Serum levels of vault RNA significantly varied in patients with haematological malignancies.

Among extracellular non­coding RNAs, serum levels of microRNAs have been extensively investigated in cancers. In contrast, the serum levels of vault RNAs (vtRNAs) in relation to various disease conditions remain poorly understood. The present study evaluated the clinical significance of serum vtRNA1­1 levels in patients with blood diseases. The stability and sub­localisation of serum vtRNA1­1 was assessed and a reverse transcription­quantitative PCR method using spiked RNA to quantify serum vtRNA1­1 was developed. Serum vtRNA1­1 levels were assessed in 102 individuals with blood diseases. Serum vtRNA1­1 was demonstrated to be stable for three weeks at 4˚C and was not confined to the exosome fractions. Spiking RNA was used to correct for the inconsistency in RNA extraction. The serum vtRNA1­1 levels ranged between 7.28 and 8.76 log10 cps/ml (median 8.05) in control individuals (n=46). Serum vtRNA1­1 levels correlated with leukocyte counts and increased to a maximum of 10.01 log10 cps/ml in patients with bulky leukaemia and lymphoma and decreased to 6.52 log10 cps/ml during intensive chemotherapy. The serum vtRNA1­1 levels varied significantly in patients with haematological malignancies. Serum vtRNA1­1 may originate from haematological cells and are a potential biomarker of normal and malignant haematological activities.

Differential Reactivation of Cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr Virus in Patients with B Cell Lymphoma.

Although cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are considered latent viruses, their reactivation occurs in immunosuppressed conditions. We previously reported that CMV and EBV are reactivated in patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy and/or chemotherapy. This retrospective, single-center study aimed to determine the frequency of viral reactivation and clinical characteristics of patients with B cell lymphoma (B-ML) receiving chemotherapy. Twenty-four patients (mean age 73 years, range 40-87 years; male-to-female ratio, 15:9) with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (n = 15), follicular lymphoma (n = 8), or mantle cell lymphoma (n = 1) were enrolled. Serum CMV and EBV DNA levels were analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in patients with B-ML receiving chemotherapy. We determined the cumulative reactivation of each virus and analyzed the relationship between viral reactivation and clinical characteristics. Three patients experienced relapse or refractory (R/R) disease and the others had de novo lymphomas. The frequencies of CMV and EBV reactivations were 54.2% and 37.5%, respectively. CMV reactivation occurred significantly earlier during chemotherapy courses in R/R patients than in de novo patients (p = 0.0038), while EBV reactivation was frequently found before treatment. Baseline serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor were higher (4318.0 vs. 981.1 U/mL, p = 0.010) and hemoglobin levels were lower (11.1 vs. 13.0 g/dL, p = 0.0038) in patients with EBV reactivation than in those without reactivation. These findings were not observed in patients with CMV reactivation. CMV reactivation was associated with iatrogenic immunosuppression, whereas EBV reactivation was related to immunosuppression by lymphoma, indicating that the mechanisms of these viral reactivations differed.

Construction of an Automatic Quantification Method for Bone Marrow Cellularity Using Image Analysis Software.

Although rapid, the evaluation of bone marrow (BM) cellularity is semi-quantitative and largely dependent upon visual estimates. We aimed to construct an automatic quantification method using image analysis software. We used hematoxylin and eosin (HE)-stained specimens of BM biopsies and clots from patients who underwent BM examination at Tottori University Hospital from 2020 to 2022. We compared image analysis (Methods A, B, and C) with visual estimates in pathology reports of 91 HE specimens in 54 cases (29 males, 25 females), including 38 biopsy and 53 clot specimens. Cellularity was visually scored as hypocellular (n = 17), normocellular (n = 44), or hypercellular (n = 30). Compared with the visual estimates, intraclass correlation coefficients for Methods A, B, and C were 0.80, 0.85, and 0.88, respectively. The most appropriate values were obtained with Method C which detected both non-fatty and cell nuclear areas.

