Reduced-intensity conditioning using TBI (8 Gy), fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and ATG in elderly CML patients provides excellent results especially when performed in the early course of the disease.

Allogeneic bone marrow or stem cell transplantation is a curative therapeutic option for chronic myelogenous leukemia. In order to decrease the toxicity of the procedure, the dosage of total body irradiation was reduced from 12 to 8 Gy and subsequently the dose of cyclophosphamide from 120 to 80 mg/kg. The purine analogue fludarabine, ATG, cyclosporine A and a short course of methotrexate were given for immune suppression.

[Sub-Saharan traveler with papulovesicular exanthema and flu-like symptoms].

African tick bite fever (ATBF) is an infectious disease commonly observed in travelers to sub-Saharan Africa. Because the presentation of the disease is often not specific, ATBF is frequently not diagnosed or confused with Mediterranean spotted fever. We present the case of a 63-year-old woman with typical history and symptoms.

Expression of adiponectin receptor mRNA in human skeletal muscle cells is related to in vivo parameters of glucose and lipid metabolism.

The adiponectin receptors, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2, are thought to transmit the insulin-sensitizing, anti-inflammatory, and atheroprotective effects of adiponectin. In this study, we examined whether AdipoR mRNA expression in human myotubes correlates with in vivo measures of insulin sensitivity. Myotubes from 40 metabolically characterized donors expressed 1.

Association of the -514C-->T polymorphism in the hepatic lipase gene (LIPC) promoter with elevated fasting insulin concentrations, but not insulin resistance, in non-diabetic Germans.

Hepatic lipase hydrolyses triglycerides and phospholipids in all major classes of lipoproteins. The -514C-->T genetic variation in the hepatic lipase gene promoter was found to be associated with diminished lipase activity, dyslipidemia, and atherosclerosis. We investigated whether this polymorphism associates with hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance in 535 normal glucose-tolerant Germans.

The fusion protein AML1-ETO in acute myeloid leukemia with translocation t(8;21) induces c-jun protein expression via the proximal AP-1 site of the c-jun promoter in an indirect, JNK-dependent manner.

Overexpression of proto-oncogene c-jun and constitutive activation of the Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway have been implicated in the leukemic transformation process. However, c-jun expression and the role of the JNK signaling pathway have not been investigated in primary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells with frequently observed balanced rearrangements such as t(8;21). In the present study, we report elevated c-jun mRNA expression in AML patient bone marrow cells with t(8;21), t(15;17) or inv(16), and a high correlation in mRNA expression levels of AML1-ETO and c-jun within t(8;21)-positive AML patient cells.

New score predicting for prognosis in PML-RARA+, AML1-ETO+, or CBFBMYH11+ acute myeloid leukemia based on quantification of fusion transcripts.

To evaluate the prognostic significance of quantitative PML-RARA, AML1-ETO, and CBFB-MYH11 fusion transcript expression, real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze bone marrow samples of 349 such patients at diagnosis and 522 samples of 142 patients also during therapy (total analyses, n = 859; median number of follow-up samples, 4/patient; median duration of assessment, 12 months). Lower expression levels at diagnosis correlated with better overall and event-free survival in all 3 leukemia subtypes. By combining the median expression ratio after consolidation therapy and the 75th percentile of the expression ratio at diagnosis, a new score was established that separates a group with 100% EFS from a significantly worse group (P <.

Induction of adiponectin gene expression in human myotubes by an adiponectin-containing HEK293 cell culture supernatant.

Aims/hypothesis: Adiponectin, an adipocytokine known to be down-regulated in obesity-linked disorders, is considered to be a potential key mediator of insulin sensitivity. In this study, we asked whether adiponectin is able to regulate ten selected genes possibly associated with insulin sensitivity in human skeletal muscle cells.

Methods: To this end, we treated in vitro differentiated human myotubes with the culture supernatant of HEK293 cells stably transfected with human recombinant adiponectin and assessed gene expression by RT-PCR.

[Dose-reduced conditioning before allogeneic stem cell transplantation: principles, clinical protocols and preliminary results].

Background And Objective: In the treatment of leukemia by stem cell transplantation, the immunological effects of allogeneic T-lymphocytes presumably play a greater part than high-dosage total-body irradiation (TBI) and chemotherapy. Using this immunological effect, attempts are currently being made to reduce the dosage of pre-treatment that is toxic to stem cell, such as TBI, thereby making transplantation available for a larger group of patients at high risk for transplantation. This study presents preliminary results of three current studies of this approach.

The prevalent Glu23Lys polymorphism in the potassium inward rectifier 6.2 (KIR6.2) gene is associated with impaired glucagon suppression in response to hyperglycemia.

Genetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. The relevance to type 2 diabetes of the common polymorphism Glu23Lys in the potassium inward rectifier 6.2 (KIR6.

Association of the T-G polymorphism in adiponectin (exon 2) with obesity and insulin sensitivity: interaction with family history of type 2 diabetes.

The adipocyte-derived hormone adiponectin seems to protect from insulin resistance, a key factor in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Genome-wide scans have mapped a susceptibility locus for type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome to chromosome 3q27, where the adiponectin gene is located. A common silent T-G exchange in nucleotide 94 (exon 2) of the adiponectin gene has been associated with increased circulating adiponectin levels.

The prevalent Gly1057Asp polymorphism in the insulin receptor substrate-2 gene is not associated with impaired insulin secretion.

Disruption of the insulin receptor substrate-2 was shown to cause type 2 diabetes in mice. This could be largely attributed to abnormal beta-cell development. In humans, a prevalent polymorphism in insulin receptor substrate-2 (Gly1057Asp) was not found be associated with type 2 diabetes in linkage and association studies.

Functional significance of the UCSNP-43 polymorphism in the CAPN10 gene for proinsulin processing and insulin secretion in nondiabetic Germans.

Recently, an association of the G allele in UCSNP-43 of calpain 10 with type 2 diabetes and decreased glucose disposal was reported. Calpain 10 is also expressed in pancreatic islets. It is not known, however, whether and how this polymorphism contributes to the biological variation of beta-cell function.

The tumour necrosis factor alpha -238 G --> A and -308 G --> A promoter polymorphisms are not associated with insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion in young healthy relatives of Type II diabetic patients.

Aims/hypothesis: Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is believed to influence skeletal muscle insulin resistance. Two G --> A transitions in the promoter region of TNF-alpha at position -238 and -308 have been identified that could play a part in transcriptional regulation of the gene. Insulin resistance is an independent familial trait that predicts the development of Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus.

Choledochocele--a rare cause of necrotising pancreatitis in childhood.

Recurring complaints of unknown origin in the upper abdomen during childhood are not frequent. Choledochoceles, or type III choledochal cysts, are rare congenital abnormalities of unclear aetiology. They are rarely considered in the differential diagnosis of upper abdominal symptoms in childhood.

Subcellular targeting of multiligand-binding protein gC1qR.

gC1q receptor, a protein originally described as the cell surface receptor for the globular heads of complement factor C1q, has been found to bind human H-kininogen with high affinity and specificity. Therefore, gC1qR has been considered candidate kininogen docking site on the surfaces of platelets, neutrophils and endothelial cells. Recent work demonstrating that gC1qR is an intracellular protein that is tightly associated with mitochondria rather than targeted to the cell surface has challenged this view.

Specific bio-recognition reactions observed with an integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

The combination of an integrated Mach-Zehnder-interferometer (iMZI) at the bottom of a fluidic microchannel system with supramolecular interfacial binding layers optimized for biosensing purposes is described. The model system used is based on the highly specific interaction of streptavidin to its 'ligand' biotin: a single monolayer of a correspondingly derivatized silane-compound is formed by a self-assembly procedure on top of the channel rib guiding the light through the channels. Injection of a streptavidin solution which leads to the formation of a protein monolayer of d = 2.

[Clinically significant drug interactions in HIV-infected patients].

In recent years the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapies and prophylaxis and treatment of opportunistic infections in patients with HIV-disease have reduced morbidity and mortality. Many different drugs may be prescribed in a patient simultaneously. Therefore, the potential for interactions between different substances is increased.

Early alterations in intracellular and alveolar surfactant of the rat lung in response to endotoxin.

The aim of this study was to characterize early ultrastructural, biochemical, and functional alterations of the pulmonary surfactant system induced by Salmonella minnesota lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rat lungs. Experimental groups were: (1) control in vitro, 150 min perfusion; (2) LPS in vitro, 150 min perfusion, infusion of 50 microg/ml LPS after 40 min; (3) control ex vivo, 10 min perfusion; (4) LPS ex vivo, lungs perfused for 10 min from rats treated for 110 min with 20 mg/kg LPS intraperitoneally. Morphometry of type II pneumocytes showed that LPS increased stored surfactant.

Does pregnancy influence the course of HIV infection? Evidence from two large Swiss cohort studies.

The question whether the natural history of HIV infection in women is affected by pregnancy has not so far been convincingly answered. We used prospective cohort data to compare pregnant and nonpregnant HIV-infected women during follow-up within the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) and the Swiss Collaborative HIV and Pregnancy Study (SCHPS). Pregnant women were eligible if a CD4 cell count had been made before conception had taken place.