Association of metallothionein expression and clinical response to cisplatin based chemotherapy in testicular germ cell tumors.

INTRODUCTION: The protective roles of metallothioneins (MT) against metal toxicity suggest that MT may have a functional role in cisplatin resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of MT in specimens of germ cell tumors and compare it with clinical sensitivity to cisplatin based chemotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Tissue blocks of primary GCT specimens obtained from 39 patients were examined immunohistochemically for MT expression. Staining intensity was evaluated according to the percentage of MT positive cells and graded as [-], [+] and [++]. The staining characteristics were compared with the clinical response to chemotherapy. RESULTS: Of the 39 tumors, 3 evidenced no MT expression while 26 and 10 specimens showed [+] and [++] staining, respectively. Although seminomas tend to stain weaker than non-seminomas, the difference of staining between them was not significant (p = 0.19). Of the 39 patients, 23 underwent cisplatin based chemotherapy. Of those, 6 progressed and 17 achieved complete remission. Of the non-responders, 5 showed [+] and 1 showed [++] staining. Six of the responders showed [+], 10 had [++] and 1 showed no staining. No association was found between MT staining and chemo-sensitivity (p = 0.53). CONCLUSIONS: MT expression in primary germ cell tumors did not differ between responding and non-responding patients and therefore may not be useful in predicting response to chemotherapy.

Chemical modification of a plant origin biomass using cationic surfactant ABDAC and the biosorptive decolorization of RR45 containing solutions.

This study focused on the improvement of the decolorization potential of biomass derived from Pyracantha coccinea. Alkyl benyzldimethyl ammonium chloride (ABDAC) was used as modification agent. Batch mode decolorization potential of modified biosorbent was explored at different operating conditions. ABDAC modification significantly increased the biosorption yield to 97.27%, which was 3.88 times higher than that of natural biomass. The prepared biosorbent was effectively used for the decolorization of Reactive Red 45 contaminated solutions after the optimization of biosorption conditions. The non-linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the isotherm and kinetic model parameters. Process followed the Langmuir isotherm model and the highest monolayer capacity of 152.49 mg g(-1) was obtained with a small amount of modified biosorbent. Kinetic studies indicated fast decolorization rate of the process following the pseudo-first-order model. Biosorption performance of the prepared biosorbent was tested in RR45 containing real wastewater sample. The possible dye biosorbent interactions in the biosorption process were explored by zeta potential, scanning electron microscobe and FTIR analysis.

Adenomatoid ameloblastoma in the mandible and maxilla: report of a case.

Ameloblastoma is an infrequent odontogenic neoplasm located in the mandible and/or infratemporal fossa extending into the maxilla. The authors report a patient who underwent a total of five operative interventions for recurrent lesions involving mandible and infratemporal fossa at other institutions before admission to our hospital. Radiographic imaging in our case demonstrated a solid/multicystic recurrent lesion of the right infratemporal fossa extending into the maxilla. Gross total excision of the tumour was done and the postoperative course was uneventful. In any case with a tumour located in this region, it is important to be aware of this condition because this lesion is unusual but serious pathology as illustrated in this report.

An attractive agro-industrial by-product in environmental cleanup: dye biosorption potential of untreated olive pomace.

This research deals with the evaluation of highly available and cost effective waste biomass of olive pomace for the removal of reactive textile dye, RR198 from aqueous medium and a real effluent. The experiments were conducted to assess the effects of process variables such as initial pH, biosorbent dosage, contact time, temperature and ionic strength. The results showed that the highest dye biosorption capacity was found at pH 2 and the needed time to reach the biosorption equilibrium was 40 min with a biosorbent concentration of 3.0 g L(-1). The sorption kinetics of dye was best described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The equilibrium biosorption data were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm models and the results from the isotherm studies showed that the RR198 biosorption process occurred on a homogenous surface of the biosorbent. The waste biomass of olive oil industry displayed biosorption capacities ranging from 6.05 x 10(-5) to 1.08 x 10(-4)mol g(-1) at different temperatures. The negative values of Delta G degrees and the positive value of Delta H degrees suggest that the biosorption process for RR198 was spontaneous and endothermic. Dye-biosorbent interactions were examined by FTIR and SEM analysis. Finally, high biosorption yield of olive waste for the removal of RR198 dye from real wastewater makes it possible that the olive pomace could be applied widely in wastewater treatment as biosorbent taking into account that no pretreatment on the solid residue is carried out.

The protective effect of dexpanthenol on testicular atrophy at 60th day following experimental testicular torsion.

