Study of matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors in breast cancer

An immunohistochemical study was performed using tissue microarrays and specific antibodies against matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) 1, 2, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, and their tisullar inhibitors (TIMPs) 1, 2, and 3. More than 2600 determinations on cancer specimens from 131 patients with primary ductal invasive tumours of the breast (65 with and 66 without distant metastasis) and controls were performed. Staining results were categorised using a score based on the intensity of the staining and a specific software program calculated the percentage of immunostained cells automatically. We observed a broad variation of the total immunostaining scores and the cell type expressing each protein. There were multiple and significant associations between the expression of the different MMPs and TIMPs evaluated and some parameters indicative of tumour aggressiveness, such as large tumour size, advanced tumour grade, high Nottinham prognostic index, negative oestrogen receptor status, peritumoural inflammation, desmoplastic reaction, and infiltrating tumoural edge. Likewise, the detection of elevated immunohistochemical scores for MMP-9, 11, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2, was significantly associated with a higher rate of distant metastases. The expression of MMP-9 or TIMP-2 by tumour cells, MMP-1, 7, 9, 11, 13, or TIMP-3 by fibroblastic cells, and MMP-7, 9, 11, 13, 14, TIMP-1, or TIMP-2 by mononuclear inflammatory cells, was also significantly associated with a higher rate of distant metastases.

[Are there some clinical factors that indicate the best moment of the surgery in the congenital diaphragmatic hernia?]

AIM

To determine if the needs of cardiopulmonary support of neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) they can be indicators for the election of the most suitable moment to the surgery.

METHODS

We treated 16 consecutive neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) from 2004 to 2005. Mean birth weight was 2900.63 +/- 531.51 g. Patients was divided in 2 groups. Group A: newborns without adrenaline nor noradrenaline like vasoactive drugs and conventional respiratory assistant; the surgery was performed during the first 48 hours of life. Group B: newborns with adrenaline or noradrenaline like vasoactive drugs, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; surgery was delayed (10.66 +/- 8.26 days).

RESULTS

Four neonates died during the first 24 hours of life without surgical treatment not fulfilling criteria of support ECMO. Five patients were operated during the first 48 hours, fulfilling all of them the clinical criteria of the group A. Mortality does not exist in this group. Seven patients were operated late fulfilling the criteria of the group B. They all needed VAFO. Two patients of this group needed support ECMO. The survival rate in this group was 83.3%.

DISCUSSION

In our opinion, the patients with CDH that need initially high cardiopulmonary support, VAFO and/or ECMO would be necessary a time of wait to realize the surgery. In those patients who don't need this level of treatment the delay would not justify itself in the surgical intervention.

[Surgical management of cloacal malformations]

INTRODUCTION

Cloaca is a defect in which the rectum, the vagina and the uretra are fused in a single common channel. Cloaca is the most complex anorectal malformation. The surgical management depends on the length of the common channel and the associated defects.

METHODS

Since 1993 we have treated 9 cases of cloacas. The average age at surgery was 12 months. Five patients had associated vertebral defects, six had urological defects and six had vaginal defects. All patients were approached posterior sagitally; 4 of them also required a laparotomy.

RESULTS

Five patients underwent a total urogenital mobilization. In the four patients requiring laparotomy we performed vaginal switch in 1, and vaginal replacement in 3 (2 with ileum and 1 with colon). Six patients are older than four and have fecal continence. Three of them are continent of urine, and 1 remains dry with intermittent catheterization. Two patients remain derivated (ureterostomy, vesicostomy).

CONCLUSIONS

Surgical repair should be completed early, and it should include cystoscopy, posterior sagital approach, and laparotomy depending on the complexity of the defect. Cloaca is a challenge for the surgeon because of the wide spectrum of anatomic defects and the need to apply different surgical techniques in order to achieve good functional and cosmetic results.

