Case Report: Suspected Case of Brucella-Associated Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome.

Human brucellosis is one of the most prevalent zoonoses. There are many similarities between the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection and that of brucellosis. Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) may occur during the treatment of MTB infection, but it has not been reported in brucellosis cases thus far. We report the case of a 40-year-old male whose condition initially improved after adequate anti-Brucella therapy. However, 3 weeks later, the patient presented with exacerbation of symptoms and development of a paravertebral abscess. After exclusion of other possible causes of clinical deterioration, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) with brucellosis was presumed. After supplementation with anti-Brucella treatment with corticosteroids, the abscess disappeared, and the symptoms completely resolved. Our case suggests that it is necessary to be aware of the possible occurrence of IRIS in patients with brucellosis in clinical practice.

Up-regulation of cyclin E in breast cancer via estrogen receptor pathway.

It is well known that cell cycle dysregulation plays an important role in breast cancer. The mechanism, however, is not fully understood. In this study, we aimed to explore whether estrogen and estrogen receptor pathway play a role in the regulation of cell cycle protein cyclin E expression, and whether the expression of cyclin E is associated with breast cancer prognosis. We first examined the level of cyclin E expression in breast cancer by immunohistochemistry. Benign fibroadenoma was used as controls. Next we cultured MCF-7 cells with different concentration of 17ß-estradiol or tamoxifen for 48 hours. Then we employ qRT-PCR to determine changes of cyclin E in MCF-7 cells. Cyclin E is overexpressed in breast cancer and its expression is associated with the status of estrogen receptor and lymph node metastasis. After treatment with 17ß-estradiol, the gene expression of cyclin E was enhanced, and as the concentration increased, the enhancement increased. After treatment with tamoxifen, the gene expression of cyclin E was inhibited, and as the concentration decreased, the inhibition increased. We demonstrated that estrogen induces, while tamoxifen inhibits cyclin E expression. This indicate that estrogen receptor pathway play a critical role in cell cycle dysregulation in breast cancer.