Expert Consensus on the Characteristics of Patients with Epstein-Barr Virus-Positive Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease (EBV PTLD) for Whom Standard-Dose Chemotherapy May be Inappropriate: A Modified Delphi Study.

Introduction: Following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or solid organ transplantation, patients are at risk of developing Epstein-Barr virus-positive post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (EBV PTLD), which is an ultra-rare and potentially lethal hematologic malignancy. Common treatments for EBV PTLD include rituximab alone or combined with chemotherapy. Given specific considerations for this population, including severity of the underlying condition requiring transplant, the rigors of the transplant procedure, as well as risks to the transplanted organ, there is a group of patients with EBV PTLD for whom chemotherapy may be inappropriate; however, there is limited information characterizing these patients.

Manufacture of GMP-compliant functional adenovirus-specific T-cell therapy for treatment of post-transplant infectious complications.

Background Aims: In pediatric patients, adenovirus (ADV) reactivation after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo HSCT) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. For patients who do not respond to antiviral drug therapy, a new treatment approach using ADV-specific T cells can present a promising alternative. Here we describe the clinical scale Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant manufacture and characterization of 40 ADV-specific T-cell products, Cytovir ADV, which are currently being tested in a multi-center phase I/IIa clinical trial.

Postgrafting immunosuppression with sirolimus and cyclosporine facilitates stable mixed hematopoietic chimerism in dogs given sublethal total body irradiation before marrow transplantation from DLA-identical littermates.

We studied the value of postgrafting immunosuppression with sirolimus (SRL) and cyclosporine (CSP) in enhancing engraftment of dog leukocyte antigen-identical littermate marrow after nonmyeloablative conditioning in a canine model. Dogs received either 2 Gy (n=7) or 1 Gy (n=5) total body irradiation (TBI), followed by postgrafting immunosuppression with SRL and CSP. In the first cohort, all 7 dogs showed rapid initial engraftment.

Long term iNOS expression in thoracic lymph nodes of silicotic rats.

Beside the lung, thoracic lymph nodes are most affected during silicosis. The mechanisms leading to enlargement of the lymph nodes and partial activation of lymph node cells are still unclear. The present study demonstrates an increase in iNOS mRNA expression in the lung draining lymph nodes of rats at 1, 2, and 8 months following silica exposure.