Search

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the third most common urological cancer after prostate and bladder cancer but has the highest rate of mortality affecting over 40% of patients. microRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that have become potential biomarkers and molecular targets for cancer treatment. Molecular markers such as miRNAs may have a role in the diagnosis of ccRCC. In this study, we examined the expressions of miRNA-21 and miRNA-221 in renal cancer patients׳ tumor and adjacent paired normal tissues investigating the possible role of these miRNAs in the development of ccRCC.Renal tumors (n = 24) and paired normal renal tissue (n = 24) samples, obtained from the Department of Urology, University of Debrecen, were analyzed for miRNA-21 and miRNA-221 expressions with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.miRNA-21 and miRNA-221 expressions were significantly up-regulated in tumor specimens compared to normal tissue (P0.05). miRNA-21 and miRNA-221 showed coexpression pattern in 19 (79.2%) cases of tumor samples and 8 (33.3%) cases of paired normal renal tissues. Increased miRNA pattern showed a positive correlation with pathological status of the patients.Expression of oncogenic miRNA-21 and miRNA-221 in human ccRCC tumor tissue samples compared to adjacent nontumorous tissues might suggest that these miRNAs are involved in the development of ccRCC.

A környezeti elemek állapotváltozásainak modellezésében nélkülözhetetlenek a térinformatikai eszközök. Használatuk a vizsgált területek sokoldalú értékelését teszi lehet?vé. Különösen igaz ez azokon a síkvidéki területeken, ahol a felszíni és a felszín alatti víz állapota, mozgása, térben és id?ben változó. A Bihari-sík földrajzi kistáj területén a belvízcsatorna-rekonstrukció - EAOP-5.1.2.D/2F-2009-0007 - várható hatásait valamint a térség földhasználati struktúrájában bekövetkezett változásokat térinformatikai módszerek segítségével mértem fel. A belvízelvezet? rendszer kiépítésével a vízgy?jt?terület földhasználata újratervezhet?vé vált. Az ilyen módon meghatározott optimális tájhasznosítás kidolgozása az agrár- környezetvédelmi szempontok érvényesülését és a természeti er?források min?ség egyidej? fejlesztését is szolgálja.

Candida dubliniensis is a recently described yeast that causes infections in mucosal surfaces as well as sterile body sites. Candida dubliniensis develops resistance to fluconazole (FLC) more rapidly than the closely related species C. albicans. The killing activity of amphotericin B (AMB), 5-fluorocytosine (5FC), FLC, voriconazole (VRC) and posaconazole (POS) was determined against six C. dubliniensis clinical isolates, identified using molecular biological methods and C. dubliniensis CD36 reference strain. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute standard procedure. Time-kill assays were performed using RPMI-1640 as test media over a 48-h period. AMB proved to be fungicidal at >or=0.5 microg ml(-1) against all clinical isolates after 48 h. 5FC was only fungicidal at 32-64x MIC (4-8 microg ml(-1)) against all C. dubliniensis isolates. FLC, VRC and POS were fungistatic; decrease in colony number was observed only at the highest concentrations tested (8, 4 and 4 microg ml(-1), respectively). Triazoles invariably showed fungistatic effect at concentrations attainable in the serum. In clinical situations when a fungicidal antifungal is desirable, AMB may be used.

The discovery of immunosuppressant compounds created the conditions for the successful transplantations. Effective immunosuppressant compounds were isolated from cultures of different microorganisms, among others macrolide type immunosuppressants, FK506 and FK520, were isolated from the fermentation broths of Streptomyces species. In this study a screening program was carried out to isolate microorganisms, which produce macrolide type immunosuppressant compounds. More than 40,000 actinomycete strains were investigated in the screening program comprising chemical, microbiological and PCR methods for the investigation of the cultures. Actinomycete strains with FK520 biosynthesizing ability were isolated in the program, which were identified as isolates of the Streptomyces tubercidicus species according to the taxonomical investigations. A part of the 31-O-demethyl-FK520 methyltransferase gene of the isolated S. tubercidicus was sequenced and it showed 88% homology to that of Streptomyces hygroscopicus. Till now strains of the Streptomyces hygroscopicus species were known to produce FK520 and this study proved that strains of other Streptomyces species have FK520 biosynthetic ability.

