Clonal origin of Epstein-Barr virus-infected T/NK-cell subpopulations in chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection

Clonal expansion of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infected B-cells occasionally occurs in immunocompromized subjects. EBV-infected T/natural killer (NK)-cells proliferate in patients with chronic active EBV infection (CAEBV) that is a rare mononucleosis syndrome. It is classified into either T-cell type or NK-cell type according to the primary target of infection, while the pathogenesis remains unclear. To search the clonal origin of EBV-infected T/NK-cells, virus distribution and clonotype were assessed by using highly purified cell fractions obtained from 6 patients. Patient 1 had a monoclonal proliferation of EBV-infected T-cell receptor Vδ2/Vγ9-expressing cells, and carried lower copy number of EBV in αβT-cells. Patients 2 and 3 had a clonal expansion of EBV-infected CD4+T-cells, and lower EBV load in CD56+cells. Patients 4, 5 and 6 had an expansion of CD56+cells with higher EBV load than CD3+cells. EBV-terminal repeats were determined as clonal bands in the minor targeted populations of 5 patients. The size of terminal repeats indicated the same clonotype in minor subsets as in major subsets of 4 patients. However, EBV was not detected in bone marrow-derived lineage negative CD34+cells of patients. These results suggested that EBV could infect T/NK-cells at differentiation stage, but spared bone marrow CD34+hematopoietic stem cells in CAEBV patients

Low-Temperature Sintering of Apatite-Type Lanthanum Silicate with Fluoride Additives

Various fluorides (3 - 8 wt%) were added to a La9.33Si6O26 (LSO) powder synthesized by calcining the corresponding oxides mixture at 1100ºC for 4 h. The addition of BaF2, AlF3 or Ba3Al2F12 caused an appreciable and substantial increase in bulk density after sintering at 1400º and 1450ºC, respectively. These fluorides melt below 1400ºC to form liquid phase which could assist the densification at low temperatures. Abnormal grain growth was observed for LSO samples with the addition of AlF3 and Ba3Al2F12, but it was effectively suppressed by stepwise sintering at 1400º and 1450ºC. The BaF2 addition brought about the simultaneous promotion of densification and moderate grain growth, leading to the production of a densified LSO sample showing a conductivity of 1.5 x 10–2 Scm–1 at 800ºC with an activation energy of 1.23 eV

The order of expression of transcription factors directs hierarchical specification of hematopoietic lineages

The mechanism of lineage specification in multipotent stem cells has not been fully understood. We recently isolated progenitors with the eosinophil, basophil, or mast cell lineage potential, all of which originate from granulocyte/monocyte progenitors (GMPs). By using these prospectively purified progenitors, we show here that the expression timing of GATA-2 and CCAAT enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) can differentially control their lineage commitment. The expression of GATA-2 instructed C/EBPα-expressing GMPs to commit exclusively into the eosinophil lineage, while it induced basophil and/or mast cell lineage commitment if C/EBPα was suppressed at the GMP stage. Furthermore, simply by switching the order of C/EBPα and GATA-2 transduction, even lymphoid-committed progenitors recaptured these developmental processes to be reprogrammed into each of these lineages. We propose that the order of expression of key transcription factors is critical for their interplay to selectively drive lineage specification programs, by which stem cells could generate multiple lineage cells in a hierarchical manner