Mesenchymal stem cells remain of host origin even a long time after allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell or bone marrow transplantation

OBJECTIVE: Plasticity of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) has gained major interest in stem cell research. In order to investigate whether HSC may differentiate into mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), we assessed chimerism in peripheral blood (PB), mononuclear cell fractions (MNC) of bone marrow, and MSC derived from bone marrow (BM) from 27 up to 4225 days after allogeneic transplantation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We applied fluorescence in situ hybridization using X/Y gene probes in sex-mismatched and STR-PCR in sex-matched patients. MSC could have been generated in 27 of 55 bone marrow samples derived from 20 patients. Fifteen patients received peripheral blood stem cell transplants (PBSCT), including CD34-selected PBSCT in two. Five patients received bone marrow. RESULTS: While all patients had chimerism in PB and MNC of the BM, in all but one patient BM-derived MSC were of recipient origin. This single patient showed reproducibly MSC of donor origin in a frequency of 1% after having received a CD34-selected PBSCT. Looking at graft collections, MSCs were easily generated from BM specimens, while no MSC could be derived from PBSC samples. CONCLUSION: Even though HSC have been found to differentiate into a variety of nonhematological cell types, they usually do not differentiate into MSC after allogeneic transplantation.     

The Proteolytic Fraction from Latex of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis</Emphasis> (P1G10) Enhances Wound Healing of Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Double-Blind Randomized Pilot Study

Introduction

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of the proteolytic fraction from Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis, designated as P1G10, on the healing of chronic foot ulcers in neuropathic patients with diabetes 2.

Methods

Fifty patients were enrolled in a prospective, randomized, double-blind trial, to verify the efficacy and safety of a topical dressing formulated with 0.1% P1G10, intended for wound healing, versus a hydrogel (control) protocol. Upon completion of the intervention, the outcome evaluated the number of patients attaining full epithelization (100%), or at least 80% healing. Statistical analysis compared the data on each group for the significance of the differences.

Results

Collection of data was finished in week 16, and the results were analyzed by intention to treat. The results showed that, in the control group, 5 patients attained 100% ulcer healing, 3 patients?≥?80% healing and 11 experienced ulcer changes?≤?80%, and the remainder showed no changes or their wounds became worse. Meanwhile, in the P1G10 group, 11 patients experienced full healing, 4 had healing?≥?80% and 5 had ulcer changes?≤?lower than 80%, and the remainder showed no changes or their wounds became worse. The healing incidence for the first endpoint (100% healing) showed that the P1G10 group was 2.95-fold more efficacious than the control group (CI 95%) and 2.52-fold (CI, 95%) higher than its control for the second endpoint (80% healing).

Conclusions

These data support the hypothesis that topical application of the proteolytic fraction identified as P1G10 significantly enhances foot ulcer healing compared to hydrogel treatment.

     

Influenza A(H5N8) Virus Similar to Strain in Korea Causing Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Germany

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N8) virus, like the recently described H5N8 strain from Korea, was detected in November 2014 in farmed turkeys and in a healthy common teal (Anas crecca) in northeastern Germany. Infected wild birds possibly introduced this virus.     

Molecular Epidemiology of Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Outbreak,Tumbes, Peru, 2010–2012

During 2010–2012, an outbreak of 210 cases of malaria occurred in Tumbes, in the northern coast of Peru, where no Plasmodium falciparum malaria case had been reported since 2006. To identify the source of the parasite causing this outbreak, we conducted a molecular epidemiology investigation. Microsatellite typing showed an identical genotype in all 54 available isolates. This genotype was also identical to that of parasites isolated in 2010 in the Loreto region of the Peruvian Amazon and closely related to clonet B, a parasite lineage previously reported in the Amazon during 1998–2000. These findings are consistent with travel history of index case-patients. DNA sequencing revealed mutations in the Pfdhfr, Pfdhps, Pfcrt, and Pfmdr1 loci, which are strongly associated with resistance to chloroquine and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine, and deletion of the Pfhrp2 gene. These results highlight the need for timely molecular epidemiology investigations to trace the parasite source during malaria reintroduction events.     

Treatment of asthma with antileukotrienes and Churg-Strauss syndrome

Since antileukotriene treatment for asthma was introduced, there has been debate about whether such therapy can lead to Churg-Strauss Syndrome (CSS) or whether CSS is simply inhibited by the use of steroids, as various authors have suggested. We report a case in which we suspected CSS in a patient with bronchopulmonary, cutaneous and analytical signs and whom we treated with oral steroids. After clinical improvement, one year later, steroids were replaced by antileukotrienes, after which the same clinical picture developed. The vasculitis characteristic of CSS was confirmed pathologically.     

Self-rated health among older adults: a cross-national comparison

Self-rated health (SRH) may have different implications in various social and cultural settings. However, few studies are available concerning SRH among older persons across countries. The aim of this study was to analyse whether there are cross-national differences in the association between status characteristics, several diseases common among older persons, activities of daily living (ADL), and SRH. The study base was the Comparison of Longitudinal European Studies on Aging (CLESA), which includes data from six population-based studies on aging conducted in Finland, Israel, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. The study population comprised 5,629 persons, with participants from all countries except Italy. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between status characteristics, health conditions, ADL and SRH. To examine whether the association among status characteristics, health conditions, ADL and outcome differed across the CLESA countries, interaction terms defined as variable*country were considered separately for each variable. Regression analyses revealed that sex, education, lifetime occupation, heart disease and respiratory disease were differently distributed across countries. Among homogeneous factors, marital status (OR=1.21), hypertension (OR=1.41), stroke (OR=1.67), diabetes (OR=2.15), cancer (OR=1.47), musculoskeletal diseases (OR=2.44), and ADL (OR=2.72) turned out to be significantly associated with fair or poor SRH. The results indicate that there are differences in self-ratings of health across countries. These differences cannot be explained entirely by status characteristics, self-reported diseases or functional ability. However, an important finding was that in all countries most of the indicators of medical and functional health were homogeneously associated with SRH.