Diffuse colonic mantle cell lymphoma in a patient with presumed ulcerative colitis: detection of a precursor monoclonal lymphoid population using polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry.

Primary lymphoma of the colon, a rare and typically late complication of ulcerative colitis, exhibits high-grade morphology and behavior when it occurs. Recently, several reports of colonic lymphoma masquerading as ulcerative colitis have been described. These previous reports described inflammatory mucosal changes typical of ulcerative colitis as being present in superficial biopsies, leading to the initial diagnosis of ulcerative colitis; however, further workup resulted in a diagnosis of primary colonic lymphoma within several months in these cases, and all symptoms and mucosal changes resolved after treatment of the lymphoma. Herein we report a case of mantle cell lymphoma arising in the colon and rectum in a 71-year-old woman with a 4-year history of ulcerative colitis. Immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene rearrangements were detected using the polymerase chain reaction procedure in fixed tissue in the lymphoma as well as in a prior resection specimen that histologically appeared to show only changes of severe ulcerative colitis. This finding suggests that an indolent lymphoid proliferation may have been the underlying disease in this patient and raises questions about the role of colonic lymphoma in causing mucosal injury.

Immunohistochemical localization of smooth muscle myosin in normal human tissues.

Immunohistochemical localization of smooth muscle myosin, an immunologically distinct contractile protein, was achieved using rabbit anti-human uterine smooth muscle myosin antibodies. In immunodiffusion studies and in cryostat sections, these antibodies were highly specific and reacted with smooth muscle myosin but not with platelet, skeletal muscle, or cardiac muscle myosin. To evaluate comprehensively the structural profile of smooth muscle elements in normal human tissues, an indirect immunoperoxidase technique (peroxidase-antiperoxidase) was applied to a wide variety of specimens. Parallel studies comparing cryostat sections with fixed (10% formalin, B5, Bouin's, or Zenker's solution) paraffin-embedded tissues revealed optimal immunoreactivity, sensitivity, and specificity of staining for smooth muscle myosin using frozen tissues. Strong immunoreactivity was present in muscular tissues such as blood vessels and the muscularis of gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts. Distinct delineation of smooth muscle elements, including individual smooth muscle cells, and their specific patterns of alignment and organization, were observed, e.g., cells comprising the muscularis mucosae and extending into the lamina propria of the gastrointestinal tract, and myoepithelial cells of skin, exocrine glands, and breast. This method provides excellent morphologic preservation and readily permits unambiguous identification of individual cells containing smooth muscle myosin.

Silicone lymphadenopathy in a long distance runner: complication of a silastic prosthesis.

A 33-year-old male runner, who had undergone a Swanson silastic prosthetic implant for degenerative joint disease of the first metatarsal head and proximal phalanx of the right great toe, presented with unilateral inguinal lymphadenopathy. Biopsy revealed confluent, non-caseating granulomas containing silastic material. Silicone lymphadenopathy is unusual and most frequently presents as axillary adenopathy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis as a sequelae of prosthetic surgery. This case is clinically distinctive for its site of presentation in a healthy athlete and is histologically remarkable for the marked granulomatous response to the silastic elastomers.

Small lymphocytic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of suppressor/cytotoxic T-cell phenotype [CD4(-), CD8(+)].

An unusual case of small lymphocytic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of suppressor/cytotoxic T-cell phenotype is described. The patient presented with significant involvement of the spleen, lymph nodes, and bone marrow, but without a leukemic phase. Most small lymphocytic lymphomas are of B-cell phenotype, and those of T-cell origin are overwhelmingly of T-helper/inducer phenotype. Furthermore, T-cell lymphoproliferative lesions of suppressor/cytotoxic phenotype generally present as leukemias comprising large granular lymphocytes. This case reveals that suppressor/cytotoxic T lymphocytes may give rise to a lymphoproliferative disorder with a distinctive phenotype and presentation.

T-cell blast crisis in chronic myelogenous leukemia. Immunophenotypic and molecular biologic findings.

