Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus-like DNA sequences in peripheral blood mononuclear cells: association with KS and persistence in patients receiving anti-herpesvirus drugs

Herpesvirus-like DNA sequences (KSHV/HHV-8) have recently been described in AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) lesions. Many questions remain regarding the role of this virus in KS and the therapeutic implications of this finding. In the current study, KSHV/HHV-8 DNA was detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with KS (34/98) more often than in HIV-infected individuals without KS (12/64, P = .03). The detection of KSHV/HHV-8 DNA did not correlate with the CD4 lymphocyte count. Five patients demonstrated KSHV/HHV-8 DNA in their PBMCs during administration of intravenous foscarnet and/or ganciclovir. The continued detection of KSHV/HHV-8 DNA in the PBMCs of patients receiving these anti-herpesvirus drugs has potential implications regarding the virus-cell relationship of KSHV/HHV-8, as well as for the value of these drugs in treating or preventing KS, but additional studies are needed.     

Treatment of lipomas assisted with tumescent liposuction

BACKGROUND: Lipoma is a common soft-tissue tumour of mature fat cells. Although surgical excision is effective, treatments that are less invasive and not associated with disfigurement of scar would be ideal for the treatment of lipomas. Recently, tumescent liposuction has been used for the treatment of lipomas. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of tumescent liposuction in lipoma treatment, we reviewed our experience of lipoma treatment by tumescent liposuction. METHODS: A total of 21 patients presenting with 31 lipomas were treated with tumescent liposuction. After liposuction, remaining stromas were removed by a haemostat through the small incision. Tumour size and post-operative complications were recorded before and after treatment. RESULTS: A total of 31 lipomas of 21 patients were treated by tumescent liposuction. The size of lipomas ranged between 1.2 and 11 cm (mean size, 4.1 cm). In 23 cases, there were no complications. However, remnant lipomas, bruise, haematoma and immediate dimpling were found as complications. CONCLUSION: Tumescent liposuctions with extracting remnant fat tissue and fibrous tissue through the opening for liposuction can be an effective treatment technique in lipoma treatment in the efficacy and cosmetic outcomes and this method can be a substitute for excision in treating large lipomas.     

Stem cell factor and interleukin-7 synergize to enhance early myelopoiesis in vitro

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) has been shown to be a critical factor in murine lymphoid development. It stimulates pre-B cells to divide in the absence of stroma cells and it is an important growth regulator of immature and mature T cells. IL-7 has been shown to synergize with stem cell factor (SCF) to provide a potent growth stimulus for pre-B cells. However, the combined effects of IL-7 and SCF on murine primitive hematopoietic cells in vitro have not been established. In the present study, the effects of recombinant rat (rr) SCF and recombinant human (rh) IL-7 on primitive murine bone marrow progenitors (Lin-Sca1+) were investigated in single-cell cloning experiments. rhIL-7 alone had no proliferative effect on Lin-Sca1+ cells, but in a dose-dependent manner directly enhanced rrSCF-induced colony formation, with an average increase in colony numbers of 2.7-fold. Interestingly, the cells formed in response to SCF and IL-7 were predominantly mature granulocytes. Thus, SCF and IL-7 synergize to stimulate early myelopoiesis in vitro.     

A measurement technique for cell adhesiveness

Determination of the percentage of cells in clumps on a stained smear of human peripheral blood porvided a useful, accurate technique for measuring cell adhesiveness. Smears of human peripheral blood drawn with EDTA were prepared on a blood slide centrifuge, stained, and examined under a light microscope. Statistical analysis showed that the method resulted in a Poisson distribution of particles on the slide, where a particle was considered to be a simple cell, or two or more cells which appeared to be touching, Analysis of the distributions of erythrocytes and leukocytes showed that clumps were formed before the cells were deposited on the slide. When adhesiveness of erythrocytes or leukocytes was increased by incubation with antiserum to the corresponding cell type, the percentage of that cell type in clumps increased proportionately, Preliminary results using the method showed that normal human donors had similar to 1% of their erythrocytes and 1- 5% of their leukocytes in clumps. In chronic myelocytic leukemia, as many as 60% of the leukocytes were in clumps.     

Prognostic implications of cytogenetic studies in an intensively treated group of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

We assessed the prognostic significance of leukemia cell cytogenetics by analyzing bone marrow aspirates obtained at time of diagnosis in 165 children on a single protocol for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). These children were assigned to six mutually exclusive cytogenetic categories as follows: (1) hyperdiploid, with 50 or more chromosomes (n = 35); (2) hyperdiploid, with 47 to 49 chromosomes (n = 11); (3) diploid (n = 42); (4) pseudodiploid (n = 34); (5) hypodiploid (n = 9); and (6) insufficient data (n = 34). At a median follow-up of 5 years, there were no statistically significant differences between any of these cytogenetic categories in either event-free or overall survival. Those children with chromosomal translocations (n = 26) appeared to fare the same as those lacking translocations (n = 105). The absence of karyotypic prognostic significance was observed not only within the overall group, but also when the results were stratified by standard- risk and high-risk status. Of the specific structural chromosome changes that we studied, only the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) appeared to confer a poor prognosis, although there were too few such cases to achieve statistical significance. Although we did not detect the event- free survival differences that have been described previously in hyperdiploid, hypodiploid, and pseudodiploid childhood ALL, our findings must be viewed as preliminary given the small number of children in some of the cytogenetic categories. We think that the prognostic implications of these cytogenetic features might have been nullified by improvements in therapy.     

Aplastic anemia: evidence for dysfunctional bone marrow progenitor cells and the corrective effect of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in vitro

We investigated the effects of granulocyte-macrophage colony- stimulating factor, interleukin-3, stem cell factor, interleukin-6, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) alone, and in combination, on the clonogenic potential of normal and aplastic anemia (AA) bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC and CD34+ cells. AA BMMC consistently produced a significantly lower absolute number of colonies than normal, but, when account was taken of the reduced proportion of CD34+ cells in AA BM, there was no significant difference in terms of cloning efficiency (CE). However, when removed from the influence of accessory cells, the CE of AA CD34+ cells decreased significantly more than normal, indicating a defect in their function, either in terms of dependence on accessory cell-derived factors or susceptibility to cell damage when sorted. Of the factors studied, G-CSF had the most significant effect on the response of CD34+ cells from both groups when removed from their accessory cells. This was particularly true for AA CD34+ cells, whose response to cytokine stimuli containing G-CSF enabled them to match the response of normal CD34+ cells.