Family with Li-Fraumeni syndrome and no evidence of a germline mutation of the p53 gene or chromosomal aberrations

Li-Fraumeni syndrome is a rare autosomal, dominant trait of diverse types of cancers in children and young adults, with a predominance of soft tissue sarcomas, osteosarcomas, brain tumours, adrenocortical and breast carcinomas, as well as leukaemias. We present a family with an unusual cancer history fulfilling the criteria of Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Mutational analysis of the p53 gene in constitutional DNA of several affected members of the family did not show any germline p53 defect. Cytogenetic studies did not reveal any structural aberrations.

[Chronic eosinophilic leukemia]

In this research one case of chronic myelogenous eosinophilic leukemia (pbe) transformed into myeloblastic crisis in male patient aged 24, efficiently treated chemotherapy with following performing allogenic bone marrow transplantation was represented. The patients was admitted to the Department of Hematology with the cause of increased leucocytosis (up to 19.9 x 10(9)/l), eosinophilia (up to 15.3 x 10(9)/l), enlarged percentage of eosinophillic granulocytes in bone marrow, splenomegaly, anaemia and thrombocytopenia. Cytogenetic tests did not reveal any chromosomal disturbances, and PCR test did not detect bcr/abl rearanzation. After 7 monthly period of chronic phase of disease there was appeared symptoms of blastic acceleration myelogenous disease i.e. enlargement of splenomegaly, intensification of anaemia and thrombocytopenia, very fast increasing leucocytosis in short time together with presence of myeloblasts in blood and bone marrow smear tests. Blastic acceleration pbe with eosinophils dominant in bone marrow was confirmed by flow cytometry. Induction chemotherapy according to schedule HAR (Hydroxyurea--H, Arabinoside Cytosine--A, Doxorubicin--R), consolidation and irradiation of spleen allowed to receive complete remission. The patients was undergone allogenic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT) from related donor (younger brother). The follow-up with the period 18 months after allo-BMT has not revealed the relapse of disease.

[Leukostasis syndrome in a case of chronic lymphocytic leukemia]

The leukostasis syndrome is rare complication of leukemias with extremely high white cell counts. It occurs most frequently in chronic myelosis or acute leukemias and is exceptional in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). A severe leukostasis syndrome was observed in a case of CLL with peripheral lymphocyte count of 1,120 G/L. Typical symptoms of respiratory and central nervous system were developed (tachypnoe, hypoxia, headache, slurred speech, somnolence and confusion). Leukapheresis decreased the lymphocyte count to 305 G/l rapidly and reversed the leukostasis syndrome.

Blood plasma pseudouridine in patients with malignant proliferative diseases

The blood plasma concentration of pseudouridine was estimated in 104 healthy adult subjects, and 108 patients suffering from malignant proliferative diseases. The HPLC method for simultaneous determination of pseudouridine and creatinine was applied. The average physiological concentration of pseudouridine in blood plasma was 2.43 +/- 0.97 mumol.l-1 or 29.15 +/- 7.40 mmol.mol-1 creatinine. The physiological urinary excretion of pseudouridine was 14.32 +/- 5.20 mumol.24 h-1.kg-0.75 or 19.60 +/- 5.22 mmol.mol-1 creatinine. Renal clearance of pseudouridine and endogenous creatinine were 4.04 +/- 0.99 and 5.50 +/- 1.46 ml.kg-0.75, respectively. A positive correlation (r = 0.55, P < 0.01) was found between age (in the range 20-92 years) and blood plasma pseudouridine concentration (mumol.l-1). By expressing plasma pseudouridine in relation to plasma creatinine, the apparent influence of non-metabolic factors (age, renal insufficiency, blood dilution) on the plasma pseudouridine concentration were largely excluded. Among haematological proliferative diseases the highest values of plasma pseudouridine concentrations were observed in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (8.19 mumol.l-1; 54.9 mmol.mol-1 creatinine) and multiple myeloma (7.02 mumol.l-1; 52.5 mmol.mol-1 creatinine). In multiple myeloma, but not in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, the plasma pseudouridine concentration depended on the clinical stage. A lower, but still significant response in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was noted (4.03 mumol.l-1; 40.88 mmol.mol-1 creatinine). A significant increase of the plasma pseudouridine concentration was characteristic of adenocarcinomas of the large intestine, and it occurred in the early stages of malignant growth. In patients with lung cancer the plasma pseudouridine concentration was elevated only in advanced cases with metastases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Comparison of urinary neopterin and pseudouridine in patients with malignant proliferative diseases

The HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of urinary neopterin, pseudouridine, and creatinine allows a rapid evaluation of the activation state of cell-mediated immunity, and the stimulation of whole-body rRNA + tRNA turnover, associated with malignant growth. Urinary neopterin and pseudouridine concentrations in healthy subjects amounted to: 106.6 +/- 34.6 mumol/mol creatinine, and 19.6 +/- 5.2 mmol/mol creatinine (mean +/- SD), respectively. The increase of neopterin excretion in patients with haematological neoplasms ranged from 146% in Hodgkin's disease to 534% in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, whereas the increase in cancer cases ranged from 95% in adenocarcinoma of the gaster to 741% in hepatocellular carcinoma. The changes in pseudouridine excretion were much less pronounced: 63% in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and 120% in carcinoma of the urinary bladder. The correlation coefficient between neopterin and pseudouridine was relatively low (r = 0.43), although statistically significant (P < 0.01). In the case of several neoplasms e.g. Hodgkin's disease, polycythaemia vera, and adenocarcinoma of the gaster, neopterin was significantly elevated, whereas pseudouridine remained at a normal concentration. There was a positive relationship between the stage of the disease (primary focus, regional metastases, dissemination) and urinary concentration of pseudouridine in patients with adenocarcinoma of the large intestine. In the same patients the increase of neopterin excretion was noticed both in early and advanced stages, with the highest values in disseminated disease.

Heterogeneity of cytoplasmic and nuclear shape of lymphocytes during progression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Peripheral blood from ten healthy subjects and from 44 patients at stages 0, I, II, III, IV of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), type B, was routinely smeared, fixed and stained by the May-Grunwald-Giemsa method. Fourier analysis of nuclear and cytoplasmic shape of smeared lymphocytes was carried out for the range 1-20 of harmonics (describing the pattern of contour folding in quantitative terms). In addition the roughness coefficients (describing the summarized measure of contour folding of an individual cell) were calculated and computer evaluated. Cytoplasmic contour shape of smeared lymphocytes in the 6-10 harmonic range discriminates well between lymphocytes of healthy subjects and those of each CLL stage. This discrimination was the result of richer folding of CLL lymphocytes. Nuclear contour shape of lymphocytes in the 6-10 harmonic range fails to discriminate between lymphocytes of healthy subjects and those of CLL, but it discriminates well between lymphocytes of various stages of CLL, with the exception of stages I/II and III/IV. When Fourier analysis was carried out on lymphocytes of combined stages I + II and III + IV, the shape differences were even more accentuated. We conclude that nuclear and cytoplasmic contour shape is a phenotypic feature of lymphocytes that is markedly modified in the course of CLL progression; this feature may be used as a new parameter in CLL.

Analysis of chromatin pattern in blood lymphocytes of healthy donors and in lymphoid cells of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

The optical Fourier transformation was used to analyse the chromatin/interchromatin pattern of lymphocytes of healthy subjects and lymphoid cells of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL, type B, stage O). Peripheral blood smears were prepared routinely, fixed, and stained by the Feulgen method, and the photographic images of the nuclei were quantitatively analysed. From the radial distribution of light intensity of diffractograms, several Feulgen chromatin (F-chromatin/interchromatin) descriptors were evaluated. Four showed the strongest discriminant power and these descriptors discriminated well between lymphocytes of healthy donors and lymphoid cells of CLL patients, although F-chromatin/interchromatin components of the same sizes were found in lymphocytes and lymphoid cells.

