Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) localized to bone marrow, nonhematopoietic organs, as well as perivascular niches are postulated to traffic through type I collagen-rich stromal tissues to first infiltrate sites of tissue damage, inflammation, or neoplasia and then differentiate. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms supporting the ability of hMSCs to remodel 3-dimensional (3D) collagenous...

Following pulmonary inflammation, leukocytes that infiltrate the lung often assemble into structures known as inducible Bronchus-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (iBALT). Like conventional lymphoid organs, areas of iBALT have segregated B and T cell areas, specialized stromal cells, high endothelial venules, and lymphatic vessels. After inflammation is resolved, iBALT is maintained for months, indepe...

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common types of aggressive cancer. The tumor tissue, which shows an active angiogenesis, is composed of neoplastic and stromal cells, and an abundant inflammatory infiltrate. Angiogenesis is important to support tumor growth, while infiltrating cells contribute to the tumor microenvironment through the secretion of growth factors, cytokines ...

Recent studies have revealed the essential role played by nerves in tumor progression. Nerves have been shown to infiltrate the tumor microenvironment and actively stimulate cancer cell growth and dissemination. This mechanism involves the release of neurotransmitters, such as catecholamines and acetylcholine, directly into the vicinity of cancer and stromal cells to activate corresponding memb...

A 41-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because of a rectal tumor detected incidentally by colonoscopy at another hospital. Colonoscopy revealed a submucosal tumor with slightly erythematous surface in the rectum (Figure 1). Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) showed a homogeneous hypoechoic lesion measuring 14 mm in diameter with shadowing consistent with calcification. Continuity betwee...

Immunocytochemical staining for alpha-interferon was carried out on cervical biopsy specimens showing non-condylomatous koilocytic atypia (n = 12) and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (n = 18), both of which are associated with human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. Normal cervical tissue obtained from hysterectomy specimens was also assessed. Koilocytes were not immunoreactive for alpha inte...

Eosinophils, macrophages and other leucocytes invade the uterine endometrium during oestrus and play a role in the tissue remodeling and immune responses that occur prior to implantation of the fertilized ovum. Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) and its metabolites influence uterine function via ATP receptors. In this study, we investigated the presence and localisation of the P2X(7) nucleotide re...

BACKGROUND Mesenteric fibromatosis, also known as mesenteric desmoids, is part of the clinical-pathologic spectrum of deep fibromatosis, which encompasses a group of benign fibro-proliferative processes that are locally aggressive and have the capacity to infiltrate or recur without metastasis. CASE REPORT Case of a 45-year-old man, with a history of hypertension and lung fibrosis, presenting...

Atopic dermatitis can result from loss of structural proteins in the outermost epidermal layers, leading to a defective epidermal barrier. To test whether this influences tumour formation, we chemically induced tumours in EPI-/- mice, which lack three barrier proteins-Envoplakin, Periplakin, and Involucrin. EPI-/- mice were highly resistant to developing benign tumours when treated with 7,12-di...

Wnt/β-catenin activation in adult epidermis can induce new hair follicle formation and tumor development. We used lineage tracing to uncover the relative contribution of different stem cell populations. LGR6(+) and LRIG1(+) stem cells contributed to ectopic hair follicles formed in the sebaceous gland upon β-catenin activation, whereas LGR5(+) cells did not. Lgr6, but not Lrig1 or Lgr5, was exp...