Citations

Objectives The ideal frequency of cervical cancer screening in women with solid organ transplants (SOTs) remains to be determined. We aimed to assess the longitudinal rates of cytologic and histologic cervical abnormalities in women after SOT. Methods We retrospectively reviewed health records of women aged 18 to 60 years who received their first kidney, liver, pancreas, or combination transplant at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota) from 1995 through 2011. Patient demographics, cervical cytology and histology, and high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing data were abstracted. All women included in the study had documentation of at least 1 cervical cytologic assessment after SOT. Cumulative incidence of abnormal cytology or histology was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results In total, 459 women (mean age at SOT, 43.9 years) were included in the study. Pre-SOT cytology was benign in 226 (97.4%) of 232 patients with available results. During follow-up, 9 women had cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or higher (CIN3+) histology. The cumulative incidence of CIN3+ was 0.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0%–0.6%) at 1 year after SOT, 0.7% (95% CI, 0%–1.5%) at 2 years, 1.9% (95% CI, 0.5%–3.3%) at 5 years, and 3.1% (95% CI, 0.4%–5.7%) at 10 years. At the time of the first post-SOT cervical cytology, a greater proportion of women who were hrHPV positive had abnormal findings compared with hrHPV-negative women (10/15 [66.7%] vs 1/71 [1.4%]; p < .001). Conclusions The cumulative incidence of CIN3+ in the first 5 years after SOT approximates the level of risk for which annual cytologic assessment has been recommended.

Abstract Studies showed that TRIM72 is essential for repair of alveolar cell membrane disruptions, and exogenous recombinant human TRIM72 protein (rhT72) demonstrated tissue-mending properties in animal models of tissue injury. Here we examine the mechanisms of rhT72-mediated lung cell protection in vitro and test the efficacy of inhaled rhT72 in reducing tissue pathology in a mouse model of ventilator-induced lung injury. In vitro lung cell injury was induced by glass beads and stretching. Ventilator-induced lung injury was modeled by injurious ventilation at 30 ml/kg tidal volume. Affinity-purified rhT72 or control proteins were added into culture medium or applied through nebulization. Cellular uptake and in vivo distribution of rhT72 were detected by imaging and immunostaining. Exogenous rhT72 maintains membrane integrity of alveolar epithelial cells subjected to glass bead injury in a dose-dependent manner. Inhaled rhT72 decreases the number of fatally injured alveolar cells, and ameliorates tissue-damaging indicators and cell injury markers after injurious ventilation. Using in vitro stretching assays, we reveal that rhT72 improves both cellular resilience to membrane wounding and membrane repair after injury. Image analysis detected rhT72 uptake by rat alveolar epithelial cells, which can be inhibited by a cholesterol-disrupting agent. In addition, inhaled rhT72 distributes to the distal lungs, where it colocalizes with phosphatidylserine detection on nonpermeabilized lung slices to label wounded cells. In conclusion, our study showed that inhaled rhT72 accumulates in injured lungs and protects lung tissue from ventilator injury, the mechanisms of which include improving cell resilience to membrane wounding, localizing to injured membrane, and augmenting membrane repair.

Abstract1q21 gain is a common cytogenetic abnormality featuring high‐risk multiple myeloma (HRMM). However, the molecular mechanism underlying the adverse prognostic effect of 1q21 gain remains largely unclear. Here, we report that ARNT/HIF‐1β, a 1q21 gene, is highly expressed in HRMM and induced by microenvironmental hypoxia, which confers drug resistance and correlates with inferior outcome. Analysis of the gene expression profile database revealed that ARNT expression was upregulated in MM and increased with disease progression or in HRMM subtypes (particularly 1q21 gain), while correlated to shorter overall survival. In a cohort of 40 MM patients, qPCR further validated that ARNT expression was higher in MM patients than normal donors. MM cells carrying 1q21 gain or acquired drug resistance displayed a robust increase in HIF‐1β protein level. Hypoxia induced HIF‐1β expression via a NF‐κB‐dependent process. Notably, HIF‐1β overexpression impaired bortezomib sensitivity, whereas shRNA knockdown of ARNT reversed hypoxia‐mediated drug resistance. Together, these findings suggest that ARNT/HIF‐1β might represent a novel biomarker for risk stratification and prognosis of HRMM patients, as well as a potential therapeutic target for overcoming 1q21 gain‐ or microenvironment‐mediated and acquired drug resistance in MM.

