[Expression profile and prognostic significance of CD24, p53 and p21 in lymphomas. A tissue microarray study of over 600 non-Hodgkin lymphomas]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Tissue microarrays allow the simultanous, rapid and standardized in-situ analysis of up to 1000 different tissue samples on a single glass slide. We investigated the expression profil and the prognostic significance of CD24, p53 and p21 using a Non-Hodgkin-Lymphoma tissue microarray.

METHODS

Over 600 well documented Non-Hodgkin-Lymphomas, consisting of 341 diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, 86 follicular lymphomas, 81 chronic lymphatic leukemias/small lymphocytic lymphomas, 51 primary mediastinal diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, 26 mantle cell lymphomas, 8 lymphoplasmocytic lymphomas, 8 T-cell-lymphomas NOS und 2 Burkitt lymphomas were brought into array format. The expression of CD24, p53 and p21 was analysed semiquantitatively by immunohistochemistry. The immunophenotype p53+/p21- (Deltap53) was used as a surrogat for p53 gene mutations. The expression profile was compared to clinical data and the overall survival in the subgroup of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas.

RESULTS

91% of the analyzed Non-Hodgkin-lymphomas (473 of 522 cases) showed CD24 positivity. CD24 Expression was not associated with survival. Deltap53 was found in thirteen percent of all lymphomas (70 of 539 cases), the subgroup of the diffuse large B-cell lymphomas demonstrated the highest Deltap53 (21%). In a multivariate cox regression analysis, a high international prognostic index and Deltap53 were independent markers of bad survival.

CONCLUSION

The TMA-technology allows also in lymphoma research the simultanous, cost-effective and standardized analysis of large patient cohorts. Deltap53 revealed as an independent negative prognostic factor in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. It can easily be determined in daily routine practice.

Rare expression of KIT (CD117) in lymphomas: a tissue microarray study of 1166 cases

AIMS

Imatinib mesylate specifically inhibits KIT tyrosine kinase activity, and has been proven to be effective in the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumours. Because other KIT-expressing malignancies might benefit from Imatinib therapy, we evaluated the distribution and expression of KIT in 1166 cases of malignant lymphoma.

MATERIALS AND RESULTS

Tissue microarrays (TMAs) containing 824 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and 342 Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) cases were immunohistochemically analysed for the expression of the KIT protein. Two KIT-positive NHLs were sequenced using polymerase chain reaction analysis. One T-cell lymphoma and one follicular lymphoma of the 747 NHL cases (0.3%) were positive for KIT. All HLs were Kit-negative. None of the KIT-positive cases showed a kit gene mutation.

CONCLUSIONS

KIT expression is a very rare event in NHL and virtually absent in HL. In the few positive cases, the aberrant expression is not caused by a mutation in the 'hot-spots' of the kit gene, indicating that treatment of these tumours with Imatinib may be ineffective.

Clinical and pathological characterisation of primary pulmonary hypertension in a dog

Primary pulmonary hypertension was diagnosed in an eight-year-old labrador retriever on the basis of echocardiographic findings of severe right ventricular eccentric hypertrophy, abnormally high systolic and diastolic pulmonary arterial pressures calculated by applying the modified Bernoulli equation to the tricuspid and pulmonary insufficiency peak velocities, and the absence of any underlying disease known to cause secondary pulmonary hypertension. The clinical abnormalities developed gradually, from exercise intolerance starting early in life to terminal right-sided congestive heart failure. Consistent histopathological findings were severe intimal and medial thickening of small arteries and arterioles that led to vascular obliteration.

Perioperative detection of disseminated tumour cells is an independent prognostic factor in patients with colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

The objective of the present investigation was to assess the prognostic significance of disseminated tumour cells in peritoneal lavage, and peripheral and mesenteric venous blood in patients undergoing curative resection of colorectal cancer.

