-The placenta is an important component in understanding the fetal response to intrauterine Zika virus infection, but the pathologic changes in this organ remain largely unknown. Hofbauer cells are ...fetal-derived macrophages normally present in the chorionic villous stroma. They have been implicated in a variety of physiological and pathologic processes, in particular involving infectious agents.
-To characterize the fetal and maternal responses and viral localization in the placenta following Zika virus transmission to an 11 weeks' gestation fetus. The clinical course was notable for prolonged viremia in the mother and extensive neuronal necrosis in the fetus. The fetus was delivered at 21 weeks' gestation after pregnancy termination.
-The placenta was evaluated by using immunohistochemistry for inflammatory cells (macrophages/monocytes Hofbauer cells, B and T lymphocytes) and proliferating cells, and an RNA probe to Zika virus. The fetal brain and the placenta were previously found to be positive for Zika virus RNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.
-The placenta demonstrated prominently enlarged, hydropic chorionic villi with hyperplasia and focal proliferation of Hofbauer cells. The degree of Hofbauer cell hyperplasia gave an exaggerated immature appearance to the villi. No acute or chronic villitis, villous necrosis, remote necroinflammatory abnormalities, chorioamnionitis, funisitis, or hemorrhages were present. An RNA probe to Zika virus was positive in villous stromal cells, presumably Hofbauer cells.
-Zika virus placental infection induces proliferation and prominent hyperplasia of Hofbauer cells in the chorionic villi but does not elicit villous necrosis or a maternal or fetal lymphoplasmacellular or acute inflammatory cell reaction.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
DICER1 Mutations in Familial Pleuropulmonary Blastoma Hill, D. Ashley; Ivanovich, Jennifer; Priest, John R ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
08/2009, Volume:
325, Issue:
5943
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) is a rare pediatric lung tumor that is often part of an inherited cancer syndrome. PPBs consist of mesenchymal cells that are susceptible to malignant transformation ...and cysts lined by epithelial cells. In a subset of patients, overgrowth of the cysts by mesenchymal cells leads to sarcoma formation. Here, we show that 11 multiplex PPB families harbor heterozygous germline mutations in DICER1, a gene encoding an endoribonuclease critical to the generation of small noncoding regulatory RNAs. Expression of DICER1 protein was undetectable in the epithelial component of PPB tumors but was retained in the malignant mesenchyme (sarcoma). We hypothesize that loss of DICER1 in the epithelium of the developing lung alters the regulation of diffusible factors that promote mesenchymal proliferation.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Context:
The risk of thyroid cancer and multinodular goiter (MNG) in DICER1 syndrome, a rare tumor-predisposition disorder, is unknown.
Objective:
To quantify the risk of thyroid cancer and ...MNG in individuals with DICER1 syndrome.
Design:
Family-based cohort study.
Setting:
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center (CC).
Participants:
The National Cancer Institute DICER1 syndrome cohort included 145 individuals with a DICER1 germline mutation and 135 family controls from 48 families.
Interventions:
Each individual completed a detailed medical history questionnaire. A subset underwent a 3-day evaluation at the NIH CC.
Main Outcome Measures:
The cumulative incidence of MNG (or thyroidectomy) was quantified using the complement of the Kaplan-Meier product limit estimator. We compared the observed number of thyroid cancers in the NCI DICER1 cohort with matched data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. We performed germline and somatic (thyroid cancer, MNG) DICER1 sequencing.
Results:
By the age of 40 years, the cumulative incidence of MNG or thyroidectomy was 75% in women and 17% in men with DICER1 syndrome compared with 8% of control women (P < 0.001) and 0% of control men (P = 0.0096). During 3937 person-years of observation, individuals with DICER1 syndrome had a 16-fold increased risk of thyroid cancer (95% confidence interval, 4.3 to 41; P < 0.05) compared with the SEER rates. Of 19 MNG nodules and 3 thyroid cancers, 16 (84%) and 3 (100%), respectively, harbored germline and somatic pathogenic DICER1 mutations.
Conclusions:
We propose a model of thyroid carcinogenesis in DICER1 syndrome. Early-onset, familial, or male MNG should prompt consideration of the presence of DICER1 syndrome.
In a family-based cohort study of the DICER1 syndrome, we quantified the remarkably elevated rates of multinodular goiter and propose a model of DICER1-associated thyroid carcinogenesis.
