Primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder of donor origin after allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation

A 56-year-old male patient had a history of mantle-cell lymphoma, which was treated with polychemotherapy and reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) from his healthy sister with an identical human leucocyte antigen profile. Six years after transplantation, the patient developed asymptomatic eczema-like cutaneous lesions. Histologically the lesions contained a dense superficial lichenoid infiltrate, mainly consisting of CD4+ atypical medium to large lymphocytes showing indented hyperchromatic nuclei. In situ hybridization for Epstein-Barr virus was negative. PCR amplification of the T-cell receptor-gamma chain gene from several lesions revealed a monoclonal rearrangement without clonal variation. Two-colour fluorescence in situ hybridization (X and Y chromosomes) and microsatellite genotyping were used to compare samples from the patient (transplant recipient), his sister (donor) and the skin biopsy sample, which confirmed that the origin of the neoplastic cells was the donor graft. To our knowledge, this is the first case of post-transplant primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder after ASCT.

[Non-pulsatile aneurysm of the superficial temporal artery: a report of a case]

Aneurysms of the superficial temporal artery are an uncommon cause for preauricular or parotid masses. Trauma is the most frequent etiology for a pseudoaneurysm and atheromatosis for the true aneurysm. The diagnosis is clinical due to their vascular signs (pulsatile mass, thrill...), these signs care not present when the aneurysmnas thrombosed, being this an unusual event that will make difficult a proper diagnosis. Radiological investigations are needed and helpful under these circumstances. Surgery is curative and recommended, being the excision after proximal and distal ligation of the artery the most accepted procedure. Aneurysms of the superficial temporal artery are rarely reported in the literature. We report a case that showed up as a non-pulsatile preauricular mass to highlight this unusual condition.

Bradykinin B1 receptors in human umbilical vein

The present study was undertaken to demonstrate the presence of bradykinin B1 receptors mediating contraction of human umbilical vein. The bradykinin B1 receptor selective agonist, des-Arg9-bradykinin, produced a dose-dependent contractile response of human umbilical vein rings. Furthermore, des-Arga-bradykinin-mediated response increased in a time-dependent manner in vitro. The maximal response to des-Arg9-bradykinin, expressed as percentage of the maximum elicited by serotonin, was: 10 +/- 2 at 15 min, 55 +/- 5 at 120 min and 80 +/- 3 at 300 min. Des-Arg9-bradykinin-mediated contractions were inhibited by the specific bradykinin B1 receptor antagonist des-Arg9-[Leu8]bradykinin which produced parallel shifts in the dose-response curve to the selective bradykinin B1 receptor agonist. Schild regression analysis of data established a pA2 value of 6.16 +/- 0.06. Kinin-induced contraction was not modified by pre-treatment with indomethacin (10 microM), a cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor. On the other hand, continuous exposure to the anti-inflammatory steroid dexamethasone (100 microM) or to the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide (70 microM) largely prevented the sensitization to des-Arg9-bradykinin in incubated human umbilical vein rings. These results confirm the presence of bradykinin B1 receptors which mediate contraction in isolated human umbilical vein. These responses are up-regulated in a time- and protein synthesis-dependent process.