The presence of clonogenic cells in high-grade malignant lymphoma: a prognostic factor

A culture system has been developed that promotes growth of clonogenic lymphoma cells of some patients with intermediate and high-grade malignant lymphoma. The formation of colonies in bone marrow, lymph nodes, and peripheral blood samples is best supported by human plasma. Colony formation of some patients was dependent upon growth factors, which in this study were added in the form of medium conditioned by phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated leukocytes (PHA-LCM). Some gave rise to lymphoma colonies without PHA-LCM but improved their frequency with PHA-LCM; others were completely independent of PHA-LCM. Colonies grown in primary cultures were routinely recloned and propagated as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-negative cell lines with stable B cell phenotype. The cell lines showed the same immunoglobulin rearrangement pattern as that observed in the primary lymphoma sample. In addition, a significant clinical correlation was observed between culture data and clinical outcome. Survival of patients who formed lymphoma colonies at any time during their clinical course was significantly shorter than survival of patients who did not give rise to colonies (P = 0.0009). The same observation was made when the survival assessment was performed for the subset of patients studied at diagnosis (P = 0.0014).     

Functional studies on c.1347C>T,a polymorphism modulating phenotypic outcome in X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy

Tijdschrift voor Kindergeneeskunde -     

Interleukin-3 treatment of rhesus monkeys leads to increased production of histamine-releasing cells that express interleukin-3 receptors at high levels

To understand the hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic responses to interleukin-3 (IL-3), expression of cell-surface IL-3 receptors (IL-3R) was examined on bone marrow (BM) cells and peripheral blood (PB) cells of rhesus monkeys during the course of in vivo IL-3 treatment. Whereas IL-3R expression is low in untreated monkeys, IL-3 administration led to a gradual increase in both low- and high-affinity binding sites for IL-3. This increase reflected the total number of cells expressing IL- 3Rs, as detected by flow cytometry using biotinylated IL-3. Most of these IL-3R+ cells in both BM and PB could be characterized as basophilic granulocytes that contained high levels of histamine. In contrast to the effect on these differentiated cells, IL-3 administration did not significantly alter the low level IL-3R expression on immature, CD34+ cells. Further flow cytometric analysis using biotinylated growth factors showed that the IL-3R+ basophils also expressed receptors for granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), but not for IL-6 or Kit ligand. These findings indicated that the IL-3R+ cells included neither monocytes, which express GM-CSFRs and IL-6Rs abundantly, nor mast cells, which express c- kit. By combining flow cytometric and Scatchard data, it was calculated that the basophils contain as many as 1 to 2 x 10(3) high-affinity IL- 3Rs and 15 to 30 x 10(3) low-affinity sites. The finding that in vivo IL-3 treatment leads to the production of large numbers of cells that express high levels of IL-3R and are capable of producing histamine provides an explanation for the often severe allergic reactions that occur during prolonged IL-3 administration. It also indicates that IL- 3, in addition to its direct effects on hematopoietic cells, may also stimulate hematopoiesis through the release of secondary mediators such as histamine by IL-3-responsive mature cells.     

沙利度胺预防ERCP术后胰腺炎的实验研究

目的评价具有促进TNF-αmRNA降解的免疫调节剂沙利度胺在预防ERCP术后胰腺炎中的作用。方法建立ERCP术后胰腺炎模型，治疗组术前8天起沙利度胺灌胃，并设立假手术组、无治疗组和赋形物对照组。24h后比较血清淀粉酶水平、胰腺水肿程度以及组织学炎症评分，并比较胰腺组织TNF-αmRNA表达情况。结果沙利度胺显著降低血清淀粉酶、减轻胰腺水肿及组织学炎症评分，并显著降低胰腺组织中TNF-αmRNA的表达。结论TNF-α可能在ERCP术后胰腺炎的发生发展中起着重要作用．预防性使用沙利度胺能有效减轻ERCP术后胰腺炎的严重程度。     

New daily persistent headache in the paediatric population

We conducted a clinic-based study focusing on the clinical features of new-onset chronic daily headaches (CDH) in children and adolescents. The clinical records and headache diaries of 306 children and adolescents were reviewed, to identify 187 with CDH. Relevant information was transferred to a standardized form that included operational criteria for the diagnoses of the headaches. Since we were interested in describing the clinical features of these headaches, we followed the criteria A and B of the 2nd edn of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-2) and refer to them as new daily persistent headaches (NDPH) regardless of the presence of migraine features (therefore, this is a modified version of the ICHD-2 criteria). From the 56 adolescents with NDPH, most (91.8%) did not overuse medications. Nearly half (48.1%) reported they could recall the month when their headaches started. NDPH was more common than chronic tension-type headache in both adolescents overusing and not overusing medication. Individuals with NDPH had headaches fulfilling criteria for migraine on an average of 18.5 days per month. On most days, they had migraine-associated symptoms (one of nausea, photophobia or phonophobia)). NDPH is common in children and adolescents with CDH. Most subjects do not overuse medication. Migraine features are common.