We report a unique case of a 66-year-old man who was incidentally identified to have a mass in the thymus region by computerized tomography scan. CT revealed a well-defined 1.6 × 1 × 0.9 cm thymus mass with moderate uniform enhancement. Thoracoscopic thymectomy was performed, and the pathological diagnosis was primary glomus tumor of the thymus. There were no atypia or malignant histological features, and no primary tumors in other sites. To our knowledge, this is the first case of primary thymic glomus tumor reported in the literature.

Exposure to particulate matter ≤ 2.5 µm (PM2.5) is a risk factor for many lung diseases. Although the toxicologic effects of PM2.5 on airway epithelium are well-described, the effects of PM2.5 on fibroblasts in the lung are less studied. Here, we sought to examine the effects of PM2.5 on the differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts. Although a single treatment of fibroblasts did not result in a change in collagen or the myofibroblast marker α-SMA, exposing fibroblasts to sequential treatments with PM2.5 at low concentrations caused a robust increase in these proteins. Treatment of fibroblasts with IMD0354, an inhibitor to nuclear factor κB, but not with an antagonist to aryl hydrocarbon receptor, abolished the ability of PM2.5 to induce myofibroblast differentiation. These data demonstrate that potential impact of PM2.5 to fibroblast activation and fibrosis and support the importance of utilizing low concentrations and varying exposure protocols to toxicologic studies.

Neuron-glial antigen 2 (NG2, gene name: Cspg4) has been characterized as an important factor in many diseases. However, the pathophysiological relevance of NG2 in liver disease specifically regarding bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) differentiation to myofibroblast (MF) and the molecular details remain unknown. Human liver tissues were obtained from patients with different chronic liver diseases, and mouse liver injury models were induced by feeding a methionine-choline-deficient and high-fat diet, carbon tetrachloride administration, or bile duct ligation operation. NG2 expression was increased in human and mouse fibrotic liver and positively correlated with MF markers α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) and other fibrotic markers in the liver. There was a co-localization between NG2 and αSMA, NG2 and EGFP (BMSC-derived MF) in the fibrotic liver determined by immunofluorescence analysis. In vitro, TGFβ1-treated BMSC showed a progressive increase in NG2 levels, which were mainly expressed on the membrane surface. Interestingly, there was a translocation of NG2 from the cell membrane into cytoplasm after the transfection of Cspg4 siRNA in TGFβ1-treated BMSC. siRNA-mediated inhibition of Cspg4 abrogated the TGFβ1-induced BMSC differentiation to MF. Importantly, inhibition of NG2 in vivo significantly attenuated the extent of liver fibrosis in methionine-choline-deficient and high fat (MCDHF) mice, as demonstrated by the decreased mRNA expression of fibrotic parameters, collagen deposition, serum transaminase levels, liver steatosis and inflammation after the administration of Cspg4 siRNA in MCDHF mice. We identify the positive regulation of NG2 in BMSC differentiation to MF during liver fibrosis, which may provide a promising target for the treatment of liver disease.

OBJECTIVE: The parasite Trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis) causes one of the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infections in humans. T. vaginalis is notorious for its inconspicuous appearance in vaginal smears. It can be missed under the microscope.
METHODS: In the present study, we investigate the immunoreactivity of T. vaginalis to smooth muscle actin (SMA) in the vaginal smear.
RESULTS: T. vaginalis trophozoite and pseduocyst are immunoreactive for SMA in all of the study group cases (n = 21) and in none of the control group cases (n = 21). Thus, SMA immunostain is a sensitive method for the demonstration of T. vaginalis. Moreover, the protozoan attains a conspicuous and unique appearance. By SMA immunohistochemical stain, the apperance of T. vaginalis floated freely or located in the cytoplasm of the epithelial cells is easily identified.
CONCLUSIONS: We recommend performing SMA immunostain in every vaginal smear with clinical or pathologic suspicion of trichomoniasis.

