CD138- Plasmablastic Lymphoma: A Multi-institutional Study and Review of the Literature.

CONTEXT.­: Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is a rare aggressive lymphoma, usually positive for CD138 and frequently occurring in the oral cavity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients. Up to 10% of cases are negative for CD138 and diagnostically very challenging. OBJECTIVE.­: To investigate the appropriate approach to diagnose CD138- plasmablastic lymphoma and avoid misdiagnosis. DESIGN.­: We studied 21 cases of CD138- PBL from multiple large institutes in the United States and 21 cases from the literature. RESULTS.­: CD138- PBLs were positive for different B/plasma cell markers at various percentages: MUM1 (94.4%; 34 of 36), OCT2 (70.6%; 12 of 17), immunoglobulin light chains (68.8%; 22 of 32), CD38 (68.4%; 13 of 19), CD79a (34.2%; 13 of 38), and PAX5 (15.6%; 5 of 32), suggesting that MUM1, OCT2, immunoglobulin light chains, and CD38 are useful markers to help establish the lineage. A total of 83% of cases (30 of 36) were extraoral lesions. Extraoral lesions showed much lower Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection rates (16 of 30; 53.3%) and had worse prognosis. MYC was positive in 80% (8 of 10) of EBV+ cases and 40% (2 of 5) EBV- cases, indicating the importance of MYC in pathogenesis, especially in EBV+ cases. CONCLUSIONS.­: Our study emphasizes that CD138- PBLs tend to be extraoral lesions, with much lower EBV infection rates, and diagnostically very challenging. Accurate diagnosis requires a thorough investigation and workup by using appropriate markers.

Limitations of an ex vivo breast cancer model for studying the mechanism of action of the anticancer drug paclitaxel.

Paclitaxel is widely used in the treatment of breast, ovarian, lung, and other cancers. Its primary mechanism is to prevent microtubule depolymerization causing loss of dynamic instability crucial for normal microtubule function leading to mitotic arrest. Prolonged mitotic arrest results in cell death as a secondary response. The effects of paclitaxel are typically studied in cell lines which precludes assessment of the possible influence of tumor-associated cells. We therefore examined paclitaxel action ex vivo in fresh explant cultures of human breast tumors. Surprisingly, we found that paclitaxel failed to induce tumor cell death in explant culture, in contrast to several other cytotoxic agents including salinomycin and vincristine. The lack of effect was not due to defective drug uptake, and furthermore, analysis of H&E stained tumor slices indicated that paclitaxel treatment caused defective (granular) mitosis and chromosomal condensation in 5-10% of tumor cells after 72 h. These results suggest that while paclitaxel was able to penetrate into the tumor slice and disrupt mitosis in cycling tumor cells, any ensuing cell death likely occurred beyond the useful lifetime of the tumor slices. We conclude that explant culture systems may be inappropriate for the study of cytotoxic drugs where a delay exists between the drug's primary and secondary modes of action.

The Role of Sirtuin 3 in Radiation-Induced Long-Term Persistent Liver Injury.

In patients with abdominal region cancers, ionizing radiation (IR)-induced long-term liver injury is a major limiting factor in the use of radiotherapy. Previously, the major mitochondrial deacetylase, sirtuin 3 (SIRT3), has been implicated to play an important role in the development of acute liver injury after total body irradiation but no studies to date have examined the role of SIRT3 in liver's chronic response to radiation. In the current study, ten-month-old Sirt3-/- and Sirt3+/+ male mice received 24 Gy radiation targeted to liver. Six months after exposure, irradiated Sirt3-/- mice livers demonstrated histopathological elevations in inflammatory infiltration, the loss of mature bile ducts and higher DNA damage (TUNEL) as well as protein oxidation (3-nitrotyrosine). In addition, increased expression of inflammatory chemokines (IL-6, IL-1ß, TGF-ß) and fibrotic factors (Procollagen 1, α-SMA) were also measured in Sirt3-/- mice following 24 Gy IR. The alterations measured in enzymatic activities of catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase in the livers of irradiated Sirt3-/- mice also implied that hydrogen peroxide and hydroperoxide sensitive signaling cascades in the absence of SIRT3 might contribute to the IR-induced long-term liver injury.

