Screening of Variations in CD22 Gene in Children with B-Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Background: CD22 is expressed on the surface of B-cell lineage cells from the early progenitor stage of pro-B cell until terminal differentiation to mature B cells. It plays a role in signal transduction and as a regulator of B-cell receptor signaling in B-cell development.

Objectives: We aimed to screen exons 9-14 of the CD22 gene, which is a mutational hot spot region in B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pre-B ALL) patients, to find possible genetic variants that could play role in the pathogenesis of pre-B ALL in Turkish children.

Retinoid N-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)-5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydronaphthalene-2-carboxamide induces p21-dependent senescence in breast cancer cells.

Retinoids have been implicated as pharmacological agents for the prevention and treatment of various types of cancers, including breast cancers. We analyzed 27 newly synthesized retinoids for their bioactivity on breast, liver, and colon cancer cells. Majority of the retinoids demonstrated selective bioactivity on breast cancer cells.

Synthesis, anticancer activities and molecular modeling studies of novel indole retinoid derivatives.

In this study, novel (E)-3-(5-substituted-1H-indol-3-yl)-1-(5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (5(a-e)) derivatives were synthesized and their anticancer effects were determined in vitro. Novel indole retinoid compounds except 5e have anti-proliferative capacity in liver, breast and colon cancer cell lines. This anti-proliferative effect was further analyzed in breast cancer cell line panel by using the most potent compound 5a.

The ability to generate senescent progeny as a mechanism underlying breast cancer cell heterogeneity.

Background: Breast cancer is a remarkably heterogeneous disease. Luminal, basal-like, "normal-like", and ERBB2+ subgroups were identified and were shown to have different prognoses. The mechanisms underlying this heterogeneity are poorly understood.

Transforming growth factor-beta induces senescence in hepatocellular carcinoma cells and inhibits tumor growth.

Unlabelled: Senescence induction could be used as an effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, major senescence inducers (p53 and p16(Ink4a)) are frequently inactivated in these cancers. We tested whether transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) could serve as a potential senescence inducer in HCC.

Cold streams in early massive hot haloes as the main mode of galaxy formation.

Massive galaxies in the young Universe, ten billion years ago, formed stars at surprising intensities. Although this is commonly attributed to violent mergers, the properties of many of these galaxies are incompatible with such events, showing gas-rich, clumpy, extended rotating disks not dominated by spheroids. Cosmological simulations and clustering theory are used to explore how these galaxies acquired their gas.

[Physicians' knowledge in Israel on the biology and control of head lice].

Background: Health providers such as physicians, nurses and pharmacists should be knowledgeable about the biology of head lice and the ways to control them effectively, in order to reduce the proportion of children infested with head lice.

Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge of physicians in Israel on the biology and epidemiology of lice, as well as their experience with infested individuals and their preferences for diagnosis, prophylaxis and control.

Methods: An anonymous questionnaire with 37 questions was used.

Single-cell protein induction dynamics reveals a period of vulnerability to antibiotics in persister bacteria.

Phenotypic variability in populations of cells has been linked to evolutionary robustness to stressful conditions. A remarkable example of the importance of cell-to-cell variability is found in bacterial persistence, where subpopulations of dormant bacteria, termed persisters, were shown to be responsible for the persistence of the population to antibiotic treatments. Here, we use microfluidic devices to monitor the induction of fluorescent proteins under synthetic promoters and characterize the dormant state of single persister bacteria.

Reprogramming of replicative senescence in hepatocellular carcinoma-derived cells.

Tumor cells have the capacity to proliferate indefinitely that is qualified as replicative immortality. This ability contrasts with the intrinsic control of the number of cell divisions in human somatic tissues by a mechanism called replicative senescence. Replicative immortality is acquired by inactivation of p53 and p16INK4a genes and reactivation of hTERT gene expression.

Destruction of bacteria in the digestive tract of the maggot of Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

Green fluorescent protein-producing Escherichia coli were used to investigate the fate of bacteria in the alimentary tract of sterile grown maggots, Lucilia sericata (Meigen), using a laser scanning confocal microscope. A computer program was used to analyze the intensity of the fluorescence and to quantify the number of bacteria. The crop and the anterior midgut were the most heavily infected areas of the intestine.

Enhancement of hematopoietic reconstitution with recombinant cytokines: effect of rhIL-6 in combination with rhGM-CSF and rhIL-3 on unmodified or T cell-depleted bone marrow.

We have investigated the response of unmanipulated and lymphocyte-depleted BM cells (BMC), pretreated with monoclonal rat antihuman lymphocyte (CD52) antibody (Campath-1G) used for prevention of GvHD, to incubation with rhIL-6 alone or in combination with rhGM-CSF, rhIL-3, or both. We investigated optimal conditions needed for incubation of human BMC under conditions that can be upscaled for clinical application prior to autologous (auto-BMT) and allogeneic blood or BM transplantation (allo-BMT). When used as a single agent, rhIL-6 showed no or a minimal effect in enhancing in vitro CFU-GM colony formation of human BMC.

Enhancement of primary and secondary responses to sheep red blood cells and influenza virus in BALB/c mice by recombinant human interleukin-2.

Treatment with recombinant human IL-2 (rIL-2) is being investigated as a new modality for the control of minimal residual disease in conjunction with autologous bone marrow transplantation for a variety of malignant hematological disorders and certain solid tumors. In investigating the functional role of rIL-2 in T cell dependent humoral immune responses, we determined the level of IgG, IgM, and total antibodies activity in BALB/c mice, with or without rIL-2 administration, before primary or secondary immunization with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) or influenza virus A/PR8/34 (H1N1). Our results show the beneficial effect of pretreatment with rIL-2 in enhancing primary and secondary humoral immune responses to SRBC (p < 0.

Ex vivo expansion of megakaryocyte precursors by preincubation of marrow allografts with interleukin-3 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in vitro.

Protracted thrombocytopenia and bleeding remain serious complications in bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Major progress has been made in facilitating myeloid and erythroid engraftment, but little has been made in accelerating thrombopoiesis post-BMT. We report that in vitro preincubation of T cell-depleted BM allografts with a combination of interleukin-3 (IL-3) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (0.

Inhibition of several strains of influenza virus in vitro and reduction of symptoms by an elderberry extract (Sambucus nigra L.) during an outbreak of influenza B Panama.

A standardized elderberry extract, Sambucol (SAM), reduced hemagglutination and inhibited replication of human influenza viruses type A/Shangdong 9/93 (H3N2), A/Beijing 32/92 (H3N2), A/Texas 36/91 (H1N1), A/Singapore 6/86 (H1N1), type B/Panama 45/90, B/Yamagata 16/88, B/Ann Arbor 1/86, and of animal strains from Northern European swine and turkeys, A/Sw/Ger 2/81, A/Tur/Ger 3/91, and A/Sw/Ger 8533/91 in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. A placebo-controlled, double blind study was carried out on a group of individuals living in an agricultural community (kibbutz) during an outbreak of influenza B/Panama in 1993. Fever, feeling of improvement, and complete cure were recorded during 6 days.

Normal hematopoietic reconstitution following ASTA-Z 7557-purged grafts in the absence of in vitro CFU-GM colony growth.

Hematopoietic reconstitution was assessed in 26 consecutive patients who underwent autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) with ASTA-Z 7557 purged bone marrows. Of the 26, 17 had acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL), 7 had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), 1 had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and 1 had multiple myeloma (MM). Twelve patients had practically no CFU-GM growth after ASTA-Z treatment.

Enhanced marrow recovery by short preincubation of marrow allografts with human recombinant interleukin-3 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.

We studied an alternative method of using hematopoietic growth factors (HGFs) to enhance hematopoietic recovery in patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT), by short in vitro preincubation. Twenty consecutive patients with leukemia received T-cell-depleted allografts using Campath-1G. Two thirds of the marrow was infused on the scheduled day of transplant and one third of the marrow following preincubation with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-3 (IL-3) on day 4.

The effect of total or partial T lymphocyte depletion on susceptibility to influenza virus infection and development of antiviral immunity in lethally irradiated mice reconstituted with immune syngeneic bone marrow grafts.

