A Case Report of Brucellosis and the Differential Diagnosis of Lymphoma and Tuberculosis

ABSTRACT In this paper, we present a male patient from Xinjiang with fever of unknown origin and significant weight loss for more than 1 month. He was admitted to hospital with negative Rose Bengal test (RBT) and decreased leucocyte count. Ultrasound revealed splenomegaly and abdominal computed tomography, which showed multiple hypodense splenic nodules. The patient was suspected of lymphoma or tuberculosis. Pathological biopsy suggested brucellosis infection following splenectomy. Anti-Brucella treatment was effective and his temperature gradually returned to normal. During the follow-up, the patient's RBT result turned to positive and he was instructed to continue the anti-Brucella drug regimen. His temperature, weight, white blood cell count, other laboratory examinations, and imaging findings all returned to normal during the 6-month follow-up after the treatment.

Effects of UV-B pre-treatments on physiological properties and accumulation of active ingredients in herbal plant, Prunella vulgaris

Aim: The effects of UV-B pretreatment on biosynthesis of active ingredients in Prunella vulgaris L. were studied from three aspects: active ingredients, physiological and biochemical parameters and key enzymes of rosmarinic acid metabolism pathway.Methodology: In greenhouse, the seedlings of P. vulgaris were subjected to UV-B treatment for 30 min from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. every day for 10 days and then transplanted to field. After ripening, the leaves were harvested for physiological and biochemical estimations and the expression of key enzyme genes and the contents of active ingredients were measured by ear picking. Results: The results of active ingredient content showed that artificial UV-B radiation increased the contents of phenolic acids and individual flavonoids at mature fruiting stage compared with control plants. Physiological and biochemical results indicated that increase in peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase activities seem to be active responses to alleviate the deleterious effects of UV-B in P. vulgaris. Under UV-B pre-treatment, genes related to rosmarinic acid/phenolic acid biosynthesis were significantly (p<0.05) over-expressed at seedling stage of P. vulgaris. Interpretation: This study indicated that UV-B pre-treatment in the seedling stage before transplantation to field is effective for inducing phenolic acid and flavonoid accumulation in P. vulgaris ears at mature fruiting stage.

RNAi-mediated knockdown of FANCF suppresses cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and drug resistance potential of breast cancer cells

Fanconi anemia complementation group F protein (FANCF) is a key factor, which maintains the function of FA/BRCA, a DNA damage response pathway. However, the functional role of FANCF in breast cancer has not been elucidated. We performed a specific FANCF-shRNA knockdown of endogenous FANCF in vitro. Cell viability was measured with a CCK-8 assay. DNA damage was assessed with an alkaline comet assay. Apoptosis, cell cycle, and drug accumulation were measured by flow cytometry. The expression levels of protein were determined by Western blot using specific antibodies. Based on these results, we used cell migration and invasion assays to demonstrate a crucial role for FANCF in those processes. FANCF shRNA effectively inhibited expression of FANCF. We found that proliferation of FANCF knockdown breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-435S) was significantly inhibited, with cell cycle arrest in the S phase, induction of apoptosis, and DNA fragmentation. Inhibition of FANCF also resulted in decreased cell migration and invasion. In addition, FANCF knockdown enhanced sensitivity to doxorubicin in breast cancer cells. These results suggest that FANCF may be a potential target for molecular, therapeutic intervention in breast cancer.

Addition of C-terminal histidyl tags to PsaL and PsaK1 proteins of cyanobacterial photosystem I.

In vitro mutagenesis was used to produce two photosystem I mutants of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. The mutant HK and HL contained hexahistidyl tags at the C-termini of the PsaK1 and PsaL subunits, respectively. The HK mutant contained wild-type amounts of trimeric PS I complexes, but the level of hexahistidine-tagged PsaK1 was found only ten per cent in the PS I complexes and membranes of the wild type level. Therefore, attachment of a tag at the C-terminus interferes with the expression or assembly of PsaK1. In contrast, the HL mutant contained a similar level of tagged PsaL as that in the wild type. However, trimeric PS I complexes could not be obtained from this strain, indicating that the C-terminus of PsaL is involved in the formation of PS I trimers. Hexahistidine-tagged complexes of the HL and HK strains could not be purified with Nickel-affinity chromatography, unless photosystem I was denatured with urea, demonstrating that tagged C-termini of PsaK1 and PsaL were embedded inside of the PS I complex. Protection of the C-terminus from trypsin cleavage further supported this conclusion. Thus, histidine tagging allowed us to demonstrate role of C-termini of two proteins of photosystem I.

Biosynthesis and regulation of Le(x) and SA-Le(x) glycolipids in metastatic human colon carcinoma cells.

This report concerns the stepwise biosynthesis in vitro of Sialyl Lewis X, (SA-Le(x)), a carcinoembryonic antigen, in human colon carcinoma KM12 cells exhibiting different metastatic behaviors. The significance of SA-Le(x) has become even more apparent since the detection of its terminal epitope NeuAc(alpha 2-3)Gal beta 1-4(Fuc alpha 1-3)GlcNAc-, as the binding ligand of the selectin family member ELAM-1. The activity level of galactosyltransferase GalT-4 which catalyzes the formation of core nLcOse4Cer (Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-3Gal beta 1-4Glc-Cer) is very high in all the metastatic lines tested with highly metastatic lines (KM12-SM) exhibiting the highest activity. The same activity pattern for galactosyltransferase is also observed when tested with iLcOse5Cer (GlcNAc beta 1-3nLcOse4Cer), the precursor for polylactosamine glycolipid. Sialyltransferase SAT-3 which catalyzes the formation of LM1 (NeuAc alpha 2-3nLcOse4Cer), the precursor for SA-Le(x), is also present in all the metastatic cell lines although the activity levels are much lower compared to galactosyltransferase. The fucosyltransferase FucT-3, which catalyzes the formation of R'-Gal-Fuc(alpha 1-3)GlcNAc-R linkage, is active with both nonsialylated substrate, nLcOse4Cer, and sialylated substrate, LM1 (NeuAc alpha 2-3nLcOse4Cer) with the formation of either Le(x) (Gal beta 1-4(Fuc alpha 1-3)GlcNAc beta 1-3Gal beta 1-4Glc-Cer) or SA-Le(x) (NeuAc alpha 2-3nLcOse4Cer). However, the sialylated substrate LM1 is preferred to enzymatic activity since it exhibited lower Km (46 microM) than that of nLcOse4Cer (67 microM).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)