An umbilical cord teratoma in a 17-week-old fetus

A therapeutic abortion was conducted on a 17-week-old male fetus with a large umbilical cord teratoma associated with an exomphalos. A review of the literature revealed ten other cases of umbilical cord teratoma and shows that these tumors have a very polymorphic presentation. Four fetuses and infants died from various causes indicating that there is a need for close follow-up of pregnancies with umbilical cord teratoma. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differential response of multiple zebrafish hepatic F-box protein genes to 17α-ethinylestradiol treatment

Estrogens are accumulating in environment and their e ects on a variety of reproductive processes and tumorigenesis were reported by previous study, but the mechanism of estrogen promoting neoplasia was still not clear. F-box protein (FBP) is the component of E3 ubiquitin ligase which takes part in a variety of key biological processes. In this study, using mature male zebrafish, which are more sensitive to estrogen treatment, we examined influence of 17 -ethinylestradiol (EE2) exposure on the expression of a series of hepatic FBP genes, which take part in a variety of biological processes, including tumorigenesis. The influence of EE2 on the expression of hepatic mRNA concentrations of FBP genes were quantified based on the expression of the optimal internal control gene in male zebrafish after 7-day exposure to EE2, from a low-dose concentration (1 ng/L) to environmentally relevant concentrations (10, 100 ng/L). Our results showed that EE2 exposure reduced the expression of fbxl14a, fbxl14b, fbxo25 and -TRCP2b, but enchanced the expression of skp2. While the alterations in fbxl2, fbxw7, fbxo9, -TRCP2a, fbxl18 and fbxo45 mRNA levels were not observed after EE2 exposure. Thus, our results showed that the expression of hepatic FBP genes exhibited di erentially in male zebrafish exposed EE2. The changes of the expression level of FBP genes induced by EE2 may be an important clue to elucidate the correlations of estrogen and hepatic tumors.     

Manufactured silver and gold nanoparticles-induced apoptosis by caspase-pathway in human cell lines

Abstract

Metallic nanoparticles have emerged as an important class of nanomaterials for a wide range of industrial and medical applications. Because of the intensive commercial applications, risk assessment of these nanoparticles is of great importance. In the present study, the human hepatoma and leukemia cells were used to characterize the apoptotic effects of silver nanoparticles (4.7 and 42?nm) and gold nanoparticles (30?nm). Apoptotic cells were identified by chromatin condensation and flow cytometry analysis, using Annexin V/PI, TUNEL and caspase activation assays. Flow cytometry analysis showed that the three metallic nanoparticles induced apoptotic cell death in a concentration and time dependent-manner. Moreover, the three nanoparticles induced activation of caspase-3 and -7 in hepatoma and leukemia cells. Apoptotic effects were stronger after exposure of both cell lines with 4.7?nm silver nanoparticles than those obtained with 42?nm silver and 30?nm gold nanoparticles. In conclusion, silver (4.7 and 42?nm) and gold (30?nm) nanoparticles induced apoptosis in hepatoma and leukemia cells via the caspase dependent pathway. The smaller silver nanoparticles (4.7?nm) had a greater ability to induce apoptosis in both cell lines.     

青春期会阴部软纤维瘤1例报道

目的:报道1例青春期会阴部软纤维瘤的临床特点及病理特点.方法:通过1例16岁女性软纤维瘤患者,结合文献报道,明确软纤维瘤的特点及治疗方法.结果:患者,女,16岁,发现会阴部肿物4年.专科体查:右侧大阴唇外下方可及一带蒂赘生物,约8.0×6.2×4.4 cm,蒂部细,直径约0.5 cm.病理诊断:软纤维瘤.结论:青春期会阴部软纤维瘤少见,它是一种良性肿瘤,应尽快手术治疗.图2,参8.     

Intrauterine brain teratoma: a case report of imaging (US,MRI) with neuropathologic correlations

Fetal brain tumors are rare and teratoma is considered as the most common. Fetal MR Imaging is currently used to evaluate cases of ventricular dilatation. We report a case of cerebral immature teratoma detected by ultrasonography because of ventricular dilatation at 24 gestational weeks. MRI was the more accurate imaging method in depicting the tumor and its consequences on brain development as well as in taking a decision with regard to the management of pregnancy. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early prenatal diagnosis of ventricular diverticulum complicated by serous pericardial effusion

An unusual case of apical diverticulum complicated by serous pericardial effusion and diagnosed ultrasonographically at 13 weeks of gestation is described. A therapeutic abortion was induced at 14 weeks and the complete post-mortem examination did not show additional malformation. Cardiac diverticulum is a rare malformation that occurs as an isolated defect or as part of a complex midline thoraco-abdominal defect. Only two prenatally diagnosed cases have been previously reported in the literature and none with associated hydropericardium.     

A weight-adjusted Peto’s test when cause of death is not assigned

A new statistical testing approach using a weighted logrank statistic is developed for rodent tumorigenicity assays that have a single terminal sacrifice but not cause-of-death data. Instead of using cause-of-death assignment by pathologists, the number of fatal tumors is estimated by a constrained nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation method. For data lacking cause-of-death information, the Peto test is modified with estimated numbers of fatal tumors and a Fleming–Harrington-type weight, which is based on an estimated tumor survival function. A bootstrap resampling method is used to estimate the weight function. The proposed testing method with the weight adjustment appears to improve the performance in various situations of single-sacrifice animal experiments. A Monte Carlo simulation study for the proposed test is conducted to assess size and power of the test. This testing approach is illustrated using a real data set.