[Clinical management of terrorist bomb explosions]

At 07:39 on 11 March 2004 terrorist bomb explosions ocurred in 4 trains in Madrid killing 177 people instantly and 14 more later in the hospital. This report describes the organization, clinical management and patterns of injuries in casualties who were taken to our chil-patients were taken to the Gregorio Marañon hospital and 12 to the children's one. The mean age was 16 years (14-21), Two of them were critically ill and needed intensive care (ITP 5). Tympanic perforations occurred in 81% victims with moderate to severe trauma, shrapnel wounds in 36% and eye lesions in 27%. Among critically ill patients blast lung injury, cranial and abdominal trauma were the most important lesions. Training in AITP courses and hospital logistics were essential in clinical management of these casualties.

Production, partial characterization and mass spectrometric studies of the extracellular laccase activity from Fusarium proliferatum

Benzyl alcohol and starch-free commercial wheat bran were effective inducers of the laccase activity in cultures of Fusarium proliferatum (MUCL 31970). Initial pH value in the cultures was also an overriding factor for increasing its production. By gel permeation high-performance liquid chromatography, the enzyme eluted as an apparently homogeneous peak with a molecular mass of 54 kDa, but by isoelectrofocusing, two proteins with pI values of 5.17 and 5.07 were revealed. Two different phenoloxidase activities were also detected after nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. By matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), both proteins showed unique fingerprints, so they were classifiable as isozymes, and were named laccase 1 (Lac1, pI 5.17) and laccase 2 (Lac2, pI 5.07). No clear matches were found when compared with other proteins. The tandem mass spectrometry of some peptides from both isozymes reanalyzed by nanoelectron ionization-ion trap-mass spectrometry (nESI-IT-MS) confirmed their unique character. The following interesting properties, particularly its stability at alkaline pH, make this laccase a promising industrial enzyme for biotechnological applications: maximum activity at 60 degrees C, thermal stability for 2 h at 40 degrees C, optimum pH 3.5 (km=62 microM) measured on 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenz-thiazoline-6-sulfonate), and pH stability 4-8 (75% stability at pH levels 2.2 and 9) for 2 h at 25 degrees C.

[Renal function and cardiovascular risk in patients with essential hypertension. The "FRESHA" study]

BACKGROUND

In the past few years there has been a growing amount of information about renal dysfunction and cardiovascular risk. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of renal dysfunction and evaluate the relation between renal function and cardiovascular risk in patients with essential hypertension.

METHODS

A multicenter, cross-sectional survey of unselected patients with essential hypertension attending primary care settings in Spain was performed between june and november 2004. Renal function was evaluated with the abbreviated equation of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study. Renal insufficiency was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m2.

RESULTS

Eighty-eight investigators from 50 centers recruited 2130 patients being mean age 65.6 +/- 11 years and female 53%. Prevalence of diabetes, lipid abnormalities, and previous cardiovascular disease were 30.3%, 45.9%, and 42.1% respectively. Prevalence of renal insufficiency was 32.4% (95% CI 30.4-34.4). Patients suffering from renal insufficiency showed a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease when comparing with those with an estimated glomerular filtration rate = or >60 ml/min/1.73 m2 (56.2% vs. 35.3%, OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.95-2.82, p < 0.001). A logistic regression analysis showed that the relation of renal dysfunction with cardiovascular disease was independent of other variables or classical cardiovascular risk factors as age, female sex, diabetes, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, and systolic blood pressure.

CONCLUSIONS

Renal insufficiency was present in 32.4% of patients with essential hypertension attending primary care settings. Cases with renal dysfunction showed a higher cardiovascular risk. Hypertensive patients with renal insufficiency should be considered as candidates for an aggressive approach of cardiovascular risk management.

Cytosolic levels of TFF1/pS2 in breast cancer: Their relationship with clinical-pathological parameters and their prognostic significance

BACKGROUND

The Trefoil Factor 1 (TFF1/pS2), a peptide consisting of 60 amino acids, is the most abundant estrogen-induced messenger RNA present in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The objective of this work was to evaluate the cytosolic TFF1 content in breast carcinomas, its possible relationship with different clinical-pathological parameters, and its potential prognostic significance and predictive value.

METHODS

Cytosolic TFF1 levels were examined by immunoradiometric assay in 1031 patients with invasive breast cancer. The median follow-up period was of 50 months.

