Infliximab treatment for refractory Kawasaki disease with coronary artery aneurysm.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is considered to be 1 of the factors that induce vasculitis, including coronary artery aneurysm (CA), in Kawasaki disease (KD), because the blood concentration of TNF-alpha is higher in patients with CA compared with those without. Therefore, an anti-TNF-alphaagent (infliximab) was administered to a 1-month-old girl with refractory KD complicated by CA and subsequently, the CA improved and KD was controlled without complications 20 months after the onset.     

Impact of cytomegalovirus serostatus on outcome of unrelated cord blood transplantation for adults: a single-institute experience in Japan

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease is one of the major infectious complications after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT). Several studies have shown that CMV-seropositive patients have a substantial survival disadvantage after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) or peripheral blood SCT (PBSCT). Between August 1998 and February 2006, 101 adult patients underwent myeloablative cord blood transplantation (CBT) from unrelated donors at our institution. Sixteen and 85 patients were CMV-seronegative and CMV-seropositive, respectively, prior to CBT. Outcomes of CBT were compared between CMV-seronegative and CMV-seropositive patients. The cumulative incidences of neutrophil engraftment at 60 d after CBT did not differ between CMV-seronegative and CMV-seropositive patients (100% and 94%, P = 0.09); however, the cumulative incidence of platelet engraftment at 100 d was higher in CMV-seronegative patients than CMV-seropositive patients (100% vs. 86%, P < 0.005). The cumulative incidence of CMV antigenemia at 100 d was lower in CMV-seronegative patients than CMV-seropositive patients (0% vs. 77%, P < 0.001); however, the cumulative incidences of CMV disease did not differ between CMV-seronegative and CMV-seropositive patients (0% vs. 1%, P = 0.84). The probabilities of disease-free survival at 2 yr also did not differ between CMV-seronegative and CMV-seropositive patients (92% vs. 72%, P = 0.16). The outcomes of CBT for CMV-seropositive patients as well as CMV-seronegative patients in our series were favorable. This might be due to effective antiviral therapy for CMV infection. Large-scale studies are needed to determine the impact of recipient CMV serostatus on the outcome of CBT for adults.     

Rapid and prominent up-regulation of high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin G (Fc gamma RI) by cross-linking of beta 2 integrins on polymorphonuclear leukocytes

Receptors for the Fc region (FcR) of immunoglobulin (Ig)G play essential roles in effector functions of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) including the antibody-mediated clearance of microbes. In contrast to the constitutive expression of the low-affinity receptors for IgG (Fc gamma RII [CD32] and Fc gamma RIII [CD16]), the high-affinity receptor Fc gamma RI (CD64) is barely detectable on unactivated PMNs. CD64 expression is induced in a slow kinetic manner by interferon (IFN)-gamma and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) after 12 to 24 hours of exposure to these agents. We found that the cross-linking of CD11b as well as of CD18 induced comparable rapid increases in CD64 expression on the surface of PMNs, occurring within 15 minutes of exposure. Cross-linking of neither CD11a nor CD11c induced CD64 expression. In contrast to slow induction by IFN-gamma and G-CSF, the integrin-induced rapid CD64 expression did not require RNA synthesis. Genistein, herbimycin A, and 1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethan-N,N-N',N'-tetraacetic acid blocked the immediate expression of CD64 in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that the signal is mediated through calcium mobilization and protein tyrosine kinase(s). Such rapid modulation of the high-affinity Fc gamma RI receptor by integrin cross-linking may reflect the requirement for rapid up-regulation of PMN effector functions, after interaction with endothelial cells, platelets or bacteria.     

The effects of postural changes of baroreflex gain in normal and hypertensive pregnancies

In order to understand the changes of baroreflex gain due to postural changes in normal pregnancies, we measured percentage changes (% changes) in blood pressure (SBP, DBP), heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), total peripheral resistance (TPR) as well as cardiac autonomic nervous function (HF as an index of parasympathetic and LF/HF as an index of sympathetic function) and compared these parameters in normal pregnancies with those found in hypertensive pregnancies, such as chronic hypertensive (CHP) and severe preeclamptic pregnancies (PE), in late pregnancy (after 32 wks). When the position was changed from supine to standing in normal and non-pregnant women, the % changes of HR, DBP, TPR and LF/HF were increased and SBP, SV, CO and HF were decreased. The % changes of these parameters, however, were gradually decreased as pregnancy progressed, especially after 20-24 wks of gestation. In hypertensive pregnancies, however, even in late pregnancy, the decreased SBP and increased TPR was still observed and the profound decrease of CO and SV and increase of TPR were characteristic in PE when compared to CHP.     

Difference in CD22 molecules in human B cells and basophils

OBJECTIVE: CD22 is believed to be restricted to normal and neoplastic B cells. Human basophils were found to express CD22 molecules. Among the antibodies against CD22, Leu14, which recognized the ligand binding domain, reacted to basophils, and B3 and 4KB128, which recognized the amino terminus side and carboxy terminus side of the ligand binding epitope, respectively, did not. To clarify the difference of CD22 antigenicity in human B cells and basophils, we investigated RNA sequence and structures of CD22 molecules. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Purified B cells and basophils were obtained from normal human volunteers by using a MACS magnetic cell sorting system and anti-CD19 and anti-Fc epsilon R1 antibodies, respectively. RT-PCR and sequencing of CD22 mRNA were performed in the exons 3 to 8. Western blotting analysis of CD22 was also performed. RESULTS: The sequence of CD22 mRNA extracted from the basophils was the same as that of B cells in exons 3 to 8 (epitopes recognized by Leu14, B3, and 4KB128 were translated from exons 4 and 5). Reduced CD22 peptide extracted from the basophils reacted to Leu14 as well as B3 and 4KB128, and the molecular size of the reduced and nonreduced products was 130 kDa as expected. CONCLUSION: Disulfide bonds and the resulting 3D conformation of the CD22 molecules may have important roles in the difference of antigenicity of CD22 beta in B cells (CD22 beta 1) and basophils (CD22 beta 2). The difference in molecular structure surrounding the ligand-binding domain of CD22 may imply a specialization of the conformational forms of CD22 according to the ligand isoforms.     

A clinical comparison of unrelated cord blood transplantation and unrelated bone marrow transplantation for adult patients with acute leukaemia in complete remission

We performed a clinical comparison of unrelated cord blood transplantation (UCBT) and unrelated bone marrow transplantation in adult acute leukaemia patients in complete remission (CR) who received the same conditioning regimen, graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) prophylaxis and supportive treatment. The incidence of acute GvHD was almost the same between the two groups, but the haematopoietic recovery was delayed and the incidence of chronic GvHD was higher in the UCBT group. The probability of 2 year disease-free survival was similar between the two groups. These results suggest that adult acute leukaemia patients in CR without a suitable donor should be considered as candidates for UCBT.