Significance of Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor-Combined High-Dose Cytarabine, Cyclophosphamide, and Total Body Irradiation in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Myeloid Malignant Neoplasms

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) is a curative procedure for myeloid malignant neoplasms, but relapse after HCT remains critical. A conditioning regimen involving granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-combined high-dose cytarabine, cyclophosphamide, and total body irradiation (G-CSF-combined high-dose cytarabine/cyclophosphamide/total-body irradiation [HDCA/CY/TBI]) was reported to improve outcomes after cord blood transplant (CBT) for myeloid malignant neoplasms, but this regimen was not previously evaluated among patients undergoing bone marrow transplant (BMT) or peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT).

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed 28 patients who underwent allogeneic HCT including BMT from a related (1 patient) or unrelated donor (9 patients), PBSCT from a related donor (7 patients), or single-unit CBT from an unrelated donor (11 patients) after a G-CSF-combined HDCA/CY/TBI regimen.

RESULTS

All patients achieved neutrophil and platelet engraftment, which were significantly more rapid in the BMT/PBSCT group than in the CBT group. Eighteen patients were alive at a median follow-up of 54.3 months. The 3-year relapse and nonrelapse mortality rates were 28.6% and 7.1%, respectively, which were similar between the BMT/PBSCT and CBT groups. Overall survival and disease-free survival at 5 years after HCT were 62.6% and 64.3%, respectively, which were also similar between the BMT/PBSCT and CBT groups. Only disease status at HCT had a significant impact on overall survival and disease-free survival (86.7% with standard risk vs 38.5% with high risk and 86.7% with standard risk vs 38.5% with high risk, respectively).

CONCLUSION

A G-CSF-combined HDCA/CY/TBI regimen is a promising conditioning in patients with myeloid malignant neoplasms who undergo not only CBT but also BMT or PBSCT.

Fusaricidins B, C and D, new depsipeptide antibiotics produced by Bacillus polymyxa KT-8: isolation, structure elucidation and biological activity

Fusaricidins B, C and D, new depsipeptide antibiotics, have been isolated as minor components from the culture broth of Bacillus polymyxa KT-8 which was obtained from the rhizosphere of garlic suffering from the basal rot caused by Fusarium oxysporum. The structure of fusaricidin B has been elucidated mainly by various NMR experiments coupled with amino acid analysis in relation to fusaricidin A, the main component of the complex, whose structure was reported previously. The fraction consisting of fusaricidins C and D was unsuccessfully separated, giving roughly a 4:1 mixture of the two, respectively. The structures of fusaricidins C and D have been determined within the mixture by detailed analyses of the 2D NMR spectra. Fusaricidins B, C and D are active against fungi and Gram-positive bacteria almost as well as fusaricidin A.

Fusaricidin A, a new depsipeptide antibiotic produced by Bacillus polymyxa KT-8. Taxonomy, fermentation, isolation, structure elucidation and biological activity

Fusaricidin A, a new depsipeptide antibiotic, was isolated from the culture broth of Bacillus polymyxa KT-8 obtained from the rhizosphere of garlic suffering from the basal rot caused by Fusarium oxysporum. The structure of fusaricidin A was determined by 1D and 2D NMR and MS experiments coupled with amino acid analysis to be a hexadepsipeptide containing 15-guanidino-3-hydroxypentadecanoic acid as a side chain. The absolute configuration of each amino acid residue was determined by chiral HPLC. Fusaricidin A is active against fungi and Gram-positive bacteria.

Changes in contents of gamma-glutamyl peptides and fructan during growth of Allium sativum

Determination of gamma-glutamyl peptides, alliin, and fructan during growth of Allium sativum L. was carried out by HPLC. The contents of gamma-glutamyl peptides and alliin in garlic bulbs remarkably increased during one month before the garlic leaves withered.

Bacillopeptins, new cyclic lipopeptide antibiotics from Bacillus subtilis FR-2

Bacilopeptins, new iturin-group antifungal antibiotics, were isolated from the culture broth of Bacillus subtilis FR-2 obtained from the rhizosphere of garlic suffering from the basal rot caused by Fusarium oxysporum. Their structures were elucidated to be cyclic lipopeptides similar to bacillomycin L by NMR and mass spectral studies coupled with amino acid analysis. The absolute configuration of each amino acid residue was determined by chiral HPLC.

Application of long synthetic oligonucleotides for gene analysis: effect of probe length and stringency conditions on hybridization specificity

Two different lengths of long unique synthetic oligonucleotide probes (37- and 48-mers) specific for human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II beta genes were synthesized. These oligonucleotides were utilized to examine factors influencing hybridization specificity. Both probe length and stringency of washing conditions were found to be crucial factors for sequence-specific hybridization.

Cloning the heavy chain of human HLA-DR antigen using synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides as hybridization probes

The recent development of the amino acid microsequence technique allows us to obtain partial sequence information using an extremely small amount of protein. Two sets of mixed oligonucleotide probes were chemically synthesized using the amino acid sequence information for the heavy chain of human HLA-DR antigen obtained by the microsequence technique. These two hybridization probes were used to screen cDNA clones constructed from cytoplasmic poly(A)+ mRNA from a human B lymphoblastoid homozygous cell line (LG-2). Of the 10,000 clones screened, two clones hybridized with the probes. DNA sequence analysis showed that the longer one of the two cDNA clones was 1183 nucleotides long, including the entire coding region, the signal peptide region, and the complete 3'-noncoding region. The deduced amino acid sequence of the HLA-DR alpha chain is identical to that of other cell lines with a different HLA-DR typing. However, several nucleotide differences are found in the 3'-untranslated region compared with that of other DR haplotypes.