Spontaneous or idiopathic splenic rupture is a rare cause of acute abdominal pain and hemoperitoneum and its incidence is 1% of all cases of splenic rupture. The etiology of spontaneous splenic rupture can be idiopathic or it may occur as a complication of an infectious, neoplastic or hematologic disease. Splenic rupture presents with pain in the left upper quadrant with shock and features of peritoneal irritation, like Kehr’s sign (left shoulder pain due to diaphragmatic irritation) and Balance sign (palpable tender mass in left upper abdomen). The diagnosis of spontaneous splenic rupture presents a diagnostic challenge due to the absence of a history of trauma. Focused Abdominal Sonography for Trauma FAST may be suggestive but due to its limitations, Computerized Tomography Scan CT scan of abdomen is the best imaging modality both for detection and grading of splenic injury. Management can be non-operative or surgical depending on grade and hemodynamic status of the patient. We report a rare case of spontaneous rupture of the spleen, which was idiopathic and fulfills the criteria of Orloff and Peskin, due to absence of any history of trauma, absence of perisplenic adhesions or scarring, and it without any evidence of disease affecting the spleen with macro and microscopically normal spleen. This case also adheres to fifth criteria described by Crate and Payne, as there was no immunological evidence suggestive of any viral infections affecting the spleen.

BACKGROUND: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is the most reliable tool for gene expression studies. Selection of housekeeping genes (HKGs) that are having most stable expression is critical to carry out accurate gene expression profiling. There is no 'universal' HKG having stable expression in all kinds of tissues under all experimental conditions. METHODS: The present study aims to identify most appropriate HKGs for gene expression analysis in glioblastoma (GBM) samples. Based on literature survey, six most commonly used HKGs that are invariant in GBM were chosen. We performed qPCR using RNA from formalin fixed paraffin embedded GBM samples and normal brain samples to investigate the expression pattern of HPRT, GAPDH, TBP, B2M, B2M, RPL13A, and RN18S1 with different abundance. A simple Deltacycle threshold approach was employed to calculate the fold change. RESULTS: Our study shows that the expression of RPL13A and TBP were found to be most stable across all the samples and are thus suitable for gene expression analysis in human GBM. Except for TBP, none of the other conventionally used HKGs in GBM studies e.g., HPRT and GAPDH were found to be suitable as they showed variation in RNA expression. CONCLUSION: Validation of HKGs is therefore immensely specific for a particular experimental setup and is crucial in assessing any new setup.
Brain ; Formaldehyde ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression* ; Genes, Essential* ; Glioblastoma* ; Humans ; Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase ; Paraffin ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; RNA

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the wound healing potential of fractions from ethanol extract of Martynia annua (M. annua) Linn leaves.

METHODSEthanol extract of M. annua Linn leaves was fractionate into three different fractions (MAF-A, MAF-B and MAF-C) which were screened for wound healing potential using two models: excision and incision on rats. The thin layer chromatography (TLC) profile of all fractions were analyzed and TLC of luteolin was also done. The Povidone-Iodine Ointment was used as reference for comparision. Excision and incision wounds were created on dorsal portion of rats for study. Wound contraction, biochemical parameters (protein level and hydroxyproline level) and histopathological study were performed in excision wound model whereas incision model was used for determination of tensile strength.

RESULTSThe wound contraction and tensile strength of skin tissues were observed significantly greater in MAF-C fraction treated group than other two fractions (P<0.01). In excision wound method (on day 18) protein content and hydroxyproline were found significantly higher in MAF-C group than control group (P<0.01). Histopathological study also showed better angiogenesis, matured collagen fibres and fibroblast cells as compared with the control group.

CONCLUSIONSIn conclusion, our findings suggest that fraction MAF-C from ethanol extract of M. annua leaves is found most effective in wound healing.

Animals ; Anti-Infective Agents, Local ; isolation & purification ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Growth Substances ; isolation & purification ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Plant Extracts ; isolation & purification ; therapeutic use ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Rats, Wistar ; Tracheophyta ; chemistry ; Treatment Outcome ; Wound Healing ; drug effects

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly malignant brain tumor with a worst prognosis of less than one year despite advance treatment facilities. Among various signaling pathway genes displaying genetic modifications, aberrant expression of Notch pathway genes is frequent in GBM offering novel therapeutic targets. Herbal extracts having anticancer properties are used in adjuvant therapy that is safe and affordable as compared to chemotherapeutics. Bacopa monnieri has been used for the development of brain cells because of its neuroprotective properties. Its anticancer properties have shown to be promising in cancer treatment. METHODS: The anticancer properties of Bacoside A, an active and abundant component of Bacopa monnieri was assessed on U-87 MG cell line and its effects on expression of Notch pathway genes were studied. Cell cycle arrest and apoptosis were studied using flow cytometry. Expression of Notch pathway genes comprising of Notch receptors (notch1, notch2, notch3 and notch4), ligands (jagged1 and jagged2), a component of gamma-secretase complex (APH1A) and downstream target (HES1) were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS: Bacoside A exhibited considerable cytotoxicity on U-87 MG cells inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Cell cycle analysis revealed a significant arrest of 39.21% cells in sub-G0 phase at 80 µg/mL concentration, increasing to 53.21% at a higher concentration of 100 µg/mL. The fraction of early apoptotic cells in control was low (3.48%) that increased substantially to 31.36% and 41.11% after 80 µg/mL and 100 µg/mL of Bacoside A treatment respectively. Additionally, the expression of notch1 gene decreased after exposure to Bacoside A with a fold change of 0.05, whereas HES1 gene expression was increased by 25 fold. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that Bacoside A has a possible anticancer activity that could be inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis through Notch pathway in GBM in vitro.
Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases ; Apoptosis ; Bacopa ; Brain ; Brain Neoplasms ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; Cell Line ; Flow Cytometry ; Gene Expression ; Glioblastoma ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Ligands ; Prognosis ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, Notch

