Tumor cell-based liquid biopsy using high-throughput microfluidic enrichment of entire leukapheresis product.

Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs), interrogated by sampling blood from patients with cancer, contain multiple analytes, including intact RNA, high molecular weight DNA, proteins, and metabolic markers. However, the clinical utility of tumor cell-based liquid biopsy has been limited since CTCs are very rare, and current technologies cannot process the blood volumes required to isolate a sufficient number of tumor cells for in-depth assays. We previously described a high-throughput microfluidic prototype utilizing high-flow channels and amplification of cell sorting forces through magnetic lenses. Here, we apply this technology to analyze patient-derived leukapheresis products, interrogating a mean blood volume of 5.83 liters from patients with metastatic cancer, with a median of 2,799 CTCs purified per patient. Isolation of many CTCs from individual patients enables characterization of their morphological and molecular heterogeneity, including cell and nuclear size and RNA expression. It also allows robust detection of gene copy number variation, a definitive cancer marker with potential diagnostic applications. High-volume microfluidic enrichment of CTCs constitutes a new dimension in liquid biopsies.

Helicobacter heilmannii-associated gastritis: clinicopathologic findings and comparison with Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis.

The aims of this study were to evaluate the clinicopathologic features of Helicobacter heilmannii-associated gastritis and to compare H. heilmannii-associated gastritis with H. pylori-associated gastritis. We reviewed 5,985 consecutive gastric biopsy specimens. All cases of chronic gastritis with Helicobacter infection were evaluated with the Updated Sydney System, and the grades of all gastritis variables were compared between H. heilmannii-associated gastritis and H. pylori-associated gastritis groups. There were 10 cases of H. heilmannii-associated gastritis (0.17%) and 3,285 cases of H. pylori-associated gastritis (54.9%). The organisms were superficially located within the mucous layer without adhesion to epithelial cells. Interestingly, in one case many intracytoplasmic H. heilmannii organisms were observed in parietal cells with cell damage. A case of low-grade mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma concomitant with H. heilmannii infection was detected. Compared to H. pylori-associated gastritis, H. heilmannii-associated gastritis showed less severe neutrophilic activity (p<0.0001), mononuclear cell infiltration (p=0.0029), and endoscopic findings of chronic gastritis devoid of erosion or ulcer (p=0.0309). In conclusion, we present the detailed clinicopathologic findings of H. heilmanniiassociated gastritis compared to H. pylori-associated gastritis. H. heilmannii-associated gastritis is uncommon and milder than H. pylori-associated gastritis, however it may be noteworthy with respect to the development of MALT lymphoma.

A case of histologically diagnosed tick infestation on the scalp of a Korean child.

A scalp mass surgically excised from a 4-year-old Korean boy was identified as a tick through histological observations. In sections of the mass, characteristic features of a tick, including its gross contour, cuticular structures, well developed musculature and salivary glands, and the capitulum, were discovered. In particular, the capitulum is anteriorly protruded, which strongly suggests that the specimen be a hard tick of family Ixodidae. However, the present histological features were not enough to determine the genus and species of the tick, because information on sectional morphologies of different tick species is unavailable. This is a rare case of tick infestation on the scalp diagnosed in histological sections.