Diagnosing recipient- vs. donor-derived posttransplant myelodysplastic neoplasm via targeted single-cell mutational profiling.

Background: Distinguishing donor- vs. recipient-derived myelodysplastic neoplasm (MDS) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is challenging and has direct therapeutical implications.

Methods: Here, we took a translational approach that we used in addition to conventional diagnostic techniques to resolve the origin of MDS in a 38-year-old patient with acquired aplastic anemia and evolving MDS after first allo-HSCT.

Therapy-related AML: long-term outcome in a large cohort of AML-patients with intensive and non-intensive therapy.

Therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML) often exhibits adverse (genetic) features. There is ongoing discussion on the impact of t-AML on long-term outcome in AML. Therefore, we retrospectively analyzed clinical and biological characteristics of 1133 AML patients (225 t-AML patients and 908 de novo AML patients) with a median follow-up of 81.

Shear Wave Elastography in the Detection of Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome in Adult Patients Undergoing Allogenic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS), also known as veno-occlusive disease (VOD) can be a life-threatening complication after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Diagnosis is often difficult and traditionally based on clinical parameters. Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a modern non-invasive liver stiffness measurement technique using ultrasound.

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation for refractory acute myeloid leukemia: a single center analysis of long-term outcome.

For patients with refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) represents the only curative approach. We here analyzed the long-term outcome of 131 consecutive patients with active AML, which was either primary refractory or unresponsive to salvage chemotherapy, transplanted at our center between 1997 and 2013. After a median follow-up of 48 months for the surviving patients, disease-free survival (DFS) at 5 yr post alloSCT was 26% (94% CI: 17-35).

Impact of early remission by induction therapy on allogeneic stem cell transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia with an intermediate-risk karyotype in first complete remission.

For patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) early achievement of remission during induction treatment is an important predictor for long-term outcome irrespective of the type of consolidation therapy employed. Here, we retrospectively examined the prognostic impact of early remission (ER) vs. delayed remission (DR) in a cohort of 132 AML patients with an intermediate-risk karyotype undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) in first complete remission (CR1).

Synchronous tuberculosis, Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoproliferative disorder and cytomegalovirus infection in an allogeneic transplant recipient: a case report.

Background: Allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients are prone to infections by various organisms. Tuberculosis (TB) represents a rare infectious complication, especially in countries non-endemic for TB.

Case Report: Here, we report the case of a German patient with exposure to TB decades before he was diagnosed with disseminated TB as well as synchronous Epstein-Barr virus associated lymphoproliferative disorder and cytomegalovirus infection after allogeneic stem cell transplantation for refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

A modified EBMT risk score and the hematopoietic cell transplantation-specific comorbidity index for pre-transplant risk assessment in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Background: Disease stage is the most important prognostic parameter in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but other factors such as donor/host histocompatibility and gender combination, recipient age, performance status and comorbidities need to be considered. Several scoring systems are available to predict outcome in HCT recipients; however, their prognostic relevance in acute lymphoblastic leukemia is not well defined.

Design And Methods: In the present study we evaluated a modified EBMT risk score (mEBMT) and the HCT-specific comorbidity index (HCT-CI) in 151 adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients who received allogeneic HCT from 1995 until 2007 at our center.

Elk-1 knock-out mice engineered by Flp recombinase-mediated cassette exchange.

Elk-1 is a member of the TCF subfamily of Ets proteins. TCFs interact with SRF at serum response elements (SREs) of immediate early genes (IEGs), such as c-fos and Egr-1, thereby mediating IEG induction upon extracellular stimulation. We previously generated an Elk-1 null allele (Elk1-137) in murine embryonic stem (ES) cells by homologous recombination.

Mice deficient for the ets transcription factor elk-1 show normal immune responses and mildly impaired neuronal gene activation.

The transcription factor Elk-1 belongs to the ternary complex factor (TCF) subfamily of Ets proteins. TCFs interact with serum response factor to bind jointly to serum response elements in the promoters of immediate-early genes (IEGs). TCFs mediate the rapid transcriptional response of IEGs to various extracellular stimuli which activate mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling.