Artesunate Induces SKM-1 Cells Apoptosis by Inhibiting Hyperactive ß-catenin Signaling Pathway.

INTRODUCTION: Artesunate (ART), a wildly used agent to treat severe malarial around the world, also has the power to inhibit growth of different types of tumor. However, the exact molecular mechanisms keep unknown. METHOD: In this study, we used myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) cells (SKM-1 cells) with differential ART concentrations treatment at multiple time points to observe the subsequence cell function alteration and the possible involved pathway genes. RESULTS: We found that ART demonstrated the ability to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in SKM-1 in a dose and time-dependent manner. Demethylase recovered CDH1 gene expression may be involved in the apoptosis process. The ß-catenin protein translocated from the nucleus and cytoplasm to the membrane result in inactivation of ß-catenin signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide a rational basis to develop ART as a useful therapeutic agent for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes.

Mesenchymal stem cells versus mesenchymal stem cells combined with cord blood for engraftment failure after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a pilot prospective, open-label, randomized trial.

Engraftment failure (EF) after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a serious complication. We prospectively evaluated the effects and safeties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) alone and MSCs combined with cord blood (CB) for EF. Twenty-two patients were randomized to receive MSCs (MSC group; n = 11) or MSCs plus CB (CB group; n = 11). Patients with no response (NR) to MSCs received the therapeutic schedule in the CB group, and those patients with partial response (PR) in the MSC group and patients without complete remission (CR) in the CB group received another cycle of MSC treatment. Patients who did not achieve CR after 2 cycles of treatments received other treatments, including allogeneic HSCT. After the first treatment cycle, response was seen in 7 of 11 patients in the MSC group and in 9 of 11 in the CB group (P = .635), with a significant difference in neutrophil reconstruction between the 2 groups (P = .030). After 2 treatment cycles, 16 patients achieved CR, 3 achieved PR, and 3 had NR. No patient experienced graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). With a median follow-up of 345 d (range, 129 to 784 d) post-transplantation, 18 patients remained alive and 4 had died (3 from primary disease relapse and 1 from cytomegalovirus pneumonia). The 2-year overall survival, disease-free survival, and cumulative incidence of tumor relapse post-transplantation were 75.2% ± 12.0%, 79.5% ± 9.4%, and 20.5% ± 9.4%, respectively. Our data indicate that the 2 strategies are effective for EF and do not result in GVHD or increase the risk of tumor relapse, but the MSC plus CB regimen has a superior effect on neutrophil reconstruction.

A global study for acute myeloid leukemia with RARG rearrangement.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with retinoic acid receptor γ (RARG) rearrangement has clinical, morphologic, and immunophenotypic features similar to classic acute promyelocytic leukemia. However, AML with RARG rearrangement is insensitive to alltrans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) and carries a poor prognosis. We initiated a global cooperative study to define the clinicopathological features, genomic and transcriptomic landscape, and outcomes of AML with RARG rearrangements collected from 29 study groups/institutions worldwide. Thirty-four patients with AML with RARG rearrangements were identified. Bleeding or ecchymosis was present in 18 (54.5%) patients. Morphology diagnosed as M3 and M3v accounted for 73.5% and 26.5% of the cases, respectively. Immunophenotyping showed the following characteristics: positive for CD33, CD13, and MPO but negative for CD38, CD11b, CD34, and HLA-DR. Cytogenetics showed normal karyotype in 38% and t(11;12) in 26% of patients. The partner genes of RARG were diverse and included CPSF6, NUP98, HNRNPc, HNRNPm, PML, and NPM1. WT1- and NRAS/KRAS-mutations were common comutations. None of the 34 patients responded to ATRA and/or ATO. Death within 45 days from diagnosis occurred in 10 patients (∼29%). At the last follow-up, 23 patients had died, and the estimated 2-year cumulative incidence of relapse, event-free survival, and overall survival were 68.7%, 26.7%, and 33.5%, respectively. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering using RNA sequencing data from 201 patients with AML showed that 81.8% of the RARG fusion samples clustered together, suggesting a new molecular subtype. RARG rearrangement is a novel entity of AML that confers a poor prognosis. This study is registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2200055810).

