Distinctive Patterns of Intraclonal Diversification In IGHV1-2*04 Immunoglobulin Receptors of Patients with Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma: A of Ongoing Interactions with Antigen?

Abstract Abstract 2638 We recently demonstrated that over 30% of cases with splenic marginal-zone lymphoma (SMZL) express distinctive immunoglobulin (IG) receptors that utilize a single polymorphic variant of the IGHV1-2 gene (IGHV1-2*04) and also exhibit restricted antigen-binding site motifs and precise targeting of somatic hypermutation (SHM). On these grounds, we proposed the existence of molecular subtypes of SMZL defined by immunogenetic analysis of the IG receptors with implications for selection by specific (super) antigenic element(s) in the development of at least a major subset of SMZL. In order to gain insight as to whether antigen involvement is relevant only prior to the malig…

Over 30% of Patients with Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma Express Distinctive Antigen Receptors Utilizing a Single Immunoglogulin Variable Gene: Implications for the Origin and Selection of the Neoplastic Cells

Abstract Abstract 634 We systematically explored the immunoglobulin (IG) gene repertoire in 337 cases with splenic marginal-zone lymphoma (SMZL), by far the largest series yet. To resolve classification uncertainties, we included in the analysis only cases with a diagnosis of SMZL based on spleen histopathological findings or cases fulfilling the 2008 SBLG criteria (Matutes et al. Leukemia 2008). We here report that the IG heavy variable (IGHV) gene repertoire in SMZL is remarkably biased, with only three genes accounting for 45.8% of cases (IGHV1-2, 24.9%; IGHV4-34, 12.8%; IGHV3-23: 8.1%, respectively), significantly extending previous similar observations. Particularly for the IGHV1-2 gen…

miR-155 regulative network in FLT3 mutated acute myeloid leukemia

Abstract Background Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) represents a heterogeneous disorder with recurrent chromosomal alterations and molecular abnormalities. Among AML with normal karyotype (NK-AML) FLT3 activating mutation, internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD), is present in about 30% of patients, conferring unfavorable outcome. Our previous data demonstrated specific up-regulation of miR-155 in FLT3-ITD+ AML. miR-155 is known to be directly implicated in normal hematopoiesis and in some pathologies such as myeloid hyperplasia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Methods and results To investigate about the potential influence of miR-155 de-regulation in FLT3-mutated AML we generated a transcrip…

Towards an ideal source of mesenchymal stem cell isolation for possible therapeutic application in regenerative medicine.

Background. The possibility of obtaining mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from fetal tissue such as amniotic fluid, chorionic villi and placenta is well-known and a comparison between MSCs originating in different sources such as fetal tissue and those from bone marrow in terms of yield and function is a topical issue. The mesenchymal stem cells isolated from bone marrow are well-characterized. Unfortunately the low quantitative yield during isolation is a major problem. For this reason, other tissue sources for MSCs are of paramount importance. Conclusion. In this review, starting from a description of the molecular and cellular biology of MSCs, we describe alternative sources of isolation ot…

Carboxyamidotriazole inhibits cell growth of imatinib-resistant chronic myeloid leukaemia cells including T315I Bcr-Abl mutant by a redox-mediated mechanism.

Mutation of the Bcr–Abl oncoprotein is one of most frequent mechanisms by which chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells become resistant to imatinib. Here, we show that treat- ment of cell lines harbouring wild type or mutant BCR–ABL with carboxyamidotriazole (CAI), a calcium influx and signal transduction inhibitor, inhibits cell growth, the expres- sion of Bcr–Abl and its downstream signalling, and induces apoptosis. Moreover, we show that CAI acts by increasing intracellular ROS. Clinically significant, CAI has also inhibitory effects on T315I Bcr–Abl mutant, a mutation that causes CML cells to become insensitive to imatinib and second generation abl kinase inhibitors.

Differentiation and characterization of rat adipose tissue mesenchymal stem cells into endothelial-like cells

In this study, mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from rat adipose tissue (AD-MSCs) to characterize and differentiate them into endothelial-like cells. AD-MSCs were isolated by mechanical and enzymatic treatments, and their identity was verified by colony-forming units (CFU) test and by differentiation into cells of mesodermal lineages. The endothelial differentiation was induced by plating another aliquot of cells in EGM-2 medium, enriched with specific endothelial growth factors. Five subcultures were performed. The expression of stemness genes (OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG) was investigated. The presence of CD90 and the absence of the CD45 were evaluated by flow cytometry. The endothelial-like…

Supramaximal exercise mobilizes hematopoietic progenitors and reticulocytes in athletes

Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2005 Nov;289(5):R1496-503. Epub 2005 Jul 14. Supramaximal exercise mobilizes hematopoietic progenitors and reticulocytes in athletes. Morici G, Zangla D, Santoro A, Pelosi E, Petrucci E, Gioia M, Bonanno A, Profita M, Bellia V, Testa U, Bonsignore MR. SourceDepartment of Experimental Medicine, University of Palermo, Italy. Abstract Marathon runners show increased circulating CD34+ cell counts and postexercise release of interleukin-6 (IL-6), granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and flt3-ligand (Bonsignore MR, Morici G, Santoro A, Pegano M, Cascio L, Bonnano A, Abate P, Mirabella F, Profita M, Insalaco G, Gioia M, Vignola AM, Majolino I, Testa…

Circulating hematopoietic progenitor cells in runners

Because endurance exercise causes release of mediators and growth factors active on the bone marrow, we asked whether it might affect circulating hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) in amateur runners [ n = 16, age: 41.8 ± 13.5 (SD) yr, training: 93.8 ± 31.8 km/wk] compared with sedentary controls ( n = 9, age: 39.4 ± 10.2 yr). HPCs, plasma cortisol, interleukin (IL)-6, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and the growth factor fms-like tyrosine kinase-3 (flt3)-ligand were measured at rest and after a marathon (M; n = 8) or half-marathon (HM; n = 8). Circulating HPC counts (i.e., CD34+cells and their subpopulations) were three- to fourfold higher in runners than in controls at b…

Differential expression of specific microRNA and their targets in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) the most common acute leukemia in adults is characterized by various cytogenetic and molecular abnormalities. However, the genetic etiology of the disease is not yet fully understood. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small noncoding RNAs which regulate the expression of target mRNAs both at transcriptional and translational level. In recent years, miRNAs have been identified as a novel mechanism in gene regulation, which show variable expression during myeloid differentiation. We studied miRNA expression of leukemic blasts of 29 cases of newly diagnosed and genetically defined AML using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for 365 human miR…

Effects of carboxyamidotriazole on in vitro models of imatinib-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia.

Although imatinib mesylate (IM) has revolutionized the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), some patients develop resistance with progression of leukemia. Alternative or additional targeting of signaling pathways deregulated in bcr-abl-driven CML cells may provide a feasible option for improving clinical response and overcoming resistance. In this study, we show that carboxyamidotriazole (CAI), an orally bioavailable calcium influx and signal transduction inhibitor, is equally effective in inhibiting the proliferation and bcr-abl dependent- and independent-signaling pathways in imatinib-resistant CML cells. CAI inhibits phosphorylation of cellular proteins including STAT5 and CrkL a…

Molecular Remission Can Be Attained in Relapsed or Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and Follicular Lymphomas after Reduced Intensity Conditioning (RIC) and Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation (ALLO-SCT).

Abstract RIC followed by allo-SCT is an effective salvage treatment for some relapsed hematologic malignancies due to the postulated graft versus tumour (GVT) effect. In order to evaluate the quality of the clinical response, we have investigated the molecular status of patients receiving allo-SCT for relapsed disease. Forty-four patients (19 chronic lymphocytic leukemias (CLL), 21 follicular lymphomas (FCL) and 4 small lymphocytic lymphomas (SLL)) were enrolled in a prospective phase II study. The median age was 54 years (range: 32–69 years). The median number of previous chemotherapy regimens was 2 (range: 1–5) and 23% of patients had already failed an auto-SCT. Before transplant 34% of p…

Chronic myelogenous leukaemia exosomes modulate bone marrow microenvironment through activation of epidermal growth factor receptor

Abstract Chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) is a clonal myeloproliferative disorder. Recent evidence indicates that altered crosstalk between CML and mesenchymal stromal cells may affect leukaemia survival; moreover, vesicles released by both tumour and non‐tumour cells into the microenvironment provide a suitable niche for cancer cell growth and survival. We previously demonstrated that leukaemic and stromal cells establish an exosome‐mediated bidirectional crosstalk leading to the production of IL8 in stromal cells, thus sustaining the survival of CML cells. Human cell lines used are LAMA84 (CML cells), HS5 (stromal cells) and bone marrow primary stromal cells; gene expression and protei…

Gene Expression Profile of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Innately Resistant to Imatinib

Background. Most chronic myeloid leukemia patients who receive imatinib as first line-terapy will obtain, after 12 months treatment, complete cytogenetic and molecular response . However several cases will not achieve molecular response, but their innate mechanism(s) of resistance remain poorly understood. We tried to explore the molecular events involved in innate resistance in CML. Study design. Five patients who were molecular “non responder” and seven “major” responder were investigated by using the expression profile of a set of 380 genes. Multiple testing procedure (MTP), Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM), Empirical Bayes Analysis of Microarrays (EBAM), False Discovery Rate (…

Novel Munc13-4 mutations in children and young adult patients with haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis

Familial haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder characterised by constitutive defects in cellular cytotoxicity resulting in fever, hepatosplenomegaly and cytopenia, and the outcome is fatal unless treated by chemoimmunotherapy followed by haematopoietic stem‐cell transplantation. Since 1999, mutations in the perforin gene giving rise to this disease have been identified; however, these account only for 40% of cases. Lack of a genetic marker hampers the diagnosis, suitability for transplantation, selection of familial donors, identification of carriers, genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis. Mutations in the Munc13–4 gene have recently been des…

Complete Clinical Remission after High-Dose Immune Suppression and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Severe Crohn’s Disease Refractory to Immunosuppressive and Immunomodulator Therapy

Amplification of ETS2 oncogene in acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia with t(6;21;18).

Cytogenetic and molecular studies in a case of acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL) are reported in this paper. Bone marrow blasts carried a hypodiploid karyotype with a complex t(6;18;21)(6qter----6p21::21q22----21qter;18qter ----18p11::6p22----6pter; 21pter----21q22::6p21----6p22::18p11----18pte r) and other numerical and structural changes. We studied the organization and the expression of the ETS2 gene which is located on chromosome 21 in order to investigate its possible involvement in the disease. DNA analysis showed a 20-fold amplification of ETS2 sequences; an increase of 3- to 4-fold in the mRNAs level compared to normal was shown by Northern hybridization.

Use of the word "cured" for cancer patients-implications for patients and physicians: the Siracusa charter

Long-term survival for adult patients with solid tumours continues to increase. For some cancers, the possibility of recurrence after a number of years is extremely low, and the risk of death becomes similar to that of the general population of the same sex and age. During the Fifth European Conference on Survivors and Chronic Cancer Patients held in Siracusa, Italy, June 2014, oncologists, general practitioners, epidemiologists, cancer patients and survivors, and patient advocates joined to discuss the possible use of the term “cured” in reference to some adult patients with solid tumours. The specific focus was the appropriateness of using the term in communicating with cancer patients, s…

Gene expression of stem cells at different stages of ontological human development.

Abstract Objectives To compare multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) obtained from chorionic villi (CV), amniotic fluid (AF) and placenta, with regard to their phenotype and gene expression, in order to understand if MSCs derived from different extra-embryonic tissues, at different stages of human ontological development, present distinct stemness characteristics. Study design MSCs obtained from 30 samples of CV, 30 of AF and 10 placentas (obtained from elective caesarean sections) were compared. MSCs at second confluence cultures were characterized by immunophenotypic analysis with flow cytometry using FACS CANTO II. The expression of the genes Oct-4 (Octamer-binding transcription fact…

Role of exosomes released by chronic myelogenous leukemia cells in angiogenesis

The present study is designed to assess if exosomes released from Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) cells may modulate angiogenesis. We have isolated and characterized the exosomes generated from LAMA84 CML cells and demonstrated that addition of exosomes to human vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) induces an increase of both ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 cell adhesion molecules and interleukin-8 expression. The stimulation of cell-cell adhesion molecules was paralleled by a dose-dependent increase of adhesion of CML cells to a HUVEC monolayer. We further showed that the treatment with exosomes from CML cells caused an increase in endothelial cell motility accompanied by a loss of VE-cadherin and β-ca…

Comparative study of T84 and T84SF human colon carcinoma cells: in vitro and in vivo ultrastructural and functional characterization of cell culture and metastasis

To better understand the relationship between tumor heterogeneity, differentiation, and metastasis, suitable experimental models permitting in vitro and in vivo studies are necessary. A new variant cell line (T84SF) exhibiting an altered phenotype was recently selected from a colon cancer cell line (T84) by repetitive plating on TNF-alpha treated human endothelial cells and subsequent selection for adherent cells. The matched pair of cell lines provides a useful system to investigate the extravasation step of the metastatic cascade. Since analysis of morphological differences can be instructive to the understanding of metastatic potential of tumor cells, we compared the ultrastructural and …

Could growth hormone play a role in Peutz Jeghers syndrome?

Convincing experimental data suggest that the growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) axis plays an important role in cancer development and behaviour. Epidemiological studies have supported an association with cancer, but not with tumour induction per se, although this is a distinction that is important mechanistically but not clinically [1]. We report the case of a 17-year-old man with delayed growth of pituitary origin, treated with growth hormone, in whom a diagnosis of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) was subsequently made, and in whom, during the endoscopic follow-up, the number of polyps reduced dramatically, thus suggesting a role for GH in eliciting this disease.

Involvement of multiple myeloma cell-derived exosomes in osteoclast differentiation

Bone disease is the most frequent complication in multiple myeloma (MM) resulting in osteolytic lesions, bone pain, hypercalcemia and renal failure. In MM bone disease the perfect balance between bone-resorbing osteoclasts (OCs) and bone-forming osteoblasts (OBs) activity is lost in favour of OCs, thus resulting in skeletal disorders. Since exosomes have been described for their functional role in cancer progression, we here investigate whether MM cell-derived exosomes may be involved in OCs differentiation. We show that MM cells produce exosomes which are actively internalized by Raw264.7 cell line, a cellular model of osteoclast formation. MM cell-derived exosomes positively modulate pre-…