Thyroid neoplasm of mid follicular-medullary type; an uncommon, particular and aggressive form: report of 3 cases

Mixed medullary and follicular carcinoma of the thyroid shares secretory and immunohistochemical features of both follicular and parafollicular thyroidal cells. We report three women, aged 34, 63 and 61 old with this type of tumor. Its diagnosis must be bore in mind in patients with thyroidal tumors and a histological appearance of a medullary or undifferentiated carcinoma. An early diagnosis of a mixed medullary and follicular carcinoma of the thyroid is important, considering its special treatment and negative prognosis.     

Dosimetry of copper-64-labeled monoclonal antibody 1A3 as determined by PET imaging of the torso

We present biodistribution and dosimetry results for 64Cu-benzyl-TETA-MAb 1A3 from 15 human subjects injected with this tracer as determined by serial PET imaging of the torso. METHODS: PET imaging was used to quantify in vivo tracer biodistribution at two time points after injection. Absorbed dosimetry calculated using MIRD-11 and the updated MIRDOSE3 was compared with estimates obtained using rat biodistribution data. RESULTS: By measuring activity concentrations in the torso, and extrapolating for the whole body using standard organ and tissue volumes, we were able to account for 93% of the injected radiopharmaceutical over a range of imaging times from 0 to 36 hr postinjection. Based on PET imaging and the MIRD-11 schema, the liver and spleen are the critical organs with average absorbed doses of 0.12 and 0.10 mGy/MBq (0.44 and 0.39 rad/mCi). The revised MIRDOSE3 scheme yields similar values for these and other organs but also results in a dose of 0.14 mGy/MBq (0.53 rad/mCi) to the heart wall. In the rat, the large intestine is the critical organ at 0.14 mGy/MBq (0.52 rad/mCi), while liver and kidneys each receive 0.11 mGy/MBq (0.41 rad/mCi). Some disparities in absorbed doses determined by these methods are evident but are a result of dissimilar biodistributions in rats and humans. For most organs, rat extrapolated values are higher than the human measurements with PET. CONCLUSION: This study shows that torso PET imaging can quantitatively measure the whole-body biodistribution of a radiopharmaceutical as long as it has relatively slow pharmacokinetics.     

A pilot study of gamma-1b-interferon in combination with fluorouracil, leucovorin, and alpha-2a-interferon

The combination of IFN-alpha-2a (IFN-alpha) and IFN-gamma-1b (IFN-gamma) has been found to produce more than additive cytotoxicity with fluorouracil (5-FU) in HT 29 colon cancer cells due to enhanced DNA-directed effects. We therefore studied the combination of IFN-gamma with IFN-alpha, 5-FU, and leucovorin (LV) in a clinical trial. Fifty-three patients received an initial cycle of 5 million units (MU)/m2 IFN-alpha s.c. on days 1-7 with 500 mg/m2 LV and 370 mg/m2 5-FU i.v. on days 2-6. IFN-gamma was then added once tolerable doses of 5-FU and IFN-alpha were established for each patient. IFN-gamma was administered at one of six dose levels between 0.3-4.8 MU/m2 s.c. on days 1-7. This design permitted comparison of the clinical toxicity and pharmacokinetics of 5-FU in two consecutive cycles in an individual treated with the same doses of 5-FU/LV/IFN-alpha in the absence and presence of IFN-gamma. In 43 matched patient cycles, the addition of IFN-gamma did not seem to worsen gastrointestinal toxicity, and skin toxicity tended to be milder. 5-FU clearance was higher in 14 cycles with IFN-gamma compared to the patient's prior cycle with the same doses of 5-FU/LV/IFN-alpha: 798 +/- 309 versus 601 +/- 250 ml/min/m2 (mean +/- SD; P = 0.04). In these 28 cycles, the median 5-FU clearance was significantly lower in 11 cycles that were complicated by more severe diarrhea: 524 versus 798 ml/min/m2 (grade 2 versus 0-1; P = 0. 0032). Overall, 38% and 26% of patients had grade 3-4 diarrhea and mucositis. Dose reductions of IFN-gamma for chronic fatigue, malaise, or anorexia were ultimately required more frequently with >/=2.4 MU/m2 (P = 0.018), and the maximum tolerated dose of IFN-gamma was considered to be 1.2 MU/m2/ day. Objective responses were seen in 41% of 29 measurable colorectal cancer patients. Compared to our previous experience with 5-FU/LV/IFN-alpha, IFN-gamma and IFN-alpha appeared to have opposite effects on 5-FU clearance. These results suggest that any potential benefit of adding IFN-alpha to 5-FU/LV on this schedule may not depend solely on alterations in 5-FU clearance.     

