Electrophoretic investigations of blood serum in fasted rats

An affinity column has been synthesized consisting of p-aminophenyl 1-thio-beta-L-fucopyranoside residues attached to Sepharose 4B through succinylated diaminodipropylamine bridges. Surprisingly, it has been found to bind beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase in the serum of Limulus polyphemus (horseshoe crab). The enzyme is eluted with N-acetyl-D-glucosamine at a concentration of 2 mg/ml and with other sugars at higher concentrations. A highly purified enzyme free from other glycosidases is obtained. The enzyme is not eluted by solutions of salt.     

Detectable tumor cells in the blood and bone marrow: smoke or fire?

This study was designed to test whether, using curved beam theory, a structural model of the proximal femur derived from two-dimensional dual energy x-ray absorptiometry could be used to predict femoral strength in an experimental simulation of a fall on the greater trochanter. A set of 22 fresh cadaveric femoral specimens were scanned with use of two-dimensional dual energy x-ray absorptiometry and then were tested to failure in a materials testing system, under three-point loading, with the ground impact vector aligned within the plane and along the bisector of the femoral neck-shaft angle. Failure locations generally corresponded to stress peak locations predicted by the curved beam model. Predicted failure loads correlated well with measured failure loads for femoral neck fractures (r=0.89; percent SE of estimate=23%) and some-what less well for intertrochanteric fractures (r=0.83; percent SE of estimate=29%). Overall predictions for failure load calculated from the maximum stress peak value over both locations corresponded to measured failure loads with an r value of 0.91 (percent SE of estimate=21%). This kind of structural approach to the analysis of data for hip bone mass has the potential to provide mechanistic interpretations of the statistical associations frequently shown between conventional bone mineral measures and either hip fracture risk in vivo or bone strength in vitro.     

Stem cells from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood and peripheral blood for clinical application: current status and future application

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has progressed rapidly during the past two decades to that of a treatment of choice as a therapeutically effective modality for the treatment of selected patients with malignant disease and non-malignant hematological disorders. However, its use is limited by availability of human leukocyte antigens (HLA)-matched donor cells, engraftment and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Prevention of GVHD, improvement in the speed and quality of marrow reconstitution, and screening of new immunomodulating agents which improve engraftment and augment hemopoiesis are intense areas of investigation. To this end there has clearly been progress in purification and characterization of human stem cells from different tissue sources. Discussed in this review are: (a) stem cell purification, characterization and ex vivo expansion; (b) bone marrow stem cell transplantation; (c) cord blood stem cell transplantation; (d) peripheral blood stem cell transplantation; (e) fetal liver stem cell transplantation; (f) in utero stem cell transplantation; and (g) evaluation of the capacity of stem cells to serve as targets for gene therapy.     

Cell proliferation in the bone marrow and thymus following fractures in rats

Skeletal trauma in rats (tibial and femur fractures) stimulates bone marrow and thymus to increased mitotic activity during the first 2-3 days after the fracture. The stimulation is roughly of the same degree as that described in earlier investigations on the effects of calcium ion injections and moderate or major hemorrhages. The cause of increased mitotic level might be due to the release of kinins from the fracture area, factors which are known to stimulate mitoses of the bone marrow and thymus.     

Cell-free arterial grafts: morphologic characteristics of aortic isografts, allografts, and xenografts in rats

PURPOSE: Chronic rejection of arterial allografts and xenografts results in arterial wall dilation and rupture, making them unsuitable for long-term arterial replacement in vascular surgery. In the arterial wall, as in other organs, the cells probably carry major antigenic determinants. Arterial wall cellular components can be removed by detergent treatment to produce a graftable matrix tube. METHODS: We compared the patency and macroscopic and microscopic morphologic changes that occurred in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-treated and untreated arterial isografts, allografts, and xenografts 2 months after implantation in rats. We quantified elastin, collagen, and nuclear density in the three layers of the graft wall (intima, media, and adventitia) by morphometric methods. The SDS treatment removed endothelial and smooth muscle cells and cells in the adventitia but preserved elastin and collagen extracellular matrix. RESULTS: All arterial xenografts, whether SDS treated or untreated, were aneurysmal 2 months after grafting, with loss of the medial cellular and extracellular components. In allografts, SDS treatment prevented dilation, reduced adventitial inflammatory infiltration, and preserved medial elastin. The SDS-treated allografts had an evenly distributed, noninflammatory intimal thickening that was richer in elastin fibers than that in untreated allografts. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest an interspecies, but not an intraspecies, graft antigenicity of arterial extracellular matrix. The SDS treatment prevented chronic rejection of the arterial allograft and led to the proliferation of an elastin-rich and adapted intima.     

