Wanted on Agave americana! Hymenobolus agaves, an overlooked introduced pathogen in the western palearctic region.

Hymenobolus agaves has been reported only in Europe and Africa on the American plant Agave americana (Asparagaceae). This fungus has never been found in the native range of its host, in arid ecosystems of northern and central Mexico and Texas, USA. It has been suggested to be a pathogen that can kill its host. The fungus grows on succulent leaf bases of the plant. The morphology - black apothecia with a hymenium that disintegrates when asci mature and dark ornamented ascospores - make this species very distinctive, but it has been collected and reported only a few times since its first description. Its systematic position has been unclear, and it has been treated as incertae sedis, that is of uncertain placement, in Leotiomycetes. With recent collections and additional data on the ecology of H. agaves, we use integrative taxonomy (DNA sequences, morphology, ecology) to show its relationships is with Cenangiaceae.

Ruxolitinib in corticosteroid-refractory graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: a multicenter survey.

Despite major improvements in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation over the past decades, corticosteroid-refractory (SR) acute (a) and chronic (c) graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) cause high mortality. Preclinical evidence indicates the potent anti-inflammatory properties of the JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib. In this retrospective survey, 19 stem cell transplant centers in Europe and the United States reported outcome data from 95 patients who had received ruxolitinib as salvage therapy for SR-GVHD. Patients were classified as having SR-aGVHD (n=54, all grades III or IV) or SR-cGVHD (n=41, all moderate or severe). The median number of previous GVHD-therapies was 3 for both SR-aGVHD (1-7) and SR-cGVHD (1-10). The overall response rate was 81.5% (44/54) in SR-aGVHD including 25 complete responses (46.3%), while for SR-cGVHD the ORR was 85.4% (35/41). Of those patients responding to ruxolitinib, the rate of GVHD-relapse was 6.8% (3/44) and 5.7% (2/35) for SR-aGVHD and SR-cGVHD, respectively. The 6-month-survival was 79% (67.3-90.7%, 95% confidence interval (CI)) and 97.4% (92.3-100%, 95% CI) for SR-aGVHD and SR-cGVHD, respectively. Cytopenia and cytomegalovirus-reactivation were observed during ruxolitinib treatment in both SR-aGVHD (30/54, 55.6% and 18/54, 33.3%) and SR-cGVHD (7/41, 17.1% and 6/41, 14.6%) patients. Ruxolitinib may constitute a promising new treatment option for SR-aGVHD and SR-cGVHD that should be validated in a prospective trial.

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation after failed autologous transplant for lymphoma using TLI and anti-thymocyte globulin conditioning.

We describe 47 patients with lymphoma and failed prior autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) who received TLI-ATG (anti-thymocyte globulin) conditioning followed by allogeneic HCT. Thirty-two patients had non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL; diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (n=19), T-cell NHL (n=6), mantle cell lymphoma (n=4) or other B-cell subtypes (n=3)), and 15 had Hodgkin lymphoma. The median follow-up was 4.9 (range, 2.1-11.9) years. The cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute GvHD at day +100 was 12%, and the cumulative incidence of extensive chronic GvHD at 1 year was 36%. The 3-year cumulative incidences of overall survival (OS), PFS and non-relapse mortality (NRM) were 81%, 44% and 7%, respectively. Fifteen patients died (relapse, n=10; NRM, n=5). Among the 25 patients with relapse after allogeneic HCT, 11 (44%) achieved durable (>1 year) CRs following donor lymphocyte infusion or chemoradiotherapy. The majority of surviving patients (75%; n=24) were able to discontinue all immunosuppression. For patients with relapsed lymphoma after autologous HCT, allogeneic HCT using TLI-ATG conditioning is a well-tolerated, predominantly outpatient therapy with low NRM (7% at 3 years), a low incidence of GvHD, durable disease control and excellent OS (81% at 3 years).

Tandem chemo-mobilization followed by high-dose melphalan and carmustine with single autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation for multiple myeloma.

Single autologous hematopoietic cell transplant (AHCT) with high-dose melphalan prolongs survival in patients with multiple myeloma but is not curative. We conducted a study of intensive single AHCT using tandem chemo-mobilization with CY and etoposide followed by high-dose conditioning with melphalan 200 mg/m(2) plus carmustine 15 mg/kg. One hundred and eighteen patients in first consolidation (CON1) and 58 patients in relapse (REL) were transplanted using this intensified approach. Disease response improved from 32% very good PR (VGPR)+CR pre-mobilization to 76% VGPR+CR post transplant in CON1. With a median follow-up of 4.7 years, the median EFS was 2.8 years, and the median OS was 5.1 years in CON1. OS from time of transplant was significantly shorter for REL (3.4 years) compared with CON1 (5.1 years; P=0.02). However, OS from time of diagnosis was similar in REL (6.1 years) and CON1 (6.0 years; P=0.80). The 100-day non-relapse mortality in the CON1 and REL groups was 0% and 7%, respectively. In summary, intensified single AHCT with tandem chemo-mobilization and augmented high-dose therapy is feasible in multiple myeloma and leads to high-quality response rates.

