[Correlation between sonographic findings and level of knowledge/self-report of symptoms in women with uterine leiomyomata]. / Korrelation von sonografischem Untersuchungsbefund mit Informiertheit und Symptom-Selbsteinschätzung bei Frauen mit Uterus myomatosus.

PURPOSE: Is there any correlation between the pre-therapeutic level of knowledge concerning the number/size of leiomyomata or self-reported symptoms and confirmation by sonography? How does the assumption of the number/size of leiomyomata influence the self-perception of symptoms? MATERIALS AND METHODS: In an anonymous questionnaire 498 patients were asked about the number, size and symptoms induced by leiomyomata using a visual chart from 0 - 10. The data were correlated with findings from transvaginal and abdominal ultrasound. RESULTS: The self-reported number of leiomyomata corresponded with the sonographic findings in 80 % of patients with 1 leiomyoma and in 54 % of patients with 2 or 3 leiomyomata, while the self-reported size only corresponded with the sonographic findings in 20 % to 70 % of patients. There was no correlation between the number of leiomymata confirmed by sonography and self-reported symptoms. There are significant correlations between the sonography-defined size and self-reported level of dysmenorrhea (p = 0.003) and self-reported pressure in the abdomen (p = 0.02), as well as submucosal leiomyomata and hypermenorrhea (p = 0.01). Patients who assumed multiple or large leiomyomata ≥ 10 cm reported strong pressure on the bladder or pressure in the abdomen significantly more frequently than patients who assumed 1 leiomyoma (p = 0.03) or a leiomyoma less than 10 cm (p = 0.018). CONCLUSION: There is a discrepancy between the relatively good knowledge about the number of leiomyomata and the lack of knowledge about their size. Subjective incorrect presumptions concerning the number or size of leiomymata can result in different disorders. Therefore, they should not be the exclusive indication for further operative interventions.

Host cell-virus cross talk: phosphorylation of a hepatitis B virus envelope protein mediates intracellular signaling.

Phosphorylation of cytosolic pre-S domains of the duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) large envelope protein (L) was identified as a regulatory modification involved in intracellular signaling. By using biochemical and mass spectrometric analyses of phosphopeptides obtained from metabolically radiolabeled L protein, a single phosphorylation site was identified at serine 118 as part of a PX(S/T)P motif, which is strongly preferred by ERK-type mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAP kinases). ERK2 specifically phosphorylated L at serine 118 in vitro, and L phosphorylation was inhibited by a coexpressed MAP kinase-specific phosphatase. Furthermore, L phosphorylation and ERK activation were shown to be induced in parallel by various stimuli. Functional analysis with transfected cells showed that DHBV L possesses the ability to activate gene expression in trans and, by using mutations eliminating (S-->A) or mimicking (S-->D) serine phosphorylation, that this function correlates with L phosphorylation. These mutations had, however, no major effects on virus production in cell culture and in vivo, indicating that L phosphorylation and transactivation are not essential for hepadnavirus replication and morphogenesis. Together, these data suggest a role of the L protein in intracellular host-virus cross talk by varying the levels of pre-S phosphorylation in response to the state of the cell.