Cell adhesion signaling regulates RANK expression in osteoclast precursors.

Cells with monocyte/macrophage lineage expressing receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK) differentiate into osteoclasts following stimulation with the RANK ligand (RANKL). Cell adhesion signaling is also required for osteoclast differentiation from precursors. However, details of the mechanism by which cell adhesion signals induce osteoclast differentiation have not been fully elucidated.

CD20 gene deletion causes a CD20-negative relapse in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

In diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a CD20-negative relapse is clinically significant because it is associated with chemo-refractory phenotypes and loss of a therapeutic target. The alteration of the CD20 gene is reported as infrequent in CD20-negative relapse in B-cell lymphoma. We established a DLBCL cell line with loss of CD20 expression (SD07) from a patient at CD20-negative relapse.

[Bilateral renal infiltration of acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells at relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplantation].

A 44-year-old male patient was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (CD10+, CD19+, CD20 weak) and underwent unrelated bone marrow transplantation (uBMT) with a conditioning regimen of cyclophosphamide plus total body irradiation during first complete remission (CR). Twenty months post-uBMT, the serum creatinine level (Cre) increased gradually, up to ≥ 1.5 mg/dl at 23 months.

Primary pulmonary classical hodgkin lymphoma with two recurrences in the mediastinum : a case report.

We report a case of primary pulmonary classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) in a 58-year-old woman. Twelve years ago, the patient complained of slight fever and weight loss. A mass of about 5 cm in diameter was seen in the right lung on radiography and computed tomography (CT).

Clinical efficacy and safety of biapenem for febrile neutropenia in patients with underlying hematopoietic diseases: a multi-institutional study.

A multi-institutional study was conducted to assess efficacy and safety of biapenem (BIPM), a carbapenem antibiotic, as an initial-stage therapeutic agent for febrile neutropenia (FN) in patients with hematopoietic diseases. A total of 216 patients from 25 medical institutions were enrolled in this study; of these, 204 were included in the safety analysis and 178 in the efficacy analysis. The combined (excellent and good) response rate was 67.

Over-expression of CCL3 MIP-1alpha in a blastoid mantle cell lymphoma with hypercalcemia.

We analyzed a case with the blastoid variant of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL-BV), a rare subtype of B-cell lymphoma, presenting with marked hypercalcemia at diagnosis. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed elevated serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha), and type I collagen telopeptide, but not parathyroid hormone, calcitriol or parathyroid hormone-related peptide at diagnosis, suggesting local osteoclastic hypercalcemia in this case. By reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis, we found predominant expression of mRNA for MIP-1alpha in addition to those for receptor-activator of nuclear-factor kappa B ligand (RANKL), TNF-alpha, and IL-6 in lymphoma cells obtained from the patient.

[Splenic irradiation as a successful treatment for an elderly patient with B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia].

We report a case of B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (B-PLL) that was treated successfully with splenic irradiation (SI). An 86-year-old man underwent a medical examination for lumbago and general fatigue at another hospital in June 2007. A compressed lumbar fracture and splenomegaly were found using computed tomography (CT).

Megakaryopoiesis and platelet function in polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia patients with JAK2 V617F mutation.

Patients with Ph chromosome negative myeloproliferative disease (Ph-MPD) have an increased risk of vascular complications. It remains controversial whether patients with the JAK2 V617F mutation (V617F) exhibit increased risk, while recent growing evidence has shown a critical role for V617F in clonal erythropoiesis in Ph-MPD. We studied 53 patients with Ph-MPD especially in relation to megakaryopoiesis, the thrombotic complications and the presence of V617F.

[Successful treatment with prednisolone for autoimmune myelofibrosis accompanied with Sjögren syndrome].

A 66-year-old woman presented with anemia in January 2006. She was admitted to our Department in February, after laboratory data showed pancytopenia and bone marrow biopsy reticulin fibrosis. The results of the diagnostic work-up, which included the anti-SS-A antibody, anti-SS-B antibody positivity and salivary gland scintigraphy, Schirmer test and Rose Bengal test, supported the classification criteria of Sjögren syndrome.

Histopathology of bone marrow reconstitution after umbilical cord blood transplantation for hematological diseases.

To study hematopoietic reconstitution in umbilical cord blood transplantation (CBT), bone marrow (BM) histology was investigated in 35 biopsies after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and in 40 biopsies after CBT. BM biopsies were obtained at different times after transplantation and were evaluated for cellularity, number of megakaryocytes and CD34-positive cells, and fibrosis. In biopsies up to 29 days after BMT, cellularity was increased and megakaryocytes were observed, but at 29 days after CBT, biopsies showed severe cellular depletion and almost no megakaryocytes.