AbstractThis study examines the long‐term OS of relapsed AML patients who were enrolled to 9 successive ECOG‐ACRIN trials for newly diagnosed AML, during 1984‐2008. The objectives were to examine whether there is a trend of improvement in the survival of relapsed AML patients in the more recent studies and to search for prognostic factors that are associated with long‐term OS after relapse. A total of 3012 patients were enrolled, 1779 (59.1%) achieved CR1 and of these, 58.9% relapsed. The median follow‐up was 9.7 years. The median OS from relapse was 0.5 years and the 5‐year OS was 10 (±1)%. These results were similar even for the most recent studies. A multivariate model showed that age, cytogenetics at diagnosis, duration of CR1 and undergoing allogeneic transplantation were significantly associated with OS from relapse. Even among patients who relapsed with better prognostic factors; age < 40 and CR1 > 12 months, there was no significant OS difference between the studies. In conclusion, this large cohort appears to confirm that the survival of AML patients postrelapse continues to be dismal and has not improved during the past quarter of a century.

Abstract Genome-wide identification and characterization of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) in individual immune cell lineages helps us better understand the driving mechanisms behind melanoma and advance personalized patient treatment. To elucidate the transcriptional landscape in diverse immune cell types of peripheral blood cells (PBC) in stage IV melanoma, we used whole transcriptome RNA sequencing to profile lncRNAs in CD4+, CD8+, and CD14+ PBC from 132 patient samples. Our integrative computational approach identified 27,625 expressed lncRNAs, 2,744 of which were novel. Both T cells (i.e., CD4+ and CD8+ PBC) and monocytes (i.e., CD14+ PBC) exhibited differential transcriptional expression profiles between patients with melanoma and healthy subjects. Cis- and trans-level coexpression analysis suggested that lncRNAs are potentially involved in many important immune-related pathways and the programmed cell death receptor 1 checkpoint pathways. We also identified nine gene coexpression modules significantly associated with melanoma status, all of which were significantly enriched for three mRNA translation processes. Age and melanoma traits closely correlated with each other, implying that melanoma contains age-associated immune changes. Our computational prediction analysis suggests that many cis- and trans-regulatory lncRNAs could interact with multiple transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulatory elements in CD4+, CD8+, and CD14+ PBC, respectively. These results provide novel insights into the regulatory mechanisms involving lncRNAs in individual immune cell types in melanoma and can help expedite cell type-specific immunotherapy treatments for such diseases. Significance: These findings elucidate melanoma-associated changes to the noncoding transcriptional landscape of distinct immune cell classes, thus providing cell type-specific guidance to targeted immunotherapy regimens. Cancer Res; 78(15); 4411–23. ©2018 AACR.

An analysis was conducted of 325 consecutive metacarpophalangeal arthroplasties prospectively collected using a single institution’s total joints registry over a 14-year time period to characterize long-term radiographic and functional outcomes. Patients were followed for a mean of 7.2 years (2–18) or until revision. The 5-, 10- and 15-year survival free from revision were 98%, 95% and 95%, respectively. The 5-, 10- and 15-year survival rates free from radiographic implant fracture were 93%, 58% and 35%, respectively. The 5-, 10- and 15-year survival rates free from coronal plane deformity greater than 10° were 81%, 37% and 17%, respectively. Patients had significant improvements in their postoperative pain levels and metacarpophalangeal arc of motion. Neither implant fracture, nor coronal plane deformity >10° had a significant association with worse function. Overall, pain relief and functional improvement are reliable, though silicone implants do not protect from progression of coronal plane deformity and have a high fracture rate. Level of evidence: IV