Fibrin monomer complex as a potential thrombosis marker related to venous thromboembolism risk in pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is a risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE) due to increased coagulation factor activity and decreased protein S activity. However, thrombosis markers for predicting VTE in pregnancy remain controversial. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between VTE risk and thrombosis markers in pregnant women and to identify markers related to VTE risk. METHODS: Archived plasma samples from 107 pregnant women were used in this study, and the concentrations of D-dimer, fibrin monomer complex (FMC), plasmin-plasmin inhibitor complex, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and fibrinogen were measured. VTE risk was scored according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists green-top guidelines and the patients were divided into low- or high-risk groups. RESULTS: The median (range) of risk score for deep vein thrombosis was 2 (0-8), and we defined the high-risk group included those with a score of ≧3. D-dimer and FMC concentrations were significantly higher in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group (D-dimer 4.5 vs 2.6 µg/mL, p = 0.008; FMC 14.6 vs 3.4 µg/mL, p < 0.001). Although D-dimer concentration significantly increased with gestational age (Spearman's correlation coefficient [rs] = 0.317, p < 0.001), FMC concentration did not (rs = -0.081, p = 0.409). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values of D-dimer, FMC, and both D-dimer and FMC for the high-risk group were 0.656, 0.713, and 0.738, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: FMC may be a thrombosis marker related to VTE risk in pregnancy and is potentially preferable over D-dimer concentrations.

N-Phenyl-N-[(E)-2-(4,4,5,5-tetra-methyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)ethen-yl]aniline.

The title compound, C20H24BNO2, has a polarized π-system due to significant resonance between the N-C(H)=C(H)-B and ionic N+=C(H)-C(H)=B- canonical forms. The dihedral angles between the NC2B plane (r.m.s. deviation 0.0223 Å) and the C3N (r.m.s. deviation 0.0025 Å) and BCO2 (r.m.s. deviation 0.0044 Å) planes are 2.51 (12) and 3.09 (19)°, respectively. This indicates the lone pair of the nitro-gen atom and a vacant p orbital of the boron atom are conjugated with the central C=C bond. In comparison with the carbazole analogue [Hatayama & Okuno (2012 ▸). Acta Cryst. E68, o84], the C-N and C-B bonds are shorter. The results are well explained by the increase in the contribution of the N+=C(H)-C(H)=B- canonical form in the title compound.

Differences in the Composition of Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT) Reagents Affect Clot Waveform Analysis.

Background: Clot waveform analysis (CWA) based on activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) is a useful assay for hemostasis. However, the effects of activators and phospholipid conditions on CWA have not been adequately investigated. Therefore, we characterized CWA using four different APTT reagents. Methods: We used 39 archived plasma samples from patients with hemophilia A (HA), 16 samples from patients with HA under emicizumab treatment, and 10 samples from healthy individuals for CWA with four different types of APTT reagents (reagents A, B, C, and D). We then compared Ad|min1|, Ad|min2|, and Ad|max2| from the CWA, which reflect the maximum velocity, maximum acceleration, and maximum deceleration, respectively, among the four reagents. Results: Similar clot waveform shapes were observed for each reagent in the healthy donor group, HA group, and HA under emicizumab group, and the waveform was different for each target group. Significant changes were found in clotting time (CT) (s), Ad|min1| (%/s), Ad|min2| (%/s2), and Ad|max2| (%/s2). The waveform pattern for the coagulation reaction by reagent D, comprising silica and synthetic phospholipids, was the fastest among the reagents examined. Further, the difference in Ad|min1| (%/s) and Ad|min2| (%/s2) was larger than that in CT depending on the reagent used(s), indicating that the measured value of CWA was affected by the reagent composition. Conclusion: Our results showed a significant difference among reagents with varying composition and concentration; this was found to affect the parameters obtained from CWA. Thus, the differences between reagents hinder standardization of quantitative evaluation using these parameters; further, this highlights the necessity of understanding the characteristics of APTT reagents and determining the reference range in individual facilities.

