A variety of genetic techniques have been devised to determine cell lineage relationships during tissue development. Some of these systems monitor cell lineages spatially and/or temporally without regard to gene expression by the cells, whereas others correlate gene expression with the lineage under study. The GAL4 Technique for Real-time and Clonal Expression (G-TRACE) system allows for rapid, fluorescent protein-based visualization of both current and past GAL4 expression patterns and is therefore amenable to genome-wide expression-based lineage screens. Here we describe the results from such a screen, performed by undergraduate students of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Undergraduate Research Consortium for Functional Genomics (URCFG) and high school summer scholars as part of a discovery-based education program. The results of the screen, which reveal novel expression-based lineage patterns within the brain, the imaginal disc epithelia, and the hematopoietic lymph gland, have been compiled into the G-TRACE Expression Database (GED), an online resource for use by the Drosophila research community. The impact of this discovery-based research experience on student learning gains was assessed independently and shown to be greater than that of similar programs conducted elsewhere. Furthermore, students participating in the URCFG showed considerably higher STEM retention rates than UCLA STEM students that did not participate in the URCFG, as well as STEM students nationwide.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been used in the treatment of multiple types of cancer. Pazopanib is one of the TKIs and is considered a first-line treatment for adult patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Many endocrine-related adverse effects have been noted with the use of TKIs including hypothyroidism, vitamin D deficiency, altered bone density, secondary hyperparathyroidism, abnormal glucose metabolism, gynecomastia, and hypogonadism. Subclinical glucocorticoid deficiency and adrenal insufficiency have been reported with the use of TKIs in only a few cases so far; thus, its true prevalence and clinical significance have yet to be fully elucidated. The mechanism is still not fully understood; however, adrenal toxicity with hemorrhage and/or necrosis of the adrenal glands has been observed in studies. In this article, we describe the first reported case of pazopanib inducing primary adrenal insufficiency in a patient with metastatic renal cell carcinoma diagnosed after the exclusion of all other causes of primary adrenal insufficiency.

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Introduction: An inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is considered a complex disease with a suggested neoplastic nature. It has a variable histological and clinical presentation. Up to now, the exact etiology is still unknown. Various sites such as the lungs (first site described in 1939), the heart, the gastrointestinal tract, and the genitourinary tract have been reported in the literature. The adrenal glands are considered an extremely rare location with no recurrence reported after surgical management. Up to our knowledge, only 9 cases have been described in the literature. The age of presentation was variable (from newborn to 57 years old). Case Report: A 70 years old female with a past medical history of well-controlled diabetes type 2, and hypertension presented with a progressively increasing chronic right flank pain for the past couple of months, associated with 10 lb weight loss. Workup was done and an incidental right adrenal mass was found on CT scan. The mass was 3.2cm x 3.3 cm partially necrotic with adjacent stranding abutting the right adrenal gland and the liver. The opposite gland was normal and there was no evidence of any other mass lesion in the abdomen. MRI adrenal showed 3.2x2.5x3.6 cm solid heterogeneous mass in the right adrenal gland (Hypointense on T1 and T2 weighted images. She had no sign or symptoms suggestive of Cushing and/or pheochromocytoma. Her hypertension was well controlled on lisinopril 10 mg. Hormonal workup was within normal range except for a mild elevation of DHEAS. Given the size of the mass, the worrisome radiological characteristics, and a family history of pheochromocytoma in her daughter, surgical options were discussed with the patient. Subsequently, the patient underwent the right robotic adrenalectomy. The postoperative course was uneventful. Pathology revealed a 6.5x6x 5 cm IMT of the adrenal. The CT scan done 6 months postoperatively didn’t show any recurrence. Discussion: and conclusion: Adrenal IMTs are extremely rare but they should be considered in the differential diagnosis of adrenal masses. Follow-up is warranted since its behavior still remains uncertain. More cases are needed to unmask the true biological behavior and pathogenesis of adrenal IMTs.