Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science

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The active site of oxidative phosphorylation and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) biosynthesis is proposed to consist of thioretinaco, a complex of two molecules of thioretinamide with cobalamin, oxidized to the disulfonium derivative, thioretinaco ozonide, and complexed with oxygen, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, inorganic phosphate and ATP. Reduction of the active site complex by electrons from mitochondrial electron transport complexes releases ATP from binding to the active site, producing nicotinamide riboside and hydroperoxide and generating a membrane potential from proton transport to the active site...

INTRODUCTION: Paratesticular fibrous pseudotumor (PFP) represents a benign tumor-like lesion confined to intrascrotal, paratesticular areas. Due to its rarity, only less than 200 cases have been reported to date, of which both pathogenesis and clinical management are little understood. Recently, PFP has been postulated to be among the spectrum of so-called immunoglobulin G4-related diseases (IgG4-RD). Here we describe a case of PFP focusing on the clinical, morphological features and the utility of immunohistochemistry to support the theory that PFP might be a potential member of IgG4-RD family...

We report a unique case of a B-cell lymphoma patient in whom IgM monoclonal gammopathy resulted in a prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and false-positive results for fibrinogen and fibrin degradation products (FDPs). An 86-year-old man was referred to our hospital for further examination of abnormal cells in his peripheral blood. Laboratory data upon admission revealed an elevation of monoclonal IgM, presence of FDPs and marked prolongation of APTT (>180 s). Bone marrow examination revealed a predominant involvement of B lymphoma cells...

ADAMTS13 testing plays a critical role in confirming the clinical diagnosis of acquired idiopathic thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and distinguishing it from other forms of thrombotic microangiopathies (TMA). Serial measurements of ADAMTS13 activity and inhibitor levels are also helpful in determining response to treatment and/or subsequent relapses. Numerous ADAMTS13 assays have been developed recently, including some with rapid turnaround times. Despite the good inter-assay correlation of different ADAMTS13 methodologies in published case studies, discrepancies have been shown to occur...

We present a patient with trisomy 18 syndrome and bilateral Wilms' tumor representing the second case of the literature. Physicians should remain alert to the possibility of WT in patients with trisomy 18 who may survive beyond infancy. In this event, it may be essential to consider periodic abdominal ultrasound for screening purposes. A critical review of the literature is presented.

Recently, carbapenem resistance in P. aeruginosa is an increasingly important problem globally. Biofilm formation is a well-known pathogenic mechanism of P. aeruginosa , and the gene, pslA , plays an important role in its primary stages. We studied the association between biofilm formation and pslA in carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates, along with antimicrobial resistance and the prevalence of metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) genes, based on the presence of pslA 82 carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates were collected from a tertiary hospital in Daejeon, Korea, between March 2008 and June 2014...

Thirty-two Enterobacter cloacae strains that are less susceptible to cefepime than to ceftazidime were collected. This unique phenotype of 8 strains was confirmed using the agar dilution method. OXA1, OXA10, OXA31 and OXA35 were detected in 3, 2, 3, and 2 strains, respectively, whereas all strains were negative for PSE-1 genes. OXA genes were also identified in the plasmid DNA of 5 strains, but only 2 strains were positive in a conjugation experiment. The acrA, acrB and tolC genes were identified in 4, 4 and 6 strains, respectively...

INTRODUCTION: Delay in the diagnosis of ovarian torsion leads to serious histopathological changes and many problems, including infertility. Various agents have been investigated to minimize detorsion-associated potential injury. This study was performed to study the effects of carnosine and vitamin E on tissue and serum expression of Nucleobindin 2 (NUCB2)/nesfatin-1, ghrelin, adropin, and irisin to determine whether they have protective effects in cases of ovarian torsion. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Seventy-eight rats were allocated evenly into 13 groups...

BACKGROUND: Some studies have demonstrated that the collagen triple helix repeat containing 1 (CTHRC1) protein is abnormally expressed in multiple human solid tumors. We assessed the expression of CTHRC1 in osteosarcoma. METHODS: The CTHRC1 expression status was examined by immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Then, we analyzed the relationship between CTHRC1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics in osteosarcoma patients...

Accumulation of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the displacement loop (D-loop) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) may be associated with cancer risk and disease outcome. We evaluated the predictive value of these SNPs for GEP-NEN outcome. Three SNP sites of nucleotides 16257C/A, 150C/T and 151C/Tdel were identified for statistically significant prediction of postoperative survival in GEP-NEN by univariate analysis with log-rank test. In addition, the minor haplotype of nucleotides 16257A in the hypervariable segment 1(HV1) region of the D-loop was identified for their association with lower survival rate of GEP-NEN (relative risk, 3...

