Co-infusion of mesenchymal stromal cells to prevent GVHD after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation from HLA-mismatched unrelated donors after reduced-intensity conditioning: a double-blind randomized study and literature review.

Background: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have immunomodulatory and hematopoiesis-supporting properties that could potentially benefit hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) engraftment and decrease the incidence and/or severity of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

Methods: Based on our previous pilot study, we established a multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blind trial evaluating the efficacy of co-infusing third-party MSC (1.5-3 × 10/kg) versus placebo on the day of HSC transplantation (HCT) to prevent GVHD in recipients of HLA-mismatched unrelated donors after reduced-intensity conditioning.

MICU2 up-regulation enhances tumor aggressiveness and metabolic reprogramming during colorectal cancer development.

The mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter (MCU) plays crucial role in intramitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, allowing Ca2+-dependent activation of oxidative metabolism. In recent decades, the role of MCU pore-forming proteins has been highlighted in cancer. However, the contribution of MCU-associated regulatory proteins mitochondrial calcium uptake 1 and 2 (MICU1 and MICU2) to pathophysiological conditions has been poorly investigated.

Central nervous system manifestations in acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease.

Despite the growing evidence supporting the existence of CNS involvement in acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (CNS-GvHD), the characteristics and course of the disease are still largely unknown. In this multicenter retrospective study, we analyzed the clinical, biological, radiological, and histopathological characteristics, as well as the clinical course of 66 patients diagnosed with possible CNS-GvHD (pCNS-GvHD), selected by predetermined diagnostic criteria. Results were then contrasted depending on whether pCNS-GvHD occurred before or after day 100 following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

[Haematopoietic stem cell donation from minor donor: Respecting laws, assessing fitness, delivering information and good care (SFGM-TC)].

Haematopoietic stem cell collection from paediatric donors is a common and life-saving practice, as evidenced by the fact that there is a growing annual number of cases of transplants from minor donors among SFGM-TC centers over the last decade. Still, medical use of human tissue from a healthy and underage donor requires proper regulations and medical management. The guidelines below aim at underlining the importance of pondering the legal, medical and ethical aspects of using stem cells from healthy paediatric donors and stress out the importance of obtaining informed consent at the time of assessing HLA compatibility.

Transplantation for myelofibrosis patients in the ruxolitinib era: a registry study from the Société Francophone de Greffe de Moelle et de Thérapie Cellulaire.

In this SFGM-TC registry study, we report the results after stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in 305 myelofibrosis patients, in order to determine potential risk factors associated with outcomes, especially regarding previous treatment with ruxolitinib. A total of 102 patients were transplanted from an HLA-matched-sibling donor (MSD), and 143 patients received ruxolitinib. In contrast with previous studies, our results showed significantly worse outcomes for ruxolitinib patients regarding overall survival (OS) and non-relapse mortality (NRM), especially in the context of unrelated donors (URD).

[Is there a place for granulocytes transfusions in 2023 ?].

Despite modern antimicrobial treatments, bacterial and fungal infections remain major complications in neutropenic patients. Granulocyte transfusions appeared in the 1950s-60s but first clinical trials were limited by the difficulty of transfusing enough viable granulocytes. The refinement of apheresis techniques as well as donor pretreatment with corticosteroids and/or granulocyte colony-stimulating growth factor (G-CSF) have led to improved collection yield.

Call for standardization in assessment and reporting of muscle and adipose change using computed tomography analysis in oncology: A scoping review.

Investigators are increasingly measuring skeletal muscle (SM) and adipose tissue (AT) change during cancer treatment to understand impact on patient outcomes. Recent meta-analyses have reported high heterogeneity in this literature, representing uncertainty in the resulting estimates. Using the setting of palliative-intent chemotherapy as an exemplar, we aimed to systematically summarize the sources of variability among studies evaluating SM and AT change during cancer treatment and propose standards for future studies to enable reliable meta-analysis.

Salinity Impacts the Functional and Gene Abundances in Everglades Marshes.

Coastal wetlands, such as the Everglades, are increasingly being exposed to stressors that have the potential to modify their existing ecological processes because of global climate change. Their soil microbiomes include a population of organisms important for biogeochemical cycling, but continual stresses can disturb the community's composition, causing functional changes. The Everglades feature wetlands with varied salinity levels, implying that they contain microbial communities with a variety of salt tolerances and microbial functions.

Post-transplant cyclophosphamide prevents xenogeneic graft-versus-host disease while depleting proliferating regulatory TÂ cells.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains a serious limitation of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). While post-transplant administration of cyclophosphamide (PTCy) is increasingly used as GVHD prophylaxis, its precise mechanisms of action and its impact on graft-versus-leukemia effects have remained debated. Here, we studied the mechanisms of xenogeneic GVHD (xGVHD) prevention by PTCy in different humanized mouse models.

Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells as treatment for poor graft function after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation: A multicenter prospective analysis.

