Project description:We investigated the effects of PACAP knock out on the transcriptosome profile of adrenal gland. A 35,546-clone mouse cDNA microarray was used to investigate transcriptional changes Keywords: transcript identification design In the hybridization method employed, equal amounts (2-5 ug/15.5 ul) of total RNA obtained from adrenal gland of wild type and PACAP KO mice groups were separately labeled with two different fluorescent dyes (Cy3 or Cy5) and applied on the same NIMH Mouse 36K cDNA microarray chip containing 13217 distinct Entrez gene IDs (formerly known as LocusLink) and 15888 distinct unigene IDs, the remainders are incompletely annotated IMAGE clones. Probe preparation and hybridization were performed as follows. The total RNA (15-50 ug in 15.5 ul) was incubated with amine-modified random primer (2 ug/ul, 2 ul) and RNase inhibitor (5 units/ul, 1 ul) at 70C for 10 min. Primer-RNA solution was then incubated at 42C for 2 hr with the reverse transcriptase mix containing 5X first-strand buffer, 50X aa-dUTP/dNTPs (25 mM dATP, 25 mM dGTP, 25 mM dCTP, 15 mM dTTP and 10 mM aminoallyl dUTP), 0.1 M DDT, and Superscript II reverse transcriptase. The cDNA were labeled with NHS-ester Cy3 or Cy5 dye in the presence of 1 M sodium bicarbonate. Array slides placed in a hybridization chamber (Corning, Corning, NY) were incubated at 42C for 16-24 hr, and successively washed with 0.5X SSC, 0.01% SDS, and 0.06X SSC at room temperature for 10 min each. Arrays were scanned with a GenePix 4000A scanner (Axon, Foster City, CA), and the resulting images were analyzed using IPlab (Fairfax, VA) and a FileMaker Pro 5 (Santa Clara, CA) relational database designed by Zedong Chen, NHGRI. Following background subtraction and normalization, a calculated ratio of Cy3 to Cy5 signal intensities was used to define the relative increase or decrease of a particular transcript. Ratios were calculated only from those spots with a combined ratio quality above 0.3.
Project description:Adrenal gland trauma is a rare phenomenon, due to the small size and retroperitoneal location of the organ. The majority of adrenal gland trauma is due to blunt force injury and is only rarely encountered due to the penetrating mechanisms. A 20-year-old male sustained a gunshot wound to the left abdomen. Upon exploration, he was found to have a through and through injury to the left adrenal gland, among other injuries. Injury to the adrenal gland due to penetrating trauma is exceptionally rare. The principles of management are to control bleeding from the gland with debridement and hemostasis rather than attempt to resect the entire organ. The management of a penetrating injury to the adrenal gland is straightforward and should not be a contributor to a patient's morbidity or mortality.
Project description:Abdominal ultrasound is frequently used to assess the canine adrenal gland (AG) and subjective and objective features of normal AGs have been described. The effect of the dogs' recumbency position on the accuracy of AG measurement acquisition is not known. This prospective study, performed in dogs with non-adrenal illness, compared ultrasonographic AG measurements made in dogs placed in dorsal recumbency with those made in left or right lateral recumbency. AG length, height and width measurements made in the longitudinal image plane, and height and width measurements from the transverse image plane were assessed. The level and limits of agreement between the dorsal and lateral recumbency for each of the measurements were determined using the Bland-Altman analysis. The measurement with the best agreement between the dorsal and lateral recumbency was the caudal pole thickness (CPT) from the longitudinal image plane. Agreement between lateral and dorsal recumbency was poorer for the measurements derived from the transverse image plane and poorest for measurements of AG length in the longitudinal plane. This study demonstrates that there is some difference in the measurements acquired in dorsal compared with lateral recumbency; however, the difference is small for the CPT from the longitudinal plane. This finding suggests that the CPT from the longitudinal image plane is the most reliable measurement in terms of agreement between dorsal and lateral recumbency in dogs with non-AG illness.
Project description:The adrenal glands (AGs) are relatively small yet require definitive identification during their resection, or more commonly their avoidance. To enable image-guided surgery involving the AGs, we have developed novel near-infrared (NIR) fluorophores that target the AGs after a single intravenous injection, which provided dual-NIR image-guided resection or avoidance of the AGs during both open and minimally-invasive surgery.
Project description:ObjectivesThe association of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis activation has not been fully understood from results of previous studies using hormonal assessments. We aimed to investigate the relationship between adrenal size, a potential marker reflecting HPA axis activity, and sleep parameters related to OSA.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed data on 284 consecutive adult patients aged 20 to 80 y who had undergone polysomnography and abdominal computed tomography (CT). OSA was defined as none/mild (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] <15, n = 75), moderate (AHI 15 to 30, n = 80), and severe OSA (AHI ≥30, n = 129). Widths of adrenal body and limbs were measured by abdominal CT.ResultsAdrenal size was greater in participants with severe OSA than in those with none/mild or moderate OSA (adrenal body width: 6.03 mm, none/mild OSA; 6.09 mm, moderate OSA; 6.78 mm, severe OSA; p <0.001; adrenal limb width: 3.75 mm, none/mild OSA; 3.95 mm, moderate OSA; 4.26 mm, severe OSA, p <0.001). Multivariate regression analysis showed that not the 3% oxygen desaturation index and time of SpO2 <90% but a higher arousal index was the only determinant factor for increased adrenal limb width (β = 0.27, p <0.001) after adjusting for other variables that could affect adrenal size. Neither the arousal index nor hypoxic parameters were associated with adrenal body width.ConclusionsResults indicated that adrenal glands may enlarge in response to longstanding sleep fragmentation, suggesting the involvement of OSA in HPA axis augmentation.
