Study of a possible role of neutrophil chemotactic cytokine [IL-8] in the development of diabetic nephropathy

Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of interleukin-8 in the development of diabetic nephropathy and its correlation with metabolic contol and pathological stages of diabetic nephropathy. Subjects and Twenty patients with diabetic nephropathy [group I] and twenty control subjects [group II] were included. Of the subjects with diabetic nephropathy, 7 had grade I nephropathy [mild mesangial proliferation]. 5 had grade II [moderate mesangial proliferation] and 8 had grade III [severe mesangial proliferation]. Serum and urinary IL-8 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. Detectable levels of IL-8 were found in the urine and serum of subjects with vairous stages of diabetic nephropathy. In the control subjects, neither serum nor urine IL-8 were detectd. The serum concentrations of IL-8 were higher in subjects with severe than those with mild or moderate mesangial proliferation, i.e. it increases with the progression of diabetic renal disease. Urinary IL-8 concentrations were significantly higher in diabetic subjects with moderate mesangial proliferation than in those with mild or severe mesangial proliferation. There was a positive correlation between serum IL-8 and the urinary IL-8 and proteinuria. Conclusions: These data suggest that the elevated serum and urinary IL-8 in diabetic nephropathy patients offers an additional explanation for the long sought role of several cytokines in the development of diabetic renal disease. Also, IL-8 in the urine could be used as a predictor of diabetic nephropathy

Immunohistochemical study of estrogen and progesterone receptors in normal, hyperplastic and malignant endometrium

A series of 44 cases of various human endometrial tissues were immunohistochemically stained for estrogen receptor [ER] and progesterone receptor [PR] using formalin -fixed, paraffin - embedded sections. ER/PR content was evaluated in the epithelium, stroma and myometrium according to the percentage of positive cells and the intensity of nuclear stain. The receptor content was highest in the proliferative epithelium and decreased gradually throughout the postovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle in both the epithelium and the stroma. ER / PR content was high both in the epithelium and stroma of hyperplasia without atypia and was thus similar to that of the proliferative endometrium. The receptor content was very low in the epithelium and stroma of hyperplasia with cytologic atypia. In carcinomas, there was a heterogeneous distribution of ER and PR both in the epithelium and stroma, but in general, the receptor content was low as compared with normal proliferative or hyperplastic endometrium without atypia. Endometrioidtype adenocarcinomas including those with squamous differentiation had the highest degree of positivity for both receptors. Tumors with architectural grade 3 were significantly immunostained less than those with 2 or 1 grades. Carcinomas with nuclear grade 3 were unstaind. The low grade endometrial stromal sarcoma was positive for both receptors, while the high - grade one was negative. The degrees of ER and PR positivity correlated with each other. There was no correlation between the patient's age and ER / PR categories. The results of this study indicate that immunohistochemical analysis of sex steroid receptor status on formalin -fixed, paraffin - embedded tissues offers good alternative to the standard biochemical procedure

Diagnostic value of immunohistochemistry in small round cell tumours in children

Histological examination was carried out on 100 cases of small round- cell tumors in children. The capacity of immunohistochemical staining to increase diagnostic accuracy was assessed, using antibodies against leucocyte-common antigen [LCA], neuron-specific enolase [NSE] and myoglobin. The immunohistochemistry helped in correcting the diagnosis in 7% of cases. The final diagnosis of the 100 cases was non-Hodgkin's lymphoma [NHL, 50%], neuroblastoma [NBLO, 29%], Ewing's sarcoma [13%] and embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma [ERMS, 8%]. All cases of NHL were positive for LCA regardless of the histologic type. NSE was demonstrated in all cases of NBL regardless of the histologic grade. Myoglobin was detected in 62.5% of cases of ERMS. Staining for myoglobin correlated with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation regardless of histologic type. All cases of Ewing's sarcoma did not react with the three antibodies used. This study indicated that although immunohistochemistry provides a useful tool in the diagnosis of small round-cell tumors, yet it has to be combined with electron microscopy to increase the frequency of diagnosis especially in cases of ERMS and Ewing's sarcoma

Capillaria hepatica: an experimental study of infection in white mice

C. hepatica were found in 15.8% of wild caught rats. Experimental studies showed that the host reaction started specifically against developing worm as early as the 9th day post infection. Eggs started to develop inside uterus in the 3rd week P.I. The second month of infection was the maximum growth and activity of worm, egglying, severe liver destruction and necrosis, degeneration, granuloma formation as well as the greatest humoral and celular responces of the host. By the third month P.I., there was a gradual increase of the fibroblastic activity around the already formed granuloma and a decrease of antibody level in peripheral blood. Areas of hepatic regeneration started between the fibrotic granulomas and the liver enzymatic reactions returned gradually to their normal levels. Viable eggs were seen until the eighth month of infection free or surrounded by fibrous tissue

Mesothelioma and pulmonary adenocarcinoma: a clinical and pathological diagnostic challenge

Biopsies from 20 patients with pleural malignant mesotheliomas or adenocarcinomas of the lung diagnosed on clinical, radiological and histological backgrounds were studied by the immunohistochemical method to evaluate the role of keratin proteins and carcinoembryonic antigen [CEA] in their identification. The initial diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemistry in five cases. Two cases initially regarded as malignant mesothelioma were reclassified as pulmonary adenocarcinoma, and three cases provisionally diagnosed as pulmonary adenocarcinoma proved to be malignant mesothelioma. Keratin proteins were identified in all cases of mesothelioma, while CEA was absent or weakly stained. In contrast, adenocarcinoma of the lung stained negatively or weakly for keratin proteins and exhibited strong staining for CEA. This study suggests that the immunoperoxidase staining for keratin proteins and CEA may provide specific objective criteria for the differentiation between malignant mesotheliomas and pulmonary adenocarcinomas. This differentiation is essential to decide the proper prognosis and plan of management of these tumors

Reed-Stornberg cell and its mononuclear variants in Hodgkin's disease: an immunohistological study

An immunoperoxidase study of 20 cases of Hodgkin's disease [HD] showed positive staining of the Reed-Sternberg cells and their mononuclear variants for IgG and both kappa and lambda light chains. Staining for J chain was negative suggesting that the immunoglobulin had not been synthesized by the neoplastic cells but had been taken up from the extra cellular environment. A positive staining for alpha-1 antitrypsin, a histiocytic marker, was also detected in the Reed- Sternberg cells and their mononuclear variants in 16 out of the 20 cases studied. These findings lend support to the concept of histiocytic origin of these cells. It is also suggested that the characteristic immunohistochemical staining properties of these cells may be helpful in distinguishing Hodgkin's disease from other neoplasms that exhibit Reed-Sternberg-like cells