Effect of verapamil and lidocaine on TRPM and NaV1.9 gene expressions in renal ischemia-reperfusion.

BACKGROUND: To determine effects on calcium and sodium channels of Ca(2+) and Na(+) channel blockers in the present study, expression levels of TRPM1, TRPM2, TRPM3, TRPM4, TRPM5, TRPM6, TRPM7, TRPM8, and NaV1.9 genes were evaluated in kidney tissues after induced ischemia-reperfusion. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty albino Wistar male rats were equally divided into 4 groups as follows: group I: control group (n = 10), group II: ischemia group (60 minutes of ischemia + 48 hours of reperfusion; n = 10), group III: ischemia (60 minutes of ischemia + 48 hours of reperfusion) + calcium channel blocker (n = 8), group IV: ischemia (60 minutes of ischemia + 48 hours of reperfusion) + sodium channel blocker (n = 8). RESULTS: When compared to ischemia group expression levels of TRPM2, TRPM4, TRPM6, and NaV1.9 in Ca(2+) and Na(+) channel blocker groups were increased, whereas that of TRPM7 was decreased. However, expression levels of TRPM1, TRPM3, TRPM5, and TRPM8 were not determined in kidney tissue. Histologically, the Ca(2+) channel blocker verapamil and the Na(+) channel blocker lidocaine inhibited the cell death in kidney tissue compared to control. CONCLUSION: Our study suggested that verapamil and lidocaine significantly reduce the degree of ischemia-reperfusion injury due to effects to TRPM and Nav1.9 genes.

Severe erythema nodosum due to Behçet's disease responsive to erythromycin.

A patient with severe erythema nodosum due to Behçet's disease is reported on here. Erythema nodosum lesions did not respond to classical treatments; however, they cleared after erythromycin treatment, which was prescribed for the treatment of coincidental erythrasma. Erythromycin treatment appears to be an effective treatment option in erythema nodosum. The hypothetical anti-inflammatory effects of erythromycin, besides its antibiotic properties, are reviewed and discussed to explain such a clinical improvement.

Villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix with immunohistochemical characteristics.

Villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma of uterine cervix has been recently described and to date fewer than a hundred cases have been reported in the world literature. Here we present a 38-year-old woman who underwent radical hysterectomy combined bilateral pelvic lymphoadenectomy and after 28 months postoperatively no lymph node metastasis and no evidence of recurrent disease ocurred. Immunohistochemically Ki-67 overexpression was detected in the tumour, with no immunoreactivity with p53, estrogen and progesteron receptors and broadly-reactive human papilloma virus including types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 42, 51, 52, 56, and 58. In this paper, clinical, macroscopical, microscopical and immunohistochemical characteristics of this tumour are reviewed.

Coexistence of osteopoikilosis and discoid lupus erythematosus: a case report.

Osteopoikilosis is an uncommon, benign sclerosing bone dysplasia characterised by typical roentgenographic findings and usually seen in patients with dermatological problems. We report a case of osteopoikilosis and discoid lupus erythematosus presenting with skin and mucosal involvement, an association that has never previously been reported. We also discuss the differential diagnosis and the clinical pathologies accompanying osteopoikilosis in the literature.

A case of lichen planus-lupus erythematosus overlap syndrome with eyelid involvement.

PURPOSE: To report a case of lichen planus-lupus erythematosus overlap syndrome with eyelid involvement. Lichen planus and lupus erythematosus infrequently coexist in the same patients. Ocular involvement has rarely been reported for both diseases. CASE REPORT: We describe a case of lichen planus-lupus erythematosus overlap syndrome with eyelid involvement. Histopathologic and immunofluorescent studies were done on buccal, lip, left conjunctival, malar, auricular and scalp lesions. The immunopathologic features of the conjunctiva, buccal mucosa and lip were consistent with lichen planus, while those of the malar, auricular and scalp lesions favoured lupus erythematosus. RESULTS: The patient was successfully treated with hydroxychloroquine 200 mg/day and all lesions responded to therapy within weeks. CONCLUSIONS: This is a rare example of two coexisting autoimmune disease entities: lichen planus of the oral mucosa, lip, eyelid and discoid lupus erythematosus of the skin. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of lichen planus-lupus erythematosus overlap syndrome with eyelid involvement.

Expression of cell-cycle related proteins in Helicobacter pylori gastritis and association with gastric carcinoma.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is associated with changes in epithelial turnover, through their significance of these in gastric carcinogenesis is still controversial. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of H. pylori infection on cell proliferation and the relation with the cell-cycle regulators, and finally to provide insights into the mechanism by which H. pylori may lead to gastric carcinogenesis. We investigated Ki-67, p53, p21(Waf1/Cip1), cyclin D1 expression in 55 patients with H. pylori gastritis, and compared the results with patients those of non-H. pylori gastritis patients (n=21), gastric adenocarcinoma patients (n=8) and samples with normal gastric mucosa (n=12). Gastric biopsies were histologically evaluated for inflammatory reaction, intestinal metaplasia and atrophy according to the Sydney system. Overexpression of Ki-67, p53, p21(Waf1/Cip1) and cyclin D1 was found in H. pylori gastritis patients (32.7%, 10.9%, 20.0% and 7.3%, respectively), whereas only scattered expression in cells in the neck region of the crypts, but no overexpression was found in gastric antral epithelial cells in biopsy specimens from patients with non-H. pylori gastritis and noninflammed mucosa. A significant relationship was found between the grade of H. pylori colonization and Ki-67, p53, p21(Waf1/Cip1) and cyclin D1 expression. Expression was significantly higher in patients with intestinal metaplasia with atrophy, whereas no overexpression was found in patients without intestinal metaplasia with atrophy (p=0.05). H. pylori infection is associated with increased cell proliferation, increased epithelial DNA damage, and atrophy, which might contribute to the development of gastric cancer. Even if the exact mechanism has not been elucidated yet, our results suggest that H. pylori infection acts as a cofactor in gastric carcinogenesis.