Relative sedimentation of hematopoietic progenitors in human cord blood, peripheral blood, and bone marrow as determined by counterflow centrifugal elutriation

OBJECTIVE: Although there have been many studies of the outcome of anorexia nervosa, methodological weaknesses limit their interpretation. The authors used a case-control design to try to improve knowledge about the outcome of anorexia nervosa. METHOD: All new female patients referred to an eating disorders service between Jan. 1, 1981, and Dec. 31, 1984, who had probable or definite anorexia nervosa were eligible for inclusion. Of these women, 86.4% (N = 70) were located and agreed to participate. The comparison group (N = 98) was a random community sample. All subjects were interviewed with a structured diagnostic instrument. RESULTS: A minority of the patients (10%) continued to meet the criteria for anorexia nervosa a mean of 12 years after initial referral. Even among those who no longer met these criteria, relatively low body weight and cognitive features characteristic of anorexia nervosa (perfectionism and cognitive restraint) persisted. The rates of lifetime comorbid major depression, alcohol dependence, and a number of anxiety disorders were very high. CONCLUSIONS: In the managed care/brief treatment era, therapeutic approaches with an excessive focus on weight gain that neglect the detection and treatment of associated psychological features and comorbidity may be inappropriate. Anorexia nervosa is a serious psychiatric disorder with substantial morbidity.     

NK cells differentiated from bone marrow, cord blood and peripheral blood stem cells exhibit similar phenotype and functions

In the present study, we investigated the differentiation of human NK cells from bone marrow, cord blood and mobilized peripheral blood purified CD34+ stem cells using a potent culture system. Elutriated CD34+ stem cells were grown for several weeks in medium supplemented with stem cell factor (SCF) and IL-15 in the presence or absence of a murine stromal cell line (MS-5). Our data indicate that IL-15 induced the proliferation and maturation of highly positive CD56+ NK cells in both types of culture, although murine stromal cells slightly increased the proliferation of NK cells. NK cells differentiated in the presence of MS-5 were mostly CD56+ CD7 and a small subset expressed CD16. These in vitro differentiated CD56+ NK cells displayed cytolytic activity against the HLA class I- target K562. The CD56+ CD16+ subset also lysed NK-resistant Daudi cells. Neither of these NK subsets were shown to express Fas ligand. Total CD56+ cells expressed high amounts of transforming growth factor-beta and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, but no IFN-gamma. Investigation of NK receptor expression showed that most CD56+ cells expressed membrane CD94 and NKG2-A mRNA. PCR analysis revealed that p58 was also expressed in these cells. The role of CD94 in NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity was assessed on human HLA-B7-transfected murine L cells. While a low cytotoxic activity towards HLA-B7 cells was observed, the HLA-DR4 control cells were killed with high efficiency. These studies demonstrate that cytolytic and cytokine-producing NK cells may be derived from adult and fetal precursors by IL-15 and that these cells express a CD94 receptor which may influence their lytic potential.     