Carbamate derivatives of colchicine show potent activity towards primary acute lymphoblastic leukemia and primary breast cancer cells-in vitro and ex vivo study.

Colchicine (COL) shows strong anticancer activity but due to its toxicity towards normal cells its wider application is limited. To address this issue, a library of 17 novel COL derivatives, namely N-carbamates of N-deacetyl-4-(bromo/chloro/iodo)thiocolchicine, has been tested against two types of primary cancer cells. These included acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and human breast cancer (BC) derived from two different tumor subtypes, ER+ invasive ductal carcinoma grade III (IDCG3) and metastatic carcinoma (MC). Four novel COL derivatives showed higher anti-proliferative activity than COL (IC50 = 8.6 nM) towards primary ALL cells in cell viability assays (IC50 range of 1.1-6.4 nM), and several were more potent towards primary IDCG3 (IC50 range of 0.1 to 10.3 nM) or MC (IC50 range of 2.3-9.1 nM) compared to COL (IC50 of 11.1 and 11.7 nM, respectively). In addition, several derivatives were selectively active toward primary breast cancer cells compared to normal breast epithelial cells. The most promising derivatives were subsequently tested against the NCI panel of 60 human cancer cell lines and seven derivatives were more potent than COL against leukemia, non-small-cell lung, colon, CNS and prostate cancers. Finally, COL and two of the most active derivatives were shown to be effective in killing BC cells when tested ex vivo using fresh human breast tumor explants. The present findings indicate that the select COL derivatives constitute promising lead compounds targeting specific types of cancer.

Coactivation of NF-κB and Notch signaling is sufficient to induce B-cell transformation and enables B-myeloid conversion.

NF-κB and Notch signaling can be simultaneously activated in a variety of B-cell lymphomas. Patients with B-cell lymphoma occasionally develop clonally related myeloid tumors with poor prognosis. Whether concurrent activation of both pathways is sufficient to induce B-cell transformation and whether the signaling initiates B-myeloid conversion in a pathological context are largely unknown. Here, we provide genetic evidence that concurrent activation of NF-κB and Notch signaling in committed B cells is sufficient to induce B-cell lymphomatous transformation and primes common progenitor cells to convert to myeloid lineage through dedifferentiation, not transdifferentiation. Intriguingly, the converted myeloid cells can further transform, albeit at low frequency, into myeloid leukemia. Mechanistically, coactivation of NF-κB and Notch signaling endows committed B cells with the ability to self renew. Downregulation of BACH2, a lymphoma and myeloid gene suppressor, but not upregulation of CEBPα and/or downregulation of B-cell transcription factors, is an early event in both B-cell transformation and myeloid conversion. Interestingly, a DNA hypomethylating drug not only effectively eliminated the converted myeloid leukemia cells, but also restored the expression of green fluorescent protein, which had been lost in converted myeloid leukemia cells. Collectively, our results suggest that targeting NF-κB and Notch signaling will not only improve lymphoma treatment, but also prevent the lymphoma-to-myeloid tumor conversion. Importantly, DNA hypomethylating drugs might efficiently treat these converted myeloid neoplasms.

Identification of a novel monocytic phenotype in Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma tumor microenvironment.

Classic Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) characteristically shows few malignant cells in a microenvironment comprised of mixed inflammatory cells. Although CHL is associated with a high cure rate, recent studies have associated poor prognosis with absolute monocyte count in peripheral blood and increased monocyte/macrophages in involved lymph nodes. Thus, the role of monocytic infiltration and macrophage differentiation in the tumor microenvironment of CHL may be more relevant than absolute macrophage numbers to defining prognosis in CHL patients and potentially have therapeutic implications. Most studies identify tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) using markers (e.g., CD68) expressed by macrophages and other mononuclear phagocytes, such as monocytes. In contrast, Class A Scavenger Receptor (SR-A/CD204) is expressed by tissue macrophages but not monocytic precursors. In this study, we examined SR-A expression in CHL (n = 43), and compared its expression with that of other macrophage markers. We confirmed a high prevalence of mononuclear cells that stained with CD68, CD163, and CD14 in CHL lymph nodes. However, SR-A protein expression determined by immunohistochemistry was limited to macrophages localized in sclerotic bands characteristic of nodular sclerosis CHL. In contrast, SR-A protein was readily detectable in lymph nodes with metastatic tumor, extra-nodal CHL, T cell/histiocyte-rich large B cell lymphoma, and resident macrophages in non-malignant tissues, including spleen, lymph node, liver and lung. The results of SR-A protein expression paralleled the expression of SR-A mRNA determined by quantitative RT-PCR. These data provide evidence that tumor-infiltrating monocyte/macrophages in CHL have a unique phenotype that likely depends on the microenvironment of nodal CHL.

The response of phyllodes tumor of the breast to anticancer therapy: An in vitro and ex vivo study.

Phyllodes tumors of the breast (PTB) are uncommon stromal-epithelial neoplasms, with the main recommended treatment being surgical removal. However, even with adequate resection, the risk of recurrence in the malignant form remains as high as 40%, and there is no recognized consensus on the most effective drugs for PTB. In the present study, an ex vivo model of malignant phyllodes and derived primary cell cultures were used to evaluate the effectiveness of a panel of different drugs, including the Bcl-2/Bcl-xL inhibitor ABT-263, salinomycin (SAL), doxorubicin (DOX), paclitaxel (TAX), vincristine (VCR), colchicine (COL) and cisplatin (CIS). ABT-263, SAL and DOX were highly effective towards phyllodes spindle cells when assessed in the ex vivo model, contributing to ~98% tumor cell death. Furthermore, ABT-263 was highly selective for tumor cells in this system, and exhibited little toxic effect on adjacent normal epithelial cells. Furthermore, consistent with findings in the ex vivo model, ABT-263 was significantly less toxic towards MCF 10A non-tumorigenic breast epithelial cells compared with SAL and DOX. A conditional reprogramming strategy was subsequently used, involving Rho kinase inhibition, to successfully generate primary phyllodes tumor cells that could be cultured for several passages. The primary cells were sensitive to DOX with an IC50 of 0.40±0.07 µM in a standard viability assay and the preliminary results were obtained indicating sensitivity to ABT-263 and SAL. The present study demonstrated the feasibility of using explants and primary cells for drug discovery, selectively targeting PTB cells.

Flower isoforms promote competitive growth in cancer.

In humans, the adaptive immune system uses the exchange of information between cells to detect and eliminate foreign or damaged cells; however, the removal of unwanted cells does not always require an adaptive immune system1,2. For example, cell selection in Drosophila uses a cell selection mechanism based on 'fitness fingerprints', which allow it to delay ageing3, prevent developmental malformations3,4 and replace old tissues during regeneration5. At the molecular level, these fitness fingerprints consist of combinations of Flower membrane proteins3,4,6. Proteins that indicate reduced fitness are called Flower-Lose, because they are expressed in cells marked to be eliminated6. However, the presence of Flower-Lose isoforms at a cell's membrane does not always lead to elimination, because if neighbouring cells have similar levels of Lose proteins, the cell will not be killed4,6,7. Humans could benefit from the capability to recognize unfit cells, because accumulation of damaged but viable cells during development and ageing causes organ dysfunction and disease8-17. However, in Drosophila this mechanism is hijacked by premalignant cells to gain a competitive growth advantage18. This would be undesirable for humans because it might make tumours more aggressive19-21. It is unknown whether a similar mechanism of cell-fitness comparison is present in humans. Here we show that two human Flower isoforms (hFWE1 and hFWE3) behave as Flower-Lose proteins, whereas the other two isoforms (hFWE2 and hFWE4) behave as Flower-Win proteins. The latter give cells a competitive advantage over cells expressing Lose isoforms, but Lose-expressing cells are not eliminated if their neighbours express similar levels of Lose isoforms; these proteins therefore act as fitness fingerprints. Moreover, human cancer cells show increased Win isoform expression and proliferate in the presence of Lose-expressing stroma, which confers a competitive growth advantage on the cancer cells. Inhibition of the expression of Flower proteins reduces tumour growth and metastasis, and induces sensitivity to chemotherapy. Our results show that ancient mechanisms of cell recognition and selection are active in humans and affect oncogenic growth.

A rare case of visceral leishmaniasis in an immunocompetent traveler returning to the United States from Europe.

A young, healthy traveler returning to the United States presented with fever, night sweats, splenomegaly, and pancytopenia. Bone marrow biopsy revealed leishmaniasis (Leishmania infantum), likely acquired in southern France. Although many cases of endemic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) have been reported in Europe, this is a rare case of imported VL in a healthy traveler returning from Europe to the US. Despite successful initial treatment with liposomal amphotericin B (LamB), relapse occurred. Treatments for VL in immunocompetent individuals are highly effective, but relapse can occur. There is more extensive experience in endemic areas with treating relapse that may be lacking in North America. This case alerts physicians in the US that immunocompetent adults can acquire VL during brief visits to endemic areas in Europe. It is important that travelers be counseled on preventive measures. Patients should be monitored after treatment for relapse.

Biological activity of doubly modified salinomycin analogs - Evaluation in vitro and ex vivo.

The polyether ionophore salinomycin has recently captured much interest due to its potent activity against multi-drug resistant cancer cells and cancer stem cells. Previous studies have shown that either acylation of the C20 position or esterification/amidation of the C1 carboxylate moiety is beneficial in terms of biological properties. In this paper, we present the first analogs combining such modifications. Evaluation of the anti-proliferative activity against a series of cancer cell lines showed that acylation of the C20 hydroxyl group improves the activity of salinomycin C1 amides but not of the corresponding C1 esters. Importantly, the activity of several of the doubly modified analogs surpasses that of commonly used cytostatic drugs cisplatin and doxorubicin in the LoVo/DX multi-drug resistant cell line. All analogs were tested against primary acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells in standard cell viability assays; three were more potent than salinomycin. Further studies revealed that selected analogs induced characteristics of apoptotic cell death and increased expression of p53. Additionally, using an ex vivo model of breast tumor, tumor cell viability significantly decreased after treatment with salinomycin or its double-modified derivative (3a) in a time-dependent manner. The present findings indicate that double-modified salinomycin derivatives constitute promising lead compounds for targeting various types of cancer.

Opposing Actions of Developmental Trichloroethylene and High-Fat Diet Coexposure on Markers of Lipogenesis and Inflammation in Autoimmune-Prone Mice.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a widespread environmental pollutant associated with immunotoxicity and autoimmune disease. Previous studies showed that mice exposed from gestation through early life demonstrated CD4+ T cell alterations and autoimmune hepatitis. Determining the role of one environmental risk factor for any disease is complicated by the presence of other stressors. Based on its known effects, we hypothesized that developmental overnutrition in the form of a moderately high-fat diet (HFD) consisting of 40% kcal fat would exacerbate the immunotoxicity and autoimmune-promoting effects of low-level (<10 µg/kg/day) TCE in autoimmune-prone MRL+/+ mice over either stressor alone. When female offspring were evaluated at 27 weeks of age we found that a continuous exposure beginning at 4 weeks preconception in the dams until 10 weeks of age in offspring that TCE and HFD promoted unique effects that were often antagonistic. For a number of adiposity endpoints, TCE significantly reversed the expected effects of HFD on expression of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis/insulin resistance, as well as mean pathology scores of steatosis. Although none of the animals developed pathological signs of autoimmune hepatitis, the mice generated unique patterns of antiliver antibodies detected by western blotting attributable to TCE exposure. A majority of cytokines in liver, gut, and splenic CD4+ T cells were significantly altered by TCE, but not HFD. Levels of bacterial populations in the intestinal ileum were also altered by TCE exposure rather than HFD. Thus, in contrast to our expectations this coexposure did not promote synergistic effects.

Myeloid transformation of plasma cell myeloma: molecular evidence of clonal evolution revealed by next generation sequencing.

BACKGROUND: Plasma cell myeloma (PCM) is a neoplasm of terminally differentiated B lymphocytes with molecular heterogeneity. Although therapy-related myeloid neoplasms are common in plasma cell myeloma patients after chemotherapy, transdifferentiation of plasma cell myeloma into myeloid neoplasms has not been reported in literature. Here we report a very rare case of myeloid neoplasm transformed from plasma cell myeloma. CASE PRESENTATION: A 60-year-old man with a history of plasma cell myeloma with IGH-MAF gene rearrangement and RAS/RAF mutations developed multiple soft tissue lesions one year following melphalan-based chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant. Morphological and immunohistochemical characterization of the extramedullary disease demonstrated that the tumor cells were derived from the monocyte-macrophage lineage. Next generation sequencing (NGS) studies detected similar clonal aberrations in the diagnostic plasma cell population and post-therapy neoplastic cells, including IGH-MAF rearrangement, multiple genetic mutations in RAS signaling pathway proteins, and loss of tumor suppressor genes. Molecular genetic analysis also revealed unique genomic alterations in the transformed tumor cells, including gain of NF1 and loss of TRAF3. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first case of myeloid sarcoma transdifferentiated from plasma cell neoplasm. Our findings in this unique case suggest clonal evolution of plasma cell myeloma to myeloma neoplasm and the potential roles of abnormal RAS/RAF signaling pathway in lineage switch or transdifferentiation.

CD3-positive plasmablastic B-cell neoplasms: a diagnostic pitfall.

Rare B-cell neoplasms with plasmablastic differentiation may aberrantly express CD3 by immunohistochemical staining, which places a great challenge for diagnosis. We here studied 17 cases of CD3+ plasmablastic B-cell neoplasms, including 12 plasmablastic lymphomas and 5 plasmablastic plasma cell myelomas. All 17 cases occurred in the extranodal sites with a male predominance (13/17). Four cases were initially misinterpreted by outside institutions, among which three were diagnosed as 'peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified' and one was classified as 'poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma'. The plasmablastic cells were present in all 17 cases diffusely or in a subset of tumor cells. CD3 expression was mostly diffuse (12/17) and moderate to strong (11/16) with a cytoplasmic staining pattern (14/16). Other T-cell markers were nearly absent, including CD2 (0/10), CD4 (1/13), CD5 (0/14), CD7 (0/11), and CD8 (0/13). CD138 was positive in all 17 cases and CD79a was variably positive in 8 of 14 cases. Only one case had immunoreactivity to CD20 (1/17) and PAX5 (1/12). CD56 expression and EBV infection were detected in 8/15 and 6/17, respectively. No HHV8 infection was noted in all 11 cases tested. Most cases (11/13) revealed either kappa or lambda light chain restriction. Of the nine cases studied, six had clonal IGH rearrangements but no clonal TRG rearrangements. Our study further emphasizes that the accurate classification of CD3+ plasmablastic neoplasms requires thorough morphologic examination, incorporation of more B-cell and T-cell markers in addition to CD3 and CD20, frequent addition of CD138 staining, and utilization of necessary molecular and genetic studies.

Diagnostic Utility of Interleukin-6 Expression by Immunohistochemistry in Differentiating Castleman Disease Subtypes and Reactive Lymphadenopathies.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the expression pattern of interleukin-6 (IL-6) to determine its utility in differentiating Castleman Disease subtypes and reactive lymphadenopathies. Paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from 20 cases referred for assessment of Castleman Disease (CD) and 4 cases of reactive hyperplasia were selected for immunohistochemical staining with an IL-6 antibody. Six pathologists evaluated the hematoxylin and eosin stained tissue sections and IL-6 expression pattern. Of 20 CD referral cases, the pathologic diagnosis was CD in 14 cases and included 6 hyaline-vascular (HV-CD), 6 plasma cell (PC-CD) and 2 "mixed type"-CD cases. The remaining 6 referral cases showed morphologic features consistent with reactive lymphadenopathy. Patients with non-CD, reactive lymphadenopathies had clinical and/or laboratory features of systemic lupus erythematosus, Hashimoto's disease, viral infection or chronic cellulitis. The pattern of IL-6 expression differed between CD subtypes and non-CD cases. In PC-CD, IL-6 expression was detected in plasma cells and vascular endothelial cells; whereas IL-6 immunoreactivity was detected primarily in vascular endothelial cells in HV-CD. Interfollicular plasma cells were prominent in PC-CD and reactive lymphadenopathies; however, IL-6 expression was significantly increased in PC-CD compared to reactive lymph nodes. Together with morphologic features, the expression pattern of IL-6 detected by immunohistochemistry is helpful to distinguish CD subtypes and reactive mimics.

Small-molecule inhibitors targeting INK4 protein p18(INK4C) enhance ex vivo expansion of haematopoietic stem cells.

Among cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors that control the G1 phase in cell cycle, only p18 and p27 can negatively regulate haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal. In this manuscript, we demonstrate that p18 protein is a more potent inhibitor of HSC self-renewal than p27 in mouse models and its deficiency promoted HSC expansion in long-term culture. Single-cell analysis indicated that deleting p18 gene favoured self-renewing division of HSC in vitro. Based on the structure of p18 protein and in-silico screening, we further identified novel smallmolecule inhibitors that can specifically block the activity of p18 protein. Our selected lead compounds were able to expand functional HSCs in a short-term culture. Thus, these putative small-molecule inhibitors for p18 protein are valuable for further dissecting the signalling pathways of stem cell self-renewal and may help develop more effective chemical agents for therapeutic expansion of HSC.

The p53-PUMA axis suppresses iPSC generation.

Mechanisms underlying the reprogramming process of induced pluripotent stem cells remain poorly defined. Like tumorigenesis, generation of induced pluripotent stem cells was shown to be suppressed by the Trp53 (p53) pathway, at least in part via p21Cdkn1a (p21)-mediated cell cycle arrest. Here we examine the role of PUMA, a pro-apoptotic mediator of p53, during somatic reprogramming in comparison to p21 in the p53 pathway. Using mouse strains deficient in these molecules, we demonstrate that PUMA is an independent mediator of the negative effect of p53 on induced pluripotent stem cell induction. PUMA deficiency leads to a better survival rate associated with reduced DNA damage and fewer chromosomal aberrations in induced pluripotent stem cells, whereas loss of p21 or p53 results in an opposite outcome. Given these new findings, PUMA may serve as a distinct and more desirable target in the p53 pathway for induced pluripotent stem cell generation, thereby having important implications for potential therapeutic applications of induced pluripotent stem cells.

An acute negative bystander effect of γ-irradiated recipients on transplanted hematopoietic stem cells.

Ultimate success of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) depends not only on donor HSCs themselves but also on the host environment. Total body irradiation is a component in various host conditioning regimens for HSCT. It is known that ionizing radiation exerts "bystander effects" on nontargeted cells and that HSCs transplanted into irradiated recipients undergo proliferative exhaustion. However, whether irradiated recipients pose a proliferation-independent bystander effect on transplanted HSCs is unclear. In this study, we found that irradiated mouse recipients significantly impaired the long-term repopulating ability of transplanted mouse HSCs shortly (∼ 17 hours) after exposure to irradiated hosts and before the cells began to divide. There was an increase of acute cell death associated with accelerated proliferation of the bystander hematopoietic cells. This effect was marked by dramatic down-regulation of c-Kit, apparently because of elevated reactive oxygen species. Administration of an antioxidant chemical, N-acetylcysteine, or ectopically overexpressing a reactive oxygen species scavenging enzyme, catalase, improved the function of transplanted HSCs in irradiated hosts. Together, this study provides evidence for an acute negative, yet proliferation-independent, bystander effect of irradiated recipients on transplanted HSCs, thereby having implications for HSCT in both experimental and clinical scenarios in which total body irradiation is involved.

Role of macrophages in mobilization of hematopoietic progenitor cells from bone marrow after hemorrhagic shock.

The release of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) from bone marrow (BM) is under tight homeostatic control. Under stress conditions, HPCs migrate from BM and egress into circulation to participate in immune response, wound repair, or tissue regeneration. Hemorrhagic shock with resuscitation (HS/R), resulting from severe trauma and major surgery, promotes HPC mobilization from BM, which, in turn, affects post-HS immune responses. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of HS/R regulation of HPC mobilization from BM. Using a mouse HS/R model, we demonstrate that the endogenous alarmin molecule high-mobility group box 1 mediates HS/R-induced granulocyte colony-stimulating factor secretion from macrophages (Mϕ in a RAGE [receptor for advanced glycation end products] signaling-dependent manner. Secreted granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, in turn, induces HPC egress from BM. We also show that activation of ß-adrenergic receptors on Mϕ by catecholamine mediates the HS/R-induced release of high-mobility group box 1. These data indicate that HS/R, a global ischemia-reperfusion stimulus, regulates HPC mobilization through a series of interacting pathways that include neuroendocrine and innate immune systems, in which Mϕ play a central role.

Deletion of Puma protects hematopoietic stem cells and confers long-term survival in response to high-dose gamma-irradiation.

Molecular paradigms underlying the death of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) induced by ionizing radiation are poorly defined. We have examined the role of Puma (p53 up-regulated mediator of apoptosis) in apoptosis of HSCs after radiation injury. In the absence of Puma, HSCs were highly resistant to gamma-radiation in a cell autonomous manner. As a result, Puma-null mice or the wild-type mice reconstituted with Puma-null bone marrow cells were strikingly able to survive for a long term after high-dose gamma-radiation that normally would pose 100% lethality on wild-type animals. Interestingly, there was no increase of malignancy in the exposed animals. Such profound beneficial effects of Puma deficiency were likely associated with better maintained quiescence and more efficient DNA repair in the stem cells. This study demonstrates that Puma is a unique mediator in radiation-induced death of HSCs. Puma may be a potential target for developing an effective treatment aimed to protect HSCs from lethal radiation.

Hemorrhagic shock augments lung endothelial cell activation: role of temporal alterations of TLR4 and TLR2.

Hemorrhagic shock (HS) due to major trauma predisposes the host to the development of acute lung inflammation and injury. The lung vascular endothelium is an active organ that plays a central role in the development of acute lung injury through generating reactive oxygen species and synthesizing and releasing of a number of inflammatory mediators, including leukocyte adhesion molecules that regulate neutrophils emigration. Previous study from our laboratory has demonstrated that in a setting of sepsis, toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) signaling can induce TLR2 expression in endothelial cells (ECs), thereby increasing the cells' response to TLR2 ligands. The present study tested the hypothesis that TLR4 activation by HS and the resultant increased TLR2 surface expression in ECs might contribute to the mechanism underlying HS-augmented activation of lung ECs. The results show that high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) through TLR4 signaling mediates HS-induced surface expression of TLR2 in the lung and mouse lung vascular endothelial cells (MLVECs). Furthermore, the results demonstrate that HMGB1 induces activation of NAD(P)H oxidase and expression of ICAM-1 in the lung, and MLVECs sequentially depend on TLR4 in the early phase and on TLR2 in the late phase following HS. Finally, the data indicate an important role of the increased TLR2 surface expression in enhancing the activation of MLVECs and augmenting pulmonary neutrophil infiltration in response to TLR2 agonist peptidoglycan. Thus, induction of TLR2 surface expression in lung ECs, induced by HS and mediated by HMGB1/TLR4 signaling, is an important mechanism responsible for endothelial cell-mediated inflammation and organ injury following trauma and hemorrhage.