with The Paris System, an institutional study.

Introduction: Urothelial carcinoma (UC) requires lifelong monitoring, commonly through urinary cytology and cystoscopy. Urine cytology has a relatively high sensitivity for detecting high-grade urothelial carcinoma (HGUC); however, its sensitivity for low-grade urothelial neoplasm (LGUN) is significantly lower with wide interobserver variability. The Paris System (TPS) was proposed to create standardized diagnostic categories with defined cytomorphologic criteria.

Cell blocks in urine cytopathology: do they add value to the diagnosis? A pilot study.

Introduction: The utility of cell block (CB) preparation is well established in cytopathology. Despite 23.3% of College of American Pathologists-accredited laboratories using CB with liquid-based preparations on urine cytology (UC) cases, there are very few studies on their performance.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the salivary gland metastasizing to the pericardium and diaphragm: Report of a rare case.

Background: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) is an uncommon malignancy of the salivary gland characterized by slow growth, increased risk of recurrence and poor prognosis. The annual incidence in the United States is approximately 1200 cases per year and rarely involves the body cavities.

Case Presentation: We present a case of a 48-year-old male diagnosed with AdCC of the left submandibular gland.

Musculoskeletal small biopsies from small patients: current status in 2 academic hospitals.

Introduction: Pediatric bone and soft tissue (BST) lesions typically undergo biopsy prior to treatment, which commonly involves core needle biopsy (CNB) and/or fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). This study looks at the utility of small biopsies in the current diagnosis of pediatric BST lesions from 2 institutions.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective search of BST small biopsies obtained during a 2-year time period (2018-2019) at 2 academic institutions was performed to look at clinicopathologic features, biopsy diagnoses, and correlation with follow-up.

Immunohistochemical expression of vitamin D receptor and forkhead box P3 in classic Hodgkin lymphoma: correlation with clinical and pathologic findings.

Background: Expression of forkhead box P3 (FOXP3), a key regulator of T-cell function, in the tumor immune microenvironment is related to survival in classic Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL). Vitamin D receptor (VDR), a transcription factor agonists have been shown to induce FOXP3 expression in T-cells and enhance recruitment of these cells to the inflammatory sites. VDR expression is CHL has been described.

Vitamin D Supplementation Reduces Intimal Hyperplasia and Restenosis following Coronary Intervention in Atherosclerotic Swine.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble steroid hormone that activates vitamin D receptor to regulate multiple downstream signaling pathways and transcription of various target genes. There is an association between vitamin D deficiency and increased risk for cardiovascular disease. However, most of the studies are observational and associative in nature with limited data on clinical application.

A Unique Case of Mediastinal Teratoma with Mature Pancreatic Tissue, Nesidioblastosis, and Aberrant Islet Differentiation: a Case Report and Literature Review.

Mediastinal teratomas with elements of mature pancreatic tissue are rare. Only a very few cases of pancreatic tissue with nesidioblastosis in teratoma have been reported. Here, we report a case of a 12-year-old male who presented with pleural effusion and was revealed to have a large anterior mediastinal mass.

Antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation in nanomedicine: small light strides against bad bugs.

The relentless advance of drug-resistance among pathogenic microbes, mandates a search for alternative approaches that will not cause resistance. Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) involves the combination of nontoxic dyes with harmless visible light to produce reactive oxygen species that can selectively kill microbial cells. PDI can be broad-spectrum in nature and can also destroy microbial cells in biofilms.

Harnessing the power of light to treat staphylococcal infections focusing on MRSA.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become the most important drug-resistant microbial pathogen in countries throughout the world. Morbidity and mortality due to MRSA infections continue to increase despite efforts to improve infection control measures and to develop new antibiotics. Therefore alternative antimicrobial strategies that do not give rise to development of resistance are urgently required.

Pre-conditioning with low-level laser (light) therapy: light before the storm.

