Calcifying nanoparticles associated encrusted urinary bladder cystitis

Successful treatment of encrusted cystitis: A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND

Encrusted cystitis (EC) is a chronic inflammation of the bladder associated with mucosal encrustations. Early diagnosis and optimal treatment are not well established. Here, we report a case of EC successfully treated with com-bination therapy.

CASE SUMMARY

A 27-year-old man presented with frequency, urgency, dysuria, gross hematuria and suprapubic pain for 2 mo. He was diagnosed with EC based on characteristic calcifications of the bladder wall (most of them were struvite), cystoscopy and histopathological examination. He was cured after combined therapy of elimination of encrustations, bladder instillation of hyaluronic acid and injection of botulinum-A neurotoxin into bladder submucosal tissue.

CONCLUSION

Bladder instillation of hyaluronic acid and injection of botulinum-A neurotoxin into the bladder submucosal tissue can be used for treatment of EC.

Encrusted Cystitis with Suspected Ureteral Obstruction Following Cystoscopic-Guided Laser Ablation of Ectopic Ureters in a Dog

A 1 yr old 30 kg spayed female Labrador retriever presented for stranguria and hematuria 3 wk after cystoscopic laser ablation for ectopic ureters. Encrusted cystitis was diagnosed based on ultrasonography, cystoscopy, urinalysis, and culture of Corynebacterium urealyticum from the urine. Unilateral hydronephrosis and hydroureter were suspected to be secondary to obstruction at the trigone. The dog was treated with focal debridement of plaques at the left ureter, urinary acidification, and long-term antibiotic therapy with complete recovery. This is the first report of encrusted cystitis as a complication of cystoscopic-guided laser ablation for ectopic ureters, and suggests cystoscopic debridement may be useful if ureteral obstruction occurs.

Kidney stone nano-structure - Is there an opportunity for nanomedicine development?

BACKGROUND

Kidney stone analysis techniques are well-established in the field of materials characterization and provide information for the chemical composition and structure of a sample. Nanomedicine, on the other hand, is a field with an increasing rate of scientific research, a big budget and increasingly developing market. The key scientific question is if there is a possibility for the development of a nanomedicine to treat kidney stones.

MAJOR CONCLUSIONS

The main calculi characterization techniques such as X-ray Diffraction and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy can provide information about the composition of a kidney stone but not for its nanostructure. On the other hand, Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Nitrogen Porosimetry can show the nanostructural parameters of the calculi. The combination of the previously described parameters can be used for the development of nano-drugs for the treatment of urolithiasis, while no such nano-drugs exist yet.

GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE

In this study, we focus on the most well-known techniques for kidney stone analysis, the urolithiasis management and the search for possible nanomedicine for the treatment of kidney stone disease. We combine the results from five different analysis techniques in order to represent a three dimensional model and we propose a hypothetical nano-drug with gold nanoparticles. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Recent Advances in Bionanomaterials" Guest Editor: Dr. Marie-Louise Saboungi and Dr. Samuel D. Bader.

Cytotoxicity and apoptosis induced by nanobacteria in human breast cancer cells

Background

The existing evidence that nanobacteria (NB) are closely associated with human disease is overwhelming. However, their potential toxicity against cancer cells has not yet been reported. The objective of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic effects of NB and nanohydroxyapatites (nHAPs) against human breast cancer cells and to elucidate the mechanisms of action underlying their cytotoxicity.

Methodology/principal findings

NB were isolated from calcified placental tissue, and nHAPs were artificially synthesized. The viability of the MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line was tested by using the Kit-8 cell counting kit assay. Apoptosis was examined by transmission electron microscopy and flow cytometry. The endocytosis of NB and nHAPs by MDA-MB-231 cells was initially confirmed by microscopy. Although both NB and nHAPs significantly decreased MDA-MB-231 cell viability and increased the population of apoptotic cells, NB were more potent than nHAPs. After 72 hours, NB also caused ultrastructural changes typical of apoptosis, such as chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation, nuclear dissolution, mitochondrial swelling, and the formation of apoptotic bodies.

Conclusion/significance

In MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells, NB and nHAPs exerted cytotoxic effects that were associated with the induction of apoptosis. The effects exerted by NB were more potent than those induced by nHAPs. NB cytotoxicity probably emerged from toxic metabolites or protein components, rather than merely the hydroxyapatite shells. NB divided during culturing, and similar to cells undergoing binary fission, many NB particles were observed in culture by transmission electron microscopy, suggesting they are live microorganisms.

