Multimodality depiction of findings in branchio-oto-renal syndrome: two case reports.

Branchio-oto-renal syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that affects multiple organ systems. Temporal bone abnormalities include the unwound appearance of the cochlea which is common in this syndrome. This appearance can prompt renal imaging and evaluation. Presented here are two cases of branchio-oto-renal syndrome with dysplastic cochleae. A branchial cleft sinus and renal dysplasia were also present in one of the cases.

Pediatric pyosalpinx without sexually transmitted infection: A report of 3 cases.

Pelvic inflammatory disease commonly occurs in adults and is most frequently caused by sexually-transmitted organisms. When left untreated, it can progress to abscess formation and subsequent infertility due to tubal scarring. This condition rarely occurs in the pediatric population and even less frequently in the absence of sexual activity. The cases presented here depict 3 cases of pyosalpinx due to noncommunicable infectious agents. Since children are typically not subjected to transvaginal ultrasound, they are particularly at risk for delays in diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Cases described here also demonstrate the value of the pediatric interventional radiology service in treating this gynecological source of infection. Both transabdominal and transrectal approached to ultrasound-guided drainage are described.

Viral Replication Complexes Are Targeted by LC3-Guided Interferon-Inducible GTPases.

All viruses with positive-sense RNA genomes replicate on membranous structures in the cytoplasm called replication complexes (RCs). RCs provide an advantageous microenvironment for viral replication, but it is unknown how the host immune system counteracts these structures. Here we show that interferon-gamma (IFNG) disrupts the RC of murine norovirus (MNV) via evolutionarily conserved autophagy proteins and the induction of IFN-inducible GTPases, which are known to destroy the membrane of vacuoles containing bacteria, protists, or fungi. The MNV RC was marked by the microtubule-associated-protein-1-light-chain-3 (LC3) conjugation system of autophagy and then targeted by immunity-related GTPases (IRGs) and guanylate-binding proteins (GBPs) upon their induction by IFNG. Further, the LC3 conjugation system and the IFN-inducible GTPases were necessary to inhibit MNV replication in mice and human cells. These data suggest that viral RCs can be marked and antagonized by a universal immune defense mechanism targeting diverse pathogens replicating in cytosolic membrane structures.

Targeting by AutophaGy proteins (TAG): Targeting of IFNG-inducible GTPases to membranes by the LC3 conjugation system of autophagy.

LC3 has been used as a marker to locate autophagosomes. However, it is also well established that LC3 can localize on various membranous structures other than autophagosomes. We recently demonstrated that the LC3 conjugation system (ATG7, ATG3, and ATG12-ATG5-ATG16L1) is required to target LC3 and IFNG (interferon, gamma)-inducible GTPases to the parasitophorus vacuole membrane (PVM) of a protist parasite Toxoplasma gondii and consequently for IFNG to control T. gondii infection. Here we show that not only LC3, but also its homologs (GABARAP, GABARAPL1, and GABARAPL2) localize on the PVM of T. gondii in a conjugation-dependent manner. Knockout/knockdown of all LC3 homologs led to a significant reduction in targeting of the IFNG-inducible GTPases to the PVM of T. gondii and the IFNG-mediated control of T. gondii infection. Furthermore, when we relocated the ATG12-ATG5-ATG16L1 complex, which specifies the conjugation site of LC3 homologs, to alternative target membranes, the IFNG-inducible GTPases were targeted to the new target membranes rather than the PVM of T. gondii. These data suggest that the localization of LC3 homologs onto a membrane by the LC3 conjugation system is necessary and sufficient for targeting of the IFNG-inducible GTPases to the membrane, implying Targeting by AutophaGy proteins (TAG). Our data further suggest that the conjugation of ubiquitin-like LC3 homologs to the phospholipids of membranes may change the destiny of the membranes beyond degradation through lysosomal fusion, as the conjugation of ubiquitin to proteins changes the destiny of the proteins beyond proteasomal degradation.