Cell death provoked by loss of interleukin-3 signaling is independent of Bad, Bim, and PI3 kinase, but depends in part on Puma.

Growth and survival of hematopoietic cells is regulated by growth factors and cytokines, such as interleukin 3 (IL-3). When cytokine is removed, cells dependent on IL-3 kill themselves by a mechanism that is inhibited by overexpression of Bcl-2 and is likely to be mediated by proapoptotic Bcl-2 family members. Bad and Bim are 2 such BH3-only Bcl-2 family members that have been implicated as key initiators in apoptosis following growth factor withdrawal, particularly in IL-3-dependent cells.

Mortality risk factors in chronic haemodialysis patients with infective endocarditis.

Background: It is well documented that infective endocarditis (IE) is strongly associated with morbidity and mortality in haemodialysis (HD) patients. Less clear are the mortality risk factors for IE, particularly in an urban African-American dialysis population.

Methods: IE patients were identified from the medical records for the period from January 1999 to February 2004 and confirmed by Duke criteria.

The expansion of megakaryocyte progenitors from CD34+-enriched mobilized peripheral blood stem cells is inhibited by Flt3-L.

This study aimed to determine the optimal growth factor combination for expansion of megakaryocyte (Mk) progenitors with clonogenic potential from CD34+-enriched mobilized peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC). Mobilized PBSC were monocyte depleted and CD34+ enriched, then cultured with various combinations of interleukin-3 (IL-3), IL-6, IL-11, Flt3 ligand (Flt3-L), stem cell factor (SCF), granulocyte-macrophage colonystimulating factor (GM-CSF), and erythropoietin (EPO), using a 2(7-3) IV fractional factorial design. Expansion of Mk committed progenitors (CD41+) and primitive precursors (CD61+ CD34+) was determined using FACS and colony-forming assays.

Decitabine (SuperGen).

Decitabine, a potent DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, which was originally under development by Pharmachemie, is being developed by SuperGen. Pharmachemie had been studying decitabine in phase II clinical trials for several leukemia indications in Europe and the US. Preliminary results indicated that the compound was active in the treatment of myelodysplasia, relapsed leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia and postallogeneic progenitor cell transplant relapse.

Evolution of transcription regulatory genes is linked to niche specialization in the bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes.

Streptococcus pyogenes is a highly prevalent bacterial pathogen, most often giving rise to superficial infections at the throat or skin of its human host. Three genotype-defined subpopulations of strains exhibiting strong tropisms for either the throat or skin (specialists) or having no obvious tissue site preference (generalists) are recognized. Since the microenvironments at the throat and skin are distinct, the signal transduction pathways leading to the control of gene expression may also differ for throat versus skin strains of S.

Sustained remissions with long-term weekly chlorambucil maintenance therapy in patients with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma.

Five patients with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (Helicobacter pylori negative) were initially treated with daily chlorambucil (Chl, 0.06-0.08 mg/kg per day) and achieved complete remission (n = 4) or partial remission (n = 1).

Percutaneous vertebroplasty for acute vertebral body fracture and deformity in multiple myeloma: a short report.

We describe seven patients with multiple myeloma who were treated for acute vertebral body fractures with percutaneous vertebroplasty to a total of 14 vertebrae. Six of the seven patients had at least a 50% decrease in their pain scores at 24 h following vertebroplasty. There were no procedure-related complications.

Comparison of disc diffusion & E test methods with agar dilution for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Haemophilus influenzae.

Background & Objectives: Reliable methods of detection of antimicrobial resistance are of paramount importance in the treatment and management of infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae. The objective of the present study was to compare and evaluate the performance of disc diffusion and E test (Epsilometer test) with agar dilution method for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of H. influenzae.

Unseen proteome: mining below the tip of the iceberg to find low abundance and membrane proteins.