Periarticular osteophytes as an appendicular joint stress marker (JSM): analysis in a contemporary Japanese skeletal collection

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility that periarticular osteophytes plays a role as a appendicular joint stress marker (JSM) which reflects the biomechanical stresses on individuals and populations.

Methods

A total of 366 contemporary Japanese skeletons (231 males, 135 females) were examined closely to evaluate the periarticular osteophytes of six major joints, the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle and osteophyte scores (OS) were determined using an original grading system. These scores were aggregated and analyzed statistically from some viewpoints.

Results

All of the OS for the respective joints were correlated logarithmically with the age-at-death of the individuals. For 70 individuals, in whom both sides of all six joints were evaluated without missing values, the age-standardized OS were calculated. A right side dominancy was recognized in the joints of the upper extremities, shoulder and wrist joints, and the bilateral correlations were large in the three joints on the lower extremity. For the shoulder joint and the hip joint, it was inferred by some distinctions that systemic factors were relatively large. All of these six joints could be assorted by the extent of systemic and local factors on osteophytes formation. Moreover, when the age-standardized OS of all the joints was summed up, some individuals had significantly high total scores, and others had significantly low total scores; namely, all of the individuals varied greatly in their systemic predisposition for osteophytes formation.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated the significance of periarticular osteophytes; the evaluating system for OS could be used to detect differences among joints and individuals. Periarticular osteophytes could be applied as an appendicular joint stress marker (JSM); by applying OS evaluating system for skeletal populations, intra-skeletal and inter-skeletal variations in biomechanical stresses throughout the lives could be clarified.

Association between calcifying nanoparticles and placental calcification

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to examine the possible contribution of calcifying nanoparticles to the pathogenesis of placental calcification.

METHODS

Calcified placental tissues and distal tissue samples were collected from 36 confirmed placental calcification cases. In addition, 20 normal placental tissue samples were obtained as a control group. All the tissue samples were cultured using special nanobacterial culture methods. The cultured calcifying nanoparticles were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and their growth was monitored by optical density (OD) at a wavelength of 650 nm. 16S rRNA gene expression of the cultured calcifying nanoparticles was also isolated and sequenced.

RESULTS

Novel calcifying nanoparticles wrapped with electron-dense shells between 50 nm to 500 nm in diameter were observed in the extracellular matrix of calcified placental tissues. They were detected in placental villi and hydroxyapatite crystals, and contained "nucleic acid-like materials". After isolation and four weeks of culture, 28 of 36 calcified placental tissue samples showed white granular precipitates attached to the bottom of the culture tubes. OD(650) measurements indicated that the precipitates from the calcified placental tissues were able to grow in culture, whereas no such precipitates from the control tissues were observed. The 16S rRNA genes were isolated from the cultured calcifying nanoparticles and calcified placental tissues, and their gene sequencing results implied that calcifying nanoparticles were novel nanobacteria (GenBank JF823648).

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that these novel calcifying nanoparticles may play a role in placental calcification.

Association between dental pulp stones and calcifying nanoparticles

The etiology of dental pulp stones, one type of extraskeletal calcification disease, remains elusive to date. Calcifying nanoparticles (CNPs), formerly referred to as nanobacteria, were reported to be one etiological factor in a number of extraskeletal calcification diseases. We hypothesized that CNPs are involved in the calcification of the dental pulp tissue, and therefore investigated the link between CNPs and dental pulp stones. Sixty-five freshly collected dental pulp stones, each from a different patient, were analyzed. Thirteen of the pulp stones were examined for the existence of CNPs in situ by immunohistochemical staining (IHS), indirect immunofluorescence staining (IIFS), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The remaining 52 pulp stones were used for isolation and cultivation of CNPs; the cultured CNPs were identified and confirmed via their shape and growth characteristics. Among the dental pulp stones examined in situ, 84.6% of the tissue samples staines positive for CNPs antigen by IHS; the corresponding rate by IIFS was 92.3 %. In 88.2% of the cultured samples, CNPs were isolated and cultivated successfully. The CNPs were visible under TEM as 200–400 nm diameter spherical particles surrounded by a compact crust. CNPs could be detected and isolated from a high percentage of dental pulp stones, suggesting that CNPs might play an important role in the calcification of dental pulp.