Despite the prompt diagnosis and treatment of testicular torsion (TT), there are problems with fertility and atrophy after testicular salvage. Dexpanthenol (Dxp) is the biologically active alcohol of pantothenic acid (PA). Dxp is converted to PA in tissues. PA increases the content of reduced glutathione (GSH), Coenzyme A and ATP synthesis in cells. GSH and glutathione-dependent peroxidases (GPX) are the major defense systems against oxidative stress. GPX-4 is the major antioxidant in testicular tissue. However, the activity of GPX-4 appeared and increased only after puberty. We investigated the effect of Dxp on testicular atrophy after TT at the 60th day. Rats were separated randomly into four groups. Group C: control group, group Td: torsion + detorsion, group Sal: torsion + saline + detorsion, group Dxp: torsion + Dxp + detorsion. The left testis was rotated 720 degrees for 2 h. In group Sal, normal saline and in group Dxp, Dexpanthenol were injected intraperitonally, 30 min before detorsion. After 60 days, the testicular weights and volumes were measured. Histopathology of the left testis was evaluated with mean seminiferous tubular diameter (MSTD) and mean testicular biopsy score (MTBS). The left (torsed) testicular weight and volume of groups Td and Sal were significantly lower compared to group Dxp. The MSTD and MTBS of group Td and Sal were significantly lower than group Dxp. Contralateral testicular weight and volume of groups Td, Sal and Dxp had no significant difference compared to the control group. Dxp significantly prevented testicular atrophy after 60 days of TT. Dxp has FDA approval, is safe, cost effective and readily available. Its relevance for clinical trials may especially be for the problem of testicular atrophy catastrophe, seen very frequently following testicular salvage.

Dexpanthenol attenuates lipid peroxidation and testicular damage at experimental ischemia and reperfusion injury.

Prevention of tissue damage after testicular torsion caused by I/R injury is still a clinical and experimental problem. There are many experimental studies made with several chemicals in the literature for decreasing the effect of reactive oxygen species after ischemia and reperfusion. Dexpanthenol (Dxp) is the biologically active alcohol of pantothenic acid. Pantothenic acid increases the content of reduced glutathione, Coenzyme A and ATP in cell. We studied the effect of Dxp on lipid peroxidation and testicular damage. Forty adult rats were separated randomly into five groups: group Sh, Sham-operation; group TD, torsion-detorsion; group NS, torsion-normal saline-detorsion; group D, torsion-Dxp 250 mg/kg detorsion; group D2, torsion-Dxp 500 mg/kg detorsion group. Serum MDA levels were taken before detorsion, after torsion at the first and fifth minute and at the first hour. Tissue sample was taken at the first hour. The alterations of I/R injury on testis were histological graded. Serum MDA levels were significantly lower in group D2 compared to all groups. The histopathology score of group D2 was significantly lower than groups TD, NS and D. Histopathological score and serum MDA levels are strikingly compatible. Dxp attenuated lipid peroxidation and tissue damage at I/R injury. This effect depends on its antioxidant effect with increasingly reduced glutathione, Coenzyme A and ATP. The effect of Dxp on I/R injury has been shown for the first time in the experimental testicular torsion.

Expression of NF-kappaB in Helicobacter pylori infection.

Helicobacter pylori colonizes the gastric mucosa in humans and causes chronic gastritis. NF-kappaB has a key role as a mediator in mucosal inflammation. In this study, we examined the expression of NF-kappaB in the antral epithelial cells of H. pylori-infected and H. pylori-uninfected biopsies and examined these processes in relationship with grade and activity of gastritis, density of H. pylori, presence of the intestinal metaplasia, and atrophy. Fifty biopsies (35 H. pylori-positive patients and 15 H. pylori-negative controls) were studied. NF-kappaB immunohistochemical stain was performed. NF-kappaB activity in H. pylori-infected biopsies were markedly enhanced compared with uninflamed biopsies (P = 0.001). We also found positive correlation NF-kappaB expression with severity of gastritis (according to Sydney score) (P = 0.001), activity of gastritis (P = 0.046) and H. pylori load (P < 0.001), and atrophy (P = 0.004). We did not find a significant relationship between NF-kappaB and the presence of intestinal metaplasia (P = 0.355). These findings suggested that expression of NF-kappaB has an important role in H. pylori gastritis.

Treatment of solitary gastric carcinoid tumor by endoscopic polypectomy in a patient with pernicious anemia.