T-cell blast crisis in chronic myelogenous leukemia is rare. We examined three patients (ages 35 to 72 years) in whom T-cell blast crisis developed 11 to 36 months (mean, 25 months) after diagnosis of chronic myelogenous leukemia and who died 4 to 12 months (mean, 7 months) thereafter. Two patients had diffuse lymphadenopathy, and the third had marked lymphocytosis (white blood cell count 217,000/microL, with 90% circulating blasts). In all three patients, neoplastic cells had the appearance of lymphoblasts and were immunoreactive for T-cell markers by immunohistochemical or flow cytometric analysis or both. Molecular diagnostic studies revealed the presence of a bcr-abl oncogene rearrangement in all three cases, but none exhibited a clonal T-cell receptor delta, beta, or gamma chain gene rearrangement. One case exhibited deletion of the J delta 1 region of both delta chain genes. The significance of these findings is discussed, and they are compared with those of other reported cases of T-cell blast crisis in chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Comparison of functional testing for resistance to activated protein C and molecular biological testing for factor V R506Q in 370 patients.

OBJECTIVE: To compare functional and molecular biological tests for resistance to activated protein C (APC)/factor V R506Q, the most common cause of familial thrombosis. METHODS: We developed functional and molecular biological tests for resistance to APC/factor V R506Q at our institution and correlated the results for 370 patients studied by both methods. The functional method is based on addition of exogenous APC to an activated partial thromboplastin time-based assay. The molecular biological method is based on polymerase chain reaction followed by endonuclease digestion. RESULTS: Considering the molecular biological test as definitive for detecting the factor V R506Q mutation, the sensitivity of the functional assay was 100%, and the specificity was 74%. The prevalence of the factor V mutation in the population studied was 12% (41 heterozygotes, two homozygotes), and the positive predictive value of the functional assay was 34%. Although a normalized sensitivity ratio (nAPC-SR) less than 0.84 is considered evidence of resistance to APC by functional testing, we found that all patients with factor V R506Q had an nAPC-SR less than or equal to 0.71. When this alternative positive cutoff was used, the specificity of the functional test for factor V R506Q increased to 87%, and the positive predictive value increased to 52%, which constituted a significant improvement. We compared clinical findings from patients with resistance to APC with or without the presence of factor V R506Q, and found that as a group, those with factor V R506Q had a higher incidence of hypercoagulability, but fewer additional risk factors for hypercoagulability. The mechanism of resistance to APC in factor V R506Q-negative individuals is unclear, but may be related to other risk factors for hypercoagulability. CONCLUSIONS: The functional assay for resistance to APC is an excellent screening test for factor V R506Q, but confirmatory molecular biological testing is necessary when the functional test is positive, because of the high false-positive rate.

A low-temperature embedding colloidal gold technique for immunoelectron microscopy.

A low-temperature embedding technique using the polar resin Lowicryl K4M with protein A gold as a marker was utilized to localize a variety of antigens at the ultrastructural level. Carcinoembryonic antigen immunoreactivity was noted over the microvilli, secretory vacuoles, and the Golgi apparatus of normal colonic epithelium. Epithelial membrane antigen was localized to the luminal plasma membrane and cytoplasmic vesicles of glandular epithelium. The lymphoid antigens leucocyte common antigen and HLA-DR were both found on the membranes of lymphocytes and histiocytes. In addition, HLA-DR immunoreactivity was noted in the Golgi apparatus of these cells. The method described appears suitable for the localization of both surface and intracellular antigens with excellent preservation of both morphology and antigenicity.

The ultrastructural localization of prostatic specific antigen and prostatic acid phosphatase in hyperplastic and neoplastic human prostates.

A low temperature embedding, protein A-gold technique was used to localize prostatic specific antigen and prostatic acid phosphatase at the ultrastructural level in hyperplastic and neoplastic human prostates. Prostatic specific antigen immunoreactivity was localized over the endoplasmic reticulum, cytoplasmic vesicles and vacuoles, and within the lumina of prostatic glands. In contrast, prostatic acid phosphatase immunoreactivity was localized to lysosomal granules. The pattern of labelling was similar in both hyperplastic glands and adenocarcinomas. This is the first localization of prostatic specific antigen at the ultrastructural level. The localization of prostatic acid phosphatase by an immunochemical technique confirms and expands previous histochemical observations.

