Campylobacter jejuni enterocolitis presenting with testicular pain: A case report

BACKGROUND

Common symptoms of Campylobacter colitis include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever, among others. However, Campylobacter colitis also has a high incidence of extraintestinal symptoms.

CASE SUMMARY

We report the case of a 51-year-old man who presented with bilateral testicular pain. A scrotal examination failed to reveal any physical findings, but the patient exhibited mild tenderness in the right lower abdomen. Computed tomography revealed ileocecal wall thickening. Post-admission, the patient developed diarrhea, and a stool culture was submitted; Campylobacter jejuni infection was confirmed. Testicular pain is known to be caused by appendicitis. Consequently, we suggest that Campylobacter colitis, which causes ileocecal inflammation, caused the testicular pain in this case.

CONCLUSION

In patients with testicular pain and no other objective findings, diseases such as Campylobacter colitis should be considered.

Localization of symbiotic clostridia in the mixed segment of the termite Nasutitermes takasagoensis (Shiraki)

Phylogeny and the distribution of symbiotic bacteria in the mixed segment of the wood-eating termite Nasutitermes takasagoensis (Shiraki) were studied. Bacterial 16S rRNA genes (rDNA) were amplified from the mixed segment of the gut by PCR, and two kinds of sequences were identified. The phylogenetic tree was constructed by neighbor-joining and maximum parsimony methods to identify symbionts harbored in the mixed segment. They are classified as low-G+C-content gram-positive bacteria and are most closely related to the genus Clostridium. The distribution of these bacteria throughout the whole gut was examined by PCR using specific primers, which suggested that they are confined to the mixed segment despite the presence of bacteria throughout the gut. In situ hybridization indicated that the symbiotic bacteria were localized to the ectoperitrophic space between the midgut wall and the peritrophic membrane in the mixed segment. Electron microscopy revealed the close association between these bacteria and the mesenteric epithelium, suggesting that they have some interactions with the gut tissue of termites.

Ultrastructure of the developing fibrocartilage of the os penis of rat

Development of the fibrocartilage of the os penis of rat was studied by transmission electron microscopy. Prepubertal (0-4 weeks of development) and pubertal (4-8 weeks of development) males were examined. Effects of castration on the development of the fibrocartilage were also examined. During the first 0-4 weeks of development, cells in the primordium of the fibrocartilage became large and the cytoplasm had well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) and many intermediate filaments. Collagen fibers increased markedly in amount in the extracellular matrix (ECM) during the period. For 4-6 weeks, when gonadal secretion of androgens increases, the cells developed into mature chondrocytes with lacunae. Collagenous bundles were pushed away from the lacunae, resulting in a characteristic appearance of this fibrocartilage. The cytoplasm of the mature chondrocytes of the fibrocartilage was characterized by many intermediate filaments, oil droplets, glycogen granules, and well-developed rER. At 6 weeks, calcification started on the cell membrane of the mature chondrocytes. At 8 weeks, a large part of the cartilage matrix was calcified. Matrix vesicles that originate from degenerated chondrocytes were found in the ECM of decalcified samples. In castrated males, cells of the primordium of the fibrocartilage ceased further development after castration. Intermediate filaments were still abundant in the cytoplasm and collagen fibers increased even after castration, but mature chondrocytes never differentiated. There were no signs of matrix vesicle formation, calcification, or cell degeneration in the fibrocartilage primordium. The developmental process of the fibrocartilage can be subdivided into two phases: collagenous matrix formation during the prepubertal period (0-4 weeks), and maturation of chondrocytes and calcification after puberty (4-8 weeks).

Phylogenetic diversity of symbiotic methanogens living in the hindgut of the lower termite Reticulitermes speratus analyzed by PCR and in situ hybridization

A phylogenetic analysis of the sequences of 60 clones of archaeal small-subunit rRNA genes amplified from the termite Reticulitermes speratus revealed that most of them (56 clones) clustered in the genus Methanobrevibacter. Three clones were classified in the order Thermoplasmales. The Methanobrevibacter-related symbionts were detected by in situ hybridization analysis.

Site of secretion and properties of endogenous endo-beta-1,4-glucanase components from Reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe), a Japanese subterranean termite

Two endo-beta-1,4-glucanase components (YEG1 and YEG2) of the endogenous cellulase from the Japanese subterranean termite, Reticulitermes speratus, were purified to homogeneity using gel filtration and hydroxylapatite chromatography, and their enzymatic properties were investigated. Using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), YEG1 and YEG2 had M(r) of 42 kDa and 41 kDa, respectively. Both components had an optimal pH of 6.0, an optimal temperature of 50 degrees C and were stable at 40 degrees C for at least 30 min. Both components showed high activity on sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), 73.6 U/mg protein for YEG1 and 83.4 U/mg protein for YEG2. The K(m) values of YEG1 and YEG2 on CMC were 1.83 mg/ml and 1.48 mg/ml, respectively. YEG1 did not hydrolyse cellotetraose or cellotriose, whereas YEG2 hydrolysed cellotetraose to cellobiose and cellotriose to cellobiose and glucose. Both YEG1 and YEG2 hydrolysed cellopentaose to cellotriose and cellobiose. Neither component hydrolysed cellobiose. The hydrolytic products from crystalline cellulose (Sigmacell type 20) by YEG1 and YEG2 were cellobiose and a trace amount of glucose. Polyclonal mouse anti-serum raised against YEG2 crossreacted with YEG1, suggesting a common origin for both components. Using this anti-serum, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry showed the presence of YEG1 and YEG2 in the salivary glands, but not in the midgut epithelium. The data suggest that the salivary glands are the site of secretion of endo-beta-1,4-glucanase in R. speratus.

