Quantification of newly produced B and T lymphocytes in untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The immune defects occurring in chronic lymphocytic leukemia are responsible for the frequent occurrence of infections and autoimmune phenomena, and may be involved in the initiation and maintenance of the malignant clone. Here, we evaluated the quantitative defects of newly produced B and T lymphocytes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The output of B and T lymphocytes from the production and maturation sites was analyzed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients and healthy controls by quantifying kappa-deleting recombination excision circles (KRECs) and T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) by a Real-Time PCR assay that simultaneously detects both targets. T-lymphocyte subsets were analyzed by six-color flow cytometric analysis. Data comparison was performed by two-sided Mann-Whitney test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>KRECs level was reduced in untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients studied at the very early stage of the disease, whereas the release of TRECs⁺cells was preserved. Furthermore, the observed increase of CD4⁺lymphocytes could be ascribed to the accumulation of CD4⁺cells with effector memory phenotype.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The decreased number of newly produced B lymphocytes in these patients is likely related to a homeostatic mechanism by which the immune system balances the abnormal B-cell expansion. This feature may precede the profound defect of humoral immunity characterizing the later stages of the disease.</p

Natural History of MYH7-Related Dilated Cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND Variants in myosin heavy chain 7 (MYH7) are responsible for disease in 1% to 5% of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM); however, the clinical characteristics and natural history of MYH7-related DCM are poorly described. OBJECTIVES We sought to determine the phenotype and prognosis of MYH7-related DCM. We also evaluated the influence of variant location on phenotypic expression. METHODS We studied clinical data from 147 individuals with DCM-causing MYH7 variants (47.6% female; 35.6 +/- 19.2 years) recruited from 29 international centers. RESULTS At initial evaluation, 106 (72.1%) patients had DCM (left ventricular ejection fraction: 34.5% +/- 11.7%). Median follow-up was 4.5 years (IQR: 1.7-8.0 years), and 23.7% of carriers who were initially phenotype-negative developed DCM. Phenotypic expression by 40 and 60 years was 46% and 88%, respectively, with 18 patients (16%) first diagnosed at <18 years of age. Thirty-six percent of patients with DCM met imaging criteria for LV noncompaction. During follow-up, 28% showed left ventricular reverse remodeling. Incidence of adverse cardiac events among patients with DCM at 5 years was 11.6%, with 5 (4.6%) deaths caused by end-stage heart failure (ESHF) and 5 patients (4.6%) requiring heart transplantation. The major ventricular arrhythmia rate was low (1.0% and 2.1% at 5 years in patients with DCM and in those with LVEF of <= 35%, respectively). ESHF and major ventricular arrhythmia were significantly lower compared with LMNA-related DCM and similar to DCM caused by TTN truncating variants. CONCLUSIONS MYH7-related DCM is characterized by early age of onset, high phenotypic expression, low left ventricular reverse remodeling, and frequent progression to ESHF. Heart failure complications predominate over ventricular arrhythmias, which are rare. (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier on behalf of the American College of Cardiology Foundation

Caveolin-1, Caveolin-2 and Cavin-1 are strong predictors of adipogenic differentiation in human tumors and cell lines of liposarcoma

Caveolins (Cav-1, -2 and -3) and Cavins (Cavin-1, -2, -3 and -4) are two protein families controlling the biogenesis and function of caveolae, plasma membrane omega-like invaginations representing the primary site of important cellular processes like endocytosis, cholesterol homeostasis and signal transduction. Caveolae are especially abundant in fat tissue, playing a consistent role in a number of processes, such as the insulin-dependent glucose uptake and transmembrane transport of lipids underlying differentiation, maintenance and adaptive hypertrophy of adipocytes. Based on this premise, in this work we have investigated the expression of caveolar protein components in liposarcoma (LPS), an adipocytic soft tissue sarcoma affecting adults categorized in well-differentiated, dedifferentiated, myxoid and pleomorphic histotypes. By performing an extensive microarray data analysis followed by immunohistochemistry on human LPS tumors, we demonstrated that Cav-1, Cav-2 and Cavin-1 always cluster in all the histotypes, reaching the highest expression in well-differentiated LPS, the least aggressive of the malignant forms composed by tumor cells with a morphology resembling mature adipocytes. In vitro experiments carried out using two human LPS cell lines confirmed that the expression levels of Cav-1, Cav-2 and Cavin-1 proteins were faintly detectable during cell growth, but became consistently increased during the accumulation of intracellular lipid droplets characterizing the adipogenic differentiation. Moreover, in differentiated LPS cells the three proteins were also found to co-localize and form molecular aggregates at the plasma membrane, as shown via immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation analysis. Overall, these data indicate that Cav-1, Cav-2 and Cavin-1 may be considered as reliable markers for identification of those LPS tumors characterized by consistent adipogenic differentiation

A fetichização do livro didático no Brasil

Este artigo discutirá como as diversas polêmicas sobre a qualidade dos livros didáticos veiculadas pela imprensa nos últimos anos demonstram a supervalorização deste instrumento didático/pedagógico em nossa cultura escolar. Este status alcançado nas representações sociais pelos livros didáticos é resultado de uma complexa trajetória histórica, uma significativa relevância econômica, e de contornos ideológicos e políticos, sobretudo no período republicano brasileiro. Por fim, debaterá como a consagração deste material parece ofuscar outras discussões como as reais condições de trabalho, formação e aprendizado de professores e alunos brasileiros do ensino básico

Human leukocyte antigen polymorphisms in Italian primary biliary cirrhosis: A multicenter study of 664 patients and 1992 healthy controls

Genetic factors are critical in determining susceptibility to primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), but there has not been a clear association with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes. We performed a multicenter case-control study and analyzed HLA class II DRB1 associations using a large cohort of 664 well-defined cases of PBC and 1992 controls of Italian ancestry. Importantly, healthy controls were rigorously matched not only by age and sex, but also for the geographical origin of the proband four grandparents (Northern, Central, and Southern Italy). After correction for multiple testing, DRB1*08 [odds ratio (OR), 3.3; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.4-4.5] and DRB1*02 (OR 0.9; 95% CI 0.8-1.2) were significantly associated with PBC, whereas alleles DRB1*11 (OR 0.4; 95% CI 0.3-0.4) and DRB1*13 (OR 0.7; 95% CI 0.6-0.9) were protective. When subjects were stratified according to their grandparental geographical origin, only the associations with DRB1*08 and DRB1*11 were common to all three areas. Associated DRB1 alleles were found only in a minority of patients, whereas an additive genetic model is supported by the gene dosage effect for DRB1*11 allele and the interaction of DRB1*11,*13, and *08. Lastly, no significant associations were detected between speci fic DRB1 alleles and relevant clinical features represented by the presence of cirrhosis or serum autoantibodies. In conclusion, we confirm the role for HLA to determine PBC susceptibility and suggest that the effect of HLA is limited to patient subgroups. We suggest that a large whole-genome approach is required to identify further genetic elements contributing to the loss of tolerance in this disease. Copyright © 2008 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases

Analysis of Outcomes in Ischemic vs Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation A Report From the GARFIELD-AF Registry

IMPORTANCE Congestive heart failure (CHF) is commonly associated with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF), and their combination may affect treatment strategies and outcomes