INTRODUCTION Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) is a rare pancreatic tumor that mainly affects young women. It is a low-grade malignant neoplasm, with an excellent prognosis after surgical treatment. We report herein a case of SPN presenting with ascites that was misdiagnosed as pancreatic tuberculosis (TB). CASE REPORT A 16-year-old female initially presented with a large volume of ascites. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound and computed tomography found a heterogeneous lesion in the pancreatic body, which had slight contrast enhancement on the arterial phase. Analysis of ascites showed it was exudative. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) of the mass only revealed a few blood clots. The diagnosis was highly suggestive of a pancreatic TB. selleck chemical However, after 6 months of anti-TB therapy, the pancreatic lesion remained essentially unchanged. Subsequently, magnetic resonance imaging indicated a mixed solid and cystic lesion with a well-defined margin in the pancreatic body. Further EUS-FNA showed monomorphic neoplastic cells with papillary architecture and immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the tumor cells were positive for β-catenin, CD10, vimentin, cytokeratin, and synaptophysin. These findings were consistent with SPN. After distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy, postoperative pathology and immunohistochemical staining confirmed the diagnosis of SPN. CONCLUSION Clinicians should consider the possibility of SPN for pancreatic heterogeneous masses. Multiple diagnostic imaging modalities and EUS-FNA may contribute to the preoperative diagnosis of this disease. IJCEP Copyright © 2020.The tubulin-tyrosine ligase (TTLL) family is involved in the progression of many cancers. Tubulin-tyrosine ligase-like protein 12 (TTLL12), a member of the TTLL family, has functions of histone methylation and affects the activities of tubulin tyrosine ligase, which are often observed abnormally in many cancers. Recently, a TTLL12 isoform was reported as abnormal in many cancer cells, but the potential role of TTLL12 in ovarian cancer (OC) is still unknown. In this study, we used quantitative real-time RT-PCR and western blot to determine the expressions of TTLL12 in ovarian cancer cells and tissues and also performed immunohistochemical staining to examine the TTLL12 expression levels in 72 OC tissues and their matched adjacent normal ovarian tissues (ANOTs), to further explore the potential clinical features. The results showed that the TTLL12 expression level in OC tissues was significantly increased when compared to the ANOTs. In addition, TTLL12 expression was also remarkably upregulated in OC cell lines compared to the normal ovarian cell line. Furthermore, we found that the TTLL12 level was significantly associated with the clinical features of the FIGO stage (P=0.001) and peritoneal cytology (P=0.042). Moreover, TTLL12 is thought to be an independent risk factor for the overall survival (OS, P=0.022) and disease-free survival (DFS, P=0.040) of OC patients. In conclusion, this study identified TTLL12 as a potential molecular marker for predicting the invasion and progression of OC. IJCEP Copyright © 2020.Mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) and telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter (TERTp) exert a far-reaching influence on clinicopathologic diagnosis and prognosis of glioma. Traditional approaches, such as Sanger sequencing and ARMS, lack sensitivity due to tumor heterogeneity and low tumor purity of glioma samples. Therefore, we propose a highly sensitive detection method for IDH1 and TERTp mutations based on ddPCR technology, named IDH1-TERT-mutation ddPCR (IT-ddPCR). We determined the IDH1 and TERTp mutations of 80 patients by Sanger sequencing, ARMS, and IT-ddPCR in parallel. We detected the TERTp mutations of 8 patients with probes by IT-ddPCR and Bio-Rad. IDH1-positive singles were detected in 56 cases by IT-ddPCR. TERTp-positive singles were detected in 50 cases by IT-ddPCR. There was a slight difference in total events, occupancy events, and C228T/C250T droplets between these two different probes. Regression analysis of the TERTp variant frequencies detected by probes of IT-ddPCR and Bio-Rad produced a slope of 1.0425 and a coefficient (R2) of 0.9231. We found that IT-ddPCR showed a higher sensitivity compared with Sanger sequencing and ARMS in the detection of IDH1 and TERTp mutations. There were no significant differences in variant frequencies of TERTp mutations between the two probes of IT-ddPCR and Bio-Rad. Thus, IT-ddPCR can be used to detect low-frequency mutation of IDH1 and TERTp in glioma. IJCEP Copyright © 2020.Sappanwood extract shows promising effects against atherosclerosis. The fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP2) are involved in atherosclerosis development. This study aimed to examine whether sappanwood ethyl acetate extract (SEAE) alleviates experimental atherosclerosis in rats through FGF21/SREBP-2 signaling. Rats were randomized to six groups (n=10/group) blank control, model, simvastatin (positive control, 4.2 mg/kg/d), and SEAE high-, medium-, and low-dose (2.30, 1.15, and 0.575 g/kg/d, respectively). The high-fat- and vitamin D3-induced rodent model of atherosclerosis was created (except in the blank control group). Aorta and liver underwent histopathologic examination. SREPB-2 and FGF21 expression levels were examined by real-time RT-PCR and western blot. Compared with the blank control group, the model group showed aortic and hepatic histopathology compatible with the development of atherosclerosis due to a high-fat diet. In addition, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were elevated (all P less then 0.05). SREBP2 expression was high, and FGF21 expression was low (both P less then 0.05). Compared with the model group, SEAE alleviated the changes in liver and aorta by histopathology and decreased total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-C (all P less then 0.05), especially in the medium-, and high-dose groups. In addition, medium-dose SEAE increased FGF21 levels (mRNA +296%; protein +69%; P less then 0.05) and decreased SREBP2 levels (mRNA -44%; protein -77%; P less then 0.05). Simvastatin, as the positive control, had similar effects to those of SEAE. In conclusion, SEAE improves lipid metabolism and alleviates atherosclerosis through changes in FGF21 and SREBP-2 expression levels. IJCEP Copyright © 2020.selleck chemical
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