Acute calcific periarthritis in a proximal interphalangeal joint of the hand after acute trauma: a rare case.

Acute calcific periarthritis (ACP) in the interphalangeal joints of the hand is rare, with less than 100 cases reported. A rare case of ACP in a proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint of the hand, in a young black woman, after acute trauma, is presented. She experienced severe pain and limited range of motion, and was medicated with an oral corticoid, which was followed by a rapid resolution of the symptoms. At six months, there were no signs of clinical or radiographic recurrence. Recognition of ACP allows for avoiding unnecessary treatments. In this case, treatment with corticoids might have played a role in a faster recovery.

La periartritis calcificada aguda (PCA) en las articulaciones interfalángicas de la mano es rara, con menos de 100 casos reportados. Se presenta un caso raro de PCA en una articulación interfalángica proximal (IFP) de la mano, en una mujer joven de raza negra, después de un traumatismo agudo. Experimentó dolor intenso y rango de movimiento limitado, y fue medicada con un corticoide oral, lo que fue seguido por una rápida resolución de los síntomas. A los seis meses no hubo signos de recurrencia clínica ni radiológica. El reconocimiento de PCA permite evitar tratamientos innecesarios. En este caso, el tratamiento con corticoides podría haber contribuido a una recuperación más rápida.

Extracellular cleavage and shedding of P-cadherin: a mechanism underlying the invasive behaviour of breast cancer cells.

Cell-cell adhesion is an elementary process in normal epithelial cellular architecture. Several studies have shown the role mediated by cadherins in this process, besides their role in the maintenance of cell polarity, differentiation and cell growth. However, during tumour progression, these molecules are frequently altered. In breast cancer, tumours that overexpress P-cadherin usually present a high histological grade, show decreased cell polarity and are associated with worse patient survival. However, little is known about how this protein dictates the very aggressive behaviour of these tumours. To achieve this goal, we set up two breast cancer cell models, where P-cadherin expression was differently modulated and analysed in terms of cell invasion, motility and migration. We show that P-cadherin overexpression, in breast cancer cells with wild-type E-cadherin, promotes cell invasion, motility and migration. Moreover, we found that the overexpression of P-cadherin induces the secretion of matrix metalloproteases, specifically MMP-1 and MMP-2, which then lead to P-cadherin ectodomain cleavage. Further, we showed that soluble P-cadherin fragment is able to induce in vitro invasion of breast cancer cells. Overall, our results contribute to elucidate the mechanism underlying the invasive behaviour of P-cadherin expressing breast tumours.

Breast carcinomas that co-express E- and P-cadherin are associated with p120-catenin cytoplasmic localisation and poor patient survival.

BACKGROUND: Changes in junctional catenin expression may compromise cadherin-mediated adhesion, increasing cell malignant properties such as invasive and metastatic abilities. Altered expression of alpha-, beta-, gamma- and p120-catenin has been reported to be associated with E-cadherin loss or decreased expression, in both breast carcinomas and breast cancer cell lines. AIMS AND METHODS: To investigate the expression and subcellular localisation of p120- and beta-catenin in a series of human invasive breast carcinomas, and correlate it with biological markers and clinicopathological parameters. RESULTS: Both catenins frequently exhibited a reduced membranous or cytoplasmic staining pattern. These alterations were significantly correlated with lack of both E-cadherin and oestrogen receptor-alpha expression. It was possible to associate the expression of beta-catenin with histological grade, tumour size and nodal status, suggesting a relevant role for this catenin as a prognostic factor. The majority of E- and P-cadherin co-expressing tumours were related to cytoplasmic expression of p120-catenin; in this group of breast carcinomas, patient survival was poor. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that p120-catenin cytoplasmic accumulation may play an important role in mediating the oncogenic effects derived from P-cadherin aberrant expression, including enhanced motility and invasion, particularly in tumours which maintain E-cadherin expression.

The p53 R72P polymorphism does not influence cervical cancer development in a Portuguese population: a study in exfoliated cervical cells.

The interaction between the E6 protein of the high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) with p53 seems to be crucial in cervical carcinogenesis. The presence of Arg/Arg genotype at codon 72 of TP53 gene was characterized as a risk factor in development of cervical cancer. However, the role of this polymorphism remains controversial and some authors suggested that the origin of DNA (blood or exfoliated cervical cells) might influence these results. This study analyzed the effect of the p53 codon 72 polymorphism (R72P) in exfoliated cervical cells of women from the northern region of Portugal using two methodologies: allele-specific polymerase chain reaction and real-time polymerase chain reaction. We studied 700 cervical exfoliated cells which showed: 334 cases from women without cervical cancer or cervical lesion (N), 114 low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), 107 high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), 20 invasive cervical cancers (ICC) and 125 atypical squamous cells of unknown significance (ASCUS). No statistically significant differences between cases and controls were found, regarding the influence of the R72P polymorphism with cytological classification, high risk-HPV infection and HPV16 presence (P = 0.336, P = 0.945, and P = 0.964, respectively). Also, the influence of this polymorphism in the median age of onset for LSIL, HSIL, and ICC was not statistically significant (P = 0.674, P = 0.810, and P = 0.928, respectively). Therefore, the hypothesis that women with Arg/Arg genotype have an increased risk of developing cervical cancer failed to be proven in this study. Moreover, our study reveals that results using exfoliated cervical cells are reliable as compared with studies on blood.