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Epstein Barr virus (EBV) has been incriminated in the pathogenesis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence and the pattern of the expression of Epstein-Barr in HL and NHL tissue samples obtained from Omani patients attending Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH). Besides, to compare the sensitivity and specificity of immunohistochemistry(IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) for the detection of EBV in HL and NHL and finally to have more understanding of the pathogenesis of EBV in HL and NHL among patients in Oman. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples consisting of 26 Hodgkin and 34 non-Hodgkin lymphomas were assessed for the presence of EBV by IHC to detect Latent membrane protein (LMP), expression and by using ISH to detect Epstein -Barr encoded RNAs (EBERs). The expression of LMP and EBERs were detected respectively in 46.2% and 57.7% of Hodgkin’s lymphoma cases and were detected in 11.8% and 14.7% respectively of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cases. The intensity of LMP-1 and EBER expression was significantly high in mixed cellularity compared to other subtypes. The expression of EBV was detected in transformed cells in both HL & NHL. The expression of EBV in transformed cells in both HL and NHL indicates that EBV may play a pro vital role in the pathogenesis of HL and NHL among patients in Oman. Moreover, this study indicates that IHC is to some degree compatible in terms of sensitivity and specificity to ISH in the detection of EBV in HL and NHL.

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammation of the colonic mucosa. Gum Arabic (GA) has been reported to exert anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic activity. This study aimed to evaluate the effect o...

Breast cancer is the leading cancer worldwide among women. Traditional clinicopathological prognostic and predictive markers need refining to improve clinical outcomes. This study explored the association between traditional clinicopathological factors and the expression of Akt1 and E2F1 transduction proteins and their phosphorylated forms in breast cancer, to determine their value as novel biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets. Tumor tissues from 94 female breast cancer patients were examined for immunophenotypic expression of total Akt1, pAkt1 (Serine 473), pAkt1 (Threonine 308), total E2F1, pE2F1 (Thr433) and pE2F1 (Ser337). The expression of pAkt1 (Ser473) was significantly associated with ER/PR positive status and total E2F1 with older age (> 50), lymph node involvement and HER2 positivity. There was a significant association between triple negative cancers and total and pAkt1 (Thr308). pAkt1 (Ser473) showed an inverse relationship with Luminal B cancers and pE2F1 (Thr433) showed an inverse association with triple negative cancers. Higher expression of pE2F1 (Ser337) was associated with better OS. Both pAkt1 (Ser473 and Thr308) proteins showed significant association with poorer patient outcomes. E2F1 (Ser337) showed a significant positive correlation with response to chemotherapy. The study suggests that a pAkt1−/pE2F1+ phenotype could indicate an opportunity to minimize chemotherapeutic options in older women; conversely a pAkt1+/pE2F1− phenotype could prompt a more aggressive regimen. Further exploration of this phenotype in younger women with breast cancer and triple-negative breast cancers is warranted.

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC) is a rare malignant carcinoma that develops in the epithelial lining of the nasopharyngeal mucosa It is the most common neoplasm of the Nasopharynxand it is associated with many risk factors; one of them is Epstein-Barr virus infection. An Epstein-Barr virus is a tumorigenic herpes virus that infects and persists in B-lymphocytes without causing disease. This virus is associated with significant pathological conditions, such as benign and malignant lymphoproliferation. Objectives: To determine Epstein -Barr encoded RNA 1&2 (EBER1,2) and latent membrane protein (LMP) expressionin formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples obtained from Omani patients diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.Also, to identify the pattern and the type(s) of cells infected with EBV in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissue samples obtained from Omani patients. Moreover, to compare the sensitivity of Immuno histochemistry and in-situ Hybridization for the detection of EBV in the nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissue sample. Materials and Method:Thirteen formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissue samples archived from the period 2010 to 2017, were obtained from the Pathology Departments of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital and the Armed Force Hospital. These tissue samples were processed using two different methods Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and In situ hybridization (ISH). Results:Eleven out of thirteen NPC Omani patients were positive for EBV (84.61%) by either LMP-IHC or EBER-ISH. All cells stained positive for EBV in NPC tissue samples was of malignant type rather than normal cell type. EBV is mostly detected in patients in the age group of less than 50 years old. Also out of the 13 NPC patients, seven females (58.34%), and six males (46.15%) were positive for EBV. Conclusion:This study may provide evidence indicating an association between EBV and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. In addition, the detection of EBV in NPC obtained from Omani patients may encourage the physician to consider using anti-herpes virus drugs in the treatment of EBV positive NPC patients as an additional tool for the treatment of this kind of malignancy.

