Calcifying nanoparticles associated encrusted urinary bladder cystitis.

Encrusted cystitis is a subtype of chronic cystitis characterized by multiple calcifications in the form of plaques located in the interstitium of the urinary bladder mucosa and frequently associated with mucosal ulcers. It is a very rare disease of controversial etiology. Our transmission electron microscopy of the calcified plaques of encrusted cystitis has revealed that the smallest formed particles (elementary units) of these calcifications are electron-dense shells surrounding an electron lucent core, diagnostic of calcifying nanoparticles (previously called nanobacteria). We pioneer the notion that calcifying nanoparticles are the causative agents of encrusted urinary bladder cystitis.

Nanobacteria-associated calcific aortic valve stenosis.

Calcific aortic valve stenosis is the most common valvular disease in developed countries, and the major reason for operative valve replacement. In the US, the current annual cost of this surgery is approximately 1 billion dollars. Despite increasing morbidity and mortality, little is known of the cellular basis of the calcifications, which occur in high-perfusion zones of the heart. The case is presented of a patient with calcific aortic valve stenosis and colonies of progressively mineralized nanobacteria in the fibrocalcific nodules of the aortic cusps, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy. Consistent with their outstanding bioadhesivity, nanobacteria might serve as causative agents in the development of calcific aortic valve stenosis.

Primary cutaneous follicle center lymphoma of the arm with a novel chromosomal translocation t(12;21)(q13;q22): a case report.

We report a reciprocal translocation between the long arms of chromosomes 12 and 21, t(12;21)(q13;q22), in a patient with primary cutaneous follicle center lymphoma. Follicle center lymphoma of the skin and follicle center cell lymphoma of the lymph node are morphologically and immunophenotypically very similar. However, the clinical behavior and prognosis of these tumors are different due to the molecular basis of these malignancies. Follicle center cell lymphoma of the lymph node is determined by the presence of a unique translocation between chromosomes 14 and 18, t(14;18)(q32;q21), BCL-2-JH gene rearrangement, that is not present in primary cutaneous follicle center lymphomas. Chromosomal translocations in the primary skin lymphomas have not been previously reported. We hope that our discovery of a new translocation t(12:21)(q13q22) will encourage further investigation into the molecular basis of this translocation and other cytogenetic abnormalities in primary cutaneous B-cell lymphomas.

Primary, extranodal, follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the gallbladder: case report and a review of the literature.

We report the first case of isolated primary extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma follicular grade 2 limited to the gallbladder, found in the laparoscopic cholecystectomy specimen from a 70 year old woman with symptomatic cholelithiasis. The pericystic duct lymph node, surgical margins, and other lymph nodes, were not involved with lymphoma. According to the medical literature in English language, mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (6 cases) is the most frequent type (38%) of primary gallbladder lymphomas (15 reported cases plus our case). Our case demonstrates that follicular lymphoma can be limited to the gallbladder, and confirm that it can occur in an organ normally devoid of lymphoid tissue.

Nanobacteria-caused mitral valve calciphylaxis in a man with diabetic renal failure.

We have found that nanobacteria, recently discovered Gram-negative atypical bacteria, can cause local calciphylaxis on the mitral valve in a setting of high-calcium X phosphorous product in the blood. We present the case of a 33-year-old man with diabetic renal failure on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis who died as a result of multiple brain infarcts due to embolizations from mitral valve vegetations. Systemic calciphylaxis was not present. Spectrometric analysis of the mitral valve vegetations showed that they were composed of calcium phosphate, carbonate apatite form, and fibrin. The electron microscopy of the thrombotic vegetation demonstrated nanobacterium as a nidus for carbonate apatite formation. Investigation for the presence of nanobacteria in the multiple organs involved in systemic calciphylaxis may be of help in elucidating the pathogenesis of this frequently fatal disorder.