A simplified cytologic staining technic

Occurrence of Free-Living Amoebae in Non-Human Primate Gut

The gut microbiome reflects health and predicts possible disease in hosts. A holistic view of this community is needed, focusing on identifying species and dissecting how species interact with their host and each other, regardless of whether their presence is beneficial, inconsequential, or detrimental. The distribution of gut-associated eukaryotes within and across non-human primates is likely driven by host behavior and ecology. To ascertain the existence of free-living amoebae (FLA) in the gut of wild and captive non-human primates, 101 stool samples were collected and submitted to culture-dependent microscopy examination and DNA sequencing. Free-living amoebae were detected in 45.4% (46/101) of fecal samples analyzed, and their morphological characteristics matched those of Acanthamoeba spp., Vermamoeba spp., heterolobosean amoeboflagellates and fan-shaped amoebae of the family Vannellidae. Sequence analysis of the PCR products revealed that the suspected amoebae are highly homologous (99% identity and 100% query coverage) with Acanthamoeba T4 genotype and Vermamoeba vermiformis amoebae. The results showed a great diversity of amoebae in the non-human primate's microbiome, which may pose a potential risk to the health of NHPs. To our knowledge, this is the first report of free-living amoebae in non-human primates that are naturally infected. However, it is unknown whether gut-borne amoebae exploit a viable ecological niche or are simply transient residents in the gut.

Is it necessary to repeat cervical cytology at the tie of a colposcopy?

OBJECTIVES: to evaluate whether repeating Papanicolaou smear testing at the time of colposcopy improves agreement between cytology and histopathology in the diagnosis of cervical cancer. METHODS: this cross-sectional study included 397 women referred for colposcopic evaluation following an abnormal cervical smear test. The cytology was repeated at the time of the colposcopy using a conventional medium. The two cytology tests were compared with each other and with the histopathological findings obtained by colposcopy-directed biopsy. The 2001 Bethesda system and the WHO 1994 classification were used for reporting cytology and histology results. The kappa coefficient was used to determine the agreement between methods. RESULTS: the comparison between the initial cytology findings and cytology performed at the time of colposcopy revealed a kappa of 0.297 (95%CI: 0.235-0.359), indicating a fair degree of agreement. When the results of the initial cytology were compared with histopathology, a kappa of 0.261, considered to represent a fair degree of agreement, was obtained (95%CI: 0.181-0.340). A kappa of 0.408, considered to represent moderate agreement, was found when the second cytology findings were compared with the histopathology (95%CI: 0.332-0.485). CONCLUSIONS: the agreement between cytology and histology improved when cytology was repeated at the time of colposcopy, following an initial abnormal test.

Antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of tetrandrine on different human hepatoma cell lines

Tetrandrine (TET), a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid isolated from the dried root of Hang-Fang-Chi (Stephania tetrandra S. Moore), is well known to possess activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammation, anti-fibrotic and anticancer. It is used clinically to treat hypertension and silicosis. In the present study, the anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of TET were evaluated on three different hepatoma cell lines, namely Hep G2, PLC/PRF/5 and Hep 3B. Using XTT assay, results showed that the IC50 values of TET were 4.35 microM for Hep G2, 9.44 microM for PLC/PRF/5 and 10.41 microM for Hep 3B cells. The CC50 of TET against BNL-CL.2 mouse normal liver cells was 31.12 microM. Interestingly, TET exhibited a lower IC50 value and better selectivity against Hep G2 and PLC/PRF/5 cells than cisplatin. Microscopic observation study, DNA fragmentation assay and flow cytometric analysis further supported apoptotic effect of TET on both PLC/PRF/5 and Hep 3B cells. The cell cycle of PLC/PRF/5 treated with TET appeared to arrest at G2/M phase in a dose-dependent manner, whereas no effect was noted on the cell cycle of Hep 3B cells. The present study concludes that TET exhibited anti-proliferative effect on Hep G2, PLC/PRF/5 and Hep 3B cells in a dose-dependent manner. TET also possesses a lower IC50 and better SI value than cisplatin against Hep G2 and PLC/PRF/5 cells. The effect of TET on cell cycle progression was found to vary with the type of hepatoma cells, suggesting the genetic make-up of the cells play an important role in the response to drug treatment.

Biomic study of human myeloid leukemia cells differentiation to macrophages using DNA array, proteomic, and bioinformatic analytical methods

A biomic approach by integrating three independent methods, DNA microarray, proteomics and bioinformatics, is used to study the differentiation of human myeloid leukemia cell line HL-60 into macrophages when induced by 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Analysis of gene expression changes at the RNA level using cDNA against an array of 6033 human genes showed that 5950 (98.6%) of the genes were expressed in the HL-60 cells. A total of 624 genes (10.5%) were found to be regulated during HL-60 cell differentiation. Most of these genes have not been previously associated with HL-60 cells and include genes encoded for secreted proteins as well as genes involved in cell adhesion, signaling transduction, and metabolism. Protein analysis using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed a total of 682 distinct protein spots; 136 spots (19.9%) exhibited quantitative changes between HL-60 control and macrophages. These differentially expressed proteins were identified by mass spectrometry. We developed a bioinformatics program, the Bulk Gene Search System (BGSS, http://www.sinica.edu.tw:8900/perl/genequery.pl) to search for the functions of genes and proteins identified by cDNA microarrays and proteomics. The identified regulated proteins and genes were classified into seven groups according to subcellular locations and functions. This powerful holistic biomic approach using cDNA microarray, proteomics coupled to bioinformatics can provide in-depth information on the impact and importance of the regulated genes and proteins for HL-60 differentiation.