Regulation of i- and I-antigen expression in the K562 cell line.

Expression of i- and I-antigen in K562 cultured under different conditions of culture was investigated. Under standard conditions of culture, i-antigen expression was very high (100% of i-labeled cells) in contrast to I-antigen expression of which was very low (2 to 5% of I-labeled cells). The addition of hemin to K562 cells did not modify the mean antigenic density or the proportion of i- and I-labeled cells. In contrast, sodium butyrate elicited an important increase in the proportion of cells exhibiting I-antigen associated to a decrease of i-antigenic density. The effect of butyrate was reversible and dependent upon de novo protein and messenger RNA synthesis since it was abolished in the presence of cycloheximide or actinomycin D. The stimulation of i-antigen conversion to I-antigen elicited by butyrate cannot be directly related to an induction of differentiation since evidence in this sense is lacking; in fact, butyrate did not increase the hemoglobin content of K562 cells. The passage from exponential to stationary phase of growth (cell density inhibition) was associated with an increase in I-antigen expression and a slight decrease in i-antigen density on the surface of K562 cells.

Expression of the blood group I, i, H, and A1 antigens on erythrocyte membranes studied by immunofluorescence.

A double immunofluorescence technique was used to study the expression of I, i, H and A1 antigens on individual erythrocytes of neonates, adult controls and patients with various haematological disorders. I, i and H staining was heterogeneously distributed from cell to cell as was already demonstrated for A1 antigen. i staining occured in 41 to 64% of cord cells (11 to 32% were strongly fluorescent) but only in 0.2 to 2.3% of adult erythrocytes. I staining occurred in 54 to 97.5% of adult erythrocytes but only in 1 to 14% of those of cord blood. Patients' cells tended to mimic a foetal pattern of heterogeneity in that an increase of i stained cells occured associated with a decrease of A1 or H stained cells. It is suggested that the foetal-like red cells observed in patients with haematological disorders result from an expansion of a normal process of differentiation rather than clonal development of abnormal cells.

A new case of monoclonal IgA kappa cold agglutinin with anti-Pr1d specificity in a patient with persistent HB antigen cirrhosis.

A new case of cold agglutinin disease in a patient who had a long lasting Raynaud's phenomenon without hemolysis and a persistent HB antigen cirrhosis, is reported. The cold agglutinin is a monoclonal IgA kappa antibody which reacts at 4degreesC to a titer of 256. As the three other cases described in the literature, it demonstrates Pr1 specificity. The eluate from human cells reacts with rat and dog cells whose receptor is destroyed by both papain and neuraminidase, thus eliciting the characteristic Pr1d specificity.

[Cellular regulation of the expression of i and I antigens during the in vitro differentiation of BFU-E]. / Régulation cellulaire de l'expression des antigènes i et I au cours de la différenciation in vitro des BFU-E.

Burst forming units (BFU-E) from the blood of eight normal adults were grown in methylcellulose culture. Follow up of i and I antigens detected by an indirect immunofluorescence technique from the 9th to the 14th day of culture revealed that i antigen expression diminished while maturation proceeded. On the contrary 1 antigen expression increased meanwhile. Nevertheless, in addition to this maturation process, expression of i antigen must be determined by a regulatory mechanism operating during erythroid stem cell differentiation since a large proportion of immature erythroblasts at the 10th day of culture do not express i antigen.

F-cells are preferentially distributed among high density erythrocytes.

Red blood cells from normal subjects and subjects with heterocellular hereditary persistence of fatal haemoglobin and beta-thalassaemia were fractionated according to density by centrifugation on a discontinuous gradient of Stractan II. F-cells were studied by immunofluorescence and their proportion was evaluated in each separated population. This approach has permitted to show that F-cells were preferentially distributed among high density erythrocytes. This phenomenon reflects a peculiar characteristic of F-cells.

Pharmacokinetics of a low molecular weight heparin (Fraxiparine) in various stages of chronic renal failure.

This study investigates the pharmacokinetics of a low molecular weight heparin (Fraxiparine) after a single bolus intravenous injection of 100 antifactor Xa IC U.kg-1 in 3 groups of patients affected by chronic renal insufficiency of various severity: group A (n = 7) was composed of hemodialyzed patients; groups; B (n = 7) had a creatinine clearance ranging from 10 to 20 ml.min-1 and group C (n = 5) from 30 to 50 ml.min-1. There was no significant difference between the pharmacokinetic parameters determined in the 3 groups of patients and no correlation between these parameters and the creatinine clearance. However, when compared to the values established in a group of 12 healthy volunteers, the half-life of disappearance of the antifactor Xa activity was significantly prolonged. Therefore it is advised to monitor antifactor Xa activity in patients affected by chronic renal insufficiency of any severity to avoid a possible accumulation phenomenon.

