Clinicopathologic Characteristics and A20 Mutation in Primary Thyroid Lymphoma.

Background: Primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) is a rare disease frequently arising against a background of autoimmune thyroiditis. It has recently been reported that the inactivation of the NF-κB negative regulator A20 by deletion and/or mutation could be involved in the pathogenesis of subsets of B-cell lymphomas. This study investigated the clinicopathologic characteristics and A20 mutation in patients with PTL.

Methotrexate-associated lymphoproliferative disorder demonstrating composite lymphoma of EBV-negative diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and EBV-positive mucocutaneous ulcer.

Other iatrogenic immunodeficiency-associated lymphoproliferative disorders induced by immunosuppressive drugs, such as methotrexate (MTX-LPD), exhibit numerous pathological findings. We report the case of an 81-year-old Japanese woman diagnosed with MTX-LPD exhibiting two distinct pathological features from two different sites. Excisional biopsy of the left cervical lymph node revealed EBV-negative diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and biopsy of a pharyngeal ulcer revealed EBV-positive mucocutaneous ulcer.

SLAMF3-Mediated Signaling via ERK Pathway Activation Promotes Aggressive Phenotypic Behaviors in Multiple Myeloma.

The signaling lymphocytic activation molecule family 3 (SLAMF3) is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily expressed on T, B, and natural killer cells and modulates the activation and cytotoxicity of these cells. SLAMF3 is also expressed on plasma cells from patients with multiple myeloma (MM), although its role in MM pathogenesis remains unclear. This study found that SLAMF3 is highly and constitutively expressed on MM cells regardless of disease stage and that SLAMF3 knockdown/knockout suppresses proliferative potential and increases drug-induced apoptosis with decreased levels of phosphorylated ERK protein in MM cells.

[Amebic liver abscesses developing during R-CHOP chemotherapy in a patient with mantle cell lymphoma].

A 51-year-old man was diagnosed with stage IV mantle cell lymphoma based on terminal ileum biopsy and treated with the R-CHOP regimen. Abdominal CT to assess continuous fever after three courses of R-CHOP revealed three low-density areas in the liver. PCR of the fluid obtained by percutaneous drainage revealed Entamoeba histolytica positivity, although the cultures were negative.

Portal Vein Thrombosis in a Patient with Hereditary Antithrombin Deficiency.

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) has been reported in many patients with and without liver cirrhosis. The portal vein is a rare site of thrombosis, and various conditions can predispose an individual to PVT. Among those conditions, hereditary thrombophilia has been increasingly reported recently.

Clinical impact of serum soluble SLAMF7 in multiple myeloma.

The signaling lymphocytic activation molecule family (SLAMF7; also known as CS1 or CD319) is highly expressed on plasma cells from multiple myeloma (MM) as well as natural killer (NK) cells and is a well-known therapeutic target of elotuzumab. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of serum soluble SLAMF7 (sSLAMF7) levels in patients with MM (n=103) and furthermore the impact of sSLMF7 on the antitumor activity of anti-SLAMF7 antibody. Thirty-one percent of MM patients, but not patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and healthy controls, had detectable levels of serum sSLAMF7, which were significantly increased in advanced MM patients.

Functional expression of Tim-3 on blasts and clinical impact of its ligand galectin-9 in myelodysplastic syndromes.

T-cell immunoglobulin mucin-3 (Tim-3), an inhibitory immune checkpoint receptor, is highly expressed on acute myeloid leukemia cells and its ligand galectin-9 is reported to drive leukemic progression by binding with Tim-3. However, it remains unclear whether the Tim-3-galectin-9 pathway is associated with the pathophysiology of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Thus, we investigated the expression and function of Tim-3 and the clinical impact of its ligand galectin-9 in MDS.

Retrospective analysis of prognostic factors for Waldenstrӧm macroglobulinemia: a multicenter cooperative study in Japan.

Although population-based cancer registries have reported lower incidence of Waldenstrӧm macroglobulinemia (WM) in East Asia than in Western countries, previous retrospective analyses have found the clinical features of WM to be similar in these two populations. To clarify the characteristics of Japanese WM patients, we retrospectively analyzed clinical and laboratory characteristics, treatments, outcomes, and prognostic factors in 93 patients with WM. Based on the Second International Workshop on WM (IWWM-2) criteria, symptomatic WM was found in 73 (78.

A primary esophageal MALT lymphoma patient with infection achieved complete remission after eradication without anti-lymphoma treatment.

Primary esophageal lymphoma is an extremely rare disease. We report a 76-year-old woman with esophageal lymphoma who achieved remission after (HP) eradication. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) revealed a mass in the lower esophagus, and she was diagnosed with stage IE mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma.

Myeloma Drug Resistance Induced by Binding of Myeloma B7-H1 (PD-L1) to PD-1.

B7 homolog 1 (B7-H1)-expressing myeloma cells not only inhibit myeloma-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), but also confer a proliferative advantage: resistance to antimyeloma chemotherapy. However, it remains unknown whether B7-H1 expressed on myeloma cells induces cellular responses associated with aggressive myeloma behaviors. To address this question, we analyzed the proliferation and drug sensitivity of B7-H1-expressing myeloma cells transfected with B7-H1-specific short-hairpin RNA or treated with programmed cell death (PD)-1-Fc-coupled beads.

