Revista de citología e histología

The male reproductive system of Portunus pelagicus is bilaterally symmetrical creamy to whitish in colour, composed of a pair of testes, a pair of vas deferentia and a pair of ejaculatory ducts internally and a pair of penes, pair of secondary pleopods and the pair of primary pleopods externally as accessory reproductive organs, present on the inner side of the abdominal flab. Vas deferentia consisted of three parts such as, Anterior (AVD), Median (MVD) and Posterior (PVD). The male gonad has different stages which is includes immature, maturing and matured. The gonadosomatic index of the male crab is increased from immature crabs to matured crabs (0.66±0.08 to 1.23±0.06). Fifty percent of the male crabs have attained sexual maturity when they reached the size of 10.6-11.0 cm carapace width.

NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1; DT-diaphorase; DTD) is a cytosolic two-electron reductase, and compounds of the family of quinones such as mitomycin C are efficiently bio-activated by this enzyme. The observation that DT-diaphorase is over-expressed in many cancerous tissues compared to normal tissues has provided us with a selective target that can be exploited in the design of novel anticancer agents. Because information about the cell-specific expression of DT-diaphorase was so scarce, this study was initiated to map the distribution of this enzyme in human tissues. We report here our findings concerning the reproductive organs. Tissue samples taken from various components of the human reproductive system were analysed for expression of DT-diaphorase by immunohistochemistry. We found a strong expression of this enzyme in testicular stromal cells (Leydig’s cells) and in the epithelium of the epididymis and Fallopian tube. These results suggest that quinones bio-activated by DT-diaphorase may be toxic to the reproductive system and cause clinical problems due to testosterone deficiency in men and infertility in both sexes. The implications of these observations need to be considered in pre-clinical evaluation of new anticancer quinones and in patients treated with these compounds.

Cortical dysplasia (CD) is a cerebral disorder caused by disruption of neuronal migration and disorganization of cortex development. The mechanisms of epileptogenicity in CD have been investigated yet still remain unknown. One of the possible reasons is the changes of expression of Nmethyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Emerging evidences have shown that NR2A/B in the region of focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) cortex may play an important role in the risk of epilepsy and NR1 remains unchanged during epilepsy pathogenesis but recent published studies showed inconclusive results. This meta-analysis aimed to derive a more precise estimation of the associations between NMDA receptors and CD related epilepsy risk. A literature search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and China BioMedicine (CBM) databases was conducted on articles published before July 1st, 2013. Crude odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Ten studies were included with a total of 170 subjects. 104 of them were diagnosed with FCD and epilepsy while 66 resected specimen were non-CD cerebral tissue. The meta-analysis results showed that the expression of NR2B is increased in FCD cortex, which is indicated might be an important role in FCD related epilepsy pathogenesis. On the other hand, the expression of NR1 showed no significant difference between FCD group and controls, therefore the NR1 might not be a relevant factor. The function of NMDA receptors in development of FCD is not clear yet, a further explanation is still needed. We assume that NMDA receptors might interact with other substances in different signaling pathways to initiate and promote the epileptogenic process. Meanwhile we suggest more research to focus on the causal relationship between NMDA receptors and epileptogenisis.

Background: Microorganisms and contaminants, including food contaminants, can be difficult to distinguish in various cytologic specimens. Vegetable and fruit contaminants can be found in specimens from the gastrointestinal tract, as in anal Pap smears, or aspirated into the respiratory tract, as in bronchiolar-alveolar lavage. Some of these materials mimic microorganisms, normal human cells, and even malignant cells, making correct diagnosis of the cytology specimen a challenge. A catalogue of the cytologic appearance of these contaminants will increase awareness of these diagnostic stumbling blocks.
Methods: Commonly eaten fruits and vegetables were selected. In each preparation, a small amount of the edible portions of the fruit or uncooked vegetable were ground with mortar and pestle, and smeared onto glass slides. The slides were fixed in 100% alcohol for Papanicolaou (PAP) stain or air-dried for May-Grunswald-Giemsa (MGG) stain.
Results: All vegetable cells contained nuclei, cytoplasm, and cell walls. Fruit cells contained nuclei and cytoplasm, but variably contained cell walls. Many of the deeply stained nuclei resembled overly stained malignant nuclei or dysplastic cells. Vegetable contaminants can resemble anucleated to intermediate squamous cells, respiratory columnar cells, viral inclusions such as cytomegalovirus or Molluscum contagiosum, fungal elements, and even organisms such as nematodes, Stronglyoides, and Toxoplasma. Fruit contaminants can mimic similar infectious parasites or fungal spores, and contribute to a seemingly necrotic background.
Conclusion: The distinctive morphologic pattern of fruit and vegetable cells make identification of these mimickers of pathologic processes possible, and differentiates them from human cells.

Twenty seven commercial Macrobrachium species are found in Asia and the Pacific Ocean. Most of them are inhabited in freshwater except few are exclusively marine oriented. Few species live in brackish water especially in the mouths of rivers. A close examination of M. idea males reveals that three distinct morphotypes based upon size ranking, the ratio of claw length to body length (relative claw length) which included small male (SM), medium sized male (MS) and bigger sized male (BS). The mating behaviors of three different males 4 experiments were conducted by (1) 3 BS males (90-100 mm) vs. female (50-75 mm); (2) 3 MS males (60-75 mm) vs. female (50-75 mm); (3) 3 SM males (45-55 mm) vs. female (50-75 mm); (4) 1BS male, 2 MS males and 3 SM males vs. female (55-75 mm). The mating behaviour of M. idae was divided into four phases such as (I) Contact: When the male recognize the pre-mating female, it moves towards the female and starts approaching her. (II) Guarding: During this behaviour, the male encircled the female with his second pereiopods in a way that her tail region. (III) Mounting: After shell getting slightly hardens; the male grasps the female and begins to mount the female. After that using third and fourth pereiopods male started to clean the brood chamber to deposit the spermatophore. (IV) Mating: Took place when the female turned on her back, so that her ventral side was up. Next moment the spermatophore was ejected and deposited on the ventral median thoracic region of the female. After mating the pair was separated and again the male protects the female until the shell hardens completely. The 89.46% of the females were successfully fertilized in the presence of BS males and only 4.56% failed to become berried. In the cases of MS and SM males, successful fertilization was happened in 34.5% and 38% of the females and infertility was recorded for 34.37% and 40.99% of the females, respectively. The reproductive success of the BS male was significantly higher than that of the other two morphotypes (P<0.05).

Background: Panitumumab has a high affinity for epidermal growth factor receptor. Its utility as a salvage therapy is unknown in cetuximab-resistant colorectal cancer. We assessed the prognostic and predictive role of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in KRAS wild-type metastatic Colorectal Cancer (mCRC) patients treated with panitumumab after progression on cetuximab.
Methods: Panitumumab (6 mg/kg every 2 weeks) was administered as salvage therapy in a patient with cetuximab-resistant mCRC. The CTC count in whole blood at baseline was determined using immunomagnetics.
Results: Nineteen patients were enrolled in the study between July 2010 and March 2011. Five patients had Stable Disease (SD) with a response rate of 0%. Four patients reached long-SD, which was defined as continuous SD of more than 120 days. All of these four patients had <2 CTCs. Multivariate analysis revealed that ≥2 CTCswas an independent predictor of Progression-Free Survival (PFS) (hazard ratio: 7.275, P=0.013). Patients with ≥2 CTCs had a shorter median PFS than those with <2 CTCs (1.8 versus 3.6 months, P=0.008). No statistically significant difference was observed in median overall survival between patients with ≥2 CTCs and those with <2 CTCs (3.2 versus 6.7 months, P=0.164).
Conclusions: These results suggest that <2 CTCs indicates that panitumumab may be effective in patients with KRAS-wild-type mCRC after progression on cetuximab.

We present a case of pituitary ganglioneuroma occurring in a 25 year old woman who presented with headache and hemianopsia. The histologic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural features of this tumor support the view that these rare hypothalamic-pituitary tumors are independently functioning neurohormonal units. Immunostaining is strongly positive for neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in all tumor cells and cell processes and for synaptophysin in a few cells and fibers. Few cells closely associated with tumor cells are positive for S100 protein. The cell processes are positive for neurofilament antigen. Ultrastructural analysis documents a spectacular neoplasm of neural derivation. The tumor consists of ganglion cells and areas of neuropil. The most typical tumor cells have relatively lucent spherical nucleus with large nucleolus, and abundant cytoplasm harbors compact sacks of RER membranes studded with ribosomes. Particular emphasis is given to the ultrastructural features which strongly support the functional relationship between the tumor components. It should be kept in mind that unusual and rare ganglionic tumors might show a progressive clinical course and needs surgical intervention as the major part of their treatment whereas ontogenetic and pathogenetic mechanisms taking part still need more work to enlighten pituitary neuronal tumorigenesis.

Background: There are few evidence which kind of tumor is more benefit from cetuximab, more investigations of supplementary predictive factors are highly relevant. The purpose is to evaluate the prognostic significance of CD133 expression and to investigate the utility as biomarker of prognosis of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients treated with cetuximab. Methods: We investigated progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients with mCRC about 5FU-based regimen as first line chemotherapy and cetuximab as salvage line retrospectively, and performed immunohistochemical staining to evaluate the CD133 status. Non-parametric statistics, univariate and multivariate analysis were used. Results: From October 2008 to June 2009, 46 patients with measurable mCRC had received cetuximab as salvage line, and all of them had treated with 5FU-based regimen as first line. In first line chemotherapy, the median OS was 33.1 months (95% CI, 25.6-40.4) in the CD133-positive patients as compared with 16.0 months (95% CI, 0.938-31.1) in the CD133-negative patients (P=0.004), but there were no statistically significant difference in PFS between both group. In salvage therapy with cetuximab, the median OS was 8.8 months (95% CI, 5.24-12.4) in the CD133-positive patients as compared with 5.1 months (95% CI, 3.23-6.90) in the CD133-negative patients (P=0.007). The median PFS was also significantly better in CD133-positive patients, with a median of 5.2 month (95% CI, 2.96-7.51) in the CD133-positive patients as compared with 2.8 month (95% CI, 1.48-4.06) in CD133- negative patients (P=0.046). Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression was performed, and it is shown that CD133 predicted OS and PFS of cetuximab. Conclusions: CD133 status was correlated with the prognosis of patients