Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is the second most common type of invasive breast cancer, having distinct prognostic and biologic implications. As an objective of the present work, we analyzed the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic factor of this invasive breast cancer variant. Clinical and morphological data of 25 cases of ILC collected during 2006-2011 were reviewed. Histopathologically, 11 cases were of classic type, and the others were non-classic with solid and histiocytoid subtypes being mostly encountered. Overall the non-classic ILC type was diagnosed in more aged patients (with a median age at onset of 59 years), with a predominance for a more advanced tumor degree differentiation (78.5% as grade 2 and 3), in advanced pTNM stages (50% in stage III and IV), with 50% lymph node involvement and with over 70% ER and Her2 reactivity. Statistically, we found that for the solid variant prevailed a PR+ and Her2- status while in histiocytoid subtype the PR- and Her2+ immunoprofile was most encountered. We conclude that non-classic ILC type represents a distinct entity of invasive breast carcinoma with a worsen prognostic than the conventional ILC type.
A novel Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, heterotrophic bacterium, designated 306 T , was isolated from near-surface (109 cm below the sea floor) sediments of the Gulf of Lions, in the Mediterranean Sea. Strain 306 T grew at temperatures between 4 and 32 °C (optimum 17–22 °C), from pH 6.5 to 9.0 (optimum 8.0–9.0) and between 0.5 and 6.0 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 2.0 %). Its DNA G+C content was 58.8 mol%. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, the novel isolate belongs to the class Alphaproteobacteria and is related to the genus Phaeobacter . It shares 98.7 % 16S rRNA sequence identity with Phaeobacter arcticus , its closest phylogenetic relative. It contained Q-10 as the only respiratory quinone, C 18 : 1 ω7 c and C 16 : 0 as major fatty acids (>5 %) and phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, diphosphatidylglycerol, two unidentified lipids and an aminolipid as polar lipids. The chemotaxonomic data are consistent with the affiliation of strain 306 T to the genus Phaeobacter . Results of physiological experiments, biochemical tests and DNA–DNA hybridizations (with P. arcticus ) indicate that strain 306 T is genetically and phenotypically distinct from the five species of the genus Phaeobacter with validly published names. Strain 306 T therefore represents a novel species, for which the name Phaeobacter leonis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 306 T ( = DSM 25627 T = CIP 110369 T = UBOCC 3187 T ).
Abstract It is generally assumed that viruses outnumber cells on Earth by at least tenfold. Virus-to-microbe ratios (VMR) are largely based on counts of fluorescently labelled virus-like particles. However, these exclude intracellular viruses and potentially include false positives (DNA-containing vesicles, gene-transfer agents, unspecifically stained inert particles). Here, we develop a metagenome-based VMR estimate (mVRM) that accounts for DNA viruses across all stages of their replication cycles (virion, intracellular lytic and lysogenic) by using normalised RPKM (reads per kilobase of gene sequence per million of mapped metagenome reads) counts of the major capsid protein (MCP) genes and cellular universal single-copy genes (USCGs) as proxies for virus and cell counts, respectively. After benchmarking this strategy using mock metagenomes with increasing VMR, we inferred mVMR across different biomes. To properly estimate mVMR in aquatic ecosystems, we generated metagenomes from co-occurring cellular and viral fractions (>50 kDa-200 µm size-range) in freshwater, seawater and solar saltern ponds (10 metagenomes, 2 control metaviromes). Viruses outnumbered cells in freshwater by ∼13 fold and in plankton from marine and saline waters by ∼2-4 fold. However, across an additional set of 121 diverse non-aquatic metagenomes including microbial mats, microbialites, soils, freshwater and marine sediments and metazoan-associated microbiomes, viruses, on average, outnumbered cells by barely two-fold. Although viruses likely are the most diverse biological entities on Earth, their global numbers might be closer to those of cells than previously estimated.
Logging data are measurements of physical properties of the formation surrounding a borehole, acquired in situ after completion of coring (wireline logging) or during drilling (Logging-While-Drilling, LWD). The range of data (resistivity, gamma radiation, velocity, density, borehole images,…) in any hole depends on the scientific objectives and operational constraints.
Objective: The objective of the study was to estimate how the pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic imbalances correlate with endothelial dysfunction at hypertensive patients (pts) with or without diabetes mellitus (DM). Design and method: 40 hypertensive pts (mean age 58.4 ± 7.3 years, 52.5% males) group 1 and 40 hypertensive pts with DM, matched for age and sex (mean age 56.5 ± 7.6 years, 55% males) group 2.Endothelial function was evaluated using ultrasound assessment of flow mediated vasodilatation of the brachial artery (FMD). FMD smaller than 10% was considered abnormal. Inflammation profile was estimated by serum measurement of C reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen (F). Pro-thrombotic profile was determinated by serum measurement of von Willebrand factor (vWf), antithrombin III (AT III), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI 1) and homocysteine (H). Results: In group 1, 13 pts (32.5%) had reduced FMD (%): 7.3 ± 1.6. In group 2, 16 pts (40%) had reduced FMD (%): 6.8 ± 1.9. The difference is not significantly statistic between the two groups (p = 0.44). In group 1, reduced FMD was significantly associated with higher level of CRP (2.65 ± 1.17 mg/l vs 7.84 ± 1.68 mg/l, p = 0.02). In group 2, low FMD was found in a significantly higher proportion at pts with higher level of CRP (2.87 ± 1.33 mg/l vs 9.25 ± 2.03 mg/l, p = 0.008) and also with greater proportion of vWf (87.21 ± 31.73% vs 148.15 ± 42.33%, p = 0.001). In the same group, reduced FMD was significantly associated with higher level of PAI 1 (0.42 ± 0.24 u/ml vs 0.92 ± 0.35 u/ml, p = 0.03) and higher proportion of H (4.2 ± 1.3 μm/l vs 17.4 ± 1.2 μm/l, p = 0.02). Conclusions: Hypertensive pts with DM have endothelial dysfunction in a greater but not significant proportion than hypertensive pts without DM. Endothelial dysfunction at hypertensive pts seems to reflect a pro-inflammatory status. Moreover, endothelial dysfunction at hypertensive pts with DM appears to express both pro-inflammatory status and pro-thrombotic imbalance.
Patescibacteria form a very diverse and widely distributed phylum of small bacteria inferred to have an episymbiotic lifestyle. However, the prevalence of this lifestyle within the phylum and their host specificity remain poorly known due to the scarcity of cultured representatives. Here, we describe a tripartite interaction of a patescibacterium, its gammaproteobacterial host, and a patescibacterial phage based on metagenomic data and enrichment cultures from two shallow, geographically close, freshwater ecosystems. The patescibacterium, Strigamonas methylophilicida sp. nov., defines a new genus within the family Absconditicoccaceae. It grows as epibiont on cells of methanotrophic species of the gammaproteobacterial family Methylophilaceae. Strigamonas cells are tightly attached to the host, sometimes forming stacks that connect two host cells. Despite a surprisingly large genome (1.9 Mb) compared to many other patescibacteria, S. methylophilicida lacks many essential biosynthetic pathways, including the complete biosynthesis of phospholipids, amino acids, and nucleic acids, implying a dependence on the host to obtain these molecules. From metagenomes of these ecosystems, we identified and assembled the genome of a jumbo phage likely infecting the patescibacterium based on a CRISPR spacer match. Its large genome (230 kb) contained a wide gene repertoire, including genes probably involved in the modification of the Strigamonas metabolism and cell surface. By manipulating the patescibacterial phenotype during infection, the phage likely influences in turn the interaction of the patescibacterial epibiont with its methylotrophic host in a parasitic menage-a-trois. Our results confirm a prevalent episymbiotic lifestyle in Absconditicoccaceae and further suggest a clade-specific adaptation of these patescibacteria for gammaproteobacterial hosts.
