Xanthogranulomatous appendicitis: A comprehensive literature review

BACKGROUND Xanthogranulomatous inflammation is characterized histologically by a collection of lipid-laden macrophages admixed with lymphocytes,plasma cells,neutrophils,and often multinucleated giant cells with or without cholesterol clefts.AIM To review the medical literature on xanthogranulomatous appendicitis(XGA).METHODS We present a patient with XGA and review published articles on XGA accessed via the PubMed,MEDLINE,Google Scholar,and Google databases.Keywords used were“appendix vermiformis,”“appendectomy,”“acute appendicitis,”and“XGA.”The search included articles published before May 2020,and the publication language was not restricted.The search included letters to the editor,case reports,review articles,original articles,and meeting presentations.Articles or abstracts containing adequate information about age,sex,clinical presentation,white blood cells,initial diagnosis,surgical approach,histopathological and immunohistochemical features of appendectomy specimens were included in the study.RESULTS A total of 29 articles involving 38 patients with XGA,were retrospectively analyzed.Twenty(52.6%)of the 38 patients,aged 3 to 78 years(median:34;IQR:31)were female,and the remaining 18(47.4%)were male.Twenty-five patients were diagnosed with acute appendicitis,ruptured appendicitis,or subacute appendicitis,and the remaining 13 patients underwent surgery for tumoral lesions of the ileocecal region.Twenty-two of the patients underwent urgent or semi-urgent surgery,and the remaining 16 patients underwent interval appendectomy.CONCLUSION Xanthogranulomatous inflammation rarely affects the appendix vermiformis.It is associated with significant diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas due to its variable presentation.It is often associated with interval appendectomies,and a significant number of patients require bowel resection due to the common presentation of a tumoral lesion.XGA is usually identified retrospectively on surgical pathology and has no unique features in preoperative diagnostic studies.

CDH1, a Novel Surface Marker of Spermatogonial Stem Cells in Sheep Testis

Spermatogonial stem cells（SSCs） are unique stem cells in adult body that can transmit genetic information to the next generation. They have self-renewal potential and can continuously support spermatogenesis throughout life of a male animal. However, the SSC population is extremely small, isolation and purification of the SSCs is challenging, especially for livestock animals. It has been confirmed that CDH1（cadherin-1, also known as E-cadherin） can be expressed in undifferentiated SSCs of mouse and rats, but it has not been verified in sheep. Here, CDH1 was found as a novel surface marker for sheep SSCs. In this paper, sheep antiCDH1 polyclonal antibodies were prepared and its activity was checked. Using the obtained antibodies and immunohistochemistry analysis, we confirmed that CDH1 can be expressed by SSCs in sheep testis.