Gene expression profiles associated with early relapse during first remission induction in canine multicentric high-grade B-cell lymphoma

Although chemotherapy using CHOP-based protocol induces remission in most cases of canine multicentric high-grade B-cell lymphoma (mhBCL), some cases develop early relapse during the first induction protocol. In this study, we examined the gene expression profiles of canine mhBCL before chemotherapy and investigated their associations with early relapse during the first whole CHOP-based protocol. Twenty-five cases of mhBCL treated with CHOP-based protocol as first induction chemotherapy were included in this study. Sixteen cases completed the first whole CHOP-based protocol without relapse (S-group), and nine developed relapse during the chemotherapy (R-group). RNA-seq was performed on samples from neoplastic lymph nodes. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were extracted by the comparison of gene expression profiles between S- and R-groups, and the differences in the expression levels of these genes were validated by RT-qPCR. Extracted 179 DEGs included the genes related to chemokine CC motif ligand, T-cell receptor signaling pathway, and PD-L1 expression and PD-1 checkpoint pathway. We focused on chemokine CC motif ligand, and CCL4 was confirmed to be significantly downregulated in the R-group (P=0.039). We also focused on the genes related to T-cell signaling pathway, and CD3E (P=0.039), ITK (P=0.023), and LAT (P=0.023) genes were confirmed to be significantly upregulated in the R-group. The current results suggest that both changes in tumor cells and the interactions between tumor cells and immune cells are associated with the efficacy of the chemotherapy for first remission induction.

The characterization of two Dictyostelium discoideum genes encoding ribosomal proteins with sequence similarity to rat L27a and L37a

Two Dictyostelium discoideum ribosomal protein genes, denoted DdL27a and DdL37a, were isolated and sequenced. The DdL27a gene contained an open reading frame of 148 amino acids coding for a putative 16,407 Da protein, which was similar to rat L27a (82.6% similarity) and to ribosomal proteins from other species. The gene contained a 311-bp intron downstream from the ATG initiation codon with an A+T content of 75%. The DdL37a gene encoded a 9,999 Da protein consisting of 91 amino acids, which had high sequence similarity to rat, human, and chicken ribosomal protein L37a, and was interrupted by two introns of 254 bp and 75 bp in length. The DdL37a protein contained a typical zinc finger motif (Cys-X2-Cys-X14-Cys-X2-Cys), which may be involved in the interaction of proteins with nucleic acids. Genomic DNA blot analysis indicated that the DdL27a and DdL37a genes are present in single copies in the Dictyostelium haploid genome. The DdL27a and DdL37a mRNA were expressed maximally in growing amoebae, and their levels decreased during multicellular development, coordinately with the observed decrease in ribosome accumulation during later development.

Elevation of plasma interleukin-6 level is involved in postoperative fever following major oral and maxillofacial surgery

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the changes in plasma cytokine levels including interleukin-6 (IL-6) interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) are involved in postoperative fever following oral and maxillofacial surgery.

STUDY DESIGN

Ten patients undergoing elective oral and maxillofacial surgery were studied. We investigated the plasma cytokine levels by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and measured the core temperature and degree of postoperative shivering and peripheral vasoconstriction after surgery. The relationships between the changes in plasma cytokine levels and postoperative fever were statistically evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients.

RESULTS

The elevation of plasma IL-6 level was significantly correlated with the increase in core temperature after surgery and with the degree of postoperative shivering and vasoconstriction, whereas the changes in plasma II-1 beta or TNF-alpha levels were not.

CONCLUSIONS

Elevation of plasma IL-6 level is probably involved in postoperative fever following oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Predicting serum lithium concentration using Bayesian method: a comparison with other methods

Two pharmacokinetic approaches (single-point Bayesian and two fixed volume of distribution-iterative methods) for predicting serum lithium concentrations in patients treated with lithium carbonate for manic-depressive illness or cyclic neutropenia in Kyushu University Hospital were evaluated and compared retrospectively. Prior to these analyses, three methods (prediction using mean parameters reported by Mason et al., the Pepin method, and the Zetin method) without measuring serum concentrations were also compared. In the Bayesian analysis, the effect of population mean parameters (reported by Mason et al. and Pepin et al.), which were used as initial estimates in a fitting process, on predictive performance was also studied. Forty five patients (21 male, 24 female) were included in this study. The average number of determinations per patient was 6.3, and the sampling times ranged from 2 to 18 h after the last dose. Serum lithium concentrations were measured by atomic absorption spectrometer. The Bayesian method used a computer program (PEDA) developed previously by one of us. The prediction using the population mean values from Mason's report gave the least root mean squared error (RMSE; a composite measure for bias and precision of prediction), and was considered to be the most precise among the methods without measuring serum concentrations. Among the methods using a single measured concentration, the Bayesian prediction was less biased and more precise than that by the two fixed volume of distribution-iterative methods. The Bayesian method reduced prediction error in serum concentration prediction compared with those obtained from population mean parameters in both cases: A high reduction of RMSE was observed when the values from Pepin method were used as initial estimates (from 0.320 to 0.219 meq/l), while, Mason's values gave less reduction (from 0.219 to 0.213 meq/l). In the Bayesian prediction of serum lithium concentration, the selection of population-based initial estimates gave no effect on predictive ability of the Bayesian method in terms of RMSE. In conclusion, the Bayesian method was robust and flexible with regard to dosing schedule, sampling time and number of blood samples, and gave the most clinically acceptable precision among the methods evaluated.