The DICER1 syndrome is associated with a variety of rare benign and malignant tumors, including pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB), cystic nephroma (CN) and Sertoli‐Leydig cell tumor (SLCT). The ...prevalence and penetrance of pathogenic DICER1 variation in the general population is unknown. We examined three publicly‐available germline whole exome sequence datasets: Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC), 1,000 Genomes (1,000 G) and the Exome Sequencing Project (ESP). To avoid over‐estimation of pathogenic DICER1 variation from cancer‐associated exomes, we excluded The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) variants from ExAC. All datasets were annotated with snpEff and ANNOVAR and variants were classified into four categories: likely benign (LB), unknown significance (VUS), likely pathogenic (LP), or pathogenic (P). The prevalence of DICER1 P/LP variants was 1:870 to 1:2,529 in ExAC‐nonTCGA (53,105 exomes) estimated by metaSVM and REVEL/CADD, respectively. A more stringent prevalence calculation considering only loss‐of‐function and previously‐published pathogenic variants detected in ExAC‐nonTCGA, yielded a prevalence of 1:10,600. Despite the rarity of most DICER1 syndrome tumors, pathogenic DICER1 variation is more common than expected. If confirmed, these findings may inform future sequencing‐based newborn screening programs for PPB, CN and SLCT, in which early detection improves prognosis.
What's new?
DICER1 syndrome is an inherited condition that predisposes individuals, particularly children, to various benign and malignant tumors. As a recently identified syndrome, however, little is known about its prevalence. Here, using publicly available datasets, the authors found that the prevalence of pathogenic/likely pathogenic DICER1 variation ranges from 1:870–1:2,529. When only loss‐of‐function (LOF) variants were considered, the prevalence dropped to 1:10,600. Given that LOF variants comprise the majority of previously documented DICER1‐associated tumors, the data reveal a higher prevalence than anticipated. The findings may relevant for sequencing‐based newborn screening programs, potentially enabling early intervention in individuals at high risk of DICER1‐associated tumors.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Dyspareunia in Women Hill, D Ashley; Taylor, Chantel A
American family physician,
2021-May-15, 20210515, Volume:
103, Issue:
10
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Dyspareunia is recurrent or persistent pain with sexual intercourse that causes distress. It affects approximately 10% to 20% of U.S. women. Dyspareunia may be superficial, causing pain with ...attempted vaginal insertion, or deep. Women with sexual pain are at increased risk of sexual dysfunction, relationship distress, diminished quality of life, anxiety, and depression. Because discussing sexual issues may be uncomfortable, clinicians should create a safe and welcoming environment when taking a sexual history, where patients describe the characteristics of the pain (e.g., location, intensity, duration). Physical examination of the external genitalia includes visual inspection and sequential pressure with a cotton swab, assessing for focal erythema or pain. A single-digit vaginal examination may identify tender pelvic floor muscles, and a bimanual examination can assess for uterine retroversion and pelvic masses. Common diagnoses include vulvodynia, inadequate lubrication, vaginal atrophy, postpartum causes, pelvic floor dysfunction, endometriosis, and vaginismus. Treatment is focused on the cause and may include lubricants, pelvic floor physical therapy, topical analgesics, vaginal estrogen, cognitive behavior therapy, vaginal dilators, modified vestibulectomy, or onabotulinumtoxinA injections.
