Citations

AbstractPrimary systemic amyloidosis (AL) is a plasma cell dyscrasia resulting in multisystem failure and death. High-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) has been associated with higher response rates and seemingly higher overall survival than standard chemotherapy. Selection bias, however, confounds interpretation of these results. We performed a case-match-control study comparing overall survival of 63 AL patients undergoing transplantation with 63 patients not undergoing transplantation. Matching criteria included age, sex, time to presentation, left ventricular ejection fraction, serum creatinine, septal thickness, nerve involvement, 24-hour urine protein, and serum alkaline phosphatase. According to design, there was no difference between the groups with respect to sex (57% males), age (median, 53 years), left ventricular ejection fraction (65%), number of patients with peripheral nerve involvement (17%), cardiac interventricular septal wall thickness (12 mm), serum creatinine (1.1 mg/dL [97.24 μmol/L]), and bone marrow plasmacytosis (8%). Sixty-six patients have died (16 cases and 50 controls). For PBSCT and control groups, respectively, the 1-, 2-, and 4-year overall survival rates are 89% and 71%; 81% and 55%; and 71% and 41%. Outside a randomized clinical trial, these results present the strongest data supporting the role of PBSCT in selected patients with AL.

ABSTRACTMice immunized with irradiatedOnchocerca volvulusthird-stage larvae developed protective immunity. Eosinophil levels were elevated in the parasite microenvironment at the time of larval killing, and measurements of total serum antibody levels revealed an increase in the immunoglobulin E (IgE) level in immunized mice. The goal of the present study was to identify the role of granulocytes and antibodies in the protective immune response to the larval stages ofO. volvulusin mice immunized with irradiated larvae. Immunity did not develop in mice if granulocytes, including both neutrophils and eosinophils, were eliminated, nor did it develop if only eosinophils were eliminated. Moreover, larvae were killed in naïve interleukin-5 transgenic mice, and the killing coincided with an increase in the number of eosinophils and the eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) level in the animals. To determine if EPO was required for protective immunity, mice that were genetically deficient in EPO were immunized, and there were no differences in the rates of parasite recovery in EPO-deficient mice and wild-type mice. Two mouse strains were used to study B-cell function; μMT mice lacked all mature B cells, and Xid mice had deficiencies in the B-1 cell population. Immunity did not develop in the μMT mice but did develop in the Xid mice. Finally, protective immunity was abolished in mice treated to eliminate IgE from the blood. We therefore concluded that IgE and eosinophils are required for adaptive protective immunity to larvalO. volvulusin mice.

Background— Diabetes portends an adverse prognosis in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Whether improvements in current clinical practice (stents, IIb/IIIa antagonists) have resulted in substantial improvement of these outcomes remains an issue. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of diabetes on 9-month outcomes of patients undergoing PCI in the current era. Methods and Results— The 11 482 patients enrolled in the Prevention of REStenosis with Tranilast and its Outcomes (PRESTO) Trial were stratified according to the presence (n=2694) or absence (n=8798) of diabetes. Diabetic patients were older; were more likely to be female; had a higher proportion of congestive failure, hypertension, prior CABG, and unstable angina; and had higher body mass index and lower ejection fraction than nondiabetic patients ( P <0.01 for all comparisons). The degree of multivessel disease was similar between the two groups. American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association type C lesions were more common in diabetic patients (17% versus 15%, P <0.01). Angiographic and procedural success rates and in-hospital events were similar between the two groups. The primary end point of death, myocardial infarction, or target vessel revascularization (TVR) was analyzed as time-to-first event within 9 months of the index PCI. After adjusting for certain baseline characteristics, diabetes was independently associated with death at 9 months (relative risk [RR], 1.87; 95% CI, 1.31 to 2.68, P <0.01) and with an increased likelihood of TVR (RR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.42, P <0.01), as well as the composite end point of death/myocardial infarction/TVR (RR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.40, P <0.01). Conclusions— Despite advances in interventional techniques, diabetes remains a significant independent predictor of adverse events in the intermediate term after PCI.

Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) studies have found that patients with Alzheimer's dementia (AD) have abnormally low rates of cerebral glucose metabolism in posterior cingulate, parietal, temporal, and prefrontal cortex. We previously found that cognitively normal, late-middle-aged carriers of the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele, a common susceptibility gene for late-onset Alzheimer's dementia, have abnormally low rates of glucose metabolism in the same brain regions as patients with probable AD. We now consider whether ε4 carriers have these regional brain abnormalities as relatively young adults. Apolipoprotein E genotypes were established in normal volunteers 20–39 years of age. Clinical ratings, neuropsychological tests, magnetic resonance imaging, and PET were performed in 12 ε4 heterozygotes, all with the ε3/ε4 genotype, and 15 noncarriers of the ε4 allele, 12 of whom were individually matched for sex, age, and educational level. An automated algorithm was used to generate an aggregate surface-projection map that compared regional PET measurements in the two groups. The young adult ε4 carriers and noncarriers did not differ significantly in their sex, age, educational level, clinical ratings, or neuropsychological test scores. Like previously studied patients with probable AD and late-middle-aged ε4 carriers, the young ε4 carriers had abnormally low rates of glucose metabolism bilaterally in the posterior cingulate, parietal, temporal, and prefrontal cortex. Carriers of a common Alzheimer's susceptibility gene have functional brain abnormalities in young adulthood, several decades before the possible onset of dementia.

SUMMARYFamilial and twin studies in Caucasians have established that the MHC class II allele HLA-DRB1*0301 (DR3) is a strong susceptibility gene in Graves’ hyperthyroid disease (GD). To determine if a DR3 transgene could help establish an animal model for GD, we expressed DR3 molecules in class II-knockout NOD mice (H2Ag7–). DR3+g7– mice were given cardiotoxin prior to immunization on weeks 0, 3 and 6 with plasmid DNA encoding human thyrotropin receptor (TSHR). Two groups of mice were also coimmunized with plasmid DNA for IL-4 or GM-CSF. Serial bleeds on weeks 8, 11 and 14 showed that approximately 20% of mice produced thyroid-stimulating antibodies (Abs), and approximately 25% had elevated T4 levels. In particular, a subset displayed both signs of hyperthyroidism, resulting in approximately 30% with some aspect of GD syndrome. Additional mice had thyroid-stimulating blocking Abs and/or TSH-binding inhibitory immunoglobulins, while most mice showed strong labelling of TSHR+ cells by flow cytometry. Interestingly, lymphocytic infiltration with thyroid damage and Abs to mouse thyroglobulin were also noted. Vector controls were uniformly negative. Thus, DR3 transgenic mice can serve as a model for GD, similar to our earlier reports that this allele is permissive for the Hashimoto's thyroiditis model induced with human thyroglobulin.

ABSTRACTPreviously, we identified a naturally processed and presented measles virus (MV) 19-amino-acid peptide, ASDVETAEGGEIHELLRLQ (MV-P), derived from the phosphoprotein and eluted from the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II molecule by using mass spectrometry. We report here the identification of a 14-amino-acid peptide, SAGKVSSTLASELG, derived from the MV nucleoprotein (MV-N) bound to HLA-DRB1*0301. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 281 previously vaccinated measles-mumps-rubella II (MMR-II) subjects (HLA discordant) were studied for peptide recognition by T cells. Significant gamma interferon (IFN-γ) responses to MV-P and MV-N peptides were observed in 55.9 and 15.3% of subjects, respectively. MV-P- and MV-N-specific interleukin-4 (IL-4) responses were detected in 19.2 and 23.1%, respectively, of PBMC samples. Peptide-specific cytokine responses and HLA-DRB1 allele associations revealed that, for the MV-P peptide, the allele with the strongest association with both IFN-γ (P= 0.02) and IL-4 (P= 0.03) secretion was DRB1*0301. For MV-N, the allele with the strongest association with IFN-γ secretion was DRB1*1501 (P= 0.04), and the alleles with the strongest associations with IL-4 secretion were DRB1*1103 and DRB1*1303 (P= 0.01). These results indicate that HLA class II MV proteins can be processed, presented, and identified, and the ability to generate cell-mediated immune responses can be demonstrated. This information is promising for new vaccine design strategies with peptide-based vaccines.