Blast phase of chronic myeloid leukemia with concurrent BCR::ABL1 and SET::NUP214: A report of two cases.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm defined by the presence of t(9;22)(q34;q11.2)/BCR::ABL1. Additional chromosomal abnormalities play an important role in the progression to CML. However, the additional fusion gene was rarely reported such as CBFB::MYH11. In this report, we described two cases of the co-occurrence of BCR::ABL1 and SET::NUP214 in CML-BP for the first time, which is associated with poor outcomes during tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment. Meanwhile, we retrospectively analyzed SET::NUP214 fusion transcript of the two cases at initial diagnosis of the CML chronic phase by quantitative RT-PCR, and detected at a ratio of 1.63% and 1.50%, respectively. SET::NUP214 may promote disease progression during the transformation of CML. This study highlights the importance of extended molecular testing at the initial diagnosis of CML-CP at TKI resistance and/or disease transformation.

CD7-directed CAR T-cell therapy: a potential immunotherapy strategy for relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

Relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients generally have a dismal prognosis and the treatment remains challenging. Due to the expression of CD7 on 30% AML and not on normal myeloid and erythroid cells, CD7 is an attractive target for immunotherapy of AML. CD7-targeted CAR T-cells had demonstrated encouraging efficacy in xenograft models of AML. We report here on the use of autologous CD7 CAR T-cells in the treatment of a relapsed/refractory AML patient with complex karyotype, TP53 deletion, FLT3-ITD mutation, and SKAP2-RUNX1 fusion gene. Before the CAR T-cell therapy, the patient achieved partial remission with IA regimen and attained complete remission after reinduction therapy (decitabine and venentoclax). Relapse occurred after consolidation (CLAG regimen). Then she failed CLIA regimen combined with venetoclax and exhibited resistance to FLT3 inhibitors. Bone marrow showed 20% blasts (CD7+ 95.6%). A total dose of 5 × 106/kg CD7 CAR T-cells was administered after the decitabine +FC regimen. Seventeen days after CAR T-cells infusion, she achieved morphologic leukemia-free state. The patient developed grade 3 cytokine release syndrome. No severe organ toxicity or immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome was observed. In summary, the autologous CD7 CAR T-cell therapy could be considered a potential approach for AML with CD7 expression (NCT04762485).Trial registration Clinical Trials.gov, NCT04762485. Registered on February 21, 2021, prospectively registered.

Life Cycle Assessment and Multiobjective Optimization for Steam Cracking Process in Ethylene Plant.

With energy savings and emission reduction becoming national policies in recent years, the environmental impacts of industrial production are more and more critical. Most of the studies have concentrated on the environmental effects of the industrial production process. Little attention has been paid to the energy consumption and pollution emission in extracting, processing, and transporting the feedstock and other secondary materials. An integrated multiobjective optimization framework is proposed for the steam cracking process on the basis of a life cycle assessment and data-driven modeling methods. A multiobjective economic-environmental optimization model is developed on the basis of industrial and simulated data. A multiobjective optimization model combined with energy cost is also developed for comparative study. The nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-II is utilized to solve the problems, and the Pareto front is obtained. An industrial case study is carried out to indicate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the LCA-based method can better represent the environmental impacts in comparison with the standard energy cost model. Therefore, the proposed method can achieve a better tradeoff between economic benefits and environmental impacts for guiding ethylene production.

TNF-α increases the risk of bleeding in patients after CAR T-cell therapy: A bleeding model based on a real-world study of Chinese CAR T Working Party.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has shown excellent clinical efficacy in patients with hematologic malignancies. However, severe bleeding after this treatment is a life-threatening complication for most patients. This study evaluated the risk factors associated with bleeding in CAR T treatment and developed a predictive model for this complication. Analysis performed in the First Affiliated Hospital of Suzhou University and external validation launched in Suzhou Hongci Hematology Hospital (Jiangsu, China). We conducted a real-world study incorporating data from 400 patients with hematologic malignancies treated with CAR T between 1 November 2015 and 1 September 2019. Also, 39 patients from another hospital were selected for external validation. Patients with severe bleeding (hazard ratio [HR] 13.04, 95% confidence interval 5.82-29.18; p < 0.001) had a higher risk of death after CAR T. Stage III and IV cytokine release syndrome (CRS) (odds ratio [OR] 6.07, 95% CI 2.35-16.76; p < 0.001) and higher tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels (OR 4.00, 95% CI 1.53-11.35; p < 0.001) were independent factors of bleeding in patients after CAR-T treatment. The predictive model developed by Lasso regression, which selected factors such as CRS period, transfusion volume, platelet percentage, platelet count, thrombinogen time, interleukin 6, and TNF-α levels, and showed Nomogram, yielded excellent agreement (C-statistics = 0.905) with the calibration curve, which improved clinical benefit with respect to established bleeding scores such as outpatient bleeding risk index (MOBRI). External validation was performed using 39 patients from another hospital with an AUC of 0.700. Patients with severe bleeding after Car-T therapy had increased the risk of death. A cross-validated bleeding risk score based on CRS stages and TNF-α level show significant prognostic value in patients undergoing CAR-T treatment.

CD38-directed CAR-T cell therapy: a novel immunotherapy strategy for relapsed acute myeloid leukemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a potentially curative treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, most patients experience relapse after allo-HSCT, with a poor prognosis, and treatment options are limited. The lack of an ideal targetable antigen is a major obstacle for treating patients with relapsed AML. CD38 is known to be expressed on most AML and myeloma cells, and its lack of expression on hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) renders it a potential therapeutic target for relapsed AML. To investigate the clinical therapeutic efficacy and safety of CD38-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T-38) cells, we enrolled 6 AML patients who experienced relapse post-allo-HSCT (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04351022). Prior to CAR-T-38 treatment, the blasts in the bone marrow of these patients exhibited a median of 95% (92-99%) CD38 positivity. Four weeks after the initial infusion of CAR-T-38 cells, four of six (66.7%) patients achieved complete remission (CR) or CR with incomplete count recovery (CRi); the median CR or CRi time was 191 (range 117-261) days. The cumulative relapse rate at 6 months was 50%. The median overall survival (OS) and leukemia-free survival (LFS) times were 7.9 and 6.4 months, respectively. One case relapsed 117 days after the first CAR-T-38 cell infusion, with remission achieved after the second CAR-T-38 cell infusion. All six patients experienced clinically manageable side effects. In addition, multiparameter flow cytometry (FCM) revealed that CAR-T-38 cells eliminated CD38 positive blasts without off-target effects on monocytes and lymphocytes. Although this prospective study has a limited number of cases and a relatively short follow-up time, our preliminary data highlight the clinical utility and safety of CAR-T-38 cell therapy in treating relapsed AML post-allo-HSCT.

HLA-DQB1 mismatch increase risk of severe bleeding independently in recipients of allogeneic stem cell transplant.

Severe bleeding is a major cause of death in acute leukemia (AL) patients with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogene hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). However, the prognostic value and prediction of HSCT-associated severe bleeding in GVHD patients have not been reported in cohort studies. We did a retrospective analysis of 200 AL patients with GVHD after allo-HSCT from Feb 1, 2014, to Dec 1, 2015. Multivariate analysis showed that the severe bleeding class was associated with the risk of death (HR 2.26, 95% CI 1.31-3.92, p<0.001***). In order to predict severe bleeding and figure out the solution to bleeding events, we established a multiple logistic regression model. HLA-DQB1 unmatching, megakaryocyte reconsititution failure, and III or IV GVHD were the independent risk factors for severe bleeding. Among all the variations above, OR of HLA-DQB1 was the highest (OR: 16.02, 95% CI: 11.54-48.68). Adding HLA-DQB1 to other factors improved the reclassification for predicting severe bleeding (NRI=0.195, z=2.634, p=0.008**; IDI=0.289, z=3.249, p<0.001***). Lasso regression was used to select variants. A nomogram of the logistic model was generated and displayed. Calibration curve demonstrated excellent accuracy in estimating severe bleeding (C index of 0.935). HLA-DQB1 showed excellent efficacy of predicting severe bleeding in HSCT patients.

