[Successful bridging therapy with alectinib prior to allogeneic stem cell transplantation for refractory ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma].

Although alectinib is effective for relapsed or refractory ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) and has a favorable safety profile, its role as a bridging therapy for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) and the role of allo-HSCT itself in this setting are unknown. A 35-year-old man with ALK-positive ALCL experienced relapse after first-line therapy with CHOP. Brentuximab vedotin led to partial response and high-dose chemotherapy combined with autologous HSCT was performed. However, disease progressed 15 months after transplantation, and alectinib was initiated. Complete response (CR) was achieved after three months of treatment, and alectinib was continued for 5 months. After cessation of alectinib, allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from an HLA 1-locus mismatched unrelated donor was performed after conditioning with fludarabine, busulfan, and total body irradiation. GVHD prophylaxis consisted of tacrolimus and short-term methotrexate. The post-transplant course was unremarkable except for grade I acute GVHD. The lymphoma has not recurred for 2 years after allo-HSCT without resuming alectinib. The clinical course of our case suggests that alectinib bridging therapy and allo-HSCT are effective in relapsed/refractory ALK-positive ALCL.

Pericytes as a Source of Osteogenic Cells in Bone Fracture Healing.

Pericytes are mesenchymal cells that surround the endothelial cells of small vessels in various organs. These cells express several markers, such as NG2, CD146, and PDGFRß, and play an important role in the stabilization and maturation of blood vessels. It was also recently revealed that like mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), pericytes possess multilineage differentiation capacity, especially myogenic, adipogenic, and fibrogenic differentiation capacities. Although some previous studies have reported that pericytes also have osteogenic potential, the osteogenesis of pericytes can still be further elucidated. In the present study, we established novel methods for isolating and culturing primary murine pericytes. An immortalized pericyte line was also established. Multilineage induction of the pericyte line induced osteogenesis, adipogenesis, and chondrogenesis of the cells in vitro. In addition, pericytes that were injected into the fracture site of a bone fracture mouse model contributed to callus formation. Furthermore, in vivo pericyte-lineage-tracing studies demonstrated that endogenous pericytes also differentiate into osteoblasts and osteocytes and contribute to bone fracture healing as a cellular source of osteogenic cells. Pericytes can be a promising therapeutic candidate for treating bone fractures with a delayed union or nonunion as well as bone diseases causing bone defects.

Corynebacterium bacteremia in patients with hematologic disorders: a case series and systematic literature review.

Corynebacterium is generally considered a contaminant in clinical practice. However, it may cause bacteremia in patients with hematologic disorders, and factors that contribute to its mortality are unclear. A case series and systematic literature review identified 96 cases of Corynebacterium bacteremia inhematologic disorderpatients. The median age was 50.5 years (range: 2-93 years), with 79 (82%) patients 18 years or older, and 64 (67%) patients male. Most cases involved hematologic malignancies, and neutropenia was observed in approximately 75% cases. The most common sites of infection/symptoms were skin and soft tissue, respiratory, and catheter-related bloodstream infection. The infection-related mortality was 23%, and univariate analysis showed that age, respiratory infection/symptoms, and source control were significantly associated with infection-related mortality. Multivariate analysis indicates that infection-related mortality was significantly reduced by source control (OR: 0.24, 95% CI: 0.06-0.97, p = 0.046). Therefore, when Corynebacterium infections are suspected, early source control should be considered.

Reactive Plasmacytosis Immediately After Immunosuppressive Therapy With Anti-human Thymocyte Immunoglobulin for Severe Aplastic Anemia: A Report of a Rare Case.

Aplastic anemia is a hematopoietic deficiency disorder with pancytopenia, and immunosuppressive therapy is effective. We report a case in which plasma cells appeared in the peripheral blood during immunosuppressive therapy for aplastic anemia. Based on the results of morphology and flow cytometry, the plasma cells were considered reactive and disappeared spontaneously after follow-up. Thereafter, the patient had a good hematopoietic recovery. Reactive plasmacytosis has been reported in infectious and autoimmune diseases, but this is the first report of reactive plasmacytosis during immunosuppressive therapy for aplastic anemia, to our knowledge. In this case, reactive plasmacytosis was a sign preceding good hematopoietic recovery.

Estimation of the amount of pear pollen based on flowering stage detection using deep learning.

Pear pollination is performed by artificial pollination because the pollination rate through insect pollination is not stable. Pollen must be collected to secure sufficient pollen for artificial pollination. However, recently, collecting sufficient amounts of pollen in Japan has become difficult, resulting in increased imports from overseas. To solve this problem, improving the efficiency of pollen collection and strengthening the domestic supply and demand system is necessary. In this study, we proposed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based method to estimate the amount of pear pollen. The proposed method used a deep learning-based object detection algorithm, You Only Look Once (YOLO), to classify and detect flower shapes in five stages, from bud to flowering, and to estimate the pollen amount. In this study, the performance of the proposed method was discussed by analyzing the accuracy and error of classification for multiple flower varieties. Although this study only discussed the performance of estimating the amount of pollen collected, in the future, we aim to establish a technique for estimating the time of maximum pollen collection using the method proposed in this study.

Risk factors associated with infection-related mortality of Bacillus cereus bacteremia in hematologic disorders.

The mortality risk factors in B. cereus bacteremia in hematologic disorders are still unknown. In this study, patients with B. cereus bacteremia in hematologic disorders were selected in St. lukes international hospital and from electronic databases. A total of 176 patients [median age, 41 years (3-88 years); 99 (56%) males] were included. Of these patients, 141 (80%) had acute leukemia, and 93 (53%) died. Univariate analysis showed that neutropenia, CNS, gastrointestinal, and respiratory infections/symptoms were significantly associated with infection-related death. Meanwhile, glycopeptide use and management with source control were protective factors. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that infection-related death was significantly associated with CNS [odds ratio (OR): 3.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-9.80], gastrointestinal (OR: 5.22, 95% CI 1.82-8.99), and respiratory infections/symptoms (OR: 8.98, 95% CI 1.62-49.9), as well as glycopeptide use (OR: 0.10, 95% CI 0.03-0.31) and source control (OR: 0.11, 95% CI 0.03-0.37). In conclusion, early glycopeptide administration and source control should be performed upon detection of infections suspicious for B. cereus.