Sirolimus and mycophenolate mofetil as GVHD prophylaxis in myeloablative, matched-related donor hematopoietic cell transplantation.

We investigated sirolimus and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) as GVHD prophylaxis in patients with advanced hematological malignancies receiving myeloablative hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) from HLA-identical sibling donors. On the basis of pre-study stopping rules, the trial was closed to accrual after enrollment of 11 adult patients. In all, 7 of the 11 patients received BU-containing preparative regimens. Sirolimus was discontinued in three patients because of the toxicity-related events of severe sinusoidal obstructive syndrome, portal vein thrombosis, altered mental status and in one patient because of the risk of poor wound healing. In all, 6 of the 11 patients developed grade II-IV acute GVHD (AGVHD) a median of 15.5 days post HCT. Two of three patients with grade IV AGVHD had sirolimus discontinued by 9 days post HCT. All patients responded to AGVHD therapy without GVHD-related deaths. There were two non-relapse- and two relapse-related deaths. At a median follow-up of 38 months (2-47 months), 7 of 11 patients were alive without disease. MMF and sirolimus GVHD prophylaxis did not reduce the risk of AGVHD, however, there were no GVHD-related deaths. The severe toxicities in the patients receiving the BU-containing preparative regimens limited the continued use of sirolimus and MMF for the prevention of AGVHD.

Long-term outcomes in patients with high-risk myeloid malignancies following matched related donor hematopoietic cell transplantation with myeloablative conditioning of BU, etoposide and CY.

Patients with high-risk or advanced myeloid malignancies have limited effective treatment options. These include high-dose therapy followed by allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). We report a single-institution, long-term follow-up of 96 patients, median age 50 (range, 20-60) years, who received HLA-matched related HCT between 1992 and 2007. All patients were treated with a uniform preparatory regimen intended to enhance the widely used regimen of BU and CY that included: BU 16.0 mg/kg (days -8 to -5), etoposide 60 mg/kg (day -4), CY 60 mg/kg (day -2) with GVHD prophylaxis of CsA or FK506 and prednisone. Disease status at transplantation was high-risk AML (n=41), CML in second chronic phase or blast crisis (n=8), myelofibrosis and myeloproliferative disorders (n=8), and myelodysplasia (n=39). Thirty-six percent (n=35) of patients received BM whereas 64% (n=61) received G-CSF-mobilized PBPC. With a median follow-up of 5.6 years (range, 1.6-14.6 years) actuarial 5-year OS was 32% (95% CI 22-42) and 5-year EFS was 31% (95% CI 21-41). Relapse rate was 24% (95% CI 15-33) at 2 and 5 years. Nonrelapse mortality was 29% (95% CI 20-38) at day 100 and 38% (95% CI 29-47) at 1 year. Cumulative incidence of acute (grade II-IV) and extensive chronic GVHD was 27% (95% CI 18-36) and 29% (95% CI 18-40), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in OS (31 vs 32%, P=0.89) or relapse rates (17 vs 28%, P=0.22) for recipients of BM vs PBPC, respectively. These results confirm that patients with high-risk or advanced myeloid malignancies can achieve long-term survival following myeloablative allogeneic HCT with aggressive conditioning.

Long-term follow-up of patients with diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma receiving purged autografts after induction failure.

Patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who do not achieve a complete response to front-line combination chemotherapy are often offered high-dose therapy and autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT). However, the efficacy of this therapy in this patient population has been addressed in only a few published reports. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of patients with a diagnosis of de novo DLBCL who underwent AHCT at our center between 1988 and 2002, and identified 43 consecutive patients who had not achieved a CR before AHCT, although most showed at least a partial response (PR) to either induction or subsequent salvage chemotherapy. A total of 15 patients received a conditioning regimen that included high-dose chemotherapy with fractionated TBI (FTBI), whereas 28 patients received high-dose chemotherapy only. All autografts were treated ex vivo with MoAbs and complement in an effort to remove any residual malignant B cells. A total of 33 (77%) patients achieved a CR after AHCT. With a median follow-up of 7.3 years, the 5-year OS was 69% and EFS was 59%. Four patients died from non-relapse mortality. By univariate analyses, the following characteristics did not significantly impact OS: disease stage at diagnosis, age-adjusted IPI (International Prognostic Index) score, age > or =40 years, earlier radiotherapy and the use of FTBI in the conditioning regimen. These results confirm the long-term efficacy of AHCT for patients with DLBCL after induction failure.

High-dose N-acetylcysteine in patients with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy and tolerability of high-dose N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in the treatment of patients with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). DESIGN AND PATIENTS: Randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled study in 123 patients experiencing an acute exacerbation of COPD. INTERVENTIONS: NAC 1200 mg/day, 600 mg/day or placebo administered once daily for 10 days. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary objective was to assess the proportion of patients with normalised C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Also assessed were effects on interleukin (IL)-8 levels, lung function and symptoms. RESULTS: Both NAC 600 and 1200 mg/day were associated with a significantly higher proportion of patients achieving normalised CRP levels compared with placebo (52% and 90% vs 19% of patients; p

Advancing animal models of neoplasia through in vivo bioluminescence imaging.

Malignant disease is the final manifestation of complex molecular and cellular events leading to uncontrolled cellular proliferation and eventually tissue destruction and metastases. While the in vitro examination of cultured tumour cells permits the molecular dissection of early pathways in tumorigenesis on cellular and subcellular levels, only interrogation of these processes within the complexity of organ systems of the living animal can reveal the full range of pathophysiological changes that occur in neoplastic disease. Such analyses require technologies that facilitate the study of biological processes in vivo, and several approaches have been developed over the last few years. These strategies, in the nascent field of in vivo molecular and cellular imaging, combine molecular biology with imaging modalities as a means to real-time acquisition of functional information about disease processes in living systems. In this review, we will summarise recent developments in in vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI) and discuss the potential of this imaging strategy for the future of cancer research.

Hodgkin disease-derived cell lines expressing ubiquitous mitochondrial creatine kinase show growth inhibition by cyclocreatine treatment independent of apoptosis.

Ubiquitous mitochondrial creatine kinase (uMtCK), a key enzyme in energy metabolism, was identified by differential display PCR to be specifically overexpressed in L1236, the first cell line of definite Hodgkin origin. RT-PCR confirmed overexpression of uMtCK in the L1236 cell line and the absence of cytosolic B-CK, which is co-expressed with MtCK physiologically. Cyclocreatine (cCr), whose phosphorylated form is a very poor substrate for CK, inhibited proliferation of the L1236 cell line nearly entirely. This inhibition by cCr was partially reversed by competition with creatine, which by itself had no effect on proliferation of the L1236 cell line. Although these results support a role of CK activity in the inhibitory action of cCr, it remains open whether the cCr effect is due to its inhibition of CK-linked energy metabolism or if alternative mechanisms have to be considered. Because the anti-proliferative effect of cCr was not due to induction of apoptosis, in contrast to most other anticancer agents, treatment with the creatine analogue cCr may represent an advantageous therapeutic approach for cells resistant to programmed cell death.

Bioluminescence imaging of lymphocyte trafficking in vivo.

Lymphocytes are highly mobile cells that travel throughout the body in response to a tremendous variety of stimuli. Revealing lymphocyte trafficking patterns in vivo is necessary for a complete understanding of immune function, as well as cell-cell and cell-tissue interactions in immune development and in response to insult. Although the location of cell populations in various tissues at any given point in time may be revealed by techniques such as flow cytometry and immunofluorescence, these methods are not readily amenable to the assessment of dynamic cell migration patterns in vivo. In the past 5 years, technologies for imaging molecular and cellular changes in living animals have advanced to a point where it is possible to reveal the migratory paths of these vitally important cells. Here, we review one advancement in cellular imaging, in vivo bioluminescence imaging, which addresses the problem of lymphocyte tracking. This imaging strategy has the potential to elucidate the temporal patterns of immune responses and the spatial distribution of lymphocytes within the body.

CD31 mismatching affects marrow transplantation outcome.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) complicating allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is often attributed to mismatched minor histocompatibility antigens (mHags), which are poorly defined in humans. CD31 is a candidate human mHag relevant to acute GVHD, but reports disagree about its level of significance, the role of HLA restriction, and the relative importance of different polymorphic codons within the molecule. We therefore examined in greater detail the impact of CD31-matching on BMT outcome in a prospective study from a single institution. Samples of recipient and donor DNA were collected pretransplantation for all patients receiving unmanipulated bone marrow from an HLA-identical sibling over a 45-month period at our institution. CD31 DNA typing of alleles at the 3 polymorphic codons 125 (L or V), 563 (N or S), and 670 (R or G) was performed for 118 patient-donor pairs plus 2 additional pairs who had codon 125 typing only. Donor-recipient CD31 nonidentity was tested for correlation with BMT clinical outcome measures of severe acute GVHD, chronic GVHD, relapse, and survival. Gene frequencies of approximately 0.5 for each allele at all 3 codons were comparable to previous reports. Because complete association was seen for 563N with 670G and for 563S with 670R, nonidentity for those codons was analyzed as a single genetic marker designated codon 563/670. Donor-recipient CD31 nonidentity was a significant risk factor for overall survival, both at codon 563/670 (hazard ratio [hr] = 2.58, P = .005) and at codon 125 (hr = 1.07, P = .036). Similar results held for disease-free survival. Nonidentity at codon 563/670 was also a significant risk factor (odds ratio [OR] = 11.15, P = .011) for severe (grades III, IV) versus no (grade 0) acute GVHD. Nonidentity at codon 125 posed less but still significant risk (OR = 9.30, P = .030). When the comparison group without severe acute GVHD was expanded to include grade I as well as grade 0 patients, the risk from CD31 nonidentity increased for both codon 563/670 (OR = 12.31, P = .010) and codon 125 (OR = 11.24, P = .011). CD31 nonidentity remained a significant independent risk factor for survival and for severe acute GVHD when tested in multivariate analysis with the covariates of adulthood, recipient-donor sex difference, ethnic group, disease, pretransplantation risk category, HLA-A2 type, B44-like types, and GVHD prophylactic regimen. CD31 nonidentity showed a trend but failed to achieve statistical significance as a risk factor for relapse and for chronic GVHD. In conclusion, donor-recipient CD31 nonidentity is a significant risk factor for survival and for severe acute GVHD in HLA-identical sibling BMT. The stronger associations with codon 563/670 suggest that polymorphism may be more important than the linked polymorphism at codon 125.

An occupational preference model of turnover behaviour: the case of Israel's medical sector employees.

Occupational preferences and subsequent turnover behaviour are part of a complex relationship between employees and their occupational and organizational labour markets. Both markets contribute to matching skills and jobs. Differences in individual and occupational attributes can predict the direction and intensity of preferences for alternative organizations, occupations and job locations. Occupational preferences, which reflect the attractiveness of alternative positions within and outside the employing organization, are examined as central antecedents of occupation-specific turnover behaviour. The results of a logistic regression analysis, based on a cross-sectional occupational representative data set of 700 medical sector employees and a follow-up sample of 81 "quitters" suggest that turnover behaviour is influenced by organizational and occupational employment opportunities and occupational preferences.

Rapid engraftment after allogeneic transplantation of density-enriched peripheral blood CD34+ cells in patients with advanced hematologic malignancies.

BACKGROUND: Acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Preclinical studies have suggested that a T-cell subset with a CD4-/CD8- double-negative (DN) T-cell phenotype is capable of suppressing GVHD. Double-negative T cells can be mobilized into the peripheral blood with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and enriched by density centrifugation. The current study was performed to study the feasibility and safety of applying a density gradient separation technique for enrichment of CD34+ and DN T cells, while depleting CD4+ and CD8+ single-positive (SP) T cells from peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) for the purpose of allogeneic transplantation. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with advanced hematologic malignancies were treated with a myeloablative preparative regimen consisting of fractionated total body irradiation, etoposide, and cyclophosphamide. Human leukocyte antigen identical donors were mobilized with G-CSF PBPC collected by apheresis. The apheresis product was applied to a single-step density gradient, and the low-density cell population was collected. The low-density cell population was infused as the sole source of allogeneic cells after myeloablative therapy. Graft versus host disease prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine with or without prednisone. RESULTS: CD34 cell recovery was efficient with a median 72% yield, providing for a median CD34+ cell dose of 6.5 x 10(6)/kg (range,1.0- 13.9 x 10(6)/kg). CD3+CD4+ or CD3+CD8+ SP T cells were depleted by a median of 94.4% (range, 58.8- 99.2%), and the ratio of CD34+:SP T cells increased 10-fold. Double-negative T cells were depleted by 92% (range, 18.8- 99.4%), thus the ratio of DN:SP T cells increased less than 2-fold in 71% of apheresis samples tested. Hematopoietic engraftment was rapid, and there was no occurrence of graft failure in examinable patients. Median time to absolute neutrophil count greater than 0.5 x 10(9)/L and platelet count greater than 20 x 10(9)/L was 10.5 and 12 days, respectively. The incidence of Grade 2-4 acute GVHD was 26% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6-45%), although not all patients were examinable due to an unexpectedly high nonrecurrence mortality that at Day 180 was 62% (95% CI, 40-83%). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that T-cell subset manipulation via density gradient separation is a safe procedure and allowed rapid hematopoietic recovery. Selective enrichment of a donor DN T-cell subset was observed in only a few and was not associated with a reduced incidence of GVHD. However, the low-density selected cells still resulted in GVHD, and there was a high treatment-related mortality.