Erratum: First-in-man clinical trial of CAR NK-92 cells: safety test of CD33-CAR NK-92 cells in patients with relapsed and refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

[This corrects the article on p. 1083 in vol. 8, PMID: 30034945.].

First-in-man clinical trial of CAR NK-92 cells: safety test of CD33-CAR NK-92 cells in patients with relapsed and refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

CAR T cells have shown clinical efficacy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but this therapy has not been effective for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and other treatment options are needed. Theoretically, CAR-NK cells have a more favorable toxicity profile compared to CAR T cells, especially in avoiding adverse effects such as cytokine release syndrome. However, the clinical evidence for this has not yet been reported. In the current study, we tested the safety of CD33-CAR NK cells in patients with relapsed and refractory AML. At doses up to 5 × 109 (5 billion) cells per patient, no significant adverse effects were observed. CAR NK-92 cells can be produced at much lower cost compared to CAR T cells, and we believe after being optimized, they will be widely accessible for the treatment of cancer.

Clinical significance of circulating microparticles in Ph- myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Microparticles (MPs) are small membrane vesicles that are classified into subcategories based on their origin, such as platelet-derived MPs (PMPs), endothelial MPs (EMPs), red blood cell MPs (RMPs) and tissue factor MPs (TF + MPs). Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (Ph-MPN) are disorders characterized by abnormal haematopoiesis, thrombosis and the JAK2V617F mutation. MPs are biomarkers for procoagulant state in cancer patients, but their relevance in patients with Ph-MPN was unclear. The present study aimed to measure MP variation in MPN patients and evaluate association with the JAK2V617F mutation and with thrombosis and splenomegaly. In total, 92 patients with MPN were enrolled in the present study, including 60 with essential thrombocythaemia (ET), 20 with polycythaemia vera (PV), and 12 with primary myelofibrosis (PMF). RMPs, PMPs, TF + MPs and EMPs were measured by flow cytometry. The levels of RMPs, PMPs, EMPs and TF + MPs in patients with Ph-MPN were all found to be significantly increased compared with controls (P<0.05). Additionally, the levels of all four types of MPs in the PMF group were significantly increased compared with the PV group (P<0.05), and the level of RMPs in the PMF group was significantly increased compared with the ET group (P<0.05). MP levels were increased in the Ph-MPN patients with thrombosis compared with patients without thrombosis (P<0.05). MP levels were increased in Ph-MPN patients with splenomegaly compared with patients without splenomegaly (P<0.05). The level of PMPs in patients with the JAK2V617F mutation was increased compared with patients without the mutation (P<0.05). In conclusion, the present study showed that MPs are associated with Ph-MPN pathogenesis, and may promote thrombosis.

[Alteration of Microparticle Levels in Early Complications During Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the alteration of microparticles (MP) in the recipients following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and its significance, and to search the early diagnostic indicators of thrombotic complications after transplantation. METHODS: According to the occurrence of transplantation-associated complications, 94 allo-HSCT patients were divided into 4 groups: thrombotic group (VOD n = 7, TMA n = 2), acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) group (n = 27), infection group (n = 41) and non-complication group (n = 17). Alterations of serum concentration of tissue factor positive microparticles (TF(+) MP) and endothelial microparticles (EMP) were analyzed by flow cytometry during the process of conditioning treatment and the early stage after transplantation. The relation of these 2 kinds of MP with complications was analysed. RESULTS: (1) The levels of TF(+) MP and EMP of patients undogoing allo-HSCT before conditioning treatment were obviously higher than those in normal controls, and showed some elevation during different times, but there was no significant statistical difference. Although the levels of TF(+) MP and EMP at the end of conditioning treatment were some higher than those before conditioning treatment, but there was no statistical difference between them. (2)The levels of TF(+) MP and EMP in thrombotic group were obviously higher than those in aGVHD group and infection group (P < 0.05). (3)The levels of TF(+) MP and EMP in thrombotic group at different times were significant differences from those in other groups (P < 0.05), and the levels of TF(+) MP and EMP were no significant difference from those in non-complication group. CONCLUSION: The increase of the TF(+) MP and EMP levels may be associated with occurrence of thrombosis after transplantation, indicating occurrence of the thrombotic complications, like hepatic vein occulusive disease (HVOD). The dynamically monitoring levels of TF(+) MP and EMP contributes to early discovery of thrombotic complications.

