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Biomedical subjects

M R Huerre

Publications and source records attributed to M R Huerre.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Liver histopathology and biological correlates in five cases of fatal dengue fever in Vietnamese children.

We studied five fatal cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), confirmed using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method, in Vietnamese children. The liver seems to be a target for dengue virus, so postmortem examinations were performed to investigate elementary lesions, local recruitment of inflammatory cells and whether the virus was present in target cells of the liver. We detected severe, diffuse hepatitis with midzonal necrosis and steatosis in two patients, focal areas of necrosis in two patients, and normal histology in one patient. Dengue virus antigen was detected using immunohistochemistry in hepatocytes from necrotic areas in four cases. There was no recruitment of polymorphonuclear cells, and no lymphocytes were detected in the liver lesions of patients who died from DHF. Lymphocytic infiltration occurred in only one hepatitis B virus-positive patient, with no signs of chronic hepatitis. Kupffer cells had mostly been destroyed in cases with focal or severe necrosis. TUNEL tests were positive in necrotic areas, with positive cells forming clusters, suggesting that an apoptotic mechanism was involved. Thus, we suggest that the hepatocyte and Kupffer cells may be target cells supporting virus replication and that the councilman body is an apoptotic cell, as in the pathogenesis of yellow fever.

Antigens, Viral↗

Outbred mice with long-term Helicobacter felis infection develop both gastric lymphoid tissue and glandular hyperplastic lesions.

Experimental infection of mice with Helicobacter felis reproduces many aspects of the gastritis observed in Helicobacter pylori-infected humans. The development of gastric inflammatory lesions in chronically infected inbred mice is host-dependent; in BALB/c mice, gastric B-cell MALT lymphomas were observed, whilst other murine hosts (e.g. C57BL/6) developed severe glandular hyperplasia. The aims of this investigation were to characterize and immunophenotype Helicobacter-induced inflammatory lesions in mice with an outbred genetic background. Swiss mice (n=10 per group) were either inoculated with a suspension of H. felis or left untreated. H. felis-inoculated mice and age-matched control animals were killed 13 months later. The severity of gastric inflammatory lesions in the animals was graded and the number and distribution of B (CD45R(+)) and T (CD3(+)) lymphocytes in lymphoid tissues was determined by immunohistochemistry. Compared with control mice, animals with long-term H. felis infection developed severe hyperplastic gastritis (0.80+/-0.63 vs. 2.7+/-0.68), with epithelial dedifferentiation (0. 40+/-0.52 vs. 2.3+/-0.82) and lengthening of the pits and glands (0. 46+/-0.05 vs. 0.8+/-0.19). Gastric CD45R(+) and CD3(+) lymphocyte scores were significantly elevated (r=0.803) in infected animals, while lymphoepithelial lesions and polymorphonuclear leucocyte infiltrates were absent. Although prominent lymphoid follicles were present in the tissues of all infected animals, and in one control animal, only a proportion (55%) of the mucosal follicles had a dominant B-cell phenotype (defined as > or =75% CD45R(+) labelling), and all were poorly labelled with anti-mouse immunoglobulin antibodies. It was concluded that the lesions in outbred Swiss mice differed from B-cell MALT lymphomas. In contrast to inbred mice, outbred animals developed both glandular and lymphoid tissue lesions to chronic H. felis infection. It is suggested that the default T-helper phenotype of the host influences glandular lesion formation or B-cell lymphomagenesis in this model of infection.

Animals↗

An improved method to detect beta-galactosidase activity in transgenic mice: a post-staining procedure on paraffin embedded tissue sections.

The Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase gene is frequently used as a reporter gene in transgenic studies because its activity can be easily detected at the cellular level. Here we report a procedure for monitoring beta-galactosidase activity directly in tissue sections, which involves the use of a mixture of ethanol and poly-ethylene-glycol as a fixative (Kryofix) and a special paraffin characterized by a lower fusion point of 42 degrees C. After embedding and cutting, the sections are stained by the chromogenic substrate 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoyl-beta-D galactopyranoside (X-Gal). This procedure allows both the retention of a high level of beta-galactosidase activity and the preservation of good tissue morphology. Furthermore, it can be combined with immunohistochemical methods to detect other cellular components without compromising reporter gene detection.

Animals↗

[Histopathology of protozoa].

Protozoa are single-celled animals hosted by animals and humans. Numerous parasites can be considered to be non-pathogenic for humans but, in tropical countries, pathology caused by protozoa is a major public health problem. The study of parasitic protozoa in tissues has provided fertile ground for investigation. In practical diagnosis, this test is useful when the parasite is not eliminated in stools or absent in the blood. This review considers all the morphological criteria allowing an accurate identification of species. The new infectious agents, recently emerged with HIV infection are analysed by simple technical procedures for their identification.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

Deep-seated fungal diseases in the South Pacific, especially in New Caledonia.

The main deep-seated fungal diseases and their encountered pathology in New Caledonia and other islands of the South Pacific are reviewed (1970-96). Cryptococcosis is encountered in all islands of the South Pacific, Australia and Papua New Guinea, with a predominance of variety gattii, which is associated with some species of Eucalyptus. Histoplasmosis is not uncommon, and there was an epidemic in New Caledonia in 1994 among people who had visited a bat-inhabited cave. Mycetomas, in particular presenting as pale granules in tissues, are encountered in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and French Polynesia. Other fungal infections, such as zygomycosis, sporotrichosis (three cases) and chromomycosis (six cases) are rarely observed in New Caledonia.

Animals↗