Cytokine receptors, growth factors and cell cycle in human bone marrow and peripheral blood hematopoietic progenitors

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: An increasing number of growth factors have been shown to be responsible for the proliferation, survival and enhanced function of many cell types within the hemopoietic system. The action of these hemopoietic growth factors in stimulating cell growth and survival applies both to cells within the progenitor compartment and mature cells. Whether a specific cytokine influences in vivo hematopoietic progenitor cell proliferation or survival depends on cytokine-mediated modulation or target cell cytokine receptors, cell proliferation, and cell death regulator genes and other pathways. To address these issues, particularly in view of the current and future clinical use of hemopoietic growth factors, the Italian Society of Experimental Hematology organized a Meeting in Florence on July 4th, 1996. INFORMATION SOURCES: The material examined in the present review includes full papers and abstracts published in journals covered by the Science Citation Index and Medline. All the participants to the Meeting in Florence have been actively working in the field of biology and clinical application of hemopoietic growth factors. Summaries of their oral presentations at the Florence Meeting are reported in the Appendix to this article. STATE OF ART AND PERSPECTIVES: Myelopoietic growth factors particularly granulocyte (G-) colony-stimulating factor (CSF) and granulocyte-macrophage (GM)-CSF, have been available for clinical use for only a few years but they have already markedly changed the management of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, the use of dose-intensive chemotherapy regimens and the practice and safety of autologous stem cell transplantation. While these growth factors have been rapidly introduced as routine agents in the management of cancer patients, they have continued to generate a considerable amount of fundamental research into the biology of hematopoiesis as well as the growth regulation of normal and cancer cells. For instance, one goal of cancer treatment is to protect hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from the damaging effects of chemotherapy, while maintaining their anticancer action. Any means of preferentially and reversibly suppressing the proliferation of normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells while leaving the proliferation of tumor cells and their susceptibility to chemotherapy unmodified, could potentially optimize treatment efficacy. In this field, the possibility of using colony-stimulating factors as myeloprotective agents in dose-intensive chemotherapy to enhance anticancer activity could be an attractive goal of current anti-cancer treatment modalities.     

Separation of parental genomes in human blood and bone marrow cells and its implications

The linear order of genes is apparently interrupted at chromosomal ends. Our observations on human blood and bone marrow cells indicate that the chromosomes of each of the two parental sets maintain coherence, perhaps in tandem, forming a ring. Two such rings in a diploid cell join building a larger ring, which folds up to form the interphase nucleus. The linear order of genes thus extends beyond the chromosomal ends. These observations become especially significant when seen in the light of cell biologic findings on interaction of chromosomes or chromatin and centrioles in different cell cycle phases, in polymorphonuclear cells and during the zygotic developments. They may explain how the genomic order and the sequential continuity of the genes are maintained and why such order remains often cryptic.     

Antitumor activity of human umbilical cord blood cells: A comparative analysis with peripheral blood and bone marrow cells

OBJECTIVES: To determine the predictive value of quantitative evaluation of myocardial viability on changes in left ventricular function, exercise capacity, and quality of life after coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with ischemic heart failure (congestive heart failure, New York Heart Association class > or = III) with and without angina. METHODS: Thirty-five patients, 14 with congestive heart failure and angina (CHF-angina) and 21 with congestive heart failure without angina (CHF-no angina) were studied at baseline and 6 months after coronary bypass grafting. Left ventricular function was evaluated with transthoracic echocardiography and radionuclide ventriculography. Myocardial viability was assessed with [18F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose using positron emission tomography. Peak aerobic capacity (peak oxygen consumption) and anaerobic threshold were assessed with treadmill exercise test and quality of life with a questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 286 of 336 dysfunctional left ventricular segments were viable. There were two perioperative deaths (5.7%) and three late deaths. Left ventricular ejection fraction increased from 23% +/- 7% to 32% +/- 9% (p < 0.0001), and a linear correlation was found between the number of viable segments and the changes in ejection fraction (r = 0.65; p = 0.0001). Receiver operating characteristics curve identified eight viable segments as the best predictor for increase of ejection fraction more than 5 percentage points. Peak oxygen consumption increased from 15 +/- 4 to 22 +/- 5 ml/kg per minute (p < 0.0001). Preoperatively, anaerobic threshold was identified in one patient from the CHF-angina group and in all from the CHF-no angina group and increased from 13 +/- 4 to 19 +/- 4 ml/kg per minute (p < 0.0001). Quality of life scores improved significantly in both groups. No correlation was found between the amount of viable dysfunctional myocardium and changes in exercise capacity or quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with postischemic congestive heart failure the amount of viable myocardium dictates the degree of improvement in left ventricular function after revascularization.     