Correlation between imatinib trough concentration and efficacy in Chinese chronic myelocytic leukemia patients.

BACKGROUND: Trough imatinib plasma concentration, intracellular drug levels and expression of drug transporters can be indicative of clinical responses in chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) patients receiving imatinib. We aimed to determine plasma imatinib concentration, intracellular imatinib concentration, human organic cation transporter 1 (hOCT1) and adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1) mRNA expression in bone marrow cells of CML patients in order to evaluate the potential usefulness of these measures as markers of imatinib efficacy and understand their clinical relationships. METHODS: Eighty-four CML patients receiving imatinib treatment were included in this study. Imatinib trough concentration was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Real-time quantitative PCR with a TaqMan probe was used to assess hOCT1 and ABCB1 mRNA expression in bone marrow cells. All patients were divided into the major molecular response (MMR), complete cytogenetic response (CCyR), partial cytogenetic response (PCyR) or drug-resistant groups according to their response. RESULTS: The plasma imatinib trough concentration was significantly higher in the MMR group than in the PCyR (p = 0.002) or drug-resistant groups (p = 0.011). The plasma imatinib trough concentration was also significantly higher in the CCyR group than in the PCyR group (p = 0.027). There were no significant differences between the CCyR and MMR groups with regard to the plasma imatinib trough concentration (p = 0.136). The intracellular imatinib concentration in bone marrow cells was significantly higher in the CCyR group compared to the drug-resistant or PCyR groups (p = 0.013). The hOCT1 mRNA expression in bone marrow cells was significantly higher in the CCyR group than in the drug-resistant or PCyR groups (p = 0.036). The ABCB1 mRNA expression in bone marrow cells was significantly higher in the drug-resistant group than in the CCyR or PCyR groups (p = 0.013). Plasma imatinib trough concentration was positively correlated with α(1)-acid glycoprotein (r = 0.443, p < 0.001) or dose (r = 0.422, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical responses in CML patients are correlated with both the plasma trough concentrations and intracellular levels of imatinib.

[A comparison of toxicity and efficacy between busulfan plus fludarabine and busulfan plus cyclophosphamide for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the transplant-related toxicity and the efficacy of busulfan/fludarabine (Bu/Flu) and busulfan/cyclophosphamide (Bu/Cy) as conditioning regimen in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for acute myeloid leukemia(AML) in the first complete remission (CR1). METHODS: Totally 32 AML-CR1 patients underwent allo-HSCT were divided into Bu/Cy (Bu 3.2 mg×kg(-1)×d(-1), 7 - 4 days before transplantation; Cy 60 mg×kg(-1)×d(-1), 3 - 2 days before transplantation) and Bu/Flu (Bu 3.2 mg×kg(-1)×d(-1), 5 - 2 days before transplantation; Flu 30 mg×m(-2)×d(-1), 6 - 2 days before transplantation) groups. The regimen-related toxicity (RRT), incidence and severity of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), 3-year cumulative relapse rate, non-relapse mortality (NRM), 3-year event-free survival (EFS) rate and overall survival (OS) rate were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The median follow-up duration was 617.5 (6 - 1261) days. All patients achieved successful engraftment on 30 day after transplantation. There were no significant differences in the median time to neutrophil engraftment (P = 0.121) and platelet engraftment (P = 0.171) between the two groups. The median duration of neutrophil count under 0.1×10(9)/L and platelet count under 20×10(9)/L in the Bu/Cy group were significantly longer than those in the Bu/Flu group (P = 0.000 and P = 0.047). The incidence of grades II-IV RRT were 68.8% and 25.0% (P = 0.032) in the Bu/Cy and the Bu/Flu groups, respectively. There were no significant differences in the incidence of acute GVHD (P = 0.149), chronic GVHD (P = 0.149), incidence of NRM (P = 0.333), 3-year cumulative relapse rates (P = 0.834), 3-year EFS rate (P = 0.362) and OS rate (P = 0.111) between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Compared with Bu/Cy, Bu/Flu is a myeloablative condition regimen with milder bone marrow suppression and lower RRT incidence rate in allogeneic HSCT for AML-CR1 patients without compromising the efficacy.

