Thyroid Tuberculosis Diagnosis by Core Needle Biopsy Associated with Lymph Node Enlargement / 계명의대학술지

Tuberculosis of thyroid gland is rare. We experienced a case of tuberculosis of the thyroid gland with contralateral lymph node enlargement in a 45-year-old female patient. She had no clinical respiratory symptom and no weight change. Thyroid sonography demonstrated 5.4 × 3.8 mm sized round low echogenic mass on lower pole of left thyroid gland and right cervical lymph node enlargement. Core needle biopsy of thyroid showed epithelioid chronic granuloma in the caseous necrosis. She was administrered anti-tuberculosis therapy for 24 weeks. After medication, thyroid sonographic finding improved and thyroid mass and right cervical lymph node enlargement disappeared.

Encephalopathy Associated with Autoimmune Thyroid Disease Accompanied by Graves' Disease / 대한내과학회지

A patient with encephalopathy associated with autoimmune thyroid disease (EAATD), which is one of the most important differential diagnoses of treatable dementia, presents with various neurological symptoms, such as repetitive epileptic seizures, altered mental status, and cognitive dysfunction. Steroid treatment is effective for EAATD. The incidence of EAATD increases considerably with age, particularly in female patients. Most patients with EAATD have normal thyroid function test results or mild hypothyroidism. Patients with EAATD with Graves' disease are very rarely reported. Here, we report a case of a 63-year-old woman who complained of declining cognitive ability and ataxia. She was diagnosed with EAATD accompanied by Graves' disease. Her neurological symptoms improved after intravenous steroid administration.

Rectal perforation caused by a sharp pig backbone in a middle-aged patient with mild depression / 영남의대학술지

In Korea, cases of direct insertion of foreign bodies into the rectum are rare in the literature. Most cases of rectal insertion of foreign bodies are associated with sexual acts and psychiatric disorder such as schizophrenia. Objects inserted into the anus are usually blunt and shaped like the male genitalia. The removal method can be varied depending on the size and shape of the foreign object, its anatomical location, and the accompanying complications. In cases wherein attempts to remove the object fail or there are rectal perforation and peritonitis complications, immediate laparotomy may be required in order to prevent serious complications such as sepsis. Here, we report on a case of rectal perforation and peritonitis due to insertion of a foreign body in a middle-aged patient, with a literature review. He inserted a sharp pig backbone in his rectum and he only had depression. The patient underwent a Hartmann's operation as well as psychiatric counseling and treatment. Thus, after removal of foreign bodies, psychiatric counseling and treatment should be carried out in order to prevent similar accidents and to minimize the need for trauma medicine.

Hemangioma in Renal Pelvis / 계명의대학술지

Hemangioma in the renal pelvis is a very rare benign tumor that may be mistaken for renal cell carcinoma. We present a case of a 59-year-old woman with a renal mass, that was diagnosed as a cavernous hemangioma in the renal pelvis.

An Elderly Female Non-smoker with Primary Small Cell Carcinoma of the Urinary Bladder / 계명의대학술지

Small cell carcinoma (SCC) primarily arises in the lung. Cases of primary extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma are uncommon, and may develop in various different organs. In particular, small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder is very rare in female nonsmokers, and its prognosis is poor. The main part of treatment in SCC is a chemotherapy, which is a critical factor in its prognosis. In the present report, we describe the case of an 82-year-old female non-smoker who underwent transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) without chemotherapy for small-cell carcinoma of the bladder, and experienced a relapse at a same area to the primary tumor site.

