A Case of Postpartum Anogenital Mammary-Like Gland Tumor with Focal Lactational Features: A Nomenclature Issue

Mammary-like glands (MLG) are considered to be a normal constituent of the anogenital region and can give rise to tumors with variable morphology that may be difficult to classify. We present a case of an anogenital mammary-like gland tumor in a breastfeeding woman showing morphological variation with lactational change, an unusual finding. We discuss the differing terminology used to report these tumors and the variation in assignment of their origin to MLG or ectopic breast tissue.

Pathways for the influx of molecules into cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni during skin penetration

SUMMARYIt has been observed that fluorescent membrane-impermeant molecules can enter the cercariae as they penetrate mouse skin. The hypothesis to be tested was that such molecules, which included Lucifer Yellow and a variety of fluorescent dextrans, entered the parasite through the nephridiopore and excretory tubules as well as through the surface membrane. FITC-labelled poly-L-lysine (molecular weight 10 kDa), added at 4°C during syringe transformation, was found to enter the nephridiopore and labelled the excretory bladder and sometimes the excretory tubules. This finding indicates that macromolecules (10 kDa) can enter the nephridiopore. It was found that linoleic acid (a normal constituent of skin) greatly stimulated uptake of Lucifer Yellow and dextrans into the excretory/subtegumental region of 2-h-old schistosomula. This correlated with an increased uptake of membrane-impermeant propidium iodide at 37°C. Since increased uptake of propidium iodide occurs when membranes become permeable, the surface membrane could also be a pathway of transport of the membrane-impermeant molecules into the schistosomulum.

The Microstructure and Creep Behavior of a Boron-Modified Ti-15Al-33Nb (at%) Alloy

The affect of boron (B) on the microstructure and creep behavior of a Ti-15Al-33Nb (at%) alloy was investigated. In addition to the normal constituent phases present in the monolithic alloy, the B-modified alloy contained borides enriched in titanium and niobium. These borides were present in the form of needles/laths up to 50 μm long and 10 μm wide which took up 5-9% of the volume. Constant load, tensile-creep experiments were performed in the stress range of 150-340 MPa and the temperature range of 650-710°C, in both air and vacuum environments. An addition of 0.5 at% B did not improve the creep resistance of the monolithic alloy, while the addition of 5 at% B significantly improved the creep resistance.

Extracellular processing of peptide antigens that bind class I major histocompatibility molecules.

One problem associated with the use of synthetic peptides as antigens in vivo is their susceptibility to inactivation by proteolytic degradation. A situation is described in which a serum protease, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), is actually responsible for the class I binding activity of a commonly used influenza antigen, nucleoprotein (NP)(147-158R-). This peptide has been reported to be a highly efficient class I antigen. Evidence is presented that demonstrates that the peptide is inactive until cleaved by ACE, which is a normal constituent of serum. The enzyme removes a COOH-terminal dipeptide resulting in the sequence NP(147-155), which is identical to the naturally processed peptide. Such extracellular processing of peptides and proteins may occur for a variety of antigens both in vitro and in vivo, and could have important implications for the design of proteolytically resistant vaccines.

Corticosteroids increase lipocortin I in BAL fluid from normal individuals and patients with lung disease

Lipocortin I is a corticosteroid-inducible protein that has potent anti-inflammatory activity. To determine whether lipocortin I is present on the epithelial surface of the human lung, we used a specific polyclonal antibody by the technique of Western blotting to evaluate bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid of normal individuals and patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Lipocortin I was a normal constituent of the epithelial surface of the normal lung and comprised 0.23 +/- 0.03% of BAL fluid proteins. Four separate immunoreactive species were detected, at 37, 36, 34, and 33 kDa, consistent with previously published results. Corticosteroids increased the amounts of lipocortin present in normal volunteers and in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. These results demonstrate that lipocortin I is normally present in the human lung and further suggest that lipocortin I may be an important modulator of the anti-inflammatory effects of corticosteroids in the lung.