Project description:BackgroundTeratomas are unusual tumors derived from multiple germ layers but they usually arise from all three germ layers. Knowledge of this disease is still very limited because of its low incidence. Retroperitoneal teratomas are extremely rare neoplasms, especially adrenal teratomas, which frequently found to be large, cystic or cyst-solid lesions. Adrenal teratomas are easily confused with various benign or malignant tumors, such as myelolipomas, adenomas, and hamartomas.Case descriptionIn this case presentation, we report a rare case in which an adrenal gland mass without apparent discomfort was detected by abdominal computed tomography (CT) for 6 months in a 59-year-old female. Results from the patient's adrenal hormonal evaluation were normal. An abdominal enhanced CT scan revealed a heterogeneous mass in the right adrenal gland. The patient then underwent a laparoscopic right adrenalectomy and the lesion was diagnosed as mature teratoma through histopathological examination. The patient recovered well without any complications.ConclusionsBased on our knowledge, surgical resection is the first-choice intervention for the diagnosis and treatment of mature teratoma. Open surgery is the preferred method for the large tumors, while the laparoscopic adrenalectomy can be a better option in the small one. The patient's prognosis is usually good after complete resection, but close follow-up is also recommended.
Project description:Circadian rhythms regulate a plethora of physiological processes. Perturbations of the rhythm can result in pathologies which are frequently studied in inbred mouse strains. We show that the genotype of mouse lines defines the circadian gene expression patterns. Expression of majority of core clock and output metabolic genes are phase delayed in the C56BL/6J line compared to 129S2 in the adrenal glands and the liver. Circadian amplitudes are generally higher in the 129S2 line. Experiments in dark - dark (DD) and light - dark conditions (LD), exome sequencing and data mining proposed that mouse lines differ in single nucleotide variants in the binding regions of clock related transcription factors in open chromatin regions. A possible mechanisms of differential circadian expression could be the entrainment and transmission of the light signal to peripheral organs. This is supported by the genotype effect in adrenal glands that is largest under LD, and by the high number of single nucleotide variants in the Receptor, Kinase and G-protein coupled receptor Panther molecular function categories. Different phenotypes of the two mouse lines and changed amino acid sequence of the Period 2 protein possibly contribute further to the observed differences in circadian gene expression.
Project description:Angiomyolipomas, a type of benign mesenchymal tumor originating from perivascular epithelioid cells, are composed of mature adipose tissue, smooth muscle, and thick-walled vessels. With fewer than 20 cases reported in English literature, adrenal angiomyolipoma is extremely rare. In these cases, the patient is usually asymptomatic and the tumor is found incidentally. Adrenal angiomyolipoma has never been reported in association with lung cancer. A 62-year-old man presented with an enlarged mass in the left adrenal gland. The mass had persisted for two years previously and was first discovered during a routine follow-up CT examination after lung cancer resection in 2016. Subsequently, partial left adrenal resection was performed. Postoperative histopathology confirmed a benign angiomyolipoma comprising adipose tissue, blood vessels, and smooth muscle cells. At three months follow-up, the patient was alive and had experienced no recurrence after the operation. Eighteen cases were identified on literature review, among which no patients had a history of lung cancer. These cases occurred more often in females and lesions mostly located on the right side. All of the reported cases were nonfunctional, ranging in size from 0.2 to 16 cm (95% of the masses exceeding 4 cm). In this case report, we consider a rare case of a patient with an adrenal angiomyolipoma with a history of lung cancer. Adrenal angiomyolipoma should be considered as one of the differential diagnoses of adrenal metastasis for patients with a history of primary tumors.
Project description:Teratoma originates from pluripotent cells of two or more than two germ cell layers, and most of them are benign. Teratomas are found in the ovaries and testes. Retroperitoneal teratoma is rare, especially adrenal teratoma. Here, we describe a rare case of a 17-year-old woman who was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and a right adrenal mass at the age of eight. So, she received anti-tuberculosis treatment. Nine years later, chest X-rays showed prior lesions in both lungs, and abdominal CT showed the mass in the right adrenal gland was larger than before, during this period she had no clinical symptoms. She underwent retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy, and the pathological diagnosis was a mature teratoma of the right adrenal gland. During a one-year follow-up, the patients recovered well without any discomfort. Thirty-two cases were found in the literature review, among which no patients had a history of pulmonary tuberculosis. Adrenal teratoma is often seen in females and the left adrenal gland. The imaging features of adrenal teratoma can be cystic, solid, and cystic solids. Mature fat and calcification can be seen in most teratomas. Comprehensive analysis of clinical features and imaging characteristics can enhance the diagnostic confidence of radiologists in adrenal teratoma.