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Background: T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) defines a group of hematological malignancies with heterogeneous aggressiveness and highly variable outcome, making therapeutic decisions a challenging task. We tried to discover new predictive model for T-ALL before treatment by using a specific pipeline designed to discover aberrantly active gene. Results: The expression of 18 genes was significantly associated with shorter survival, including ACTRT2, GOT1L1, SPATA45, TOPAZ1 and ZPBP (5-GEC), which were used as a basis to design a prognostic classifier for T-ALL patients. The molecular characterization of the 5-GEC positive T-ALL unveiled specific characteristics inherent to the most aggressive T leukemic cells, including a drastic shut-down of genes located on the mitochondrial genome and an upregulation of histone genes, the latter characterizing high risk forms in adult patients. These cases fail to respond to the induction treatment, since 5-GEC either predicted positive minimal residual disease (MRD) or a short-term relapse in MRD negative patients. Conclusion: Overall, our investigations led to the discovery of a homogenous group of leukemic cells with profound alterations of their biology. It also resulted in an accurate predictive tool that could significantly improve the management of T-ALL patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pulmonary artery aneurysm (PAA), usually associated with congenital heart disease (CHD), is a very rare clinical condition. Pulmonary artery dissection (PAD) is considered the most life-threatening complication of PAA, and patients can progress from being asymptomatic to sudden death. We report the following case of PAA associated with complicated congenital heart disease and simultaneous chronic PAD. To our knowledge, few such complicated cases have ever been reported.Case Presentation: A 36-year-old male presented to our hospital with a 10-year history of heart fatigue after activities and aggravated for 2 years. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) and echocardiogram showed a giant main pulmonary artery aneurysm (14 cm) with complicated congenital heart disease (a small patent ductus arteriosus, ventricular septal defects, aortic coarctation). Chronic PAD, which was mistaken for a pulmonary valve before operation, was detected during surgery.Conclusions: PAA associated with complicated CHD and simultaneous PAD is very rare, and its clinical symptoms are varied. Radiologists and surgeons should pay attention to determining whether this patient simultaneously had PAD when PAA was detected on preoperative CTA imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The China-Myanmar border is a particularly interesting region that has very high prevalence of and considerable diversity of HIV-1 recombinants. Due to the transient nature of their work, long-distance truck drivers (LDTDs) have a comparatively high potential to become infected with HIV-1 and further spread virus to other individuals in the area they travel within. In this study, we hypothesized that Burmese LDTDs crossing the China-Myanmar border frequently may potentially be involved in the cross-border transmission of HIV, and contribute to the extremely high prevalence of HIV-1 inter-subtype recombinants in this border region. Methods: A molecular epidemiology study was conducted among 105 Burmese LDTDs between 2008 and 2010. HIV-1 genetic fragments including p17, pol, vif-vpr, vpr-env, and C2V3 were amplified and sequenced. The subtype characterization and HIV-1 transmission were determined by both phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses. Results: Diverse forms of HIV-1, including subtypes CRF01_AE (41.9%), C (8.6%), B (4.8%), CRF02_AG (1.0%), and inter-subtype recombinants (33.3%), as well as dual infection (10.5%), were detected among the tested LDTDs. Phylogeographic analyses based on pure subtype revealed that 77.8% Burmese LDTDs acquired HIV-1 infection in Yunnan, and the others in Myanmar. Both the C-related and CRF01_AE-related recombinants from these LDTDs appeared to have close genetic relationship with those from IDUs in Myanmar and Dehong. Conclusions: Burmese LDTDs may contribute to HIV-1 transmission along the China-Myanmar border. The results may provide some new perspective for understanding the on-going generation and prevalence of HIV-1 recombinants in the border region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]