Sera from cases of elephantiasis due to Wuchereria bancrofti infection promoted an intense adhesion of peripheral blood leukocytes to W. bancrofti microfilariae in vitro. A similar adhesion was also seen using sera from some normal persons living for several years in areas where filariasis is endemic. No such adhesion was evident with sera from microfilaria carriers or from normal subjects from...

Vulval induction in C. elegans is controlled by a highly conserved signaling pathway similar to the RTK-Ras-MAPK cascade in mammals. By screening for suppressors of the Multivulva phenotype caused by an activated let-60 ras allele, we isolated mutations in a gene, ksr-1, that acts as a positive modifier of vulval induction and is required for at least two other let-60 ras-mediated processes. Al...

The Caenorhabditis elegans gene lin-1 appears to act after the Ras-Raf-MEK-MAPK signaling cascade that mediates vulval induction. We show that lin-1 is a negative regulator of vulval cell fates and encodes an ETS-domain putative transcription factor containing potential MAPK phosphorylation sites. In lin-1 null mutants, the vulval precursor cells (VPCs) still respond to signaling from the gonad...

Kaposi sarcoma is a malignant disease that originates fromthe lymphatic system. Different epidemiological, clinical andhistopathological variants of this neoplasm have been identified.Classic Kaposi sarcoma is one of the four main clinico-epidemiologicvariants. Cutaneous lesions vary from pink patches to darkviolet plaques, nodules or polyps, depending on clinical variantand stage. Kaposi sarco...

By screening for mutations that perturb the invagination of the vulva of the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite, we have isolated 25 mutations that define eight genes. We have named these genes sqv-1 to sqv-8 (squashed vulva). All 25 mutations cause the same vulval defect, an apparent partial collapse of the vulval invagination and an elongation of the central vulval cells. Most sqv mutations...

The let-23 receptor tyrosine kinase gene is required for vulval induction and larval survival in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We carried out genetic mosaic analyses of the let-23 gene function by using the cloned let-23 and ncl-1 genes. The wild-type let-23 gene was required in a vulval precursor cell to adopt the 1 degree vulval fate in animals carrying a let-23 vulvaless or lethal chr...

BACKGROUND Metastatic vulval adenocarcinoma is a rare occurrence with only a few cases reported to date. They can arise from the breast, gastrointestinal system, or endometrium. CASE PRESENTATION We present the case of a 55-year-old Black African woman who presented with vulval itching which progressed to warty lesions. Histology revealed a vulval adenocarcinoma which immunohistochemistry sug...

Spatial patterning of vulval precursor cell fates is achieved through a different two-stage induction mechanism in the nematode Oscheius/Dolichorhabditis sp. CEW1 compared with Caenorhabditis elegans. We therefore performed a genetic screen for vulva mutants in Oscheius sp. CEW1. Most mutants display phenotypes unknown in C. elegans. Here we present the largest mutant category, which affects di...

BACKGROUND Reciprocal signaling between distinct tissues is a general feature of organogenesis. Despite the identification of developmental processes in which coordination requires reciprocal signaling, little is known regarding the underlying molecular details. Here, we use the development of the uterine-vulval connection in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system to study recipr...

BACKGROUND Chronic or recurrent pain associated with the female reproductive system is not well understood and has been neglected in research, despite it being a costly health problem. AIMS The present research investigated the psychosocial impact of vulval pain on health-related quality of life, sexual well-being, and relationship satisfaction among Australian women. METHODS Between June a...