Different guises of plasmacytoma--from skin to bone.

A case is reported of a patient with plasmacytoma which assumed different clinicopathological features over seven years. The tumour first presented as a subcutaneous mass which was misdiagnosed as anaplastic carcinoma. Complete response to radiotherapy ensued but recurrence took the form of an intracerebral tumour. Further complete response to "palliative" corticosteroids was followed by osseous lesions three years later, when the diagnosis of plasmacytoma was confirmed. This report illustrates the highly variable clinicopathological presentations of plasmacytoma, including the rare primary cutaneous manifestation

Benign monoclonal expansion of CD8+ lymphocytes in HIV infection

Background—A transient expansion of the CD8+ T cell pool normally occurs in the early phase of HIV infection. Persistent expansion of this pool is observed in two related settings: diffuse infiltrative lymphocytosis syndrome (DILS) and HIV associated CD8+ lymphocytosis syndrome. Aim—To investigate a group of HIV infected patients with CD8+ lymphocytosis syndrome with particular emphasis on whether monoclonality was present. Methods—A group of 18 patients with HIV-1 infection and persistent circulating CD8+ lymphocytosis was compared with 21 HIV positive controls. Serum samples were tested for antinuclear antibodies, antibodies to extractable nuclear antigens, immunoglobulin levels, paraproteins, human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), Epstein-Barr virus, and cytomegalovirus serology. Lymphocyte phenotyping and HLA-DR typing was performed, and T cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangement studies used to identify monoclonal populations of T cells. CD4+ and CD8+ subsets of peripheral blood lymphocytes were purified to determine whether CD8+ populations inhibited HIV replication in autologous CD4+ cells. Results—A subgroup of patients with HIV-1 infection was found to have expanded populations of CD8+ T cell large granular lymphocytes persisting for 6 to 30 months. The consensus immunophenotype was CD4- CD8+ DR(high) CD11a+ CD11c+ CD16- CD28± CD56- CD57+, consistent with typical T cell large granular lymphocytes expressing cellular activation markers. Despite the finding of monoclonal TCR gene usage in five of 18 patients, there is evidence that the CD8+ expansions are reactive populations capable of mediating non-cytotoxic inhibition of HIV replication. Conclusions—A subgroup of HIV positive patients has CD8+ lymphocytosis, but despite the frequent occurrence of monoclonal TCR gene usage there is evidence that this represents an immune response to viral infection rather than a malignant disorder. Key Words: HIV infection • CD8+ lymphocytosis • clonalit

Fluorescence studies on potential antitumor 6-(hetero)arylthieno[3,2-b]pyridine derivatives in solution and in nanoliposomes

The photophysical properties (absorption and fluorescence) of four 6-(hetero)arylthieno[3,2-b]pyridine derivatives, the methyl 3-amino-6-(thien-3-yl)thieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylate 1, the methyl 3-amino-6-(2,2’-bithienyl-5-yl)thieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylate 2, the methyl 3-amino-6-(thien-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylate 3 and the methyl 3-amino-6-(fur-3-yl)thieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylate 4, evaluated previously as potential antitumor compounds, were studied in solvents of different polarity. All compounds have reasonable fluorescence quantum yields and exhibit a solvatochromic behaviour. The thienopyridine derivatives were incorporated in lipid membranes of neat egg-yolk phosphatidylcholine (Egg-PC), dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC), dipalmitoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DPPG) and dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DODAB). Fluorescence measurements indicate that all compounds are mainly located in the lipid bilayer, feeling the transition from the rigid gel phase to the liquid-crystalline phase. The most promising antitumor compounds, the thien-3-yl and the 2,2’-bithienyl-5-yl thienopyridine derivatives 1 and 2, were encapsulated in different nanoliposome formulations, considering future drug delivery applications using liposomes as carriers. Almost all the liposomes with incorporated compounds have diameters lower than 165 nm and generally low polydispersity. The formulation DPPC:DMPG:DSPE-PEG (1:1:0.1) exhibits a small diameter (below 100 nm), low polydispersity and reasonable negative zeta-potential values for both thienopyridines 1 and 2.Foundation for the Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal), FEDER and QREN for financial support to the Research Centres, CFUM [Strategic Project PEst-C/FIS/UI0607/2011 (F-COMP-01-0124-FEDER-022711) and CQ/UM [Strategic Project PEst-C/QUI/UI0686/2011 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022716)], and to the research projects PTDC/QUI/81238/2006 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-007467) and PTDC/QUI-QUI/111060/2009 (F-COMP-01-0124-FEDER-015603) also financed by COMPETE/QREN/EU. FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE are acknowledged for the PhD grant of M.S.D.C. (SFRH/BD/47052/2008) and for the Post-Doc. grants of A.S.A. (SFRH/BPD/25548/2005) and of R.C.C. (SFRH/BPD/68344/2010)