Genes for the family of green-fluorescent proteins (GFPs) have been found in more than 100 species of animals, with some species containing six or more copies producing a variety of colours. Thus far, however, these species have all been within three phyla: Cnidaria, Arthropoda and Chordata. We have discovered GFP-type fluorescent proteins in the phylum Ctenophora, the comb jellies. The ctenophore proteins share the xYG chromophore motif of all other characterized GFP-type proteins. These proteins exhibit the uncommon property of reversible photoactivation, in which fluorescent emission becomes brighter upon exposure to light, then gradually decays to a non-fluorescent state. In addition to providing potentially useful optical probes with novel properties, finding a fluorescent protein in one of the earliest diverging metazoans adds further support to the possibility that these genes are likely to occur throughout animals.
In the years following the publication of 'A photoactivatable green-fluorescent protein from the phylum Ctenophora' [1], another research group [2] sequenced hydrozoan (Cnidaria) fluorescent proteins that were very similar to those we cloned from cDNA prepared from ctenophore specimens. We therefore now believe that the green-fluorescent proteins reported in our study are not from ctenophores, and were due to incorporation of cnidarian prey into the ctenophore tissues.Although our genes were cloned from two independent samples of mRNA taken years apart, the similarity of our sequences to those obtained from a siphonophore (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) indicate that this mRNA was carried over from ingested material. This ctenophore species is known to prey on cnidarians, but we did not expect that mRNA would persist for as long as it did, and we regret our erroneous conclusion.What is remarkable about this situation is that the ctenophore, in addition to maintaining full-length mRNA for the fluorescent protein, also incorporated the proteins into its tissue to the extent that its bioluminescence emission was greenshifted. While the exact species of origin for these proteins is unknown, the photoactivatable properties of this fluorescent protein are as originally described, and it remains an interesting target for future research and application.
Purpose: Evaluate the role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in the differential diagnosis between degenerated leiomyomas, cellular leiomyomas and uterine sarcomas.
Materials and methods:From February 2015 to August 2015, 42 patients were enrolled, aged between 18 and 75 years, suffering from uterine "mass" waiting for surgery and considered at risk and/or uncertain clinical and laboratory investigations and imaging. These patients were submitted to MRI exam of the pelvis that was performed by morphological study, DWI sequences and dynamic sequences post-contrastographic.
Results:The analysis of MRI images of the 42 patients made possible to do a diagnosis of uterine sarcomas in 8 patients with the aid of sequences weighted in diffusion and dynamic, proving a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 88%.
Conclusions:Based on our experience, we may consider that by morphological study with DWI sequences weighted in diffusion and dynamic post-contrastographic sequences, the MRI is a working aid in the differential diagnosis between degenerated leiomyomas and uterine sarcomas.
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