Pre-conditioning by ischemia, hyperthermia, hypothermia, hyperbaric oxygen (and numerous other modalities) is a rapidly growing area of investigation that is used in pathological conditions where tissue damage may be expected. The damage caused by surgery, heart attack, or stroke can be mitigated by pre-treating the local or distant tissue with low levels of a stress-inducing stimulus, that can induce a protective response against subsequent major damage. Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) has been used for nearly 50 years to enhance tissue healing and to relieve pain, inflammation and swelling.

Functionalized fullerenes in photodynamic therapy.

Since the discovery of C60 fullerene in 1985, scientists have been searching for biomedical applications of this most fascinating of molecules. The unique photophysical and photochemical properties of C60 suggested that the molecule would function well as a photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy (PDT). PDT uses the combination of non-toxic dyes and harmless visible light to produce reactive oxygen species that kill unwanted cells.

Low-level laser therapy for traumatic brain injury in mice increases brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and synaptogenesis.

Transcranial low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) is a new non-invasive approach to treating a range of brain disorders including traumatic brain injury (TBI). We (and others) have shown that applying near-infrared light to the head of animals that have suffered TBI produces improvement in neurological functioning, lessens the size of the brain lesion, reduces neuroinflammation, and stimulates the formation of new neurons. In the present study we used a controlled cortical impact TBI in mice and treated the mice either once (4 h post-TBI, 1-laser), or three daily applications (3-laser) with 810 nm CW laser 36 J/cm(2) at 50 mW/cm(2).

Decreased expression of vitamin D receptors in neointimal lesions following coronary artery angioplasty in atherosclerotic swine.

Background: Inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, play a key role in the pathogenesis of occlusive vascular diseases. Activation of vitamin D receptors (VDR) elicits both growth-inhibitory and anti-inflammatory effects. Here, we investigated the expression of TNF-α and VDR in post-angioplasty coronary artery neointimal lesions of hypercholesterolemic swine and examined the effect of vitamin D deficiency on the development of coronary restenosis.

Vitamin D deficiency decreases the expression of VDR and prohibitin in the lungs of mice with allergic airway inflammation.

Aims: Asthma is one of the most common chronic inflammatory diseases of the airways. Calcitriol exerts its action through Vitamin D receptor (VDR), which is a high affinity nuclear receptor. VDR is a transcription factor that alters the transcription of target genes which are involved in a wide spectrum of biological responses.

Vitamin D deficiency induces cardiac hypertrophy and inflammation in epicardial adipose tissue in hypercholesterolemic swine.

Introduction: Vitamin D is a sectosteroid that functions through Vitamin D receptor (VDR), a transcription factor, which controls the transcription of many targets genes. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked with cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure and coronary artery disease. Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)3 regulates different biological processes such as inflammation and cellular differentiation and is an endogenous negative regulator of cardiac hypertrophy.

Calcitriol decreases expression of importin α3 and attenuates RelA translocation in human bronchial smooth muscle cells.

Purpose: A potent immunomodulatory role of Vitamin D in both innate and adaptive immunity has recently been appreciated. In allergic asthma, activation of NF-кB induces transcription of various cytokines and chemokines involved in allergic airway inflammation. The nuclear import of activated NF-кB p50/RelA subunit is dependent on importin α3 (KPNA4) and importin α4 (KPNA3).

Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand decreases T helper type 17 cells and suppressors of cytokine signaling proteins in the lung of house dust mite-sensitized and -challenged mice.

We previously reported that Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (Flt3-L) reversed airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and airway inflammation, and increased the number of regulatory CD11c(high)CD8α(high)CD11b(low) dendritic cells and CD4(+)CD25(+)ICOS(+)Foxp3(+)IL-10(+) T-regulatory cells in the lung of allergen-sensitized and -challenged mice. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Flt3-L on Th17 cells and expression of suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins in the lungs of house dust mite (HDM)-sensitized and -challenged mice. BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with HDM, and AHR to methacholine was established.