Clinicopathological features of lung salivary gland-type tumors / 中华病理学杂志

Objective@#To study the clinicopathological characteristics of lung salivary gland-type tumors (SGT), and to compare with the corresponding primary SGT in salivary glands.@*Methods@#Twenty-three cases of lung SGT were retrieved from the files of Peking University First Hospital from January 2004 to September 2018. The morphology, immunophenotype, genotype and outcome of these cases were analyzed.@*Results@#The 23 patients included 13 males and 10 females, with age range of 13-79 years (median 54 years). There were 11 cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma, 10 cases of mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC), one case each of clear cell carcinoma and myoepithelioma. The morphology and immunophenotype of lung SGT were very similar to their counterparts in salivary gland. MYB rearrangement was detected in one of 11 adenoid cystic carcinomas. MAML2 rearrangement was detected in all the MECs. EWSR1 rearrangement was detected in the one case of clear cell carcinoma. Of patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma, the survival time was more than 60 months (three cases), 52 months (one case), and 12-36 months (three cases). There was no recurrence and death in seven cases of MEC with follow-up results. One case of clear cell carcinoma recurred after 52 months of follow-up.@*Conclusions@#Although the SGT of lung and their counterparts in salivary gland are very similar in their morphology, immunophenotype, genotype and prognosis, there are also some differences between each other. MYB rearrangement can be detected in most adenoid cystic carcinomas of salivary gland, but rarely in lung adenoid cystic carcinoma. The prognosis of patients with lung MEC is better than that of patients with salivary gland MEC, while the prognosis of patients with lung adenoid cystic carcinoma is worse than that of patients with salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma.

Correlation between CT characteristics and epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in pulmonary adenocarcinoma / 实用放射学杂志

Objective To analyze the correlation between CT characteristics and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)mutations in pulmonary adenocarcinoma.Methods 82 patients (87 lesions)with pulmonary adenocarcinoma were retrospectively collected.All patients were underwent CT examination before operation,and EGFR gene were determined after operation.Results EGFR mutations were found in 44 of 87 lesions (50.57%).The EGFR mutations rate was 50.00% in females and 47.50% in males,there was no statistical difference between genders (P=0.821).The EGFR mutations rate was 46.55% in the right lung and 58.62% in the left lung,while no statistically significant difference was found (P=0.289).Among all the CT characteristics,the mutations rate was 63.89% in spiculated lesions and 60.71% in lesions with pleural indentation,the differences was statistically significant (P<0.05).The mutations rate was 59.25% in lesions containing solid component and 36.36% in pure ground glass opacity lesions,the difference was statistically significant (P=0.011). There were no statistically differences in lobulation,cavitation and lymphadenectasis (P>0.05).The pleural indentation was the highest in sensitivity (77.27%)and negative predictive value (67.74%).The spiculation was the highest in specificity (69.77%)and positive predictive value (63.89%).Conclusion Among all the CT characteristics,pleural indentation,spiculation and the lesion containing solid component are prone to EGFR mutations.

Identification and functional analysis of phosphorylation residues of the Arabidopsis BOTRYTIS-INDUCED KINASE1

Arabidopsis BOTRYTIS-INDUCED KINASE1 (BIK1) is a receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase acting early in multiple signaling pathways important for plant growth and innate immunity. It is known to form a signaling complex with a cell-surface receptor FLS2 and a co-receptor kinase BAK1 to transduce signals upon perception of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Although site-specific phosphorylation is speculated to mediate the activation and function of BIK1, few studies have been devoted to complete profiling of BIK1 phosphorylation residues. Here, we identified nineteen in vitro autophosphorylation sites of BIK1 including three phosphotyrosine sites, thereby proving BIK1 is a dual-specificity kinase for the first time. The kinase activity of BIK1 substitution mutants were explicitly assessed using quantitative mass spectrometry (MS). Thr-237, Thr-242 and Tyr-250 were found to most significantly affect BIK1 activity in autophosphorylation and phosphorylation of BAK1 in vitro. A structural model of BIK1 was built to further illustrate the molecular functions of specific phosphorylation residues. We also mapped new sites of FLS2 phosphorylation by BIK1, which are different from those by BAK1. These in vitro results could provide new hypotheses for more in-depth in vivo studies leading to deeper understanding of how phosphorylation contributes to BIK1 activation and mediates downstream signaling specificity.

Analysis of different methods of extracting DNA from paraffin-embedded tissues and the application of nest PCR / 生物医学工程学杂志

The aim of this research was to explore the most optimal method of DNA extraction from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues, and to improve the amplification of long fragments with the method. Three methods, one step method, phenol-chloroform extraction method, and genomic DNA purification kit method, were employed to extract DNA from twenty normal thyroid tissues which were fixed with formalin and embedded with paraffin. The highest proportionality of OD260/OD280 in the examples was obtained by phenol-chloroform extraction method, 1.703 +/- 0.086, compared to the results of the other two methods. As for the long DNA segments amplification, the achievement ratio of one step method, phenol-chloroform extraction method and genomic DNA purification kit method were 0%, 5% and 10%, respectively, by traditional PCR method, but 0%, 95% and 85% respectively by the nest PCR. We have found that the best process of extracting DNA from FFPE is digesting by proteinase K and purifying by phenol-chloroform, and it is effective to amplify long DNA segments from FFPE by nest PCR.

Curved planar reformation of the facial nerve canal with multislice spiral CT / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To study the methods of delineating the whole length of bilateral facial nerve canals in one image. Methods High resolution computed tomography of the temporal bone was performed in 60 cases (120 ears) by Philips Mx8000 multislice spiral CT. Parameters: 120 kV, 200～250 mAs, Collimation: 0.5 mm, Pitch: 0.875, Scan time: 0.75 s/ring, Matrix: 512?512, Reformation interval: 0 1～0.2 mm, Reformation matrix: 1 024?1 024. Curved planar reformation(CPR)images were prepared along the facial nerve canal in the axial plane, and in the coronal and sagittal plane of multiplanar reconstruction(MPR). In the axial plane, a reference line was traced following the facial nerve canal from the internal auditory meatus, through the labyrinthine segment, the tympanic segment up to the second genu and mastoid segment. Another two protocols of curved reformatting were adopted: (a) a curved line was delineated along the facial nerve canal on the coronal reformatted image; (b) a curved line was drawn along the facial nerve canal on the sagittal reformatted image. The reference lines were carefully revised and moved exactly to the center of each segment of the facial nerve canal. For displaying bilateral facial nerve canals in one image, one reference line should be drawn along bilateral facial nerve canals. Results In 56 cases of 60 CPR, images in the axial plane, and coronal plane of MPR could show the unilateral or bilateral facial nerve canals clearly. The result of CPR of bilateral facial nerve canals in sagittal plane of MPR was unsatisfactory. The image on one side was often clear, but just part of it could be showed on the other. So the left and right facial nerve canals should be reformed separately. In 4 cases, CPR was unsatisfactory. In 1 of them the labyrinthine and tympanic segment had breaks because the patient′s head shook during the scanning. In 3 of them the facial nerve canals were showed unsatisfactorily because of the inexact position of head during the scanning. Conclusion The unilateral or bilateral facial nerve canals could be showed in one image by CPR. Combining the images of the high resolution CT in axial scan and MPR of the temporal bone, it would be helpful in the diagnosis of the lesions of facial nerve canal.