In a previous study, we showed that lethally irradiated mice reconstituted with bone marrow (BM) enriched with spleen cells obtained from A/PR8/34 influenza virus-immune donors had an improved survival rate compared to the survival seen in recipients of naive BM, immune BM or T cell-depleted BM obtained from immune mice. Our purpose was to determine which cell population was responsible for this effect. We therefore compared the resistance to influenza virus of lethally irradiated BALB/c mice reconstituted with BM from immune donors enriched with 20% spleen cells following either incubation with anti-Thy-1, anti-Lyt-2 or anti-L3T4 monoclonal antibodies prior to transplantation, thereby leading to in vivo depletion of antibody-treated lymphocyte subsets.

The use of recombinant cytokines for enhancing immunohematopoietic reconstitution following bone marrow transplantation. II. The influence of lymphokines on CFU-GM colonies from human untreated, ASTA-Z or Campath-1M treated bone marrow.

Patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT) are subjected to the risk of pancytopenia in the immediate post-BMT period. Recipients of bone marrow (BM) autografts purged in vitro by chemical agents such as mafosfamide (ASTA-Z) are even more likely to develop a delayed engraftment. In a previous study in mice, we showed earlier immunohematopoietic reconstitution after syngeneic marrow grafting with BM cells precultured with single or combined cytokines.

Lectin-binding properties of Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines: application to bone marrow purging.

The efficacy of binding of several lectins to different Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cell lines was investigated. Soybean agglutinin (SBA), peanut agglutinin (PNA), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), and Sambucus nigra agglutinin (SNA) bound strongly to all BL cell lines. Because SBA has been used safely in clinical bone marrow transplantation (BMT) as part of the procedure for T-cell depletion and hence does not bind to the stem cells, we chose this lectin to establish a model for purging BL cells from human bone marrow.

Adoptive transfer of resistance to Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection by splenocytes and bone marrow cells from BALB/c mice immunized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa lectin preparations.

BALB/c mice immunized by intraperitoneal injection of purified Pseudomonas aeruginosa lectin preparations are fully protected against a lethal dose of the live bacteria. Intraperitoneal inoculation of splenocytes or bone marrow cells obtained from actively immunized mice into naive syngeneic mice was shown to significantly increase their resistance to P. aeruginosa infection.

The use of recombinant cytokines for enhancing immunohematopoietic reconstitution following bone marrow transplantation. I. Effects of in vitro culturing with IL-3 and GM-CSF on human and mouse bone marrow cells purged with mafosfamide (ASTA-Z).

Enhanced colony formation (CFU-GM) in vitro was observed in murine and human bone marrow (BM) cells following pre-incubation for 2-3 days with recombinant murine GM-CSF or natural purified murine IL-3, and recombinant human GM-CSF or IL-3, respectively. Pre-incubation in the presence of both GM-CSF and IL-3 produced additive stimulatory effects. BM cells previously treated in vitro with mafosfamide (ASTA-Z) under conditions identical to those used in the purging of autologous BM grafts, also demonstrated an enhanced cumulative response to combinations of GM-CSF and IL-3, with up to 100-fold increase in CFU-GM as compared with controls (p less than 0.

Differential killing of murine B-cell leukemia (BCL1) by photosensitization with merocyanine 540: implications for autologous bone marrow transplantation.

The efficacy of photosensitization by merocyanine 540 (MC540), a lipophilic fluorescent dye, was investigated in the murine B cell leukemia (BCL1). Normal BALB/c mice were injected with BCL1 cells exposed to MC540, followed by photosensitization with white light for 15 min to 2 h. Mice injected with BCL1 cells exposed for 1 or 2 h showed no sign of leukemia.

Monoclonal rat anti-human lymphocyte antibody Campath-1 binds to T and B lymphocytes but effectively lyses only T cells.

Binding and human complement-mediated T and B lymphocyte lysis were investigated in bone marrow samples obtained from 15 normal donors and 12 patients with a variety of malignant disorders undergoing marrow cryopreservation prior to autologous bone marrow transplantation. All marrow samples were obtained during remission except for one patient with neuroblastoma. The mononuclear cell fractions were collected and the distribution of B cell restricted markers (surface Ig and GP-70) and T cell surface markers (Leu-1 and rosettes with sheep red blood cells) were studied before and after marrow purging with Campath-1, a monoclonal rat anti-human lymphocyte antibody, and autologous serum as complement.