The Effect of Quercetin on the BK(Ca) in Umbilical Cord Vein-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells / 한국실험동물학회지

Recently, we demonstrated that a large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel (BK(Ca)) in human umbilical cord vein-derived mesenchymal cells (hUC-MSCs). In this study, we studied effects of quercetin, the flavonoid used for the modulator of cell cycle and the treatment of anti-tumor, on BK(Ca) in hUC-MSCs using single channel and/or whole cell configuration. Single channel conductance was 277.8+/-36.2 pS in hUC-MSCs and the value is similar to that of typical BK(Ca) channel reported in other cells. The single channel current was activated by increasing of intracellular Ca2+. Quercetin (30~100 micrometer) increased BK(Ca) in whole cell patch configuration whereas EGCG was not affected on the channel. The activation effect of quercetin on BK(Ca) channel was also observed in inside-out configuration. The quercetin-induced BK(Ca) was increased a concentration-dependent manner with an IC50 value of 19.9 micrometer. Taken together, BK(Ca) in hUC-MSCs can be an important target for the action of quercetin and the channels are partly may contribute to maintaining homeostasis by regulation of K ion flux in hUC-MSCs.

The Inhibition of TREK2 Channel by an Oxidizing Agent, 5,5'-dithio- bis (2-nitrobenzoic acid), via Interaction with the C-terminus Distal to the 353rd Amino Acid

TREK (TWIK-RElated K+ channels) and TRAAK (TWIK-Related Arachidonic acid Activated K+ channels) were expressed in COS-7 cells, and the channel activities were recorded from inside-out membrane patches using holding potential of -40 mV in symmetrical 150 mM K+ solution. Intracellular application of an oxidizing agent, 5,5'-dithio-bis (2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB), markedly decreased the activity of the TREK2, and the activity was partially reversed by the reducing agent, dithiothreitol (DTT). In order to examine the possibility that the target sites for the oxidizing agents might be located in the C-terminus of TREK2, two chimeras were constructed: TREK2 (1-383)/TASK3C and TREK2 (1-353)/TASK3C. The channel activity in the TREK2 (1-383)/TASK3C chimera was still inhibited by DTNB, but not in the TREK2 (1-353)/TASK3C chimera. These results indicate that TREK2 is inhibited by oxidation, and that the target site for oxidation is located between the amino acid residues 353 and 383 in the C-terminus of the TREK2 protein.

Diversity of Ion Channels in Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients

Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) represent a potentially valuable cell type for clinical therapeutic applications. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of long-term culturing (up to 10th passages) of hBM-MSCs from eight individual amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, focusing on functional ion channels. All hBM-MSCs contain several MSCs markers with no significant differences, whereas the distribution of functional ion channels was shown to be different between cells. Four types of K+ currents, including noise-like Ca+2-activated K+ current (IKCa), a transient outward K+ current (Ito), a delayed rectifier K+ current (IKDR), and an inward-rectifier K+ current (Kir) were heterogeneously present in these cells, and a TTX-sensitive Na+ current (INa,TTX) was also recorded. In the RT-PCR analysis, Kv1.1, heag1, Kv4.2, Kir2.1, MaxiK, and hNE-Na were detected. In particular, INa,TTX showed a significant passage-dependent increase. This is the first report showing that functional ion channel profiling depend on the cellular passage of hBM-MSCs

Phytosphingosine-1-phosphate stimulates chemotactic migration of L2071 mouse fibroblasts via pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins

Phytosphingosine-1-phosphate (PhS1P) was found to stimulate an intracellular calcium increase via phospholipase C but not pertussis toxin (PTX)- sensitive G-proteins in L2071 mouse fibroblasts. PhS1P also activated ERK and p38 kinase, and these activations by PhS1P were inhibited by PTX. Moreover, PhS1P stimulated the chemotactic migration of L2071 cells via PTX-sensitive Gi protein(s). In addition, the PhS1P-induced chemotactic migration of L2071 cells was also dramatically inhibited by LY294002 and SB203580 (inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase and p38 kinase, respectively). L2071 cells are known to express four S1P receptors, i.e., S1P1, S1P2, S1P3, and S1P4, and pretreatment with an S1P1 and S1P3 antagonist (VPC 23019) did not affect on PhS1P-induced chemotaxis. This study demonstrates that PhS1P stimulates at least two different signaling cascades, one is a PTX-insensitive but phospholipase C dependent intracellular calcium increase, and the other is a PTX-sensitive chemotactic migration mediated by phosphoinositide 3-kinase and p38 kinase.