PERIANAL BASAL CELL CARCINOMA—AN UNUSUAL SITE OF OCCURRENCE

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common nonmelanoma skin cancer. Its occurrence in the perianal region is very rare. Awareness of its benign behavior in this region, in contrast to the earlier reports, is vital in its management. Local excision seems to provide adequate control. We are herewith reporting an extremely rare case of a 69-year-old male with basal cell carcinoma treated adequately with local excision

Immediate hypothermia reduces cardiac troponin I following hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in newborn pigs

Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a clinically defined neurological condition following lack of oxygen and often associated with cardiac dysfunction in term infants. Therapeutic hypothermia after birth is neuroprotective in infants with HIE. However, it is not known whether hypothermia (HT) is also cardioprotective. Four newborn pigs were used in the pilot study and a further 18 newborn pigs (randomly assigned to 72h-normothermia (NT) or 24h-HT followed by 48h-NT) were subjected to global HIE insults. Serum cTnI was measured prior to and post the HIE insult. Blood pressure, inotropic support, blood gases and heart rate (HR) were recorded throughout. Cardiac pathology was assessed from histological sections. Cooling reduced serum cTnI levels significantly in HT pigs by 6h (NT, 1.36±0.67; HT 0.34±0.23 ng/ml, p=0.0009). After rewarming, from 24 to 30h post insult, HR and cTnI increased in the HT group; from HR[24h]=117±22 to HR[30h]=218±32 beats/minute (p=0.0002) and from cTnI[24h]=0.23±0.12 to cTnI[30h]=0.65±0.53ng/ml, (p=0.05). There were fewer ischemic lesions on cardiac examination (37%) in the HT group compared to the NT group (70%). Hypothermia (24h) pigs did not have the post-insult cTnI increase seen in NT treated pigs. There was a trend that HT improved cardiac pathology in this 3-day survival model

Isoeugenol destabilizes IL-8 mRNA expression in THP-1 cells through induction of the negative regulator of mRNA stability tristetraprolin

We previously demonstrated in the human promyelocytic cell line THP-1 that all allergens tested, with the exception of the prohapten isoeugenol, induced a dose-related release of interleukin-8 (IL-8). In the present study, we investigated whether this abnormal behavior was regulated by the AU-rich element-binding proteins HuR and tristetraprolin (TTP) or by the downstream molecule suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-3. The contact allergens isoeugenol, diethylmaleate (DEM), and 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB), and the irritant salicylic acid were used as reference compounds. Chemicals were used at concentrations that induced a 20% decrease in cell viability as assessed by propidium iodide staining, namely 100 μg/ml (0.61 mM) for isoeugenol, 100 μg/ml (0.58 mM) for DEM, 3 μg/ml (14.8 μM) for DNCB, and 250 μg/ml (1.81 mM) for salicylic acid. Time course experiments of IL-8 mRNA expression and assessment of IL-8 mRNA half-life, indicated a decreased IL-8 mRNA stability in isoeugenol-treated cells. We could demonstrate that a combination and regulation of HuR and TTP following exposure to contact allergens resulted in a different modulation of IL-8 mRNA half-life and release. The increased expression of TTP in THP-1 cells treated with isoeugenol results in destabilization of the IL-8 mRNA, which can account for the lack of IL-8 release. In contrast, the strong allergen DNCB failing to up-regulate TTP, while inducing HuR, resulted in longer IL-8 mRNA half-life and protein release. SOCS-3 was induced only in isoeugenol-treated cells; however, its modulation did not rescue the lack of IL-8 release, indicating that it is unlikely to be involved in the lack of IL-8 production. Finally, the destabilization effect of isoeugenol on IL-8 mRNA expression together with SOCS-3 expression resulted in an anti-inflammatory effect, as demonstrated by the ability of isoeugenol to modulate LPS or ionomycin-induced cytokine release