[Expression characteristics of differentiation antigens on granulocytes in patients with megaloblastic anemia].

This study was aimed to explore the change characteristics of cell differentiation antigen (CD) on bone marrow (BM) granulocytes in patients,with megaloblastic anemia (MA). In combination with BM cell morphology, hemogram, level of blood serum folic acid, level of Vit B(12), cell genetics and biological examination data, the BM granulocytes differentiation antigens in 13 patients with MA were detected by flow cyto metry and analyzed retrospectively, in order to summarize the variation characteristics of CD13, CD33 and CD15 expressed on myeloid cells in patient with MA, including forward scatter light (FSC) and side scatter light (SSC) signal intensity, then these findings were compared with that in normal healthy persons. The results showed that the expression rates of CD13, CD15 and CD33 on granulocytic in patients with MA and normal healthy persons were (44.53 ± 16)%, (96.16 ± 2.67)%, (80.81 ± 14.71)% and (62.33 ± 11.02)%, (99.53 ± 0.46)%, (70.00 ± 7.81)% respectively, in which the expression rate of CD13 and CD15 in patients with MA decreased (P < 0.01), while the expression rate of CD33 increased (P < 0.01). The mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of CD13, CD15, CD33, SSC and FSC in MA patients and normal healthy persons were 3.39 ± 1.41, 14.29 ± 6.59, 1.95 ± 0.94, 478.78 ± 70.43, 633.46 ± 75.53 and 5.12 ± 1.15, 20.67 ± 5.13, 1.04 ± 0.17, 332.00 ± 38.16, 537.00 ± 16.70 respectively, in which the MFI of CD13 and CD15 on granulocytes in MA patients decreased (P < 0.01),while the MFI of FSC,SSC and CD33 increased (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05). It is concluded that not only the morphology of BM granulocytes in patents with MA shows dysmaturity, but the expressing feature of differentiation antigens on BM granulocytes in MA patients also displays dysmaturity.These findings will contribute to the clinical diagnosis of MA patients.

[Detection of tissue factor-positive microparticles and its clinical significance in the haemostatic disorder].

Objective of this study was to detect the level of tissue factor-positive microparticles (TF(+)MP) by flow cytometry (FCM) and to analyze its clinical significance in the haemostatic disorder. TF(+) MP was detected by FCM using antibody CD142-PE in 25 cases of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), 20 cases of hemostatic diseases and 20 healthy adults as controls. The differences of TF(+) MP between various groups were determined. The results showed that the level of TF(+) MP in the patients with thrombotic complications was significantly higher than that in the healthy adults (P < 0.05). The TF(+) MP level was higher in the patient with APL than that in the healthy adults, especially in course before therapy (P < 0.01), but the difference was not statistically significant in the patient with APL after therapy and the healthy adults. Among these patient with APL, the level of TF(+) MP in the 18 patients who complicated with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) was also higher than that in the healthy adults (P < 0.05), but the level of TF(+) MP in the other 7 patients who did not complicate with DIC was similar before and after treatment. It is concluded that the method of TF(+) MP detection by FCM is feasible and simple, it is useful for the diagnosis of thrombotic disorder, and helps evaluation for the prognosis of APL patient.

