Diagnostic importance of CD179a/b as markers of precursor B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma

Unifying heterogeneous expression data to predict targets for CAR-T cell therapy

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy combines antigen-specific properties of monoclonal antibodies with the lytic capacity of T cells. An effective and safe CAR-T cell therapy strategy relies on identifying an antigen that has high expression and is tumor specific. This strategy has been successfully used to treat patients with CD19+ B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Finding a suitable target antigen for other cancers such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has proven challenging, as the majority of currently targeted AML antigens are also expressed on hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) or mature myeloid cells. Herein, we developed a computational method to perform a data transformation to enable the comparison of publicly available gene expression data across different datasets or assay platforms. The resulting transformed expression values (TEVs) were used in our antigen prediction algorithm to assess suitable tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) that could be targeted with CAR-T cells. We validated this method by identifying B-ALL antigens with known clinical effectiveness, such as CD19 and CD22. Our algorithm predicted TAAs being currently explored preclinically and in clinical CAR-T AML therapy trials, as well as novel TAAs in pediatric megakaryoblastic AML. Thus, this analytical approach presents a promising new strategy to mine diverse datasets for identifying TAAs suitable for immunotherapy.

CRISPR/Cas9 mediated knock-out of VPREB1 gene induces a cytotoxic effect in myeloma cells

BACKGROUND

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a heterogeneous, hematological neoplasm that accounts 2% of all cancers. Although, autologous stem cell transplantation and chemotherapy are currently the most effective therapy, it carries a notable hazards, in addition for being non curative. Recently, the Clustered Regular Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR-cas9) has been successfully tried at the experimental level, for the treatment of several hematological malignancies.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to investigate the in-vitro effect of CRISPR-cas9-mediated knock-out of V-set pre B-cell surrogate light chain 1"VPREB1" gene on the malignant proliferation of primary cultured myeloma cells.

METHODS

Bioinformatics' analysis was performed to explore the gene expression profile of MM, and the VPREB1 gene was selected as a target gene for this study. We knocked-out the VPREB1 gene in primary cultured myeloma cells using CRISPR-cas9, the VPREB1 gene editing efficacy was verified by determining VPREB1 gene expression at both the mRNA and protein levels by qPCR and immunofluorescence, respectively. Furthermore, the cytotoxic effect on primary myeloma cells proliferation was evaluated using cytotoxicity assay.

RESULTS

There was a statistically significant reduction of both VPREB1 mRNA and protein expression levels (p<0.01). knock-out of VPREB1 gene in myeloma cell line resulted in a statistically significant reduction of myeloma cell proliferation.

CONCLUSION

CRISPR-cas9-mediated knock-out of VPREB1 gene is effective for inhibiting the proliferation of primary myeloma cells. This would provide a basis for a promising therapeutic strategy for patients with multiple myeloma.

Immune system transcriptome in gingival tissues of young nonhuman primates

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Young/adolescent humans harbor many microorganisms associated with periodontal disease in adults and show substantial gingival inflammatory responses. However, younger individuals do not demonstrate the soft- and hard-tissue destruction that hallmark periodontitis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This study evaluated responses to the oral microbial ecology in gingival tissues from clinically healthy young Macaca mulatta (< 3 years of age) compared with older animals (5-23 years of age). RNA was isolated from the tissues and analyzed for the transcriptome using the Rhesus Macaque GeneChip (Affymetrix).

RESULTS

Global transcriptional profiling of four age groups revealed a subset of 159 genes that were differentially expressed across at least one of the age comparisons. Correlation metrics generated a relevance network abstraction of these genes. Partitioning of the relevance network revealed seven distinct communities comprising functionally related genes associated with host inflammatory and immune responses. A group of genes was identified that were selectively increased/decreased or positively/negatively correlated with gingival profiles in the animals. A principal components analysis created metagenes of expression profiles for classifying the 23 animals.

CONCLUSION

The results provide novel system-level insights into gene-expression differences in gingival tissues from healthy young animals, weighted toward host responses associated with anti-inflammatory biomolecules or those linked with T-cell regulation of responses. The combination of the regulated microenvironment may help to explain the apparent 'resistance' of younger individuals to developing periodontal disease.

