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Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a myeloid neoplasm characterized by a clonal proliferation of CD1a+/CD207+ dendritic cells. Although individuals of any age can be affected, the disease is most common in infants younger than 5 years of age, especially males. A wide range of manifestations, from asymptomatic to aggressive, have been described, along with multiorgan involvement. Even though the majority of bone lesions are observed, skin, lymph nodes, brain and lungs can also be involved. The involvement of hematopoietic system, including bone marrow, liver and spleen, is less frequent yet associated with worse prognosis, due to a worse treatment response. Diagnosis of LCH is based on the integration of clinical, laboratory, and radiological data; however, only histopathological examination might confirm it. As far as the spleen involvement is concerned, according to literature, it has been reported in about 15% patients with multisystem involvement, nonetheless only a few cases show parenchymal lesions. The present study reports the case of an infant with LCH with multisystem involvement, including bone, skin, liver, and spleen, with evidence of parenchymal lesions.

Anderson-Fabry Disease (FD) is an X-linked lysosomal disorder caused by mutations in GLA, the gene encoding the lysosomal hydrolase α-galactosidase A (α-Gal A), leading to accumulation of glycosphingolipids in the lysosomes. FD is a multisystemic disorder leading to progressive cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and kidney dysfunction. Phenotypes are divided in two main classes, classic or non-classic, depending on substrate accumulation, age at onset, disease manifestation, severity and progression. The more severe classical phenotype is generally associated with mutations leading to absent or strongly reduced α-Gal A activity, while mutations with higher residual activity generally lead to the non-classical one. Approximately 70% of the over 1,000 Fabry disease-associated mutations are missense mutations, some leading to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention of mutant protein. We hypothesized that such mutations could be associated, besides the well-known absence of α-Gal A function/activity, to a possible gain of function effect due to production of a misfolded protein. We hence expressed α-Gal A missense mutations in HEK293 GLA−/− cells and investigated the localization of mutant protein and induction of ER stress and of the unfolded protein response (UPR). We selected a panel of 7 missense mutations, including mutants shown to have residual or no activity in vitro. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that mutants with residual activity have decreased lysosomal localization compared with wild type, and partial retention in the ER, while missense mutants with no residual activity are fully retained in the ER. UPR (ATF6 branch) was significantly induced by all but two mutants, with clear correlation with the extent of ER retention and the predicted mutation structural effect. These data identify a new molecular pathway, associated with gain of function effect, possibly involved in pathogenesis of FD.

A multi-gram-scale synthetic route to a novel, bifunctional normorphan 3D building block bearing orthogonally reactive vinyl MIDA boronate and N-2,4-dimethoxybenzyl (DMB) amide functional handles has been developed. Synthetic manipulation at each of the functional handles has been demonstrated including Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling, exo-diastereoselective hydrogenation, N-DMB group removal and lactam reduction. Normorphan cores derived from the building block satisfied AstraZeneca’s ‘rule of 2’ for building blocks and had a high fraction of sp3 hybridised carbon atoms (Fsp3). A virtual lead-like library of 344 compounds derived from the building block had attractive lead-like properties. The 3D building block has been commercialised by Redbrick Molecular and is currently available for purchase.

Fouling from the processing of residual biomass fuels in combustion applications is a major concern. This paper discusses the fouling behaviour of sunflower hulls with a high phosphorus (P) content by means of a broad fuel characterisation strategy including advanced predictive indices, the fuel selective leaching, multiple deposition tests in a Drop Tube Furnace (DTF) and deposits analysis with scanning electron microscopy--energy dispersive X-rays spectroscopy (SEM--EDS). First, we summarise the P-role in the ash chemistry, with a focus on the fouling mechanisms. Second, a characterisation strategy of the ash, based on three indices, including some details from the fuel selective leaching, is proposed to describe the P-rich fuels propensity to foul. The developed approach could be used as a complement to chemical equilibrium models. Thirdly, the characterisation strategy is applied to sunflower hulls. Deposition tests in an industrial scale DTF are performed for the raw fuel, and for the fuel with phosphoric acid ( H 3 PO 4 ) water solution and calcium carbonate ( CaCO 3 ) as additives, to obtain different P/K and P/Ca ratios in the fuel composition. The results show that increasing the fuel P-content allows to capture the alkali metals in alkali--alkaline earths--phosphates and alkali--phosphates phases, reducing the occurrence of deposits of S- and Cl-compounds. Low melting temperature phases can be reduced enhancing the formation of coarser, high melting temperatures ash particles formed by K/Na--Ca/Mg--phosphates, by means of an optimised addition of phosphorus- and active calcium-based additives. The experimental results confirmed the added value of the high-P fuels predictive characterisation strategy.