Regression Analysis to Estimate the Factor VIII Activity of Patients with Hemophilia A Without Inhibitor who Received Emicizumab Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Emicizumab, a bispecific monoclonal antibody for hemophilia A (HA), has strong pharmacodynamic effects in several coagulation assays resulting in dosing difficulties with Factor VIII (FVIII) concentrates during bleeding emergencies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Single and multiple regression models were studied to estimate FVIII activity using 27 archived plasma samples from three patients with HA without inhibitor under emicizumab treatment. Explanatory variables were FVIII chromogenic assay (CSA), Ad|min1|, Ad|min2|, the number of seconds of APTT, and the FVIII one-stage assay (OSA), which were measured without idiotype antibodies. The response variable was FVIII OSA measured with idiotype antibodies. RESULTS: In the simple linear model, the FVIII CSA regression coefficient was 1.04 and the intercept was -14.55 (r2 = 0.95; p < 0.001). In the multiple regression model, FVIII OSA and FVIII CSA were selected based on the Akaike Information Criterion, with regression coefficients of 1.74 and 1.15, respectively, and an intercept of -92.03 (r2 = 0.96, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The regression models can estimate the FVIII:C levels in patients with HA receiving emicizumab and would be useful in a bleeding emergency and/or surgery.

Frequent co-reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus in patients with cytomegalovirus viremia under immunosuppressive therapy and/or chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: Co-reactivation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) occurs in iatrogenically immunosuppressed patients, but the clinical relevance of this is unknown. We aimed to determine the frequency of EBV reactivation in patients with CMV viremia and to explore its clinical significance. METHODS: Serum or plasma CMV and EBV DNA was detected by quantitative real-time PCR in 82 patients who received immunosuppressive therapy and/or chemotherapy and underwent CMV antigenemia tests. RESULTS: CMV DNA was positive in 55 patients, with EBV reactivation being found in 29 of these (52.7%). EBV co-reactivation was significantly associated with aging (>64 years vs. ≤64 years, odds ratio 4.07, 95% confidence interval 1.06-15.6). When older patients were divided into two groups according to age, EBV co-reactivation occurred more frequently in early-old patients (aged 65-74 years) than in late-old patients (aged ≥75 years) (100.0% vs. 53.3%, respectively). Steroid pulse treatment was administered significantly more often in the early-old group than in those aged ≤64 years and ≥75 years (72.7% vs 27.6% vs 14.3%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Co-reactivation of EBV in patients with CMV viremia highlighted early-old patients and may reflect treatment intensity as well as immunosenescence.

Seasonal distribution of Gambierdiscus spp. in Wakasa Bay, the Sea of Japan, and antagonistic relationships with epiphytic pennate diatoms.

The occurrence of the ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) causative Gambierdiscus spp. was confirmed in the Sea of Japan for the first time in 2009. This paper reports seasonal distribution of Gambierdiscus spp. and epiphytic diatoms in the Sea of Japan. Monitoring results suggested an antagonistic interaction in abundances between epiphytic diatoms and the dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus spp. Allelopathic effects of diatoms were considered to be involved in the competitive phenomenon. Therefore it is hypothesized that cell densities of epiphytic pennate diatoms on macroalgae are a novel determinant affecting the abundance of Gambierdiscus spp. other than sea water temperature, salinity and nutrients. Monitorings of the abundance of epiphytic diatoms would lead us to predict the occurrences of Gambierdiscus spp. blooms in the CFP area, and thereby the CFP risk assessments would be developed. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that Gambierdiscus spp. in the Sea of Japan belonged to Gambierdiscus sp. type 2 which was reported to be non-toxic. Nevertheless, based on morphological characteristics, at least two types of Gambierdiscus spp. were found in the Sea of Japan. It is needed to test the toxicity of the both types of Gambierdiscus recognized in the present study for evaluation of the probability of CFP outbreak risks in the Sea of Japan in the future.