BACKGROUND: Current statistics show that approximately 10% of patients claim to be allergic to penicillin yet only 10% of these have demonstrable allergy. The most appropriate and cost-effective antibiotics are sometimes withheld on the basis of patient history of drug allergy. OBJECTIVE: Investigation of IgE hypersensitivity and delayed hypersensitivity in patients with a history of penicillin allergy to a teaching hospital allergy clinic. METHODS: Patients underwent skin prick and intradermal testing (IDT) with major and minor penicillin determinants. Those with negative skin tests were administered a three-day oral challenge. Demographic and clinical details about the reactions were noted. RESULTS: One hundred twenty eight patients underwent testing, of these, one hundred and ten had self-reported histories of penicillin allergy and eighteen were referred because of other antibiotic allergies. Seventeen patients with self-reported penicillin allergy had either positive skin tests or oral challenge results, corresponding to 15% of patients having proven allergy. None reacted on skin prick testing, four reacted to IDT, thirteen reacted to oral challenge (five immediate and eight delayed). Analysis of clinical histories showed that patients with a well-defined history of allergy and a history of anaphylaxis were more likely to have a positive test compared to patients with vague histories. Skin testing proved to be less sensitive than oral challenge. CONCLUSION: A minority of patients presenting with a history of penicillin allergy have evidence of immune-mediated hypersensitivity (17/110, 15%) in this study. Of these, eight out of seventeen (47%) had delayed reactions, demonstrating the usefulness and discriminating power of objective testing, which must include three-day oral challenge. Discriminating factors for immune-mediated allergy from patient history were a clear description of the original reaction and a history of anaphylaxis. Negative allergy testing enables the use of penicillin as first-line treatment when necessary and this can significantly reduce costs of antibiotics.
Anaphylaxis ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Drug Hypersensitivity ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Hypersensitivity, Delayed ; Immunoglobulin E ; Intradermal Tests ; Penicillins ; Skin ; Skin Tests

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the anti-apoptotic and radical scavenging activities of dietary phenolics, namely ascorbic acid,α-tocopherol acetate, citric acid, salicylic acid, and estimate H2O2-induced apoptosis in renal cell carcinoma cells.

METHODSThe intracellular antioxidant potency of antioxidants was investigated. H2O2-induced apoptosis in RCC-26 was assayed with the following parameters: cell viability (% apoptosis), nucleosomal damage and DNA fragmentation, bcl-2 levels and flow cytometery analysis (ROS production evaluation).

RESULTSThe anticancer properties of antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol acetate, citric acid, salicylic acid with perdurable responses were investigated. It was observed that these antioxidants had protective effect (anti-apoptotic activity) against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC-26) cell line.

CONCLUSIONSThis study reveals and proves the anticancer properties. However, in cancer cell lines anti-apoptotic activity can indirectly reflect the cancer promoter activity through radicals scavenging, and significantly protect nucleus and bcl-2.

Antioxidants ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; DNA Fragmentation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; toxicity ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; analysis ; metabolism ; Vitamins ; pharmacology

The expression profiles of inflammatory cytokines viz. interleukins (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-12, granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor, interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in response to subclinical mastitis in indigenous cattle breed Kankrej (n = 6), Gir (Bos indicus) (n = 12) and crossbred (Bos taurus x Bos indicus) (n = 7) were investigated using quantitative real time PCR. Significant correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between total bacterial load and somatic cell count (SCC) in all three breeds of cattle. All the cytokines were observed to be up-regulated compared to cows with healthy quarters, however, level of their expression varied among three breeds of cattle. In Kankrej most cytokines were found to be transcribed to higher levels than in other two breeds; the milk had higher load of bacteria but not so high SCC, implying that Kankrej has a higher inherent resistance against mastitis. The results of present study indicated that mammary glands of crossbred cattle are more sensitive to bacterial infection than indigenous breed of cattle as they elicit immune response at lower bacterial load and result into higher SCC. Research on identification of factors responsible for differentially expressed cytokines profiles and use of cytokines as immunomodulatory tools can pave way for formulating control strategies against bovine mastitis.
Animals ; Bacteria ; Bacterial Infections ; Bacterial Load ; Cattle ; Cell Count ; Cytokines ; Female ; Granulocytes ; Interferon-gamma ; Interferons ; Interleukin-12 ; Interleukin-8 ; Interleukins ; Mammary Glands, Human ; Mastitis ; Mastitis, Bovine ; Milk ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

The phytoecdysteroids (PEs) comprise a large group of biologically-active plant steroids, which have structures similar to those of insect-molting hormones. PEs are distributed in plants as secondary metabolites that offer protection against phytophagus (plant-eating) insects. When insects consume the plants containing these chemicals, they promptly molt and undergo metabolic destruction; the insects eventually die. Chemically, ecdysteroids are a group of polyhydroxylated ketosteroids that are structurally similar to androgens. The carbon skeleton of ecdysteroids is termed as cyclopentanoperhydro-phenanthrene with a