High Incidence of Positive Autoantibodies against Thyroid Peroxidase and Thyroglobulin in Patients with Sarcoidosis

OBJECTIVE  Although abnormalities of the humoral immune system, such as increased immunoglobulin production, are known in sarcoidosis, the relationship between sarcoidosis and autoimmune disorders is uncertain. We studied the incidence of thyroid autoantibodies and the prevalence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in patients with sarcoidosis.
PATIENTS AND MEASUREMENTS  Sixty-two patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, diagnosed by a combination of clinical, radiographic and histological findings, were studied. As controls, three groups of subjects aged 40 and over without a known history of thyroid disease (60 patients with pulmonary diseases other than sarcoidosis, 88 hospital employees and 82 company workers), were also analysed. Antibodies against thyroid peroxidase (TPO-Ab) and purified thyroglobulin (Tg-Ab) were measured by radioimmunoassay and antibodies against microsomal antigen (MCHA) and thyroglobulin (TGHA), by haemagglutination.
RESULTS  Seventeen of 62 patients (27.4%) had either positive TPO-Ab or Tg-Ab or both. All the patients with positive thyroid autoantibodies were of middle or advanced age, and the incidence of positive TPO-Ab/Tg-Ab in patients with sarcoidosis aged 40 and over was 54.5% in males, 32.4% in females and 37.8% overall. The prevalence was significantly higher in males compared to age-matched control males (0–7.7% in the controls), and in female patients was twice that found in controls (11.8–16.3%). Seven patients had Hashimoto's thyroiditis, indicating that the prevalence was 11.3%, and much higher than that previously reported.
CONCLUSIONS  The data show a remarkably high incidence of thyroid autoantibodies in patients of middle or advanced age with sarcoidosis, especially in males, and a higher prevalence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis than in previous reports.     

Measurement of endogenous plasma granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in patients with acquired aplastic anemia by a sensitive chemiluminescent immunoassay

Endogenous plasma granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) concentrations were serially measured in 68 patients with acquired aplastic anemia (AA). A very sensitive chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLEIA) was used to measure the plasma G-CSF concentration. The minimum detection limit of this assay (0.5 pg/mL) was sufficient for the determination of G-CSF concentrations in patients and normal subjects. The plasma G-CSF concentrations were significantly higher in 51 AA patients without signs of infection as compared with healthy control subjects. In AA patients with signs of infection, the G-CSF concentrations appeared to increase during the acute phase. There was a significant negative correlation between plasma G-CSF concentrations and absolute neutrophil counts (ANC) in AA patients without signs of infection. Although a decrease in the plasma G-CSF concentration was observed in all patients who achieved self-sustaining hematopoiesis following bone marrow transplantation (BMT) or immunosuppressive (IS) therapy, it was lower in patients undergoing BMT as compared with those receiving IS therapy for any given degree of neutropenia. Plasma G-CSF concentrations were higher in patients responding to IS therapy than in nonresponders. This study demonstrated the negative feedback regulation of G-CSF that plasma G-CSF concentrations may be useful in predicting the clinical response to IS therapy.     

Cicatricial Pemphigoid of the Oropharynx after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for Relapsed Follicular Lymphoma

A 44-year-old woman with refractory follicular lymphoma underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) and achieved complete remission. Grade III acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) developed on day 23, but no chronic GVHD occurred. The patient developed severe erosion with bullous lesions in the oral cavity 18 months after SCT. At that time, the lymphoma remained in complete remission, and she had no clinical or laboratory findings suggesting chronic GVHD. A biopsy of the oral mucosa showed moderate lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and subepidermal bullae, and direct immunofluorescence staining demonstrated linear deposition of C3 at the dermo-epidermal junction. An immunoblotting assay using human epidermal extracts confirmed the presence in her serum of an antibody against the 230-kd bullous pemphigoid antigen 1 (BPAG1). A diagnosis of cicatricial pemphigoid (CP) was made, and complete resolution of the CP was achieved with pred-nisolone therapy. The occurrence of autoimmune blistering diseases is rare after allogeneic SCT.     

Three‐dimensional fusion images combining CT gastrography and CT angiography for early gastric cancer: Pilot experiences of preoperative simulation prior to totally laparoscopic gastrectomy

We herein report two cases of gastric cancer in which preoperative 3‐D CT gastrography and CT angiography fusion images enabled totally laparoscopic gastrectomy. Case 1 involved a 60‐year‐old woman with a superficial depressed lesion on the greater curvature of the middle gastric body. Case 2 involved a 64‐year‐old woman with a superficial depressed lesion on the posterior wall of the upper gastric body. In both cases, 3‐D fusion images were prepared from enhanced CT scans after the area near the lesions was clipped under preoperative gastroendoscopy. Based on the relative position between the clips and nearby vessels, a resection line was preoperatively determined in each case. Totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy and totally laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy were performed in cases 1 and 2, respectively, with safe surgical margins. Three‐dimensional fusion images can help in preoperative simulation of totally laparoscopic gastrectomy.     

Establishment of a new method, transcription–reverse transcription concerted reaction, for detection of plasma hnRNP B1 mRNA, a biomarker of lung cancer

Purpose  Development of an early detection marker is one of the most important strategies for improving overall prognosis in lung cancer patients. We previously reported that hnRNP B1––an RNA binding protein––is overexpressed in lung cancer tissue from the early stage of cancer, and found that hnRNP B1 mRNA is detectable in the plasma of lung cancer patients using real-time RT-PCR. The purpose of this study was to establish a quick and simple method for detecting plasma hnRNP B1mRNA for use in screening for lung cancer. Methods  TRC, a homogenous method for fluorescence real-time monitoring of isothermal RNA amplification using intercalation activating fluorescence DNA probe, was used to detect plasma hnRNP B1 mRNA. Results  The detection limit of hnRNP B1 mRNA by TRC using synthetic control RNA or total RNA derived from a lung cancer cell line was 25 or 8.65 × 10² copies, respectively. Using total RNA extracted from 600 μl of plasma, we detected hnRNP B1 mRNA in 39.1% (9/23) of lung cancer patients, with levels ranging from 1.9 to 19,045.5 copies/100 ng RNA, and in 5.2% (5/97) of healthy volunteers. Copy numbers were not associated with age, gender, smoking status, or histological type of cancer. TRC could detect 10³ copies of hnRNP B1 mRNA in 10 min. Conclusion  Detection of plasma hnRNP B1 mRNA by TRC is a quick, easy, and non-invasive method suitable for lung cancer screening.