Ki-1-positive large cell lymphomas, a heterogenous group of neoplasms. Morphologic, immunophenotypic, genotypic, and clinical features of 24 cases.

Clinical and pathologic features of 24 patients with large cell lymphomas that expressed the activation antigen Ki-1 are described. Phenotypic and/or genotypic studies characterized these neoplasms as T-cell (16 cases), B-cell (six cases), or null cell (two cases) type. Males predominantly were affected. Age of patients ranged from 19 to 73 years, with a bimodal distribution, with peaks in the third and seventh decades. Lymphadenopathy was present in nearly all patients. Extranodal involvement, including skin, soft tissue, bone, central nervous system, lung, or small intestine was observed in a total of 54% of the patients, either at presentation or during the course of disease. "Prototypic" features of large cell anaplastic lymphomas were observed for eight T-cell lymphomas, with morphologic heterogeneity noted for the remainder. Eight patients, all with T-cell neoplasms (only one with prototypic morphology), have died of lymphoma (median survival, 5 months). An antecedent history of a lymphoproliferative disorder (mycosis fungoides, B-cell lymphoma, immunoblastic lymphadenopathy) was apparent in seven patients. An 8-year history of Crohn's disease occurred in one patient with a T-cell lymphoma involving small intestine. Phenotypically, loss of one or more markers was typically noted for T-cell neoplasms. Leukocyte common antigen was detected in all cases, although partial loss of immunoreactivity was noticed in some cases. Nearly all cases evaluated for Ia antigen or alpha-1-antichymotrysin were reactive. Eleven of 16 T-cell, two of six B-cell, and two null cell lymphomas expressed epithelial membrane antigen. Ki-1-positive large cell lymphomas are characterized by clinical, morphologic, and immunophenotypic heterogeneity.

Lymphoma with clonal T-cell receptor gene rearrangement in a 25-year survivor of Hodgkin's disease.

A woman was treated for Hodgkin's disease, remained disease-free for 25 years, and then developed waxing and waning adenopathy during the next 2 years. The histologic examination of a lymph node biopsy specimen showed a T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The patient's indolent clinical course prompted a second biopsy to obtain tissue for T-cell receptor gene rearrangement studies. A southern blot analysis using a human T-cell receptor beta chain probe showed a new band of rearranged DNA, which confirmed the diagnosis of T-cell lymphoma.

Clonal evidence for the induction of NKH1 on activated human thymocytes. Functional changes associated with antigen expression.

Freshly isolated human thymocytes lack the NKH1 antigen and the ability to lyse target cells without major histocompatibility complex restriction. Short-term culture of human thymocytes in interleukin (IL) 2 results in the generation of non-major histocompatibility complex-restricted effector cells, all of which express NKH1. The mechanism by which these cells appear in culture has yet to be elucidated. In the present studies, we developed thymocyte clones and performed a molecular analysis of T cell receptor gene rearrangements to demonstrate that the expression of NKH1 antigen is induced on the surface of NKH1- thymocytes in the presence of IL2. In addition, we were able to show that the NKH1+ fraction consistently displayed an increased proliferative response to similar concentrations of IL2 when compared to NKH1- cells, for both clonal and polyclonal populations of thymocytes. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that the initial appearance of the NKH1 antigen following thymocyte culture in the presence of IL2 results from the induction of NKH1 expression on NKH1- thymocytes, while the subsequent predominance of this cell type also results from an enhanced proliferative response to IL2 which coincides with NKH1 expression.

Cytotoxic gamma delta I lymphocytes associated with an Epstein-Barr virus-induced posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorder.

T cells expressing the gamma delta T cell receptor have been implicated in anti-Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) immunity and in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system. However, they have never been isolated from human brain tissue for direct analysis. We now report a 6-year-old girl with EBV-associated posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disease involving inflammatory brain lesions. A high proportion of gamma delta T cells was found in the blood and in a brain lesion. Cultured T cell lines were found to have a remarkably high frequency of responsiveness to an EBV-transformed line, with a 17-fold enrichment in the brain lesion. These T cells expressed predominantly the gamma delta T cell receptor and mediated non-MHC-restricted cytotoxicity against EBV-infected target cells. These results provide the first demonstration of an association of gamma delta T cells with a posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disease and suggest a role of gamma delta T cells in mediating inflammatory processes in the brain.

Transfusion with blood from a donor with chronic myelogenous leukemia: persistence of the bcr/abl translocation in the recipient.

BACKGROUND: Transfusion of cells harvested from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) as a therapeutic measure for patients with granulocytopenia was popular in the 1970s, when studies examining the persistence of transfused donor cells were limited by a lack of molecular techniques. Blood samples from a patient who recently received an inadvertent transfusion of CML cells were evaluated for the presence of the bcr/abl translocation characteristic of CML. CASE REPORT: The patient, a 67-year-old man with a history of congestive heart failure, myocardial infarct, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and chronic renal failure, was transfused for bleeding from colonic angiodysplasia. A volunteer blood donor reported that he had been diagnosed with CML 10 days after his donation. Three days after the donation, blood components from the donor with CML had been administered to the patient as nonirradiated red cells and platelets. Evaluation of donor blood by a reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction showed the b3a2 transcript, indicating a bcr/abl translocation. Periodic testing of the patient's peripheral blood by the same technique demonstrated the presence of the b3a2 transcript on Days 74 and 75 after transfusion. The patient died of congestive heart failure 8 months after the transfusion. CONCLUSION: In this rare case of accidental transfusion of neoplastic cells, the findings document the persistence of the donor's neoplastic clone in the recipient for 75 days.

Impact of activated protein C resistance on general vascular surgical patients.

PURPOSE: The prevalence of activated protein C resistance (APCR) and associated thrombotic morbidity among patients who undergo arterial reconstruction were investigated. METHODS: Preoperative assays for functional APCR and factor V (Leiden) mutation were performed on 262 patients who underwent arterial reconstructions that consisted of cerebrovascular surgery (109), aortic or iliofemoral procedures (76), or infrainguinal bypass procedures (77). Patients were monitored for thrombotic complications during the postoperative period. RESULTS: Depending on the stringency of the definition used, functional APCR was detected in 10.6% to 22.0% of patients tested. Factor V (Leiden) was found in 5.3% of patients. Thrombotic morbidity consisting of myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular event, or graft thrombosis occurred in 9.9% of patients, who were followed-up for a mean of 4.8 months. No significant overall correlations were found between APCR and thrombotic morbidity. Subgroup analysis revealed significant associations between functional APCR and total early postoperative thrombotic complications and early graft failure, and between factor V (Leiden) and early cerebrovascular events and late graft thrombosis (p < 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Functional APCR is somewhat more prevalent among general vascular surgical patients than in the general population, but factor V (Leiden) is no more prevalent. APCR is not a prominent cause of thrombotic morbidity in contemporary vascular surgery. Nonetheless, it is a sufficiently important potential contributor to morbidity among some subgroups to warrant selective testing and directed therapy pending further study.

T gamma/delta hepatosplenic lymphoma in a heart transplant patient after an Epstein-Barr virus positive lymphoproliferative disorder: a case report.

BACKGROUND: An unusual case of a peripheral T-cell lymphoma of T gamma/delta hepatosplenic type (Tgamma/deltaHSL) that arose in a child 5 years after she received a heart transplant and 9 months after she developed Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positive, B-cell lymphoid hyperplasia involving the tonsils is presented. The majority of the reported cases of Tgamma/deltaHSL have been described in young adult men without antecedent immunodeficiency; several well documented cases of Tgamma/deltaHSL in the posttransplant setting have been described previously, but none has been described in a child (or an adult) with a previously diagnosed EBV+ B-cell lymphoid hyperplasia. METHODS: Standard histologic, immunohistochemical, flow cytometric, and molecular genetic techniques were used in the evaluation of diagnostic material. RESULTS: The patient's Tgamma/deltaHSL involved the spleen in a predominantly cordal pattern, and infiltrated the liver in an exclusively sinusoidal distribution. Bone marrow involvement was focal and interstitial. In all locations, malignant cells were of intermediate or large size and had oval nuclei with coarse chromatin, with a scant or moderate amount of eosinophilic cytoplasm. This Tgamma/deltaHSL expressed the characteristic CD2+, CD3+, [CD4- CD8-], Tdelta1+ phenotype, and malignant cells also expressed the natural killer cell marker CD56. Cytogenetic studies demonstrated isochromosome 7q with the addition of trisomy 8 as the tumor progressed. Southern blot analysis demonstrated clonal rearrangements of the gamma, delta, and beta loci of the T-cell receptor but did not identify EBV DNA within the tumor cells. CONCLUSIONS: This case highlights the fact that a full range of lymphoid proliferations is possible in the posttransplantation period, and that a prior diagnosis of a B-cell disorder does not preclude the development of a subsequent T-cell posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD), which should be formally evaluated, especially if clinical circumstances appear atypical for a PTLD of the "usual" (EBV-related, B-cell) type.

All advanced stage non-Hodgkin's lymphomas with a polymerase chain reaction amplifiable breakpoint of bcl-2 have residual cells containing the bcl-2 rearrangement at evaluation and after treatment.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of bcl-2 provides an extremely sensitive method to detect minimal disease in approximately 50% of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). In an attempt to determine the clinical usefulness of this technique, we examined the bone marrow (BM) of 152 patients with advanced-stage NHL at the time of evaluation and after induction or salvage chemotherapy before autologous BM transplantation. The BM proved to be an accessible and reproducible tissue source to determine PCR positivity because all of the 102 patients examined had the same PCR-amplifiable breakpoint in their BM and lymph node. At the time of evaluation, PCR analysis in advanced-stage NHL patients added little additional information to morphologic analysis because each technique identified BM infiltration in approximately 70% of patients. PCR was significantly more useful in determining BM infiltration after induction or salvage therapy. At that time, approximately 50% of patients had morphologically normal BM, whereas PCR analysis remained positive in 100% of those with an amplifiable breakpoint. These observations were confirmed in a clinical trial attempting to induce remission in previously untreated low-grade advanced-stage NHL patients. In this series, PCR was positive in all patients after treatment although the BM was histologically uninvolved in 50% of cases, showing that conventional therapy did not eradicate bcl-2-positive cells.

Primary gastric plasmacytoma: a rare cause of hypertrophic gastritis in an adolescent.

BACKGROUND: This report describes a 16-year-old patient with gastric rugal hypertrophy caused by a primary gastric plasmacytoma. She had a 3-month history of nausea and burning abdominal pain. Radiographic studies showed giant rugal hypertrophy. Superficial endoscopic gastric biopsies showed mild inflammation with plasma cells of polyclonal origin in the mucosa. When symptoms persisted, she underwent laparoscopic full-thickness gastric biopsy. There was monoclonal plasma cell infiltration histologically diagnostic of plasmacytoma and inconsistent with Helicobacter pylori-associated mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. There was no evidence for involvement of the bone marrow or regional lymph nodes. The tumor did not respond to radiotherapy, necessitating total gastrectomy. METHODS: Blood samples were analyzed for interleukin (IL)-6 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Gastric biopsy and gastrectomy specimens were subjected to immunophenotyping for kappa and lambda light chains, CD45, CD20, and LN1 and to polymerase chain reaction analysis for herpes virus HHV8. RESULTS: There was no elevation in circulating IL-6 levels, militating against a pathogenesis akin to that of Castleman's disease. There was no evidence for infection with the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus HHV8, which has recently been found in patients with multiple myeloma. CONCLUSIONS: This diagnosis and the characteristics of the tumor are very unusual, if not unique, for a patient of this age. The diagnostic evaluation of this patient also demonstrates the importance of deep endoscopic or full-thickness biopsies in some children with hypertrophic gastritis.