Blood
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MLL is fused to ENL or ELL in acute leukemias that contain t(ll;19)(q23;p13). Although ENL and ELL localize to chromosome 19, bands p13.3 and p13.1, respectively, these breakpoints are not always readily distinguished by standard cytogenetics. ⋯ By contrast, of the 9 cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) analyzed, 6 had MLL/ENL fusions, 2 had MLL/ELL fusions, and 1 case had no RT-PCR-detectable MLL fusion mRNA. These data suggest that the majority of 11;19 translocations involve ENL, whereas involvement of ELL is relatively uncommon in childhood acute leukemia and may be restricted to AML.
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Systemic-onset juvenile chronic arthritis (SoJCA) is associated with high levels of circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6) and is frequently complicated by severe microcytic anemia whose pathogenesis is unclear. Therefore, we studied 20 consecutive SoJCA patients with hemoglobin (Hb) levels <12 g/dL, evaluating erythroid progenitor proliferation, endogenous erythropoietin production, body iron status, and iron supply for erythropoiesis. Hb concentrations ranged from 6.5 to 11.9 g/dL. ⋯ Although oral iron is of no benefit, intravenous iron saccharate is a safe and effective means for improving iron availability for erythropoiesis and correcting this anemia. Thus, while chronically high endogenous IL-6 levels do not appear to blunt epo production, they are probably responsible for the observed abnormalities in iron metabolism. Anemia of chronic disease encompasses a variety of anemic conditions whose peculiar features may specifically correlate with the type of cytokine(s) predominantly released.
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Erythropoietin (Epo), the primary in vivo stimulator of erythroid proliferation and differentiation, acts, in part, by altering the tyrosine phosphorylation levels of various intracellular signaling molecules. These phosphorylation levels are tightly regulated by both tyrosine kinases and tyrosine phosphatases. We have recently shown that the SH2 containing tyrosine phosphatase, Syp, binds directly to both the tyrosine phosphorylated form of the Epo receptor (EpoR) and to Grb2 after Epo stimulation of M07e cells engineered to express high levels of human EpoRs (T. ⋯ We found that: (1) all Epo-stimulated mutant EpoRs, except for the Y425F EpoR, coimmunoprecipitated with Syp; (2) all Epo-stimulated mutant EpoRs, except for the Y425F EpoR, bound to a GST-fusion protein containing both SH2 domains of Syp; (3) Jak2 could phosphorylate GST-Syp in vitro after Epo stimulation of wild-type (wt) EpoR expressing DA-3 cells; (4) Epo-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of Syp in vivo was markedly reduced in Y425F EpoR expressing DA-3 calls; and (5) DA-3 cells expressing the Y425F EpoR grow less well in response to Epo than wt EpoR expressing cells. These results suggest that Syp binds via its SH2 domains to phosphorylated Y425 within the EpoR and is then phosphorylated on tyrosine residues by Jak2. Moreover, Y425 in the EpoR reduces the Epo requirement for Syp tyrosine phosphorylation and promotes proliferation.
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Apoptosis (Ao), is a process by which cells undergo a form of nonnecrotic cellular suicide. Although for most cells this is a constitutive process, it can be induced in immature and differentiating immune cell populations by stress mediators associated with inflammation. This inducible form of A(o) is referred to as programmed cell death. ⋯ Treatment of CLP mice in vivo with either RU-38486 or PEG-(rsTNF-R1)2 was unable to reverse the increased A(o) in the bone marrow of these animals. Taken together, these findings indicate that A(o) as a process induced by polymicrobial sepsis is not limited to the thymus, but can also be detected in the bone marrow. However, unlike thymic A(o), bone marrow is not affected directly/indirectly by glucocorticoids or tumor necrosis factor released during sepsis.
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Comparative Study
Increased soluble interleukin-1 type II receptor concentrations in postoperative patients and in patients with sepsis syndrome.
Plasma interleukin-1 (IL-1) activity is modulated in part through the simultaneous appearance of several inhibitors of IL-1 action, including interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) and the soluble IL-1 type II receptor (IL-1RII). However, little is known concerning the plasma appearance of these inhibitors in patients following operative trauma or those with sepsis syndrome. In the present report, plasma IL-1beta, IL-1ra, and soluble IL-1RI and IL-1RII concentrations were evaluated in 118 patients with sepsis syndrome or after elective operative trauma. ⋯ Plasma IL-1RI concentrations decreased in all postoperative patients in the first 24 hours after surgery. We conclude that both plasma IL-1ra and soluble IL-1RII concentrations often increase in sepsis and following some operative trauma. Less severe operative trauma increases the plasma concentration of only IL-1ra, whereas both IL-1ra and soluble IL-1RII are increased in patients with sepsis syndrome or following thoraco-abdominal aneurysm repair.