Evaluation of Early and Late High School Student Science Research and Mentorship Programs: Virtual Gateway to Science Curricula and Mentorship During the COVID-19 Pandemic

People from racial and ethnic minoritized groups, those with disabilities, and those from low-income backgrounds are underrepresented in biomedical careers. Increasing diversity in the biomedical workforce, particularly health care providers, is imperative to address the disparities faced by minoritized patients. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted disparities experienced by minoritized populations and emphasized the need for a more diverse biomedical workforce. Science internship, mentorship, and research programs, which have historically been conducted in person, have been shown to increase interest in biomedical fields for minoritized students. During the pandemic, many science internship programs pivoted to virtual programming. This evaluation focuses on two such programs for both early and late high school students and evaluates change in scientific identity and scientific tasks pre- and post-program. Additionally, early high school students were interviewed to obtain more in-depth information on the program experiences and effects. Early and late high school students reported increased scientific identity and comfort with scientific tasks compared pre- to post-program in several domains. Desire to pursue biomedical careers was maintained pre- to post-program for both groups. These results highlight the importance and acceptance of developing curricula for online platforms to help boost interest in biomedical fields and desire for biomedical careers.

The Reference Site Collaborative Network of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing

Seventy four Reference Sites of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) have been recognised by the European Commission in 2016 for their commitment to excellence in investing and scaling up innovative solutions for active and healthy ageing. The Reference Site Collaborative Network (RSCN) brings together the EIP on AHA Reference Sites awarded by the European Commission, and Candidate Reference Sites into a single forum. The overarching goals are to promote cooperation, share and transfer good practice and solutions in the development and scaling up of health and care strategies, policies and service delivery models, while at the same time supporting the action groups in their work. The RSCN aspires to be recognized by the EU Commission as the principal forum and authority representing all EIP on AHA Reference Sites. The RSCN will contribute to achieve the goals of the EIP on AHA by improving health and care outcomes for citizens across Europe, and the development of sustainable economic growth and the creation of jobs.

Responsible Milestone-Based Educational Handover With Individualized Learning Plan From Undergraduate to Graduate Pediatric Medical Education

Communication of medical students' pediatric milestone assessments and individual learning plans from medical schools to pediatric residency directors allows for effective educational handovers promoting the continuum of education. Existing undergraduate medical education assessments can provide meaningful data to determine most pediatric milestone levels.

Abstract 1885: A comprehensive untargeted UPLC-MS based metabolomic analysis of ASS1-deficient solid tumor cell lines treated with arginine deiminase

Background

Arginine is an important amino acid for tumor cell growth and development. Argininosuccinate synthetase 1 (ASS1) is a key enzyme required for biosynthesis of arginine. Preclinically, ASS1-deficient tumor cells are particularly sensitive to arginine depletion, and randomised trials exploring this strategy are in progress in hepatocellular carcinoma and mesothelioma using the drug pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG20). In this study, we determined the metabolic changes induced by ADI-PEG20 treatment in a panel of bladder cancer and mesothelioma cell lines with promoter methylation-dependent silencing of ASS1. We used two cancer cell lines expressing ASS1 as a control.

Methods

Malignant mesothelioma, ASS1-negative (H2591, MSTO and JU77) and ASS1- positive (H28) cell lines were used. For bladder cancer, ASS1-negative (T24, 253J, UMUC-3) and ASS1-positive (RT112) cell lines were also used. All cells were treated with 750 ng/ml of ADI-PEG20 for 24 hours which induces up to 90% killing of arginine-dependent cell lines. Then, ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) technique was employed for untargeted quantitation of the metabolomic changes induced by ADI-PEG20.

