Hematopoietic stem cell mobilization with the reversible CXCR4 receptor inhibitor plerixafor (AMD3100)—Polish compassionate use experience

Recent developments in the field of targeted therapy have led to the discovery of a new drug, plerixafor, that is a specific inhibitor of the CXCR4 receptor. Plerixafor acts in concert with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) to increase the number of stem cells circulating in the peripheral blood (PB). Therefore, it has been applied in the field of hematopoietic stem cell mobilization. We analyzed retrospectively data regarding stem cell mobilization with plerixafor in a cohort of 61 patients suffering from multiple myeloma (N = 23), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (N = 20), or Hodgkin’s lymphoma (N = 18). At least one previous mobilization attempt had failed in 83.6% of these patients, whereas 16.4% were predicted to be poor mobilizers. The median number of CD34+ cells in the PB after the first administration of plerixafor was 22/μL (range of 0–121). In total, 85.2% of the patients proceeded to cell collection, and a median of two (range of 0–4) aphereses were performed. A minimum of 2.0 × 106 CD34+ cells per kilogram of the patient’s body weight (cells/kg b.w.) was collected from 65.6% of patients, and the median number of cells collected was 2.67 × 106 CD34+ cells/kg b.w. (0–8.0). Of the patients, 55.7% had already undergone autologous stem cell transplantation, and the median time to neutrophil and platelet reconstitution was 12 and 14 days, respectively. Cases of late graft failure were not observed. We identified the diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and previous radiotherapy as independent factors that contributed to failure of mobilization. The current report demonstrates the satisfactory efficacy of plerixafor plus G-CSF for stem cell mobilization in heavily pre-treated poor or predicted poor mobilizers

The Effect of Application of Ethephon to Processing Tomato Plants on the Chemical Composition of Fruits

Ethephon is used to accelerate fruit ripening on plantations with well-developed plants which have formed a large quantity of fruits. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of ethephon on the chemical composition of the fruits of seven cultivars of processing tomato (‘Rumba’, ‘Hubal’, ‘Sokal’ F1, ‘Mieszko’ F1, ‘Polset’ F1, ‘Hysioux’ F1 and ‘AF1120’ F1), applied to the plants when most of the fruits had reached the mature-green stage. The study was conducted during three consecutiveyears, characterized by different weather conditions. Meteorological elements, i.e. air temperature and precipitation totals, were monitored in the experimental station in Mydlniki, near Krakow, Poland. Ethephon was found to have a beneficial effect on the content of extract and soluble sugars of the harvested tomatoes and on their acidity. Dry matter and lycopene levels were not dependent on the use of this compound, while the ascorbic acid content was reduced by the procedure. The chemicalcomposition of the tomato fruits differed significantly in consecutive years of the study, which confirmed the weather impact on fruit quality and on the varied responses of different cultivars to use of ethephon. The tested cultivars were also compared in terms of their suitability for processing. The ‘Hubal’ cultivar had the highest content of dry matter, extract, soluble sugars of all the cultivars tested. The highest level of lycopene was noted for the tomatoes of the ‘Rumba’ and ‘Sokal’ F1 cultivar, ascorbic acid of the ‘Rumba’ and the highest acidity for ‘AF 1120’ F1

Contribution to the flora of Asian and European countries: new national and regional vascular plant records, 6

The paper presents new records for 28 vascular plant species from 14 Eurasian countries. Five taxa (Catabrosa capusii, Poa albertii, Poa intricata, Poa pseudoaltaica, Poa sergievskajae) are reported from Kazakhstan, three (Ranunculus pseudomonophyllus, Ranunculus smirnovii, Ranunculus turczaninovii) from Mongolia, three (Panicum barbipulvinatum, Stipa eriocaulis, Tragopogon pratensis subsp. minor) from Poland, three (Euphorbia subtilis, Corydalis grubovii, Thymus callieri) from Russia, two (Atriplex ornata, Corispermum dutreuilii) from Afghanistan, two (Orobanche grenieri, Ranunculus mongolicus) from Kyrgyzstan, two (Erigeron annuus, Sternbergia lutea) from Tajikistan, two (Orobanche baumanniorum, Orobanche kotschyi) from Turkey, one (Polygonum subaphyllum) from China, one (Orobanche bartlingii) from Georgia, one (Rubus slavonicus) from Germany, one (Cenchrus spinifex) from Montenegro, one (Rubus canadensis) from Slovenia and one (Bolboschoenus yagara) from Switzerland. For each species, synonyms, general distribution, habitat preferences, taxonomy with remarks on recognition and differentiation of the species from the most similar taxa occurring in a given country as well as a list of recorded localities (often far from the previously known areas) are presented