High-dose therapy and autologous hematopoietic-cell transplantation for follicular lymphoma beyond first remission: the Stanford University experience.

A retrospective analysis was performed to investigate the outcome of high-dose therapy (HDT) and autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation in patients with follicular lymphomas beyond first remission. Ninety-two patients with primary induction failure or relapsed follicular low-grade lymphoma (FLGL), follicular large cell lymphoma (FLCL), and transformed follicular lymphoma (TFL) were treated with myeloablative therapy consisting of etoposide (60 mg/kg), cyclophosphamide (100 mg/kg), and either carmustine (BCNU;15 mg/kg) or fractionated total body irradiation (FTBI; 1200 cGy) followed by transplantation of purged autologous bone marrow or peripheral blood hematopoietic cells. For the 49 patients with relapsed FLGL, the median age was 49 years and the median interval from diagnosis to HDT was 30 months. The 4-year estimate of overall survival (OS) was 60% (95% confidence interval [CI], 45%-75%) and of disease-free survival (DFS) was 44% (95% CI, 29%-59%). Treatment with the FTBI-containing HDT regimen was associated with significantly longer DFS (P = .04) and OS (P = .04) in our multivariate analysis. OS was also significantly longer among those treated with 3 or fewer chemotherapy regimens. For the 26 FLCL patients, the median age was 51 years and in 31% the indication for HDT was primary induction failure. For FLCL patients, the 4-year estimate of OS was 58% (95% CI, 37%-79%) and of DFS was 51% (95% CI, 30%-72%). Among the 17 patients with TFL, 13 (76%) transformed at first relapse, and only 6 patients (35%) achieved complete remission with salvage therapy prior to HDT. For TFL patients, the 4-year estimate of OS was 50% (95% CI, 24%-76%) and of DFS 49% (95% CI, 20%-78%). There were 3 occurrences of myelodysplasia (1 after treatment with TBI, 2 after BCNU treatment), yielding an estimated incidence of 7% (95% CI, 0%-16%) at 56 months. This analysis shows that relapsed FLGL patients treated with 3 or fewer different chemotherapy regimens show inferior survival. The HDT regimen containing FTBI appears to be superior to the BCNU-based regimen for relapsed FLGL, although longer follow-up is needed to evaluate late effects. Lastly, patients with TFL or induction failure and relapsed FLCL can achieve survival outcome comparable to those observed with the indolent follicular lymphomas.

Expansion of cytotoxic CD3+ CD56+ cells from peripheral blood progenitor cells of patients undergoing autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Immunotherapy may potentially improve the outcome of autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Poor effector cell proliferation and marginal antitumor activity limit attempts to use immunotherapy. We have characterized the ex vivo expansion, up to 1000-fold, of CD3+ CD56+ lymphocytes from the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of healthy donors. Expanded cells termed cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells induce non-major histocompatibility complex-restricted lysis of tumor cells and demonstrate cytolytic activity superior to lymphokine-activated killer cells without the requirement of interleukin (IL)-2 treatment in vivo. To determine whether cytolytic cells could be expanded from patient material, we evaluated samples of peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) from 25 patients undergoing autologous HCT. The PBPCs were expanded by priming with interferon-gamma followed by anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody and IL-2 the next day. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis was performed on days 0, 15, 21, and 28 of cell culture. The median T-cell content rose from 15.3% (range, 1.1% to 89.7%) on day 0 to 97.2% (range, 83.6% to 99.5%) by day 15. By day 21, T cells expanded 21.8-fold (range, 1.7- to 420.0-fold) and CD3+ CD56+ cells expanded 44.8-fold (range, 5.1- to 747.0-fold). CIK cells were used as effector cells against B-cell lymphoma targets (OCI-Ly8) with a median of 24% (range, 3% to 67%) and 42% (range, 6% to 96%) specific lysis of target cells on days 21 and 28, respectively. CIK cells derived from PBL of 2 additional patients with acute myelogenous leukemia demonstrated 39% and 78% specific lysis of OCI-Ly8 and 26% and 58% specific lysis of autologous leukemic blasts at an effector:target ratio of 40:1. CIK cells may be expanded from granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized PBPCs of patients undergoing autologous HCT. CIK cells may provide a potent tool for use in posttransplantation adoptive immunotherapy.