Since the original description of pathogenic germline DICER1 variation underlying pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB), the spectrum of extrapulmonary neoplasms known to be associated with DICER1 has ...continued to expand and now includes tumors of the ovary, thyroid, kidney, eye, and brain among other sites. This report documents our experience with another manifestation: a primitive sarcoma that resembles PPB and DICER1-associated sarcoma of the kidney. These tumors are distinguished by their unusual location in the peritoneal cavity, associated with visceral and/or parietal mesothelium. A total of seven cases were identified through pathology review in children presenting at a median age of 13 years (range 3-14 years). Primary sites of origin included the fallopian tube (four cases), serosal surface of the colon (one case), and pelvic sidewall (two cases). One case had pathologic features of type I PPB, another type Ir (regressed) PPB, and the remaining five had features of type II or III PPB with a mixed primitive sarcomatous pattern with or without cystic elements. All had a pathogenic DICER1 variation identified in germline and/or tumor DNA. PPB-like peritoneal tumors represent a newly described manifestation of DICER1 pathogenic variation whose pathologic features are also recapitulated in DICER1-related renal sarcoma, cervical embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, and some Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors with heterologous elements. Tumors arising from the fallopian tube or elsewhere in the abdomen/pelvis, especially those with heterogeneous rhabdomyosarcomatous and/or cartilaginous differentiation, should prompt consideration of germline and tumor DICER1 testing.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The pathogenesis of cystic nephroma of the kidney has interested pathologists for over 50 years. Emerging from its initial designation as a type of unilateral multilocular cyst, cystic nephroma has ...been considered as either a developmental abnormality or a neoplasm or both. Many have viewed cystic nephroma as the benign end of the pathologic spectrum with cystic partially differentiated nephroblastoma and Wilms tumor, whereas others have considered it a mixed epithelial and stromal tumor. We hypothesize that cystic nephroma, like the pleuropulmonary blastoma in the lung, represents a spectrum of abnormal renal organogenesis with risk for malignant transformation. Here we studied DICER1 mutations in a cohort of 20 cystic nephromas and 6 cystic partially differentiated nephroblastomas, selected independently of a familial association with pleuropulmonary blastoma and describe four cases of sarcoma arising in cystic nephroma, which have a similarity to the solid areas of type II or III pleuropulmonary blastoma. The genetic analyses presented here confirm that DICER1 mutations are the major genetic event in the development of cystic nephroma. Further, cystic nephroma and pleuropulmonary blastoma have similar DICER1 loss of function and ‘hotspot' missense mutation rates, which involve specific amino acids in the RNase IIIb domain. We propose an alternative pathway with the genetic pathogenesis of cystic nephroma and DICER1-renal sarcoma paralleling that of type I to type II/III malignant progression of pleuropulmonary blastoma.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Pineoblastomas (PBs) are rare, aggressive pediatric brain tumors of the pineal gland with modest overall survival despite intensive therapy. We sought to define the clinical and molecular spectra of ...PB to inform new treatment approaches for this orphan cancer. Tumor, blood, and clinical data from 91 patients with PB or supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor (sPNETs/CNS-PNETs), and 2 pineal parenchymal tumors of intermediate differentiation (PPTIDs) were collected from 29 centres in the Rare Brain Tumor Consortium. We used global DNA methylation profiling to define a core group of PB from 72/93 cases, which were delineated into five molecular sub-groups. Copy number, whole exome and targeted sequencing, and miRNA expression analyses were used to evaluate the clinico-pathologic significance of each sub-group. Tumors designated as group 1 and 2 almost exclusively exhibited deleterious homozygous loss-of-function alterations in miRNA biogenesis genes (
DICER1
,
DROSHA
, and
DGCR8
) in 62 and 100% of group 1 and 2 tumors, respectively. Recurrent alterations of the oncogenic
MYC-miR-17/92-RB1
pathway were observed in the RB and MYC sub-group, respectively, characterized by
RB1
loss with gain of
miR-17/92
, and recurrent gain or amplification of
MYC
. PB sub-groups exhibited distinct clinical features: group 1–3 arose in older children (median ages 5.2–14.0 years) and had intermediate to excellent survival (5-year OS of 68.0–100%), while Group RB and MYC PB patients were much younger (median age 1.3–1.4 years) with dismal survival (5-year OS 37.5% and 28.6%, respectively). We identified age < 3 years at diagnosis, metastatic disease, omission of upfront radiation, and chr 16q loss as significant negative prognostic factors across all PBs. Our findings demonstrate that PB exhibits substantial molecular heterogeneity with sub-group-associated clinical phenotypes and survival. In addition to revealing novel biology and therapeutics, molecular sub-grouping of PB can be exploited to reduce treatment intensity for patients with favorable biology tumors.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
This report documents a unique multicystic neoplasm of the liver in an 8-month-old boy with a heterozygous germline pathogenic DICER1 variant. This neoplasm, initially considered most likely a ...mesenchymal hamartoma based on imaging, demonstrated the characteristic histologic pattern of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma residing in the subepithelial or cambium layer-like zone of the epithelial-lined cysts. Thus, although the differential diagnosis includes mesenchymal hamartoma, a young child with a multicystic mass lesion in the liver, lung, or kidney should both raise the possibility of a germline pathogenic DICER1 variant and also not be mistaken for one of the other hepatic neoplasms of childhood.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP