Acquired von Willebrand's Syndrome in a Patient with Concomitant Chronic Lymphocytic Lymphoma and Smoldering Multiple Myeloma.

An African-American female in her sixties presented to the hospital with intermittent gum bleeding for the past two years along with severe anemia. This case details the differential and workup that lead to the diagnosis of acquired von Willebrand's syndrome (AvWS). A thorough investigation in the possible etiologies of AvWS revealed that the patient had concomitant chronic lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL) and smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM).

Analysis of Hematology and Oncology Fellowship Website Content and Diversity Representation.

Purpose: Hematology and oncology (HO) lags behind all medicine subspecialties in fellows under-represented in medicine (URM) despite a growing minority patient population. Websites have been effectively used in URM recruitment. We evaluated all US HO program websites to facilitate a more informed and URM-considerate recruitment.

Inflammation-related gene expression profiles of salivary extracellular vesicles in patients with head trauma.

At present, there is no reliable biomarker for the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Studies have shown that extracellular vesicles released by damaged cells into biological fluids can be used as potential biomarkers for diagnosis of TBI and evaluation of TBI severity. We hypothesize that the genetic profile of salivary extracellular vesicles in patients with head trauma differs from that in uninjured subjects.

Critical Analysis of Hematology and Oncology Fellowship Web Sites in the United States.

Purpose: Prospective hematology-oncology fellowship applicants use program Web sites as a critical source of information. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current content and comprehensiveness of hematology-oncology fellowship Web sites and to identify specific areas for improvement.

Methods: This study assessed the presence of 27 commonly evaluated program and application and curriculum and training informational items for Web sites of all accredited hematology-oncology fellowship programs in 2018.

Marrow Hypocellularity, But Not Residual Blast Count or Receipt of Reinduction Chemotherapy, Is Prognostic on Day-14 Assessment in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients With Morphologic Residual Disease.

Background: Induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is based on the "7+3" cytarabine/anthracycline regimen. A nonhypocellular day 14 (D14) bone marrow sample with a blast count > 5% to 10% is suggestive of residual leukemia, for which a second course of induction chemotherapy has been recommended. Although the prognostic value of D14 bone marrow findings has been established, its use as a decision point is controversial because the benefit of repeat induction has been questioned.

Informed consent in oncology clinical trials: A Brown University Oncology Research Group prospective cross-sectional pilot study.

Background: Informed consent forms (ICFs) for oncology clinical trials have grown increasingly longer and more complex. We evaluated objective understanding of critical components of informed consent among patients enrolling in contemporary trials of conventional or novel biologic/targeted therapies.

Methods: We evaluated ICFs for cancer clinical trials for length and readability, and patients registered on those studies were asked to complete a validated 14-question survey assessing their understanding of key characteristics of the trial.

AVX-470: a novel oral anti-TNF antibody with therapeutic potential in inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract, which is currently treated with injected monoclonal antibodies specific for tumor necrosis factor (TNF). We developed and characterized AVX-470, a novel polyclonal antibody specific for human TNF. We evaluated the oral activity of AVX-470m, a surrogate antibody specific for murine TNF, in several well-accepted mouse models of IBD.

Cellular immunotherapy for refractory hematological malignancies.

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other aggressive refractory hematological malignancies unresponsive to upfront therapy remain difficult conditions to treat. Often, the focus of therapy is centered on achieving complete remission of disease in order to proceed with a consolidative stem cell transplant. At issue with this paradigm is the multitude of patients who are unable to achieve complete remission with standard chemotherapeutic options.

Diverse lectin repertoires in tunicates mediate broad recognition and effector innate immune responses.

It is widely recognized that humoral and phagocyte-associated lectins constitute critical components of innate immunity in vertebrates and invertebrates. Their functions include not only self/non-self recognition but also engaging associated effector mechanisms, such as complement-mediated opsonization and killing of potential pathogens. One of the unresolved questions concerns the diversity in recognition capacity of the lectin repertoire, particularly in those organisms lacking adaptive immunity.

The N-methyl-D-aspartate neurotransmitter receptor is a mammalian brain target for the dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida toxin.

Blooms of Pfiesteria piscicida, a dinoflagellate in eastern U.S. coastal rivers, are believed to secrete toxins that kill fish and produce short-term memory loss in humans.

The human RGL (RalGDS-like) gene: cloning, expression analysis and genomic organization.

Ral GDP dissociation stimulator (RalGDS) and its family members RGL, RLF and RGL2 are involved in Ras and Ral signaling pathways as downstream effector proteins. Here we report the precise localization and cloning of two forms of human RGL gene differing at the amino terminus. Transcript A, cloned from liver cDNA libraries has the same amino terminus as the mouse RGL, whereas transcript B cloned from brain has a substitution of 45 amino acids for the first nine amino acids.

