Search

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells that initiate immune responses. We evaluated the relationship between DC infiltration, chemokines/chemokine receptors, and bile duct damage in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), compared to cases of cholangiocellular carcinoma arising from the bile duct. Immunohistochemistry revealed significantly more S-100 protein+ DCs infiltrating the epithelial layer of bile ducts in PBC than in chronic hepatitis C or control neonatal livers. Furthermore, a higher number of S-100 protein+ DCs, but not fascin+ or DC lysosomal associated membrane protein+ mature DCs, were found in the epithelial layer of the damaged bile ducts of the PBC liver. CC-chemokine receptor (CCR) 5+ immature DCs frequently accumulated in the portal area in PBC. CCR5 mRNA was also detected in liver tissues from PBC patients by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. In situ hybridization revealed the expression of macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α and MIP-1β mRNA in the epithelial cells of damaged bile ducts. However, no CD1a+ immature DCs were found in any of the PBC or chronic hepatitis C specimens or in neonatal liver, whereas they occurred frequently in the cancer nests of cholangiocellular carcinoma, which expressed MIP-3α and were frequently infiltrated by CCR6+ DCs. These results indicate that bile ducts damaged by PBC secrete MIP-1α and MIP-1β, while neoplastic ones secrete MIP-3α. They also suggest that CCR5+ immature DCs attracted by MIP-1α and MIP-1β may play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic nonsuppurative destructive cholangitis in PBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infection status of 15 viruses in 120 pigs aged about 6 months was investigated based on tonsil specimens collected from a slaughterhouse. Only 5 species of porcine parvoviruses and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) were detected at high frequencies; 67% for porcine parvovirus (PPV) (PPV-Kr or -NADL2 as the new abbreviation), 58% for PPV2 (CnP-PARV4), 39% for PPV3 (P-PARV4), 33% for PPV4 (PPV4), 55% for PBo-likeV (PBoV7) and 80% for PCV2. A phylogenetic analysis of PPV3 suggested that Japanese PPV3s showed a slight variation, and possibly, there were farms harboring homogeneous or heterogeneous PPV3s. Statistical analyses indicated that the detection of PCV2 was significantly coincidental with each detection of PPV, PPV2 and PPV3, and PPV and PPV4 were also coincidentally detected. The concurrent infection with PCV2 and porcine parvoviruses in the subclinically infected pigs may resemble the infection status of pigs with the clinical manifestations of porcine circovirus associated disease which occurs in 3-5 months old pigs and is thought to be primarily caused by the PCV2 infection.

Objectives: This study was conducted to estimate the oncologic outcome of stage I epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) patients after recurrence., Study Design: After central pathological review and searching of the medical records of multi-institutions, a total of 103 relapsed patients with stage I EOC were analyzed. The major endpoint was postrecurrence survival (PRS)., Results: The median follow-up for surviving patients was 57.5 (5.7-242.0) months. The median age was 52 (14-89). Among the patients, 19 (18.4%) had FIGO IA disease, and 4 (3.9%) and 80 (77.7%) had IB and IC disease, respectively. Regarding the histological type, the clear-cell type was the most frequently observed (N=42: 40.8%). The 3/5-year overall and PRS rates of all patients were 63.7/47.9 and 38.2/24.0%, respectively. The 5-year PRS rates of patients with serous, endometrioid, clear-cell, and mucinous tumors were 44.9, 35.0, 19.8, and 0%, respectively. On stratifying by the histological type, the overall and postrecurrence survival rates of patients with the mucinous/clear-cell types were significantly poorer than in those with the non-mucinous/clear-cell types (OS: P=0.0253, PRS: P=0.0016). In multivariate analyses, the FIGO stage (IA/IB vs. IC) and histological type (clear-cell/mucinous vs. non- clear-cell/mucinous) retained their significance as prognostic factors of a poorer PRS {stage IC (vs., Ia/b) Hr: 2.176 (95% CI: 1.059-4.470), P=0.0343: clear-cell/mucinous (vs. non- clear-cell/mucinous): HR: 2.486(95% CI: 1.416-4.364), P=0.0015)., Conclusions: Even if at stage I, once patients with a mucinous/clear-cell histology experience recurrence, subsequent survival is extremely poor., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We report the first case of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) accompanied by fibrinogen storage disease (FSD). A 50-year-old Japanese woman had been treated for numbness of her right-side extremities for 5 years. Mildly elevated serum levels of alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transferase were detected. The titers of both anti-mitochondrial (x 320) and anti-mitochondrial M2 (x 84) antibodies were elevated. The biopsied liver specimen showed mononuclear cell infiltrate densely encircling the bile ducts, poorly developed epithelioid cell granuloma, and loss of integrity of bile duct organization, which permitted a diagnosis of stage I PBC according to Scheuer's histologic classification. In addition, round to oval, eosinophilic, homogenous intracytoplasmic inclusions, several microm in average size, with a surrounding halo were found in the vast majority of hepatocytes. These inclusions were negative for the periodic acid-Schiff reaction. In immunohistochemistry, the inclusions were positive for fibrinogen and complement C3c, but not for HBs antigen and alpha1-antitrypsin. These findings were identical to FSD. To investigate the mechanism(s) of abnormal fibrinogen storage, immunostaining for heat shock protein 70 and ubiquitin was performed. The former was detected in all intracytoplasmic inclusions, whereas the latter was detected in only some inclusions, suggesting a partial loss of ubiquitin expression.