A histopathological and immunohistochemical study was conducted in placental tissues and retained products of conception from 24 patients with confirmed dengue infection during pregnancy. The immunohistochemical assay was positive for dengue virus in 19 placental and three ovular remnants analyzed. The light microscopic findings were signs of hypoxia, choriodeciduitis, deciduitis and intervillositis and the viral antigens were found in cytoplasmic of the trophoblast, villous stroma and decidua. Our results suggest that immunohistochemistry could be used as a laboratory confirmation method for dengue in pregnant women, especially in endemic areas when embedded material is the only material available.

Cardiac damage is a frequent manifestation of Chagas disease, which is caused by the parasite

Background: The oncoproteins of human papillomavirus (HPVs) directly effect cell-cycle control. We hypothesize that regulatory and cell cycle protein expression might be additionally modified in the cervix of HIV/HPV co-infected women.

Background: TMAs are becoming a useful tool for research and quality control methods, mostly for immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Methods:A new technique that allows building TMA blocks with more than 300 tissue cores without using a recipient paraffin block for the tissue cores and without using a commercial TMA builder instrument is described. This technique is based on the construction of TMA needles modifying conventional hypodermic needles to punch tissue cores from donor blocks, which are attached by double-side adhesive tape on a computer-generated paper grid used to align the cores on the block mould, which is filled with liquid paraffin.Results: More than two hundred TMA blocks were constructed using this method, utilized in immunohistochemistry and histochemistry as positive and negative controls and also in research. Conclusion:This technique has the following advantages: it is easy to reproduce, affordable, quick and creates uniform blocks with more than 300 cores aligned, adherent and easy to cut, with negligible losses during cutting and immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization procedures.

The mechanism by which the virus associated with dengue fever can cause a fatal hepatitis is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to examine 9 cases of fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever-associated hepatitis, and to correlate the histologic findings with viral detection and cytokine response. The histologic changes were nonspecific and included massive hepatic necrosis and a pauci-cellular acute hepatitis. Viral cDNA detection by reverse transcriptase in situ polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that the fatal hepatitis was due to infection on average of >90% of hepatocytes and many Kupffer cells. Similar results were obtained using immunohistochemistry for viral protein using an automated highly sensitive system. Immunohistochemical analysis for tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interleukin-2, showed rare positive Kupffer cells. In comparison, fatal cases of hepatitis C associated liver failure demonstrated far fewer infected hepatocytes and a concomitant strong up-regulation of many cytokines, notably tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-2. It is concluded that fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever is associated with acute, severe liver damage due primarily to massive direct infection of hepatocytes and Kupffer cells with minimal cytokine response. The infection can be readily detected in a few hours using an automated system that has a sensitivity equivalent to reverse transcriptase in situ polymerase chain reaction.

The present study shows that HPV-infected cells strongly express MCM2; nevertheless, our data suggests that MCM2 is not a good biomarker when comparing the different clinical stages of cervical cancer.

Introduction: The study of placentas from pregnant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive women has become the subject of numerous studies in the literature. Morphological, viral, immune and inflammatory placental aspects have been analyzed in order to grasp the vertical transmission of the virus. Objective: To identify the most frequent findings in the placentas by associating them with a viral antigen and correlating them with the infection of newborns. Material and methods: Thirty-five placentas from HIV-positive pregnant women were pathologically and immunohistochemically analyzed with the use of p24 antibody in the period from 1992 to1997 in accordance with the routine laboratory testing from the

Cell cycle protein expression plays an important role in the pathophysiology of cervical cancer. However, few studies have attempted to correlate the use of these biomarkers with the clinical progression of the tumor.Objectives1) To analyze the expression of Ki-67, p53 and p16INK4a in cervical cancer, 2) to correlate the relative expression of these proteins as well as clinical parameters with the stage of disease, and 3) to determine the HPV DNA prevalence and subtype distribution.MethodsTissue Micro-Arrays (TMA) from patients with invasive cervical cancer (ICC) and controls were analyzed. HPV DNA detection was done by PCR and in situ hybridization. Ki-67, p53 and p16INK4a were analyzed by immunohistochemistry; clinical data was derived from the chart review.ResultsAdvanced tumor stage (III and IV) was strongly associated (p<0.005) with advanced age (>55 years old), with more than four pregnancies and with the lack of formal education. HPV DNA was found in 94.3% of cases with the most prevalent types being HPV16 (67.5%), followed by HPV33 (12.0%) and HPV35 (3.6%). High expression of Ki-67 and p16 was more common in the advanced FIGO stages (p = 0.023). Women with HPV16 tended to be younger (50.9 years; SE 1.9) compared to women with other types (59.9 years; SE 2.8).ConclusionWe found that Ki-67 and p16 expression were independently associated with the tumor stage. We also noted that about 1/3 of the cervical cancers in this Brazilian cohort were not associated with HPV types directly targeted by the current HPV vaccines.