[Detecting minimal residual disease status in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation of patients with high-risk acute leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between minimal residual disease (MRD) and the outcome of patients with high-risk acute leukemia (AL) undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). METHODS: By 4/5-color multi-parameter flow cytometry (MFC, CD45/SSC gating) for detecting MRD at pre-(day-30) and post-transplant (day +30, +60, +100, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months), the investigators retrospectively analyzed the MRD levels and the prognosis of 90 high-risk patients. According to the MRD cutoff value of 0.1%, the low-level and high-level groups were defined. In the high-level group, the patients were divided into two sub groups according to the subsequent treatment (intervention therapy group and non-intervention therapy group). RESULTS: MRD pre-transplant had no predictive value for the clinical outcome. The patients with high levels of MRD post-transplant (+60 d and +100 d) showed higher relapse rates than those of the low-level group. In addition, regarding MRD +100 d post-transplant, differences were significant among 3 groups (high-level MRD and intervention therapy group, high-level MRD and non-intervention therapy group and low-level MRD group) including 1-year relapse-free survival (RFS) (100% vs 60.87% vs 91.30%, P < 0.05) and 3-year RFS (85.71% vs 44.72% vs 68.48%, P < 0.05). The median time from first high level MRD detected to clinical relapse was 2.5 (1 - 26) months. In the high level MRD group (+100 d post-transplant), 7 of 30 patients received intervention therapy without relapse. However another 23 patients had no intervention treatment and 11 of them relapsed latter (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The MFC-based quantification of MRD post-transplant reveals important prognostic information in patients with high-risk AL. MRD check point at day +100 (cutoff: 0.1%) may discriminate different risk populations. Those patients with MRD levels ≥ 0.1% should receive early intervention at an early stage and a low tumor burden so as to reduce the relapse rate and boost survival.

[Expression of endothelial protein C receptor in tumor cell lines and It's significance].

AIM: To detect the role of activated protein C(APC) on proliferation of endothelial cell and investigate the expression of endothelial protein C receptor( EPCR) in variety of tumor cell lines. METHODS: The effect of APC on endotheliocyte proliferation was determined by MTT colorimetry. IL-6 and IL-8 in supernatant were measured by ELISA. Expression of EPCR were measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: APC can increase the proliferation of EC significantly. EPCR gene was found in 91.7% of solid tumors and 66.7% of hematopoietic malignancies. CONCLUSION: APC can stimulate the proliferation of endothelial cell. High expression of EPCR in tumor cell lines provides a potential biological marker for malignancies.

[Influence of arsenic trioxide and daunorubicin on the expression of annexin II and fibrinolytic activity in NB4 cells].

OBJECTIVE: To study the expression of annexin II (AnnII) and the fibrinolytic activity in NB4 cells and their alterations in the presence of arsenic trioxide (ATO) and daunorubicin (DNR). METHODS: Leukemia cell line NB4 was treated with ATO or DNR for 24 ∼ 72 h. Cell surface expression of AnnII and its mRNA were analysed by flow cytometry and real time PCR, respectively, the fibrinolytic activity by chromogenic assay. RESULTS: Compared with other acute leukemia cell lines, the expression of AnnII on untreated NB4 cells was relatively higher. The AnnII positive cell rates on NB4, HL-60, K562, and A3 cells were (94.5 ± 1.6)%, (40.1 ± 2.1)%, (36.3 ± 1.5)% and (11.8 ± 2.5)%, respectively. The fibrinolytic activity of NB4 cells was the greatest with a A value of 0.68 ± 0.02. The fibrinolytic activity of NB4 cells was obviously decreased by ATO, DNR or monoclonal antibody against AnnII, being decreased by 60.4%, 35.8% and 26.0% of the pretreatment level, respectively. The expressions of AnnII and its mRNA in NB4 cells were decreased dramatically after ATO and DNR treated for 48 h. Annexin II positive cells rate were (55.46 ± 4.72)% and (27.00 ± 6.18)%, respectively. CONCLUSION: NB4 cells have strong ability to enhance the catalytic efficiency of the t-PA-dependent plasminogen activation and AnnII on the cell membrane contributes to this activity. Its high fibrinolytic activity can be corrected by ATO and DNR through down-regulating AnnII.

