The putative mouse homologue of cytochrome P-450 4F16 (Cyp4f16) is induced by interleukin-1 (Il-1), interleukin-6 (Il-6) and tumour necrosis factor-α (Tnf-α) and repressed by interleukin-10 (Il-10) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The Cyp4F16 is a subfamily of Cyp4F and it is also related to eicosanoids that are important mediators in the inflammatory cascade (Cui et al. 2001). To investigate the role of Cyp4F16, in the present study, we report the production of Cyp4f16 gene knock-down mice in 2 strains of mice, namely A/J and C57BL/6. The A/J is susceptible to infection and it is associated with Cyp4F16, whereas C57BL/6 is relatively resistant to infection. An shRNA-Cyp4F16 expression vector was microinjected into pronuclei of fertilized mouse oocytes and the embryos were transferred into pseudopregnant recipients. As a result, 25 and 50 mice were produced in the A/J and C57BL, respectively. Two mice in the A/J strain and 6 in the C57BL strain were confirmed by PCR as transgenic. Organs were collected in each of the lines produced by inbreeding and screened with real-time PCR for Cyp4f16 transcripts. The Cyp4f16 gene was expressed in a tissue-specific manner with high expression in the pancreas, spleen and lung and a lower level of transcription in the heart, muscle, thymus, kidney, testis and liver. In the spleen of transgenic Cyp4f16 knock-down mice, Cyp4f16 mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly lower than those of wild-type mice. The A/J Cyp4f16 knock-down mice suffered an inflammatory skin disease and tumours, but wild-type A/J mice and knock-down C57BL mice did not. Taken together, these results suggest that Cyp4f16 may play a regulatory role in the immune system and point to the use of the Cyp4f16 knock-down mouse as an experimental animal model for the study of the inflammatory process.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Most previous epidemiologic studies about fecal incontinence were performed in specific populations in Korea. We aimed to estimate the prevalence and predictive factors of fecal incontinence in adult Korean population, both men and women aged 20 years and over. METHODS Subjects who had undergone medical check-up for health screening were enrolled. They completed the structured questionnaires, including demographics, gastrointestinal symptoms, medical and social histories, and also about their bowel habits. Logistic regression models were constructed to identify the predictive factors for having fecal incontinence. RESULTS Among the total of 1,149 subjects (mean age, 44.8 ± 10.2 years; 648 males), the overall prevalence of fecal incontinence was 6.4%, while the older group (> 50 years old) showed the higher prevalence than the younger group (≤ 50 years old)(10.4% vs 4.9%, P = 0.001) without gender difference. Most patients had mild fecal incontinence in 78.4%. By multivariate analysis, old ages (Odd ratio [OR], 3.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.9-5.2; P < 0.001), watery stool (OR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.5-4.9; P = 0.001) and functional diarrhea (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.4-5.4; P = 0.004) were found to be independent predictors for fecal incontinence. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of fecal incontinence in Korean adults was 6.4%, and it was significantly more prevalent in older people without any gender difference. Aging and diarrhea were independent predictive factors of fecal incontinence. Therefore, proper control of the bowel pattern would lead to the prevention of fecal incontinence.

Pleural tuberculosis is the most common extrapulmonary manifestation of tuberculosis, and is generally characterized by an effusion. The effusion is usually unilateral and residual pleural thickening or calcification is also observed in some cases. Manifestations of multiple pleural tuberculomas without associated effusion and history of tuberculosis or antituberculous therapy are rare and an isolated pleural tuberculoma is exceedingly rare. Herein, we report the first documented case of an isolated pleural tuberculoma, diagnosed by chest CT and pathological findings. Although rare, an isolated pleural tuberculoma should be added to the differential diagnosis of focal nodular pleural tumors, particularly in areas of high tuberculosis prevalence.

The fat-forming variant of solitary fibrous tumour (SFT) was previously called lipomatous haemangiopericytoma and is a rare variant of solitary fibrous tumour. It predominantly occurs in the deep soft tissues of the retroperitoneum and thigh. Only a handful of cases involving the perineum, spine, thoracic wall and pelvic cavity have been reported in the radiological literature and the fat-forming variant of SFT involving the pleura has not been previously reported. Herein, we report the CT findings of a case of the fat-forming variant of SFT involving the pleura that was treated by excision. Chest CT showed a large lobulated heterogeneous fatty mass with a multifocal enhancing soft-tissue component in the left lower hemithorax. Although rare, the fat-forming variant of SFT of the pleura should be added to the differential diagnosis of fat-containing pleural soft-tissue tumours.

