Biomedical subjects

Ada Amantea

Publications and source records attributed to Ada Amantea.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Elastofibroma dorsi: histologic and echographic considerations.

BACKGROUND: Elastofibroma dorsi is a relatively rare soft-tissue tumor of the elderly with typical localization to the subscapular area. To date, few cases have been reported in the dermatology literature. The differential diagnosis includes frequently observed subcutaneous neoplasms such as lipoma, fibrolipoma or more aggressive tumors. The diagnosis is made with histologic examination. CASE REPORT: We present a typical case of elastofibroma dorsi, studied with ultrasound investigation and color-power Doppler, and discuss the correlation with the histologic picture. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the strict correspondence between the characteristic histologic findings of elastofibroma and the specific ultrasound pattern, we believe that ultrasound investigation with color and power Doppler allows, in typical cases, a definitive diagnosis of elastofibroma.

Diagnosis, Differential↗

PubMed2006

Expression of keratinocyte growth factor and its receptor in clear cell acanthoma.

The aetiopathogenic mechanism underlying clear cell acanthoma (CCA) is not completely clear and it has been postulated that CCA and psoriasis may have a similar pathogenesis because of the common features shared by the two diseases. As it has been recently demonstrated that in psoriatic lesions the paracrine epithelial growth factors [keratinocyte growth factor (KGF)/fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-7 and FGF-10] are involved in promoting and sustaining the keratinocyte hyperproliferation, the aim of this study was to analyse the expression of KGF on CCA lesions and to search for a role of this growth factor in CCA pathogenesis. Immunohistochemical analysis showed an up-modulation of KGF in CCA, although the immunostaining was variable among the different samples collected. Positive immunoreactivity for KGF was detected mainly on dermal areas where the inflammatory infiltrate was more pronounced suggesting a relationship between lymphocyte activation and KGF up-modulation. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR assay performed on mRNA extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded CCA and normal skin (NS) samples further demonstrated the overexpression of the KGF/FGF-7 gene in all CCA samples compared with NS. Moreover, the evaluation by immunohistochemistry of KGF receptor distribution, the high-affinity tyrosine kinase receptor for KGF, showed a down-modulation of this receptor, as previously reported in the presence of increased levels of KGF. Taken together these results suggest the inflammatory nature of CCA and further support the hypothesis that this disease may represent, like psoriasis, an inflammatory dermatosis in which KGF up-modulation may be responsible for keratinocyte hyperproliferation and may represent a new common feature of both diseases.

Acanthoma↗

PubMed2005

Human herpesvirus 8 infection in patients with cutaneous lymphoproliferative diseases.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8; Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus) infection in patients with lymphoproliferative skin diseases such as large-plaque parapsoriasis (LPP) and mycosis fungoides compared with inflammatory cutaneous conditions or healthy control subjects. DESIGN: A survey study was undertaken in 123 subjects with various clinical conditions. SETTING: All patients had been seen in the Dermatology Department of the San Gallicano Dermatology Institute, Rome, Italy, in the last 2 years. PATIENTS: Forty-five patients with inflammatory or autoimmune cutaneous diseases, 50 healthy control subjects, 10 patients with LPP, 12 patients with mycosis fungoides, and 6 patients with classic Kaposi sarcoma were included in the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The prevalence of HHV-8 infection was investigated with serologic studies using the gold standard assay based on body cavity-based B-cell lymphoma-1 cells latently infected with HHV-8. The presence of HHV-8 conserved sequence, corresponding to open reading frame 26, was also assessed in the peripheral blood and lesion tissue samples from patients with lymphoproliferative cutaneous diseases with nested polymerase chain reaction. The presence and distribution of cell types infected with HHV-8 in the lesion tissues was determined with immunohistochemical staining with the monoclonal antibody directed against the latent nuclear antigen-1 of HHV-8 encoded by open reading frame 73. RESULTS: In healthy control subjects and patients with inflammatory skin diseases, 13.9% were found to have antibody against HHV-8, consistent with the seroprevalence population in Italy. A highly significant association of HHV-8 infection and LPP was found (100%) compared with mycosis fungoides (25%). The peripheral blood mononuclear cells in 8 of 10 patients with LPP were found to harbor viral sequences at nested polymerase chain reaction, whereas none of them had a detectable serum viral load. All LPP lesion tissue samples were positive for HHV-8-encoded open reading frame 26, and the presence of HHV-8-infected cells was confirmed by immunohistochemistry profiles performed on paraffin-embedded tissues from 4 of 10 patients. The positive cell types included endothelial cells and the infiltrating dermal lymphocytes, characteristic hallmarks of LPP. Analysis of T-cell receptor gamma chain rearrangements in lesion tissue from our patients confirmed the lack of a significant association between T-cell clonality and LPP. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that HHV-8 may play a role in the onset of LPP, a disease whose cause and evolution are still undefined and which has often been considered the early stage of mycosis fungoides.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Analysis of APAF-1 expression in human cutaneous melanoma progression.

APAF-1 plays a pivotal role in mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, binding to cytochrome c and favoring activation of caspase-9. It has been shown that epigenetic silencing of the APAF-1 gene is a common event in several metastatic melanoma cells in vitro. We determined, by Western blot, variation in the level of expression of APAF-1 in several human melanoma cell lines and, by immunohistochemistry, in a group of 106 histological samples including benign and malignant melanocytic lesions. We observed APAF-1 down-regulation or loss of expression in two metastatic melanoma cell lines, compared to primary melanoma cell lines. The immunohistochemical analysis revealed a significant difference in APAF-1 staining between nevi and melanomas. In addition, we found a significant negative correlation between APAF-1 expression level and tumor thickness and between primary melanomas and metastases. We conclude that loss of APAF-1 expression can be considered as an indicator of malignant transformation in melanoma.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2002

The HtrA1 serine protease is down-regulated during human melanoma progression and represses growth of metastatic melanoma cells.

Differential gene expression of cell lines derived from a malignant melanoma or its autologous lymph node metastasis using cDNA arrays indicated down-regulation of PRSS11, a gene encoding the serine protease HtrA1, a homolog of the Escherichia coli protease HtrA, in the metastatic line. Stable PRSS11 overexpression in the metastatic cell line strongly inhibited proliferation, chemoinvasion and Nm23-H1 protein expression in vitro, as well as cell growth in vivo in nu/nu mice. A polyclonal anti-HtrA1 serum demonstrated a significantly higher expression in primary melanomas when compared to unrelated metastatic lesions in a human melanoma tissue array, and down-modulation of HtrA1 expression in autologous lymph node melanoma metastases in seven out of 11 cases examined. These results suggest that down-regulation of PRSS11 and HtrA1 expression may represent an indicator of melanoma progression.

Animals↗