RESUMO
A 28-year-old woman exhibited a spiking fever, arthritis, and liver disfunction when she was 22 weeks pregnant. She was diagnosed with adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD). As her condition was resistant to corticosteroid therapy, tocilizumab (TCZ) was selected. The TCZ treatment was effective, and she delivered a healthy child while receiving TCZ treatment. Cases in which AOSD first arises during pregnancy are rare, and there have been no reports of TCZ treatment for AOSD being initiated during pregnancy. Although the safety of TCZ treatment during pregnancy has not been established, it may be effective against severe AOSD that develops during pregnancy.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Monoclonais Humanizados , Doença de Still de Início Tardio , Corticosteroides , Adulto , Anticorpos Monoclonais Humanizados/uso terapêutico , Feminino , Humanos , Recém-Nascido , Gravidez , Doença de Still de Início Tardio/tratamento farmacológico , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
We herein report two cases of miliary lung metastases from genital carcinoma in uterine cervix and endometrium. Notably, these patients were unable to receive any anti-tumor chemotherapy due to rapid progression causing respiratory failure, and they ultimately died of disease progression within only a month after the first visit to our hospitals. A postmortem examination confirmed the diagnosis of genital large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC). Chest physicians should be aware of genital LCNEC with a dismal prognostic entity as an important differential diagnosis of miliary lung metastases.
Assuntos
Carcinoma de Células Grandes/mortalidade , Carcinoma de Células Grandes/fisiopatologia , Carcinoma Neuroendócrino/fisiopatologia , Neoplasias dos Genitais Femininos/complicações , Neoplasias dos Genitais Femininos/fisiopatologia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/mortalidade , Neoplasias Pulmonares/secundário , Adulto , Diagnóstico Diferencial , Feminino , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/fisiopatologia , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , PrognósticoRESUMO
Miraculin, a glycoprotein that modifies sour tastes into sweet ones, belongs to the Kunitz-type soybean trypsin inhibitor (STI) family. To clarify the functional relation of miraculin with Kunitz-type STIs, we investigated its subcellular localization and trypsin inhibitory activity. In transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana, miraculin, fused to yellow fluorescent protein, localized to and outside the plasma membrane depending on the putative secretion signal peptide. When transgenic seedlings were cultured in liquid medium, miraculin was present in the supernatant only after cellulase treatment. No trypsin inhibitory activity was detected in native or recombinant miraculin. In conclusion, miraculin is secreted outside the plasma membrane through the function of a signal peptide, conserved in Kunitz-type STIs, whereas its trypsin inhibitory activity may be lost during its evolution.
Assuntos
Sequência Conservada , Glicoproteínas/química , Glicoproteínas/metabolismo , Proteínas de Plantas/química , Proteínas de Plantas/metabolismo , Sinais Direcionadores de Proteínas , Inibidor da Tripsina de Soja de Kunitz/química , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Arabidopsis/genética , Membrana Celular/metabolismo , Celulase/metabolismo , Glicoproteínas/genética , Espaço Intracelular/metabolismo , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Proteínas de Plantas/genética , Plantas Geneticamente Modificadas , Transporte Proteico , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/química , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/metabolismo , Inibidor da Tripsina de Soja de Kunitz/metabolismoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: In practice, it is difficult to compare the effectiveness of traditional antihypertensive treatment with that of health promotion in reducing incidence rate of cardiovascular disease (IRCVD, events/year). This simulation study compared the effectiveness of two approaches to reducing IRCVD in a sample population: a traditional approach, in which high-risk patients are treated with conventional antihypertensive medications, and a population-based approach, in which subjects participate in a health promotion program. METHODS: We constructed a simulation model for a sample population of middle-aged Japanese men whose systolic blood pressure (SBP) levels are normally distributed (130 ± 20 mm Hg). The principal assumption was that IRCVD increases exponentially according to SBP. The population IRCVD was calculated as the product of the distribution of SBP multiplied by IRCVD at each SBP. The cumulative IRCVD was calculated by the definite integral from the lowest to the highest SBP of IRCVD at each SBP level. The success rates were calculated according to SBP and metabolic risk profiles in the two approaches, respectively. RESULTS: The reduction in IRCVD was twice as large for antihypertensive medications as it was for health promotion in several situations. For example, if adherence to antihypertensive treatment occurred at a realistic level, the decrease in IRCVD was estimated at 9.99 × 10(-4). In contrast, even if the health program was promoted optimistically, the decrease in IRCVD was estimated at 4.69 × 10(-4). CONCLUSIONS: The success rate-oriented simulation suggests that prescribing antihypertensive medications is superior to promoting the health promotion program in reducing IRCVD in virtual middle-aged Japanese men.
Assuntos
Anti-Hipertensivos/uso terapêutico , Doenças Cardiovasculares/prevenção & controle , Promoção da Saúde , Hipertensão/tratamento farmacológico , Síndrome Metabólica/complicações , Anti-Hipertensivos/farmacologia , Doenças Cardiovasculares/epidemiologia , Doenças Cardiovasculares/etiologia , Simulação por Computador , Humanos , Hipertensão/complicações , Síndrome Metabólica/tratamento farmacológico , Fatores de Risco , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
Miraculin isolated from red berries of Richadella dulcifica, a native shrub of West Africa, has the unusual property of modifying a sour taste into a sweet one. This homodimer protein consists of two glycosylated polypeptides that are cross-linked by a disulfide bond. Recently, functional expression of miraculin was reported in host cells with the ability to glycosylate proteins, such as lettuce, tomato and the microbe Aspergillus oryzae, but not Escherichia coli. Thus, a question remains as to whether glycosylation of miraculin is essential for its taste-modifying properties. Here we show that recombinant miraculin expressed in E. coli has taste-modifying properties as a homodimer, not as a monomer, indicating that glycosylation is not essential for the taste-modifying property.