Sustained cytopenia after leukapheresis for collection of peripheral blood stem cells in small children

Marked and persistent cytopenia was observed in two 3-year-old children with cancer, after lymphopheresis to collect peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) for autotransplantation after high-dose chemotherapy. This finding suggests that PBSC are a major component of the hematopoietic cells in small children and, hence, that special care is necessary in the construction of a protocol for collection of stem cells from young children.

Isolation and storage of peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cells for autotransplantation into children with cancer

Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) were collected for autotransplantation by a total of 46 continuous-flow leukaphereses in 17 children with various types of cancer in whom the stem-cell pool had been expanded by chemotherapy. As the cells collected by leukapheresis were contaminated with many visible cell clumps, platelets, and erythrocytes, they were separated from the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) by slow-speed centrifugation and fractionated on a discontinuous gradient of Percoll. All the hematopoietic progenitors (CFU-GM, CFU-GEMM) in the starting samples were recovered at the interface of 40% and 60% Percoll solutions largely free of other cellular components and with a substantial reduction in volume. The separation and freezing procedures could be completed within three hours after obtaining cells by leukapheresis. After their fractionation and storage, these PBSC were shown to be able to reconstitute normal hematopoiesis in ten children with poor prognosis leukemia or neuroblastoma for whom no HLA-compatible marrow donors were available and who had been subjected to marrow-ablative therapy. This separation procedure is simple, efficient, and readily available and can be used for children as a routine procedure for PBSC autotransplantation.

Hypertension does not stimulate the development of hypercholesterolemia or fatty liver induced by a high cholesterol/cholate diet in rats

A high cholesterol/cholate diet induced hypercholesterolemia and fatty liver in both spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive control rats (WKY). However, in contrast to previous concepts, the levels of cholesterol ester, triacylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine in plasma as well as triacylglycerol in liver were higher in WKY than in SHR fed a normal diet. The high cholesterol/cholate diet elevated the levels of plasma cholesterol, plasma cholesterol ester and hepatic triacylglycerol, and the extent of elevation was significantly higher in WKY than in SHR. Increases both in monoene/saturated ratios, an indication of elevated delta 9-desaturase activity, and in linoleate/arachidonate ratios, a possible indication of impaired desaturation-elongation activity, were observed in hepatic and plasma lipids of both strains fed the high cholesterol/cholate diet. The increases in monoene/saturated ratios were similar in both strains, but the increases in the linoleate/arachidonate ratios were higher for the plasma cholesterol esters of WKY than of SHR. The n-6/n-3 ratios of plasma and hepatic lipids were higher in WKY than in SHR throughout the experiments. These diet-induced changes observed in hepatic and plasma lipids were not reflected in the aortic lipids. Thus, hypertension per se does not promote the development of hyperlipemia and fatty liver induced by a high cholesterol/cholate diet. Our results also suggest that the metabolism of polyenoic fatty acids is different between SHR and WKY.

Peripheral blood stem cell autotransplantation in treatment of childhood cancer

The levels of circulating hematopoietic progenitor cells were measured sequentially in eight children receiving chemotherapy for acute leukemia or neuroblastoma. Significant increases in the progenitor levels (up to 50-fold in CFU-GM numbers) were observed during post-chemotherapy cytopenia in all cases, but differences among individuals in the kinetics of recovery of less committed progenitors (CFU-mix) contrasted with the synchronized-mode of expansion of committed progenitors (CFU-GM). Peripheral blood cells were collected by repeated continuous-flow leukaphereses from three of the children during post-chemotherapy expansion of the progenitor pool and were cryopreserved after fractionation procedures. Infusion of these stored cells into the patients after marrow-ablative chemotherapy established trilineage hematopoiesis. This use of stem cell rescue should be useful as an alternative to bone marrow transplantation and extends the application of cure-oriented salvage therapy to childhood cancers.