Introduction: Poor graft function (PGF) is a rare but serious complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT). Due to their hematopoietic supporting properties and immune regulatory effects, multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) could be considered a good candidate to help to restore bone marrow (BM) niches homeostasis and facilitate hematopoiesis after alloHCT.

Methods: We prospectively assessed the efficacy and safety of ex-vivo expanded BM-derived MSC from third-party donor in a series of 30 patients with prolonged severe cytopenia and PGF after alloHCT.

Total Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Level in Abdominal Adipose Tissue as an Independent Predictor of Recurrence-Free Survival in Women with Ovarian Cancer.

Prognostic factors for epithelial ovarian cancers (EOCs) are in particular clinical factors such as pathology staging at diagnosis (FIGO stages), genetic mutation, or histological phenotypes. In the present study, FIGO stage, tumor residue after surgery, and body mass index were clinical predictors of recurrence-free survival (RFS). Nonetheless, a number of studies support a lipid metabolism disorder in ovarian cancer patients.

[CAR-T cells therapy in solid tumors : where are we now ?].

Chimeric antigen receptor T cells (also known as CAR-T cells) have already made their way into the therapeutic arsenal of specific hematological cancers, significantly improving the prognosis of patients. The prospect of such an innovative and effective treatment in solid tumors is very attractive. For this reason, several clinical studies have been initiated.

Endovesical instillation of Cidofovir in the treatment of BK polyomavirus hemorrhagic cystitis after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Background: Hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) with BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) is a common complication after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) that may lead to severe discomfort for the patient and significant morbidity (urinary obstruction, increased transfusion requirements and prolonged hospitalization). So far, there is no clear consensus on how to manage this complication.

Patients And Methods: Here, we report a single-center case series of 9 patients (4 children and 5 adults) treated with cidofovir endovesical (EV) instillation(s) for BKPyV-HC after alloHCT.

Overall Survival Rate in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplanted Patients Requiring Intensive Care Can Be Predicted by the Prognostic Index for Critically Ill Allogeneic Transplantation Patients (PICAT) and the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) Scores.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT) recipients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) have high mortality rates. In the current study, we retrospectively assessed whether the Prognostic Index for Critically Ill Allogeneic Transplantation patients (PICAT) score predicted overall survival in a cohort of 111 consecutive allo-HCT recipients requiring ICU. Survival rates at 30 days and 1 year after ICU admission were 57.

[Acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation].

Acute and/or chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a serious complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT). It is a multisystemic inflammatory and/or fibrotic disease that occurs when the immune cells derived from the graft (and therefore originating from the donor) recognize recipient's healthy tissues as foreign and react against them. Acute GVHD is one of the main causes of non-relapse mortality after alloHSCT.

[Cellular immunotherapy at the University Hospital of Liege : advances, challenges and prospects].

Cellular immunotherapy consists in using the cells of the immune system as a therapeutic weapon. In this constantly evolving field, the therapeutic strategies developed at the University Hospital of Liege are hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, mesenchymal stromal cells and targeted therapy with CAR-T cells (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells). The first two modalities represent a form of non-targeted cell therapy that has been developed over the past decades.

Pectoralis major muscle atrophy is associated with mitochondrial energy wasting in cachectic patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

Background: Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by involuntary and pathological weight loss, mainly due to skeletal muscle wasting, resulting in a decrease in patients' quality of life, response to cancer treatments, and survival. Our objective was to investigate skeletal muscle alterations in cachectic cancer patients.

Methods: This is a prospective study of patients managed for pancreatic or colorectal cancer with an indication for systemic chemotherapy (METERMUCADIG - NCT02573974).

Predictors of neutralizing antibody response to BNT162b2 vaccination in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients.

Background: Factors affecting response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT) recipients remain to be elucidated.

Methods: Forty allo-HCT recipients were included in a study of immunization with BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine at days 0 and 21. Binding antibodies (Ab) to SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) were assessed at days 0, 21, 28, and 49 while neutralizing Ab against SARS-CoV-2 wild type (NT50) were assessed at days 0 and 49.

[Immunomonitoring of patients treated with CAR-T cells for hematological malignancy: Guidelines from the CARTi group and the Francophone Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (SFGM-TC)].

CAR-T cells represent a new anti-tumor immunotherapy which has shown its clinical efficacy in B-cell malignancies. The results of clinical trials carried out in this context have shown that certain immunological characteristics of patients before (at the time of apheresis) and after the administration of the treatment, or of the CAR-T cells themselves, are correlated with the response to the treatment or to its toxicity. However, to date, there are no recommendations on the immunological monitoring of patients treated in real life.

Itacitinib prevents xenogeneic GVHD in humanized mice.

We assessed the impact of the Janus Kinase (JAK) 1 inhibitor itacitinib on xenogeneic graft-versus-host disease (xGVHD). XGVHD was induced by i.v.