METHODS

The prognostic impact of perioperative cytological and immunocytochemical detection of disseminated colorectal cancer cells was evaluated prospectively. Peritoneal lavage fluid, and peripheral and mesenteric venous blood from 53 consecutive patients undergoing curative surgery for colorectal cancer were analysed. The dichotomous results (positive versus negative) from the cytological and immunocytochemical analysis were used as a predictor along with other co-variates in proportional hazard regression models of disease-free and overall survival.

RESULTS

Disseminated colorectal cancer cells were found in 13 of 53 patients (25 per cent) using cytology (CYT) and/or immunocytochemistry (ICC). The median follow-up at the time of the analysis was 37 months. In multivariate proportional hazard regression models CYT/ICC status was a significant predictor for disease-free (P = 0.002) and overall (P = 0.006) survival.

CONCLUSION

Disseminated tumour cells detected by CYT and ICC represent an independent prognostic factor in patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and may identify patients at high risk of recurrence.

Acetate and formate stress: opposite responses in the proteome of Escherichia coli

Acetate and formate are major fermentation products of Escherichia coli. Below pH 7, the balance shifts to lactate; an oversupply of acetate or formate retards growth. E. coli W3110 was grown with aeration in potassium-modified Luria broth buffered at pH 6.7 in the presence or absence of added acetate or formate, and the protein profiles were compared by two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Acetate increased the steady-state expression levels of 37 proteins, including periplasmic transporters for amino acids and peptides (ArtI, FliY, OppA, and ProX), metabolic enzymes (YfiD and GatY), the RpoS growth phase regulon, and the autoinducer synthesis protein LuxS. Acetate repressed 17 proteins, among them phosphotransferase (Pta). An ackA-pta deletion, which nearly eliminates interconversion between acetate and acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA), led to elevated basal levels of 16 of the acetate-inducible proteins, including the RpoS regulon. Consistent with RpoS activation, the ackA-pta strain also showed constitutive extreme-acid resistance. Formate, however, repressed 10 of the acetate-inducible proteins, including the RpoS regulon. Ten of the proteins with elevated basal levels in the ackA-pta strain were repressed by growth of the mutant with formate; thus, the formate response took precedence over the loss of the ackA-pta pathway. The similar effects of exogenous acetate and the ackA-pta deletion, and the opposite effect of formate, could have several causes; one possibility is that the excess buildup of acetyl-CoA upregulates stress proteins but excess formate depletes acetyl-CoA and downregulates these proteins.

Microarrays of bladder cancer tissue are highly representative of proliferation index and histological grade

The number of genes suggested to play a role in cancer biology is rapidly increasing. To be able to test a large number of molecular parameters in sufficiently large series of primary tumours, a tissue microarray (TMA) approach has been developed where samples from up to 1000 tumours can be simultaneously analysed on one glass slide. Because of the small size of the individual arrayed tissue samples (diameter 0.6 mm), the question arises of whether these specimens are representative of their donor tumours. To investigate how representative are the results obtained on TMAs, a set of 2317 bladder tumours that had been previously analysed for histological grade and Ki67 labelling index (LI) was used to construct four replica TMAs from different areas of each tumour. Clinical follow-up information was available from 1092 patients. The histological grade and the Ki67 LI were determined for every arrayed tumour sample (4x2317 analyses each). Despite discrepancies in individual cases, the grade and Ki67 information obtained on minute arrayed samples were highly similar to the data obtained on large sections (p<0.0001). Most importantly, every individual association between grade or Ki67 LI and tumour stage or prognosis (recurrence, progression, tumour-specific survival) that was observed in large section analysis could be fully reproduced on all four replica TMAs. These results show that intra-tumour heterogeneity does not significantly affect the ability to detect clinico-pathological correlations on TMAs, probably because of the large number of tumours that can be included in TMA studies. TMAs are a powerful tool for rapid identification of the biological or clinical significance of molecular alterations in bladder cancer and other tumour types.