Changing bone marrow micro-environment during development of acute myeloid leukaemia in rats

The high incidence of serious chest infections in patients with Parkinson's disease is unexplained, but an impairment in cough reflex may have a role. Maximal voluntary cough (MVC) and reflex cough (RC) to inhalation of ultrasonically nebulized distilled water were analyzed in patients with Parkinson's disease and age-matched control subjects by monitoring the integrated electromyographic activity (IEMG) of abdominal muscles. The peak amplitude of IEMG activity (IEMGP) was expressed as a fraction of the highest IEMGP value observed during MVC corrected to account for possible losses in abdominal muscle force due to reduced central muscle activation. Cough intensity was indexed in terms of both the IEMGP and the ratio of IEMGP to the duration of the expiratory ramp (TEC), i.e., the rate of rise of IEMG activity. Cough threshold was slightly higher in patients than in control subjects, but the difference failed to reach statistical significance. Compared with control subjects, patients displayed a lower IEMGP during maximal expiratory pressure maneuvers (PEmax), MVC, and RC (p always < 0.01); TEC during RC was longer (p < 0.01) than in controls. Consequently, the rate of rise of IEMG activity during cough was always lower in patients (p < 0. 01), especially during RC. Finally, PEmax, and both the peak and rate of rise of IEMG activity during RC were inversely related to the level of clinical disability (Spearman rank correlation coefficient, rs = -0.88, -0.86, and -0.85, respectively, p always < 0.01). The results indicate that the central neural mechanisms subserving the recruitment of motor units and/or the increase in their frequency of discharge during voluntary and, even more markedly, RC are impaired in patients with Parkinson's disease.     

Listeriosis in bone marrow transplant recipients: incidence, clinical features, and treatment

Cultures of blood and/or cerebrospinal fluid from four of 1,013 bone marrow transplant recipients treated at our center between January 1972 and April 1994 were positive for Listeria monocytogenes. The overall occurrence of listeriosis was 0.39 case per 100 transplantations. Allograft recipients had received prior treatment with parenteral methylprednisolone, thus supporting an association between listeriosis and corticosteroids. Treatment with parenteral ampicillin (200 mg/[kg.d]) and gentamicin is recommended for a minimum of 3 weeks before oral therapy. Two patients with penicillin allergies in this study failed to respond to chloramphenicol-based therapeutic regimens. Recurrent meningitis occurred in two patients, and the therapeutic use of intrathecal gentamicin/vancomycin did not confer a survival advantage (i.e., the patients did not survive).     

Connexin43 gap junctions in normal, regenerating, and cultured mouse bone marrow and in human leukemias: their possible involvement in blood formation