Senile EBV-associated B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder of indolent clinical phenotype with recurrence as aggressive lymphoma.

Senile EBV-associated B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) was proposed as a new disease entity in 2003. This condition has a high incidence in elderly people without underlying immunodeficiencies, and is characterized by EBV-positive B-cell proliferation with a polymorphic composition. Histologically, the disease has two subtypes.

Histopathological bone marrow changes after reduced-intensity hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for follicular lymphoma involving bone marrow.

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is used as curative therapy for malignant lymphoma, and reduced-intensity hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (RIST) is sometimes performed to avoid the toxicity and mortality associated with myeloablative allo-SCT. RIST is generally preferred for elderly patients with malignant lymphoma. A 62-year-old woman with follicular lymphoma (FL) involving bone marrow (BM) suffered relapse after autologous SCT.

Reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome after repeat intermediate-dose cytarabine chemotherapy in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia.

A 56-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with leukocytosis, anemia, and thrombocytopenia. Acute monoblastic leukemia was diagnosed. Two subsequent courses of consolidation chemotherapy consisted of conventional doses of cytarabine and intermediate-dose cytarabine.

Cotylenin A-induced differentiation is independent of the transforming growth factor-beta signaling system in human myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells.

Cotylenin A, which has been isolated as a plant growth regulator, potently induces the differentiation of human myeloid leukemia cells. Treatment of HL-60 cells with a combination of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta and 1alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (VD3) resulted in increased differentiation compared to separate treatments, but TGF-beta did not affect the cotylenin A-induced differentiation of HL-60 cells. It is possible that the signal transduction pathway used by cotylenin A for inducing the differentiation of leukemia cells is the same as that used by TGF-beta.

Hypermethylation of CpG islands in p16 as a prognostic factor for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in a high-risk group.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the methylation status of the promoter regions of p15 and p16 and to assess the prognostic significance of promoter hypermethylation in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Experimental Design: DLBCL was diagnosed by morphology and immunohistochemical analysis according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification. The methylation status of CpG islands in the p15 and p16 promoters was analyzed by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction in 49 DLBCLs.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome during the third infusion of rituximab in a patient with follicular lymphoma.

We present the case of a 66-year-old man with follicular lymphoma who developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) during a third infusion of rituximab. High fever, tachypnea, and progressive hypoxemia accompanied by massive bilateral pleural effusions appeared suddenly approximately 3 hours after the third infusion was started, although the 2 prior infusions of rituximab had produced only mild adverse effects. The patient was treated successfully with high-dose methylprednisolone and 3 days of mechanical ventilatory support.

Efficacy of rituximab plus chemotherapy in follicular lymphoma depends on Ki-67 expression.

Rituximab is widely used for the treatment of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and encouraging results have been obtained. However, some CD20-positive NHL show minimal response to rituximab, indicating that the treatment effect depends on the presence or absence of an unidentified factor. We analyzed the relationship between the effect of rituximab plus chemotherapy and expression of Ki-67, p53 and bcl-2 and several clinical variables in cases of B-NHL, particularly follicular lymphoma (FL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Elevated levels of transferrin receptor 2 mRNA, not transferrin receptor 1 mRNA, are associated with increased survival in acute myeloid leukaemia.

Transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) is a type II membrane protein that mediates cellular iron uptake. Transferrin receptor 2(TfR2), another receptor for transferrin (Tf), has recently been cloned. We examined expression levels of TfR1, TfR2-alpha (membrane form) and TfR2-beta (non-membrane form) transcripts in cells from 67 patients with de novo acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and correlated the results with a variety of clinical features and disease outcomes of these patients.

MmTRA1b/phospholipid scramblase 1 gene expression is a new prognostic factor for acute myelogenous leukemia.

We previously found that expression of the Mm-1 cell-derived transplantability-associated gene 1b (MmTRA1b)/phospholipid scramblase 1 gene was markedly induced during the granulocytic differentiation of human myeloid leukemia cells. To evaluate the role of MmTRA1b expression in human myeloid leukemia, we investigated the relative levels of MmTRA1b transcripts in 81 patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) by the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The expression of MmTRA1b in AML-M1, -M5a and -M5b was significantly lower than that in normal bone marrow cells.