BACKGROUND: CD16+ monocytes have recently shown the ability to inhibit the proliferation of CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ T cells (Tregs). The inhibitory role of Tregs in acute rejection has been described in patients with liver transplantation. However, the role of CD16+ monocytes in the development of allograft rejection after liver transplantation remains unknown. METHODS: Forty-five liver transplant recipients, including 25 acute rejection diagnosed by liver biopsy and clinical symptoms and 20 stable allograft liver function recipients, were collected from January 2007 to September 2015 at our hospitals...

OBJECTIVE: To clone, express, purify the Per a 4 gene encoding an allergen of Periplaneta Americana and prepare monoclonal antibodies against the recombinant allergen. METHODS: The total RNA was extracted from P. Americana , and the target gene was amplified by RT-PCR and cloned into pMD18-T vector. After being confirmed by nucleotide sequencing, the gene was then inserted into pGEX-3X to construct the express vector pGEX-3X-Per a 4. Further, the pGEX-3X-Per a 4 was transformed into E...

OBJECTIVE: An aberrant production of inflammatory cytokines, with resultant febrile response, is a cardinal finding of hemophagocytic syndrome. A role of inflammatory cytokines on phagocytosis and clearance of apoptotic cells or particles has been shown, but effects of cytokines or hyperthermia on phagocytosis of viable blood cells were not fully understood. We examined effects of cytokines and hyperthermia on phagocytosis, and externalization of phosphatidylserine on the surface of phagocytosed blood cells, to clarify the pathophysiology of hemophagocytic syndrome...

To evaluate the predictive value of second-trimester maternal serum screening biomarkers for preeclampsia, we analyzed the second-trimester serum prenatal screening data of pregnant women, and identified preeclampsia diagnosis by hospitalization records. 198 cases who developed preeclampsia and 1171 healthy controls were included in this study. In 15~20 gestational weeks, the cases who developed into preeclampsia had lower serum levels of uE3 , uE3 MoM, but higher AFP MoM than controls, while no difference on AFP, fβ-hCG, and fβ-hCG MoM were found...

OBJECTIVE: To date, there have been no studies systematically comparing red blood cell distribution width (RDW) among rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, this study aimed to make comparisons and to explore whether erythrocytopenia and hemoglobin (Hb) reduction could influence RDW level and its association with conventional inflammatory or immune markers in RA, AS and OA. METHODS: A total of 222 patients with RA, 150 with AS, 78 with OA and 126 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled...

BACKGROUND: Allopurinol is the most commonly used drug for the treatment of gout and also one of the most common causes of severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs). Human leukocyte antigen- B*58:01 (HLA-B*58:01) is strongly associated with allopurinol-induced SCARs. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a rapid and economic screening method for HLA-B*58:01 . METHODS: The accuracy of duplex allele-specific melting curve analysis using DNA-binding dye for HLA-B*58:01 was evaluated in 150 blood samples with sequence-based typing (SBT) as the reference method...

BACKGROUND: For viral load (VL) analysis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) by Real Time PCR, approved collection tubes were lavender top (LTT) and plasma processing (PPT) tubes, that differ in that PPTs include plasma separator. Using a Real Time PCR method, we investigated how the results correlated for the two tube types. METHODS: The plasma fractions of blood samples from each of 202 patients were collected in LTT and PPT tubes at the same time and were assayed for HCV VL by the Abbott m2000 Real Time PCR System; the results were analyzed statistically...

BACKGROUND: Establishing transfusion guidelines during trauma resuscitation is challenging. Our objective was to evaluate indications for transfusion in trauma patients who emergently received ≤2 units of red blood cells (RBC) during the first hour of resuscitation. METHODS: A single center retrospective study included non-massively bleeding trauma patients stratified into 2 groups: 1) with a clinical indication for transfusion and 2) with no indication for transfusion...

Iron deficiency has been recognized as a complication of whole blood and red blood cell apheresis donation; however, the effect of chronic therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) on patient iron status is largely unknown. We performed a retrospective review of all patients undergoing chronic TPE (at least 1 TPE every 2 weeks for 1 month with a minimum of 8 TPE treatments) with 5% albumin at our institution from 2011 to 2016. After review of serum iron level and iron saturation status, six out of ten (60%) of the patients who meet the study criteria were found to develop iron deficiency anemia (IDA)...