ANTIBODIES TO SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE and ANTINEUTROPHIL CYTOPLASMIC AUTOANTIBODIES IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE: ASSESSMENT and RELEVANCE IN AN AUSTRALIAN POPULATION USING TWO DIFFERENT ASCA ASSAY KITS

A number of North American and European studies have elucidated a relationship between antibodies to the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ASCA) and Crohn's disease (CD).
Aims  (1) To ascertain whether this relationship is relevant to Australian patients; (2) To compare the results with two different commercial ASCA kits; (3) To examine the usefulness of this test in combination with perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (pANCA) for distinguishing Crohn's disease from ulcerative colitis (UC).
Methods  Serum samples were obtained from 28 patients with CD, 27 patients with UC and 22 non-IBD patients presenting for investigation of other gastroenterological illnesses. ASCA IgG and IgA were determined by enzyme immunoassay using the two test kits. pANCA was detected by indirect immunofluorescence.
Results  Using the Medizym test kit, the presence of either IgG or IgA ASCA was 50% sensitive and 93% specific for CD. The QUANTA Lite kit yielded a higher sensitivity of 79% but specificity of 74%. The sensitivity of pANCA for UC was 48% but was 100% specific. Used in combination, ASCA+ve/pANCA–ve was only 50% sensitive but 100% specific for CD using the Medizym kit compared with 79% sensitivity and 93% specificity using QUANTA Lite. The combination of ASCA–ve/pANCA+ve was 41% sensitive and 100% specific for ulcerative colitis using the Medizym kit compared with 30% sensitive and 100% specific using QUANTA Lite.
Conclusions  At least 50% of Australian patients with CD have ASCA detectable in serum, confirming the results of overseas studies. Sensitivity was greater with the QUANTA Lite kit whereas the Medizym kit was slightly more specific. ASCA may aid in the diagnosis of CD. When used in combination with pANCA it may also help distinguish CD from UC in difficult cases.     

抗痫灵在大鼠肝脏中代谢的研究

用离体大鼠肝脏灌流法,研究了抗痫灵在肝脏灌流过程中的代谢规律。用高效液相色谱法由灌流液中分离、制备得到了两种代谢物,经紫外吸收光谱与质谱鉴定,确定代谢物的结构为3,4-次甲基二氧桂皮酰羟基哌啶及阿魏酰哌啶,后者经化学合成得到了进一步的确证。本文还研究了肝循环过程中抗痫灵的代谢动力学,揭示了大部份抗痫灵以原形结合贮存于肝脏中。     

非亲缘异基因外周血干细胞移植重建白血病幼儿造血功能：1例报告

目的:分析非亲缘异基因外周血干细胞移植治疗幼儿急性非淋巴性白血病的可行性。方法:患儿,男,3岁,于2005-07-18为行造血干细胞移植入本院血液科骨髓移植病房,入院诊断为急性非淋巴细胞性白血病-M5b。经抗肿瘤药物治疗病情获得完全缓解。患儿首先接受清髓性预处理,然后接受同性别非亲缘异基因外周血造血干细胞移植。①移植预处理包括马利兰、阿糖胞苷和环磷酰胺。移植前依次用药为马利兰3.2mg/(kg·d)×4d,口服,于移植前6,7,8,9d给药;阿糖胞苷3.2g/(m2·d)×2d,于移植前4,5d给药;环磷酰胺54mg/(kg·d),于移植前2,3d给药。②急性移植物抗宿主病的预防用药包括环孢菌素A和氨甲蝶呤、抗胸腺细胞球蛋白及吗替麦考酚酯。供者接受粒细胞集落刺激因子动员4d后采集外周血造血干细胞,供、受者间HLA全相合,患者血型A,供者血型B,主次要均不合。结果:①患儿移植后早期获得造血重建,中性粒细胞>0.5×109L-1和血小板>50×109L-1的天数分别是12d和11d。②移植后1个月经DNA短串联重复序列多态性分析证明为供者型完全植入,移植后3个月查骨髓象正常。③移植后3,6个月定期行淋巴细胞亚群检查表明除CD19 ,CD4 细胞未恢复外,自然杀伤细胞在移植后3个月恢复正常,T淋巴细胞CD3 与CD8 、体液免疫球蛋白在移植后6个月中均获得重建。④整个移植过程顺利,未出现明显感染和重度急性移植物抗宿主病。移植后96d时出现Ⅰ度皮肤移植物抗宿主病,经加用激素治疗,皮疹消失。移植术后已随访观察12个月,患儿正常生活。结论:如果患儿有HLA完全相合的供者,非亲缘异基因外周血干细胞移植治疗儿童高危白血病是一种有效和安全的方法,对国内独生子女家庭拓宽供者来源有重要的实用价值。     

