Human pathology
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Sarcoidosis, atypical mycobacteriosis, and tuberculosis are common diseases of human lung with a typical feature of formation of granulomas. The structure of granulomas has not been elucidated completely. We studied the expression of tenascin-C, precursor proteins of collagens I and III, and the presence of myofibroblasts in granulomas of sarcoidosis, atypical mycobacteriosis, and tuberculosis of human lung. ⋯ They were also more abundantly present in tuberculosis and atypical mycobacteriosis, as suggested by alpha-smooth muscle actin staining. We concluded that tenascin-C and precursor proteins of collagens I and III are expressed around granulomas in sarcoidosis, atypical mycobacteriosis, and tuberculosis of the lung; and furthermore, their expression colocalize with the expression of myofibroblasts. Our results further point to the fact that fibrogenesis and matrix turnover is stronger in tuberculosis and atypical mycobacteriosis than in sarcoidosis.
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Overexpression of aspartyl (asparaginyl) beta-hydroxylase (AAH) has been demonstrated in hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and pancreatic carcinoma. AAH has an important role in regulating cell motility and invasiveness. Humbug is a truncated homolog of AAH, with a role in calcium regulation. ⋯ Correspondingly, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction studies demonstrated up-regulation of humbug but not AAH in 95% of colon carcinomas relative to adjacent colon cancer-free mucosa (P < .0001). This study demonstrates that high levels of humbug immunoreactivity in colon carcinomas correlate with histologic grade and tumor behavior, suggesting that humbug can serve as a prognostic biomarker of TNM stage II colon cancers. In addition, molecular studies demonstrated that the increased levels of FB50 detected were due to humbug, as opposed to AAH overexpression.