Absolute CD4 count and percentage values among Libyan patients with HIV by single-platform flow cytometry.

Background: Single-platform flow cytometry technology together with CD45-gating is becoming the method of choice for absolute CD4 T cell enumeration. Immunological assessment of HIV patients by monitoring CD4 can provide valuable information on antiviral treatment response and disease progression.

Methods: A total of 97 HIV-positive individuals were recruited from 2 hospitals in Tripoli, Libya, and 14 healthy blood donors.

Flow cytometric detection of leukemic blasts in Libyan pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which is the most common type of cancer in children, has become more accurate with the use of flow cytometry. Here, this technology was used to immunophenotype leukemic cells in peripheral blood samples from Libyan pediatric ALL patients. We recruited 152 newly diagnosed patients at Tripoli Medical Center (Tripoli, Libya) by morphological examination of blood and bone marrow.

Rituximab increases the cytotoxicities of vincristine and hydroxyurea through caspase-dependent and caspase-independent cell death, respectively.

In the treatment of B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, rituximab is used in combination with different chemotherapeutics to improve its efficacy, but the mechanisms involved are not fully understood. The authors examined the mechanism by which rituximab combined with hydroxyurea or vincristine induces cell death in the human Burkitt's lymphoma Ramos cell line. Cell death was analyzed by phosphatidylserine exposure, caspase activation, and mitochondrial membrane changes.

Rituximab: modes of action, remaining dispute and future perspective.

Less than two decades ago, immunotherapy joined chemotherapy and radiotherapy as an effective approach for the treatment of cancer. The anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, rituximab, is now used to treat almost all types of non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphomas, and it could be useful in the treatment of other diseases with B-cell involvement. Upon binding, rituximab induces death of the target cells.

Rituximab synergizes with hydroxyurea or vincristine in the killing of Ramos Burkitt's lymphoma B cell line.

Rituximab is an effective immunotherapy for CD20-positive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. However, some patients show resistance, particularly those suffering from more aggressive lymphoma types, such as Burkitt's lymphoma. Hence, Rituximab is commonly combined with several chemotherapeutic drugs.

Hydroxyurea potentiates the caspase-independent killing of B-cell lines by rituximab and GA101.

Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies have revolutionized the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma over the last decade. Unfortunately, a significant number of patients treated by these antibodies exhibit innate or acquired antibody resistance and fail to respond to treatment. Strategies to improve antibody function and overcome resistance include the development of new "engineered" antibodies and the use of new drug combination therapies.

Depletion of peripheral blood B cells with Rituximab and phenotype characterization of the recovering population in a patient with follicular lymphoma.

The monoclonal antibody Rituximab is useful for treatment of patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We phenotypically analyzed reconstitution of peripheral B cells in a male patient with follicular lymphoma following their depletion with Rituximab. CD19+ and CD20+ B cell counts in peripheral blood decreased rapidly following Rituximab treatment.