Disappearance of Hb F and i antigen during the first year of life.

In order to investigate whether a common control mechanism is involved in the diminution of i antigen expression and that of Hb F content in human erythrocytes during the postnatal period, we compared changes in 72 normal infants aged from 0 to 12 months. The proportion of hemoglobins (Hb F, Hb A, Hb A2) and the quantitation of "i" antigen were determined on the total population of red blood cells. In addition, the percentage of individual cells containing Hb F or "i" antigen or both (F cells, "i" cells, and F + "i" cells) were evaluated by using a rhodamine-conjugated anti-Hb F and a fluorescein conjugated anti-system on the same smear preparation. The results provided by the two most sensitive techniques (F cell counting and "i agglutinability) indicated that the curves of disappearance of Hb F and "i" antigen along the 12 first months after birth were identical. A strong correlation (r = 0.97, P < 0.0001) existed between the percentage of F cells and "i" antigen expression. In addition, the progressive increase in Hb A2 concentration was inversely correlated firstly with the proportion of Hb F and second with the expression of the "i" antigen. These results suggest that the switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin and the transformation of "i" antigen expression occurring during the first year following birth are governed by a common control mechanism.

Carbonic anhydrase I is an early specific marker of normal human erythroid differentiation.

The expression of carbonic anhydrase (CA) as a marker of erythroid differentiation was investigated by immunologic and enzymatic procedures. A polyclonal anti-CA antibody was obtained by immunizing rabbits with purified CA I isozyme. This antibody is reactive with CA I but not with CA II. Within blood cells, CA I was only present in erythrocytes, whereas CA II was also detected in platelet lysates by enzymatic assay. Concerning marrow cells, identifiable erythroblasts and some blast cells expressed CA I. Most of the glycophorin A-positive marrow cells were clearly labeled by the anti-CA I antibody. However, rare CA I-positive cells were not reactive with anti-glycophorin A antibodies. We therefore investigated whether these cells were erythroid precursors or progenitors. In cell sorting experiments of marrow cells with the FA6 152 monoclonal antibody, which among hematopoietic progenitors is reactive only with CFU-E and a part of BFU-E, was performed, CA I+ cells were found mainly in the positive fraction. The percentage of CA I+ cells nonreactive with anti-glycophorin A antibodies contained in the two fractions was in the same range as the percentage of erythroid progenitors identified by their capacity to form colonies. In addition, the anti-CA I antibody labeled blood BFU-E-derived colonies as early as day 6 of culture, whereas in similar experiments with the anti-glycophorin A antibodies, they were stained three or four days later. No labeling was observed in CFU-GM- or CFU-MK-derived colonies. The phenotype of the day 6 cells expressing CA I was similar to that of erythroid progenitors (CFU-E or BFU-E): negative for glycophorin A and hemoglobin, and positive for HLA-DR antigen, the antigen identified by FA6 152, and blood group A antigen. Among the cell lines tested, only HEL cells expressed CA I, while K562 was unlabeled by the anti-CA I antibody. In contrast, HEL and K562 cells expressed CA II as detected by a biochemical technique. Synthesis of CA I, as with other erythroid markers such as glycophorin A and hemoglobin, was almost abolished after 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13 acetate treatment of HEL cells. In conclusion, CA I appears to be an early specific marker of the erythroid differentiation, expressed by a cell with a similar phenotype as an erythroid progenitor.

Fetal hemoglobin synthesis in culture of early erythroid precursors (BFU-E) from the blood of normal adults.

BFU-E from the blood of 14 normal adults have been grown by the plasma clot technique. The hemoglobins synthesized in burst colonies were purified from other proteins by affinity chromatography on Sepharose-haptoglobin. The radioactivity incorporated in the globin chains was estimated by CM-cellulose chromatography in urea. The number of bursts scored at the 14th day of culture fluctuated between 50-130 (average 86, s: 29) for 10(6) mononuclear plated cells. A constant reactivation of fetal hemoglobin was found (from 1.4% to 11%, mean value 5.8%, s:3.07), but was lower than previously described, mainly because of the highly selective purification of Hb. This reactivation of fetal hemoglobin was not dependent upon the concentration of erythropoietin (from 1 U/ml to 6 U/ml) nor on the purity of the erythropoietin preparations (from 6 U/mg of protein to 70 000U/mg of protein). In addition, the same subject exhibited a constant proportion of Hb F synthesized in culture over a period of time up to 6 months. A positive correlation exists between the proportion of Hb F in culture and that of F cells present in the blood, with the exception of two subjects. Such findings suggest that Hb F in culture is a characteristic of each individual and that this reactivation often represents an amplification of the Hb F synthesis in vivo.