C-type lectins and galectins mediate innate and adaptive immune functions: their roles in the complement activation pathway.

In recent years, a 'new' pathway for complement activation mediated by the mannose-binding lectin (MBL) has been described as a key mechanism for the mammalian acute phase response to infection. This complement activation pathway is initiated by a non-self recognition step: the binding of a humoral C-type lectin [mannose-binding lectin (MBL)] to microbial surfaces bearing 'foreign' carbohydrate determinants. The recognition factor, MBL, is associated with a serine protease [MBL-associated serine protease (MASP)] which, upon MBL binding to the microbial ligand, activates the complement component C3, leading to either (a) phagocytosis of the opsonized target via the complement receptor, or (b) humoral cell killing via assembly of the membrane attack complex.

Progressive juvenile-onset punctate cataracts caused by mutation of the gammaD-crystallin gene.

Cataracts are a significant public health problem. Here, we describe the genetic alteration responsible for a progressive form of cataract, segregating as an autosomal dominant trait in a three-generation pedigree. Unlike most autosomal dominant cataracts, these are not clinically apparent at birth but are initially observed in the first year or two of life.

Efficient immobilization of proteins by modification of plate surface with polystyrene derivatives.

Immobilization of proteins on microplate wells by simple adsorption (e.g., for ELISA) is convenient, but it can be inefficient, especially if proteins are hydrophilic or small in size.

Difference in the binding mode of two mannose-binding proteins: demonstration of a selective minicluster effect.

Serum-type and liver-type mannose-binding proteins (MBP) are both present in higher animals and both are composed of a carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) and a collagenous domain. Although known as mannose-binding proteins, these proteins bind N-acetylglucosamine and other related sugars quite well. An earlier specificity study using cloned CRD portions of both types of MBP from rat [Childs, R.

A rapid formaldehyde assay using purpald reagent: application under periodation conditions.

Measurement of formaldehyde is encountered in a broad range of applications including the wine and alcohol industry and environmental pollution surveillance. In carbohydrate structural chemistry, frequent use is made of formaldehyde by periodate oxidation of terminal vicinal diols. Popular methods for the detection of formaldehyde use reagents such as chromotropic acid (4,5-dihydroxynaphthalene-2,7-disulfonic acid) or acetylacetone.

The high-proliferative-potential megakaryocyte mixed (HPP-Meg-Mix) cell: a trilineage murine hematopoietic progenitor with multiple growth factor responsiveness.

Megakaryocyte progenitors are notable for their response to synergistic cytokine combinations and apparently early position in the hematopoietic differentiation pathway. Although high-proliferative-potential murine megakaryocyte progenitors have been described, they have previously been primarily observed as unilineage colonies. We describe a subclass of agar-based high-proliferative-potential colony forming cells (HPP-CFC) derived from populations enriched for early hematopoietic progenitors which, when stimulated with the combination of CSF-1, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IL-1 alpha, IL-3 and SCF, produces colonies with trilineage potential for macrophages, granulocytes, and megakaryocytes.

Synthesis of neoglycoconjugates by transglycosylation with Arthrobacter protophormiae endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase. Demonstration of a macro-cluster effect for mannose-binding proteins.

The transglycosylation activity of endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase from Arthrobacter protophormiae (endo-A) can be enhanced dramatically by inclusion of organic solvent in the reaction mixture (see accompanying article; Fan, J.-Q., Takegawa, K.

Role of conserved and nonconserved residues in the Ca(2+)-dependent carbohydrate-recognition domain of a rat mannose-binding protein. Analysis by random cassette mutagenesis.

The carbohydrate-recognition domain of rat serum mannose-binding protein A has been subjected to random cassette mutagenesis. Mutant domains, expressed in bacteria, were initially screened for binding to invertase-coated nitrocellulose and then analyzed further for Ca2+ affinity, saccharide binding, resistance to proteolysis, and oligomerization. The results are consistent with previous evolutionary and structural studies.

Determination of the minimum carbohydrate-recognition domain in two C-type animal lectins.

Comparison of the primary structures of numerous Ca(2+)-dependent animal lectins reveals the presence of a common sequence motif which has been suggested to form the carbohydrate-recognition domain in these proteins. The extent of the functional carbohydrate-recognition domains in two rat C-type lectins, mannose-binding protein A and the major subunit of the asialoglycoprotein receptor (rat hepatic lectin 1), has been defined by expressing truncated fragments of the proteins in an in vitro transcription and translation system. The shortest fully functional fragments constitute the COOH-terminal 120 amino acids of mannose-binding protein A and 135 amino acids of rat hepatic lectin 1.