BACKGROUND: The study objective was to evaluate our experiences of ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted excision (US-VAE) of benign intraductal papillomas, and to discuss its potential application as a minimally invasive treatment METHODS: We reviewed the sonographic and histologic features of 29 benign intraductal papillomas removed by US-VAE. The procedure was recommended on the basis of our indications. For validation of selection criteria, the sonographic and pathologic characteristics of surgically excised 94 papillary lesions during the same period were also evaluated. RESULTS: The mean diameter of the lesions was 9.8 mm (range 5-15 mm). There was no mass that abutted the skin or pectoralis muscle and extended the branching ducts. All lesions were category 3 or category 4a. The pathologic diagnoses of all removed masses were benign. Local recurrence was observed in one patient. According to the validation study, papillary lesions less than 1.5 cm of category 3 or 4a were mostly reported to be benign (95.9%, 47 of 49). CONCLUSIONS: US-VAE may be a useful alternative to surgical excision in well-selected benign intraductal papillomas.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: There are two selenophosphate synthetases (SPSs) in higher eukaryotes, SPS1 and SPS2. Of these two isotypes, only SPS2 catalyzes selenophosphate synthesis. Although SPS1 does not contain selenophosphate synthesis activity, it was found to be essential for cell growth and embryogenesis in Drosophila. The function of SPS1, however, has not been elucidated. RESULTS: Differentially expressed genes in Drosophila SL2 cells were identified using two-way analysis of variance methods and clustered according to their temporal expression pattern. Gene ontology analysis was performed against differentially expressed genes and gene ontology terms related to vitamin B6 biosynthesis were found to be significantly affected at the early stage at which megamitochondria were not formed (day 3) after SPS1 knockdown. Interestingly, genes related to defense and amino acid metabolism were affected at a later stage (day 5) following knockdown. Levels of pyridoxal phosphate, an active form of vitamin B6, were decreased by SPS1 knockdown. Treatment of SL2 cells with an inhibitor of pyridoxal phosphate synthesis resulted in both a similar pattern of expression as that found by SPS1 knockdown and the formation of megamitochondria, the major phenotypic change observed by SPS1 knockdown. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that SPS1 regulates vitamin B6 synthesis, which in turn impacts various cellular systems such as amino acid metabolism, defense and other important metabolic activities.

The importance of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) continues to grow, as clinicians and clinical researchers have recognized the impact of the functional gastrointestinal disorders. Limited information is available on the performance of HRQOL questionnaires in Asia. Furthermore, the effect across different cultural settings of functional gastrointestinal disorders on HRQOL has been little studied in Eastern countries. We summarized recent studies on HRQOL in Korean patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders as well as other Asian literatures. Functional gastrointestinal disorders-related symptoms had a great effect on the HRQOL of Korean patients. These results and their considerable prevalence in Korea indicate that functional gastrointestinal disorders have a substantial social impact in this country.

l(2)01810 causes glutamine-dependent megamitochondrial formation when it is overexpressed in Drosophila cells. In the present study, we elucidated the function of l(2)01810 during megamitochondrial formation. The overexpression of l(2)01810 and the inhibition of glutamine synthesis showed that l(2)01810 is involved in the accumulation of glutamate. l(2)01810 was predicted to contain transmembrane domains and was found to be localized to the plasma membrane. By using (14)C-labelled glutamate, l(2)01810 was confirmed to uptake glutamate into Drosophila cells with high affinity (K(m)=69.4 μM). Also, l(2)01810 uptakes glutamate in a Na(+)-independent manner. Interestingly, however, this uptake was not inhibited by cystine, which is a competitive inhibitor of Na(+)-independent glutamate transporters, but by aspartate. A signal peptide consisting of 34 amino acid residues targeting to endoplasmic reticulum was predicted at the N-terminus of l(2)01810 and this signal peptide is essential for the protein's localization to the plasma membrane. In addition, l(2)01810 has a conserved functional domain of a vesicular-type glutamate transporter, and Arg(146) in this domain was found to play a key role in glutamate transport and megamitochondrial formation. These results indicate that l(2)01810 is a novel type of glutamate transporter and that glutamate uptake is a rate-limiting step for megamitochondrial formation.

Various phenotypes have been reported in Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease carrying mutations in the ganglioside-induced differentiation-associated protein 1 (GDAP1) gene. Here, we report two recessive intermediate Charcot-Marie-Tooth (RI-CMT) patients with GDAP1 missense mutations: a His256Arg homozygous mutation (c.767A>G + c.767A>G) and compound mutations of heterozygous Pro111His (c.332C>A) and Val219Gly (c.656T>G). The Pro111His and Val219Gly are unreported mutations, but the His256Arg was previously reported. In both patients, histopathological findings showed well-documented features of mixed demyelinating and axonal neuropathies, and nerve conduction velocities fall in the intermediate range. In addition, the patterns of fatty substitutions in leg magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were different by the mutation sites within the same GDAP1 gene.