A missense mutation in the gene encoding the alpha(2) Subunit of the Na+,K+ ATPase pump (ATP1A2) was found in a family with both familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) and Benign Familial Infantile Seizures (BFIC). As it is still unclear whether ATP1A2 is responsible for pure BFIC syndromes, we checked mutations of the ATP1A2 gene in probands of 12 Italian multiplex families with pure BFIC, who were negative for mutations in the SCN2A gene. We screened the ATP1A2 gene by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (D-HPLC) and direct sequencing of DNA fragments showing an aberrant elution pattern. We found one exonic variant and five intronic variants, none leading to significant amino acid changes or causing a modification of the physiological mRNA maturation. The ATP1A2 gene does not appear to be involved in the ethiopathogenesis of pure BFIC syndromes, at least in the explored Italian multiplex families. It could be either responsible of a minority of cases, or of complex syndromes where BFIC and FHM co-occur. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

There is emerging evidence of the beneficial role of the melatonin system in a wide range of psychiatric and neurologic disorders, including anxiety, depression, and epilepsy. Although melatoninergic drugs have chronobiotic and antioxidant properties that positively influence circadian rhythm desynchronization and neuroprotection in neurodegenerative disorders, studies examining the use of melatonin for epilepsy's comorbid psychiatric and neurological symptomatology are still limited. Preclinical and clinical findings on the beneficial effects of the melatonin system on anxiety, depression, and epilepsy suggest that melatoninergic compounds might be effective in treating comorbid behavioral complications in epilepsy beyond regulation of a disturbed sleep-wake cycle.

Fuel drying is an energetically and economically expensive pretreatment process, which may not be worth the investment in the case of small-scale generation plants. This paper presents an investigation on the air dryer feasibility to enhance the operation of biomass steam boiler. In the proposed approach, the external drying technology using preheated air and the biomass steam production system is modelled in terms of energy and an economical analysis. A focus is given to the system size influence on the dryer economic suitability: the smallest size of the biomass combustion system for which fuel drying is a suitable solution, from the economic point of view, is computed. In the computations, the heat used for drying is assumed to be part of the cost for operating the dryer and the thermal balance of the system is assumed to be previously verified. According to the model results, if the steam production plant operational time is above 8000 h/y, wood chips drying is feasible if the system size is larger than 1.78 tdaf/h of fuel processed.

Treatment of picolinic amides with excess zinc in aqueous hydrochloric acid at room temperature affords the corresponding amines in good to excellent yields. The mild reaction conditions exhibit useful functional group tolerance and facilitate the application of the picolinic amide moiety as a protecting group which can be easily introduced and selectively removed.

Item does not contain fulltext Acute treatment with positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of mGlu1 and mGlu5 metabotropic glutamate receptors (RO0711401 and VU0360172, respectively) reduces the incidence of spike-and wave discharges in the WAG/Rij rat model of absence epilepsy. However, from the therapeutic standpoint, it was important to establish whether tolerance developed to the action of these drugs. We administered either VU0360172 (3 mg/kg, s.c.) or RO0711401 (10 mg/kg, s.c.) to WAG/Rij rats twice daily for ten days. VU0360172 maintained its activity during the treatment, whereas rats developed tolerance to RO0711401 since the 3rd day of treatment and were still refractory to the drug two days after treatment withdrawal. In response to VU0360172, expression of mGlu5 receptors increased in the thalamus of WAG/Rij rats after 1 day of treatment, and remained elevated afterwards. VU0360172 also enhanced mGlu5 receptor expression in the cortex after 8 days of treatment without changing the expression of mGlu1a receptors. Treatment with RO0711401 enhanced the expression of both mGlu1a and mGlu5 receptors in the thalamus and cortex of WAG/Rij rats after 3–8 days of treatment. These data were different from those obtained in non-epileptic rats, in which repeated injections of RO0711401 and VU0360172 down-regulated the expression of mGlu1a and mGlu5 receptors. Levels of VU0360172 in the thalamus and cortex remained unaltered during the treatment, whereas levels of RO0711401 were reduced in the cortex at day 8 of treatment. These findings suggest that mGlu5 receptor PAMs are potential candidates for the treatment of absence epilepsy in humans

Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is characterized by progressive weakness and spasticity of the lower limbs due to degeneration of corticospinal axons. We found that patients from a chromosome 16q24.3–linked HSP family are homozygous for a 9.5 kb deletion involving a gene encoding a novel protein, named Paraplegin. Two additional Paraplegin mutations, both resulting in a frameshift, were found in a complicated and in a pure form of HSP. Paraplegin is highly homologous to the yeast mitochondrial ATPases, AFG3, RCA1, and YME1, which have both proteolytic and chaperon-like activities at the inner mitochondrial membrane. Immunofluorescence analysis and import experiments showed that Paraplegin localizes to mitochondria. Analysis of muscle biopsies from two patients carrying Paraplegin mutations showed typical signs of mitochondrial OXPHOS defects, thus suggesting a mechanism for neurodegeneration in HSP-type disorders.

