'The pancreatic islet is necessary for maintaining glucose homeostasis. Within the pancreatic islet, the homeodomain protein Nkx2.2 is essential for the differentiation of all insulin-producing beta cells and a subset of glucagon-producing alpha cells (1). Mice lacking Nkx2.2 have relatively normal sized islets, but a large number of cells within ... More
Corticomedullary mixed tumor of the adrenal gland with concurrent adrenal myelolipoma.
AuthorsChu AY, LiVolsi VA, Fraker DL, Zhang PJ
JournalArch Pathol Lab Med
PubMed ID12873195
We report the case of a corticomedullary mixed tumor of the adrenal gland in a 55-year-old woman with a left adrenal mass who presented with mild symptoms of Cushing syndrome and an elevated urinary cortisol level. The patient underwent a left adrenalectomy. A well-circumscribed 2.5-cm mass, composed of an admixture ... More
Primary malignant melanoma of the common bile duct: a case report and review of the literature.
AuthorsWagner MS, Shoup M, Pickleman J, Yong S
JournalArch Pathol Lab Med
PubMed ID10705398
Primary malignant melanoma of the common bile duct is rare. To our knowledge, only 6 cases have been reported previously. The pathologic diagnosis of primary malignant melanoma in extracutaneous sites often requires the use of confirmatory immunohistochemical stains and electron microscopy studies, as well as tests to rule out other ... More
Raf-1 activation suppresses neuroendocrine marker and hormone levels in human gastrointestinal carcinoid cells.
AuthorsSippel RS, Carpenter JE, Kunnimalaiyaan M, Lagerholm S, Chen H,
JournalAm J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol
PubMed ID12851216
Gastrointestinal carcinoid cells secrete multiple neuroendocrine markers and hormones including 5-HT and chromogranin A. The intracellular signaling pathways that regulate production of bioactive molecules are not completely understood. Our aim was to determine whether activation of the raf-1/MEK/MAPK signal transduction pathway in carcinoid cells could modulate production of neuroendocrine markers ... More
Metastatic juxtaglomerular cell tumor in a 52-year-old man.
AuthorsDuan X, Bruneval P, Hammadeh R, Fresco R, Eble JN, Clark JI, Vigneswaran WT, Flanigan RC, Picken MM,
JournalAm J Surg Pathol
PubMed ID15252319
Juxtaglomerular cell tumor is a rare renal neoplasm arising from the juxtaglomerular apparatus. Approximately 70 cases have been reported in the English literature since it was first described by Robertson et al in 1967. This tumor has been considered benign and resection has so far been curative. In this paper, ... More
Tautomycetin and tautomycin suppress the growth of medullary thyroid cancer cells via inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta.
AuthorsAdler JT, Cook M, Luo Y, Pitt SC, Ju J, Li W, Shen B, Kunnimalaiyaan M, Chen H
JournalMol Cancer Ther
PubMed ID19372564
Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a relatively uncommon neuroendocrine tumor that arises from the calcitonin-secreting parafollicular cells of the thyroid gland. Unfortunately, MTC frequently metastasizes, precluding curative surgical resection and causing significant morbidity. Thus, there is an urgent need for new treatment modalities. Tautomycin and tautomycetin are antifungal antibiotics isolated ... More