[Modified minimally invasive video-assisted lateral neck dissection for papillary thyroid carcinoma: a series of 130 cases].

Objective: To discuss the feasibility, safety and oncologic completeness of modified minimally invasive video-assisted lateral neck dissection (MIVALND) for papillary thyroid carcinoma. Methods: Data of 130 patients from Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Medical School, Zhejiang University undergoing MIVALND from January 2013 to September 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. There were 31 male and 99 female patients with the mean age of (39±11) years. The thyroidectomy and central compartment dissection were performed under a direct visual field or video-assisted (VA) approach, lateral neck dissection was performed via the VA approach. Serum thyroglobulin and thyroglobulin antibody levels were measured every 6 months after surgery. Ulrasonography was performed to assess the thyroid bed and lateral neck compartment every 6 months after surgery. The mean operation time for MIVALND, mean postoperative hospital stay, size of primary tumor, number of retrieved lymph nodes, complication rates, and postoperative serum thyroglobulin levels were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were followed up by outpatient review and until March 2016. Results: Beside 1 case was converted to open procedure, 129 (99.2%) patients successfully underwent MIVALND. The mean operative time was (74±17) min (ranging from 40 to 120 min) for MIVALND. The mean postoperative hospital stay was (4.9±2.1) days (range 2 to 14 days). The mean size of primary tumor was (1.3±0.7) cm (range 0.3 to 4.0 cm). The mean number of lymph nodes removed was 42±13 (range 15 to 79) in lateral compartment. Postoperative complications included 19 transient hypoparathyroidism, 7 transient recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy and 3 permanent RLN palsy (tumor invasion and the RLN was resected en bloc with the tumor in 2 cases), 2 (1.5%) transient palsy of spinal accessory nerve, 1 (0.8%) transient palsy of marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve, 1 (0.8%) seroma, and 4 (3.1%) minor chyle leak. The mean follow-up period was (19±10) months (ranged 6 to 36 months). The mean serum thyroglobulin level was 0.10 µg/L during follow-up. No evidence of local residual or recurrent disease was observed at postoperative follow-up. Conclusion: The modified MIVALND is a safe and feasible approach in selected papillary thyroid carcinoma patients.

Identification, molecular characterization, and tissue expression of parathyroid hormone-related protein gene (PTHrP) from water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is involved in the deposition of milk calcium in mammal lactation, but its role in buffalo is unclear. In this study, the full-length coding sequence of the water buffalo PTHrP gene was first isolated using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The protein was then subjected to molecular characterization using bioinformatic methods, and the tissue expression pattern was further assayed by semi-quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. The water buffalo PTHrP gene contains an open reading frame of 534 base pairs encoding a polypeptide of 177 amino acid residues, a theoretical molecular weight of 20.32 kDa, and an isoelectric point of 10.00. In addition, water buffalo PTHrP was predicted to contain a signal peptide, a typical hydrophobic region with no hydrophobic transmembrane regions, and to exert its function in the cell nucleus. A conserved domain of parathyroid superfamily from amino acids 34-114 was observed in the polypeptide. Sequence comparison and the phylogenetic analysis showed that the sequence of the water buffalo PTHrP protein shared high homology with that of other mammals, particularly cattle and goat. Among the 16 tissues examined, the PTHrP gene was only expressed in adipose tissue, placenta, uterine wall, hypophysis, and mammary gland tissue, but gene expression levels were higher in the uterus wall and adipose tissue. The results of this study suggest that the PTHrP gene plays an important role in the deposition of milk calcium of water buffalo.

Isolation, molecular cloning, and characterization of a novel porcine lymphotoxin beta receptor gene.

The lymphotoxin beta receptor (LTßR) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor family of receptors (TNFR). It plays a role in regulating lymphoid organogenesis and homeostasis of the immune system. In the present study, the full coding region of a putative LTßR gene of Sus scrofa was amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and cloned for the first time (accession Nos. JX457347 and AFU74012). In addition, analysis of the tissue expression profile was carried out via RT-PCR. The full-length coding region of porcine LTßR had 1266 nucleotides (molecular weight, 45.61 kDa; pI, 5.71) and encoded 421 amino acids. Bioinformatic prediction indicates that LTßR belongs to the TNFR superfamily and contains a TNFR domain. The sequence homology analysis revealed that the amino acid sequences of S. scrofa LTßR had 82.9, 82.4, 81.3, 80.5, 78.7, 74.6, and 73.0% identity with those of Equus caballus, Canis lupus, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, Oryctolagus cuniculus, Bos taurus, Mus musculus, and Homo sapiens, respectively. The phylogenetic tree based on the amino acid sequences of LTßR from 8 species revealed that S. scrofa was more closely related to E. caballus, C. lupus, and A. melanoleuca. RT-PCR analysis showed that the porcine LTßR gene was differentially expressed (e.g., high, moderate, low, or nonexistent) in various tissues (e.g., prostate, pituitary, brainstem, and esophagus, respectively). This may be related to differences in the regulation of LTßR in the different tissues.