[Tubulointerstitial nephritis with IgM-positive plasma cells in an elderly woman diagnosed by a renal biopsy and treated with corticosteroid therapy].

An 81-year-old female was referred to our department 1 year ago due to a worsening renal function. Her manifestations met the criteria of Sjögren syndrome, suggesting renal failure likely resulting from tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN) due to Sjögren syndrome. However, at her request, she was followed up with no further investigation or treatment. The following July, since her renal function deteriorated again, a renal biopsy was performed. Using IgM-CD138 dual staining, the renal pathology showed the infiltration of accumulated IgM-positive plasma cells within the renal insterstitium, so she was diagnosed with tubulointerstitial nephritis with IgM-positive plasma cells (IgMPC-TIN).IgMPC-TIN, proposed by Takahashi et al. in 2017, as a type of TIN, is characterized by the pathological infiltrations of IgM-positive plasma cells within the renal insterstitium and is effectively treated with corticosteroid therapy. Despite her old age, corticosteroid therapy was performed, resulting in the improvement in her renal function according to blood and urine tests and an improved pulmonary involvement, although renal dysfunction remained.Elderly patients often have multiple underlying medical conditions and take numerous medications, so differentiating renal disorders is challenging. However, a renal biopsy, even in an elderly patient, can aid in identifying the cause of renal disorders and predicting the prognosis. IgMPC-TIN is a condition in which renal function can be expected to improve if treated. It is thus important to make a diagnosis of IgMPC-TIN without overlooking and to consider proper treatment.

Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome Induced by Group A Streptococcus with the emm28 Genotype That Developed after a Uterine Cancer Test.

A 69-year-old woman without pre-existing disease visited our hospital due to general malaise, diarrhea, and arthralgia 3 days after a uterine cancer test. We diagnosed her with sepsis of unknown focus and started treatment immediately, but she died 20 hours after the first visit due to multi-organ failure and septic shock. Later, group A streptococcus was detected from the blood culture, and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) was diagnosed. The strain had the emm28 genotype and a mutation in csrR with increased NADase activity. These virulence factors were considered to be related to STSS development in this patient.

Glutathione peroxidase-like functions of 1,2-diselenane-4,5-diol and its amphiphilic derivatives: Switchable catalytic cycles depending on peroxide substrates.

Amphiphilic derivatives of (±)-trans-1,2-diselenane-4,5-diol (DSTox) decorated with long alkyl chains or aromatic substituents via ester linkages were applied as glutathione peroxidase (GPx)-like catalysts. The reduction of H2O2 with the diselenide catalysts was accelerated through a GPx-like catalytic cycle, in which the diselenide (Se-Se) bond was reduced to the diselenolate form ([Se-,Se-]) by coexisting dithiothreitol, and the generated highly active [Se-,Se-] subsequently reduced H2O2 to H2O retrieving the original Se-Se form. In the lipid peroxidation of lecithin/cholesterol liposomes induced by 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH), on the other hand, the Se-Se form directly reduced lipid peroxide (LOOH) to the corresponding alcohol (LOH), inhibiting the radical chain reaction, to exert the antioxidative effect. Thus, the two GPx-like catalytic cycles can be switched depending on the peroxide substrates. Furthermore, hydrophilic compounds with no or short alkyl groups (C3) showed high antioxidative activities for the catalytic reduction of H2O2, while lipophilic compounds with long alkyl chains (C6-C14) or aromatic substituents were more effective antioxidants against lipid peroxidation. In addition, these compounds showed low cytotoxicity in cultured HeLa cells and exhibited sufficient anti-lipid peroxidative activities, suggesting their potentials as selenium-based antioxidative drugs.

Disseminated Mycobacterium avium Infection Complicated with Chylous Ascites in a Patient with Neutralizing Autoantibodies to Interferon-γ.

A 68-year-old man visited our hospital due to anorexia, weight loss and a fever. We diagnosed the patient with disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) and confirmed the presence of interferon (IFN)-γ neutralizing autoantibodies (IFN-γAb). His lesions improved following antibiotic therapy, but chylous ascites (CA) developed seven months after treatment. CA was able to be controlled by subcutaneous octreotide and diet therapy. IFN-γAb is recognized as having a critical role in the pathogenesis of disseminated MAC disease, but its clinical features are not fully understood. CA may be a complication that develops during the treatment of disseminated MAC infection.

The human papillomavirus E6 protein targets apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) for degradation.

Oncoprotein E6 of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) plays a critical role in inducing cell immortalization and malignancy. E6 downregulates caspase-dependent pathway through the degradation of p53. However, the effect of HPV E6 on other pathways is still under investigation. In the present study, we found that HPV E6 directly binds to all three forms (precursor, mature, and apoptotic) of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and co-localizes with apoptotic AIF. This binding induced MG132-sensitive reduction of AIF expression in the presence of E6 derived from HPV16 (16E6), a cancer-causing type of HPV. Conversely, E6 derived from a non-cancer-causing type of HPV, HPV6 (6E6), did not reduce the levels of AIF despite its interaction with AIF. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that 16E6, but not 6E6, suppressed apoptotic AIF-induced chromatin degradation (an indicator of caspase-independent apoptosis) and staurosporine (STS, a protein kinase inhibitor)-induced apoptosis. AIF knockdown reduced STS-induced apoptosis in both of 16E6-expressing and 6E6-expressing cells; however, the reduction in 16E6-expressing cells was lower than that in 6E6-expressing cells. These findings indicate that 16E6, but not 6E6, blocks AIF-mediated apoptosis, and that AIF may represent a novel therapeutic target for HPV-induced cervical cancer.

