Heterogeneity of B cell involvement in acute nonlymphocytic leukemia

In order to study the pattern of B cell involvement in acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL), multiple B lymphoid cell lines were established by Epstein-Barr virus transformation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from two patients with the disease who were heterozygous for the X chromosome-linked glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). In one patient, the progenitor cells involved by the leukemia exhibited multipotent differentiative expression, whereas in the other patient the cells showed differentiative expression restricted to the granulocytic pathway. In the patient whose abnormal clone showed multipotent expression, the ratio of B-A G6PD in B lymphoid cell lines was skewed in the direction of type B (the enzyme characteristic of the leukemia clone) and significantly different from the 1:1 ratio expected. It is, therefore, likely that the neoplastic event occurred in a stem cell common to the lymphoid series as well as to the myeloid series. In contrast, evidence for B cell involvement was not detected in the patient whose ANLL progenitor cells exhibited restricted differentiative expression. These findings underscore the heterogeneity of ANLL. Clinically and morphologically similar malignancies in these two patients originated in progenitors with different patterns of stem cell differentiative expression. This difference may reflect differences in cause and pathogenesis.     

Trabecular bone architecture in female renal allograft recipients-- assessed by computed tomography

BACKGROUND: Osteopenia with decreased bone mineral density (BMD) is a frequent finding in renal allograft recipients. Data concerning the bone architecture in these patients do not exist, however. METHODS: We compared the bone architecture of 33 randomly assigned women (age 49 +/- 12 years), who had received renal allografts 5.6 +/- 5.3 years before the investigation, with 74 women (age 50 +/- 14 years) who were admitted for osteodensitometry. All patients underwent single-energy computed tomography (SEQCT) and a midvertebral high-resolution tomography with computer-assisted analysis of the trabecular vertebral body architecture. RESULTS: Progressive alteration of bone architecture was associated with increasing vertebral height loss of the vertebral body. Height reduction of a vertebral body of more than 15% was associated with a significantly lower BMD (-2.3 +/- 0.8 versus -1.1 +/- 1.1 standard deviations below normal BMD), a lower trabecular bone area (13 +/- 8% versus 42 +/- 22%) and a lower trabecular diameter (1.4 +/- 0.5 mm versus 2.2 +/- 0.8 mm) compared to recipients without height reduction. In comparison to a matched group of patients with similarly reduced BMD (1.1 +/- 1.2 versus 1.2 +/- 1.1 SD below normal BMD), renal allograft recipients showed a lower number of trabecular plates (5.6 +/- 3.1 versus 7.0 +/- 3.7) and a smaller intertrabecular surface (54 +/- 116 mm versus 75 +/- 138 mm). CONCLUSIONS: Alterations of bone architecture in renal allograft recipients were associated with progressive vertebral height loss. Despite similar bone mineral density, differences of bone architecture could be observed between renal allograft recipients and patients with osteoporosis.      

Stimulation of eosinophil production in vitro by eosinophilopoietin and spleen-cell-derived eosinophil growth-stimulating factor

Eosinophilopoietin (EPP) was previously characterized by the ability to stimulate eosinophil production in vivo, but these studies could not ascertain whether EPP had a direct effect on the bone marrow or acted indirectly by causing release of eosinophilopoietic activity by other tissues. The present studies demonstrate that EPP stimulates eosinophil growth in liquid culture of mouse bone marrow in vitro. The timing of stimulation by EPP in vivo and in vitro were parallel, with maximal eosinophil growth after 48 hr. Moreover, EPP appears similar to, and possible identical with, the eosinophil growth-stimulating substance (EO-GSF) released by antigenic stimulation of immune nonadherent spleen cells. Both EPP and EO-GSF are of low molecular weight, both produce stimulation of eosinophil growth with identical kinetics, and both produced similar dose-response curves in the liquid culture system.     

Shape response of human erythrocytes to altered cell pH

Alteration of red blood cell (RBC) pH produces stomatocytosis (at low pH) and echinocytosis (at high pH). Cell shrinkage potentiates high pH echinocytosis, but shrinkage alone does not cause echinocytosis. Mechanisms for these shape changes have not been described. In this study, measured dependence of RBC shape on cell pH was nonlinear, with a broad pH range in which normal discoid shape was maintained. Transbilayer distribution of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine, measured by back-extraction of radiolabeled lipid, was the same in control and altered pH cells. Possible roles of pH- titratable inner monolayer phospholipids were examined by assessing pH- dependent shape in cells in which their levels had been perturbed. In metabolically depleted cells and calcium-treated cells, which have altered levels of phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate, and/or phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate, low cell pH was stomatocytogenic and high cell pH was echinocytogenic, as in control cells. Thus, neither change in membrane lipid asymmetry nor normal levels of the pH-titratable inner monolayer lipids is necessary for cell pH-mediated shape change.     

麦冬多糖对正常和实验性糖尿病小鼠血糖的影响

目的：研究麦冬多糖对正常和实验性糖尿病小鼠血糖的影响。方法：昆明种小鼠４０只，分成４组，分别用麦冬多糖（１００和３００ｍｇ／ｋｇ）、优降糖（２．５ｍｇ／ｋｇ）和等体积生理盐水（２ｍｌ／只）灌胃，测定各组正常小鼠的血糖水平及以葡萄糖（２ｇ／ｋｇ）、四氧嘧啶（７０ｍｇ／ｋｇ）、肾上腺素（０．０２ｍｇ／ｋｇ）所致小鼠高血糖模型的血糖水平。结果：剂量为１００和３００ｍｇ／ｋｇ的麦冬多糖灌胃对葡萄糖、四嘧啶     

International validation of the Chinese University Prognostic Index for staging of hepatocellular carcinoma:a joint United Kingdom and Hong Kong study

The outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） patients significantly differs between western and eastern population centers. Our group previously developed and validated the Chinese University Prognostic Index （CUPI） for the prognostication of HCC among the Asian HCC patient population. In the current study, we aimed to validate the CUPI using an international cohort of patients with HCC and to compare the CUPI to two widely used staging systems, the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer （BCLC） classification and the Cancer of the Liver Italian Program （CLIP）. To accomplish this goal, two cohorts of patients were enrolled in the United Kingdom （UK; n = 567; 2006-2011） and Hong Kong （HK; n = 517; 2007-2012）. The baseline clinical data were recorded. The performances of the CUPI, BCLC, and CLIP were compared in terms of a concordance index （C-index） and were evaluated in subgroups of patients according to treatment intent. The results revealed that the median follow-up durations of the UK and HK cohorts were 27.9 and 29.8 months, respectively. The median overall survival of the UK and HK cohorts were 22.9 and 8.6 months, respectively. The CUPI stratified the patients in both cohorts into three risk subgroups corresponding to distinct outcomes. The median overall survival of the CUPI low-, intermediate-, and high-risk subgroups were 3.15, 1.24, and 0.29 years, respectively, in the UK cohort and were 2.07, 0.32, and 0.10 years, respectively, in the HK cohort. For the patients who underwent curative treatment, the prognostic performance did not differ between the three staging systems, and all were suboptimal. For those who underwent palliative treatment, the CUPI displayed the highest C-index, indicating that this staging system was the most informative for both cohorts. In conclusion, the CUPI is applicable to both western and eastern HCC patient populations. The performances of the three staging systems differed according to treatment intent, and the CUPI was demonstrated to be optimal for those