Long-term experience in treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia in Mexican children in a tertiary care hospital.

Introduction: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a rare myeloid leukemia subtype affecting adult and pediatric populations. APL constitutes 15-20% of all childhood AML in Latin America, compared to 7% in the non-Latino population. This leukemia has unique characteristics, such as its association with chromosomal translocations involving the retinoid acid receptor α (RARA) gene on chromosome 17.

Cell sources for cartilage repair; contribution of the mesenchymal perivascular niche.

Tissue and cell sources for cartilage repair are revised, including: 1) cartilage and subchondral bone (auto and allografts; single or multiple/mosaicplasty grafts), 2) cultured chondrocytes (autologous/ACI, characterized/CCI, matrix assisted/MAC, or allogenic), 3) adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), 4) progenitor cells from perichondrium and periosteum, 5) embryonic and prenatal stem cells, 6) induced pluripotent stem cells, and 7) genetically modified cells. We consider the biological mechanisms that explain usage and possible complications, advantages and limitations, emerging technologies and possible modulations on extracellular matrix properties and on migration, proliferation, de-differentiation, re-differentiation, morphology, function and integration of the cells. The study of MSC role involve: a) identification, b) location (perivascular niche hypothesis, pericytes as progenitor cells), c) lineage (myoadipofibrogenic system: transit amplifying cells, fibroblast/myofibroblasts, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, odontoblasts, vascular smooth muscle cells and adipocytes), and d) use in cartilage repair, comprising: 1) MSCs recruited from neighbouring tissues (bone marrow stimulation, MSCs based "in situ" cartilage repair, microfracture) and 2) MSCs cultured and expanded from bone marrow, adipose tissue, synovial membrane or granulation tissue.

Na+, K+-ATPase genes are down-regulated during adipose stem cell differentiation.

The expression of Na+, K+-ATPase alpha and beta subunits isoforms, FXYD2 and FXYD7 were studied in rat adipose stem cell (ASC) by qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence. ASCs were able to differentiate to chondrocytes or adipocytes. All studied genes were expressed in freshly isolated ASCs and in all passages checked.

Angiotensin II induces apoptosis in human mural granulosa-lutein cells, but not in cumulus cells.

Objective: To test whether angiotensin II (AngII) could modulate apoptosis of human granulosa-lutein (GL) cells from gonadotropin-stimulated follicles.

Design: In vitro assays on mural and cumulus granulosa cells.

Setting: University laboratory and private IVF practice.

Autoantigenic nuclear proteins of a clinically atypical renal vasculitis.

Background: Systemic vasculitides constitute a heterogeneous group of diseases of autoimmunological origin characterized by inflammation of blood vessels and antibodies that react against autoantigens in a process that ultimately affects blood vessel walls. An important number of these patients present kidney disease. An endeavour of this area of research is the identification of autoantigens involved in these diseases.

Apoptosis of cultured granulosa-lutein cells is reduced by insulin-like growth factor I and may correlate with embryo fragmentation and pregnancy rate.

Objective: To correlate apoptosis of cultured human granulosa-lutein cells (GL cells) with the outcome of IVF (embryo fragmentation and pregnancy rate) and to study the effect of insulin and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) on apoptosis.

Design: In vitro assays.

Setting: University laboratory and private IVF center.