P-glycoprotein expression in human plasma cell myeloma: correlation with prior chemotherapy

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) myeloma patients failing chemotherapy may express P-glycoprotein (PGP), which serves as an efflux pump protecting the neoplastic cells. Unknown is whether PGP expression might relate to prior cytotoxic drug exposure. To address this question, we studied 106 consecutive bone marrow samples from 104 myeloma patients with samples studied either before or after therapy and at the time of relapse. We performed an established immunocytochemical assay of PGP using an MDR-1- specific monoclonal antibody and correlated PGP status with prior chemotherapy dosage. Myeloma patients with no prior therapy had a low incidence of PGP expression (6%, 3/47), whereas those receiving chemotherapy had a significantly higher incidence (43%, 21/49) (P < .0001). A substantially higher incidence of PGP expression (50%, 83%, respectively) occurred when the total vincristine dose exceeded 20 mg and when doxorubicin exceeded 340 mg. In the 11 patients who received both high vincristine and doxorubicin dosages (> 20 mg, > 340 mg total dose) there was 100% incidence of PGP expression in the tumor cells. These data provided the basis for a predictive mathematical model from which dose-related PGP expression normograms were generated. Time with myeloma for PGP-negative patients (mean 33 months) had overlapping confidence limits with PGP-positive patients (mean 42 months), suggesting that disease duration was not a significant variable. PGP expression did not correlate with other clinical factors or immunophenotypic factors. Our findings indicate a strong correlation between PGP expression in myeloma and past chemotherapy in myeloma, in particular, related to prior exposure to the natural product agents vincristine and doxorubicin. Additionally, the proportion of PGP- positive plasma cells was significantly higher in the doxorubicin- treated patients than the nondoxorubicin-treated patients (87.7% v 65.17%; P = .013). Combined high vincristine and doxorubicin total dosage appear highly predictive of PGP expression.     

BCR-ABL-mediated inhibition of apoptosis with delay of G2/M transition after DNA damage: a mechanism of resistance to multiple anticancer agents

A critical determinant of the efficacy of antineoplastic therapy is the response of malignant cells to DNA damage induced by anticancer agents. The p53 tumor-suppressor gene is a critical component of two distinct cellular responses to DNA damage, the induction of a reversible arrest at the G1/S cell cycle checkpoint, and the activation of apoptosis, a genetic program of autonomous cell death. Expression of the BCR-ABL chimeric gene produced by a balanced translocation in chronic myeloid leukemia, confers resistance to multiple genotoxic anticancer agents. BCR-ABL expression inhibits the apoptotic response to DNA damage without altering either the p53-dependent WAF1/CIP1-mediated G1 arrest or DNA repair. BCR-ABL-mediated inhibition of DNA damage-induced apoptosis is associated with a prolongation of cell cycle arrest at the G2/M restriction point; the delay of G2/M transition may allow time to repair and complete DNA replication and chromosomal segregation, thereby preventing a mitotic catastrophe. The inherent resistance of human cancers to genotoxic agents may result not only by the loss or inactivation of the wild-type p53 gene, but also by genetic alterations such as BCR-ABL that can delay G2/M transition after DNA damage.