Mature ovarian teratoma with gliomatosis peritonei--a case report.

Gliomatosis peritonei (GP), a rare condition related to ovarian teratomas, is characterized by miliary implants of mature glial tissues on the peritoneum or omentum. We report herein a case of mature teratoma of the ovary with GP with imaging features and pathological correlation.

Sarcoglycanopathies: a clinicopathological study of 13 cases [corrected]

BACKGROUND: Limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) is a phenotypic expression of a heterogeneous group of diseases and sarcoglycanopathy is one of the causes of LGMD. There is only one study on sarcoglycanopathies in the Indian literature. No data is available from northern India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All cases of muscular dystrophies, which were diagnosed in our laboratory in the last six years, were reviewed. Immunohistochemistry for various sarcoglycan proteins was done. Clinical features and pathological findings of the cases that were diagnosed as sarcoglycanopathies were reviewed. RESULTS: In the last 6 (1/2) years (1998-June 2004), we received 1435 muscle biopsies, of which 498 cases were of muscular dystrophies, and 13 cases were of sarcoglycanopathies (8 of gamma, 3 of alpha, 1 of both alpha and gamma, and 1 with absence of all four sarcoglycans). Sarcoglycanopathies comprised 2.6% of all muscular dystrophies, 11.8% of LGMD and 0.90% of all muscle diseases diagnosed in our laboratory. The mean age of onset was 7.2 years and the M:F ratio was 1.1:1. Most of them presented with difficulty in getting up, climbing stairs, calf hypertrophy and markedly raised CPK levels. Histological features were like dystrophinopathies. CONCLUSION: Sarcoglycanopathies are a relatively rare cause of LGMD and should be confirmed by immunohistochemistry as it will facilitate counseling and also prognostification. Although rare, in patients with muscle weakness, calves hypertrophy and raised CPK levels this possibility should be considered and needs to be differentiated from dystrophinopathies.

Heat shock response of Chlorella protothecoides during greening.

Heterotrophically grown cells of Chlorella protothecoides were transferred to autotrophic medium and allowed to green at 25°C. The protein synthetic activity of the greening cells measured in terms of incorporation of [35S]-methionine showed a maximum around 20 h of greening and thereafter started declining. Similarly, an analysis of densitometric tracings of the fluorographic profile of the polypeptides associated with both total cellular fraction and membrane fractions during different hours of greening revealed that maximum number of polypeptides were getting labelled around 20 h of greening. At 20 h of greening, the cells were shifted to 40°C and the effect of heat shock on protein synthesis was studied. The heat shock treatment caused a definite decrease in the incorporation of [35S]- methionine into proteins. Due to heat shock, the synthesis of total soluble proteins was affected much more than that of the thylakoid membrane bound proteins. When the cells were transferred back to 25°C after a brief period of heat shock at 40°C, there was a considerable recovery in the protein synthesis and this recovery was found to be significant in the case of soluble proteins, while there was no such definite recovery in the synthesis of thylakoid membrane bound proteins.

Alteration in the metabolism of free radicals in wheat seedlings grown in the presence of 4-chloro-5-dimethylamino-2-phenyl-3(2H) pyridazinone.

When wheat seedlings were grown in the presence of 62·5–500 μΜ 4 chloro-5-dimethylamino-2-phenyl-3(2H) pyridazinone, an inhibitor of photosystem II electron transport, there was a marked inhibition of in vivo photosystem II electron transport as revealed by the analysis of fast chlorophyll a fluorescence transients in intact leaves and by the inhibition (95% at 500 μM) of net photosynthesis in intact leaves Accompanying this inhibition of photosystem II electron transport, there was a decrease in the content of photosynthetic pigments. The extent of lipid peroxidation, measured in terms of malondialdehyde content was not increased; rather it was found decreased. An analysis of in vitro lipid peroxidation of the thylakoid membranes of control and 4-chloro-5-dimethylamino-2-phenyl-3(2H) pyridazinone treated plants in the presence of a sensitizer dye (toluidine blue) showed a similar rate both in the control and treated samples suggesting that the availability of unsaturated fatty acids as a substrate for lipid peroxidation was not limiting even though it decreased in the treated plants. On the other hand, it appears that the availability of the free radicals for lipid peroxidation was decreased byenhanced activity of the enzyme systems involved in the metabolism of free radicals. Measurements of the activities of enzymes involved in the metabolism of free radicals showed an increase in the activities of NADPH-glutathione reductase (6–8 fold) and catalase (15–30%) and a decrease in the activity of superoxide dismutase (30–45%) in the treated plants.

The inhibition of photosynthetic electron transport by methyl parathion.

The effect of methyl parathion (metacid-50), an organophosphorous insecticide, on the Hill reactions of isolated mesophyll chloroplasts of Sorghum vulgare was studied. The pesticide was found to inhibit the Hill reaction with all the Hill oxidants tested, namely potassium ferricyanide,2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol and para-benzoquinone. The concentration of the pesticide required to inhibit 50% of the control Hill activity (I50value) was found to vary with the different Hill oxidants.