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Decoy Cells
Decoy cells are virally infected epithelial cells that can be found in the urine. Decoy cells owe their name to their strong resemblance to cancer cells, and may as such confuse the diagnosis of either viral infection or urothelial malignancy. During 1950s, cytotechnologist Andrew Ricci observed cells mimicking cancer cells by they were not, in a group of persons working in some kinds of industries - they were referred to as “decoy cells”, analogous to “decoy ducks” used in hunting wild ducks, by Andrew Ricci, a cytotechnologist working renown cytopathologist Dr. Leopold G. Koss. Epidemiology and presentation Decoy cells are mostly prevalent in immunocompromised individuals, such as transplant recipients who are treated with immunosuppressive medication in order for their immune system not to reject the foreign transplanted organ. Several viruses mediated the emergence of decoy cells, amongst which cytomegalovirus and polyomavirus. Decoy cells are virus infected urotheli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decoy Cell Cytology
A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''ende kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to lure them. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes. Hunting In hunting wildfowl, the term decoy may refer to two distinct devices. One, the duck decoy (structure), is a long cone-shaped wickerwork tunnel installed on a small pond to catch wild ducks. After the ducks settled on the pond, a small, trained dog would herd the birds into the tunnel. The catch was formerly sent to market for food, but now these are used only by ornithologists to catch ducks to be ringed and released. The word ''decoy'', also originally found in English as "coy", derives from the Dutch ''de Kooi'' (the cage) and dates back to the early 17th century, when this type of duck ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cytomegalovirus
''Cytomegalovirus'' (''CMV'') (from ''cyto-'' 'cell' via Greek - 'container' + 'big, megalo-' + -''virus'' via Latin 'poison') is a genus of viruses in the order ''Herpesvirales'', in the family ''Herpesviridae'', in the subfamily ''Betaherpesvirinae''. Humans and other primates serve as natural hosts. The 11 species in this genus include ''human betaherpesvirus 5'' (HCMV, human cytomegalovirus, HHV-5), which is the species that infects humans. Diseases associated with HHV-5 include mononucleosis and pneumonia. In the medical literature, most mentions of CMV without further specification refer implicitly to human CMV. Human CMV is the most studied of all cytomegaloviruses. MX2/MXB was identified as a restriction factor for herpesviruses, which acts at a very early stage of the replication cycle and MX2/MXB restriction of herpesvirus requires GTPase activity. Taxonomy Within the ''Herpesviridae'', CMV belongs to the ''Betaherpesvirinae'' subfamily, which also includes the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epithelial Cells
Epithelium or epithelial tissue is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. It is a thin, continuous, protective layer of compactly packed cells with a little intercellular matrix. Epithelial tissues line the outer surfaces of organs and blood vessels throughout the body, as well as the inner surfaces of cavities in many internal organs. An example is the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. There are three principal shapes of epithelial cell: squamous (scaly), columnar, and cuboidal. These can be arranged in a singular layer of cells as simple epithelium, either squamous, columnar, or cuboidal, or in layers of two or more cells deep as stratified (layered), or ''compound'', either squamous, columnar or cuboidal. In some tissues, a layer of columnar cells may appear to be stratified due to the placement of the nuclei. This sort of tissue is called pseudostratified. All glands are made up of epithelia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statins
Statins, also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are a class of lipid-lowering medications that reduce illness and mortality in those who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease. They are the most common cholesterol-lowering drugs. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) carriers of cholesterol play a key role in the development of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease via the mechanisms described by the lipid hypothesis. Statins are effective in lowering LDL cholesterol and so are widely used for primary prevention in people at high risk of cardiovascular disease, as well as in secondary prevention for those who have developed cardiovascular disease. Side effects of statins include muscle pain, increased risk of diabetes mellitus, and abnormal blood levels of liver enzymes. Additionally, they have rare but severe adverse effects, particularly muscle damage. They inhibit the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase which plays a central role in the production of cholesterol. High cholester ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leflunomide
Leflunomide, sold under the brand name Arava among others, is an immunosuppressive disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), used in active moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. It is a pyrimidine synthesis inhibitor that works by inhibiting dihydroorotate dehydrogenase. Medical use Rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis are the only indications that have received regulatory approval. Arava was developed by Sanofi Aventis and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1998. Clinical studies regarding the following diseases have been conducted: There has been reports on potential re-purposing of leflunomide for treatment of solid tumors with tumor suppressor, PTEN, loss. In PTEN negative tumors, leflunomide causes synthetic lethality potentially due to increased demand on pyrimidines in these faster growing cells. * Polyoma BK virus Diabetic nephropathy, nephropathy * Kimura's disease * Systemic lupus erythematosus * Felty's syndr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fluoroquinolones
A quinolone antibiotic is a member of a large group of broad-spectrum antibiotic, broad-spectrum bacteriocidals that share a bicyclic molecule, bicyclic core structure related to the substance 4-Quinolone, 4-quinolone. They are used in human and veterinary medicine to treat bacterial infections, as well as in animal husbandry, specifically poultry production. Nearly all quinolone antibiotics in use are fluoroquinolones, which contain a fluorine atom in their chemical structure and are effective against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. One example is ciprofloxacin, one of the most widely used antibiotics worldwide. Medical uses Fluoroquinolones are often used for genitourinary infections and are widely used in the treatment of hospital-acquired infections associated with urinary catheters. In community-acquired infections, they are recommended only when risk factors for multidrug resistance are present or after other antibiotic regimens have failed. However, fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cidofovir
