[Villous adenoma of the urinary tract: a clinicopathological study].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinicopathological features, immunophenotype, differential diagnosis, pathogenesis and prognosis of villous adenoma with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the urinary tract. METHODS: Clinical and pathologic findings of 3 cases of villous adenoma with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the urinary tract were analyzed by gross examination, microscopic investigation and immunohistochemical staining. The related literatures were reviewed. RESULTS: All of the three cases were middle-aged or elderly patients. Three cases all presented with hematuria and mucusuria. Endoscopic examination identified that case 1 had a polyp with broad attachment in the dome of bladder, case 2 had a solid mass in the ureter, and case 3 had a exophytic fungating tumor in the renal pelvis. Microscopically, case 1 revealed a papillary lesion with finger-like processes lined by pseudostratified columnar epithelium with abundant goblet cells. The cells demonstrated moderate degree dysplasia. In case 2 and case 3, both villous adenomas and poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma were observed, the adenoma cells arranged in a cribriform pattern, and the tumor cells showed severe atypia, mitotic activity, and transition with invasive poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells in three cases were positive for CK20, CEA,EMA and MUC-1; none of them expressed cdx-2 and PSA; In case 2 and 3, the same immunophenotype of villous adenomas and their associated adenocarcinomas was observed, but the number of the positive cells of p53 and Ki-67 staining were significantly increased in the area of adenocarcinomas than in that of the villous adenomas. CONCLUSIONS: Villous adenoma of the urinary tract is rare. It can occur in the urinary bladder, urachus, renal pelvis, ureter and urethra. These lesions may have malignant potential and frequently coexist with other malignant tumors. So, villous adenoma of the urinary tract should be removed completely and sampled thoroughly to avoid missing a more aggressive component.

Molecular pathological study of the human nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE3 cell line.

The present study aimed to identify the molecular pathological changes of the nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) epithelial CNE3 cell line, which has been used in experimental studies for 20 years in a culture environment. The pathological type of NPC and the presence of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) were identified. CNE3 short tandem repeats (STRs) were amplified, analyzed and compared using metastatic carcinoma tissue from primary NPC. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) were used to identify the immunophenotype and EBV-encoded small RNA (EBER) expression in nude mice transplanted CNE3 tumor cells. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing were used to identify the EBV oncogene, BamH1-A right frame 1 (BARF1) and electron microscopy was used to analyze the organization of the ultrastructure. CNE3 was not cross-contaminated by other human cell lines and the EBV was no longer present in the CNE3 cells. The pathological type of CNE3 was transformed from an undifferentiated non-keratinizing carcinoma with focal adenocarcinoma differentiation into a poorly-differentiated adenocarcinoma. In conclusion, this knowledge on the molecular pathological changes of CNE3 may aid in the development of new research approaches for NPC.

[Genotype, environment and their interactions of major bioactive components in 2-year licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) population].

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed at analyzing the effect of genotype (G), environment (E) and their interactions (G x E) on the major bioactive components of 2-year licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) population, in order to provide a theoretical basis for the licorice breeding with high content of bioactive components and quality improvement. METHOD: Four genotype licorice populations were transplanted under four different environments by using complete randomized block design with three replicates, and four major bioactive components, including glycyrrhizin (GL), total saponins (TS), liquiritin (LQ) and total flavonoids (TF) were determined by UV and by HPLC. RESULT: The major bioactive components of licorice were influenced by genotype and environment, and the genotype had more effect on all of the bioactive components. The contents of GL and LQ were codetermined by genotype and environment factors. CONCLUSION: There exist different selective effects on different growth region for quality breeding in cultivated population of licorice.

[Relationship between expression of multidrug-resistant genes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissue and sensitivity to chemotherapy].

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between multidrug-resistant (MDR) expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its sensitivity to chemotherapy. METHODS: The specimens of 23 NPC cases were studied by immunohistochemistry with monoclonal antibody of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), multidrug resistance relation protein (MRP), lung-resistance related protein (LRP), topoisomerase II (Topo II), thymidylate synthase (TS), glutathione-S-transferase (GST-pi). Among them, 20 specimens were taken from primary NPC lesion which were treated with two course of cisplatin (DDP) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), 3 specimens were taken from cervical lymph-node of recurrent NPC patients who were treated by radical dissection. RESULTS: Various MDR parameters were expressed differently in 22 cases except for 1 clear cell carcinoma case. The difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). However, there were no significant difference of MDR expression either among various carcinoma pathomorphology cell groups or among different clinical stage groups. Expression of LRP and TS were found in 10 and 14 cases respectively and the chemotherapy responders rates were 20% (2/10) and 28.5% (4/14) respectively. While the chemotherapy responders rates were 70% (7/10) and 5/6 in cases without expression. There was significant difference (P < 0.001, and P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The NPC patients with LRP and TS expression may be less sensitive to chemotherapy with DDP + 5-FU.