Human erythrocytes under stress. Spectroscopic fingerprints of known oxidative mechanisms and beyond.

In this work, we investigated the oxidative stress-related biochemical alterations in red blood cells (RBCs) and their membranes with the use of spectroscopic techniques. We aimed to show their great advantage for the in situ detection of lipid classes and secondary structures of proteins without the need for their extraction in the cellular environment. The exposition of the cells to peroxides, t-butyl hydroperoxide (tBOOH) or hydrogen peroxide (HO) led to different degradation processes encompassing the changes in the composition of membranes and structural modifications of hemoglobin (Hb).

Reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome in a child treated with bevacizumab.

Bevacizumab is a monoclonal antibody targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Hypertension is a well-recognized, common side effect of VEGF blocking agents. The reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS) has been described as a rare but serious consequence of bevacizumab administration.

Defective suppressor cell function mediated by T8+ cell lines from patients with progressive multiple sclerosis.

Activated suppressor cell function, induced with either concanavalin A or OKT3 and mediated by either unfractionated mononuclear cells or "panning" enriched T8+ cells, freshly isolated from peripheral blood, is reduced in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) as compared with control donors. In this study, we generated T8+ cell lines from the peripheral blood of these same patients and controls. Suppressor activity, mediated by T8+ cells exposed to OKT3 on days 1, 7, and 14 of culture and then treated with mitomycin C on day 16, was significantly reduced in the MS group (mean percent suppression 13% +/- 5) as compared with the control group (68% +/- 6, n = 8, p less than 0.