Advances in Multi-Omics Study of Prognostic Biomarkers of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

As the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is characterized by a huge degree of clinical and prognostic heterogeneity. Currently, there is an urgent need for highly specific and sensitive biomarkers to predict the therapeutic response of DLBCL and assess which patients can benefit from systemic chemotherapy to help develop more precise therapeutic regimens for DLBCL. Systems biology (holistic study of diseases) is more comprehensive in quantifying and identifying biomarkers, helps addressing major biological problems, and possesses high accuracy and sensitivity. In this article, we provide an overview of research advances in DLBCL prognostic biomarkers made using the multi-omics approach of genomics, transcriptomics, epigenetics, proteomics, metabonomics, radiomics, and the currently developing single-cell technologies.

Effect of pediatric- versus adult-type chemotherapy regimens on outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants for adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first complete remission.

The optimal chemotherapy regimen pre-transplantation for adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) patients remains unknown. Here, we compared the transplant outcomes in 127 subjects receiving pediatric- (N = 57) or adult-type (N = 70) regimens pre-transplant. The corresponding 3-year cumulative incidences of relapse (CIR) was 7% (95% CI: 3-11%) and 29% (95% CI: 23-35%; P = 0.02), leukemia-free survivals (LFS) was 86% (95% CI: 81-91%) and 57% (95% CI: 51-63%; P = 0.003), overall survivals (OS) was 88% (95% CI: 84-92%) and 58% (95% CI: 52-64%; P = 0.002), the 1-year NRM was 4% (95% CI: 1-7%) and 9% (95% CI: 4-14%; P = 0.40). Multivariate analysis showed that pediatric-type regimen was associated with lower CIR (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 0.31 [95% CI: 0.09-1.00]; P = 0.05), better LFS (HR = 0.34 [95% CI: 0.15-0.78]; P = 0.01) and OS (HR = 0.30 [95% CI: 0.13-0.72]; P = 0.01). Our results suggested that adult T-ALL patients undergoing allo-HSCT might benefit from pediatric-type chemotherapy.

[Effect of RAD001 or plus LBH589 on the proliferation, apoptosis and drug resistance in chemoresistant acute myeloid leukemic cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of everolimus (RAD001) or plus panobinostat (LBH589) on the proliferation, apoptosis and drug resistance in chemoresistant acute myeloid leukemic cells. METHODS: HL-60/ADM cells were treated with RAD001 alone or with LBH589. Proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated by 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo (-z-y1)-3,5-di-phenytetrazoliumromide (MTT) assay, Hoechst33342 and AnnexinV-FITC/PI stain. The altered expressions of multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1) and intercellular adriamycin accumulation were analyzed by flow cytometry. The change in protein level was analyzed by Western blot. RESULTS: Effective proliferative inhibition and apoptotic induction in HL60/ADM cells were observed in the treatment of 10 - 50 µmol/L RAD001. The maximal effect was shown for the concentration of 30 µmol/L RAD001 at 48 and 72 hours. The inhibition ratio remained unchanged with the adjustment of drug doses (P < 0.05). Moreover, there was no synergistic effects in the treatment with different concentration of RAD001 and LBH589 (CI ≥ 1.0). A down-regulation of MRP1 (93.9% ± 4.2% vs 79.10 ± 3.28%) and an up-regulation of adriamycin (8.53 ± 0.68% vs 15.37% ± 1.46%) were induced by the treatment with 10 µmol/L RAD001 (both P < 0.01). RAD001 inhibited the p53-dependent expression of MRP1 via an inhibition of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: The combined treatment of RAD001 and LBH589 has no synergistically inhibitory effect on HL60/ADM cells. But the sole treatment of RAD001 may inhibit proliferation, induce apoptosis and accumulate intercellular adriamycin through a down-regulated expression of MRP1 in HL60/ADM cells via an inhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.

