RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF CERVICAL CYTOPATHOLOGICAL EXAMS PERFORMEDAT AT THE LABORATORY OF PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY AND CYTOPATHOLOGY OF THE HOSPITAL ESCOLA ÁLVARO ALVIM

Each year about 272,610 new cases of cancer are diagnosed in Brazil, being cervical cancer the third most incident among women. Our country is among those that have made the most progress in consolidating the integrated cancer tracking and surveillance system. This article aims to collect sociodemographic and clinicopathological data from patients who underwent cervical cytopathological examinations at the Laboratory of Pathological Anatomy and Cytopathology at the Hospital Escola Álvaro Alvim (HEAA) from 2014 to 2018, considering a retrospective and longitudinal observation of the data. Sociodemographic and clinicopathological data were collected from 121,044 patients, and it was observed that women from Campos dos Goytacazes (84.7%) over 40 years old (56.8%) were the most prevalent at the service. The following cytological characteristics that predominated in these patients were: absence of atrophy (83.6%) or metaplasia (92.6%) of the uterine epithelium, presence of microorganisms (96.4%) and inflammation (97.2%). The presence of cell atypia (6.5%), squamous intraepithelial lesion (2%) and malignant neoplasm (0.1%) was also observed. Therefore, it becomes possible to highlight the importance of cytological examination in the process of diagnosis of malignant neoplasms of the uterine cervix, being essential for a better control and adequate screening, implementing an effective early diagnosis. It also demonstrates the profile of the patients examined at the Pathological Anatomy and Cytopathology Laboratory of HEAA, as well as the scope of this service for early diagnosis of cervical cancer in the North and Northwest Fluminense.

Cytomorphological features of papillary thyroid carcinomas with the development of radioiodine-resistance

Background. The problem of diagnosis and treatment of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) are radioiodine resistant metastases (RIRM). An urgent issue is the possibility of their early prediction and diagnosis based on the detection of cytomorphological features of the PTC and its metastases, which correlate with the development of radioiodine (RI) resistance. Purpose – detection of cytomorphological features of primary PTC and its metastases in patients who subsequently showed resistance to 131I therapy, compared with the control group of patients who achieved a positive effect of 131I therapy. Materials and Methods. A comparative analysis of morphological features in histological conclusions and the study of cytological characteristics in the fine-needle aspiration (FNA) smears of primary PTC and their primary metastases, as well RIRM оf experimental and control groups of patients were conducted. The experimental group consisted of 152 patients who showed resistance to RI therapy, the control group – 161 patients who achieved a positive effect of RI therapy. Statistical processing was done in Statistica 12. Results and discussion. It is shown that the frequency of follicular structures in the material of primary PTC of patients with a positive effect of 131I therapy is significantly higher, and the frequency of necrotic changes is significantly lower than in patients with the development of RIRM (p <0.05 by criterion χ2). The frequency of follicular structures in the histological material and FNA smears of primary metastases of patients with a positive effect of 131I therapy is significantly higher, and oxyphilic changes are significantly lower than in patients with the development of RIRM (p <0.05 by criterion χ2). Oxyphilic changes were observed significantly more often in the RIRM compared with primary metastases of the control group (p = 0.03). It was proved that cystic changes are significantly more common in FNA smears and histological material of RIRM in comparison with primary metastases of experimental and control groups of patients (p <0.05). Conclusions. TThe use of the presence of oxyphilic and cystic changes in the FNA smears and histological material of metastases of the PTC as prognostic factors of RI resistance is proposed. The presence of follicular structures in the materials of primary PTC and metastases can be a prognostic factor of effective RI therapy.

Tetraploidization Increases the Contents of Functional Metabolites in Cnidium officinale

Cnidium officinale is an important medicinal crop grown in Asia for its pharmacological properties. In this study, tetraploid breeding was conducted to increases the content of medicinal compound and tolerance to the environmental conditions using in vitro shoot culture of C. officinale. For this, we generated tetraploid C. officinale plants using oryzalin, a chromosome doubling agent, and compared the morphological traits, cytological characteristics, and heat stress-responsive gene expression levels between tetraploid and diploid genotypes. Chromosome doubling efficiency was the highest in plantlets treated with 4.0 mg∙L−1 oryzalin for 2 days. Compared with diploids, the plant height of tetraploids was reduced, while the petiole diameter was increased by approximately 39%. The dry matter of tetraploid leaves was significantly higher than that of diploid leaves. Compared with diploids, tetraploids showed higher chloroplast number and stomatal complex size but lower chlorophyll and carotenoid contents. The phenolic content of tetraploid plantlets was significantly higher than that of diploid plantlets. Contents of naringin as well as salicylic acid and gentisic acid, which are strong antioxidant compounds, were dramatically increased upon tetraploidization. Interestingly, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analyses revealed increased levels of senkyunolide F and phthalide in tetraploid roots but not in tetraploid or diploid leaves.

Polyploidy and its implications in plants breeding – A review

Polyploidy is a prominent force of shaping the evolution of in most of ferns and flowering plants. Polyploidy has tremendous contribution in plants improvement program. It is the polyploidy breeding through which new crops can be developed and interspecific genes can be transferred and also the origin of crops can be traced. It is now an interesting field of study to reveal the evolution of crop plants and utilizing their variability in the field of crop breeding. Polyploidy generally differ markedly from their progenitors in morphological, ecological, physiological and cytological characteristics that can contribute both to exploitation of a new niche and to reproductive isolation. As a result, polyploidy is a major mechanism of adaptation and speciation in plants. Another implication of polyploidy is development heterosis in plant breeding. Unlike diploids which may lose heterosis with each consecutive generation due to segregation, polyploidy imposes pairing of homologous chromosomes, thus preventing intergenomic recombination. In this way, heterozygosity is maintained throughout generations. One of the immediate and obvious consequences of polyploidy in plants is an increase in cell size which in turn leads to enlarged plant organs relative to diploids. It is also used in bridge crossing, development of seedless fruits like watermelon and production of apomictic crops.