[Clinical study on the fibrinolytic activity in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To study the fibrinolytic activity in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) and its alteration in all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and/or arsenic trioxide (ATO) treatment. METHODS: Plasma fibrinogen concentration was determined with the conventional method, and the levels of fibrin degradation products (FDP) and D-dimer were quantified with ELISA. Plasminogen was measured by chromogenic assay. Cell surface expression of Annexin II and u-PAR and their mRNA levels were measured by flow cytometry and real time-PCR, respectively. RESULTS: The levels of FDP and D-dimer in APL were remarkably higher in APL patients than that in normal controls, while fibrinogen and plasminogen were lower. Both Annexin II and u-PAR were highly expressed on APL cells, which declined after treatment with ATRA and/or ATO, but remained higher than those on normal bone marrow mononuclear cells. CONCLUSION: Abnormally high levels of Annexin II and u-PAR expression on APL cells may contribute to the increased production of plasmin, leading to primary hyperfibrinolysis in APL. ATRA and ATO therapy induces down-regulation of Annexin II and u-PAR expression, which may be contribute, at least in part, to the relief of the hemorrhagic complications in APL.

[Effect of protein kinase C and calcium on the thrombin receptors activation].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of protein kinase C (PKC) and calcium (Ca2+) on platelet aggregation and platelet membrane surface GP I b expression in thrombin receptors activation, and investigate the role of Gq signal transduction pathway in such activation. METHODS: Peptide SFLLRN (PARI-AP) and AYPGKF (PAR4-AP) were used to stimulate platelet, and the effects of Ro-31-2220 (inhibitor of PKC) and BAPTA/AM (calcium chelator) on the platelet aggregation and GP I b were analyzed. RESULTS: Either 25 micromol/L PAR1 or 250 micromol/L PAR4 peptide could induce absolute platelet aggregation with a reversible internalization of GP I b. Platelet aggregation was inhibited by Ro-31-2220 or BAPTA while the morphological change curve still occurred upon PARs activation. In addition, Ro-31-2220 decreased GP I b centralization upon PAR1 stimulation [(87.00 +/- 0.04)% and (73.00 +/- 0.08)%, respectively at 1, 2 min, P<0.05], albeit it blocked the internalization of GP I b in PAR4 activation [(44.00 +/- 0.01)% and (46.00 +/- 0.05)%, respectively at 10, 30 min, P <0.05]. Meanwhile, GP I b internalization was blocked by BAPTA in both peptides [(94.00 +/- 0.08)% and (95.00 +/- 0.00)% at 1 min, (92.00 +/- 0.02)% and (94.00 +/- 0.01)% at 2 min, (91.00 +/- 0.02)% and (91.00 +/- 0.02)% at 5 min, (90.00 +/- 0.04)% and (87.00 +/- 0.03)% at 10 min, respectively, P <0.05]. CONCLUSION: PKC and calcium play an important role in thrombin receptor activation. Calcium is closely correlated with such activation, being similar in the two PARs signal pathways. PK C promotes GP I b centralization in PAR1 pathway and accelerates GP I b return to membrane surface in PAR4 pathway.

[Effect of anti-Helicobacter pylori ureB monoclonal antibody on platelet aggregation and activation, and its mechanism study].

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of monoclonal antibody (McAb) against helicobacter pylori (Hp) ureB, 1F11 on platelet aggregation and activation, and its mechanism. METHODS: The relativity between human platelet glycoproteins (GPs) and Hp ureB was identified by Western blot and FCM. Platelet aggregation was measured by turbidimetry, and P-selectin and TXB2 assay by ELISA. RESULTS: 1F11 could bind to platelet GPIIIa, and ADP-induced platelet aggregation was inhibited by 1F11 in a dose-dependent manner. However, 1F11 had no effect on plasma P-selectin and TXB2 induced by ADP. The FCM results show that the positive rates of platelet binding to FITC-SZ21 was decreased from 99.5% to 77.4% after addition of 1F11. CONCLUSION: McAb against Hp ureB 1F11 inhibits platelet aggregation through binding to platelet GPIIIa but does not block platelet activation. There might be crossed-epitopes on Hp ureB and platelet GPIIIa, and Hp infection might be involved in ITP immunopathology.

C-jun N-terminal kinase mediates tumor necrosis factor-alpha suppression of differentiation in myoblasts.

The stress kinase c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) was recently shown to be involved in the pathophysiology of major inflammatory conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, stroke, obesity, and type II diabetes. However, the role of JNK in regulating inflammatory events in skeletal muscle is only beginning to be explored. IGF-I is the major hormone that promotes muscle growth and development. Here we used a novel, JNK interacting protein (JIP)-derived JNK peptide inhibitor to establish that JNK suppresses the biological activity of IGF-I in skeletal muscle progenitor cells. In these myoblasts, TNFalpha and its downstream receptor substrates, neutral-sphingomyelinase (N-SMase) and N-acetyl-d-sphingosine (C2-ceramide), induce JNK kinase activity in a time-dependent manner. Consistent with these results, TNFalpha induces JNK binding to insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) but is unable to inhibit IGF-I-induced IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation in myoblasts that are treated with the JNK peptide inhibitor. More importantly, JNK activation induced by TNFalpha, C2-ceramide, and N-SMase is associated with reduced expression of the critical muscle transcription factor myogenin as well as the differentiation marker myosin heavy chain (MHC). The JNK peptide inhibitor, but not the control peptide, completely reverses this inhibition of both myogenin and MHC. In the absence of IGF-I, TNFalpha, C2-ceramide, N-SMase and the JNK inhibitor are inactive, as shown by their inability to affect IRS tyrosine phosphorylation and protein expression of myogenin and MHC. These results establish that the resistance of muscle progenitor cells to IGF-I, which is caused by inflammatory stimuli, is mediated by the JNK stress kinase pathway.

[Role of adenosine diphosphate in the course of thrombin signal transmission].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects adenosine diphosphate (ADP) on platelet aggregation and expression of glycoprotein (GP) on the surface of platelet membrane after activation of thrombin receptors, so as to investigate its role in thrombin signal transmission. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples were collected from from 10 healthy volunteers. Platelets were extracted. The thrombin receptor activating peptides (TRAP), protease-activated receptor 1 activated peptide (PAR1-AP, SFLLRN, 25 micromol/L) and PAR4-AP (AYPGKF, 250 micromol/L) were added into the suspension of platelets respectively to induce platelet aggregation. In apyrase inhibition test apyrase II was added into the suspension of platelets for 2 hours and then PAR1-AP or PAR4-AP was added respectively to observe the the expression of GPIb and P-selectin with flow cytometry. RESULTS: Either PAR1 and PAR4 induced platelet aggregation. After apyrase II stimulation the PAR4-AP induced platelet aggregation was not influenced and PAR1-AP induced platelet aggregation was partially inhibited with a reversible aggregation curve. Stimulated by PAR1-AP and PAR4-AP the GPIb decreased firstly and then gradually returned to normal. Apyrase VII have not significant influence on the GPIb expression, but accelerated the return of GPIb to the platelet surface after PAR1 stimulation so that the lowest point was accelerated to 2 min, compared to that of the control group (5 min) and there were significantly differences 10 and 30 min later between these 2 groups (all P < 0.05). The P-selectin expression was remarkably increased 2 min after the PAR1-AP and PAR4-AP induction and peaked 2 min later. Apyrase VII did not significantly influence the P-selectin expression in these 2 activation ways. CONCLUSION: ADP plays an important role in the thrombin signal transmission, especially in the PAR1 pathway.