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The FGFR1 gene encoding fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 has emerged as a frequently altered oncogene in the pathogenesis of multiple low-grade neuroepithelial tumor (LGNET) subtypes including pilocytic astrocytoma, dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNT), rosette-forming glioneuronal tumor (RGNT), and extraventricular neurocytoma (EVN). These activating FGFR1 alterations in LGNET can include tandem duplication of the exons encoding the intracellular tyrosine kinase domain, in-frame gene fusions most often with TACC1 as the partner, or hotspot missense mutations within the tyrosine kinase domain (either at p.N546 or p.K656). However, the specificity of these different FGFR1 events for the various LGNET subtypes and accompanying genetic alterations are not well defined. Here we performed comprehensive genomic and epigenomic characterization on a diverse cohort of 30 LGNET with FGFR1 alterations. We identified that RGNT harbors a distinct epigenetic signature compared to other LGNET with FGFR1 alterations, and is uniquely characterized by FGFR1 kinase domain hotspot missense mutations in combination with either PIK3CA or PIK3R1 mutation, often with accompanying NF1 or PTPN11 mutation. In contrast, EVN harbors its own distinct epigenetic signature and is characterized by FGFR1-TACC1 fusion as the solitary pathogenic alteration. Additionally, DNT and pilocytic astrocytoma are characterized by either kinase domain tandem duplication or hotspot missense mutations, occasionally with accompanying NF1 or PTPN11 mutation, but lacking the accompanying PIK3CA or PIK3R1 mutation that characterizes RGNT. The glial component of LGNET with FGFR1 alterations typically has a predominantly oligodendroglial morphology, and many of the pilocytic astrocytomas with FGFR1 alterations lack the biphasic pattern, piloid processes, and Rosenthal fibers that characterize pilocytic astrocytomas with BRAF mutation or fusion. Together, this analysis improves the classification and histopathologic stratification of LGNET with FGFR1 alterations.

High-grade neuroepithelial tumor of the central nervous system with BCOR alteration (HGNET-BCOR) is a rare, highly malignant tumor. At the time of this publication, no standard protocol exists to treat this tumor entity. In this work, we tested the responsiveness of the primary culture PhKh1 derived from tumor tissue from a pediatric HGNET-BCOR patient (P1) to inhibitors of the Sonic hedgehog pathway combined with radiation. The SMO inhibitors vismodegib and itraconazole had low effect on the proliferation of the PhKh1 cells. However, the GLI inhibitor arsenic trioxide reduced the expression of GLI target genes in the PhKh1 cells and in combination with radiotherapy significantly decreased their clonogenic potential. PhKh1 cells resistant to arsenic trioxide were characterized by the overexpression of molecular chaperones. We combined arsenic trioxide and radiation in the relapse therapy protocol of P1, achieving complete remission after seven weeks. Clinical remission lasted for six months, when P1 developed systemic metastases. Meanwhile, an increase in the concentration of circulating tumor DNA carrying a BCOR internal tandem duplication was observed. Molecular characterization of a second patient (P2) was also performed. In P2, we detected a larger tandem duplication and greater activation of the Sonic hedgehog pathway than in P1. These findings suggest that combining arsenic trioxide with radiotherapy may represent a new therapeutic approach. Moreover, peripheral blood analysis for circulating tumor DNA could help in the early detection of systemic metastases., Competing Interests: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Amplification of the C19MC oncogenic miRNA cluster and high LIN28 expression has been linked to a distinctly aggressive group of cerebral CNS-PNETs (group 1 CNS-PNETs) arising in young children. In this study, we sought to evaluate the diagnostic specificity of C19MC and LIN28, and the clinical and biological spectra of C19MC amplified and/or LIN28+ CNS-PNETs. We interrogated 450 pediatric brain tumors using FISH and IHC analyses and demonstrate that C19MC alteration is restricted to a sub-group of CNS-PNETs with high LIN28 expression; however, LIN28 immunopositivity was not exclusive to CNS-PNETs but was also detected in a proportion of other malignant pediatric brain tumors including rhabdoid brain tumors and malignant gliomas. C19MC amplified/LIN28+ group 1 CNS-PNETs arose predominantly in children <4 years old; a majority arose in the cerebrum but 24 % (13/54) of tumors had extra-cerebral origins. Notably, group 1 CNS-PNETs encompassed several histologic classes including embryonal tumor with abundant neuropil and true rosettes (ETANTR), medulloepithelioma, ependymoblastoma and CNS-PNETs with variable differentiation. Strikingly, gene expression and methylation profiling analyses revealed a common molecular signature enriched for primitive neural features, high LIN28/LIN28B and DNMT3B expression for all group 1 CNS-PNETs regardless of location or tumor histology. Our collective findings suggest that current known histologic categories of CNS-PNETs which include ETANTRs, medulloepitheliomas, ependymoblastomas in various CNS locations, comprise a common molecular and diagnostic entity and identify inhibitors of the LIN28/let7/PI3K/mTOR axis and DNMT3B as promising therapeutics for this distinct histogenetic entity.