Background: In routine histopathology, 10% neutral buffered formalin (NBF) is the choice fixative. However, formalin is a human carcinogen, so there is a necessity for a safer alternative. To the best of our knowledge, neutral honey, not natural or artificial honey, has not been tested to fix histological samples. This study determined the effectiveness of neutral buffered honey and other types of fixatives to fix histological tissues. Methods: The study was conducted between July 2019 and August 2020 at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. Sections from three rat livers, kidneys, and stomach tissues were fixed with 10% NBF, neutral buffered Sumer honey, neutral buffered date honey, formalin, Sumer honey, date honey, alcoholic formalin, alcoholic Sumer honey, and alcoholic date honey for 24 hours. Samples were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), special stains, and vimentin methods. Three expert biomedical scientists then evaluated the fixed and stained samples for the quality of all sections. The fixation ability of the different honey solutions was then compared to 10% NBF and the utility was determined using nuclear and cytoplasmic criteria, specificity, and intensity. Results: H&E showed adequate staining in all groups compared to 10% NBF. The specificity and intensity of all groups for the Periodic acid–Schiff method were identical to 10% NBF except for Sumer honey and alcoholic date honey. Vimentin showed comparable findings with 10% NBF as there were no significant differences. Conclusions: The findings of this study encourage the use of honey, including neutral, as a possible safe substitute fixative for formalin, however, further experiments on larger specimens should be conducted.

Background: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a routinely performed method to demonstrate estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in surgical breast cancer specimens but not on cell block (CB) of fine-needle aspiration (FNA). The aims of this study were to evaluate the expression of ER, PR, and HER2 using immunocytochemistry (ICC) on CB and compare with the corresponding tissue blocks as gold standard as well as to compare with other similar studies. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight breast carcinoma CB specimens with their corresponding tissue blocks were identified. ICC on CB for ER, PR, and HER2 was performed and compared with tissue blocks. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value were measured for each receptor. The degree of agreement between CB and tissue blocks was calculated using Cohen's kappa (κ) test. Results: ER results showed 67.7% sensitivity, 94.1% specificity, 95.5% PPV, and a moderate agreement (κ =0.588). PR results showed 50% sensitivity, 90% specificity, 87.5% PPV, and a fair agreement (κ =0.368). HER2 results showed 58.3% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% PPV, and a moderate agreement (κ =0.539). Conclusion: The results of this study confirm the wide variations that occur between CB ICC and tissue block IHC in the detection of ER, PR, and HER2 in breast cancers. In comparison with other studies, we report a low sensitivity and high specificity rates for ER, PR, and HER2 in FNA CB. Further studies are recommended.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an immunologically mediated chronic intestinal disorder. Growth hormone (GH) administration enhances mucosal repair and decreases intestinal fibrosis in patients with IBD. In the present study, we investigated the effect of cellular sensitivity to GH via suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2) deletion on colitis and recovery. To induce colitis, wild type and SOCS2 knockout (SOCS2&minus, /&minus, ) mice were treated with 3% dextran sodium sulphate (DSS), followed by a recovery period. SOCS2&minus, mice showed higher disease activity during colitis with increased mRNA expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) and interleukin 1 &beta, (IL1-&beta, ). At recovery time point, SOCS2&minus, showed better recovery with less fibrosis measured by levels of &alpha, SMA and collagen deposition. Protein and mRNA expressions of transforming growth factor beta &beta, 1 (TGF-&beta, 1) receptors were significantly lower in SOCS2&minus, mice compared to wild-type littermates. Using an in vivo bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) proliferation assay, SOCS2&minus, mice showed higher intestinal epithelial proliferation compared to wild-type mice. Our results demonstrated that deletion of the SOCS2 protein results in higher growth hormone sensitivity associated with higher pro-inflammatory signaling, however, it resulted in less tissue damage with less fibrotic lesions and higher epithelial proliferation, which are markers of GH-protective effects in IBD. This suggests a pleiotropic effect of SOCS2 and multiple cellular targets. Further study is required to study role of SOCS2 in regulation of TGF&beta, mothers against the decapentaplegic homolog (Smad) pathway.

Introduction: There are few published studies comparing immunofluorescence on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections (IF-P) and immunoperoxidase on FFPE tissue sections (IP-P) with immunofluorescence on frozen sections (IF-F) for evaluation of renal diseases. Also, the accuracy for each method differs greatly. The aim of this study was to evaluate IF-P and IP-P as an alternative to IF-F (gold standard method) in the diagnosis of renal biopsies specimens. Methods: In all, 101 renal biopsies were subjected to IF-P, IP-P, and IF-F staining to demonstrate immunoglobulin IgA, IgG, and IgM immune deposits. Sensitivity, specificity, false-positive, and false-negative values were calculated. Results: IP-P showed sensitivity of 61.8%, 74.2%, and 64.2%, and specificity of 84.8%, 69.2%, and 66.7% for IgA, IgG, and IgM, respectively. IF-P showed a sensitivity of 45.6%, 69.4% and 52.8%, and specificity of 87.9%, 87.2% and 77.1% for IgA, IgG and IgM, respectively. False-positive cases of IF-P and IP-P were 4, 5, and 11 and 5, 12, and 16 for IgA, IgG, and IgM, respectively. Conclusion: Where IF-F lacks glomeruli or fresh renal biopsies are not available, IP-P is a sensitive method, whereas IF-P is a specific method for the evaluation of immune deposits in the renal tissue biopsies. The presence of false-positive cases in both methods deserves further research.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive type of breast cancer in which calpain system plays an important role in its cellular processes including apoptosis and proliferation. Although such roles have been assessed in tumor pathogenesis, the correlation of its expression to the proliferating/apoptotic index has not been studied yet. Immunohistochemical staining of calpain-1 was performed on paraffin-embedded tissues to correlate its expression with clinicopathological variables and outcome. The proliferation activity was determined by calculating the percentage of cells expressing the Ki-67 antigen. The apoptotic index was assessed morphologically and biochemically using Haematoxylin & Eosin method and Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assay, respectively. Calpain-1 was significantly expressed in TNBC tissues varying from low to high with a significant correlation to lymph node status but not with the other clinicopathological variables, suggesting its role as a prognostic factor. In addition, a positive correlation was found between both apoptotic counts assays (P<0.001, r=0.547) as well as with proliferation (P=0.045). Calpain-1 expression had no significant correlation with either proliferation (P=0.29) or apoptotic indices (P=0.071 and P=0.100). Determining calpain-1 expression may provide relevant prognostic value for TNBC cancer patients.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate various reaction pattern of skin diseases in Oman using immunofluorescence and light microscopy investigation only. Methodology: A total of 187 skin biopsies were retrospectively analyzed at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital between 2006 and 2010. The presence of immune-reactants (IgA, IgG, IgM, C3 and Fibrin) and the final diagnosis by heamatoxylin and eosin stain in skin biopsy were investigated. Results: Females (59.36%) predominated over males (40.64%). Adults, aged between 26 and 44years, had the highest cases of skin diseases. The most frequent diagnosis were vesiculo bullous (n=71), lichenoid (n=69), vasculopathic (n=19) and epidermal disease (n=13) groups. Vesiculo bullous group showed different deposits of IgA, IgG, IgM, C3 and Fibrin with 19.72%, 23.94%, 8.54%, 21.13%, 11.27%, respectively. Psoriasis (n=2) and reactive condition (n=1) groups were the lowest pattern of skin diseases. IgG was positive in one case of psoriasis and there is a total absence of positive immune-reactants in epidermal disease and reactive condition groups. Original Research Article British Journal of Medicine & Medical Research, 4(31): 5033-5042, 2014 5034 Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, this retrospective study showed that vesiculo bullous group followed by lichenoid group were the most common skin disease groups detected by immunofluorescence in Oman, while psoriasis and reactive condition groups were the least frequent. Although all immune-reactants were low in their positivity, they were an important component in the final diagnosis of skin biopsies.

The effects of transportation and electrical stimulation (90 V) on physiological, histochemical and meat quality characteristics of two breeds of Omani goats were assessed. Twenty 1-year-old male goats from each breed (Batina and Dhofari) were divided into two groups: 3 h transported during the hot season (42 degrees C day time temperature) and non-transported. Animals were blood-sampled before loading and prior to slaughter. Electrical stimulation was applied 20 min postmortem to 50% randomly selected carcasses of both breeds. Temperature and pH decline of the Longissimus was monitored. Ultimate pH, shear force, sarcomere length, myofibrillar fragmentation index, expressed juice, cooking loss and colour were measured from samples of Longissimus dorsi muscles. Electrical stimulation and transportation had a significant effect on most biochemical and meat quality characteristics of Longissimus dorsi. The transported goats had higher plasma cortisol (P < 0.01), adrenaline, nor-adrenaline and dopamine concentrations (P < 0.05) than non-transported goats. Electrical stimulation resulted in a significantly (P < 0.05) more rapid muscle pH fall during the first 12 h after slaughter. Muscles from electrically-stimulated carcasses had significantly (P < 0.05) longer sarcomeres, lower shear force value, a lighter colour (higher L* value), higher expressed juice and myofibrillar fragmentation index than those from non-stimulated ones. Meat from transported goats had significantly higher pH, expressed juice and shear force, but contained significantly lower sarcomere length and L* values than non-transported goats. The proportion of the myosin ATPase staining did not change as a function of stimulation, transportation or breed. These results indicated that subjecting goats to transportation for 3 h under high ambient temperatures can generate major physiological and muscle metabolism responses. Electrical stimulation improved quality characteristics of meat from both groups. This indicates that electrical stimulation may reduce detrimental effects of transportation on meat quality of Omani goats.

The effect of transportation during the hot season (42 °C) and low voltage electrical stimulation on physiological, histochemical and meat quality characteristics of Omani sheep was studied. Forty intact male sheep were divided into two equal groups: 3 h transported or non-transported. The non-transported group remained in holding pens for 48 h prior to slaughter, while the transported group was transported 300 km (approximately 3 h) in an open truck under solar radiation on the day of slaughter. Blood samples were collected from the animals before loading and prior to slaughter. Fifty percent of the carcasses from each group were randomly assigned to low voltage (90 V) at 20 min postmortem . Temperature and pH decline of the left longissimus thoracis muscle were monitored. Ultimate pH, WB-shear force, sarcomere length, myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI), expressed juice, cooking loss and color L ⁎, a ⁎, b ⁎ were measured on samples from both sides muscles collected at 24 h postmortem at 3–4 °C. The transported sheep had significantly higher plasma cortisol ( P P P P L ⁎ than those from non-stimulated ones. The muscle samples from the transported sheep had significantly ( P

The mechanism by which neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) induces malignancy in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC) is still unknown. This study is the first to demonstrate the relationship between NRP-1 expression and EMT markers vimentin, N-cadherin, E-cadherin and Slug. We used tissue microarrays containing the three main subtypes of EOC tumors: serous, mucinous cystadenocarcinoma and endometrioid adenocarcinoma and representative cases retrieved from our pathology archives. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression levels and location of NRP-1 and the aforementioned EMT proteins. NRP-1 was mainly expressed on cancer cells but not in normal ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). The Immunoreactive Scoring (IRS) values revealed that the expression of NRP-1, Slug and E-cadherin in the malignant subtypes of ovarian tissues was significantly higher (5.18 ± 0.64, 4.84 ± 0.7, 4.98 ± 0.68, respectively) than their expression in the normal and benign tissues (1.04 ± 0.29, 0.84 ± 0.68, 1.71 ± 0.66, respectively), with no significant differences among the studied subtypes. Vimentin was expressed in the cancer cell component of 43% of tumors and it was exclusively localized in the stroma of all mucinous tumors. The Spearman’s rho value indicated that NRP-1 is positively related to the EMT markers E-cadherin and Slug. This notion might indicate that NRP-1 is a partner in the EMT process in EOC tumors.

Background The failure to establish potent anti-HBV T cell responses suggests the absence of an effective innate immune activation. Kupffer cells and liver-infiltrating monocytes/macrophages have an essential role in establishing anti-HBV responses. These cells express the costimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86. CD80 expression on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) induces Th1 cell differentiation, whereas CD86 expression drives the differentiation towards a Th2 profile. The relative expression of CD80, CD86 and PD-L1 on APCs, regulates T cell activation. Few studies investigated CD80 and CD86 expression on KCs and infiltrating monocytes/macrophages in HBV-infected liver and knowledge about the expression of PD-L1 on these cells is controversial. The expression of these molecules together in CD68+ cells has not been explored in HBV-infected livers. Methods Double staining immunohistochemistry was applied to liver biopsies of HBV-infected and control donors to explore CD80, CD86 and PD-L1 expression in the lobular and portal areas. Results Chronic HBV infection was associated with increased CD68+CD86+ cell count and percentage in the lobular areas, and no changes in the count and percentage of CD68+CD80+ and CD68+PD-L1+ cells, compared to the control group. While CD68+CD80+ cell count in portal areas correlated with the fibrosis score, CD68+CD80+ cell percentage in lobular areas correlated with the inflammation grade. Conclusion The upregulation of CD86 but not CD80 and PD-L1 on CD68+ cells in HBV-infected livers, suggests that these cells do not support the induction of potent Th1. Moreover, the expression of CD80 on CD68+ cells correlates with liver inflammation and fibrosis.

Aim The lack of potent innate immune responses during HCV infection might lead to a delay in initiating adaptive immune responses. Kupffer cells (KCs) and liver-infiltrating monocytes/macrophages (CD68+ cells) are essential to establish effective anti-HCV responses. They express co-stimulatory molecules, CD80 and CD86. CD86 upregulation induces activator responses that are then potentially regulated by CD80. The relative levels of expression of CD80, CD86 and the inhibitory molecule, PD-L1, on CD68+ cells modulate T cell activation. A few studies have explored CD80 and PD-L1 expression on KCs and infiltrating monocytes/macrophages in HCV-infected livers, and none investigated CD86 expression in these cells. These studies have identified these cells based on morphology only. We investigated the stimulatory/inhibitory profile of CD68+ cells in HCV-infected livers based on the balance of CD80, CD86 and PD-L1 expression. Methods CD80, CD86 and PD-L1 expression by CD68+ cells in the lobular and portal areas of the liver of chronic HCV-infected (n = 16) and control (n = 14) individuals was investigated using double staining immunohistochemistry. Results The count of CD68+ KCs in the lobular areas of the HCV-infected livers was lower than that in the control (p = 0.041). The frequencies of CD68+CD80+ cells and CD68+PD-L1+ cells in both lobular and total areas of the liver were higher in HCV-infected patients compared with those in the control group (p = 0.001, 0.031 and 0.007 respectively). Moreover, in the lobular areas of the HCV-infected livers, the frequency of CD68+CD80+ cells was higher than that of CD68+CD86+ and CD68+PD-L1+ cells. In addition, the frequencies of CD68+CD80+ and CD68+CD86+ cells were higher in the lobular areas than the portal areas. Conclusions Our results show that CD68+ cells have an inhibitory profile in the HCV-infected livers. This might help explain the delayed T cell response and viral persistence during HCV infection.

The effects of electrical stimulation (90V) 20min post mortem on meat quality and muscle fibre types of four age group camels (1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12 years) camels were assessed. Quality of the Longissimus thoracis at 1 and 7 days post mortem ageing was evaluated using shear force, pH, sarcomere length, myofibrillar fragmentation index, expressed juice, cooking loss and L(∗), a(∗), b(∗) colour values. Age of camel and electrical stimulation had a significant effect on meat quality of L. thoracis. Electrical stimulation resulted in a significantly (P

BACKGROUND: Cytological smear and cell block (CB) are routinely used to diagnose non gynaecologic specimens. However, there is scanty information in the literature to compare cytological smear and CB with the corresponding tissue biopsies. This study is aimed at evaluating the accuracy of cytological smear and CB in the diagnosis of malignant tumours in non-gynaecologic specimens.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 70 malignant cases were subjected to cytological smear and CB. Corresponding histopathology was also included. The most frequent immunomarkers found between CB and tissue biopsies were also correlated. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, false positive and false negative values were analyzed for each method.RESULTS: The accuracy, sensitivity and positive predictive value for cytological smear were 92.8%, 100.0% and 92.9%, whereas for CB were 91.4%, 98.4% and 92.7%, respectively. In CB method, the accuracy, sensitivity and positive predictive value for CK7 were 88.9%, 91.7% and 95.6%, whereas for CK5/6 were 75%, 100% and 57.1%, respectively.CONCLUSION: Cytological smear and CB are very sensitive and accurate in the detection of malignant tumours in nongynaecologic specimens. Additional corresponding tissue biopsiesshould be re-evaluated.