Summary Autosomal dominant medullary cystic disease (ADMCKD) is an interstitial nephropathy that has morphologic and clinical features similar to autosomal recessive nephronophthisis. The typical renal dysfunction associated with ADMCKD results mainly from a defect in urinary concentration ability, although results of urinalysis are normal. Recently, a locus on chromosome 1 was associated with ADMCKD, in DNA from two large Cypriot families, and genetic heterogeneity was inferred. We describe the genomewide linkage mapping of a new locus for medullary cystic disease, ADMCKD2, on chromosome 16p12 in a four-generation Italian pedigree. The family with ADMCKD2 fulfills the typical diagnostic criteria of ADMCKD, complicated by hyperuricemia and gouty arthritis. Marker D16S3036 shows a maximum two-point LOD score of 3.68, and the defined critical region spans 10.5 cM, between D16S500 and SCNN1B1–2. Candidate genes included in the critical region are discussed.

Electrolyte homeostasis is maintained by several ion transport systems. Na-(K)-Cl cotransporters promote the electrically silent movement of chloride across the membrane in absorptive and secretory epithelia. Two kidney-specific Na-(K)-Cl cotransporter isoforms are known, so far, according to their sensitivity to specific inhibitors, We have cloned the human cDNA coding for the renal Na-Cl cotransporter selectively inhibited by the thiazide class of diuretic agents. The predicted protein sequence of 1021 amino acids (112 kDa) shows a structure common to the other members of the Na-(K)-Cl cotransporter family: a central region harboring 12 transmembrane domains and the 2 intracellular hydrophilic amino and carboxyl termini. The expression pattern of the human Na-Cl thiazide-sensitive cotransporter (hTSC, HGMW-approved symbol SLC12A3) confirms the kidney specificity. hTSC has been mapped to human chromosome 16q13 by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The cloning and characterization of hTSC now render it possible to study the involvement of this cotransport system in the pathogenesis of tubulopathies such as Gitelman syndrome. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.

Background: In transfusional setting introduction of nucleic amplification technique (NAT) for HBV-DNA, HCV-RNA and HIV-RNA in biological qualification of blood units suggest some problems. At first the opportunity to operate on mini-pool, at second the need to store the samples at +4 °C. The authors therefore have tried to estimate the impact of these conditions on the operativity of NAT testing in the transfusional setting. Methods: The following parameters has been estimated: distribution of viral-load in untreated subjects, stability of nucleic acids during storage at +4 °C, stability of nucleic acids after repeated cycles of freezing and defrosting, robustness of the test to the cross-contamination, definition of the detection-limit (95%). Quantitative tests has been performed by using the following kits: Cobas Amplicor HBV Monitor, Cobas Amplicor HCV Monitor, Cobas Amplicor HIV Monitor; the qualitative tests has been performed by using the following kits: Ampliscreen HBV, Ampliscreen HCV 2,0, Ampliscreen HIV 1,5 all supplied by Roche Molecular System (Brancburg, NJ). Results: Viral load in untreated subjects showed wide variation for HBV, HCV and HIV. HBV has been demonstrated much stable to the conservation +4 °C also until 168 h while for HCV and HIV a greater decrease of the viral-load was observed. For all and three virus the conservation to +4 °C until 72 h does not seem to involve meaningful fall in the viral-load. A remarkable reduction of the viral-load has been observed after five cycles of freezing and defrosting. All the tests showed a good robustness to cross-contamination. The detection-limit (95%) was 8 U/ml for HBV, 21 U/ml for HCV and 27 copy/ml for HIV. Conclusions: Samples for NAT testing, can be stored until 72 h to +4 °C without appreciable lowering of the viral-load. Repeated cycles of changes of state should be avoided. The tests showed a good robustness to cross-contamination. NAT tests for biological qualification of blood units had a minimal sensibility around 50 (copy/unit/ml). In our experience the detection-limit (95%) was 21 U/ml for HCV, 27copies/ml for HIV, 8 U/ml for HBV. The availability of NAT test for HBV-DNA, HCV-RNA e HIV-RNA, sensitive and reliable, together with epidemiological data, suggest the opportunity to place side by side, in the biological qualification of the blood units, to add the tests for HBV-DNA and HIV-RNA to the test for HCV-RNA mandatory by low, in Italy in the biological qualification of blood units.