The effect of aprotinin on ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rabbit kidney.

Tissue subjected to a period of ischemia undergoes functional and morphological damage that increases during the reperfusion phase. In this study, the protective effect of aprotinin, which is a protease inhibitor, was assessed in a rabbit unilateral renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) model. New Zealand rabbits, weighing 1.5-2 kg, were randomized to receive either aprotinin 30.000 KIU x kg(-1) and 10.000 KIU x kg(-1) x h(-1) i.v. infusion (group I, n= 7) or equivalent volumes of 0.09% sodium chloride (SF) (group II, control, n= 7) i.v. 15 minutes before a 45 minutes interruption of left renal artery blood flow and then 45 minutes of reperfusion. Blood samples were obtained before and after the ischemia-reperfusion period for measurement of nitric oxide serum (NO) levels with the nitrite/nitrate colorimetric method. Histological changes were evaluated by quantitative measurements using a numerical score (0-4) and immunohistochemical analysis of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression was determined. A Wilcoxon W -test was used for statistical analysis of biochemical measurements and mean values were expressed as +/-sd. Histological examination revealed the distinctive pattern of ischemic renal tissue injury with obvious signs of epithelial necrosis. The intensity of epithelial necrosis was more extensive in the SF group. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that there was severe immunostaining in the tubular epithelium in both cortical and medullary regions and iNOS expression was more intense in SF-only cases. The staining results for aprotinin cases did not differ much from the non-ischemic kidney. Biochemical analysis revealed an increase in serum NO levels in both groups (P< 0.05), but this was more evident in the SF group (mean NO levels were 38.63 +/- 19.03 micromol x L(-1) in group I, 50.63 +/- 24.28 micromol x L(-1) in group II). No statistically important difference was observed between the two groups. These results suggest that aprotinin may be beneficial in the prevention of systemic inflammation after transient renal ischemia.

Touch imprint cytology in biopsy of the infertile testis.

OBJECTIVE: To identify different cell types in the testis by using touch imprint cytology and to compare the cytologic findings to the histopathologic diagnosis in infertile men. STUDY DESIGN: This prospective study used touch imprint preparations and included 20 infertile men. The biopsy material obtained was stained with toluidine blue, May-Grünwald-Giemsa stain and Papanicolaou stain. The cytologic results for oligospermic, normospermic and azospermic men were compared to the specific histopathologic diagnosis. The proportion of spermatogenic versus Sertoli cells was calculated. The scores were compared between three groups based on the results of the histologic biopsy: normal spermatogenesis, hypospermatogenesis and incomplete spermatogenic arrest. RESULTS: The mean ratio of the spermatogenic cells versus Sertoli cells was statistically significantly different in the three groups (P < .01). The mean ratio of spermatogenic cells to Sertoli cells was higher in cases with normal spermatogenesis than in cases with hypospermatogenesis and incomplete spermatogenic arrest, revealing a statistical difference (P<.01). This ratio was not statistically significantly different between the hypospermatogenesis and incomplete spermatogenic arrest groups. CONCLUSION: A cytologic demonstration of germinal cells by using touch imprint preparations may be a guide for histologic diagnosis.

Effect of trapidil, an antiplatelet and vasodilator agent on gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats.

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of trapidil, an antiplatelet and vasodilator drug, on the nephrotoxicity by an aminoglycoside, gentamicin, in rats. Forty female Wistar rats were divided into six different groups. One group served as a control group and the other groups were treated as follows: gentamicin (50 mg kg(-1) twice daily)-treated, gentamicin plus trapidil (4 or 20 mg kg(-1) daily)-treated and only trapidil-treated (4 or 20 mg kg(-1) daily) groups. Serum urea, creatinine and nitrite/nitrate levels were measured. Moreover, histopathological as well as electron microscopic examinations were performed. At a lower dose (4 mg kg(-1)) trapidil did not prevent the development of renal tubular damage by gentamicin. However, a higher dose of trapidil (20 mg kg(-1)) inhibited the ability of gentamicin to increase the levels of creatinine and urea. Furthermore, both light and electron microscopic evaluation confirmed the nephroprotective effect of the higher dose of trapidil. The level of the stable nitric oxide (NO) metabolite, nitrite, was also increased by trapidil. In conclusion, trapidil at a higher dose may protect against gentamicin nephrotoxicity. The mechanism underlying trapidil nephroprotection is not known, but may result from the antagonism of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), vasodilatation, inhibition of trombosit aggregation, and/or NO release.