Contralateral nephroureterectomy for renal transplant recipients with unilateral upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma: a report of 12 cases.

BACKGROUND: We sought to analyze the feasibility of prophylactic contralateral nephroureterectomy for renal transplant recipients with urothelial carcinomas. METHODS: We analyzed the medical records of 12 renal transplant patients who underwent unilateral laparoscopic nephroureterectomy (first operation). Postoperative pathologic examinations confirmed that they all had urinary tract transitional cell carcinomas. At 1-3 months after the first operation, all patients underwent prophylactic contralateral nephroureterectomy (second operation). RESULTS: Before the second operation, 2 patients were found to have hydronephrosis on computed tomography (CT), and postoperative pathologic examinations confirmed the lesions to be urothelial carcinomas. The other 10 patients had no detectable signs of urothelial tumors before the second operation, but postoperative pathologic examinations indicated that 3 had transitional cell carcinomas. All patients were followed for 4-70 months. Eleven patients survived; 1 died of heart attack unrelated to the procedures. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of contralateral upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma is high in renal transplant recipients with posttransplantation urinary tract malignancies. If there are no other health risks, prophylactic contralateral nephroureterectomy should be considered.

Association between urothelial carcinoma after kidney transplantation and aristolochic acid exposure: the potential role of aristolochic acid in HRas and TP53 gene mutations.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate the association between urothelial carcinoma (UC) after kidney transplantation and aristolochic acid (AA) exposure, and to explore the potential role of AA in HRas and TP53 gene mutations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: UC was confirmed in 100 of 3790 patients who underwent kidney transplantation between January 1974 and May 2011. We retrospectively analyzed clinical data for these patients. Malignancies were identified in 136 patients (15 males and 85 females, of age range 27-71 years mean, 53.2±6.3). UC was the most common diagnosis (100/136; 73.5%). The median time from transplantation to the first confirmed diagnosis of a tumor was 34.5 months (range, 2-273). Polymerase chain reaction-based resequencing methods were used to detect mutations in the target regions of exons 2 and 3 of the HRas gene and exons 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the TP53 gene in 90 of 100 samples. RESULTS: UC was identified in 53 of 380 patients exposed to AA and 47 of 3410 patients not exposed to AA (P<0.05). Pathologic examination of the UC specimens from AA-exposed patients identified heterozygous HRas changes in 3 cases, and deletion or replacement mutations in the TP53 gene in 4. No genetic mutations were observed among the control group. CONCLUSION: UC after kidney transplantation significantly correlated with AA exposure; however, there seemed to be no significant difference in mutations in exons 2 and 3 of the HRas gene and those in exons 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the TP53 gene in terms of tumor development, a result that is inconsistent with previous studies.

Structural characteristics of purified beta-conglycinin from soybeans stored under four conditions.

Four storage conditions including adverse conditions [84% relative humidity (RH), 30 degrees C], mild conditions (57% RH, 20 degrees C), cold conditions (4 degrees C), and uncontrolled ambient conditions were used for storing soybeans. The storage time was 9 months for the adverse conditions and 18 months for the other three conditions. Beta-conglycinin was purified and characterized with respect to its molecular properties. After storage under the adverse conditions, beta-conglycinin showed no significant changes in total sugar content, surface hydrophobicity, free SH and SS bonds, and amino acid composition within 6 months; however, it showed a significant decrease in surface hydrophobicity and a significant increase in total free SH and total SH including SS content after 6 months. Analysis of the secondary structure showed a significant increase in alpha-helix content, but a significant decrease in beta-sheet content after 3 months. For the other three conditions, no significant changes occurred to the structures of beta-conglycinin when compared to the control. The molecular mass of beta-conglycinin remained in the range of 199-212 kDa for all conditions during the entire storage periods.

The growth and behaviour of pig retinal pigment epithelial cells in culture.

The retinal pigment epithelium contains melanin and lipofuscin. It is believed that in the in vivo system, the incomplete degradation of phagocytosed outer segment discs leads to the formation of lipofuscin. Our results showed that pig RPE cells can be successfully cultured using standard culture techniques without addition of specific growth factors. In this system, the autofluorescent material is formed mainly from the degradation of pigment granules. This culture system may provide an excellent model for studying of diseases related to the retina.

Biological characteristics of a newly established human cervical carcinoma cell line.

A new cell line, designated CC2/CUHK2, was established from a squamous carcinoma of the uterine cervix from a Chinese patient. The cell line grew well without interruption for over 12 months and over 90 passages. The doubling time of CC2/CUHK2 was 72 hours at passage 57. When seeded at a density of 1.5 x 10(3) cells per 25 cm2 tissues culture flask, the plating efficiency was 2.15%. Chromosome analysis showed a range of 30 to 130 with a modal number of 75. Immunoperoxidase staining of keratin showed positive reaction. Most of the CC2/CUHK2 cells showed weak nuclear staining of HPV capsid antigens with the ABC detection system. Analysis of the DNA samples extracted from the cervical cancer cells showed the presence of HPV type 16 DNA.

Establishment and characterization of two new cell lines derived from squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue in Chinese patients.

Two new cell lines derived from squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, T1/CUHK and T2/CUHK, have been established in culture. Analysis of the morphology, ultrastructure, chromosome number, spheroid formation and immunohistochemical properties of the two cell lines demonstrated that they are both well characterized. T1/CUHK cells grew relatively faster than T2/CUHK cells. Both cell lines were tumorigenic after inoculation into made mice and showed positive reactivity with HPV 16 DNA probe. The reactivity of both cell lines with HPV 18 DNA probe was weak.

Characteristics of a cell line established from a Chinese patient with a squamous carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

A new cell line, CC3/CUHK3, was established from a squamous carcinoma of the uterine cervix from a Chinese patient. Light microscopy of the cell line revealed keratin and electron microscopy demonstrated tonofilaments and desmosomes, thereby confirming its epithelial nature. The population doubling time of CC3/CUHK3, estimated from the exponential growth phase of the growth curve established from the cell line was 42 hours. When the tumour cells were inoculated into athymic mouse, a tumour, microscopically diagnosed as a well-differentiated carcinoma, developed. These cells are highly invasive in vitro.

Study on the immunity to measles in pre-school children.

One hundred and ninety-seven pre-school children, composed of 109 boys and 88 girls, who resided in a rural community in southern Taiwan were studied. The age range was from 6 months to 5 years old (y/o) and vaccination coverage was determined by home visits and the vaccination records of the health station. Immunological status was tested by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine the positive rate of measles-specific IgG. The results were as follows: 1, vaccination coverage in the studied sample was 87.9%; 2, the educational level of fathers had a significant influence on vaccination; 3, the positive rate of measles antibody in the vaccinated children was 73.9%; 4, the measles immunity level in the studied sample was 67.8%; and 5, the positive rate of measles antibody, as analyzed by a stratified test, indicated that vaccination age, the current age, and the number of siblings were the significant influence factors. When adjusted to the above variables, it was found that the number of siblings was the significant influencing factor.