Macrophages are generated through the differentiation of monocytes in tissues and they have important functions in innate and adaptive immunity. In addition to their roles as phagocytes, macrophages can be further differentiated, in the presence of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), into osteoclasts (multinucleated giant...

Giant cells fully permissive for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) were found to circulate, at a variable proportion, in peripheral blood of 21 out of 25 immunocompromised patients with disseminated HCMV infection. Circulating endothelial giant cells (EGC) were identified by a specific monoclonal antibody of endothelial origin and shown to express immediateearly, early, and late viral proteins. Immu...

Aims: To examine the expression of ADAM12 (meltrin α), a member of the disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) family, in human giant cell tumours of the bone, skeletal muscle tissue from human embryos, and human adult skeletal muscle tissue. Methods: ADAM12 mRNA was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridisation. Results: ADAM12 mRNA was detected in 14 of ...

Necropsy findings of an acute fatal case of idiopathic interstitial myocarditis were reported. The patient was a 33 year old housewife who had acute cardiac failure on the sixteenth day after the onset of the disease. Necropsy showed important pathological changes confined to the heart. Both ventricles were affected by confluent granulomas with an ill defined patchy appearance. Histologically t...

AIM To analyze the functional interactions of Cyclin with p53 and Atm in spermatogenesis and DNA double-strand break repair. METHODS Two lines of double knockout mice were generated. Spermatogenesis and double strand break repair mechanisms were analyzed in Cyclin A1 (Ccna1); p53- and Ccna1; Atm-double knockout mice. RESULTS The block in spermatogenesis observed in Cyclin A1-/- (Ccna1-/-) t...

Hepatocellular carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells is extremely rare, and only six cases have been previously reported. Its histogenesis is at the moment controversial. The authors report a case of hepatocellular carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells found in a 74-year-old woman. The patient came with a dull pain in the right upper abdominal quadrants due to a liver neoplasm describ...

electron microscopic procedures to provide more information on the fine structure of nuclei and nucleoli in giant cells. Nuclei of giant cells were characterized by the presence of an increased number of interchromatinic and perichromatinic granules. In addition, dense globular structures about 500 to 1500 A in diameter were noted in association with chromatin. The spherical clusters observed i...