Interleukin-17 is a favorable prognostic marker for colorectal cancer

Purpose. The role of interleukin-17 (IL-17) in the tumor microenvironment is controversial. We analyzed the in situ tumor expression of IL-17 in colorectal cancer (CRC), adenoma and non-tumor tissue to explore the possible correlation of IL-17 expression to clinicopathological characteristics, tumor-infiltrating neutrophils (TINs) and survival in CRC. Methods. We reviewed the records of 78 consecutive patients diagnosed with CRC. Archival tissues were used. Thirty-six patients with colorectal adenoma were also included. From the 78 CRC patients, we randomly chose 40 cases and collected non-tumor tissue at 10 cm from the edge of the resected tumor. Immunohistochemistry was performed using anti-IL-17 and anti-CD15 (targeting neutrophils) antibody, respectively. Real-time PCR was used to detect IL-17 mRNA in different tissues. Associations between IL-17 expression, clinicopathological parameters and prognosis were evaluated. Results. The level of IL-17 mRNA was higher in CRC than in adenoma and non-tumor tissue (P < 0.05). Positive IL-17 protein expression was observed more frequently in CRC as compared to colorectal adenoma and non-tumor tissue, respectively (P < 0.01). IL-17 expression correlated to well differentiation and early stage CRC. The number of CD15+ neutrophils significantly increased in CRC and positively correlated to the expression of IL-17 (P < 0.05). Both Kaplan–Meier analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that patients with positive IL-17 expression showed better overall survival. Conclusions. The association between IL-17 expression and the clinicopathological parameters, as well as the clinical outcome suggests a significant role of IL-17 in CRC. IL-17 is a marker of favorable prognosis (AU)

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Scintigraphic determination of equivocal appendicitis.

We evaluated Tc-99m-labeled anti-CD15 immunoglobulin M monoclonal antibody (LeuTech) for scintigraphic detection of acute appendicitis in patients with an equivocal clinical presentation. LeuTech avidly binds to circulating and sequestered human polymorphonuclear neutrophils in vivo eliminating the need for in vitro cell labeling and the risks of blood handling. We studied 99 patients to evaluate the safety and efficacy of LeuTech imaging. Serial dynamic and static planar images were acquired for up to 3 hours after the intravenous administration of 10 to 20 mCi of Tc-99m LeuTech. Scans were read as positive or negative for acute appendicitis or other intra-abdominal infection. The institutional diagnosis was established by surgery and histopathology of the appendix, results of other diagnostic studies, or 2-week clinical follow-up. Scans were positive for appendicitis in 39 of 40 patients with appendicitis at surgery (sensitivity 98%) and negative for appendicitis in 49 of 58 patients without appendicitis (specificity 84%). One was lost to follow-up. Accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 90, 81, and 98 per cent respectively. In patients with appendicitis and positive scans more than 50 per cent of the images were positive at 4 minutes, and all were positive by 1 hour. Mean time of first positive image was 15 minutes. There were no serious adverse reactions. We conclude that LeuTech imaging is a highly sensitive test for detection of appendicitis in equivocal cases. There are advantages of this agent over the other currently used radiotracers in terms of convenience and time to diagnosis particularly the rapidity with which acute appendicitis will be seen on the images.

Glycerol administration modulates the pattern of the 3-fucosyl-N-acetyl-lactosamine (CD15) epitope in the adult guinea pig inner ear.

The effect of glycerol administration on the distribution pattern of the CD15 (3-fucosyl-N-acetyl-lactosamine) epitope has been studied immunohistochemically in hydropic and non-hydropic ears of adult guinea pigs from 80 min to 5 h after treatment with 2 g/kg glycerol. Glycerol administration characteristically modulated the immunoreactivity of the CD15 epitope in the endolymphatic sac and the tectorial membrane (TM) and revealed the CD15 epitope in the otoconia of the saccule, the stereocilia and the supporting cells of the ampullae. Our results suggest that glycerol interacts with glycoconjugates of the TM and otoconia, causing changes in their density and possibly the hydration state. As a consequence, the transduction process may be affected.

Therapeutic effect of intradermal injections with difucosyl lactosamine (dimeric Lex) on patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

As reported by us, a new myeloid cell population with an oncofetal membrane marker, dimeric Lex (di-Lex; III3FucV3 FucnLc6), was found in the epiphyseal bone marrow adjacent to the involved joints of patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients with RA received intradermal (id) injections of di-Lex incorporated in liposome or of high molecular weight glycoprotein, or tumor associated carbohydrate antigen (TCA), containing the same carbohydrate epitope as di-Lex. The epiphyseal myeloid cells were reduced or sometimes eliminated during id injection. In random trials of id injection, observation under clinical and laboratory conditions showed improvement in 63% (17/27) of the patients treated for 6 months with appropriate doses of di-Lex (III3FucnLc4), and in 72% (31/43) of those treated with an identical protocol for TCA. However, id injection with monomeric Lex had no effect.