Eosinophilic sclerosing cholangitis associated with hypereosinophilic syndrome.

We describe the case of a 41-yr-old man who presented with signs and symptoms of cholestasis including abdominal pain, jaundice, and fever, with peripheral eosinophilia of 10% and bone marrow eosinophilia. Liver biopsy revealed an eosinophilic infiltrate and an ERCP demonstrated bile duct changes, compatible with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). After treatment with prednisone and ursodeoxycholic acid, the patient's liver profile tests returned to normal, the ERCP changes resolved, and all symptoms disappeared. A literature review has not shown any previous reports of reversible sclerosing cholangitis, secondary to eosinophilic infiltration. The purpose of this report is to describe eosinophilic cholangitis, an entity that mimics PSC in the context of the hypereosinophilic syndrome.

The differential effect of N(6)-benzyl-adenine and N (6)-(Δ (2)-isopentenyl)-adenine on in vitro propagation of Paeonia suffruticosa Andr. is correlated with different hormone contents.

N(6)-benzyl-adenine (BA) enhanced phyllogenesis and axillary bud development of Paeonia suffruticosa during in vitro culture allowing good propagation while N(6)-(Δ(2)isopentenyl)adenine (iP) did not. During the first five days of culture, the mitotic activity of BA-treated explants was higher than in the iP-treated ones. High BA levels were detected in the BA-treated explants, and this was correlated with the absence of or the low indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) content. The low iP levels measured in iP-treated explants were correlated with high endogenous IAA content; the new cytokinin / auxin ratio could explain the lack of axillary buds and the development of only one leaf. Abscisic acid (ABA) was detected neither in the controls nor in the cytokinin-treated explants during the first week. However, intensive restoration of ABA accumulation was observed in controls from the third week onwards. Both BA and iP-treated explants accumulated less ABA than the controls but this hormone appeared later in the BA-treated explants than in the iP-treated ones.