Microarrays of bladder cancer tissue are highly representative of proliferation index and histological grade

The number of genes suggested to play a role in cancer biology is rapidly increasing. To be able to test a large number of molecular parameters in sufficiently large series of primary tumours, a tissue microarray (TMA) approach has been developed where samples from up to 1000 tumours can be simultaneously analysed on one glass slide. Because of the small size of the individual arrayed tissue samples (diameter 0.6 mm), the question arises of whether these specimens are representative of their donor tumours. To investigate how representative are the results obtained on TMAs, a set of 2317 bladder tumours that had been previously analysed for histological grade and Ki67 labelling index (LI) was used to construct four replica TMAs from different areas of each tumour. Clinical follow-up information was available from 1092 patients. The histological grade and the Ki67 LI were determined for every arrayed tumour sample (4x2317 analyses each). Despite discrepancies in individual cases, the grade and Ki67 information obtained on minute arrayed samples were highly similar to the data obtained on large sections (p<0.0001). Most importantly, every individual association between grade or Ki67 LI and tumour stage or prognosis (recurrence, progression, tumour-specific survival) that was observed in large section analysis could be fully reproduced on all four replica TMAs. These results show that intra-tumour heterogeneity does not significantly affect the ability to detect clinico-pathological correlations on TMAs, probably because of the large number of tumours that can be included in TMA studies. TMAs are a powerful tool for rapid identification of the biological or clinical significance of molecular alterations in bladder cancer and other tumour types.

High-throughput tissue microarray analysis of 3p25 (RAF1) and 8p12 (FGFR1) copy number alterations in urinary bladder cancer

Studies by comparative genomic hybridization revealed that the chromosomal regions 3p25 and 8p11-p12 are recurrently amplified in bladder cancer. To investigate the prevalence of DNA copy number alterations in these chromosomal regions and study their clinical significance, we used probes for the RAF1 (3p25) and FGFR1 (8p12) genes for fluorescence in situ hybridization. A tissue microarray containing 2317 tumors was analyzed. The analysis revealed RAF1 amplification in 4.0% and FGFR1 amplification in 3.4% of interpretable tumors. In addition, deletions were found at the 3p25 locus in 2.2% and at the 8p11-12 locus in 9.9% of interpretable tumors. Both amplifications and deletions of RAF1 and FGFR1 were significantly associated with high tumor grade (P < 0.0001), advanced stage (P < 0.0001), and poor survival (P < 0.05) if tumors of all of the stages where analyzed together. RAF1 amplifications were associated with subsequent tumor progression in pT1 carcinomas (P < 0.05). The marked differences in the frequency of all of the analyzed changes between pTa grade 1/grade 2 and pT1-4 carcinomas support the concept of these tumor groups representing different tumor entities.

Developing cultural competence in the baccalaureate nursing student: a population-based project with the Hutterites

The purpose of this article is to articulate the process of educating baccalaureate students to apply culturally competent, population-based nursing care to the Hutterites. The Hutterites are a German dialect-speaking, ethnoreligious population. Campinha-Bacote's culturally competent model guided the student learning process. Groups of students developed culture-specific, population-based assessment models to identify the health-related needs of the Hutterites. One example of a Hutterite health assessment model that was derived from Dever's epidemiologic model and Purnell and Paulanka's model for cultural competence is presented. Priority health needs of Hutterite colonies are described, and examples of health programs are given. Recommendations for working with the Hutterite population as part of an undergraduate public health nursing course are put forth. The culturally congruent process of teaching and learning for nursing students can be applied to other health-related professions and adapted to other cultural contexts.

A brief view of known landmarks reorientates path integration in hamsters

In darkness, hamsters commute between their nest and a feeding site through path integration only, and therefore show cumulative errors in the return direction to the nest. We examined whether a brief presentation of familiar room cues could reset the path integrator. The hamsters could see the room cues either during, or at the end of, the outward journey to the food place, in a conflict situation where motion cues and visual information were set at variance. In both conditions, the animals used mainly visual information to return home. Thus, hamsters can determine their azimuth, and possibly their location, through a visual fix, and can reset their path integrator through the fix. This allows them to update their position during further locomotion in the dark and thus to compute a correct homing vector with respect to a visually induced reference frame. Taking episodic positional fixes may greatly enhance the functional value of path integration.