Incidence and clinical background of hepatitis B virus reactivation in multiple myeloma in novel agents' era.

There are some reports regarding hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in patients with myeloma who are HBV carriers or who have had a resolved HBV infection, and there is no standard prophylaxis strategy for these patients. We performed a retrospective multicenter study to determine the incidence and characteristics of HBV reactivation in patients with multiple myeloma. We identified 641 patients with multiple myeloma who had been treated using novel agents and/or autologous stem cell transplantation with high-dose chemotherapy between January 2006 and June 2014 at nine Japanese hospitals.

Epstein-Barr Virus-positive T-cell Lymphoproliferative Disease Following Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation for Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

We report a case of the extremely rare condition Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative disease (LPD) which occurred after umbilical cord blood transplantation. A 25-year-old Japanese man underwent cord blood transplantation from a male human leukocyte antigen 4/6-matched donor due to acute myeloid leukemia with trisomy 8. Bone marrow examination on day 30 showed chimerism with at least 90% donor cells and complete hematological response.

[Evaluation of the enhanced International Prognostic Index (NCCN-IPI) for cases with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma].

The NCCN-International Prognostic Index (IPI) is reported to be more powerful than the former IPI for predicting survival in the rituximab era. To evaluate the NCCN-IPI in our institutions, we analyzed 188 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with rituximab plus CHOP or THP-COP chemotherapy. The 5-year overall survival rates of patients with low, low-intermediate, high-intermediate, and high risk were 90%, 76%, 64%, and 34%, respectively.

Induction of tumor-specific acquired immunity against already established tumors by selective stimulation of innate DEC-205(+) dendritic cells.

Two major distinct subsets of dendritic cells (DCs) are arranged to regulate our immune responses in vivo; 33D1(+) and DEC-205(+) DCs. Using anti-33D1-specific monoclonal antibody, 33D1(+) DCs were successfully depleted from C57BL/6 mice. When 33D1(+) DC-depleted mice were stimulated with LPS, serum IL-12, but not IL-10 secretion that may be mediated by the remaining DEC-205(+) DCs was markedly enhanced, which may induce Th1 dominancy upon TLR signaling.

Solvent-induced chirality inversion involving supramolecular helix transformation and color-tunable fluorescence of a C(6)-symmetric hexakis(phenylethynyl)benzene derivative.

A C(6)-symmetric disk-like molecule, a hexakis(phenylethynyl)benzene derivative bearing chiral alanine parts, L-1, exhibited a solvent-induced supramolecular helix-sense inversion involving conformational changes followed by destruction of the supramolecular helical column. This phenomenon has been found by investigating the supramolecular assembly state of L-1 in mixed solvents of various chloroform (CHCl(3))/n-hexane (Hx) ratios. L-1 forms a stable helical columnar assembly via multiple noncovalent bonding interactions in nonpolar Hx, while the molecules in relatively polar CHCl(3) are in a molecularly dispersed state.

Stable supramolecular helical structure of C6-symmetric hydrogen-bonded hexakis(phenylethynyl)benzene derivatives with amino acid pendant groups and their unique fluorescence properties.

A highly stable supramolecular helical structure was formed by the self-assembly of novel C6-symmetric hydrogen-bonded discotic molecules, hexakis(phenylethynyl)benzene derivatives with chiral alanine parts, and exhibited orange excimer emission with a large Stokes shift.

Suppression of an already established tumor growing through activated mucosal CTLs induced by oral administration of tumor antigen with cholera toxin.

Priming of CTLs at mucosal sites, where various tumors are originated, seems critical for controlling tumors. In the present study, the effect of the oral administration of OVA plus adjuvant cholera toxin (CT) on the induction of Ag-specific mucosal CTLs as well as their effect on tumor regression was investigated. Although OVA-specific TCRs expressing lymphocytes requiring in vitro restimulation to gain specific cytotoxicity could be detected by OVA peptide-bearing tetramers in both freshly isolated intraepithelial lymphocytes and spleen cells when OVA was orally administered CT, those showing direct cytotoxic activity without requiring in vitro restimulation were dominantly observed in intraepithelial lymphocytes.

Rheological properties in discotic liquid crystalline phases of 2,3,7,8,12,13-hexa(n-tetradecanoyloxy)truxene.

Measurements of rheological properties, including the electrorheological effect, are made in liquid crystalline phases, discotic nematic (ND) and discotic disordered rectangular columnar (Drd) phases, of 2,3,7,8,12,13-hexa(n-tetradecanoyloxy)truxene. It is found that the fluidity of the ND phase is Newtonian and an application of high electric field perpendicular to the flow direction (velocity gradient direction) causes a decrease of the viscosity. These results indicate that a flow alignment of the director occurs with its orientation near the velocity gradient direction and the signs of the Leslie coefficients alpha2 and alpha3 are positive.