Udgivelsesdato: 2008-Mar Candida inconspicua is an emerging pathogen in immunocompromised patients possessing inherently decreased susceptibility to fluconazole. We determined the MICs and killing activity of fluconazole and amphotericin B against C. inconspicua clinical isolates as well as reference strain C. inconspicua ATCC 16783 for comparison. MICs were determined using the standard broth microdilution method. Killing rates were determined using time-kill methodology at 0.5-16 x MIC fluconazole and amphotericin B concentrations. Fluconazole and amphotericin B MIC values varied between 16-128 mg/l and 0.5-1 mg/l, respectively. In time kill-assays fluconazole showed fungistatic effect at 1-16 x MIC concentrations against all tested strains after 24 h-incubation, but became fungicidal after 48 h at 4-16 x MIC concentrations. The time necessary to achieve fungicidal endpoint at 1 mg/l amphotericin B concentration ranged from 2 to 24 h. Our in vitro results confirm the data that fluconazole is ineffective against C. inconspicua at the fluconazole serum concentration attainable in humans. Amphotericin B due to its rapid killing activity seems to be a good alternative for the treatment of infections caused by C. inconspicua.

Autoimmune hepatitis is a progressive inflammatory hepatitis of unknown etiology. The diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis is guided by the descriptive criteria and score system implemented by the International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group in 1994. In addition to clinical and laboratory data and the presence of autoantibodies, liver biopsy plays an important role in the diagnostic regimen. Previous studies have emphasized that the histological picture of autoimmune hepatitis was characteristic but not pathognomic for the disease, therefore diagnosis was based on the exclusion of other chronic liver diseases. The goal of this study is to summarize the experiences based on the examination of 93 liver biopsies from 87 patients suffering from autoimmune hepatitis in the Department of Pathology St. László Hospital, Budapest, during the period of 2000-2006. The morphological picture was evaluated based on the criteria of Histological Activity Index as well as other histological features. In addition it was compared to the usual histological characteristics of viral hepatitis, most importantly hepatitis C. The morphological changes examined first were the ones that constitute the diagnostic criteria of autoimmune hepatitis: the severity of portal inflammation and interface hepatitis, the cell composition of the inflammation, rosette formation of periportal hepatocytes, and the presence and extent of centrilobular and bridging necrosis. Results indicated that in most cases the portal/periportal inflammation was very active and lead to the destruction of the original liver structure which was followed by regeneration process (periportal rosettes). Among the inflammatory cells, plasma cells were predominant. In the majority of the cases severe centrilobular and/or bridging necrosis was also present, which strongly elevated the index number, approaching the maximum value. In most patients, only mild fibrosis was observed and merely a handful had progressed to cirrhosis. In conclusion the morphological picture of autoimmune hepatitis is not only characteristic but also pathognomic for the disease. Of course, additional data on clinical and biochemical findings, circulating autoantibodies, and abnormal levels of serum globulins are also necessary for correct diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis.

Over recent years the clinical importance of invasive fungal infections has significantly increased. Mucormycosis refers to a rare, life threatening, opportunistic disease caused by filamentous fungi of the order Mucorales. Most frequently mucormycosis occurs in patients with ketoacidotic diabetes and in neutropenic patients with acute leukaemia. This study of fifteen patients was conducted to evaluate the clinical characteristics of invasive mucormycosis, and goal was also to propose for an early diagnosis and management as survival can only be improved by aggressive surgery and antifungal therapy. In a retrospective analysis of the biopsy and autopsy records of the Department of Pathology at Szent László Hospital between 1992-2003 were evaluated fifteen histologically documented cases of mucormycosis. The underlying diseases were hematological malignancy with neutropenia in ten cases, chronic leukaemia with neutropenia, chronic leukaemia with latent diabetes mellitus and diabetes mellitus one case each. Three cases did not belong to any typical risk group. An in vivo diagnosis was made only in four patients with a rhinocerebral manifestation. Radical necrectomy and long-term antifungal therapy cured two of them. Two patients died of a generalised infection despite therapy. None of the systemic infections could be cured. The diagnosis was made post mortem in eleven patients. Selected clinical forms of mucormycosis are illustrated with short case reports.