Communicating channels called gap junctions are thought to play a ubiquitous part in cell growth and development. Based on earlier work, we have recently found functional evidence of their presence in human and mouse bone marrow. In this study we studied the cell-type association of the gap junction channel-forming protein, connexin, in mouse and human bone marrow under different physiological and pathological conditions and tested the pathway of communication in bone marrow cultures. For high-resolution antigen demonstration we took advantage of semi-thin resin sections, antigen retrieval methods, immunofluorescence, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Connexin43 (Cx43) and its mRNA were consistently expressed in human and rodent marrow. Cx37 was found only in the arteriolar endothelium, but neither Cx32 nor -26 were expressed. In tissue sections, the immunostained junctions appeared as dots, which were digitally measured and counted. Their average size was 0.40 mm in human and 0.49 mm in mice marrow. There were at least twice as many gap junctions in the femoral midshaft of 6-week-old mice (1.75 x 10(5)/mm3) as in those older than 12 weeks (0.89 x 10(5)/mm3). Most Cx43 was associated with collagen III+ endosteal and adventitial stromal cells and with megakaryocytes. Elsewhere, they were few and randomly distributed between all kinds of hematopoietic cells. In the femoral epiphysis of juvenile mice, stromal cell processes full of Cx43 enmeshed three to six layers of hematopoietic cells near the endosteum. The same pattern was seen in the midshaft of regenerating mouse marrow 3 to 5 days after cytotoxic treatment with 5-fluorouracil. Functional tests in cultures showed the transfer of small fluorescent dyes, Lucifer Yellow and 2',7'-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5, 6-carboxyfluorescein, between stromal cells and in rare cases between stromal and hematopoietic cells too. The stromal cells were densely packed with Cx43 and we found aggregates of connexon particles in their membrane replicas. In normocellular human bone marrow, gap junctions were as rare as in adult mouse and similarly distributed, except that they were also on adipocytic membranes. In a few leukemic samples, characterized by an increased stromal/hematopoietic cell ratio, there were two- to fourfold more Cx43 (2.8 x 10(5) to 3.9 x 10(5)/mm3) than in the normal (1.0 x 10(5) to 1.2 x 10(5)/mm3). The cases included a hypoplastic acute lymphoblastic leukemia, an acute myeloid leukemia (French-American-British classification M4-5), a case of myelodysplastic syndrome with elevated number of megakaryocytes, and a CD34+ acute hemoblastosis, probably acute myeloid leukemia (French-American-British classification M7). Taken together, our results indicate that direct cell-cell communication may be involved in hematopoiesis, ie, in developmentally active epiphyseal bone marrow and when there is a demand for progenitors in regeneration. However, gap junctions may not play as important a role in resting adult hematopoiesis and in leukemias.     

The hematopoietic microenvironment of the bone marrow: an ultrastructural study of the stroma in rats

The bone marrow contains branching vascular sinuses lying in a fibroblastic stroma which supports hematopoiesis. This paper describes the stroma and vascular sinuses by scanning and transmission electron microscopy and in freeze-fracture etch replicas in normal fat femoral marrow and in rats made eosinophilic by larvae of trichinella spiralis. The stroma consists primarily of reticular cells which ensheath sinuses as adventitial cells and branch into the surrounding hematopoietic space. They form a spongework on which hematopoietic cells are arranged. Erythroblasts, clustered into islets, and megakaryocytes lie just outside sinuses. Granulocytes, until the metamyelocyte stage, lie in the midst of the hematopoietic cords. Lymphocytes, monocytes and likely stem cells, are clustered about arterial vessels. Macrophages occur throughout the marrow. Fat cells occur adventitial to vascular sinuses and appear to be reticular cells which accumulate fat. Processes of reticular cells closely envelope hematopoietic cells or protrude into them. Reticular cells contain rough ER and are likely fibroblastic. The argyrophilic reticular fibers of the marrow are, however, slender and scanty. Reticular cells are rich in filaments and they may contain many microtubules. They are not phagocytic and possess few lysosomes. The reticular cell cover of a vascular sinus is lifted away as maturing hematopoietic cells approach the sinus, preparatory to crossing the endothelium and entering the circulation. Maturing granulocytes often show microvilli on reaching the basal endothelial surface. The level of eosinophils in the marrow may increase from approximately four to more than 20% after injection of trichinella larvae. Close distinctive association of reticular cells and eosinophils are marked. Reticular cells provide a physical spongwork on which hematopoietic cells are supported. But I postulate that they also trap and induce differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells, and sort the differentiating hematopoietic cells into characteristic locations in their spongework.     

Candidate hematopoietic stem cells from fetal tissues, umbilical cord blood vs. adult bone marrow and mobilized peripheral blood