[Vulvar pseudolymphoma: detection of infection by Borrelia burgdorferi using polymerase chain reaction]

We report on a 42-year-old patient with a vulvar pseudolymphoma in association with an infection with Borrelia burgdorferi. The diagnosis was made using PCR amplification on a paraffin-embedded tissue sample. The lesions healed completely within 3 weeks of oral doxycycline therapy.

Increased expression of human herpesvirus 7 in lymphoid organs of AIDS patients

BACKGROUND

Human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) interferes reciprocally with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in CD4 T lymphocytes, as infection with HIV results in a down modulation of the CD4 molecule and inhibition of replication of HHV-7, and vice versa. Correlations between HHV-7 and HIV at the organ level have not been studied in detail.

OBJECTIVE

To study the presence and cellular distribution of HHV-7 in lymphoid organs, i.e. lymph nodes (LNs) and spleen in AIDS patients and HIV-seronegative individuals.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional study. The detection of HHV-7 specific antigen pp85, the 85 kDa encoded tegument phosphoprotein by U14 gene, was performed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) with a well characterized monoclonal antibody (mAb 5E1) to pp85. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was applied to detect HHV-7 specific DNA sequences.

RESULTS

Cells infected with HHV-7 were detected in five of seven LNs from AIDS patients and in one of five LNs from HIV-seronegative patients. The infected cells were mainly macrophages. In samples from HIV-seropositive patients, a significantly higher number of HHV-7 infected cells could be observed than in specimens from HIV-seronegative patients. Neither the antigen nor DNA sequences of HHV-7 could be detected in spleen tissue from HIV-seronegative and AIDS patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The data indicate that HHV-7 undergoes a higher extent of reactivation from latency and/or of replication under immunosuppression due to HIV-infection, similar to the other beta-herpesviruses HHV-6 and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). The data further suggest that LNs, but not the spleen, may be a site of latency and consequently of reactivation of HHV-7 in AIDS patients.

Characterization of two novel regulatory genes affecting Salmonella invasion gene expression

A Salmonella typhimurium chromosomal deletion removing approximately 19 kb of DNA at centisome 65 reduces invasion of cultured epithelial cells as well as the expression of lacZY operon fusions to several genes required for the invasive phenotype. As the deleted region contains no genes previously known to affect Salmonella invasion, we investigated the roles of individual genes in the deleted region using a combination of cloning, complementation and directed mutation. We find that the deletion includes two unrelated regulatory genes. One is the Salmonella homologue of Escherichia coli barA (airS ), which encodes a member of the multistep phosphorelay subgroup of two-component sensor kinases. The action of BarA is coupled to that of SirA, a member of the phosphorylated response regulator family of proteins, and includes both HilA-dependent and HilA-independent components. The other regulatory gene removed by the deletion is the Salmonella homologue of E. coli csrB, which specifies a regulatory RNA implicated in controlling specific message turnover in E. coli. These results identify a protein that is likely to play a key role in the environmental control of Salmonella invasion gene expression, and they also suggest that transcriptional control of invasion genes could be subject to refinement at the level of message turnover.

Clinical significance of interobserver differences in the staging and grading of superficial bladder cancer

OBJECTIVE

To assess the reliability of the histological diagnosis of bladder cancer by assessing the interobserver variability of staging and grading in pTa/pT1 tumours and evaluating the clinical significance of discrepancies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All sections from 301 superficial bladder carcinomas were reviewed by one pathologist. The prognostic relevance of grade and stage from both the initial and review diagnosis were determined in 128 patients for whom there was long-term follow-up information.

RESULTS

There were significant interobserver differences in both the grading and staging of tumours. From a total of 235 tumours that were initially considered pT1, the reviewer classified 35% as pTa, 56% as pT1, 6% as pT1- (at least pT1), and 3% as pT2-4. In 39% of all biopsies there were interobserver differences in tumour grade. The prognostic significance of grade and stage differed between the initial pathology report and the reviewer's diagnosis. The reviewer's staging allowed a better estimate of the risk of subsequent tumour progression than the initial staging. Progression was significantly more common in 49 tumours in which the reviewer agreed with stage pT1 than in 29 tumours that were down-staged from pT1 to pTa (P = 0.0116). However, the initial tumour grade (P = 0.0386) but not the reviewer's grade (P = 0.2645) was significantly linked to progression.

