Factors influencing the prognosis were studied in 165 patients with polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) and Churg-Strauss angiitis. One hundred and forty-seven of the patients fulfilled histological and/or arteriographic diagnostic criteria, and in 18 patients the diagnosis was based on clinical criteria. The patients' mean age on diagnosis was 48.4 +/- 16.4 years. The main symptoms were fever (69%), weight loss (66%), arthritis (44%), mononeuritis multiplex (67%), cutaneous signs (46%), renal involvement (26%), gastrointestinal symptoms (31%), asthma (29%), hypertension (31%) and cardiac failure (18%). Ninety-two per cent of the patients survived for at least 1 year after diagnosis of the disease, 79% for 2 years, and 63% for 5 years. The immediate causes of death were gastrointestinal bleeding or peritonitis in 11 cases, pancreatitis in two, renal insufficiency in six, cardiac failure in five, infectious complications in four, stroke in three and other causes in 11. We studied the prognosis of necrotizing angiitis in relation to clinical symptoms and laboratory findings. The association of four conditions were associated with a poor prognosis: age over 50, gastrointestinal problems, cardiomyopathy and renal signs. The survival rates in patients with these conditions were: for gastrointestinal problems, 55% 5-year survival (versus 67%); and for age over 50, 68% 3-year survival (versus 78%; p less than 0.09). One hundred and fifty-nine patients were treated with steroids for at least 18 months. Forty-eight also received cytotoxic agents (27%) and 46 plasma exchange. Patients who were treated with plasma exchange and prednisone were randomly assigned to additional treatment with cyclophosphamide. Survival rates were comparable in both groups.
An entirely plasmid-based reverse genetics (RG) system was recently developed for rotavirus (RV), opening new avenues for in-depth molecular dissection of RV biology, immunology, and pathogenesis. Several improvements to further optimize the RG efficiency have now been described. However, only a small number of individual RV strains have been recovered to date. None of the current methods have supported the recovery of murine RV, impeding the study of RV replication and pathogenesis in an in vivo suckling mouse model. Here, we describe useful modifications to the RG system that significantly improve rescue efficiency of multiple RV strains. In addition to the 11 RVA segment-specific (+)ssRNAs, a chimeric plasmid was transfected, from which the capping enzyme NP868R of African swine fever virus (ASFV) and the T7 RNA polymerase were expressed. Secondly, a genetically modified MA104 cell line was used in which several compounds of the innate immune were degraded. Using this RG system, we successfully recovered the simian RV RRV strain, the human RV CDC-9 strain, a reassortant between murine RV D6/2 and simian RV SA11 strains, and several reassortants and reporter RVs. All these recombinant RVs were rescued at a high efficiency (≥80% success rate) and could not be reliably rescued using several recently published RG strategies (<20%). This improved system represents an important tool and great potential for the rescue of other hard-to-recover RV strains such as low replicating attenuated vaccine candidates or low cell culture passage clinical isolates from humans or animals. IMPORTANCE Group A rotavirus (RV) remains as the single most important cause of severe acute gastroenteritis among infants and young children worldwide. An entirely plasmid-based reverse genetics (RG) system was recently developed opening new ways for in-depth molecular study of RV. Despite several improvements to further optimize the RG efficiency, it has been reported that current strategies do not enable the rescue of all cultivatable RV strains. Here, we described helpful modification to the current strategies and established a tractable RG system for the rescue of the simian RRV strain, the human CDC-9 strain and a murine-like RV strain, which is suitable for both in vitro and in vivo studies. This improved RV reverse genetics system will facilitate study of RV biology in both in vitro and in vivo systems that will facilitate the improved design of RV vaccines, better antiviral therapies and expression vectors.
Somatostatin and its analogues are now of current use in the management of endocrine gastroentero-pancreatic (GEP) tumours for the purpose of inhibiting hormone hypersecretion, carrying scintigraphy imaging and attempting to slow down tumour growth. Recent molecular studies have revealed the existence of up to five membrane somatostatin receptor subtypes termed SSTR1-5. However, whether or not scintigraphy imaging and tumour characteristics are correlated with specific subtype(s) remains unclear. SSTR1-5 messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts were investigated in 38 endocrine GEP tumours (32 islet cell tumours, six carcinoid) using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and their distribution was analysed with respect to tumour characteristics and scintigraphy imaging. SSTR2, SSTR5 and SSTR4 were detected in most cases of endocrine GEP tumours (92%, 84%, and 82% respectively), but SSTR1 and SSTR3 were less frequently observed (66% and 50% respectively). No clear-cut correlation was found between tumour characteristics and subtype mRNA distribution. Moreover, no differences in mRNA subtype distribution were found between the 17 tumours detected by scintigraphy and the four tumours not detected by this method. Somatostatin receptor mRNA subtypes are widely expressed in endocrine GEP tumours, but their distribution is not correlated with tumour characteristics or scintigraphy positivity.
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