Results:

All cell lines treated with ADI-PEG20 could be clearly discriminated from their untreated control pair when using PCA multivariate analysis. Arginine depletion was noted in all treated cell lines irrespective of ASS1 expression, however the reduction was at least one-log-fold greater in the ASS1-negative tumor cells. Citrulline, n-a-acetylcitrulline, and glutamine were upregulated specifically in ASS1-negative tumor cell lines. The main impact of ADI-PEG20 treatment was on pyrimidine metabolism in the ASS1-deficient tumor cells with upregulation of thymine and downregulation of thymidine, ureidosuccinic acid, uridine monophosphate and 5-hydroxymethyluracil. Notably, we identified that the reduction of the thymidine nucleotide pool was linked to suppression of thymidylate synthetase and dihydrofolate reductase, and paradoxically, reduced uptake of 3H-FLT. Finally, ADI-PEG20 caused variable effects on cytidine, uridine and ornithine levels in different cancer cell lines.

Conclusion

This study provides an insight into possible metabolic pathways affected by ADI-PEG20. The impact of ADI-PEG20 on thymidine metabolism, in particular, may be employed as a potential biomarker for optimizing the efficacy of ADI-PEG20 in the treatment of arginine auxotophic cancers.

Citation Format: Essam A. Ghazaly, Phuong Luong, Malgorzata Chmielewska-Kassasir, Chantelle Hudson, John S. Bomalaski, L Wozniak, Norbert E. Avril, Simon P. Joel, Peter W. Szlosarek. A comprehensive untargeted UPLC-MS based metabolomic analysis of ASS1-deficient solid tumor cell lines treated with arginine deiminase. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1885. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-1885

p53 mutations in sweat gland carcinomas

Sweat gland carcinomas are rare skin tumours and little is known about their etiology and molecular basis. In this study, we analyzed p53 mutations in 16 sweat gland carcinomas with different histologic types, including 2 spiradenocarcinomas, 1 composed adnexal carcinoma, 5 porocarcinomas, 2 eccrine hidradenocarcinomas, 2 syringocystadenocarcinomas, 1 sclerosing sweat gland carcinoma, 1 adenoid cystic carcinoma, 1 cylindrocarcinoma and 1 apocrine adenocarcinoma. Single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analyses followed by direct DNA sequencing revealed that 5 carcinomas (31%) contained a p53 mutation, 4 of which were G:C-->A:T transition mutations and 1 of which was a deletion. Three G:C-->A:T mutations were located at dipyrimidine sequences on the antisense strand (2 spiradenocarcinomas, 1 eccrine hidradenocarcinoma), suggesting that UV light may play a role in the development of sweat gland carcinomas. In 2 spiradenocarcinomas, p53 mutations were present in the carcinoma but not in the adenoma portions, suggesting that p53 mutations may be associated with malignant progression in these rare adnexal tumours.

An unusual case of giant dermatofibroma in a patient with diabetes mellitus and necrobiosis lipoidica

A case of nine dermatofibromata, including a giant one, associated with necrobiosis lipoidica and diabetes mellitus type II is reported. This case is unusual because of the number and size of the tumors and their association with the above-mentioned pathologic conditions.

Spiradenocarcinoma: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of three cases

Three cases of malignant transformation within spiradenoma are described. All of them occurred close to the elbow. In every case we found a benign component, characteristic of the spiradenoma, and a structure of carcinoma, which in some areas showed transition into the spiradenoma. In one case the structure of the spiradenocarcinoma resembled that of the spiradenoma, whereas in the remaining two cases adenocarcinoma was the malignant counterpart of the tumor. We performed immunohistochemical studies and revealed various intensities of expression of cytokeratins and epithelial membrane antigen and a dearth of S-100 protein, vimentin, and carcinoembryonic antigen in the examined cases of spiradenocarcinoma.

