t(8;21) prior to acute leukemia

A t(8;21)(q22;q22) without blood and bone marrow invasion by immature myeloid precursor cells occurred in a patient previously treated for polycythemia vera. The presence of a molecular rearrangement confirmed that the chromosomal abnormality was identical to that observed in acute leukemia with t(8;21). This case shows that the translocation, t(8;21), may occur in myelodysplasia and suggests that it can precede the appearance of overt leukemia.     

Change of surgical treatment in benign thyroid gland diseases-- influence of surgical management on perioperative complications

Since the beginning of 1994 standardized primary radical resection was performed in benign thyroid diseases at the surgical department, Barmherzige Brueder Hospital, Graz. In multinodular euthyroid goiter bilateral lobectomy or near total lobectomy respectively was done. In case of Graves' disease unilateral lobectomy and contralateral near total resection or "en bloc" thyroidectomy was performed. In accordance with literature a significant reduction of recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis from approximately 9% to 1.2% occurred in our patients if this surgical procedure was performed consequently. Hypocalcemia rate after surgery needing treatment was approximately 1% at the time of demission.     

Assessment of the viability of haemopoietic cells in the livers of mouse fetuses stored at 4 degrees C. Comparison of various methods of testing their usefulness for haemopoietic transplantation

The usefulness of three different tests available in experimental haematology for the assessment of the viability of fetal liver cells obtained from murine fetuses kept in refrigerator at 4 degrees C was compared. The usefulness of these cells as potential transplants for haemopoiesis reconstitution was assessed in the test with trypan blue, in the test based on clonal growth of GM-CFU in agar, and in the test of the splenic colony forming ability of CFU-S. Fetuses kept in refrigerator at 4 degrees C tested 16 hours after circulation arrest contained still about 70% of the initial number of the haemopoietic stem cells (CFU-S). The proportion of committed cells belonging to the granulocyto-monopoiesis line (GM-CFU) decreased at the same time to about 25% of the initial number, and was a sensitive indicator of hypoxia of the studied organ. The test for the viability of the cells based on the use of trypan blue gave results reflecting better the changes in the number of CFU-S than GM-CFU cells.     

Constitutional C-band pattern in patients with adenomatosis of the colon and rectum

The pattern of polymorphism in the C-band-positive constitutive heterochromatin of chromosomes #1, #9, and #16 was studied in fibroblasts from 23 unrelated patients with adenomatosis of the colon and rectum and in peripheral lymphocytes from 78 control persons. The parameters of the heterochromatic regions analyzed were relative size, symmetry-asymmetry within homologous chromosome pairs, and frequency of inversions. The polyposis coli patients had a significantly higher frequency (p less than 0.05) of partial and total heterochromatin inversion on chromosome #9 than the control group (37.0% compared with 21.8%). In the other parameters studied, no significant differences were found between patients and controls.     

Chromosomes in Ewing's sarcoma. I. An evaluation of 85 cases of remarkable consistency of t(11;22)(q24;q12)

Since our initial reports on chromosomal studies in eight Ewing's sarcomas (ES), we have carried out similar investigations on 23 additional ES specimens following short-term culture of tumor cells (16 cases), and established in vitro cell lines (three cases) and on xenografted tumors in nude mice (four cases). We demonstrated the presence of the reciprocal t(11;22)(q24;q12) in every case except one that exhibited a complex t(11;22;14)(q24;q12;q11). On the basis of results from these additional 23 cases, we confirm the consistency of the t(11;22)(q24;q12) in ES. Moreover, we reviewed 54 ES cases reported by other investigators; when added to our 31 cases, this brings the total number to 85 unrelated cases of ES available for an evaluation of the frequency of involvement of bands 11q24 and 22q12 in translocations in ES. The standard t(11;22)(q24;q12) proved to be a remarkably consistent event, present in 83% of the cases. Five percent of the cases exhibited complex translocations involving a third chromosome in addition to chromosomes #11 and #22. In 4% of the cases variant translocations involved 22q12 but with a chromosome(s) other than #11. The breakpoint on chromosome 22q12 appears to be the most consistently observed event in 92% of the cases, whereas, the breakpoint at chromosome 11q24 was observed in 88% of the cases.     

Double wavelength measurement of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) provides a three-fold enhancement of the ELISA measuring range

A rapid, simple method is described which permits a three-fold enhancement of the working range of ELISA procedures using TMB as a substrate. This consists of measuring absorbance values at a wavelength away from the absorption maximum of TMB and using a predetermined multiplication factor.     

Diagnostische Bewertung des Nachweises von Gliadin-Antikörpern bei Cöliakie

Zusammenfassung Die Methoden der Komplement-bindung und der Präcipitinreaktion in Agar mit Gliadin als Antigen wurden vergleichend auf ihre Anwendbarkeit in der Diagnostik der Cöliakie geprüft.Beim Präcipitinversuch kamen pseudopositive Reaktionen bei 285 Kontrollen nie vor, bei der Komplementbindung zweimal bei 189 Kontrollen.Zwölf sichere Cöliakiefälle ergaben vergleichend geprüft acht bzw. neun positive Reaktionen, wobei die negativen Befunde für die beiden Verfahren nicht das gleiche Serum jeweils betrafen. Wurde die positive Reaktion in nur einer Methode als ausreichend betrachtet, so war das Ergebnis: elf positive Reaktionen auf zwölf Fälle.Während bei klinisch bestätigter Cöliakie die Übereinstimmung der beiden Methoden gut war, war dies bei den bloßen Verdachtsfällen nicht der Fall. Hier gab es bei der Komplementbindung mehr positive Resultate als bei der Präcipitinreaktion.Es wird vorgeschlagen, beide Methoden nebeneinander anzuwenden und sie bei negativem Ausfall zu wiederholen, wobei die gegebenen diätetischen Richtlinien einzuhalten sind. Als Antigen kann ein Glycerinextrakt aus Gluten verwendet werden, wenn gereinigtes Gliadin nicht zur Verfügung steht. Extrakte mit heißem Wasser geben zu viele pseudopositive Reaktionen.

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Summary Complement fixation tests and precipitin reactions in agar with gliadin as antigen were compared in cases of celiac disease.Pseudopositiv reactions did not occur in 285 controll cases when the precipitin test of Ouchterlony was used, but were seen in two cases of 189 controlls with the complement fixation test.If only one of the two reactions was positive and this was considered as a sufficient proof for the formation of gliadin antibodies those were found in 11 of 12 cases of clinically confirmed celiac disease. In those cases the agreement of the two methods was good, but not so in not confirmed cases where complement fixation tests gave more positive results than the precipitin reaction.It is proposed to use both methods for diagnostic help and to repeat the tests if the reactions are negativ.

     

Prevalence of Eikenella corrodens in dental plaque.

The prevalence of Eikenella corrodens in dental plaque and saliva samples of 282 volunteers was determined by a semiquantitative method with a selective medium. E. corrodens was recovered in 58.9% of plaque samples and 0.3% of saliva samples. This prevalence rate was not significantly altered (P greater than 0.05) by variables of sex, race, smoking habits, clinic attended by the patient, general health status, or age; however, patients 7 to 14 years old had a significantly higher prevalence rate (90.5%; P less than 0.05). E. corrodens should be considered as a potential pathogen in infections associated with and wounds inoculated by the human gingival flora.     

Breakpoint clusters of the PML gene in acute promyelocytic leukemia: Primary structure of the reciprocal products of the PML-RARA gene in a patient with t(15;17)

DNA studies of the translocation t(15;17) in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) have shown that the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) gene on chromosome 17 is juxtaposed to the promyelocytic leukemia (PML) gene on chromosome 15. The PML breakpoints have been mapped to 3 clusters: bcr1, bcr2, and bcr3. We have examined the PML breakpoint distribution in a series of 33 Chinese patients with APL Twenty-two patients fell within bcr1, 2 within bcr2, and 9 within bcr3. The primary structure of the reciprocal chromosome translocation joints of one patient and that of their normal counterparts have been determined and compared to those of 2 previously reported cases. These studies revealed possible topoisomerase II cleavage sites close to the breakpoints and suggested implications of DNA attachment sites to nuclear matrix. We propose that these features are relevant to the process of illegitimate recombination generating the translocation. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.