BACKGROUND: The eosinophil granulocyte is an inflammatory cell that plays an active part in diseases such as asthma and rhinitis. This study aimed to investigate oxidative metabolism by blood eosinophils taken from allergic rhinitis patients, asthmatics, and nonallergic controls before and during the birch-pollen season. METHODS: Twenty patients with allergy to birch pollen and seasonal symptoms of rhinitis, some of whom were also asthmatic, were followed before and during the birch-pollen season in Sweden. The cells were purified using a Percoll gradient and the MACS system. Eosinophil purity in all samples was > 95%. Oxidative metabolism was measured by a chemiluminescence (CL) assay, with luminol and lucigenin acting as enhancers, and PMA, serum-treated zymosan (STZ), interleukin (IL)-5, or RANTES as stimuli. RESULTS: The allergic subjects showed reduced luminol CL when activated before the season with PMA (P = 0.040) or STZ (P = 0.0055). This was not seen during pollen exposure. STZ-activated lucigenin CL was also reduced before the season (P = 0.0027). The reduction was most evident in the group with asymptomatic rhinitis. In terms of eosinophil stimulation, IL-5 and RANTES were equally effective in allergic and nonallergic subjects, both before and during the pollen season. CONCLUSIONS: Blood eosinophils from asymptomatic allergics may have a lower capacity to produce oxygen-free radicals than eosinophils from nonallergics.     

DNA synthesis enzymatic activity in the bone marrow of rats of different ages

The activity of DNA synthesis enzymes was studied in bone marrow of rats aging from 1 month to 2.5 years. The activity of enzymes of thymidine and thymidylic acid phosphorylation in the rat bone marrow is determined to be practically constant during the whole period of studies. Activity of gCMP-desaminase and DNA-polymerase has a tendency to a decrease during the life period of rats from one to six-eight months, being constant in the following periods.     

Allogeneic transplantation combining mobilized blood and bone marrow in patients with refractory hematologic malignancies

BACKGROUND: Mobilized blood stem cells have been used successfully in autologous transplant recipients to reduce the complications of pancytopenia due to dose-intensive chemotherapy. Reports of cytokine-mobilized blood progenitor cells in allogeneic transplant recipients are rare. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This is a pilot trial of six patients. Patients with advanced hematologic malignancy received bone marrow (median total 2.6 x 10(8) mononuclear cells/kg) followed by four daily transfusions of blood (median total 9.5 x 10(8) mononuclear cells/kg) from HLA-matched sibling donors who were mobilized with recombinant human granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (5 micrograms/kg/day subcutaneously for 5 days). All patients received cyclosporine and prednisone for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. RESULTS: An absolute neutrophil count greater than 500 per mm3 was achieved on Day 12, and platelet transfusion independence was achieved on Day 16. The median day of hospital discharge was Day 23 after transplant. All patients achieved 100-percent donor cell engraftment. Acute > or = Grade III GVHD did not develop in any patients, but all patients developed Grade I (n = 4) or Grade II (n = 2) acute GVHD. Chronic extensive GVHD developed in four of six patients. One patient died of pneumonia 263 days after transplant while undergoing immune-suppressive therapy for chronic GVHD. CONCLUSION: The transfusion of blood stem cells in patients undergoing allogeneic bone marrow transplant is well tolerated soon after transplant, but the development of chronic GVHD may limit the general usage of unmanipulated blood stem cells.     

In vivo chromosomal aberrations in bone marrow cells of rats treated with Marshal

In this study, the cytogenetic effects of Marshal (insecticide/nematocide) were investigated in bone marrow cells of rats. The results obtained from animals treated with Marshal were compared with the results of animals treated with ethyl carbamate (EC) and with controls. Concentrations of 12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg b.wt. of Marshal and 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg b.wt. of EC were used and animals were sampled at three different times (6, 12 and 24 h). Marshal increased the number of chromosomal aberrations (CA) per cell, and the number of cells with abnormalities, at all concentrations and treatment times. Generally, Marshal could increase the number of the abnormal cells and the formation of CA as easily as EC. However, Marshal, at 50 mg/kg b.wt. did not increase the frequency of abnormal cells or CA as strongly as EC, at 400 mg/kg b.wt. for 6 h. Marshal also decreased the mitotic index (MI) compared with the control group. The MI was higher in the group treated with Marshal for 6 h than that treated with EC. However, the effects of Marshal and EC on the MI in the groups treated for 12 and 24 h were similar. We found that the effect of Marshal on the formation of abnormal cells and CA was dependent on concentration and treatment time.