Pulmonary Mycobacterium abscessus Subspecies abscessus Disease That Showed a Discrepancy Between the Genotype and Phenotype of Clarithromycin Resistance.

Mycobacterium abscessus subspecies abscessus is major subspecies in the M. abscessus complex and is usually refractory to standard antibiotherapy. Genetic tracing of erm (41) T28 is a mechanism for monitoring macrolide resistance. We treated a patient with a pulmonary infection caused by M. abscessus subsp. abscessus with the erm (41) T28 polymorphism, which was susceptible to clarithromycin, and his clinical treatment course was good. The identification of the M. abscessus complex genotype is important, but clinical confirmation of clarithromycin susceptibility is also needed to plan individual treatment strategies.

Melinjo (Gnetum gnemon L.) seed extract induces uncoupling protein 1 expression in brown fat and protects mice against diet-induced obesity, inflammation, and insulin resistance.

Dietary supplementation with melinjo (Gnetum gnemon L.) seed extract (MSE) has been proposed as an anti-obesity strategy. However, it remains unclear how MSE modulates energy balance. We tested the hypothesis that dietary MSE reduces energy intake and/or increases physical activity and metabolic thermogenesis in brown and white adipose tissue (BAT and WAT) in mice. Twenty-four C57BL/6 J mice were provided with normal diet, high-fat diet (HFD), or HFD with 1% MSE added, for 17 weeks. Food intake, spontaneous locomotor activity, hepatic triglyceride (TG) content, and blood parameters were examined. Mitochondrial thermogenesis-associated molecule and inflammatory marker expression levels in BAT and WAT were examined by quantitative PCR and western blotting. Dietary MSE did not affect energy intake or spontaneous locomotor activity, but significantly suppressed HFD-induced fat accumulation, hyperglycemia, and hyperinsulinemia. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance score and hepatic TG content were both lower in the MSE-supplemented HFD-fed group than in the HFD-fed group, indicating reduced insulin resistance and a less fatty liver. Dietary MSE upregulated thermogenic uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) and mitochondrial marker cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV protein expression in BAT; this was closely associated with sirtuin 1 mRNA induction. mRNAs of adipose inflammatory markers, such as monocyte chemotactic 1 and interleukin-1, were induced by HFD but suppressed by MSE. Considering that UCP1 protein expression is the most physiologically relevant parameter to assess the thermogenic capacities of BAT, our results indicate that dietary MSE supplementation induces BAT thermogenesis and reduces obesity-associated adipose tissue inflammation, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance.

Quality of basic life support education and automated external defibrillator setting in schools in Ishikawa, Japan.

BACKGROUND: Automated external defibrillators (AED) have been installed in schools in Japan since 2004, and the government strongly recommends teaching basic life support (BLS). We therefore examined the quality of BLS education and AED installation in schools. METHODS: We conducted a prefecture-wide questionnaire survey of all primary and junior high schools in 2016, to assess BLS education and AED installation against the recommendations of the Japan Circulation Society. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-squared test. RESULTS: In total, 195 schools out of 315 (62%) responded, of which 38% have introduced BLS education for children. BLS training was held in a smaller proportion of primary schools (18%) than junior high schools (86%). More than 90% of primary school staff had undergone BLS training in the previous 2 years. The most common locations of AED were the gymnasium (32%) followed by entrance hall (28%), staffroom (25%), and infirmary (12%). The reasons given for location were that it was obvious (34%), convenient for staff (32%), could be used out of hours (17%), and the most likely location for a heart attack (15%). Approximately 18% of schools reported that it takes >5 min to reach the AED from the furthest point. CONCLUSION: BLS training, AED location, and understanding of both are not sufficient to save children's lives efficiently. Authorities should make recommendations about the correct number of AED, and their location, and provide more information to improve the quality of BLS training in schools.

Spiral array: a new high-throughput technology covers tissue heterogeneity.

CONTEXT: Tissue array is a well-established technique that connects basic research with clinical applications and allows for the validation of many pathobiologic events from gene expression dysregulation to genomic aberrations. However, conventional tissue array has several limitations such as poor representation of tissue heterogeneity, destruction of donor tissue blocks due to coring, and usage of particular specimens that have limited evaluable material (tissue from thin specimens or needle biopsies). OBJECTIVE: To show the noninferiority and superiority of the new technique named Spiral Array-which allows for improved representation of the donor tissue while keeping the architectural details of the donor block intact-to that of the conventional tissue array. We compared the morphologic features of both methods. DESIGN: We created both Spiral Array and conventional tissue array for 25 lung adenocarcinomas and 50 multiple tumors of various organs. The degree of coverage of tissue heterogeneity was examined by observing the range of the staining intensity differences in immunohistochemistry, using cytokeratin 7 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR); the degree of morphologic preservation was tested by level of accurate prediction among 3 pathologists of the histopathologic diagnosis and organ type. RESULTS: The Spiral Array showed better representations of the range of staining intensity for EGFR (P  =  .01). The level of accuracy for predicting organ type was significantly higher in Spiral Array than conventional tissue array (P  =  .047), whereas it was not significantly different between the 2 techniques for the histologic diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that Spiral Array has benefits for covering tissue heterogeneity and preserving better morphology.