Gallbladder tuberculosis: A rare case report with review of literature

Gallbladder tuberculosis (TB) is a rare disease, and it might be challenging to distinguish it from gallbladder cancer on clinical history and radiology. It frequently mimics carcinoma in patients who initially appear with a gallbladder mass. Gallbladder TB is only identified after histology of the resected specimen since radiography lacks pathognomic characteristics. Here, we describe a unique case of gallbladder TB that was incidentally identified when a 49-year-old lady was being evaluated for suspected gallbladder cancer. Histology of the gallbladder exhibits necrotizing granulomatous inflammation with the presence of numerous pink-colored, curved, and beaded acid-fast bacilli that were recognized on the Ziehl-Neelsen stain.

To Assess the Correlation between Bone Marrow Morphology and Immunophenotypic Findings in Patients of Chronic Lymphoproliferative Disorders (CLPD’s) and to Assess the Role of Flowcytometric Immunophenotyping in Diagnosis and Subclassification of CLPD’s

Introduction: Chronic lymphoproliferative disorderrepresent clonal proliferation of morphologically andimmunophenotypically mature B or T cells characterized by alow proliferation rate and prolonged cell survival. Study aimedto assess the correlation between bone marrow morphologyand immunophenotypic findings in patients of ChronicLymphoproliferative Disorders (CLPD’s) and to assess therole of flowcytometric immunophenotyping in diagnosis andsubclassification of CLPD’s.Material and Methods: 48 newly diagnosed cases ofCLPD were included. After complete clinical evaluation theyunderwent marrow aspiration, biopsy and immunophenotypingby flowcytometry with selected panel of monoclonalantibodies.Results: On morphology 47.9% cases were CLL. In 52.1%non CLL cases , 4.2% were PLL , 2% case as LPL and45.8% cases were CLPD-unclassifiable. Commonest patternof marrow infiltration noted on trephine biopsy was diffuse inCLL, HCL-V, B-PLL and T-CLPD. On immunophenotyping95.8% cases were B-CLPD and 4.25% T-CLPD. CD5, CD22,CD23, FMC7 and SmIg were used as first line markersfollowed by CD 10, CD 25, CD103, CD38, CD138 andCyclin D1 (on biopsy sections) as second line markers. Finalimmunophenotypic diagnosis was CLL (54.2%), B-CLPDunclassified (29.2%), 4.1% each of LPL, MCL, T-CLPD and2% each of B-PLLand HCL-V.Conclusion: Concordance rate between morphologicaldiagnosis and immunophenotypic diagnosis was 79.17%.Hence, Flowcytometry is necessary for confirmationof diagnosis and to classify the CLPD cases which areunclassifiable by morphology

Influence of jasmonic acid as potential activator of induced resistance against Karnal bunt in developing spikes of wheat.

Induction of defense response against Karnal bunt (KB)by suppressing the pathogenesis was observed upon exogenous application of jasmonic acid (JA)as evident from decrease in the coefficient of infection and overall response value in both susceptible and resistant varieties of wheat. The ultra-structural changes during disease progression showed the signs of programmed cell death (PCD). However, JA strengthened the defense barrier by enhancing the lignifications of cell walls as observed in spikes of both varieties by histochemical analysis. Compared to the plants inoculated with pathogen alone, plants of resistant line (RJP) first treated with JA followed by inoculation with pathogen showed more lignifications and extracellular deposition of other metabolites on cells, which is supposed to prevent mycelial invasions. Contrary to this, susceptible (SJP)lines also showed lignifications but the invasion was more compared to resistant line.Induction of protease activity was higher in resistant variety than its corresponding susceptible variety. The protease activity induced during the colonization of the pathogen and its proliferation inside the host system gets inhibited by JA treatment as demonstrated by the quantitative and in-gel protease assay. The results indicate the role of JA signalling in inhibiting the proteases due to expression of certain protease inhibitor genes. SDS-PAGE analysis shows differential gene expression through induction and/or suppression of different proteins in wheat spikes of resistant and susceptible varieties under the influence of JA. Thus, exogenously applied JA provides the conditioning effect prior to the challenge of infection and induces defense against KB probably by maintaining a critical balance between proteases and protease inhibitors and/or coordinating induction of different families of new proteins.

Surveillance of bacteriological quality of natural water resources in rural areas around Kasauli Town, Distt. Solan, Himachal Pradesh.

A study was conducted to find out the bacteriological quality of water during the monsoon season in local areas around Kasauli Town, and to evaluate the management of water resources in rural areas. The water samples were collected from bowries and hand pumps. As there is no municipal water supply in majority of these areas, the local residents depends mainly on these natural resources without any treatment of water. All the 14 surface water samples collected from bowries were found bacteriologically polluted with total coliform count ranging from 35-1800+. The main contaminants isolated were atypical thermotolerant E. coli, Pseudomonas fluorescence, Enterobacter cloacae, Aeromonas liquifaciens, Citrobacter freundii and Pseudomonas pseudomaleii. Among seven hand pump samples, two were found to have Coliform count 80 and 250 respectively. These two water samples were found contaminated with Citrobacter freundii and E. coli &Aeromonas liquefaciens respectively. These bacteriological contaminations appear to be both from vegetative & human or animal excreta sources. The study therefore suggested that the water from these natural resources requires treatment either by boiling or chlorination before human consumption to avoid any outbreak.

