[Thyroid carcinoma: evaluation of prognostic factors]. / Carcinoma della tiroide: valutazione dei fattori prognostici.

Between 1990 and 1997, 36 thyroid cancer patients were observed at the III Department of Surgical Oncology, Regina Elena Cancer Institute in Rome. There were 31 (86.1%) women and 5 (13.9%) men, with a mean age of 47.7 years (range 17-72). Diagnostic data consisted of: papillary carcinoma in 25 patients, follicular carcinoma in 9 and Hürthle cell carcinoma in 1. Twenty patients were less than 45 years old (15 papillary and 5 follicular carcinoma) and 16 were more than 45 years old (10 papillary and 4 follicular carcinoma, 1 Hürthle cell carcinoma and 1 with undifferentiated cancer). We performed total thyroidectomy in 32 cases and isthmectomy in 3 (2 papillary carcinoma, T1, < 45 years, 1 follicular carcinoma with minimal invasion). At the time of diagnosis, 6 patients with papillary carcinoma showed signs of local metastasis. No patients exhibited distant diffusion. A follow-up was performed at mean 41 months (2-84 months). Two patients with follicular carcinomas had been treated with radioiodine and showed disease progression with distant metastasis. Our results coincide with the literature on this topic. Total thyroidectomy is preferred, in low-risk patients as well, because subsequent radioiodine treatment and disease relapse monitoring are facilitated. Lateral cervical lymphadenectomy was performed only in cases when there was clinical evidence of metastasis and recurrent disease at this level has never been observed.

Immunohistochemical localization of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in matched endometriosis and endometrial tissues.

OBJECTIVE: Murine endometrial granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor has been related to macrophage recruitment and activation and postulated to mediate reproductive events. This study was designed to determine whether granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor is present in normal human endometrium or endometriosis. STUDY DESIGN: Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor was immunohistochemically evaluated in matched endometrial and endometriosis biopsy specimens (n = 19) and endometrial biopsy specimens from disease-free patients (n = 8). Staining differences were determined with McNemar's, Fisher's, and Wilcoxon's tests. RESULTS: Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor was primarily localized in endometrial and endometriotic epithelial cells. Expression (p = 0.71) and staining intensity (p = 0.37) was similar in matched proliferative-phase endometrium and endometriosis. Matched secretory-phase endometrium and endometriosis also expressed granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in similar proportions (p = 0.12), but staining intensity was enhanced in secretory endometriosis compared with secretory endometrium (p = 0.05). Endometrial granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor did not vary throughout the menstrual cycle, but endometriotic expression (p = 0.013) and staining intensity (p = 0.008) were significantly greater in the secretory phase. CONCLUSIONS: Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor is localized in endometrial and endometriotic epithelial cells with increased expression in secretory-phase endometriosis. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor may elicit migration, proliferation, and activation of endometrial and peritoneal macrophages.

NADP-malate dehydrogenase from leaves of Zea mays: purification and physical, chemical, and kinetic properties.

NADP-malate dehydrogenase (NADP-MDH) from leaves of Zea mays has been purified and has a specific activity of 600-1000 mumol/min/mg protein. The native, inactive form of the enzyme is an 87.4-kDa, dimeric protein with a sedimentation coefficient of 5.5 S and a Stokes' radius of 3.62 nm. Isofocus analysis reveals the native enzyme preparation to contain two proteins of pI 4.88 and 4.90. The uv-visible absorbance spectrum reveals no chromophores on the protein. The inactive form of the enzyme contains three thiols and three disulfides per subunit. 2-Mercaptoethanol can reduce two of the three subunit disulfides without concomitant activation of the enzyme. Treating the enzyme with dithiothreitol reduces all three subunit disulfides and fully activates the enzyme. These results show that NADP-MDH activation is dependent on the reduction of a critical disulfide bond. The enzyme can use both NADPH and NADH for oxaloacetate (OAA) reduction and NADP and NAD for malate oxidation at the following measured specific activities (eu/mg protein) at pH 8.5 in Tris buffer: NADPH plus OAA (690), NADH plus OAA (260), NADP plus malate (82), and NAD plus malate (37). These activities vary as a function of pH and buffer composition. Km values for the substrate pairs are NADPH (24 microM) plus OAA (56 microM); NADH (0.83 mM) plus OAA (61 microM); NADP (73 microM) plus malate (32 mM); and NAD (0.80 mM) plus malate (29 mM). The enzyme shows allosteric kinetics for NADP with a Hill number of 1.56. The enzyme is substrate-inhibited by malate for both NADP- and NAD-dependent activities.