In view of the potential of replicase protein as a diagnostic reagent for human caliciviruses (HuCVs), we have cloned and over-expressed this gene from the Snow Mountain-like Korean strains in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein with glutathione S-transferase (GST, and described the preliminary antigenic characterization of the recombinant products. Each 470bp fragment corresponding to highly conserved region of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase was generated by RT-PCR from stools of two diarrheal children, cloned in pMOSBlue T-vector, and subcloned between the EcoRI and SalI restriction sites of pGEX-47-3, a GST gene fusion vector, yielding pGCVpol. This construct expressed a Snow Mountain-like HuCV replicate under the control of the IPTG-inducible pac promoter. An extract prepared by sonication of the E. coli cell inclusion bodies bearing pGCVpol products was purified and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. After Coomassie blue staining, it was shown that the recombinant replicase migrated on the gels with an approximate molecular mass of 46.5 kDa, that was subsequently cleaved into a 26 kDa GST fragment and a 20.5 kDa replicase protein upon digestion with thrombin protease. The replicase was recognized on immunoblotting with the sera from symptomatic children with the HuCV-associated diarrhea but not by asymptomatic sera from adults. The results presented the first biological activity of individually expressed HuCV replicase subunit and provided important reagents for diagnosis of HuCV infection.
Adult ; Child ; Clone Cells ; Diagnosis ; Diarrhea ; Digestion ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Escherichia coli ; Gels ; Gene Fusion ; Glutathione Transferase ; Humans ; Immunoblotting ; Inclusion Bodies ; Indicators and Reagents ; RNA Replicase ; Snow* ; Sonication ; Staphylococcal Protein A ; Thrombin

No abstract available.
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*

A wide range of denomination has been used for inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT). IMT is not entirely homogeneous, even though it shows some overlapping histologic features such as haphazard proliferation of spindle cell and polymorphic chronic inflammatory cell infiltraion. The spindle cell is considered to be of myofibroblastic origin but follicular dendritic cell origin was reported recently. IMT is known as nonneoplastic, aberrant inflammatory response. However, IMT could show local invasion, recurrence, vascular invasion, and malignant transformation, and clonal characteristics and aneuploidy of IMT support the hypothesis that IMT may be a neoplastic process. In order to define the nature of spindle cell of IMT, immunohistochemical stains for smooth muscle actin (SMA), vimentin (VMT), lysozyme, S-100 protein, cytokeratin, CD21 were done. Additional immunohistochemical stains for MIB-1 for proliferating activity and LMP (latent membrane protein) for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) were done. IMTs were composed of each 2 cases from lung, liver and lymph node and one case from common bile duct, maxillary sinus, bladder and thigh, and were histologically subclassified according to Coffin et al. Nine cases (90%) were positive for SMA and VMT, but no correlation between SMA and VMT immunoreactivity and histologic types was identified. Five cases (50%) were positive for lysozyme and S-100 protein, and histologic type III was negative for lysozyme and S-100 protein, and immunoreactivity for S-100 protein was different according to the histologic subtypes. All 11 cases were negative for CD21 and EBV LMP. MIB-1 labelling index was less than 1% in all cases. In summary, the spindle cell is regarded as myofibroblastic origin rather than follicular dendritic cell origin. Relationship with EBV is not clear, and negligible MIB-1 reaction suggests that IMT might have a good prognosis.
Actins ; Aneuploidy ; Coloring Agents ; Common Bile Duct ; Dendritic Cells, Follicular ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Immunohistochemistry ; Keratins ; Liver ; Lung ; Lymph Nodes ; Maxillary Sinus ; Membranes ; Muramidase ; Muscle, Smooth ; Myofibroblasts* ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; S100 Proteins ; Thigh ; Urinary Bladder ; Vimentin

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Humans ; Statistics as Topic*

No abstract available.
Rheumatic Fever*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the ultrasonomammographic findings of breast fibroadenoma. METHODS AND MATERIALS:We evaluated the ultrasonographic findings of histopathologically proved 135 fibroadenomas in 103 patients from January 1986 to September 1990, retrospectively. The ultrasonographic examinations were performed with a hand held linear array 5MHz transducer(Acuson 128(USA). Aloka 650, 280(Japan)). A sonopad was also used during the examinations. RESULTS: The common ultrasonographic findings of fibroadenomas usually showed smooth contour in 120 lesions(88.9% ), oval or round shape in 114 lesions(84.4%), uniform homogeneous echogenecity in 106 lesions(78.5% ), intermediate hypoechoic internal echo pattern in 105 lesions(77.8%), thin boundary echo in 117 lesions(86.7%), lateral shadowings in 97 lesions(72%), and posterior acoustic enhancement in 56 lesions(41%). The longitudinal/transverse ratio of fibroadenoma was revealed between 0.2 and 1.14 (mean 0.58) and usually under 1.0 (68.9%). CONCLUSION: Finally, most of fibroadenomas are easily diagnosed by ultrasonography but if differential diagnosis from malignant breast mass is difficult due to atypical appearance, other combined modalities such as filmmammography, fine needle aspiration biopsy and MRI are necessary.
Acoustics ; Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Breast* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Fibroadenoma* ; Hand ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Shadowing (Histology) ; Ultrasonography

Cutaneous or subcutaneous metastases occur in 2% to 9% of visceral malignancies. Skin metastases are seen most commonly from carcinomas of the breast, lung, large intestine. Skin metastases of prostatic origin are quite uncommon and preferentially localized to the lower abdomen and genital area. Two cases of cutaneous metastases of prostatic origin have been reported in the Korean dermatological literature in our review. We report a case of cutaneous metastases from prostatic cancer
Abdomen ; Breast ; Intestine, Large ; Lung ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Skin

Nevus lipomatosus superficialis is a fairly uncommon disease characterized by ectopic fat tissue in the dermis. Lesions most commonly occur on the lower trunk, especially on the back, buttocks or abdomen. Rarely, lesions also occur on the knee, axilla, arm, ear and scalp. To our knowledge this is the first case of nevus lipomatosus superficialis developing on the dorsal foot.
Abdomen ; Arm ; Axilla ; Buttocks ; Dermis ; Ear ; Foot* ; Knee ; Nevus* ; Scalp

No abstract available.
Glycoproteins* ; Goblet Cells*