Abundant and hydrophilic nonmembrane proteins with isoelectric points below pH 8 are the predominant proteins identified in most proteomics projects. In yeast, however, low-abundance proteins make up 80% of the predicted proteome, approximately 50% have pl's above pH 8 and 30% of the yeast ORFs are predicted to encode membrane proteins with at least 1 trans-membrane span. By applying highly solubilizing reagents and isoelectric fractionation to a membrane fraction of yeast we have a purified and identified 780 protein isoforms, representing 323 gene products, including 28% low abundance proteins and 49% membrane or membrane associated proteins.

Development and characterization of a novel immobilized microbial membrane for rapid determination of biochemical oxygen demand load in industrial waste-waters.

The rapid determination of waste-water quality of waste-water treatment plants in terms of pollutional strength, i.e. biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is difficult or even impossible using the chemical determination method.

Platelet dysfunction in myelodysplastic syndromes: a clinicopathological study.

Forty-eight patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and a platelet count greater than 80 x 10(9)/L were the subjects of a study of platelet function. A whole-blood platelet lumi-aggregometer was used for simultaneous measurement of platelet aggregation by the impedance method and of adenosine triphosphate-dense granule release. The results were correlated with skin bleeding time and episodes of clinical bleeding or thrombosis.

Amiodarone-induced bone marrow granulomas.

We describe a case of a 76-year-old man with indolent myeloma who developed extensive bone marrow granulomas whilst on amiodarone therapy. The granulomas resolved on cessation of amiodarone.

Flexible low-intensity combination chemotherapy for elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Twenty-five patients aged 57 to 88 years (median, 70 years) with acute myeloid leukemia were treated with a flexible low-intensity treatment regimen comprising mitozantrone (mitoxantrone) 6 mg/m2 administered by intravenous infusion x3 days, cytarabine 10 mg/m2 subcutaneously every 12 hours x7 to 14 days, and etoposide 100 mg orally x7 to 14 days. Seventeen of these patients had a preexisting myelodysplastic syndrome. The clinical response was correlated to the results of cytogenetic studies (23 patients) and of viability studies of leukemic blasts (7 patients).

Surgical management of cirsoid aneurysms.

Background: Cirsoid aneurysms (arteriovenous fistulas) of the scalp are rare lesions. They are infrequently encountered in neurosurgical practice. These lesions are difficult to manage because of their complex vascular anatomy, high shunt flow and cosmetic disfigurement.

A loss-of-function polymorphic mutation in the cytolytic P2X7 receptor gene and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a molecular study.

Background: Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) has a familial incidence nearly three times higher than expected for the general population and one predisposing factor might be an inherited failure of mechanisms involved in apoptosis of lymphocytes. Our aim was to ascertain whether or not a defect in a proapoptotic pathway, caused by a single nucleotide polymorphism that results in loss-of-function of P2X7 in healthy individuals, was present in leukaemic B lymphocytes of patients with CLL.

Methods: We extracted genomic DNA from the peripheral blood leucocytes of 36 unrelated individuals with CLL, four individuals with familial CLL, and 46 age-matched controls.

Syndrome of myelofibrosis and osteosclerosis: a series of case reports and review of the literature.

Myelofibrosis (MF) is a chronic disorder characterized by bone marrow evidence of myeloid metaplasia associated with reactive fibrosis, angiogenesis, and osteosclerosis. We report serum biochemistry, noninvasive markers of bone turnover, tetracycline-labeled bone histomorphometry, and bone densitometry (DXA) data of four men presenting with newly diagnosed biopsy-proven MF and osteosclerosis. The mechanisms and putative growth factors responsible for this syndrome are examined.

Prospective randomised open-label comparison of danaparoid with dextran 70 in the treatment of heparin-induced thrombocytopaenia with thrombosis: a clinical outcome study.

Aim: To compare clinical outcomes in a randomised comparison of treatment with danaparoid sodium (a heparinoid), or dextran 70, for heparin-induced thrombocytopaenia (HIT) plus thrombosis.

Methods: Forty-two patients with recent thrombosis and a clinical diagnosis of probable HIT who presented at ten Australian hospitals during a study period of six and one half years were randomly assigned to open-label treatment with intravenous danaparoid or dextran 70, each combined with oral warfarin. Thirty-four patients (83%) had a positive platelet aggregation or 14C-serotonin release test for HIT antibody.