1.

Hantavirus nephropathy;

The authors presented a patient with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and both their own and the achievements of other authors, related to pathogenesis of the disease in the kidney. They highlighted that non-cytopathic hantaviruses infect endothelial cells and macrophages. Characteristic histopathologic picture of acute hemorrhagic interstitial nephritis is accompanied by electron microscopic lesions of small vessels in medulla. Infected endothelial cells, macrophages and cytotoxic T cells produce cytokines, which play a key role in the pathogenesis of vascular injury and dysfunction.

COBISS.SI-ID: 24720089

2.

Sixteen novel mutations identified in COL4A3, COL4A4, and COL4A5 genes in Slovenian families with Alport syndrome and benign familial hematuria;

Alport syndrome and thin basement membrane disease are frequent causes of familial hematuria and are the result of mutations of genes encoding alpha 5, alpha 3 and alpha 4 chains of collagen IV. The molecular genetic study showed 16 novel and 3 already published mutations of the collagen genes. They stressed the finding of mutation G624D in 6 unrelated families and different phenotypes associated with the same mutation. The new finding of the study was that X-linked Alport syndrome and benign familial hematuria may represent two opposite poles of a spectrum of hereditary COL4A5 nephropathies.

COBISS.SI-ID: 24241625

3.

Immunohistochemical expression of activated caspase-3 as a marker of apoptosis in glomeruli of human lupus nephritis;

In the study, 51 biopsy cases of lupus nephritis were classified according to 2003 classification, and the activity and chronicity indexes were established. Apoptotic cells were demonstrated by TUNEL method and immunohistologic reaction for activated caspase 3. They found a significant association between number of apoptotic cells and class of lupus nephritis, activity index, proliferation and daily proteinuria. The study showed that apoptosis is more intensive in severe glomerular histomorphologic lesions, suggesting that it is involved in the development of inflammation in lupus nephritis.

COBISS.SI-ID: 21959897

4.

Telomerase catalytic subunit in laryngeal carcinogenesis - an immunohistochemical study;

Telomerase is re-activated in 90% of malignant neoplasms, including laryngeal cancer (SCC). Quantification of hTERT gene expression can be used as an alternative to telomerase activity measurement. The presence and relative quantity of hTERT mRNA in increases progressively with the degree of epithelial abnormalities. Statistical analysis revealed two groups of laryngeal changes: normal and reactive lesions, and atypical hyperplasia, intraepithelial and invasive SCC. Telomerase re-activation is an early event in laryngeal carcinogenesis, already detectable at the stage of precancerous lesions.

COBISS.SI-ID: 18354649

5.

Pathology and Genetics of Head and Neck Tumours;

The most relevant achievement is the contribution of Dr.Gale and Dr.Zidar to four distinguished international monographs on head and neck pathology. They contributed chapters on squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the larynx and its subtypes, precancerous lesions, papillomas of the larynx and oral cavity. The chapters included their previously published research results, i.e. on the Ljubljana classification of precancerous lesions of the larynx and oral cavity, on papillomas of the larynx, and subtypes of SCC of the larynx.

COBISS.SI-ID: 20695769