BACKGROUND: Salidroside, an active component from Traditional Chinese Medicine Rhodiola rosea L., has various pharmacological functions including anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-oxidative properties. However, whether salidroside plays a beneficial role in diabetic nephropathy is still unclear.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this work was to investigate the potential roles of salidroside against diabetic nephropathy and the underlying molecular mechanisms.
METHODS: Streptozocin was given to obese mice to generate diabetic nephropathy animal model. Salidroside was administered to these mice and proteinuria, podocyte integrity, renal morphology and fibrosis, mitochondrial biogenesis were examined.
RESULTS: Our results showed that salidroside treatment greatly attenuates diabetic nephropathy as evidenced by decreased urinary albumin, blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine. Morphological analysis indicated that salidroside improves renal structures in diabetic nephropathy. The decreases in nephrin and podocin expression were markedly reversed by salidroside. Moreover, kidney fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy mice was largely prevented by salidroside. Mechanistically, in salidroside-treated mice, the mitochondrial DNA copy and electron transport chain proteins were significantly enhanced. Meanwhile, the reduced Sirt1 and PGC-1α expression in diabetic nephropathy was almost completely counteracted in the presence of salidroside.
CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed that salidroside plays a beneficial role against diabetic nephropathy in mice, which probably via Sirt1/PGC-1α mediated mitochondrial biogenesis.

Evaluation of semiserial sections of 14 normal hearts from human foetuses of gestational age 25-33 weeks showed that all of these hearts contained thin veins draining directly into the atria (maximum, 10 veins per heart). Of the 75 veins in these 14 hearts, 55 emptied into the right atrium and 20 into the left atrium. These veins were not accompanied by nerves, in contrast to tributaries of the great cardiac vein, and were negative for both smooth muscle actin (SMA) and CD34. However, the epithelium and venous wall of the anterior cardiac vein, the thickest of the direct draining veins, were strongly positive for SMA and CD34, respectively. In general, developing fibres in the vascular wall were positive for CD34, while the endothelium of the arteries and veins was strongly positive for the present DAKO antibody of SMA. The small cardiac vein, a thin but permanent tributary of the terminal portion of the great cardiac vein, was also positive for SMA and CD34. A few S100 protein-positive nerves were observed along both the anterior and small cardiac veins, but no nerves accompanied the direct dra- inage veins. These findings suggested that the latter did not develop from the early epicardiac vascular plexus but from a gulfing of the intratrabecular space or sinus of the atria. However, the immunoreactivity of the anterior cardiac vein suggests that it originated from the vascular plexus, similar to tributaries of the great cardiac vein.

In the female genital tract, extrauterine leiomyomas such as those that arise in the ovary and paraovarian/paratubal regions are rare. Currently, little is known about the background genetic changes in such adnexal leiomyomas. Recent studies have found that the MED12 mutation is common in uterine leiomyomas, which suggests that such mutations may play an oncogenic role in smooth muscle neoplasms in females. Herein, we examined a series of ovarian and other adnexal leiomyomas in terms of MED12 mutational status to investigate possible MED12 involvement in the pathogenesis of extrauterine smooth muscle tumors. We evaluated 10 cases of adnexal leiomyomas (5 ovarian, 3 paraovarian, and 2 paratubal) and 49 cases of ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors as controls. We performed polymerase chain reaction followed by direct sequencing of exon 2 of MED12, and immunohistochemical staining for smooth muscle actin and desmin. We identified somatic MED12 mutations in 90% (9/10) of the adnexal leiomyomas. None of the sex cord-stromal tumors in the control group harbored MED12 mutations. Diffuse immunoreactivity for both smooth muscle actin and desmin was characteristic of adnexal leiomyomas only. Thus, we conclude that ovarian leiomyomas are distinct from sex cord-stromal tumors. MED12 mutations are key molecular features of ovarian and other adnexal leiomyomas. We speculate that the pathogenesis of adnexal leiomyoma is similar to that of its uterine counterpart.

Primary hepatic leiomyosarcoma (PHL) is an extremely rare tumour. This tumour is difficult to diagnose by imaging examinations due to its rarity, and non-specific conventional imaging manifestations and clinical presentation. The present study reports the case of a 42-year-old male with PHL that was confirmed by histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations. Multimodal imaging examinations, including ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography-CT and digital subtraction angiography, were performed. The imaging manifestations were analysed and the associated literature was reviewed. The results found that no characteristic imaging appearance was present on ultrasound or plain CT scan. However, on unenhanced MRI, the tumours presented with a heterogeneous low signal density on T1-weighted imaging (WI) and a high signal density on T2WI and diffusion-WI. On gadopentetate dimeglumine enhanced MRI, the lesions were not enhanced during the arterial and portal venous phases; by contrast, these lesions were evidently enhanced during the 5-min delayed phase. Therefore, the delayed imaging of enhanced MRI is likely to be used to differentiate PHL from other hepatic tumours.