CONCLUSIONS

These results show that grading and staging by different pathologists have varying prognostic implications. If possible, biopsies from bladder tumours should be independently evaluated by two different pathologists before radical therapy is administered.

Chromosomal imbalances are associated with a high risk of progression in early invasive (pT1) urinary bladder cancer

Many cytogenetic alterations are known to occur in urinary bladder cancer, but the significance of most of them is poorly understood. To define these chromosomal regions where clinically relevant genes may be located, a series of 54 pT1 urinary bladder carcinomas with clinical follow-up information (median, 52 months; range, 5-167 months) were examined by comparative genomic hybridization. The most frequent alterations included DNA sequence copy number gains at 1q22-24 (33%), 20q11.2-ter (33%), 8q22 and 17q21 (28% each), and 6p22 (15%) as well as deletions at Y (37%), 9p (31%), 9q22-33 and 11p14-ter (28% each), 11q23 (26%), 8p (24%), 13q31 (19%), 2q35-ter (17%), and 2q22-33 (11%). Whereas the histological grade was unrelated to prognosis (P = 0.9752), the risk of tumor progression was significantly associated with the number of deletions per tumor (P = 0.0014). Individual cytogenetic alterations that were linked to subsequent tumor progression included gains of 3p22-24 (P = 0.0112) and 5p (P = 0.0003) as well as losses of 4p11-15 (P = 0.0052), 5q15-23 (P = 0.0410), 6q22-23 (P = 0.0090), 10q24-26 (P = 0.0232), and 18q12-23 (P = 0.0005). Genes with a role for bladder cancer progression may be located at these regions.

Population-based clinical projects: bridging community-based and public health concepts

Changes in the healthcare delivery system have shifted nursing curricula to a community-based focus. For public health nursing faculty, this shift requires that population-based clinical projects bridge community-based nursing concepts with those of public health. The authors describe four innovative examples of population-based clinical projects that incorporate core public health functions and public health interventions into the learning process.

Chromosomal imbalances in small cell carcinomas of the urinary bladder

Small cell carcinomas (SCCs) represent a rare histological subtype of urinary bladder cancer. Little is known abut the genetic alterations in these tumours. To identify chromosomal aberrations that are typically present in SCC of the urinary bladder, ten tumours were analysed by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). CGH allows screening for all relative DNA copy number gains and losses present in a tumour. SCCs of the bladder were characterized by a high number of genomic alterations (mean: 11.3 per tumour). Deletions were most frequent at 10q (7 of 10 tumours deleted), 4q, 5q (5/10 each), and 13q (4/10). These regions may carry tumour suppressor genes with relevance for this particular tumour type. Gains of DNA sequences were most prevalent at 8q (5/10), 5p, 6p, and 20q (4/10 each). High level amplifications were found at 1p22-32, 3q26.3, 8q24, and 12q14-21. These loci may pinpoint the localization of oncogenes with relevance for small cell bladder cancer. The analysis of one tumour having areas of both SCC and transitional cell carcinoma strongly suggests that SCC can develop from TCC through the acquisition of additional genetic alterations.

Myeloma and severe cholestasis

Amyloidosis is a frequent complication of multiple myeloma. Liver involvement is common in amyloidosis. Hepatic dysfunction and liver chemistry abnormalities are often mild or absent and obstructive jaundice is rare. We report on a 44-year-old patient with multiple myeloma and rapidly deteriorating liver involvement with severe intrahepatic cholestasis. Autopsy showed widespread amyloidosis primarily involving the liver. This unusual cholestatic manifestation of hepatic amyloidosis has an uniformly poor prognosis, with death occurring within a few months. We discuss the clinical and pathologic aspects.