CD371-positive pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: propensity to lineage switch and slow early response to treatment.

In the effort to improve immunophenotyping and minimal residual disease (MRD) assessment in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the international Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (iBFM) Flow Network introduced the myelomonocytic marker CD371 for a large prospective characterization with a long follow-up. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the clinical and biological features of CD371-positive (CD371pos) pediatric B-cell precursor ALL (BCP-ALL). From June 2014 to February 2017, 1812 pediatric patients with newly diagnosed BCP-ALLs enrolled in trial AIEOP-BFM ALL 2009 were evaluated as part of either a screening (n = 843, Italian centers) or validation cohort (n = 969, other iBFM centers).

CD72 is a pan-tumor antigen associated to pediatric acute leukemia.

In the development of novel immunotherapeutic approaches, the step of target identification is a challenging process, because it aims at identifying robust tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) specific for the pathological population and causing no off-target effects. Here we propose CD72 as a novel and robust TAA for pediatric acute leukemias. We provided an outline of CD72 expression assessed by flow cytometry on a variety of cancer cell lines and primary samples, including normal bone marrow (BM) samples and hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.

CD56, HLA-DR, and CD45 recognize a subtype of childhood AML harboring CBFA2T3-GLIS2 fusion transcript.

The presence of CBFA2T3-GLIS2 fusion gene has been identified in childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). In view of the genomic studies indicating a distinct gene expression profile, we evaluated the role of immunophenotyping in characterizing a rare subtype of AML-CBFA2T3-GLIS2 rearranged. Immunophenotypic data were obtained by studying a cohort of 20 pediatric CBFA2T3-GLIS2-AML and 77 AML patients not carrying the fusion transcript.

The hematopoietic stem cell marker VNN2 is associated with chemoresistance in pediatric B-cell precursor ALL.

Most relapses of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) occur in patients with a medium risk (MR) for relapse on the Associazione Italiana di Ematologia e Oncologia Pediatrica and Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (AIEOP-BFM) ALL protocol, based on persistence of minimal residual disease (MRD). New insights into biological features that are associated with MRD are needed. Here, we identify the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored cell surface protein vanin-2 (VNN2; GPI-80) by charting the cell surface proteome of MRD very high-risk (HR) B-cell precursor (BCP) ALL using a chemoproteomics strategy.

Comparison of three different immunoassays in the diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Background: Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is caused by platelet activating antibodies that recognize platelet factor 4/heparin (PF4/H) complexes. Laboratory testing plays a key role in the diagnosis of HIT. As functional assays are unfeasible for most clinical laboratories, antigen binding assays are commonly used in routine testing.

Presence of anti-ADAMTS13 antibodies in obesity.

Background: The low-grade chronic inflammation present in obesity has been recognized as a risk factor for thrombosis, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular complications. In this context, production by adipose organ of a number of inflammatory adipokines could play a crucial role. It has been reported that obesity represents a risk factor for acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a disease caused by ADAMTS13 deficiency because of anti-ADAMTS13 antibodies, but the pathophysiological link between obesity and TTP is still unknown.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia: the role of platelets genetic polymorphisms.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a severe complication of heparin therapy, characterized by thrombocytopenia and an increased risk for thrombotic complications secondary to the formation of IgG antibodies (Ab), recognizing a complex of heparin (H) and PF4. Using the 4T clinical score for HIT and the presence of heparin-associated Ab assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and heparin-induced platelet aggregation, we define the phenotype of three groups of patients: 51 H/PF4/Ab patients with antibodies and without thrombocytopenia; 50 patients with thrombocytopenia (HIT) and 53 patients with thrombosis (HITT). In these patients we studied four polymorphisms: FcγRIIA-H131R, GpIIb/IIIa-HP-1, PECAM1-L125V (in linkage-disequilibrium with S563N and R670G), and FcγRIIIA-F158V, to understand if these variations may influence the different phenotypes of the patients.

Considerations on a tentative classification of FVII deficiency suited for practical clinical purposes.

Adequate classifications of disorders are of paramount importance in the management of congenital bleeding disorders. Classification of congenital FVII deficiency should be simple, based on few tests using thromboplastins of different origin. The first thromboplastin to be used is a rabbit brain preparation since it has been proven that this is the one that, overall, yields the lowest activity level.

Epidemiology of primary and secondary thrombocytopenia: first analysis of an administrative database in a major Italian institution.

Administrative databases can be a reliable source for estimating the epidemiology of blood disorders. No data are available estimating the epidemiology of thrombocytopenia from administrative data in Italian institutions. We analyzed the administrative database of the Padua University Hospital with the aim to study the epidemiology of thrombocytopenia in patients discharged with an International Classification of Disease, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD9-CM) code of thrombocytopenia.

A cluster of factor XI-deficient patients due to a new mutation (Ile 436 Lys) in northeastern Italy.

A new mutation (Ile 436 Lys) was found in a cluster of patients in northeastern Italy. The mutation was present in five patients at the homozygote level and in one patient as a compound heterozygote with an already known mutation namely Glu 117 stop. All these patients showed a mild bleeding tendency mainly associated with deliveries or surgery.

Congenital prekallikrein deficiency.

The congenital deficiency of prekallikrein (PK) is a rare condition in which there is a peculiar discrepancy between a severe in vitro defect and absence of bleeding. The gene controlling PK synthesis is located on chromosome 4 and consists of 14 exons and 15 introns. Only approximately 80 cases of PK deficiency have been described in the literature.

Genetic study in patients with factor XII deficiency: a report of three new mutations exon 13 (Q501STOP), exon 14 (P547L) and -13C>T promoter region in three compound heterozygotes.

A group of 29 patients with congenital factor XII (FXII) deficiency belonging to nine distinct families have been investigated. All were cases of true deficiency in the sense that there was no discrepancy between FXII activity and FXII antigen. From a clotting point of view, 11 patients appeared homozygous, as both FXII activity and antigen were very low (< or =1% and traces of antigen).

Congenital factor X deficiencies with a defect only or predominantly in the extrinsic or in the intrinsic system: a critical evaluation.

Congenital Factor X deficiency is commonly classified as type I, in which there is a concomitant decrease of activity and antigen (CRM negative), and in type II, in which activity is low but antigen is normal or near normal (CRM positive). During the past decades it was shown that type II was by itself very heterogeneous. It was shown in fact that some forms showed a defect in all three assay systems (extrinsic, intrinsic, and RVV dependent), whereas others showed a defect only in two of the three systems.