[Serum α1-acid glycoprotein, imatinib concentration and efficacy in chronic myeloid leukemia patients].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between serum α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), disease progression, imatinib plasma trough concentration and efficacy in the patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). METHODS: A total of 112 CML patients were recruited from August 2008 to February 2010 in our hospital. There were 72 males and 40 females with a median age of 39 years old (range: 6 - 76 years old). Among them, 102 patients were in chronic phase, 4 in accelerated phase and 6 in blastic phase. Ninety-nine patients were treated with imatinib while 13 patients received hydroxyurea. Twenty healthy blood donors were designated as the control group. The serum AGP levels of all patients were detected by immuno-turbidimetric assay. And the concentrations of AGP and imatinib were detected in 12 patients before and after 3 months of imatinib therapy respectively. For 84 CML patients, their plasma trough concentrations of imatinib were detected by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry simultaneously. All patients were divided into 5 groups by efficacy to evaluate the significance of serum AGP and its relationship with imatinib concentration. RESULTS: Serum AGP of no response (NR) group [(1.18 ± 0.26) g/L] was significant higher than that of complete cytogenetic response (CCR), complete hematologic response (CHR) and control group [(0.60 ± 0.21), (0.71 ± 0.17), (0.52 ± 0.15) g/L, all P < 0.05]. Serum AGP of accelerated/blastic phase group [(1.28 ± 0.50) g/L] was significant higher than CCR or control group (P < 0.05). Serum AGP of CHR group was higher than that of control group (P < 0.05). No significant difference existed between CCR, CHR or control group (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences between NR, relapse or accelerated/blastic phase group (P > 0.05). The serum AGP of 12 patients on a 3-month therapy of imatinib were lower than that of patients at pre-treatment [(0.54 ± 0.17) g/L vs (0.83 ± 0.31) g/L, P < 0.01]. The plasma trough concentration of imatinib was (1307 ± 586) µg/L (range: 109 - 3400 µg/L) in 84 patients. And it was positively correlated with the serum level of AGP (r = 0.443, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The serum level of AGP can reflect the in vivo loads of leukemic cells for CML patients. There is a positive correlation between the serum level of AGP and the plasma trough concentration of imatinib. Serum AGP can be used as a monitoring index of efficacy for CML patients.

A Novel Aurora Kinase Inhibitor Attenuates Leukemic Cell Proliferation Induced by Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play an essential role in protecting leukemic cells from chemotherapeutic agents through activating a wide range of adhesion molecules and cytokines. Thus, more attention should be paid to attenuate the protection of leukemic cells by MSCs. By examining the gene expression files of MSCs from healthy donors and AML patients through high-throughput microarrays, we found that interleukin (IL)-6 was an important cytokine secreted by AML MSCs to protect leukemic cells, contributing to disease progression. Strikingly, Aurora A (AURKA) was activated by IL-6, offering a new target to interfere with leukemia. Importantly, a novel AURKA inhibitor, PW21, showed excellent AURKA kinase inhibitory activities and attenuated the interaction of leukemic cells and the microenvironment. PW21 inhibited MSC-induced cell proliferation, colony formation, and migration, and it induced cell apoptosis. Mechanically, PW21 could inhibit IL-6 secreted by MSCs. Moreover, we found that PW21 displayed a strong anti-leukemia effect on non-obese diabetic (NOD)-severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and murine MLL-AF9 leukemic models. PW21 significantly prolonged the survival of leukemic mice and eliminated the leukemic progenitor cells. AURKA inhibitor PW21 could provide a new approach for treatment of leukemia through blocking the protection by the leukemic microenvironment in clinical application.

Prediction of competing endogenous RNA coexpression network as prognostic markers in AML.

Recently, competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) hypothesis has gained a great interest in the study of molecular biological mechanisms of cancer occurrence and progression. However, studies on leukemia are limited, and there is still a lack of comprehensive analysis of lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA regulatory network of AML based on high-throughput sequencing and large-scale sample size. We obtained RNA-Seq data and compared the expression profiles between 407 normal whole blood (GTEx) and 151 bone marrows of AML (TCGA). The similarity between two sets of genes with trait in the network was analyzed by weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA). MiRcode, starBase, miRTarBase, miRDB and TargetScan was used to predict interactions between lncRNAs, miRNAs and target mRNAs. At last, we identified 108 lncRNAs, 10 miRNAs and 8 mRNAs to construct a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network, which might act as prognostic biomarkers of AML. Among the network, a survival model with 8 target mRNAs (HOXA9+INSR+KRIT1+MYB+SPRY2+UBE2V1+WEE1+ZNF711) was set up by univariate and multivariate cox proportional hazard regression analysis, of which the AUC was 0.831, indicating its sensitivity and specificity in AML prognostic prediction. CeRNA networks could provide further insight into the study on gene regulation and AML prognosis.

Atorvastatin plus therapeutic ultrasound improve postnatal neovascularization in response to hindlimb ischemia via the PI3K-Akt pathway.

Statins and therapeutic ultrasound (TUS) have been shown to ameliorate angiogenesis on ischemic hindlimb animals and promote human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) tube formation and proliferation. Here, we evaluate the therapeutic effect of TUS in combination with atorvastatin (Ator) therapy on angiogenesis in hindlimb ischemia and HUVECs. After subjecting excision of the left femoral artery, all mice were randomly distributed to one of four groups: Control; Ator treated mice (Ator); TUS treated mice (TUS); and Ator plus TUS treated mice (Ator+TUS). At day 14 post-surgery, the Ator plus TUS treatment cohort had the greatest blood perfusion, accompanied by elevated capillary density. In vitro, Ator plus TUS augmented tube formation, migration and proliferative capacities of HUVECs. Additionally, the united administration upregulated expression of angiogenic factors phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), phosphorylated endothelial nitric oxide synthase (p-eNOS), as well as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), both in vivo and in vitro. These benefits could be blocked by either phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) or eNOS inhibitor. Our data indicated that the united administration could significantly enhance ischemia-mediated angiogenesis and exert a protective effect against ischemic/hypoxia induced damage among HUVECs through up-regulating VEGF expression and activating the PI3K-Akt-eNOS pathway.

[Occupational exposure induced human transmissible highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in one patient].

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical manifestations and lung imaging characteristics of the human transmissible highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza. METHODS: The clinical manifestations and lung imaging characteristics of human transmissible highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in one patient were reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS: The patient had the clear history of occupational exposure. The fever and symptoms of influenza were prominent at onset and associated with the symptoms of the digestive tract. The laboratory findings comprised the significant decrease of the white blood cell count and the lymphocyte number and the impairment of the liver function and the myocardial enzymes. The disease progressed rapidly and multiple organs including lung, heart, liver and kidneys were involved. It was ineffective to administer anti-fungal, anti-virus and anti-inflammation medicines. It was in vain to use mechanical ventilation and pneumothorax intubation and closed drainage as well as the support therapy. In the X-ray film, the lesions progressed quickly and changed diversely with absorption and development at the same time. The nasal and throat swabs and the gargle specimen were detected with RT-PCR and real time PCR by Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The results showed that both the specific HA and NA genes of the avian influenza virus H5N1 subtype were positive and in the same time a strain of avian influenza virus A/jiangxi/1/2005H5N1) was separated and obtained from the nasal and throat swabs. The autopsy showed that diffuse injury of alveolus in lungs, DIC and multiple organ injury. CONCLUSION: The human transmissible highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza is a lethal disease. The disease progresses rapidly with the absorption and development at the same time in the lungs and unfortunately there are no effective therapeutic measures. The prevention of the contagious disease for the occupationally exposed population should be emphasized.

Diagnosis and treatment of diffusible Penicillium marneffei in human immunodeficiency virus-negative patients: A challenge for the physician.

Penicillium marneffei infection in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative patients is addressed far less often. In this article, a small cohort of HIV-negative patients who disseminated P. marneffei infection was included. Sites of infection were found from blood culture, as subcutaneous nodules, or from lymph node biopsy. Fever, rash, swollen lymph nodes, anaemia and weight loss were common characteristics in most infected patients. The signs and symptoms are diverse and create challenges for accurate diagnosis. This paper will assist our understanding of this disease and contribute to an appropriate regime of therapy, thus improving the health of P. marneffei-positive patients.

Therapeutic ultrasound plus pulsed electromagnetic field improves recovery from peripheral arterial disease in hypertension.