RESULTS

There was a wide variability of cytosolic TFF1 levels in tumors (0.9-743.2 ng/mg protein). Statistical analysis showed that TFF1 levels were significantly higher in premenopausal patients (p = 0.001), as well as in tumors showing any of the following characteristics: good differentiation (p = 0.0001), ER and PgR positivity (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.001, respectively), diploidy (p = 0.045) and a high S-phase fraction (p = 0.001). In addition, the presence of high intratumoral TFF1 levels (cut-off: 2 ng/mg protein) was independently associated with a shorter overall survival in the group of patients as a whole (p = 0.001) as well as in the subgroup with node-negative breast cancer (p = 0.0004). Likewise, high intratumoral TFF1 levels were associated with a more prolonged overall survival in patients who received adjuvant tamoxifen (p = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

In breast cancer patients, intratumoral TFF1 levels are associated with a better clinical outcome, especially in those with node-negative tumors. In addition, TFF1 levels have a low but significant predictive value in regards to response to adjuvant therapy with tamoxifen.

Ultra Fast Trypsin Digestion of Proteins by High Intensity Focused Ultrasound

Proteolytic digestion of proteins in seconds under an ultrasonic field provided by high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has been achieved. Successful in-solution and in-gel tryptic digestion of proteins in 60 s or less was demonstrated by either MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography-electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC-ESI-IT-MS/MS). The efficiency of this new procedure for protein digestion compared favorably with those attained using conventional overnight incubation methods. The performance of the method was also demonstrated by the specific identification of three proteins in a whole proteome in less than 1 h. The method greatly reduces the time needed for protein digestion, is of easy implementation, environmental friendly, and economic. Adaptation of this method to on-line procedures and robotic platforms could have promising applications in the proteomics field.

[Spinal cord and vertebral column injuries in children]

AIMS

Analysis of main factors of spinal cord and vertebral column injuries in our environment.

METHODS

We reviewed the data collected from the patients (n = 2640) admitted to our hospital because of trauma and included in our Registry from January 1995 to April 2002. Among this group, 86 patients (3.3%) had spinal cord and vertebral column injuries and were included in the study.

RESULTS

Group gender distribution was 45 males and 41 females. In our group, 71 patients suffered vertebral fractures, 3 of them with spinal cord injuries (4.2%), 13 patients with vertebral subluxation, 11 of them between C1-C2, and 2 patients with spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality. Only 71 patients, 4.9% of the total of the patients who were admitted with any type of fracture (n=1457), suffered vertebral fractures. These patients suffered 130 vertebral fractures, 35 of them (49.3%) suffered multiple fractures. Thoracic vertebrae were the most frequently affected (n=82, 63%). The most frequent localization was T4 toT8 (n=50, 38.5% and T11 to L2 (n=41, 31.5%). Age ranged between 12 and 15 years (n=35, 49.3%), with only 5 patients under 6 years. 90.9% of the patients with lumbar fractures were older than 8 years and 76.9% of the patients with cervical fractures were over 8 years. Motor vehicle accident was the most common cause in our series (n=20, 23.3%). 81% of these patients did not use safety belt. Ten children with cervical injuries were seen by medical staff at the prehospital stage, and only 4 of them arrived to Hospital with cervical collar. There were thirty five patients with thoracic or lumbar injuries but only 27 of them were transferred to our Institution by ambulance. Surgery was required in 2 patients, both of them with unstable fractures. Mean hospital stay was 17,1 days (range 2-37 days).

CONCLUSIONS

Group gender distribution is similar between males and females and the incidence in our series is higher than other series of the literature. Thoracic injuries are the most frequent. It is necessary to improve prehospital management of these patients and to increase the use of safety belt. Spine injury incidence increased with age.

Paediatric trauma in Spain: a report from the HUGM Trauma Registry

OBJECTIVES

To analyse the characteristics of the infant population suffering trauma in our setting. To evaluate the importance of the different aetiological mechanisms. To study the pre- and intra-hospital management of these children. To describe the relative significance of the different lesions. To establish the magnitude of paediatric trauma as a social problem in terms of morbidity and mortality.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

From January 1995 to April 2002, a total of 2633 children admitted to our Centre (Hospital Universitario Gregorio Maranon) after suffering some type of injury were included in our Trauma Register. 108 variables have been analysed, including the identification of the patient, type, site and mechanism of the accident, pre-hospital care, transport, complete evaluation on admission, indices of injury severity, diagnostic tests, lesions, treatments performed and morbidity and mortality.

RESULTS

The accidents were more frequent in boys than in girls (68.5 % versus 31.5 %). The predominant age group was the 12 - 15 year old group (36.8 %). There was a higher frequency of accidents in the street (37.2 %) than at home (19.4 %) or at school (13.8 %). The most frequent mechanism was a fall (35.6 %), followed by road traffic accidents (23.7 %). On admission, 14.7 % of the children had a Paediatric Trauma Score (P.T.S.) < or = 8 (n = 388). 3.8 % were considered severe multiple trauma patients, presenting an Injury Severity Score (I.S.S.) > or = 15 (n = 101). 4.2 % of the children required intensive care. The most frequent lesions were those of the locomotor system (58.1 %) and head injuries (34.9 %). Some type of surgical or orthopaedic procedure was performed under general anaesthesia in 1522 patients (57.8 %). The mean length of stay was 4.4 days (range 1 - 214 days). Sequelae of some form were detected in 36.4 % of the patients over 3 years of age. The total mortality was 0.5 % (n = 13), being 12.8 % in the group of patients with an I.S.S. > or = 15.

CONCLUSIONS

Analysis of the data in our Registry has helped us to define the characteristics of the paediatric trauma population in our setting, to monitor the management of trauma in the different care levels and to develop prevention programmes. It has also enabled us to compare the results with those of other centres in terms of morbidity and mortality with the aim of identifying and correcting any possible deficiencies in the care system.

Prevalence of sexual dysfunctions in Argentina

The objective of this study consisted in assessing the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) and other sexual dysfunctions in a group of men who attended a prostate awareness week campaign. In total, 2715 men attended to 'Semana de la Prostata 2001' campaign and received an additional questionnaire on sexual health. The prevalence of ED, desire and ejaculatory disorders was of 41.7, 33.8 and 49.3%, respectively; however, not all of them lived these difficulties as a real sexual problem because only 918 men (37.8%) acknowledged having 'any sexual difficulty'. Only 13.7% of the attendees consulted a physician for this reason in the past. This first Argentinean study proves the high prevalence of sexual dysfunctions in our population.

[Management of infantile subglottic hemangioma]

INTRODUCTION

Subglottic hemangioma is an unusual lesion which can be treated in various ways. Multiple therapeutic attitudes with variable clinical results have been described. We present our experience in the management of these patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

During last the three years we have treated four patients with subglottic hemangioma. The mean age was of 4.5 +/- 2.8 months and the mean weight of 6.9 +/- 2.04 kg. We present its presenting symptoms, location and size of the lesion, grade of obstruction (according to the classification of subglottic stenosis of Cotton), the treatment applied, complications and results in the long term.

RESULTS

The lesions produced a mean obstruction of 83.75% of the airway (range 75-90%), being located in the right posterolateral region (2), left posterolateral region (1) and the last was completely to circulate. All the patients have been treated initially with steroids, but recurrence of symptoms when steroid dosage was decreased. All angiomas were removed surgically by submucous resection. No tracheotomy was performed. One patients developed a grade III subglottic stenosis that required an open surgery (laryngotracheoplasty with anterior a posterior graft). One patien suffered an overwhelming sepsis probably secondary to medical treatment. All patients had not had further respiratory difficulties. Postoperative follow-up is 18 months (range from 6 months to 3 years).

CONCLUSIONS

Treatment of subglottic hemangioma is difficult to standarize. Treatment with steroids have many adverse effects in children. The surgical treatment offer a good option in the treatment of the angiomas of great size. Traqueostomy as must be avoided in the management of these patients.

[Diagnosis and management of necrotizing tracheobronchitis]

OBJECTIVE

Necrotizing tracheobronchitis has been described as a complication of mechanical ventilation of newborns with respiratory failure. Neonates with necrotizing tracheobronchitis present a diverse clinical spectrum from asymptomatic disease to severe airway obstruction that causes 45% of mortality. The objective of our study is to analyze our experience in the management of these patients.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In the last three years we have treated eight patients with necrotizing tracheobronchitis The mean age was 0.84 +/- 0.95 months, gestational age of 37.43 +/- 2.3 weeks. The mean weight was 3.07 +/- 1.04 kg. Five patients had a congenital heat disease (62.5%) and three have a respiratory failure (37.5%). We have analyzed the contributing factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and results.

RESULTS

All patients presented episodes of shock with treatment of drugs. Five patients have conventional ventilation (62.5%) while three have high frequency oscillatory ventilation (37.5%). There were not significant differences in the ventilator parameters of both groups (PMA, PIP, PEEP). Three patients were supported by ECMO when they developed necrotizing tracheobronchitis. The treatment was bronchoscopic removal of necrotic tissue. There was not any complication after the procedure. A patient suffered a stenosis in the left main bronchus. Three patients have died during follow-up for different causes. The time of pursuit is of 10.33 +/- 7.61 months.

CONCLUSIONS

Necrotizing tracheobronchitis may be increasing in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units, due to a bigger survival of patient with serious respiratory failure and shock. Hypotension and shock seems to be a major contributing factor in the development of this lesion. Bronchoscopy is necessary for treatment and survival of the patients.

Association of adenylate cyclase with an actin-like protein in the human myometrium

Regulation of muscle contraction by second messengers such as cAMP and regulation of the adenylate cyclase enzyme by the cytoskeleton have been previously described. However, the physical association of both effector and structural elements is still unknown. In this context, we have co-purified a human myometrial adenylate cyclase with an actin-like protein in a two-step purification protocol. The adenylate cyclase catalytic unit was solubilized with Lubrol-PX, submitted to anionic exchange chromatography and purified about 7-fold. The eluate was applied to a forskolin-agarose column obtaining an adenylate cyclase extract enriched 257-fold (enzymatic activity of 1390 pmol/30 min per mg protein) that co-eluted with a 74.6-kDa protein that possessed the 18-27 amino-acid fragment from the N-terminal region of human actin. Under non-reducing conditions, the apparent molecular weight of this protein decreased to 54 kDa, which has been previously described for arthrin. These results provide the first demonstration of the physical association of human myometrial adenylate cyclase with a cytoskeleton-related protein, supporting the hypothesis that adenylate cyclase is regulated by mechanical stimuli.

[Events related with injury severity in pediatric multiple trauma]

AIMS

Epidemiological analysis of main factors affecting multiple trauma in children in our environment.

METHODS

We reviewed the data collected from the patients (n = 2.166) admitted to our hospital because of trauma and included in our Registry from January 1995 to December 2000. Among this group 79 patients were considered severely injured trauma patients according Injury Severity Score (ISS) (ISS > 15) and selected for the study. Statistical analysis was done using chi2 and Student t test, p values under 0.01 were considered significant.

RESULTS

Group gender distribution was 49 males and 30 females, age average was 9.7 years (range 0-15 years) Traffic related injuries were the leading cause of trauma in this group (77,2%). Initial triage by using the Pediatric Trauma Score allowed identifying the injury severity in 73,4% of patients (58 children obtained a PTS < or = 8). In 32,9% of the cases the patient was in coma at admission in the Emergency (Glasgow Coma Scale < or = 8, n = 26). ISS average was 23.4 (range 16-75). Most patients suffered from multiple injuries (87,3%), average of injuries number was 4,7 (range 1-9). The most frequent trauma localization was cranial trauma. Admission in the intensive care unit was necessary in 65,8% of patients, and any kind of surgical procedure was done in 35,4%. Average length of stay was 17,1 days (range 0-214 days). Injury severity was higher in automotive patients without restraining systems (I.S.S. average 27,2, mortality 16,6%). Overall mortality was 11,4% (n = 9), and 94.3% of patients presented any functional or anatomic disability.

CONCLUSIONS

Traffic related injuries are the main cause of multiple trauma in children. The severity and high mortality of these injuries make imperative polytonal education systems and the use of restraining devices.

