CD40 ligand expression on stimulated t-helper lymphocytes in patients with common variable immunodeficiency

Common variable immunodeficiency [CVID] is the most common symptomatic primary antibody deficiency, characterized by reduced serum immunoglobulins levels and increased susceptibility to recurrent pyogenic infections. In this study, we evaluated CD40 ligand expression on stimulated versus unstimulated T-helper lymphocytes of nine Common variable immunodeficient patients in comparison with fifteen normal controls. Phorbol myristate acetate [PMA] and Ionomycin were used to stimulate cells in vitro. After six hours stimulation, the cells were subjected to surface staining with three-color staining procedure. Events were analyzed by flow cytometer, using FloMax software. Results were reported as the percentage of lymphocytes expressing CD markers. We did not find any significant statistical difference in CD40 ligand expression between patients and controls [p>0.05], despite having stimulation documented by CD69 expression as activation marker in each run. The results of this study are in agreement with some other studies, indicating that CD40 ligand expression on stimulated T-helper lymphocytes of Common variable immunodeficiency patients is similar to normal controls

HLA class II allele and haplotype frequencies in Iranian patients with leukemia

Previous studies demonstrated significant differences in a number of HLA allele frequencies in leukemia patients and normal subjects. In this study, we have analyzed HLA class II alleles and haplotypes in 110 leukemia patients [60 acute myelogenous leukemia "AML", 50 chronic myelogenous leukemia"CML"] and 180 unrelated normal subjects. Blood samples were collected from all of the patients and control subjects. DNA was extracted by salting out method and HLA typing was performed using PCR-SSP method. Significant positive association with AML was obtained for HLA-DRB1*11allele [35% vs. 24.7%, P=0.033]. Two alleles including HLA-DRB4 and-DQB1*0303 were significantly less frequent in AML patients than in controls. HLA-DQB1*0303 allele was never observed in CML patients compared with allele frequency in controls [4.2%]. According to haplotype analysis, HLA-DRB1*0101/DQA1*0104/-DQB1*0501 frequencies were significantly higher and-DRB1*16/-DQA1*01021/-DQB1*0501 frequencies were significantly lower in CML patients than in controls .In conclusion it is suggested that HLA-DRB1*16 allele and HLA-DRB1*15/-DQA1*0103/-DQB1*06011 and-DRB1*16/-DQA1*01021/-DQB1*0501 haplotypes predispose individuals to AML and HLA-DRB4 allele predispose to CML. Future studies are needed to confirm these results and establish the role of these associations in AML and CML