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the therapy effect of combined therapeutic ultrasound (TUS) treatment and pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy on angiogenesis in hypertension-related hindlimb ischemia. After subjecting excision of the left femoral artery, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were randomly distributed to one of four groups: SHR; TUS treated SHR (SHR-TUS); PEMF treated SHR (PEMF-TUS); and TUS plus PEMF treated SHR (SHR-TUS-PEMF). Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKYs) with femoral artery excision were regarded as a control group. At day 14 after surgery, the TUS plus PEMF united administration had the greatest blood perfusion accompanied by elevated capillary density and the lowest TUNEL index. Interestingly, the united administration up-regulated the angiogenic factors expression of phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), phosphorylated endothelial nitric oxide synthase (p-eNOS), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), anti-apoptotic protein of Bcl-2 and down-regulated pro-apoptotic protein levels of Bax and Cleaved caspase-3 in vivo. Our results demonstrated that the united administration could significantly rescue hypertension-related inhibition of ischemia-induced neovascularization partly by promoting angiogenesis and inhibiting apoptosis.

Bone marrow niche-mediated survival of leukemia stem cells in acute myeloid leukemia: Yin and Yang.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by the accumulation of circulating immature blasts that exhibit uncontrolled growth, lack the ability to undergo normal differentiation, and have decreased sensitivity to apoptosis. Accumulating evidence shows the bone marrow (BM) niche is critical to the maintenance and retention of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), including leukemia stem cells (LSC), and an increasing number of studies have demonstrated that crosstalk between LSC and the stromal cells associated with this niche greatly influences leukemia initiation, progression, and response to therapy. Undeniably, stromal cells in the BM niche provide a sanctuary in which LSC can acquire a drug-resistant phenotype and thereby evade chemotherapy-induced death. Yin and Yang, the ancient Chinese philosophical concept, vividly portrays the intricate and dynamic interactions between LSC and the BM niche. In fact, LSC-induced microenvironmental reprogramming contributes significantly to leukemogenesis. Thus, identifying the critical signaling pathways involved in these interactions will contribute to target optimization and combinatorial drug treatment strategies to overcome acquired drug resistance and prevent relapse following therapy. In this review, we describe some of the critical signaling pathways mediating BM niche-LSC interaction, including SDF1/CXCL12, Wnt/ß-catenin, VCAM/VLA-4/NF-κB, CD44, and hypoxia as a newly-recognized physical determinant of resistance, and outline therapeutic strategies for overcoming these resistance factors.

[Sclerodermatous chronic graft-versus-host disease after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: incidence, clinical characteristics and risk factors].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence and risk factors of sclerodermatous chronic graft-versus-host disease (ScGVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). METHODS: The clinical data of 259 patients undergoing allo-HSCT in Nanfang Hospital between January, 2012 and December, 2014 were analyzed. RESULTS: Chronic GVHD following allo-HSCT occurred in 134 (51.7%) cases, among whom 22 patients showed sclerodermatous features at a median of 12.5 months (range 4-28 months) after the transplantation. The overall incidence of ScGVHD was 8.49% (22/259) in the recipients and 16.4% (22/134) in those with cGVHD. Univariate analysis showed that the conditioning regimen with total body irradiation (P=0.031), GVHD prophylaxis with MMF (P=0.046), presence of chronic GVHD (P=0.008), and donor lymphocyte infusion (P=0.001) were all closely associated with the occurrence of ScGVHD. Multivariate analysis identified chronic GVHD (RR=3.512, 95%CI: 1.235-9.987, P=0.018) and donor lymphocyte infusion (RR=5.217, 95%CI: 1.698-16.029, P=0.004) as the independent risk factors of ScGVHD. CONCLUSION: ScGVHD following allo-HSCT is not a common complication, and cGVHD and donor lymphocyte infusion are the independent risk factors for ScGVHD.

Rescue of hypertension-related impairment of angiogenesis by therapeutic ultrasound.