Canine Lymphomas

Canine lymphoma is the neoplasm most often treated by chemotherapy, yet there are few data to correlate response to therapy with its different subtypes. This study is based on biopsy specimens from 992 dogs for which lymphoma was the clinical diagnosis. All cases were phenotyped by immunohistochemistry for CD3 and CD79alpha. Cases with histiocytic proliferation were evaluated immunohistochemically for CD18. Clonality was verified in 12 cases by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Survival (event time) data and complete survival information (cause of death or time to last follow-up) were available on 456 dogs. Additional covariate information when available included size, age, sex, phenotype, stage and grade of lymphoma, mitotic index, and treatment protocol. Because of the many subtypes of B- and T-cell lymphoma, the cases were grouped into 7 diagnostic categories: (1) benign hyperplasia; (2) low-grade B-cell; (3) high-grade B- and T-cell; (4) low-grade T-cell; (5) centroblastic large B-cell of all mitotic grades (subdivided by clinical stage); (6) immunoblastic large B-cell of all mitotic grades, and (7) high-grade peripheral T-cell. Grouping was determined by histological grade (based on mitotic rate/400× field, with low-grade 0–5, intermediate 6–10, and high-grade >10) and stage for survival function estimation. No association with survival was found for size (based on breed of dog) or sex. All diagnostic categories of indolent or low-grade type had low mitotic rates, whereas those with clinically high grades had high mitotic rates. The diagnostic category with the most cases was centroblastic large B-cell lymphoma. Compared with dogs in this largest represented group of lymphomas, dogs with high-grade lymphomas had significantly higher mortality rates, and dogs with low-grade T-cell lymphomas had significantly lower mortality rates. Treatments for high-, intermediate-, and low-grade lymphomas were divided into 4 groups: absence of treatment, chemotherapy with or without hydroxydaunorubicin, and only prednisone. Dogs with low-grade T-cell (T-zone) lymphomas had the longest median survival (622 days), whereas the shortest median survival was in dogs with T-cell high-grade (peripheral T-cell) subtype (162 days). The dogs with centroblastic large B-cell lymphomas had a median survival of 127 days with low stage, 221 days with intermediate stage, and 215 days with advanced stage. Dogs with T-zone lymphoma were probably diagnosed in later stages of disease because of the lack of signs associated with progression. As with human lymphomas, a histological diagnosis with immunophenotyping is a minimal requirement for diagnosis of a specific subtype.

Gene expression profiles of colonic mucosa in healthy young adult and senior dogs

Background

We have previously reported the effects of age and diet on nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, and large intestinal fermentation patterns in healthy young adult and senior dogs. However, a genome-wide molecular analysis of colonic mucosa as a function of age and diet has not yet been performed in dogs.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Colonic mucosa samples were collected from six senior (12-year old) and six young adult (1-year old) female beagles fed one of two diets (animal protein-based vs. plant protein-based) for 12 months. Total RNA in colonic mucosa was extracted and hybridized to Affymetrix GeneChip® Canine Genome Arrays. Results indicated that the majority of gene expression changes were due to age (212 genes) rather than diet (66 genes). In particular, the colonic mucosa of senior dogs had increased expression of genes associated with cell proliferation, inflammation, stress response, and cellular metabolism, whereas the expression of genes associated with apoptosis and defensive mechanisms were decreased in senior vs. young adult dogs. No consistent diet-induced alterations in gene expression existed in both age groups, with the effects of diet being more pronounced in senior dogs than in young adult dogs.

Conclusion

Our results provide molecular insight pertaining to the aged canine colon and its predisposition to dysfunction and disease. Therefore, our data may aid in future research pertaining to age-associated gastrointestinal physiological changes and highlight potential targets for dietary intervention to limit their progression.

Precursor B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma involving the skin

Precursor B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (B-LBL) is a rare neoplasm composed of immature lymphocytes that demonstrate lymphoblastic morphology and express precursor and B-cell marker. It usually affects people of younger age group and causes multiple nodules on the head and neck area. The neoplasm is rare in old age. We report a case of B-LBL occurring in a 65-year-old man. He presented with multiple skin nodules on the scalp, the neck and the arm for 2 months. Histopathologic examination demonstrated diffuse dermal and subcutaneous monotonous infiltrates of medium-sized lymphoid cells with starry-sky pattern. Immunohistochemical study showed that the lymphoid cells of infiltrate showed precursor B-cell type. The patient has received combination chemotherapy three times and is being followed-up at the outpatient clinic.

Primary malignant lymphoma of the central nervous system in an immunocompetent child: a case report

Primary lymphoma of the central nervous system (PCNSL) is extremely rare, especially in childhood. A 9-year-old Japanese boy was diagnosed as having precursor-B cell-type lymphoblastic lymphoma, based on morphologic and immunocytochemical analysis of mononuclear cells in the cerebrospinal fluid and a positive reaction for terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT), CD19, CD79a, and CD179b. After seven courses of chemotherapy and craniospinal radiotherapy, the patient is alive, well, and in continuous complete remission. Despite its rarity, PCNSL should be included in the differential diagnosis in the presence of symptoms of increased intracranial pressure and/or unusual imaging findings of the brain.