Neuroblastic differentiation of metastases of medulloblastoma to extracranial lymph node: an ultrastructural study

Extracranial metastases of a poorly differentiated medulloblastoma in a 12-year-old girl were studied by thin section transmission electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. The primary tumor did not show any differentiation as revealed by immunohistochemistry. On the contrary, the metastatic tumor cells and their processes disclosed features of neuroblastic differentiation when examined ultrastructurally: microtubules, dense core vesicles, and abortive synaptic ribbons. Several dystrophic neurites containing altered subcellular organelles were also found. Furthermore, few processes contained concentric arrays of paired membranes. This report is the first to clearly show the neuronal differentiation of extracranial metastases of poorly differentiated medulloblastoma. We speculate that metastases of medulloblastomas outside the neuraxis behave analogously to medulloblastoma explants cultured in vivo.

Neuroendocrine (Merkel cell) carcinoma of the skin: a clinico-morphological study of 13 cases

The clinico-morphological features in 13 patients (nine female) with neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin are presented. The mean age was 64.9 years. The limbs were the most common site of primary tumour, followed by the face. The clinical course was characterized by a high incidence of regional lymph node metastases (69%) and recurrences (46%). Seven of the patients died of tumour, with a mean survival time of 13 months. Histologically, a solid pattern of tumour growth was most common. The cells were usually small and uniform. Squamous cell differentiation was found in one tumour. The cell of all tumours reacted positively for cytokeratins and neuron-specific enolase. The positive reaction frequently had a ball-like globular pattern, corresponding to inclusion-like bodies seen on light microscopy and to paranuclear whorls of intermediate filaments observed on electron microscopy. Neurosecretory granules were seen on electron microscopy in the 11 cases examined and in one case a 'Luse body' was found in the intercellular space.

Decisive role of intermediate filament typing of tumor cells in the differential diagnosis of difficult fine needle aspirates

Thirty-six diagnostically difficult fine needle aspirates from enlarged lymph nodes and malignant soft tissue tumors, containing tumor cells with scanty or no obvious light microscopic features indicative of their differentiation, were assessed by a panel of six cytopathologists. Their diagnoses were recorded and then compared with the definitive diagnosis established by combining the cytologic findings with the results of intermediate filament typing of tumor cells in the smears using monoclonal antibodies specific for each filament type. The results show that use of these antibodies can markedly improve the accuracy of the cytologic diagnosis of tumor type as well as revise or prevent erroneous cytologic diagnoses in difficult cases. This pertains especially to the differential diagnoses of carcinoma versus malignant lymphoma, carcinoma versus malignant melanoma, carcinoma versus sarcoma and squamous carcinoma versus carcinoma of simple epithelia. Intermediate filament typing of tumor cells in aspirates as an objective histogenetic criterium makes the differential diagnosis of the difficult aspirates much more reliable and reproducible, provided that appropriate questions are asked, monoclonal antibodies with well-defined specificities are used and the antigenicity of the intermediate filaments in smears is preserved.

Biosynthesis of the glycocinnamoylspermidine antibiotic, cinodine

The biosynthesis of cinodine from a combination of 14C- and 13C-labeled precursors has been investigated. Tyrosine was shown to be incorporated efficiently into the cinnamoyl moiety and glucosamine was found to be the origin of the three carbohydrate moieties. The relationship between the substrate dose and the enrichment of the labeled antibiotic has been elucidated so that it is possible to predict both the specific activity and the yield of the antibiotic obtained from the labeled substrates.

Pseudodendritic keratitis and systemic tyrosinemia

Three children (6 eyes) with systemic tyrosinemia who presented with a diagnosis of herpes simplex keratitis are described. Two of the patients underwent extensive treatment for herpes simplex keratitis until their defects in tyrosine metabolism were discovered. All three children responded favorably to a low-tyrosine diet. These cases illustrate the typical corneal findings of the Richner-Hanhart syndrome (pseudodendritic keratitis, hyperkeratotic skin lesions of the palms and sole without mental retardation). The findings in these three patients were similar to those cases previously reported in the literature except none had mental retardation. The ophthalmologist confronted with a young child with bilateral dendritiform keratitis should request evaluation of the serum tyrosine levels.