Abnormalities of lipid metabolism such as the increase of serum triglyceride, cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol level and decrease of HDL-cholesterol may be the contributing factors in the development of NASH. The decrease in apo AI and the increase in LDL and Lp (a) in patients were correlated with liver fibrosis. Apo AI may be a serum marker for liver fibrosis in patients with NASH.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) is a critical regulatory protein of cellular response to hypoxia. In this study, we evaluated the relationship of HIF-1alpha with clinicopathologic parameters such as tumor stage and grade, as well as angiogenic profile and proliferation index. The immunoreactivity of HIF-1alpha was assessed in 70 cases of primary bladder urothelial carcinoma. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and microvessel density (MVD) were used to evaluate the angiogenic profile. MVD was calculated by immunohistochemical staining of endothelial cells with CD34. Proliferation index was determined by the percentage of Ki-67 nuclear staining in tumor cells. There was a significant relationship between HIF-1alpha immunoreactivity and stage, as well as histologic grade of the tumor (P < 0.001). HIF-1alpha immunoreactivity was also closely related to VEGF expression (P < 0.001), MVD (P = 0.002) and proliferation index (P < 0.001). VEGF, MVD and proliferation index were found to be closely related to tumor stage and histologic grade. There was no correlation between HIF-1alpha immunoreactivity and lamina propria (P = 0.13), muscularis propria (P = 0.009) or vascular invasion (P = 0.1). In this study, HIF-1alpha expression was found to be closely related to prognostic parameters in bladder urothelial carcinoma. For this reason, it may be a useful marker to determine the prognosis and to choose the appropriate treatment modality.

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Background. Human urotensin-II (hU-II) is one of the most potent vasoconstrictors in mammals. To our knowledge, there is no study about the role of U-II in childhood glomerulonephritis.We first determined the expression of h U-II in kidneys of children with chronic glomerular diseases. Methods. Normal human kidneys were obtained from postmortem biopsies and compared with the kidney biopsy specimens of 24 children with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) and 6 children with membranous GN. Kidney needle biopsies in 10% neutral buffered-formalin prior to routine processing through to embedded blocking sections were cut, and immunohistochemical reactions were performed on parafinembedded tissue by an avidin-biotin peroxidase complex method. The antibodies used in the present study were hU-II. The positivities were revealed as weak (+), moderate (++), and severe (+++), according to the color intensity. Results. In kidneys of children with MPGN, differently fom the normal kidneys, more dense U-II immunoreactivity was seen in the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), glomerular mesangium, Bowman capsule, and tubules. Interestingly, we also observed U-II immunoreactivity in crescents. In children with MGN, U-II was mostly seen in GBM and Bowman capsule. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that U-II may have a possible autocrine/paracrine function in the kidneys, and may be an important target molecule in studying renal pathophsiology.

Hyaluronan and cortisone have controversial and an important role in the healing of degenerative osteoarthritis. The purpose of the research was to compare individual and combined effects of hyaluronan and cortisone on the healing of degenerative osteoarthritis and to determine the serum malondialdehyde level as a lipid peroxidation marker. A rabbit model was used in which a degenerative osteoarthritis was created in the articular cartilage by resection of anterior cruciate ligament. The rabbits divided into three groups namely were injected with hyaluronan (group A) and cortisone (group B) at days 31, 38 and 45. Cortisone at day 31 and hyaluronan at days 38 and 45 were injected to the third group (group C). We obtained blood samples from each rabbit to determine the malondialdehyde levels at days 1, 30, and 52. At day 52, 21 rabbits were sacrificed. In biopsies obtained from treated and untreated knees articular cartilage degeneration was examined by light microscopy. Histopathologically the healing rate was significantly higher in group C than the other groups. Degeneration decreased 72% in group A, 52% in group B and 88% in group C at day 22. Malondialdehyde levels were 2.056 +/- 0.37 in the control group, 1.94 +/- 0.54 in group A, 1.98 +/- 0.37 in group B and 1.55 +/- 0.41 in goup C. The malondialdehyde levels of group A and B were less than the control group (statistically insignificant, p > 0.05). But, there were statistically significant values between control group and group C (p < 0.05). The results showed that the combination of cortisone and hyaluronan is the most effective in the treatment of cartilage degeneration in the course of the ostearthritis and the malondialdehyde levels are correlated with the severity of degeneration.

Immunoreactivity of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Ki67 and p53 in inflammatory nasal polyp and inverted papilloma tissues was investigated. Immunohistochemistry was performed using a standard avidin-biotin-peroxidase method, and the immunoreactivity of PCNA, Ki67 and p53 was quantified by counting immunostained nuclei in at least 1000 epithelial cells. The mean labelling index (percentage of immunostained cells) for PCNA was 40.68 in the inverted papilloma group and 14.73 in the nasal polyp group, and for Ki67 was 15.43 in the inverted papilloma group and 2.64 in the nasal polyp group. Both of these differences between the inverted papilloma and nasal polyp groups were significant. Immunoreactivity for p53 was detected in five (35.7%) inverted papilloma patients and two (9.5%) nasal polyp patients. The increase in epithelial cell proliferation seemed to be greater in inverted papillomas than in inflammatory nasal polyps. Increased epithelial cell proliferation may be involved in the development of inverted papillomas.

Silicones are widely used materials in many fields of medicine and largely are believed to be biologically inert. However, some investigators have reported that silicone implants are associated with an increased incidence of autoimmune disorders. In this study, we evaluated the capsular tissue of silicone implants and the sera of implant patients and controls for antisilicone antibodies and nonspecific immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgE). Our study group included 15 patients (eight men and seven women) undergoing reconstructive procedures for burn scars, in whom we used silicone implants, and 15 sex-matched controls undergoing reconstructive surgery for burn scars without using silicone implants. By immunofluorescence, we discovered strong capsular binding of IgG and weak capsular binding of IgM; antisilicone antibody levels were significantly higher in capsular tissue than elsewhere. Serum IgE also was higher in patient vs control subject sera. In conclusion, silicone materials do lead to an immune response consisting of antisilicone antibodies most evident immediately adjacent to the implant itself.

Nevus comedonicus is an uncommon variant of adnexal hamartoma without known cause. It usually occurs on the face, neck and chest and appears as groups of closely arranged dilated follicular openings with keratin plugs. We report extensive inflammatory nevus comedonicus in a 14-year-old boy involving half of his body, limited by the midline, with suppuration and residual scarring. The lesions first appeared at 3 years of age and worsened at the start of puberty. The clinical features, etiopathology, histopathology and treatment options of nevus comedonicus are briefly reviewed in the light of the literature.