Surgical treatment of advanced carcinoma of the esophagus

This report was done to evaluate the role of surgical treatment of locally advanced carcinoma of the esophagus. All 32 patients had histologically proved epidermoid carcinomas of the esophagus. The post-operative one and two year survival rates and median survival time were 34.6 and 17.3 per cent and 199 days for those in the group undergoing esophagectomy, zero per cent and 55 days for those in the group with bypass and zero per cent and 80 days for those undergoing formation of a stoma. Thirty day postoperative mortality rates were zero per cent for the esophagectomy group, 25.0 per cent for the stoma group and 33.3 per cent for the bypass group. When calculated from the date of diagnosis, the one and two year survival rates and the median survival time were 50.2 and 16.7 per cent and 296 days for the esophagectomy group, 16.7 and zero per cent and 196 days for the bypass group, 25.0 and zero per cent and 142 days for the stoma group and zero per cent and 142 days for the group who did not undergo surgical treatment. Complication related postoperative deaths occurred in 14.8 per cent of the 27 patients operated upon. For those in the esophagectomy group, it was 5.9 per cent, and for the bypass group, 50.0 per cent. Swallowing was improved in 58.8 per cent after esophagectomy, but in none of the patients was swallowing restored after the bypass procedures. When the invasion spared the aorta or major respiratory tract, postoperative survival time after esophagectomy was significantly better. Considering the short postoperative survival time and frequent complications, bypass procedure should not be the final resort after nonsurgical treatment.

Quantitative analysis of the effect of colony-stimulating factors on human marrow progenitor growth in liquid-suspension cultures: application of limiting dilution assay

Proliferation of human marrow progenitors in liquid cultures can be quantitated by limiting dilution clonal analysis (LDA) of progenitors in microwells. In this study, we have used LDA to study the effect of purified native or recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSFs) and recombinant granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF) on progenitor growth. These results were compared to those of simultaneous cultures in methylcellulose. In LDA, single-hit kinetics were obtained with up to 500 U/ml of the recombinant preparation. In LDA with recombinant GM-CSF, progenitor growth conformed to single-hit kinetics from 100 to 2000 U/ml with maximum progenitor frequency at 500 U/ml. In simultaneous methylcellulose cultures with recombinant GM-CSF, colony formation reached a plateau at 100 U/ml. In LDA, purified native G-CSF was shown to support progenitor growth with single-hit kinetics at 100 U/ml, but at greater concentrations (greater than 150 U/ml), it suppressed progenitor growth with almost complete inhibition at a concentration of 200 U/ml. However, this dose-response effect was not observed in either simultaneous methylcellulose culture with G-CSF or in LDA with a purified recombinant preparation of the corresponding G-CSF. In methylcellulose cultures, colony formation reached a maximum at 100 U/ml and maintained a plateau up to 1000 U/ml. Hence, liquid culture allowed detection of contaminating suppressive activity in the G-CSF preparation that was not detected by methylcellulose assay. LDA may be more sensitive than methylcellulose culture for screening factors regulating human hematopoietic cell growth.

Chromosome translocations involving band 7q35 or 7p15 in childhood T-cell leukemia/lymphoma

In a chromosome study in childhood T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, we found t(7;11)(q35;p13) in 2 patients, t(7;14) (q35;q11) in one patient, and t(7;14)(p15;q32) in 1 patient. Southern blotting and in situ chromosomal hybridization studies in one patient with the t(7;11) demonstrated that both alleles of the T-cell antigen receptor beta-subunit gene (TCRB) were rearranged, and that one TCRB allele had relocated from 7q35 to the fusion point in band p13 of the involved chromosome 11 (11p-). These findings suggest that juxtaposition of TCRB with the putative oncogene tcl-2 located in band 11p13 may be a critical step toward development of this T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. In the other two translocations, all breakpoints were sites for lymphocyte function genes, ie, 7q35 for TCRB, 14q11 for T-cell antigen receptor alpha-subunit gene (TCRA), 7p15 for T-cell antigen receptor alpha-subunit gene (TCRG), and 14q32 for immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene (IGH). Thus, the findings in these cases allow us to expand the above hypothesis and propose that the juxtaposition of TCRB or TCRG with tcl-2, TCRA, or IGH through chromosomal translocation may activate a mechanism for the genesis of T-cell leukemia/lymphoma with these chromosome translocations.

Effect of dietary alpha-linolenate/linoleate balance on mean survival time, incidence of stroke and blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats

Following the suckling period, stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR-SP) were fed semi-purified diets supplemented either with safflower seed oil (rich in linoleic acid) or with perilla seed oil (rich in alpha-linolenic acid). The mean survival time of male SHR-SP fed the perilla diet was longer than that fed the safflower diet by 17% (p less than 0.001) while the difference was 15% in female SHR-SP (p less than 0.05). The mean survival times of female SHR-SP were more than 40% longer than those of male SHR-SP in both dietary groups. Post-mortem examinations of brains revealed apoplexy-related symptoms as the major cause of the death in both dietary groups. The systolic blood pressure was lower by ca. 10% (21 mmHg) in the perilla group than in both the safflower group and conventional diet group. The eicosapentaenoate (20:5 n-3)/arachidonate (20:4 n-6) ratio of platelet phospholipids in spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR), a measure of platelet aggregability, was much higher in the perilla group than in the safflower group. Thus, increasing the dietary alpha-linolenate/linoleate ratio resulted in an increased mean survival time of SHR-SP rats, possibly by lowering blood pressure and platelet aggregability.