[Impact of formation programs in initial management of injured children]

INTRODUCTION

In 1997 we developed the "Pediatric Trauma Life Support Course"applied to every one who provide care for the pediatric trauma patient. Since November 1997 until December 2000, 14 courses were imparted inside of the "Comunidad de Madrid" with total number of 289 students. Thirty-eight students have been people who worked in the prehospital area inside of our Community. The aim of this paper is to determinate the possible impact of these Courses in the prehospital management of the pediatric trauma patient.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We reviewed the Pediatric Trauma Registry inputs of our hospital since January 1995 until December 2000. A total number of 2166 patients required admission in our hospital after the injuries. 495 patients which moved to our Institution by medical people and a special transport (ambulance/medical van) were enrolled. The patients were classified into two groups. In the first group were included the children admitted between 1995 to 1997 (group 1, n = 232), before we had applied our Courses and in the second group, the patients admitted between 1998 to 2000 (group II, n = 263), after The Pediatric Trauma Life Support Course was conducted. Both groups seems to be equal if we compare the age, sex and severity of the injuries. We analysed the infant orotracheal intubation in a coma patient, gastric intubation in the several trauma patient, vascular access and apply a semirigid cervical collar into a head injury. If we think that the application of these manouvers will be a good quality index of the management of these patients in the prehospital area, we compare the index of application of these variables according to the years before and after the Courses were imparted. For this pourpose we used the X2 test shows significant differences within both groups if p < 0.05.

RESULTS

All paramethers analyzed were better in group II than in group I (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this paper shows that the use of this program for the management of the pediatric trauma patient is going well and the assessment is doing better than few years before.

[Clinical significance of tumor content of epidermal growth factor receptor in breast cancer]

OBJECTIVE

To determine the content of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) using a radioligand method in breast cancer and to analyze the relationship between the EGFR levels and the characteristics of patients and tumors. Prognostic significance was also analyzed.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

EGFR was measured by a single point radioligand assay in 265 invasive breast carcinomas tissues. In addition, estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER and PR) were measured by enzymatic immunoassays. We analyze the relationship of EGFR levels with the different clinico-pathologic parameters.

RESULTS

EGFR levels in breast carcinomas varied widely (0.1 to 403) with a median at 4 fmol/mg prot. The significantly higher concentrations of EGFR were detected in patients under 60 years old (p = 0.042), undifferentiated tumors (p = 0.04), and carcinomas with negative ER and PR (p < 0.019 y p < 0018, respectively). In addition, there was a negative correlation between EGFR and the ER and PR levels (p < 0.05). EGFR levels did not show any relationship with the patient's prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS

In addition, intratumoral levels of EGFR in breast carcinomas vary widely and the highest concentrations are associated with the most aggresive characteristics of the tumor.

[Fiberoptic bronchoscopy, 3-D reconstruction of the airway and virtual bronchoscopy in patients with airway malformations. Preliminary report]

Bronchoscopy is the diagnostic gold standard in patients with airway malformations. Helical CT scan has produced studies such as virtual bronchoscopy or 3-D reconstruction of the airway. The purpose of this study is to analyze the correlation between fiberoptic bronchoscopy, virtual bronchoscopy and 3-D reconstruction of the airway in patients with airway malformations.

METHODS

From January 2001 to March 2002 we evaluated the airway of 17 patients with airway malformations by means of a diagnostic protocol consisting on fiberoptic bronchoscopy, and Helical CT scan with 3-D reconstruction of the airway and virtual bronchoscopy. The radiologist had no access to bronchoscopic information. Age at study, associated cardiovascular anomalies, indications, localization, degree of diagnostic concordance, etiology and influence in treatment were analyzed.

RESULTS

20 studies were done to 17 patients whose mean age was 1.64 +/- 0.48 years (7 days-7 years). Twelve patients had associated anomalies of the aorta, pulmonary arteries or supraortic vessels. Excellent concordance was obtained in 13 cases (65%), good in 6 (30%) and poor in one (5%). 3-D reconstruction of the airway and adjacent vascular structures provided additional information in 14 cases (70%): in 3 exact length of the tracheal lesion and in 11 defined the cause of the compression. In all the cases, absolute concordance in localization was obtained. CT scan information modified treatment in 6 patients (35%). In 7 patients with associated vascular anomalies, no further image studies were done, confirming the anatomy concordance during surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

3-D reconstruction of the airway and virtual bronchoscopy are excellent diagnostic tools in patients with airway malformations, and contribute to define the etiology, length and diameter of the lesion. Excellent diagnostic correlation was obtained between analogic and virtual bronchoscopies, although further multicentric studies should be conducted.