Type I gastric carcinoid tumors result from hypergastrinemia in 1%-7% of patients with pernicious anemia. We diagnosed pernicious anemia in a 48-year-old female patient with complaint of fatigue for three months. She had no gastrointestinal symptoms. Endoscopic examination ot the upper gastrointestinal tract revealed atrophic gastritis and a polypoid lesion in the corpus of 3-4 mm in size. Endoscopic polypectomy was performed. Histopathological examination of the specimen revealed positive chromogranin A and synaptophysin stainings compatible with the diagnosis of a carcinoid tumor. Serum gastrin level was increased, urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid was within the normal range. There was no other symptom, sign, or laboratory finding of a carcinoid syndrome in the patient. No metastasis was found with indium-111 octreotide scan, computed tomographies of abdomen and thorax. Type I gastric carcinoid tumors are only rarely solitary and patients with tumors < 1 cm in size may benefit from endoscopic polypectomy.

Sudden death of a young female patient. A case of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia ARVD is a disorder which is characterized by replacement of right ventricular myocardium by fat and fibrous tissue. Although it generally causes arrhythmias originating from the right ventricle, sudden deaths might be seen. A 30-year-old woman with no previous symptoms of a particular disorder was found dead in her house. The organs of her body were sent to the pathology department after the autopsy was carried out by the Department of Forensic Medicine of Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey. Grossly, the heart weight was within the normal limits. Nonetheless, it was detected that the right ventricle wall was thinned remarkably and had yellow color. In the microscopic examination, it was observed that myocardium was replaced mostly by fat and fibrous tissue. The other sections of heart were normal. This lesion was diagnosed as ARVD and suggested as the cause of death.

Spontaneously ruptured uterine angioleiomyoma.

Angioleiomyoma is an uncommon type of leiomyoma of the uterus that originates from smooth muscle cells and contains thick-walled vessels. A 45-year-old woman with the complaint of lower abdominal pain was admitted to the hospital. In the operation a ruptured, bleeding uterine tumor was seen. She underwent total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. On pathologic examination of the specimen, the tumor was diagnosed as angioleiomyoma. Here, an unusual clinical presentation of uterine angioleiomyoma was reported.

Breast carcinogenesis. Transition from hyperplasia to invasive lesions.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the balance loss between proliferation and apoptosis that play a role in breast cancer development, and to explore the places of various genes and molecules within this process in this supposed multistep process. METHODS: We obtained the specimens from 40 patients between 2002 and 2004 at the Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey. We categorized the lesions ductal hyperplasia (DH), atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH), in situ ductal carcinoma (DCIS), and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). We determined the tumor size, histological grade and lymph node status of invasive cases and we used nottingham prognostic index (NPI). We applied ER, PR, c-erbB2, p53, Ki-67, bcl-2, dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL), breast cancer gene-1, matrix metalloproteinases-1 and tissue inhibitor matrix metalloproteinases-1 stains to each lesion using the immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: We observed that ER and PR decreased in ADH when compared with DH (p=0.0001 and p=0.019). However, we determined that in DCIS as c-erbB2 (p=0.005) and Ki-67 (p=0.004) increase, TUNEL (p=0.04) and bcl-2 (p=0.005) decrease, when compared with ADH. When compared with DCIS lesions, we observed the existence of a higher c-erbB2 (p=0.003) and a lower TUNEL (p=0.012) in invasive tumors. Furthermore, we found that there is a higher MMP-1 (p=0.04) in invasive lesions, when compared with non-invasive lesions. We detected higher PR (p=0.049), lower TUNEL and c-erbB2 (p=0.017) in low grade group of NPI, when compared with high grade group of NPI. CONCLUSION: As a result, it has been shown that together with increase in proliferation, decrease in apoptosis, too, contributes to the proliferation/apoptosis imbalance that occurs in breast carcinogenesis. Increase in proliferation and decrease in apoptosis are parallel with the progression of lesions. We also showed that the changes, beginning with loss of ER and PR in ADH step, can cause malign transformation, which is especially notable both in DCIS step due to Ki-67 and c-erbB2 increase, and also with bcl-2 and TUNEL decrease.

