Effect of allogeneic blood transfusion on levels of IL-6 and sIL-R2 in peripheral blood of children with acute lymphocytic leukemia

Regulation of Macrophage Polarization by miR-449a/Cripto-1-PI3K/AKT/NF-κB Signaling Pathway in Allogeneic Transfusion Mice

In this study, the expression of Cripto-1 and the role of macrophage polarization in immune response after allogeneic transfusion were analyzed by constructing a mouse model of allogeneic transfusion. In order to analyze the effects of miR-449a on the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway and the expression of downstream related regulatory factors under normal and abnormal conditions, we adopt in vitro and in vivo experiments separately. The molecular mechanism of PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway was analyzed by blocking or activating gene expression and western blotting. Experiment in vitro has confirmed that inhibition of miR-449a increased the protein expression of Cripto-1. In vivo experiments confirmed that allogeneic transfusion reduced the expression of Cripto-1, which further inhibited NF-κB signaling pathway through AKT/PI3K phosphorylation, regulated macrophage polarization, inhibited M1 polarization of macrophages, promoted M2 polarization, and thus affected immune response of the body.

Evaluation of Interleukin-6 Level Before Chemotherapy in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia L1 Standard-Risk and High-risk Patients

BACKGROUND: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a malignancy originating from the clonal expansion of lymphoid progenitors that have undergone neoplastic transformation at various stages of differentiation. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic inflammatory cytokine produced by various cell types, including T-cells, macrophages, and stromal cells in response to tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1. AIM: This study aims to evaluate serum levels of IL-6 before chemotherapy in standard-risk (SR) and high-risk (HR) ALL patients. METHODS: The research method was a cross-sectional study conducted on ALL patients who were treated at Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo hospital from April 2021 to June 2021. A total of 60 ALL patients were included in the study. Serum IL-6 specimens were examined before the patient received chemotherapy. RESULTS: The results showed that from 60 samples of ALL patients, 30 were SR and 30 were HR. Elevated levels of IL-6 before chemotherapy were found in both SR and HR ALL but were significantly higher in the HR group compared to the SR group with p value = 0.022. The cutoff point of 64.23 ng/mL for HRALL patients was obtained through ROC with a sensitivity of 63.3%, specificity of 63.3%, a positive predictive value of 63.3%, and a negative predictive value of 63.3%. Adjusted odds ratio are 2,983 with 95% confidence interval of 1.044–8.527. CONCLUSION: IL-6 levels among HR ALL were higher than SR. Elevated levels of IL-6 were found in both SR and HR ALL.

Mechanisms of Immunosuppressive Tumor Evasion: Focus on Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a malignancy with high heterogeneity in its biological features and treatments. Although the overall survival (OS) of patients with ALL has recently improved considerably, owing to the application of conventional chemo-therapeutic agents, approximately 20% of the pediatric cases and 40-50% of the adult patients relapse during and after the treatment period. The potential mechanisms that cause relapse involve clonal evolution, innate and acquired chemoresistance, and the ability of ALL cells to escape the immune-suppressive tumor response. Currently, immunotherapy in combination with conventional treatment is used to enhance the immune response against tumor cells, thereby significantly improving the OS in patients with ALL. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of immune evasion by leukemia cells could be useful for developing novel therapeutic strategies.