Apolipoprotein D expression in metastasic lymph nodes of breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Apolipoprotein D is a glycoprotein of the human plasma whose functional role remains unclear. On the other hand, this protein is also produced by breast carcinomas and is positively associated with a favorable outcome of patients. However, none study has focused on metastasic lesions.

AIM

To analyze apolipoprotein D expression in breast cancer patients and their synchronous metastasic axillary lymph nodes.

METHODS

We analyzed by immunohistochemical assay both, the tumoral expression of apolipoprotein D in primary tumors and in their synchronous metastasic axillary lymph nodes of 30 node-positive breast cancer patients.

RESULTS

Of the primary tumors, 28 (93.3%) showed a positive immunostaining for apolipoprotein D, although there was wide variability immunostaining values. On the other hand, 16 (53.3%) patients showed a positive immunostaining for the protein in their tumoral lymph nodes. In addition, there was a significant positive relationship between the tumoral expression of apolipoprotein D in primary tumors and metastasic lymph nodes (P < 0.05). However, only immunostaining values of the protein in primary tumors achieve statistical signification (P < 0.05) as prognostic factor of favorable evolution to predict overall survival from patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Apolipoprotein D is also expressed in metastasic lymph nodes of breast carcinomas, but with a different pattern of immunostaining and less clinical significance than in primary tumors.

Proteomics as a tool for the investigation of seafood and other marine products

The state-of-the-art and future trends of the application of proteomics to seafood and other marine products are reviewed. Consumers' demands for seafood products have increased in the recent years and this situation has underlined the need to guarantee the safety, traceability, authenticity, and health benefits of such products. The increasing presence of commercially available aquaculture products has also prompted the seafood industry to face newer challenges. In this sense, a review of the present status and perspectives of the application of proteomics in the development of newer biotechnology products of marine origin is given.

Neutrophilic pustulosis and ulcerative colitis

Neutrophilic pustulosis is currently considered as a part of the spectrum of Sweet's syndrome, and has been associated with inflammatory bowel disease and several other diseases. We report the case of a 34-year-old male who had been suffering from ulcerative colitis (UC) for several years and who experienced the manifestation of a pustular eruption on both forearms and the abdominal wall during an exacerbation of his bowel disease. Both processes were controlled with steroids per os. The histological picture showed an inflammatory infiltrate composed mainly of neutrophils with scattered neutrophilic epidermal abscesses. Certain distinct clinical and histological characteristics have been described as diagnostic of the pustular eruption of UC. This picture should be included in the spectrum of the neutrophilic dermatosis, in our case associated with an ulcerative colitis. This is a well documented clinical and histologic case report of a recognized association of inflammatory pustulosis in the course of ulcerative colitis.

The phosphorylation state of threonine-220, a uniquely phosphatase-sensitive protein kinase A site in microtubule-associated protein MAP2c, regulates microtubule binding and stability

Phosphorylation of microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) has a profound effect on microtubule stability and organization. In this work a consensus protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation site, T(220), of juvenile MAP2c is characterized. As confirmed by mass spectrometry, this site can be phosphorylated by PKA but shows less than average reactivity among the 3.5 +/- 0.5 phosphate residues incorporated into the protein. In contrast, T(220) is uniquely sensitive to dephosphorylation: three major Ser/Thr protein phosphatases, in the order of efficiency PP2B > PP2A(c) > PP1(c), remove this phosphate group first. MAP2c specifically dephosphorylated at this site binds and stabilizes microtubules stronger than either fully phosphorylated or nonphosphorylated MAP2c. Phosphorylation of this site also affects proteolytic sensitivity of MAP2c, which might represent a further level of control in this system. Thus, the phosphorylation state of T(220) may be a primary determinant of microtubule function.