Background: We present data from 9 years (1999-2008) of tests for Balamuthia mandrillaris, an agent of amebic encephalitis that were conducted as part of the California Encephalitis Project., Methods: Specimens obtained from patients with encephalitis were sent to the California Encephalitis Project for diagnostic testing; a subset of these specimens were tested for Balamuthia species. Tests included indirect immunofluorescent staining of sections for amebae, fluorescent antibody staining and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for serum titers, and polymerase chain reaction for Balamuthia 16S mitochondrial DNA. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples obtained from patients with diverse types of encephalitis were also tested for a broad range of cytokines., Results: Of >3500 cases referred to the California Encephalitis Project, 10 were found to be amebic encephalitis on the basis of serologic and CSF tests and examination of stained tissue sections. Most of these cases would have been described as "encephalitis of unknown origin" if it were not for the California Encephalitis Project. Nine of the 10 patients were male; ages ranged from 1.5 to 72 years. All patients had abnormal neuroimaging findings and abnormal CSF composition. The more common symptoms at presentation included headache, seizures, cranial nerve palsies, and lethargy. CSF specimens from patients with Balamuthia infection had significant elevations in the levels of cytokines IL-6 and IL-8, compared with specimens obtained from persons with viral or noninfectious encephalitides., Conclusions: Balamuthiasis is difficult to diagnose, and it is likely that cases go unrecognized because clinicians and laboratorians are unfamiliar with the disease. Alerting the medical community to this disease may lead to earlier diagnosis and improve the chances of survival.

This patient, in whom trisomy 12 mosaicism was confirmed in multiple organs, is the fifth case diagnosed postnatally and the first reported for whom a meiotic origin of the trisomy, maternal meiosis I, was determined. Mosaic aneuploidy was suspected because of pigmentary dysplasia, a frequent but non-specific finding in chromosomal mosaicism. The severe phenotype of this child, who died in infancy with a complex heart malformation, was probably a result of the high percentage of trisomic cells. Cytogenetic and interphase fluorescent in situ hybridization analyses showed a highly variable distribution of aneuploid cells in the nine tissues studied, from none in blood and ovary to 100% in spleen and liver. The trisomy arose meiotically with apparent post-zygotic loss of one of the chromosomes 12; uniparental disomy for this chromosome in the diploid cell line was excluded. The phenotype of the cases reported in living or liveborn individuals has been extremely variable, ranging from the present case, in which the child died in infancy with multiple malformations and pigmentary dysplasia, to a fortuitous finding in an adult studied for infertility. The variation in severity is probably determined by the proportion and distribution of the trisomic cells, which is linked to the timing of the non-disjunctional error., (Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

The application of new technology to the diagnosis of infectious disease in neonates has markedly increased the potential for early clinical intervention. Although far from perfect, the new tests have increased knowledge of the nature of these diseases and give physicians the opportunity to apply current treatments more effectively as well as to develop new modes of therapy for this important class of diseases.

Generalized muscle weakness culminating in ventilatory failure developed in a 59-year-old man with kappa light chain multiple myeloma. Physical examination demonstrated skeletal muscle enlargement, severe proximal muscle weakness, and macroglossia, consistent with amyloid-associated muscle pseudohypertrophy. Pulmonary function studies revealed a severe restrictive abnormality with a low maximal inspiratory pressure and maximal voluntary ventilation. Arterial blood gas values and chest radiographic results were normal. There was no clinical evidence of cardiac or central nervous system disease. At autopsy, skeletal muscles and diaphragm were diffusely infiltrated by amyloid. There was also multifocal deposition of amyloid in alveolar septae, esophagus, and subendocardium. This report suggests that ventilatory failure may occur as a complication of myeloma-associated (AL) amyloidosis involving the respiratory muscles.

Polyhedrin from the nuclear polyhedrosis virus of Heliothis zea was analyzed. Alkali-solubilized polyhedrin consists of a 12 S aggregate of 27,000 MW subunits. Results from chemical crosslinking experiments suggest that 12 subunits are present in the 12 S aggregate. In isoelectric focusing gels, the aggregate migrates as a single entity with an isoelectric point of 5.9. Under denaturing conditions, four charge isomers of the subunits are revealed. The presence of alkaline protease activity in the Heliothis virus is confirmed.

The polyhedral inclusion body of the cotton bollworm nuclear polyhedrosis virus contains virions occluded in an orthogonal crystalline matrix. The virions appear as rods or, more frequently, as oval structures that form upon bending of the nucleocapsid within the viral membrane. The nucleocapsid consists at least of DNA surrounded by a capsid composed of subunits, possibly helically arranged. The viral DNA is circular and supercoiled. It is heterogenous in size with contour lengths ranging from 15 to 45 mum.