Effects of intraperitoneal administration of gemcitabine and paclitaxel on hepatic regeneration in rats.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We aimed to test clinical implications of intra-peritoneally administered gemcitabine and paclitaxel on hepatic regeneration after hepatic resection in rats. METHODS: Fifty male, Swiss albino rats weighing between 200 and 240 g were used. After a 30% partial hepatectomy was performed (except Sham group), animals were divided into five groups as: high-dose gemcitabine, low-dose gemcitabine, paclitaxel, control, and Sham operation groups. In the high-dose and low-dose gemcitabine groups, animals received 200 and 12.5 mg/kg intraperitoneal gemcitabine for five days after partial hepatectomy respectively. In the paclitaxel group, animals were administered 6 mg/kg paclitaxel in the same fashion. Control and Sham groups received intraperitoneal 0.9% NaCl. On the sixth postoperative day, the animals were killed liver tissues were resected, proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunopositivity was determined and weight loss and diarrhea were assessed. RESULTS: Gemcitabine and paclitaxel treated animals lost weight and had more severe diarrhea than control and Sham group animals. No significant difference was observed between treatment groups in terms of weight loss, diarrhea, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen. When treatment groups were compared to the control group in terms of proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunopositivity, no significant differences were detected. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that adjuvant chemotherapy with gemcitabine and paclitaxel is a safe option in terms of liver regeneration and side effects such as diarrhea and weight loss.

Quantitative evaluation of the vasculature and fibronectin localization in gingival connective tissue of smokers and non-smokers.

BACKGROUND: It has been shown that tobacco is a significant risk factor for periodontal disease. The reason for decreased gingival bleeding in smokers is not known. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the localization of fibronectin in the extracellular matrix of the inflamed gingiva of smokers and non-smokers and to evaluate the chronic effect of smoking on the gingival microvessel number (NVES) and vascular surface density (VSD). METHODS: Seventy-four (74) adult patients with periodontitis were included in this investigation. Of these patients, 38 were smokers and 36 were non-smokers. Probing depths (PD), papillary bleeding index (PBI) of both groups, and the smoking habits of the smokers were recorded. Biopsy specimens obtained during periodontal surgery were prepared to evaluate fibronectin distribution and to quantitate the vasculature. RESULTS: The mean VSD values of smokers and non-smokers were 6.721 +/- 1.845 and 5.721 +/- 3.118 (mean +/- SD), and the mean NVES of smokers and non-smokers was 31.582 +/- 11.810 and 30.145 +/- 15.442, respectively. The difference between the mean PD and PBI values of the 2 groups was not statistically significant. The location of the biopsy specimen, whether in the anterior or posterior area of the mouth, did not lead to any statistically significant differences between the groups. In addition, the number of years smoked and the tobacco brand used did not result in statistically significant differences. The most intense staining of fibronectin was observed beneath the epithelium around the blood vessels of the uppermost region of the connective tissue, showing a fibrillar and diffuse distribution; however, there was no significant difference between smokers and non-smokers. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study indicate that smoking does not affect the vascular surface density, number of vessels per mm2 stroma, or fibronectin distribution in subepithelial gingival connective tissue.

The effects of hyaluronic acid, epidermal growth factor, and mitomycin in an experimental model of acute traumatic tympanic membrane perforation.

HYPOTHESIS: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of hyaluronic acid, epidermal growth factor, and mitomycin C on the healing of acute experimental traumatic perforations of the tympanic membrane. BACKGROUND: Most acute perforations of the tympanic membrane heal spontaneously. However, some form of surgical treatment (i.e., myringoplasty) is needed for nonhealing perforations. Because the closure occurs by squamous epithelial migration, drugs that stimulate this regenerative process may aid in the closure of the perforation, obviating the need for more extensive treatments. METHODS: Bilateral perforations of the tympanic membrane were created in 30 rats, divided into three groups (A, B, C). The perforations in the right ears were treated with hyaluronic acid, epidermal growth factor, or mitomycin C. Those in the left ears were left untreated for comparison. To examine the healing process in different periods, 5 animals were killed in each group at days 3, 5, 7, 9 and 14. The other 5 animals in each group were observed daily to determine the duration of perforation closures. Thirty surgical specimens (5 right sides from each group and all 15 left sides in all groups) were histopathologically examined for tympanic membrane thickness, fibroblastic reaction, neovascularization, and crust morphology. RESULTS: Hyaluronic acid and epidermal growth factor applications significantly shortened the healing in acute experimental traumatic perforations of the tympanic membrane (p = 0.0432); however, the difference between them was not significant (p = 0.3160). On the other side, tympanic membrane perforations treated with topical mitomycin C showed no evidence of closure. There were no significant differences in the histologic parameters between the treated groups and their contralateral control ears. CONCLUSION: Hyaluronic acid and epidermal growth factor accelerated the closure of acute tympanic membrane perforations in rats. This may make them clinically useful in augmenting the efficiency of conservative treatments of acute perforations of the tympanic membrane.