Background Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare life-threatening disease affecting mostly children but also adults and characterized by hyperinflammatory features. A subset of patients, referred to as having familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL), have various underlying genetic abnormalities, the frequencies of which have not been systematically determined previously. Objective This work aims to further our understanding of the pathogenic bases of this rare condition based on an analysis of our 25 years of experience. Methods From our registry, we have analyzed a total of 500 unselected patients with HLH. Results Biallelic pathogenic mutations defining FHL were found in 171 (34%) patients; the proportion of FHL was much higher (64%) in patients given a diagnosis during the first year of life. Taken together, mutations of the genes PRF1 (FHL2) and UNC13D (FHL3) accounted for 70% of cases of FHL. Overall, a genetic diagnosis was possible in more than 90% of our patients with FHL. Perforin expression and the extent of degranulation have been more useful for diagnosing FHL than hemophagocytosis and the cytotoxicity assay. Of 281 (56%) patients classified as having "sporadic" HLH, 43 had monoallelic mutations in one of the FHL-defining genes. Given this gene dosage effect, FHL is not strictly recessive. Conclusion We suggest that the clinical syndrome HLH generally results from the combined effects of an exogenous trigger and genetic predisposition. Within this combination, different weights of exogenous and genetic factors account for the wide disease spectrum that ranges from HLH secondary to severe infection to FHL.

The methods normally used for the detection of enteroviruses in environmental samples involve the use of cell cultures, which are expensive and time consuming. The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a useful tool for the detection of enteroviruses in several matrixes because primary cell culture is not needed and the increased sensitivity of PCR allows detection of the low numbers of target nucleic acids usually found in environmental samples. A 5-h, user-friendly PCR assay was used to detect enteroviruses in bivalves molluscs (clams) and sewage. Reverse transcription and amplification were performed in a one-step reaction using rTth polymerase. Carryover contamination was prevented with dUTP and uracil N-glycosylase. Detection was performed colorimetrically in a microwell titer plate. This method has greater advantages over conventional methodologies for routinely screening a large number of samples, namely, the rapid acquisition of results and cost effectiveness.

A simple, reproducible and specific urine assay for the novel epipodophyllotoxin derivative dimethylaminoetoposide (NK611, I) its picro form (III), the N-demethyl metabolite (II) and its picro form (IV) is reported. The method involves the addition of Pr-NK611 as internal standard, chloroform extraction and HPLC separation on a Nova-Pak C18 column with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-0.05 M KH2PO4 (pH 6.4) (23:77, v/v). UV detection was used with absorbance monitored at 205 nm and the limit of quantification was 100 ng/ml. The intra- and inter-day precisions were within the ranges 1.1-3.4% and 1.9-2.4% for all analytes and the accuracy was 101-107%. The extraction recovery was more than 88% for I, II and IV and more than 83% for III. The assay is applicable to the urinary monitoring of I-IV in clinical pharmacokinetic investigations.

A simple, rapid and reproducible plasma assay for the determination of the novel epipodophyllotoxin derivative, dimethylaminoetoposide (NK611, I) and its N-demethyl metabolite (II) is reported. The method involves solid-phase extraction using an isolute C18 cartridge and HPLC separation on a reduced-activity C18 column (8 cm long) with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-water-0.1 M phosphoric acid (23:76:1, v/v/v); peaks are detected at 205 nm. The intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy are within 5 and 4% for I and II, respectively. The sensitivity is 20 ng/ml for both I and II. The assay is applicable to clinical pharmacokinetic studies. In one cancer patient who received both an oral and an intravenous dose of 10 mg of I the bioavailability was 82% and the clearance 20.8 ml/min.

Dimethyl terephthalate (DMTP), the para configuration of dimethyl phthalate, is one of the basic monomers used in the synthesis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics. Human exposure to DMTP may primarily occur during the manufacture of PET fibers and films. The mutagenic potential of dimethyl terephthalate was evaluated using a battery of in vitro short-term tests: the Ames test; DNA single-strand break assays in CO60 cells and in primary rat hepatocytes, UDS in HeLa cells; chromosome aberration and micronucleus assays in human peripheral blood lymphocytes; selective DNA amplification in CO60 and in Syrian hamster embryo cells. The results of this battery of in vitro assays clearly show that DMTP is nongenotoxic. By contrast, other authors have found DMTP to be an in vivo clastogenic compound and suggested that the mechanisms involved in these in vivo effects seem to have nothing in common with genotoxicity and are still unknown.