Fourier analysis of nuclear and cytoplasmic shape of blood lymphoid cells from healthy donors and chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients

The folding rates of the contours of nuclei and entire lymphoid cells were analyzed by Fourier analysis of the shapes. Smears of peripheral blood from healthy subjects and from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL: type B, stage zero) were routinely prepared and stained. The shapes of lymphoid cells from CLL patients revealed a higher folding rate (from fifth to tenth harmonics) than did those of lymphocytes from healthy subjects. Accordingly, the roughness coefficient (describing the folding rate of the surface) for CLL cells was 0.036, as compared to 0.028 for the cells of healthy subjects. The shapes of nuclei of CLL lymphoid cells also had a higher folding rate than did those of lymphocytes from healthy subjects, but a significant difference was found only for the highest harmonic calculated (the tenth harmonic); the respective roughness coefficients for nuclei were 0.037 and 0.033.

The double gammopathies. Clinical and immunological studies

A retrospective review of 1135 patients with paraproteinemias recorded 28 (2.5%) as having two M components. This group included 11 patients with myeloma, 6 with lymphoproliferative disease, 5 with a nonlymphoproliferative malignancy, and 6 with a double gammopathy of undetermined significance. In 13 cases in which the M components were measured over a period of time, three distinct patterns were observed, which may reflect the cellular and subcellular origin of the two proteins: 1) In 2 cases the minor component remained relatively stable while the dominant protein changed with time and treatment, suggesting the origin to be two cell lines--the minor arising from a quiescent clone of the monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, and the major M component arising from a more rapidly proliferating plasma cell line; 2) a discordant pattern was seen in 4 patients, suggesting that the two M components arose from two separate plasma cell clones; 3) seven cases in which the proteins behaved in a concordant manner probably arose from a single plasma cell clone with incomplete class switching, producing two M components with different heavy chains.

[Analysis of 300 cases of secondary pancytopenia]

Clinical analysis of 300 cases of secondary pancytopenia treated in a period of 10 years is reported. The disease was more frequent in women than in men. The most frequent single cause were drugs, among them chloramphenicol. Most patients had pancytopenia and hypoplastic bone marrow. The mortality was 37%. Death occurred most frequently in the first 6 months of the disease due to infection or thrombocytopenic heamorrhagic diathesis. The results of treatment with corticosteroids and androgenic steroids were unsatisfactory.

[Comparative evaluation of the quality of leukocytes stored at -196 centigrades C in glycerol and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)]

The authors assessed the phagocytic ability of granulocytes, the ability of blastic transformation of lymphocytes after phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation in vitro culture, and the viability and number of these cells before freezing and after thawing. No significant differences were found in the quality of granulocytes stored in cryoprotective medium containing 13% of glycerol or 15% of PVP. On the other hand, much worse results were obtained in both cases in comparison with previous investigations in which DMSO was used as the protective agent. It was observed also that lympocytes stored in a cryoprotective medium containing 15% of PVP were not significantly depressed and retained their ability of blastic transformation in vitro under PHA stimulation. Similar results were obtained using in previous investigations a cryoprotective medium with DMSO.

[Storage of human bone marrow at - 196 degrees C]

The paper contains a description of the method of human bone marrow storage at -196 degrees C using DMSO and glycerol as cryoprotective agents. In the light of determinations of the count of nucleated cells, their viability, myelograms and blastic transformation of lymphocytes it was found that DMSO is a more effective cryoprotective agent than glycerol for storage of human bone marrow at low temperatures.

Differences in the composition of leucoyctes in the splenic artery and vein in rabbits, and dogs

Differences in the composition of leucocytes in the splenic artery and vein in rabbits, and dogs. Acta Physiol. Pol. 1975, 26 (1): 33-39. Blood samples were taken from the splenic artery and splenic vein of 14 rabbits and 9 dogs under general anaesthesia (with hexobarbital sodium in rabbits and Eunarcon in dogs) to compare the quantitative and qualitative composition of white blood cells. It was found that the rabbit spleen releases into the circulation mononuclear cells which do not differ in their size from cells of the blood flowing into the spleen, and that it can retain or release granulocytes, probably due to their intravascular margination. The dog spleen can retain or release granulocytes and mononuclears simultaneously or separately, probably due to the mechanism which includes spontaneous contraction of the spleen.

[Role of spleen in leukocyte kinetics in dog]

In 9 dogs blood samples were obtained from the splenic vein and artery under general anaesthesia with Eunarcon, the quantitative and qualitative composition of white blood cells was compared and it was found that canine spleen can release or retain granulocytes and mononuclear cells simultaneously or any of these cells separately.