We examined the hypothesis that therapeutic ultrasound (TUS) treatment would rescue the hypertension-related inhibition of ischemia-induced angiogenesis. TUS protects against endothelial dysfunction, but it is little known that the effect of TUS treatment on angiogenesis inhibited by hypertension. 20-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKYs) were randomly allocated to 4 groups: SHR; TUS treated SHR (SHR-TUS); WKY and TUS treated WKY (WKY-TUS). After undergoing excision of the left femoral artery, the ischemic skeletal muscles were treated with extracorporeal TUS for 9 minutes of daily exposure (frequency of 1 MHz, intensity of 0.3 W/cm(2)) for 14 consecutive days. We found that TUS normalized the blood perfusion in SHR-TUS accompanied by elevated capillary density. Similar results were found in the protein expression of angiogenic factors. TUS treatment also enhanced peripheral capillary density in WKY rats and restored the capillary rarefaction in hypertension by elevating the protein levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), hypoxic inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) in vivo. Our data demonstrated that TUS treatment ameliorated hypertension-related inhibition of ischemia-induced angiogenesis, at least in part, via an NO-dependent manner.

Therapeutic ultrasound reverses peripheral ischemia in type 2 diabetic mice through PI3K-Akt-eNOS pathway.

Therapeutic ultrasound (TUS) has been demonstrated to improve endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity, which played a crucial role in the regulation of angiogenesis. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) impairs eNOS activity. We tested the hypothesis that DM may retard unilateral hindlimb ischemia-induced angiogenesis by inhibiting eNOS in high-fat diet (HFD)/streptozocin (STZ) induced diabetic mice, and that TUS may reverse DM-related impairment of angiogenesis. C57BL/6 mice were allocated to four groups: (A) mice were fed standard diet (control); (B) mice were fed standard diet and treated with TUS (control+TUS); (C) type-2 DM mice were induced by HFD/STZ (diabetic); and (D) type-2 DM mice and treated with TUS (dabetic+TUS). All mice were surgically induced unilateral limb ischemia. The ischemic skeletal muscles in groups B and D were irradiated with extracorporeal TUS for 9 minutes/day (frequency of 1 MHz, intensity of 0.3 W/cm2) for 14 consecutive days. The result showed that TUS augmented the blood perfusion, increased capillary density accompanied by an upregulation of angiogenic factors and a downregulation of apoptotic proteins in group D relative to group C. In vitro, TUS inhibited the apoptosis, promoted tubule formation, proliferation and migration capacities, increased angiogenic factors expression and reduced apoptotic protein levels in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Furthermore, TUS can robust reverse the inhibiting effect induced by high glucose (HG) on HUVECs, and these benefits could be blocked by phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor (LY294002) or eNOS inhibitor (L-NAME). Together, TUS restored type-2 DM-mediated inhibition of ischemia-induced angiogenesis, partially via PI3K-Akt-eNOS signal pathway.

Correlation between deletion of the CDKN2 gene and tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance in adult Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Frequency relapses are common in Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph-positive) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) following tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). CDKN2A/B is believed to contribute to this chemotherapy resistance. METHODS: To further investigate the association between CDKN2 status and TKI resistance, the prevalence of CDKN2 deletions and its correlation with a variety of clinical features was assessed in 135 Ph-positive ALL patients using interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (I-FISH). RESULTS: Results showed that no difference occurred between patients with CDKN2 deletion (44/135) and wild-type patients in sex, age, and complete remission (CR) rate following induction chemotherapy combined with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). However, CDKN2 deletion carriers demonstrated higher white blood cell (WBC) count, enhanced rates of hepatosplenomegaly (P = 0.006), and upregulation of CD20 expression (P = 0.001). Moreover, deletions of CDKN2 resulted in lower rates of complete molecular response (undetectable BCR/ABL), increased cumulative incidence of relapse, short overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) time (P < 0.05) even though these patients received chemotherapy plus TKIs followed by allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Allo-HSCT). In the case of 44 patients who presented with CDKN2 deletion, 18 patients were treated with dasatinib treatment, and another 26 patients were treated with imatinib therapy, and our study found that there were no differences associated with OS (P = 0.508) and DFS (P = 0.555) between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: CDKN2 deletion is frequently acquired during Ph-positive ALL progression and serves as a poor prognostic marker of long-term outcome in Ph-positive ALL patients with CDKN2 deletion even after the second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment.