Gdańsk Medical University

About: Gdańsk Medical University is a education organization based out in Gdańsk, Poland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 4893 authors who have published 11216 publications receiving 260523 citations.

Interleukin-2 as a predictor of early postoperative atrial fibrillation after cardiopulmonary bypass graft (CABG).

Abstract: Recently, inflammation has been considered as a risk factor of postoperative atrial fibrillation (PAF). The main purpose of this study was to estimate the connections between occurrence of PAF and cytokine release. Thirty-three patients who qualified for cardiopulmonary bypass graft (CABG) were included in the study. Blood was taken from all of them before CABG, then 3 h, 24 h, and 72 h afterwards. Cytokine (IL-6, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IFN-γ, TNF-α) concentration was measured at every time point. Eleven patients developed atrial fibrillation after the CABG. Five of them developed PAF until 1 day post-CABG and six of them after 1 day post-CABG. Patients who developed PAF before 1 day post-CABG were characterized by a higher level of IL-2 in sera before 24 h and 72 h post-CABG compared with patients without PAF. Moreover, the PAF before 1 day post-CABG group was also characterized by the higher level of IFN-γ and IL-10 at 24 h after intervention. Analysis of patients who developed PAF after 1 day post-CABG rev...

The Neurofibromatosis Type 2 Gene Is Mutated in Perineurial Cell Tumors : A Molecular Genetic Study of Eight Cases

Abstract: Perineurial cell tumors (PNTs) are rare neoplasms derived from or showing differentiation toward specialized lining cells of the nerve sheath, the perineurial cells. In this study, we have evaluated neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) gene alterations in eight PNTs using archival formaldehyde-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue. Two conventional soft-tissue PNTs from the upper back and chest wall, one retiform soft tissue variant from the scapular region, and five sclerosing PNTs from the fingers and palm were studied. All cases showed histological features of PNTs, and the neoplastic cells were positive for epithelial membrane antigen and negative for S100 protein. The coding sequences (exons 1 to 15) of the NF2 gene were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified and evaluated for mutations by direct sequencing of the PCR products. Five NF2 point mutations, two in the 5′-untranslated region (UTR) and three in exons 3, 6, and 8, were identified in four of eight cases (50%) studied. Exon mutations resulted in changes of predicted amino acids sequences: Asp→Asn at codon 83, Glu→Asp at codon 182, and Leu→Val at codon 241. In two cases (one with a missense mutation in codon 241), the same point mutation in the 5′-UTR at the nucleotide position 8958 was identified. A loss of heterozygosity (LOH) study was performed in three cases. LOH at the NF2 locus was found in one case with a mutation in the 5′-UTR. However, in another case with exon 8 and 5′-UTR mutations, deletion of one allele of the NF2 gene was previously documented by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The coexistence of NF2 gene mutations and LOH at the NF2 locus indicates that the NF2 tumor suppressor gene is altered in PNTs by the two-hit mechanism.