Background: Regulation of prostaglandin synthesis and the activation of human airway fibroblasts associated with the remodeling of the bronchi play an important role in asthma. Objective: We sought to assess the cyclooxygenase pathways in airway fibroblasts of patients with bronchial asthma. Methods: Generation of prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) and pros-taglandin D 2 (PGD 2 ) by bronchial fibroblasts was measured by means of mass spectrometry in culture supernatants, and cyclooxgenases expression was estimated by means of RT-PCR and immunoblotting. The cells were isolated from 3 groups of subjects: nonasthmatic patients (n = 10), patients with aspirin-tolerant asthma (ATA, n=9), and patients with aspirin-intolerant asthma (AIA, n=7). Results: The cytomix (LPS, 5 □g/mL; IL-1□, 5 ng/mL; and TNF-□, 10 ng/mL; 18 hours) stimulated the production of prostaglandins. Asthmatic patients were characterized by low capacity to produce PGE 2 after cytomix stimulation. In the nonasthmatic patient group the mean PGE 2 production was 32 ± 33 ng/mL (35-fold of the basic production), in the ATA group it was 16 ± 18 ng/mL (16-fold), and in the AIA group it was only 5.3 ± 3.6 ng/mL (4-fold). The mean concentration of PGD 2 for nonasthmatic patients, patients with ATA, and patients with AIA was 0.18 ± 0.16 ng/mL (4.7-fold of the basic production), 0.18 ± 0.14 ng/mL (4.2-fold), and 0.235 ± 0.19 ng/mL (1.9-fold), respectively. The observed difference was not due to insufficient cyclooxygenase 2 expression because all groups had similar levels of its mRNA and protein. The patients with AIA had low expression levels of cyclooxygenase 1 protein but not of its mRNA. The PGE 2 /PGD 2 concentration ratio increased after cytomix stimulation in all groups but was significantly less in patients with AIA than in patients with ATA. Conclusions: Our results point to a deficient PGE 2 production under proinflammatory conditions in asthmatic airways. This could weaken local defensive mechanisms and promote cysteinyl leukotriene overproduction. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2003;111:1041-8.)

A revolutionary new flexible conformational search technique is presented together with its application to geometrical docking. The algorithm is guaranteed to find all (even an infinite number of) solutions in a continuous manner. Examples are given using 2-(4‘-amidinophenyl)pyruvate (APPA) docked to trypsin. Other potential applications are briefly discussed.

A new system, Micronaut- Candida , was compared to API ID32C to identify 264 yeast ( Candida albicans , C. parapsilosis , C. tropicalis , C. krusei , C. inconspicua , C. norvegensis , C. lusitaniae , C. guilliermondii , C. dubliniensis , C. pulcherrima , C. famata , C. rugosa , C. glabrata , C. kefyr , C. lipolytica , C. catenulata , C. neoformans , Geotrichum and Trichosporon species, Rhodotorula glutinis , and Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) clinical isolates. Results were in concordance in 244 cases. Eighteen out of the 20 of discordant results were correctly identified by Micronaut- Candida but not by API ID32C, as confirmed by PCR ribotyping.

We have no exact information about the hemodynamically relevant intravascular volume effect of different volume replacements. The aim of the study was to describe the changes in intravascular volume status 120 minutes after the start of the infusions using a transpulmonary thermodilution technique (PiCCO system; Pulsion).