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Glioblastoma is the most aggressive form of brain cancer, presenting poor prognosis despite current advances in treatment. There is therefore an urgent need for novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Interactions between mucin 4 (MUC4) and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are involved in carcinogenesis, and may lead to matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) overexpression, exacerbating cancer cell invasiveness. In this study, the role of MUC4, MMP9, and EGFR in the progression and clinical outcome of glioma patients was investigated. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence (IF) in fixed tissue samples of glioma patients were used to evaluate the expression and localization of EGFR, MMP9, and MUC4. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was also performed to test the prognostic utility of the proteins for glioma patients. The protein levels were assessed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in serum of glioma patients, to further investigate their potential as non-invasive serum biomarkers. We demonstrated that MUC4 and MMP9 are both significantly upregulated during glioma progression. Moreover, MUC4 is co-expressed with MMP9 and EGFR in the proliferative microvasculature of glioblastoma, suggesting a potential role for MUC4 in microvascular proliferation and angiogenesis. The combined high expression of MUC4/MMP9, and MUC4/MMP9/EGFR was associated with poor overall survival (OS). Finally, MMP9 mean protein level was significantly higher in the serum of glioblastoma compared with grade III glioma patients, whereas MUC4 mean protein level was minimally elevated in higher glioma grades (III and IV) compared with control. Our results suggest that MUC4, along with MMP9, might account for glioblastoma progression, representing potential therapeutic targets, and suggesting the 'MUC4/MMP9/EGFR axis' may play a vital role in glioblastoma diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alpha-synuclein pathology of olfactory bulbs/peduncles in the Vantaa85+ cohort exhibit two divergent patterns: a population-based study AD pathology according to Braak staging was significantly associated with OB/OP staining patterns (see Table 1, online resource, I p i = 0.002 comparing none versus all positive OB/OP staining), but not with CERAD scores. Generally, cases with mild or no LRP pathology or pathology only in the brainstem tended to be negative for OB/OP pathology, whereas cases with strong LRP throughout the brain also had strong AON and peripheral OB/OP pathology (mostly with AON predominance, Fig. Here, we analyzed LRP in the olfactory regions (OB and olfactory peduncle, OP) to complement our previous study and to test how this LRP pathology correlates with LRP patterns in the brain. [Extracted from the article]

Currently, the neuropathological diagnosis of Lewy body disease (LBD) may be stated according to several staging systems, which include the Braak Lewy body stages (Braak), the consensus criteria by McKeith and colleagues (McKeith), the modified McKeith system by Leverenz and colleagues (Leverenz), and the Unified Staging System by Beach and colleagues (Beach). All of these systems use semi-quantitative scoring (4- or 5-tier scales) of Lewy pathology (LP; i.e., Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites) in defined cortical and subcortical areas. While these systems are widely used, some suffer from low inter-rater reliability and/or an inability to unequivocally classify all cases with LP. To address these limitations, we devised a new system, the LP consensus criteria (LPC), which is based on the McKeith system, but applies a dichotomous approach for the scoring of LP (i.e., "absent" vs. "present") and includes amygdala-predominant and olfactory-only stages. α-Synuclein-stained slides from brainstem, limbic system, neocortex, and olfactory bulb from a total of 34 cases with LP provided by the Newcastle Brain Tissue Resource (NBTR) and the University of Pennsylvania brain bank (UPBB) were scanned and assessed by 16 raters, who provided diagnostic categories for each case according to Braak, McKeith, Leverenz, Beach, and LPC systems. In addition, using LP scores available from neuropathological reports of LP cases from UPBB (n = 202) and NBTR (n = 134), JT (UPBB) and JA (NBTR) assigned categories according to all staging systems to these cases. McKeith, Leverenz, and LPC systems reached good (Krippendorff's α ≈ 0.6), while both Braak and Beach systems had lower (Krippendorff's α ≈ 0.4) inter-rater reliability, respectively. Using the LPC system, all cases could be unequivocally classified by the majority of raters, which was also seen for 97.1% when the Beach system was used. However, a considerable proportion of cases could not be classified when using Leverenz (11.8%), McKeith (26.5%), or Braak (29.4%) systems. The category of neocortical LP according to the LPC system was associated with a 5.9 OR (p < 0.0001) of dementia in the 134 NBTR cases and a 3.14 OR (p = 0.0001) in the 202 UPBB cases. We established that the LPC system has good reproducibility and allows classification of all cases into distinct categories. We expect that it will be reliable and useful in routine diagnostic practice and, therefore, suggest that it should be the standard future approach for the basic post-mortem evaluation of LP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to a generally accepted concept Lewy-related pathology (LRP) follows hierarchical caudo-rostral progression. LRP is also frequently present concomitantly with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and it has been hypothesized that AD-associated LRP forms a distinct type of α-synucleinopathy, where LRP originates in the amygdala. The frequency of distinct forms of LRP progression types has not been studied in a population-based setting. We investigated the distribution and progression of LRP and its relation to AD pathology and apolipoprotein (APOE) ε4 in a population-based sample of Finns aged over 85 years (N = 304). Samples from spinal cord to neocortical areas representing 11 anatomical sites without any hierarchical selection were analyzed immunohistochemically (α-synuclein antibody clone 5G4). LRP was present in 124 individuals (41%) and according to DLB Consortium guidelines 19 of them were categorized as brainstem, 10 amygdala-predominant, 41 limbic, and 43 diffuse neocortical type, whereas 11 could not be classified. To determine the LRP progression patterns, a systematic anatomical scoring was carried out by taking into account the densities of the semiquantitative LRP scores in each anatomic site. With this scoring 123 (99%) subjects could be classified into two progression pattern types: 67% showed caudo-rostral and 32% amygdala-based progression. The unsupervised statistical K-means cluster analysis was used as a supplementary test and supported the presence of two progression patterns and had a 90% overall concordance with the systematic anatomical scoring method. Severe Braak NFT stage, high CERAD score and APOE ε4 were significantly (all p < 0.00001) associated with amygdala-based, but not with caudo-rostral progression type (all p > 0.2). This population-based study demonstrates two distinct common LRP progression patterns in the very elderly population. The amygdala-based pattern was associated with APOE ε4 and AD pathology. The results confirm the previous progression hypotheses but also widen the concept of the AD-associated LRP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with phenotypes of ageing [[7]], one could speculate that increased levels of LB pathology in this population reflect an acceleration of ageing; however, as we did not find increased levels of other age-associated pathologies, it seems unlikely that accelerated ageing alone could explain these findings. Further understanding of LB pathology in this population is important to understand its clinical relevance in the sub-set of mitochondrial diseases cases affected by it, and to determine the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the genesis of LB pathology. [Extracted from the article]

Ganglioneuroblastic transformation in olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is an exceptionally rare phenomenon. We document the case of a patient with a poorly differentiated sinonasal malignancy that recurred following treatment with chemoradiotherapy and showed ganglioneuroblastic transformation. Although the index tumour showed neuroendocrine differentiation, it did not have the typical clinico-pathological features associated with ONB. We highlight the diagnostic difficulties in establishing an accurate diagnosis for undifferentiated sinonasal tumours and present evidence that the index tumour was an ONB. The current report is only the third case of ONB showing complete ganglioneuroblastic transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most subjects with Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, α-synuclein (αS) immunoreactive pathology is found not only in the brain but also in the autonomic nuclei of the spinal cord. However, neither has the temporal course of αS pathology in the spinal cord in relation to the brain progression been established, nor has the extent of αS pathology in the spinal cord been analyzed in population-based studies. Using immunohistochemistry, the frequency and distribution of αS pathology were assessed semiquantitatively in the brains and spinal cord nuclei of 304 subjects who were aged at least 85 in the population-based Vantaa 85+ study. αS pathology was common in the spinal cord; 102 (34%) subjects had classic αS pathology in the thoracic and/or sacral autonomic nuclei. Moreover, 134 (44%) subjects showed grain- or dot-like immunoreactivity in neuropil (mini-aggregates) without classic Lewy neurites or Lewy bodies (LBs). The latter type of αS accumulation is associated with age, but also the classic αS pathology was found more often in the oldest compared to the youngest age group. The severity of αS pathology in the spinal cord autonomic nuclei is significantly associated with the extent and severity of αS pathology in the brain. Of the subjects, 60% with moderate to severe thoracic αS pathology and up to 89% with moderate to severe sacral αS pathology had diffuse neocortical type of LB pathology in the brain. αS pathology exclusively in the spinal cord was rare. Our study indicates that in general αS pathology in the spinal cord autonomic nuclei is associated with similar pathology in the brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to characterize myelin loss as one of the features of white matter abnormalities across three common dementing disorders. We evaluated post-mortem brain tissue from frontal and temporal lobes from 20 vascular dementia (VaD), 19 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and 31 dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) cases and 12 comparable age controls. Images of sections stained with conventional luxol fast blue were analysed to estimate myelin attenuation by optical density. Serial adjacent sections were then immunostained for degraded myelin basic protein (dMBP) and the mean percentage area containing dMBP (%dMBP) was determined as an indicator of myelin degeneration. We further assessed the relationship between dMBP and glutathione S-transferase (a marker of mature oligodendrocytes) immunoreactivities. Pathological diagnosis significantly affected the frontal but not temporal lobe myelin attenuation: myelin density was most reduced in VaD compared to AD and DLB, which still significantly exhibited lower myelin density compared to ageing controls. Consistent with this, the degree of myelin loss was correlated with greater %dMBP, with the highest %dMBP in VaD compared to the other groups. The %dMBP was inversely correlated with the mean size of oligodendrocytes in VaD, whereas it was positively correlated with their density in AD. A two-tier regression model analysis confirmed that the type of disorder (VaD or AD) determines the relationship between %dMBP and the size or density of oligodendrocytes across the cases. Our findings, attested by the use of three markers, suggest that myelin loss may evolve in parallel with shrunken oligodendrocytes in VaD but their increased density in AD, highlighting partially different mechanisms are associated with myelin degeneration, which could originate from hypoxic–ischaemic damage to oligodendrocytes in VaD whereas secondary to axonal degeneration in AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]