Enhanced proteolysis leads to pre-mature cell death under the influence of elicitor like mycelial components from karnal bunt (tilletia indica) pathogen in wheat callus cultures.

Calli raised from mature embryos of susceptible wheat cultivar WH 542 were used in the present study as in vitro bioassay system to study the influence of disease determinant(s) of Karnal bunt (Tilletia indica), a semi-biotrophic fungal pathogen of wheat. Influence of elicitor and conditioned medium (CM) prepared from fungal cultures of T. indica was investigated on induction of programmed cell death (PCD). Induction of PCD was observed as hypersensitive response (HR) in terms of browning at localized regions of callus cultures and induction of proteolytic enzyme(s). Elicitor treated calli showed higher induction of protease activity than untreated and CM-treated cultures, which showed not much change in the activity. It was further substantiated by gel protease assay and activation of caspase-3 like protein(s) in callus cultures that clearly suggested the presence of signaling molecule(s) in the fungal elicitor preparation rather than in conditioned medium. This study further demonstrated that only elicitor preparation possesses such molecule(s), which might be cell wall bound components, rather than secretory in nature as CM was unable to induce PCD in wheat callus cultivars.

Immuno-pathotyping of Karnal bunt (Tilletia indica) isolates of wheat using anti-mycelial antibodies.

Two types of polyclonal antibodies raised against whole lyophilized (LMA) and fractionated mycelial antigen (FMA) of most virulent, Pantnagar isolate of T. indica were used for the development of immunoassay systems, viz. dot immuno-binding assay (DIBA) and indirect enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) procedures. The immuno-assays were developed by performing antigen concentration kinetics and antibody dilution curves analyses. These assays were employed for immuno-analysis of diversity amongst KB pathogen based on antibodies reactivity pattern and subsequently categorization into distinct sero-groups. The reactivity of two polyclonal antibodies was tested with 15 (P1-P15) isolates of T. indica. When anti-LMA antibodies were tested, four serologically distinct groups were formed based on percent reactivity (>75%, highly reactive; 60-75%; moderately reactive, <50-25%; low reactive and <25%, non-reactive). However, when anti-FMA antibodies were used, two distinct sero-groups were formed based on reactivity patterns (group I, highly reactive P1, P3, P4, P11 and P13, group II, less reactive P2, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, P9, P10, P12, P14 and P15).

PCR based molecular technique for identification and discrimination of quarantined and non-quarantined Tilletia sps.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based RAPD profiles, in conjunction with six primers, of Karnal bunt of wheat and rice bunt exhibiting distinct polymorphic DNA. A total of 84 RAPD loci were observed on polyacrylamide gel for both Tilletia sps. Out of 84, 16 loci were found monomorphic, while other 68 loci were unique. Usefulness of random primers was also checked with other seed borne fungal pathogens of wheat and rice. None of primers gave amplification with Magnaporthe grisea, a causative agent of rice blast. However, distinct RAPD profiles were obtained with Alternaria triticina, Fusarium monaliforme, Helminthosporium sativum and Rhizoctonia solani. These six arbitrary primers could distinguish T. indica, a quarantine fungal pathogen from a non-quarantine fungal pathogen, T. barclayana. The two Tilletia sps. could be discriminated not only on the basis of distinct RAPD profiles, but also by presence of few unique gene fragments amplified using all six primers.

Molecular signaling in pathogenicity and host recognition in smut fungi taking Karnal bunt as a model system.

Karnal bunt of wheat, incited by a phytopathogen Tilletia indica (Syn. Neovossia indica) is a floret infecting disease. In the floral tissues fungus proliferates and produces massive amount of black spores. In smut fungi, belonging to order Ustilaginales, communication between cells is necessary to regulate growth, differentiation and monokaryotic to dikaryotic transition during pathogenic and sexual development. Neighbouring cells are able to communicate with each other by direct cell to cell contact through plasma membrane bound signaling molecules or through formation of gap junctions and alternatively through secretion of chemical signals if cells are some distance away. Current research efforts toward understanding of pathogenic and sexual development in phytopathogenic fungi, offer a number of opportunities. These include the analysis of molecular signal(s) for direct contribution of sexual interactions to ability of smut and bunt pathogens to cause disease. These efforts will provide not only to explore the mechanisms of pathogenesis, but also to enhance knowledge of basic cellular biology of an economically important group of fungi.

Biochemical changes in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) leaves in relation to resistance against sterility mosaic disease.

Changes in different biochemical parameters like total phenolic content, protein pattern, polyphenol oxidase, peroxidase and isozymes of peroxidase were compared in sterility mosaic resistant (Hy3C) and susceptible (Type-21) pigeonpea varieties at different growth stages both under inoculated and uninoculated conditions. Resistant variety was characterized by the presence of specific isoperoxidase and proteins but only little difference was recorded between resistant and susceptible variety with respect to preformed or induced total phenolics and peroxidase activity. The activity of polyphenol oxidase increased substantially in susceptible variety following infection. Role of these changes is discussed in relation to disease resistance.