Cidofovir, brand name Vistide, is a topical or injectable antiviral medication primarily used as a treatment for cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis (an infection of the retina of the eye) in people with AIDS. Cidofovir was approved for medical use in 1996. Medical use DNA virus Its only indication that has received regulatory approval worldwide is cytomegalovirus retinitis. Cidofovir has also shown efficacy in the treatment of aciclovir-resistant HSV infections. Cidofovir has also been investigated as a treatment for progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy with successful case reports of its use. Despite this, the drug failed to demonstrate any efficacy in controlled studies. Cidofovir might have anti-smallpox efficacy and might be used on a limited basis in the event of a bioterror incident involving smallpox cases. Brincidofovir, a cidofovir derivative with much higher activity against smallpox that can be taken orally has been developed. It has inhibitory effects on var ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cytotoxic T Cells
A cytotoxic T cell (also known as TC, cytotoxic T lymphocyte, CTL, T-killer cell, cytolytic T cell, CD8+ T-cell or killer T cell) is a T lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) that kills cancer cells, cells that are infected by intracellular pathogens (such as viruses or bacteria), or cells that are damaged in other ways. Most cytotoxic T cells express T-cell receptors (TCRs) that can recognize a specific antigen. An antigen is a molecule capable of stimulating an immune response and is often produced by cancer cells, viruses, bacteria or intracellular signals. Antigens inside a cell are bound to class I MHC molecules, and brought to the surface of the cell by the class I MHC molecule, where they can be recognized by the T cell. If the TCR is specific for that antigen, it binds to the complex of the class I MHC molecule and the antigen, and the T cell destroys the cell. In order for the TCR to bind to the class I MHC molecule, the former must be accompanied by a glycoprotein c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Killer Cells
Natural killer cells, also known as NK cells or large granular lymphocytes (LGL), are a type of cytotoxic lymphocyte critical to the innate immune system that belong to the rapidly expanding family of known innate lymphoid cells (ILC) and represent 5–20% of all circulating lymphocytes in humans. The role of NK cells is analogous to that of cytotoxic T cells in the vertebrate adaptive immune response. NK cells provide rapid responses to virus-infected cell and other intracellular pathogens acting at around 3 days after infection, and respond to tumor formation. Typically, immune cells detect the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) presented on infected cell surfaces, triggering cytokine release, causing the death of the infected cell by lysis or apoptosis. NK cells are unique, however, as they have the ability to recognize and kill stressed cells in the absence of antibodies and MHC, allowing for a much faster immune reaction. They were named "natural killers" because of the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hematopoietic Stem Cell
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are the stem cells that give rise to other blood cells. This process is called haematopoiesis. In vertebrates, the very first definitive HSCs arise from the ventral endothelial wall of the embryonic aorta within the (midgestational) aorta-gonad-mesonephros region, through a process known as endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition. In adults, haematopoiesis occurs in the red bone marrow, in the core of most bones. The red bone marrow is derived from the layer of the embryo called the mesoderm. Haematopoiesis is the process by which all mature blood cells are produced. It must balance enormous production needs (the average person produces more than 500 billion blood cells every day) with the need to regulate the number of each blood cell type in the circulation. In vertebrates, the vast majority of hematopoiesis occurs in the bone marrow and is derived from a limited number of hematopoietic stem cells that are multipotent and capable of extensive se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BK Virus
The BK virus is a member of the polyomavirus family. Past infection with the BK virus is widespread, but significant consequences of infection are uncommon, with the exception of the immunocompromised and the immunosuppressed. BK virus is an abbreviation of the name of the first patient, from whom the virus was isolated in 1971 (the patient was then 29 years old). Signs and symptoms The BK virus rarely causes disease but is typically associated with patients who have had a kidney transplant; many people who are infected with this virus are asymptomatic. If symptoms do appear, they tend to be mild: respiratory infection or fever. These are known as primary BK infections. Although without any clinical symptoms, footprints of BK virus have been detected in specimens from females affected by spontaneous abortion. Serum antibodies against BK virus have also been found in spontaneous abortion affected women as well as in women who underwent voluntary interruption of pregnancy. The vir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hemorrhagic Cystitis
Hemorrhagic cystitis or haemorrhagic cystitis is an inflammation of the bladder defined by lower urinary tract symptoms that include dysuria, hematuria, and hemorrhage. The disease can occur as a complication of cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide and radiation therapy. In addition to hemorrhagic cystitis, temporary hematuria can also be seen in bladder infection or in children as a result of viral infection. Causes Causes of hemorrhagic cystitis include chemotherapy (e.g. cyclophosphamide, Ifosfamide), radiation, or infection. Ifosfamide is the most common cause of hemorrhagic cystitis. Radiation-induced hemorrhagic cystitis develops in similar or smaller patient numbers when compared to cyclophosphamide-induced cases. Adenovirus (particularly serotypes 11 and 21 of subgroup B) is the most common cause of acute viral hemorrhagic cystitis in children, though it can result from BK virus as well. A chemical hemorrhagic cystitis can develop when vaginal products are inadvertently placed in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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