Androgen-dependent and independent process of bone formation in the distal segment of Os penis in the rat

The distal segment of the os penis of the rat develops as a fibrocartilage which is replaced with non-lamellar bone by endochondral ossification after puberty. Development of the fibrocartilage and its calcification have been shown to be induced by androgens, but androgen-dependency of the endochondral ossification has not been studied in detail. In the present study, immature male rats of various ages were castrated and the ossification of the fibrocartilage of os penis was examined. In rats castrated at 6 weeks, when the fibrocartilage was scarcely calcified, ossification did not occur even at 24 weeks. When the castrated rats were treated with testosterone, ossification started before 12 weeks of age. In rats castrated at 8 weeks, when the fibrocartilage was heavily calcified, endochondral ossification was observed in some of the animals (5/7) at 24 weeks of age. The results of this study indicate that once the fibrocartilage is calcified, the endochondral ossification can take place without androgen, although the androgen can promote the process of ossification.

Close correlation between the distribution of tenascin and that of actin filaments in the mouse urethral mesenchyme during active morphogenesis

The distribution of tenascin, an extracellular matrix glycoprotein, and that of actin filaments were studied in the developing urethra of mouse embryos by antitenascin immunofluorescent and rhodamine-phalloidin staining. Tenascin appeared transiently in the urethral mesenchyme at the site of active morphogenesis in which the urethral epithelium separated from the surface epithelia of the glans and prepuce, being tubular, and the bilateral mesenchymes lining the preexisting urethral epithelium were seamed together in the ventral side of the tubular urethra immediately after the epithelial separation. The spatially and temporally restricted distribution of tenascin corresponded well to that of mesenchymal cells which possessed many actin filaments. These observations suggest that tenascin is involved in the cytoskeletal organization of mesenchymal cells in the active phase of morphogenesis.

Appearance of tenascin in healing skin of the mouse: possible involvement in seaming of wounded tissues

Distribution of the extracellular matrix glycoprotein tenascin during wound healing in mouse skin was studied immunohistochemically. Within 24 hours after wounding, and preceding the formation of granulation tissue, tenascin appeared in the basement membranes beneath epidermis and hair follicles adjacent to the wound edges and in the wounded edges of cutaneous muscle layer. Granulation tissue began to form in the wound space at about 1-2 days and was immediately covered by epidermis. Tenascin first appeared in the periphery of the granulation tissue beneath healing epidermis and around the wounded edges of cutaneous muscle layer. Then the tenascin-positive area extended into the inner region of granulation tissue. At about 5-7 days, all of the granulation tissue was intensely stained with anti-tenascin serum. Tenascin immunoreactivity decreased as granulation tissue was replaced with reconstructed dermal tissue at 7-14 days. In most cases, tenascin staining persisted longest in the dermis beneath the healing epidermis and at the juncture of healing edges of cutaneous muscle layer. It disappeared at about 10-14 days after wounding. These findings suggest that tenascin may play an important role in the seaming of wounded tissues.

Silver-impregnation of the Golgi complex in epididymal epithelial cells of mice

Localization of silver grains detected by the silver-impregnation method, a technique used to detect the classical Golgi apparatus, was examined with light and electron microscopy. Two types of silvered images of the Golgi apparatus were compared; each was obtained by Da Fano 's silver-impregnation method, and one was modified with Caulfield 's fixative during the preliminary fixation. Under ordinary light microscopy the images were very similar and showed the duplex structure of the Golgi apparatus which consists of an argentophil wall and argentophobe core. With electron microscopy, the relationship between the fine structure of the Golgi complex and the silver deposits was obtained in greater detail by the latter technique because the fine structure of the Golgi complex was retained. Many fine silver grains were detected in the cytoplasm adjacent to the Golgi complex, but none were present in the Golgi cisternae. This suggests that the argentophil wall of the duplex structure of the classical Golgi apparatus may be formed from argentophil substances that locate in the cytoplasm adjacent to the Golgi lamellae, and that the argentophobe core may be related to the Golgi lamellae.

Osmium-impregnation patterns of the Golgi complex in the epididymal epithelial cells of castrated and testosterone-injected mice

After prolonged exposure of mouse epididymal epithelial cells to a solution of osmium tetroxide, reduced osmium compounds were detected in the Golgi cisternae and in the cytoplasm adjacent to the Golgi complex. Their appearance changed in time under certain conditions. Eight days after castration each cisterna of the regularly arranged Golgi lamellae fragmented into small vesicles, in which deposits of reduced osmium compound were in reduced amounts or completely absent, but no notable decrease of the fine reduced osmium particles in the cytoplasm adjacent to the Golgi complex occurred. The amount of deposit in the Golgi cisternae in castrated mice recovered to the normal level after the subcutaneous injection of testosterone for two weeks. On the other hand, the osmium particles observed in the cytoplasm adjacent to the Golgi complex during the recovery process of the lamellar structure increased in amount. This study showed that the reduced osmium compounds were of two kinds, and that the deposits contained in the Golgi cisternae were related to secretory products, and might be controlled by hormonal factors, but the fine reduced osmium particles that appeared in the cytoplasm adjacent to the Golgi complex might be regulated by other factors.