Acetylacetonato-based pincer-type nickel(ii) complexes: synthesis and catalysis in cross-couplings of aryl chlorides with aryl Grignard reagents.

In this work, three different types of acetylacetonato-based pincer-type nickel(ii) complexes (2) were prepared. Complex 2a possessed the tridentate ONN ligand, which was constructed by the condensation reaction of acetylacetone with N,N-diethylethylenediamine. Complex 2b contained the PPh2 donor group in contrast to the NEt2 group in 2a, i.e., an ONP ligand framework. Complex 2c was composed of the NNN ligand, which was prepared by the reaction of 4-((2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amino)pent-3-en-2-one with N,N-diethylethylenediamine. In addition to X-ray diffraction analysis, these complexes were characterized spectroscopically. Their catalytic activity for a cross-coupling reaction of aryl halides with aryl Grignard reagents was also evaluated. Among these complexes, 2b acted as an effective catalyst for the cross-coupling reaction using aryl chlorides as electrophiles. The electronic properties of these Ni(ii) complexes were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and density functional theory calculations.

Analysis of Acute Transfusion Reactions and Their Occurrence Times.

Acute transfusion reactions (ATRs) are significantly relevant to the morbidity and mortality of patients. ATRs are mostly not severe and rarely cause severe conditions, including anaphylactic shock. The aim of this study was to clarify the frequency of ATRs and the time of event occurrence. A total of 18,745 transfusions were administered to 11,718 patients during a 3-year period. Adverse reactions including at least one sign or symptom were collected through a report system in 143 of 2,478 (5.7%) platelet concentrate transfusions, 105 of 6,629 (1.6%) red blood cell component transfusions and 51 of 2,307 (2.2%) fresh frozen plasma transfusions. Allergic signs and symptoms accounted for 70% of all adverse events. Severe signs and symptoms were observed in 7.1% of patients. These events appeared significantly earlier than those of non-severe signs and symptoms (median time 20 min vs 100 min, P < 0.05). For patients who have had repetitive transfusion-associated adverse events, preventive treatments for adverse events should be proactively promoted.

Construction and Evaluation of Cytomegalovirus DNA Quantification System with Real-Time Detection Polymerase Chain Reaction.

BACKGROUND: For patients with reactivation of human cytomegalovirus (CMV), a highly sensitive and accurate CMV quantification system is essential to monitor viral load. METHODS: We constructed a real-time detection PCR (RTD-PCR) system for CMV DNA and evaluated its linearity, lower detection limit, dynamic range and accuracy using two CMV standards. We used 219 clinical samples derived from 101 patients to compare the system with the pp65 antigen test. RESULTS: The 95% detection limit was determined to be 556 IU/mL (95% CI, 440-797 IU/mL), and the quantification range was between 102 and 106 copies or IU/mL (r = 0.996, 0.999, respectively). The coefficients of variation of inter-assay reproducibility assessed in each three different runs were 2.5% at 1,000 IU/mL and 1.6% at 10,000 IU/mL. The coefficients of variation of intra-assay variability by testing the same samples three times in a single run were 1.8-3.6% and 0.4-1.9%, respectively. The concordance between antigenemia and plasma or serum CMV DNA levels was a good correlation (r = 0.695, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: We constructed the RTD-PCR system which enables accurate evaluation of CMV reactivation by monitoring of viral load in immunosuppressed or immunocompromised patients.

Development of Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification for Simple and Rapid Detection of Promyelocytic Leukemia-Retinoic Acid Receptor α mRNA.

BACKGROUND: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a disease characterized by expression of Promyelocytic Leukemia-Retinoic Acid Receptor α (PML-RARα) chimeric mRNA. Although APL is curable, early death due to hemorrhage is a major problem. Here, we report the development of a simple and rapid diagnostic method for APL based on reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP). METHODS: An RT-LAMP primer set was designed to detect three types of PML-RARα mRNA in a single reaction. Serial dilutions of plasmid DNA containing bcr1, bcr2, or bcr3 PML-RARα sequences and RNA extracted from bone marrow aspirates of 6 patients with APL were used to compare the results of RT-LAMP and nested PCR assays. RESULTS: Plasmid DNA was amplified by RT-LAMP, for which the reaction time was > 4 h shorter and the lower detection limit was higher than for nested RT-PCR. Six of 7 samples tested positive by both methods. CONCLUSION: We developed an RT-LAMP assay for simple and rapid PML-RARα mRNA detection that may be clinically useful for point-of-care testing and APL diagnosis.

Procognitive effect of AC-3933 in aged mice, and synergistic effect of combination with donepezil in scopolamine-treated mice.

We have previously reported that AC-3933, a newly developed benzodiazepine receptor partial inverse agonist, facilitates acetylcholine release in the hippocampus and ameliorates scopolamine-induced memory deficits in rats. To further confirm the procognitive effect of AC-3933, we assessed in this study the beneficial effects of this compound in aged mice using the Y-maze and object recognition tests. In addition, we investigated the synergistic effect of AC-3933 and donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor, on scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice. In aged mice, oral administration of AC-3933 at doses of 0.05-0.1 mg/kg and 0.05 mg/kg significantly improved spatial working memory and episodic memory, respectively. In scopolamine-treated mice, both AC-3933 and donepezil significantly ameliorated memory deficits in the Y-maze test at doses of 0.3-3 mg/kg and 10-15 mg/kg, respectively. The beneficial effect of AC-3933, but not that of donepezil, on scopolamine-induced memory impairment was antagonized by flumazenil, a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, indicating that the procognitive action of AC-3933 arises via a mechanism different from that of donepezil. Co-administration of donepezil at the suboptimal dose of 3 mg/kg with AC-3933 at doses of 0.1-1 mg/kg significantly ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory impairment, suggesting that AC-3933 potentiates the effect of donepezil on memory impairment induced by cholinergic hypofunction. These findings indicate that AC-3933 not only has good potential as a cognitive enhancer by itself, but also is useful as a concomitant drug for the treatment of Alzheimer׳s disease.

9-[(E)-2-(4,4,5,5-Tetra-methyl-1,3,2-dioxa-borolan-2-yl)ethen-yl]-9H-carbazole.

The title compound, C(20)H(22)BNO(2), is a simple olefinic compound which carries both B and N atoms that are trans to one another. The π-conjugated system of the compound is considered to be isoelectronic with 1,3-butadiene. There are two independent mol-ecules in the asymmetric unit in which the environments around the boron atoms are essentially planar (r.m.s. deviations of 0.0032 and 0.0021 Šfor the BO(2)C planes). The dihedral angles of the olefinic planes with the boron planes are 5.70 (11) and 9.74 (9)°, respectively, while the dihedral angles of the olefinic planes with the carbazole planes are 19.37 (3) and 10.74 (6)°. These dihedral angles are consistent with those in 9-ethenylcarbazole and an ethenylboronic ester derivative. The N-Csp(2), B-Csp(2) and C=C bond lengths suggest that the contribution of the canonical structure can be described as N(+)=C-C=B(-).

T-588, a cognitive enhancer, stimulates in vivo phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases in the hippocampus.

Administration of (1R)-1-benzo[b]thiophen-5-yl-2-[2-(diethylamino)ethoxy]ethan-1-ol hydrochloride (T-588), a cognitive enhancer, like the acetylcholine esterase inhibitors physostigmine and tacrine, stimulated phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) in the mouse hippocampus. The effect of T-588 on ERK phosphorylation was persistent from 2 to 6 h after injection. Immunohistochemical study showed that T-588 stimulated neuronal ERK phosphorylation in rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal subfield. These findings suggest that systemic T-588 stimulates the ERK kinase pathway in the hippocampal neurons.