Intravenous cimetidine as an effective treatment for systemic anaphylaxis and acute allergic skin reactions

Intravenous cimetidine treatment was prescribed for patients suffering from anaphylaxis, urticaria, pruritus, and contact dermatitis. Most of these patients recovered promptly from shock status, itching, and/or flushing after the administration of cimetidine. Intravenous cimetidine therefore may be an effective treatment for those allergic reactions.

Effect of clofibrate on lipid peroxidation in rats treated with aspirin and 4-pentenoic acid

The in vivo hepatic lipid peroxide content of rats was increased by aspirin or 4-pentenoic acid (4-PA) administration but was decreased by clofibrate (CPIB) administration. The increase by aspirin or 4-PA treatment was depressed by simultaneous administration of CPIB. However, the in vitro formation of lipid peroxide in liver mitochondria and microsomes of rats treated with CPIB as well as aspirin and 4-PA was also elevated compared to that of control rats. The formation of lipid peroxide in mitochondria and microsomes of control rats in vitro was depressed by the addition of cytosols obtained from untreated (control), aspirin-treated, 4-PA-treated, and CPIB-treated rats, but was not depressed by the addition of albumin or heated cytosols. The most effective depression was obtained by the addition of cytosol obtained from CPIB-treated rats. In addition, glutathione peroxidase activity and nonprotein sulfhydryl content in cytosol obtained from CPIB-treated rats were elevated compared to those from control, aspirin, and 4-PA-treated rats. The results suggest that the action of CPIB may be mainly related to the increase of cytosolic glutathione peroxidase activity and nonprotein sulfhydryl content. Hepatic triglyceride and phospholipid contents of rats treated with aspirin or 4-PA were increased compared to those of control rats. These increases were also reversed by simultaneous administration of CPIB.

Effect of clofibrate on cholesterol metabolism in rats treated with polychlorinated biphenyls

Serum and hepatic cholesterol content in rats treated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, KC-400) were increased compared to those of control rats. This increase of cholesterol content was reduced to control level by simultaneous administration of ethyl p-chlorophenoxyisobutyrate (CPIB). Also, when lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) (EC. 2.3.1.43) activity was expressed as the net cholesterol esterification, the acyltransferase activity in rats treated with PCBs was elevated, while the elevated acyltransferase activity was brought to control level by simultaneous administration of CPIB. On the other hand, the amount of bile of rats treated with CPIB, PCBs and PCBs-CPIB was increased, but free and total cholesterol content in bile of these treated rats was decreased to 40-60% of those of control rats. Moreover, cytochrome P-450 content in liver microsomes of rats treated with CPIB, PCBs and PCBs-CPIB was increased. At the same time, cholesterol-metabolizing activity in liver microsomes of rats treated with CPIB, PCBs and PCBs-CPIB also was elevated. Similar results were obtained for drug metabolizing (aniline hydroxylation and aminopyrine N-demethylation) activity. In addition, the amount of bile acids excreted from rats treated with CPIB, PCBs and PCBs-CPIB was increased compared to that of control rats. These results suggest that hypercholesterolemia induced by oral ingestion of PCBs is recovered by CPIB treatment and that this hypocholesterolemic effect of CPIB may be related partly to the elevation of hepatic mixed function oxidase activity for cholesterol catabolism.

[Radiation decomposition of humic substances in landfill disposal leachate. TOC reduction and CO2 formation (author's transl)]

The leachate generated from landfill contains humic substances such as humic acid and fluvic acid. It shows, in general, high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD), and colors in dark brown. When the leachate collected on the No. 15 landfill in Tokyo Bay was irradiated by gamma-rays from a 60Co source in bubbling air, the total organic carbon (TOC) decreased with increasing dose and the brown color was bleached. The effects of pH, flow rate, and dose rate on the decrease of TOC, the variations of UV spectrum, and the formation of carbon dioxide by the irradiation were examined. The decreasing rate of TOC increased with an increase of the flow rate up to approximately 1l/min and showed a maximum value in the region of pH 4 approximately 6. It was also dependent on the dose rate and increased with a decrease of the dose rate. The radiation chemical yield, G(--TOC), reached 162 at low dose rate of 1.3 X10(4) rad/h. This result suggests that a radiation-induced chain reaction occurred. The amount of TOC decreased was almost equal to that of carbon dioxide formed. This result shows that the organic substances were decomposed by irradiation to carbon dioxide as a final product and it was ejected from the solution.