Detection of Helicobacter pylori in oropharyngeal lymphatic tissue with real-time PCR and assessment of its carcinogenic potential.

Helicobacter pylori (HP) is considered a major gastric pathogen with oncogenic potential. The aim of this study was to determine whether HP is present in oropharyngeal lymphoid tissue and whether oropharyngeal HP strains carry virulence factor genes known to be involved in gastric carcinogenesis. The study included 104 subjects (41 patients with tonsillar carcinoma, 38 with chronic tonsillitis and 25 with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome--OSAS). Detection of specific serum anti-HP antibodies was performed with an ELISA. The presence of HP in tissue was determined by culture and real-time PCR. Detection of virulence factors genes was also performed. Specific antibodies were found in 78.05% of tumour cases, 34.21% of chronic tonsillitis cases, and 72.0% of OSAS cases. The presence of HP in the tissue was detected in 73.91% of tonsillar tumours, 70.0% of tonsillitis cases, and 69.23% of OSAS specimens. The results of the virulence factor gene analysis showed the majority of the s1b (52.4%) and m2 (59.5%) alleles of vacA gene and limited abundance of cagA gene (12.5%). Results confirm that HP may colonise oropharyngeal lymphoid tissue. Oropharyngeal HP colonisation was frequently found in the oropharyngeal cancer group and in patients with benign oropharyngeal diseases. A virulence factor gene analysis showed differences from the predominant strains most commonly found in the stomach. The strains obtained from the oropharynx differed primarily by the lower abundance of the cagA gene and carried the less virulent vacA gene allele combination.

Markers of HPV infection and survival in patients with head and neck tumors.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether changes in human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA prevalence in oral rinses and/or HPV-specific antibody levels in the sera of patients with oral/oropharyngeal cancer have prognostic significance. One hundred and forty-two patients with oral/oropharyngeal tumors were enrolled. The presence of HPV DNA was assayed in tumor tissue and oral rinses and HPV-specific antibodies were assessed in the sera. Oral rinses were collected before treatment and one year after the treatment. Sera were drawn before treatment, one month, and one year after the end of the treatment. Altogether, 59.2% of tumors were HPV positive. The presence of HPV DNA in the tumors correlated with HPV DNA positivity in oral rinses and with HPV-specific antibodies in the sera. Out of 66 patients with HPV-positive oral rinses at enrolment, 84.8% became negative at one-year follow-up, while most patients remained seropositive for HPV-specific antigens. However, the mean titers of HPV16 E6 and/or E7 antibodies at follow-up were significantly lower. Of 16 patients with recurrences at follow-up (alive on second sampling), six were positive at enrolment for HPV16 E6 and/or E7 antibodies. In five of these, no decrease in antibody levels was observed. Titers of antibodies specific for HPV16 capsid antigens did not change during the follow-up. Our data suggest that the detection of antibodies specific for the HPV 16 E6 and E7 oncoproteins may serve not only as a marker of HPV etiology, but also as a marker of recurrence and a prognostic indicator in patients with HPV-positive tumors.

Loss of adhesion/growth-regulatory galectin-9 from squamous cell epithelium in head and neck carcinomas.

Galectins are potent effectors of cell adhesion and growth regulation. Their expression as comples network necessitates systematic study of each member of this family. Toward this aim, we here focus on the tandem-repeat-type galectin-9. Its presence is monitored in normal squamous epithelium of the head and neck, the surgical margin, and four types of squamous cell carcinoma. Lectin presence was detected in cells of the basal layer of the epithelium. All galectin-9-negative epithelia showed aberrant positivity for keratins 14 and 19. The surgical margin presented either a normal pattern of galectin-9 and keratin presence or a mosaic-like presence/absence of galectin-9 and aberrant expression of both keratins 14 and 19. All studied specimens of squamous cell carcinoma were negative for galectin-9. When biotinylated galectin-9, or its N-terminal domain, was tested, no significant tissue reactivity for both probes was observed. Neuraminidase treatment generated reactivity to the N-domain. In conclusion, galectin-9 is expressed in the majority of samples of normal epithelium, along with regular presence of keratins 14 or 19. This lectin can represent a potential marker of normality in the cases of the studied squamous cell epithelia.

Effect of donor/recipient body weight ratio, donor weight, recipient weight and donor age on kidney graft function in children.

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that supplementing a higher mass of renal parenchyma from adult donors, and their younger age, would improve graft function in paediatric recipients. METHODS: We calculated estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR; Schwartz formula) and absolute glomerular filtration rate (absGFR) in 57 renal-grafted children (1995-2007) aged 3.1-17.9 years, weighing 12.9-85.0 kg, on discharge from the hospital after transplantation (TPL), 1 year after TPL and at the last follow-up (1.5-11.7 years after TPL). We correlated their eGFR with the individual ratio between the donor and the recipient body weight at the time of TPL (donor/recipient body weight ratio; D/R BWR), and we evaluated the effect of the donor and the actual recipient body weight on the eGFR and absGFR. RESULTS: The D/R BWR varied from 0.65 to 5.23. We found a significant positive correlation between D/R BWR and eGFR at discharge from the hospital (P < 0.001), 1-year post-TPL (P < 0.001) and at the last follow-up (P < 0.05). Using multiple linear regression analyses, we found that both eGFR and absGFR values were much more determined by the actual recipient weight than by the donor weight (27/6% and 43/4% at discharge, by 24/4% and 57/0% 1 year after TPL, and 0/0% and 20/0% at the end of the follow-up). A tendency for lower eGFR with increasing age of donors was apparent at discharge and 1 year after TPL, but it reached statistical significance only at the last follow-up (r = 0.4254, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: In paediatric renal transplants, the value of D/R BWR directly correlated with eGFR in the early and late posttransplant periods. However, this correlation was mainly influenced by the recipient weight, while the donor weight played only a minor or negligible role.

Inhibitory effects of some spice and herb extracts against Arcobacter butzleri, A. cryaerophilus, and A. skirrowii.

Seventeen spice and medicinal plant extracts (methanol and chloroform) were assayed for their antimicrobial activity against Arcobacter butzleri, A. cryaerophilus, and A. skirrowii. In general, all of the tested extracts were able, to a different extent, to inhibit the growth of the selected Arcobacter species. Cinnamon, bearberry, chamomile, sage and rosemary extracts showed strong antimicrobial activity toward arcobacter strains tested. Overall, the methanol extracts showed better activity than the chloroform extracts (P < 0.05); however, enhanced antibacterial activity of chloroform extracts of cinnamon and rosemary has been observed in comparison with their methanol counterparts. The inhibitory dose of the most active extracts (the diameter of zone of inhibition > or = 20 mm) was determined using the disc-diffusion method as well.