M. Furukawa

Transection of the olfactory nerves induces expression of nerve growth factor receptor in mouse olfactory epithelium

Expression of nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR) was found in the mouse olfactory epithelium after olfactory nerve transection, although no immunoreactivity to NGFR was detectable in the olfactory epithelium in the control animals. After axotomy, however, NGFR-immunoreactive cells transiently appeared in the supporting cells, receptor neurons and basal cells between postoperative day 7 and 35, and thereafter disappeared by postoperative day 49. The results indicate that nerve growth factor may contribute to the regeneration of olfactory receptor neurons after olfactory nerve transection.

View from beneath: pathology in focus. Renal cell carcinoma metastasis to the tongue.

: Metastases to the tongue from distant primaries are very rare. A case of renal cell carcinoma metastasis to the tongue, occurring in a 58-year-old man, is presented and previously reported cases are reviewed.

Intramuscular Hemangioma of the Masseter Muscle: Its Characteristic Appearance on Magnetic Resonance Imaging

A 10-year-old girl presented with a 6-month history of right facial swelling. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a tumor in the masseter muscle. On exploration through a preauricular incision, a vascular mass was found located in the lateral aspect of the right masseter muscle. The characteristic MRI appearance of the intramuscular hemangioma of the masseter muscle is shown and the value of MRI for a preoperative differential diagnosis is discussed.

Association of Epstein-Barr virus with polymorphic reticulosis

SummaryWe report a case of polymorphic reticulosis (PR) associated with pharyngeal replication of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). A 78-year-old man with necrotic inflammatory granulations in the nasal cavities and ulcerative tissue of the tonsils was found to have PR after an initial diagnosis of lethal midline granuloma and was found to have high antibody titers to EBV. EBV-determined nuclear antigen (EBNA) was demonstrated in pharyngeal biopsy specimens by the anti-complement immunofluorescent technique, following which dual immunofluorescence staining, EBNA and T-cell antigen analysis were performed, using a wide variety of monoclonal antibodies. All of the EBNA-positive lymphocytes in the pharyngeal biopsy specimens were found to have exclusively T-cell antigens. This case strongly suggests that some of the cases of PR related to T-cell lymphomas may be closely associated with active EBV infection.

Three cases of inter-sterno-costo-clavicular ossification associated with tonsillar infection

Three cases of inter-sterno-costo-clavicular ossification (ISCCO) associated with chronic tonsillitis are reported. Two cases had additional symptoms of pustulosis palmaris et plantaris (PPP). All the patients underwent tonsillectomy. The histological changes of the palatine tonsils of case 1 and case 2 were characterized by so-called focal small lacunar ulcers and periarteriolar fibrosis (onion-skin lesion). Some multinucleated giant cells were observed in case 2. Following tonsillectomy, symptoms in the clavicular region and the PPP improved. It is possible to consider that ISCCO is caused by focal tonsillar infection.

Chondrosarcoma of the parapharyngeal space

Chondrosarcoma is rarely found arising in the head and neck region. An unusual case arising in the parapharyngeal space in a male is reported and the differential diagnosis, pathology and treatment are discussed.

Epstein-Barr virus infection of epithelial cells derived from primary cultures of adenoidal tissue.

SummaryEpithelial cells derived from primary cultures of adenoidal tissue were exposed to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) from the throat washings of a patient with infectious mononucleosis (IM) and P3HR-1 and B95-8 cell strains. They were then examined for EBV-specific antigens by immunofluorescence. EBV from both the P3HR-1 cell strains and the throat washings of the IM patient infected the epithelial cells at the 6th and 9th days, respectively. Although the EBV-antigen-positive cells did not increase in number and disappeared at the 12th day after infection, EBV antigens of the viruss replication cycle could still be detected in the epithelial cells shed from cell culture layer at this time. However, the virus obtained from the cell-free 12th days culture medium was incapable of transforming cord blood lymphocytes.

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) Infection by Cocultivation of Fibroblast-Dominant Cell Line and EBV-Transformed Lymphocytes

A long-term cell culture epitheloid cell line (NPC-F/L) was established from the fibroblast-dominant cell line derived from nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissue by cocultivation with an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed lymphoblastoid cell line of adenoid origin. The cells were investigated by karyotyping, by immunofluorescent testing for EBV-associated nuclear antigen (EBNA), early antigen (EA), and viral capsid antigen (VCA) and by a light microscopy. The cells were shown to be epithelial not only by morphology but also by immunocytochemical staining with monoclonal antibody to cytokeratins and they expressed EBNA and EA but not VCA. The cells developed histologically undifferentiated squamous cell carcinoma when inoculated subcutaneously into the back of athymic nude BALB/c(nu/nu) mice, which were similar to the human tumors from which the fibroblastoid cell line was established. The presence of EBNA in touch smears prepared both from the biopsy tissue of human and nude mice was demonstrated. Karyotyping analysis indicated an aneuploid chromosome with a model number of 74.

Immunophenotypes of the palatal tonsil lymphocytes in Cowden's disease

Cowdens disease is characterized by multiple hamartomas and neoplasias of ectodermal, mesodermal and endodermal origin. A case of a 22-year-old man suffering from nocturnal dyspnoea is reported. The patient had a large number of hyperkeratotic, lichenoid papules, scattered over the right side of the trunk, back and palm. In his oral cavity, papules were present on the gingiva and hard palate. The patient was operated on for tonsillar hypertrophy and for excluding the possibility of malignant lymphoma. An examination of immunophenotypes of the palatal tonsil lymphocytes revealed B-cell proliferation and poly-clonal immunoglobulin.