The immunoreactivity of TGF-b1 in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

INTRODUCTION: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease which becomes a rapidly growing health problem in the Western countries. The development of the disease is most often connected to obesity. NAFLD is also considered as the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. Transforming growth factor b1 (TGF-b1) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis, being involved in activation of hepatic stellate cells, stimulation of collagen gene transcription, and suppression of matrix metalloproteinase expression. The objective of the study was to evaluate by immunohistochemistry the expression of TGF-b1 in the liver tissue of NAFLD patients and correlate it with anthropometric, biochemical and routine histological parameters. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 48 patients with diagnosed NAFLD. Liver steatosis, NAFLD Activity Score (NAS) and METAVIR score of fibrosis were evaluated in liver biopsies. The immunoreactivity of TGF-b1 was evaluated semi-quantitatively separately in portal, septal, lobular hepatocytic and lobular sinu-soidal liver compartments. The results were analyzed in regard to patients' clinical and biochemical parameters. RESULTS: Neither steatosis nor NAS correlated with TGF-b1 expression in any liver compartment, whereas METAVIR score of fibrosis was associated with increased immunoreactivity of TGF-b1 in most of the studied liver compartments. TGF-b1 immunoreactivity showed positive correlation with patients' age and its expression in septal compartment disclosed positive correlation with body mass index, and waist and hip circumference. Hyaluronic acid serum level was positively and iron concentration was negatively associated with TGF-b1 ex-pression in the selected consecutive liver compartments. CONCLUSIONS: The immunohistochemical expression of TGF-b1 may be complementary to routine methods of liver fibrosis evaluation.

Tissue laser biostimulation promotes post-extraction neoangiogenesis in HIV-infected patients.

The aim of the study was to assess the rate of neoangiogenesis in extraction wound healing following exposure to biostimulating laser therapy and to analyze the correlation between parameters of neoangiogenesis as reflected by the number and surface area of newly formed blood vessels and clinical parameters such as gender, position of a tooth in the oral cavity, and CD4 lymphocyte count. Twenty-seven patients with confirmed HIV infection were enrolled in the study (6 women, 21 men). Eighty-nine teeth were extracted; 45 sockets were exposed to 6 J laser radiation (laser parameters were set as follows: wavelength, 820 nm; output, 200 mW; dose, 6 J/cm(2); spot size, 38 mm(2); continuous radiation) for five consecutive days following tooth extraction, and the remaining extraction wounds were left to heal spontaneously without laser irradiation. Antigen CD34 was assessed by immunohistochemistry as a marker of angiogenesis, and its expression was examined by computer-assisted histomorphometric image analysis. As a result, we report that biostimulating laser therapy in HIV-infected patients of varying degrees of immunodeficiency greatly accelerated post-extraction neoangiogenesis, regardless of the patient's gender, tooth position, number of roots, or number of CD4 lymphocytes in the blood. Application of low-level laser therapy for the treatment of tooth extraction wounds in HIV(+) patients greatly enhanced the formation of new blood vessels, which in turn promoted wound healing.

Association between histological type of tumour growth and patient survival in t2-t3 lymph node-negative rectal cancer treated with sphincter-preserving total mesorectal excision.

For rectal cancer patients without nodal metastases the identification of unfavourable factors can be helpful for the better selection for adjuvant therapy and multimodality treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of clinico-histological parameters on prognosis in node-negative rectal cancer patients. One hundred and thirty-nine consecutive node negative rectal cancer patients with complete five-year follow-up were studied prospectively. All of them underwent curative anterior resection with total mesorectal excision technique. Seventy-eight patients with tumour penetration beyond the bowel wall received neo-adjuvant short-course radiation (25 Gy) followed by surgery within 1 week and postoperative chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid in six cycles or adjuvant radiochemotherapy: irradiation (50.4 Gy) combined with chemotherapy (as above). Cancer-specific survival was calculated according to the Kaplan-Meier method. Variables significant in univariate analysis by log-rank test (P < 0.05) entered the Cox proportional hazard model. Survival was decreased for males, older patients (>60 years) with extraperitoneal, poorly differentiated cancers, tumours with mucinous histology and with the absence of lymphocytic infiltration but with the lack of statistical importance. Prognosis was significantly improved for patients with T2 tumours versus T3 (P < 0.01) and with cancers with expanding growth comparing to diffusely infiltrating ones (P < 0.01). In multivariate analysis these parameters significantly and independently influenced survival (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Diffusely infiltrating growth of tumour can reflect the more aggressive cancer behaviour and unfavourable course of disease despite the optimised local control. Apart from the extent of tumour penetration the type of invasive margin can be an additional parameter helpful for the optimal treatment planning and better patient selection for postoperative chemotherapy.