A longitudinal study of markers of bone turnover in Graves'' disease and their value in predicting bone mineral density

Alterations of chromosome 8, including deletions of 8p, occur frequently in many tumors. In this study, fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to study the relationship between 8p deletions, 8q gains, and phenotype in bladder cancer. Cells from 87 tumors were examined by dual-labeling fluorescence in situ hybridization with a centromere 8 probe (pJM12) and P1 probes for 8p22, 8p12, 8q12, and 8q24. Both 8p22 deletions and 8q24 gains were strongly associated with tumor phenotype. There was a marked difference in 8p22 deletions between noninvasive (pTa) tumors (3/33) and minimally invasive (pT1) tumors (8/19; P = 0.005) whereas there was no significant difference between pT1 and muscle-invasive (pT2-4) tumors (19/35; P = 0.3926). Six tumors with 8p22 deletion were examined at 8p12. Three of these tumors showed no 8p12 deletion, narrowing down the site of a putative tumor suppressor gene distal to 8p12. In one other case, there was a marked increase in 8p12 copy number (> 40 per cell; amplification), suggesting the presence of an oncogene involved in bladder cancer at 8p12. The marked difference in 8p22 deletions between noninvasive (pTa) and minimally invasive (pT1) tumors is consistent with a role of a putative tumor suppressor gene on 8p for development of invasive tumor phenotype.     

Identification in the rat neurotensin receptor of amino-acid residues critical for the binding of neurotensin

In order to identify charged amino-acid residues of the cloned rat brain neurotensin (NT) receptor (NTR) that are critical for NT binding, we performed site-directed mutagenesis on the cDNA encoding this protein, followed by transient expression into mammalian COS-7 cells and in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Point substitutions of charged residues in the N-terminal part and in the 2nd and 3rd extracellular loop of the receptor either did not affect (125)I-Tyr3-NT binding or resulted in a decrease in binding affinity by a factor of 2-3. Mutations of amino acids Asp113 in the second transmembrane domain (TM) and of Arg149 or Asp150 in TM III yielded receptors that bound NT as efficiently as the native receptor. By contrast, replacement of the Asp139 residue in the 1st extracellular loop, or of Arg143 or Arg327-Arg328 residues at the top of TM III and in TM VI, respectively, completely abolished ligand binding. Confocal and EM immunocytochemical studies of the expression of these affected receptors, tagged with the C-terminal sequence of the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G), indicated that this loss of binding was not due to altered receptor expression or to their improper insertion into the plasma membrane. When these mutated forms of neurotensin receptor were expressed into Xenopus oocytes, Asp139-Gly- and Arg143-Gly-modified receptors remained functional in spite of a lowered response to NT whereas the Arg327-Arg328 mutant form was totally insensitive to NT at concentrations up to 10 microM. In the case of the Arg327-Arg328 mutation, the observed insensibility to NT could be the result of a drastic conformational alteration of this mutant protein. By contrast, it would appear that Asp139 and Arg143 residues located in the first extracellular loop of the receptor may be directly involved in the interaction of the receptor with neurotensin.     

Evolutionary dynamics of genetic variation in Epstein-Barr virus isolates of diverse geographical origins: evidence for immune pressure-independent genetic drift

The question whether immune pressure exerted by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) can influence the long-term evolution of genetically stable viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has generated considerable scientific interest, primarily due to its important implications for the overall biology of the virus. While arguing for a role of CTLs in the evolution of viruses, it is important to differentiate between genetic variation in virus and immune recognition of these variant virus by CTLs. To assess the role of genetic selection in the long-term evolution of EBV, we have analyzed a large panel of type 1 EBV isolates from African, Southeast Asian, Papua-New Guinean (PNG), and Australian Caucasian individuals. Seven different regions of the EBV genome, which include nine CTL epitopes restricted through a range of HLA class I alleles, were sequenced and compared. Although numerous nucleotide changes were identified within these isolates, comparison of synonymous and nonsynonymous substitutions in the CTL epitope indicated that the genetic variation was generated mostly independently of immune selection pressure. Surprisingly, an inverse correlation between genetic variation within certain CTL epitopes and the frequency distribution of HLA alleles that present the CTL epitopes was seen, suggesting that the evolutionary pressures on the CTL epitopes of the virus may be toward their conservation rather than their inactivation. Furthermore, molecular evolutionary genetic analysis of nucleotide sequences revealed that viral isolates from PNG are evolving as a lineage distinct from isolates from African, Southeast Asian, and Australian Caucasian individuals.     

Neurofibromatosis I and multiple sclerosis. Apropos of a case

We report a case associating NF1 with multiple sclerosis. There are only seven cases of this association, so that it might be interpreted as resulting from chance. However, although the association is weak, it might be non fortuitous, owing to a particularity of the NF1 gene that embedded oligodendrocyte-myelin glycoprotein gene, even if the responsibility of structural genes of myelin have not been implicated in susceptibility to multiple sclerosis.