Flow cytometry for diagnosis and assessment of prognosis in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes

The Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) comprises a spectrum of hematopoietic stem cell disorders. Identification of additional parameters that might distinguish different risk groups or entities would be useful. Flow cytometric studies have begun to characterize individual or composite immunophenotypic abnormalities as well as light scatter properties that may be helpful for diagnosis and of prognostic value for the natural course of the disease and for outcome after therapy. Here we review the current state of the art of the use of flow cytometry in patients with MDS.     

Antigenic analysis of hematopoiesis. IV. The My-11 hematopoietic cell surface antigen is expressed by myelomonocytic and lymphoid, but not erythroid, progenitor cells

The anti-My-11 murine monoclonal antibody reported on in this work identifies a KG-1a cell surface glycoprotein with apparent molecular mass of 210,000 daltons. Peripheral blood B-lymphocytes, and a novel subset of T-lymphocytes (not coinciding with helper or cytotoxic subsets) express My-11 antigen; granulocytes, red cells, and platelets are antigen negative. In normal bone marrow, lymphoid progenitors (TdT positive) and most granulocyte-monocyte progenitors express My-11, but erythroid and multilineage progenitors are My-11 negative. Approximately half of acute leukemia blast cell specimens are My-11 positive. The My-11 antigen distinguishes between lymphohematopoietic cells on the basis of lineage, and assists in the purification of hematopoietic progenitor cells and the subclassification of leukemias and normal lymphocytes.     

Residual disease detected by multidimensional flow cytometry signifies high relapse risk in patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia: a report from Children's Oncology Group

Early response to induction chemotherapy is a predictor of outcome in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We determined the prevalence and significance of postinduction residual disease (RD) by multidimensional flow cytometry (MDF) in children treated on Children's Oncology Group AML protocol AAML03P1. Postinduction marrow specimens at the end of induction (EOI) 1 or 2 or at the end of therapy from 249 patients were prospectively evaluated by MDF for RD, and presence of RD was correlated with disease characteristics and clinical outcome. Of the 188 patients in morphologic complete remission at EOI1, 46 (24%) had MDF-detectable disease. Those with and without RD at the EOI1 had a 3-year relapse risk of 60% and 29%, respectively (P < .001); the corresponding relapse-free survival was 30% and 65% (P < .001). Presence of RD at the EOI2 and end of therapy was similarly predictive of poor outcome. RD was detected in 28% of standard-risk patients in complete remission and was highly associated with poor relapse-free survival (P = .008). In a multivariate analysis, including cytogenetic and molecular risk factors, RD was an independent predictor of relapse (P < .001). MDF identifies patients at risk of relapse and poor outcome and can be incorporated into clinical trials for risk-based therapy allocation. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00070174.     

Giardiasis: diagnosis and treatment

Giardiasis is the number one parasite-caused gastrointestinal illness in the United States. It can be acquired through various water sources or the fecal-oral route. The detection and treatment of giardiasis can be difficult. Nurse practitioners, as primary health care providers, often see patients presenting with gastrointestinal complaints. These complaints could represent one of many illnesses, including giardiasis. Presented is a review of the background and current information available on Giardia necessary for appropriate evaluation and care of patients with suspected giardiasis.     

Quantitative measurement of interresponse times to assess forelimb motor function in rats

Eight rats were trained to use their left paw to rapidly press the right lever of an operant chamber once and the left lever twice to obtain a food reward. Between-levers interresponse times and same lever interresponse times were measured daily for several weeks before and after bilateral removal of frontal motor/sensory cortex. This surgery resulted in a permanent deficit in most rats' ability to rapidly alternate between levers, but resulted in only a temporary deficit in their ability to rapidly press the same lever. Sham surgery and removal of hindlimb motor cortex had little immediate effect on interresponse times. The data demonstrate that sequential motor behavior tested in the between-levers tasks is chronically affected by cortical lesions, but the speed of the same repetitive movement tested in the same lever task is not. Measuring the time to rapidly alternate between two different levers, therefore, provides a quantitative method for measuring acute and chronic forelimb motor deficits due to motor cortex injury in rats which could be applied to any mammal.