No abstract

Dental pulp is an easily accessible and efficient source of MSCs, with different kinetics and differentiation potentialities from MSCs as isolated from the bone marrow. The rapid proliferative capacity together with the immunoregulatory characteristics of DP-MSCs may prompt future studies aimed at using these cells in the treatment or prevention of T-cell alloreactivity in hematopoietic or solid organ allogeneic transplantation.

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) is a well-established treatment for malignancies such as multiple myeloma (MM) and lymphomas. Various changes in the field over the past decade, including the frequent use of tandem aHSCT in MM, the advent of novel therapies for the treatment of MM and lymphoma, and the addition of new stem cell mobilization techniques, have led to the need to reassess current stem cell mobilization strategies. Mobilization failures with traditional strategies are common and result in delays in treatment and increased cost and resource utilization. Recently, plerixafor-containing strategies have been shown to significantly reduce mobilization failure rates, but the ideal method to maximize stem cell yields and minimize costs associated with collection has not yet been determined. A panel of experts convened to discuss the currently available data on autologous hematopoietic stem cell mobilization and transplantation and to devise guidelines to optimize mobilization strategies. Herein is a summary of their discussion and consensus.

The aim of this work is to produce recommendations on the management of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) in primary myelofibrosis (PMF). A comprehensive systematic review of articles released from 1999 to 2015 (January) was used as a source of scientific evidence. Recommendations were produced using a Delphi process involving a panel of 23 experts appointed by the European LeukemiaNet and European Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group. Key questions included patient selection, donor selection, pre-transplant management, conditioning regimen, post-transplant management, prevention and management of relapse after transplant. Patients with intermediate-2- or high-risk disease and age <70 years should be considered as candidates for allo-SCT. Patients with intermediate-1-risk disease and age <65 years should be considered as candidates if they present with either refractory, transfusion-dependent anemia, or a percentage of blasts in peripheral blood (PB) >2%, or adverse cytogenetics. Pre-transplant splenectomy should be decided on a case by case basis. Patients with intermediate-2- or high-risk disease lacking an human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched sibling or unrelated donor, should be enrolled in a protocol using HLA non-identical donors. PB was considered the most appropriate source of hematopoietic stem cells for HLA-matched sibling and unrelated donor transplants. The optimal intensity of the conditioning regimen still needs to be defined. Strategies such as discontinuation of immune-suppressive drugs, donor lymphocyte infusion or both were deemed appropriate to avoid clinical relapse. In conclusion, we provided consensus-based recommendations aimed to optimize allo-SCT in PMF. Unmet clinical needs were highlighted.

A total of 21 patients with myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia (MMM), with a median age of 54 years (range, 27-68 years), were prepared with a reducedintensity conditioning (RIC) regimen. The patients received an allogeneic marrow (n ‫؍‬ 3) or peripheral blood stem-cell (n ‫؍‬ 18) transplant from HLA-matched related (n ‫؍‬ 18) or unrelated (n ‫؍‬ 2), or 1 Ag-mismatched related (n ‫؍‬ 1), donors. RIC regimens included fludarabine/total body irradiation 200 cGy (n ‫؍‬ 5) or 450 cGy (n ‫؍‬ 1), fludarabine/melphalan (n ‫؍‬ 7), thiotepa/cyclophosphamide (n ‫؍‬ 7), and thiotepa/fludarabine (n ‫؍‬ 1). At the time of transplantation, all of the patients were at intermediate (n ‫؍‬ 13) or high (n ‫؍‬ 8) risk, according to the Dupriez classification. Of the patients, 19 had grade III or IV marrow fibrosis. All of the patients achieved full engraftment but one. Posttransplantation chimerism analysis showed more than 95% donor cells in 18 patients, while 2 patients achieved complete donor chimerism after donor leukocyte infusion (DLI). Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) grades II to IV was observed in 7 patients, grades III to IV in 2, and extensive chronic GVHD in 8 of 18 evaluable patients. There were 3 patients who died from acute GVHD, infection, and relapse. There are 18 patients alive 12 to 122 months (median, 31 months) after transplantation, and 17 are in remission (1 after a second transplantation). IntroductionMyelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia (MMM) is a chronic clonal myeloproliferative disorder characterized by blood cytopenias, megakaryocytic hyperplasia, dysplastic myelopoiesis, reactive marrow fibrosis, and extramedullary hematopoiesis. 1,2 Among the other chronic myeloproliferative diseases, MMM has the worst prognosis, with a median survival of 3.5 to 5.5 years. Many prognostic factors, such as leukocytosis or leukopenia, circulating blast cells and/or immature granulocytic precursors, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and cytogenetic abnormalities, have been previously reported to predict the outcome of this disease. 3-6 A prognostic scoring system was developed by Dupriez et al,5 in which the presence of leukocytosis with more than 30 ϫ 10 9 /L white cells or leukopenia with less than 4 ϫ 10 9 white cells/L, or anemia (hemoglobin [Hgb], Ͻ 100 g/L [10 g/dL]), was used to identify 3 groups of patients with different prognoses, ranging from a median survival of 93 months for score 0, to 26 and 13 months for scores 1 and 2, respectively.Allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation is the only curative treatment for MMM, 7 since conventional chemotherapy and/or splenectomy are palliative and do not seem to affect survival. [8][9][10][11][12] Nevertheless, the use of fully myeloablative conditioning regimens has been shown to be associated with a high transplantation-related mortality (TRM) rate, 13-16 especially in advanced and elderly patients. In particular, patients older than 45 years were previously reported to have a significantly worse probability of survival compared with younger patients. 17...

Transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT) and sickle cell disease (SCD) are the most common inherited hematologic disorders, affecting approximately 60,000 and 300,000 patients worldwide, respectively. Current therapies, including red blood cell (RBC) transfusion and iron chelation in TDT and transfusion, pain management, and hydroxyurea in SCD, help to manage the disorders but do not address the underlying cause. Drug therapies, such as crizanlizumab and luspatercept, have also helped to reduce the need for transfusion in TDT patients and the incidence of vaso-occlusive episodes in SCD patients. Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation may be a curative option, but finding an appropriate donor is difficult. An association has been observed between elevated levels of fetal hemoglobin and improved morbidity and mortality in these patients. Downregulating BCL11A, a transcription factor that blocks fetal hemoglobin in erythroid cells, may help to increase fetal hemoglobin levels and improve outcomes. Using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technique, CTX001, an investigational drug, was infused in 2 patients. This article describes the results of infusing CTX001 in 1 patient with TDT and another with SCD.

Key Points• A high survival rate was seen in primary or secondary MF patients transplanted from matched related donors using the FluMel regimen.• FluMel plus ATG in HSCT from unrelated donors for MF patients is associated with an increased risk of graft failure.From 2007 to 2011, 66 patients with primary myelofibrosis or myelofibrosis (MF) preceded by essential thrombocythemia or polycythemia vera were enrolled into a prospective phase 2 clinical trial of reduced-intensity allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT), Myeloproliferative Disorder Research Consortium 101 trial. The study included patients with sibling donors (n 5 32) receiving fludarabine/melphalan (FluMel) as a preparative regimen and patients with unrelated donors (n 5 34) receiving conditioning with FluMel plus anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG). Patient characteristics in the 2 cohorts were similar. Engraftment occurred in 97% of siblings and 76% of unrelated transplants, whereas secondary graft failure occurred in 3% and 12%, respectively. With a median follow-up of 25 months for patients alive, the overall survival (OS) was 75% in the sibling group (median not reached) and 32% in the unrelated group (median OS: 6 months, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3, 25) (hazard ratio 3.9, 95% CI: 1.8,8.9) (P < .001). Nonrelapse mortality was 22% in sibling and 59% in unrelated AHSCT. Survival correlated with type of donor, but not with the degree of histocompatibility match, age, or JAK2 V617F status. In patients with MF with sibling donors, AHSCT is an effective therapy, whereas AHSCT from unrelated donors with FluMel/ATG conditioning led to a high rate of graft failure and limited survival. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as

CD56 antigen, a 200-220 kDa cell surface glycoprotein, identified as an isoform of the neural adhesion molecules (NCAM), has been found frequently expressed in several lympho-hematopoietic neoplasms including acute myeloid leukemias (AML). In fact, in these latter diseases it has been reported that the presence of CD56 antigen on the blasts of AML patients with t(8;21) (q22;q22), and in those with M3 subtype, identifies a subgroup of patients with a more unfavorable prognosis. On the basis of these findings, we evaluated in 152 newly diagnosed AML patients CD56 surface expression, and results were correlated with morphology, immunophenotype, cytogenetic pattern and clinical outcome. CD56 antigen was recorded in 37 out of 152 cases (24%) and particularly in those with M2 and M5 cytotypes. Moreover, CD56 expression was significantly associated with P-glycoprotein (PGP) hyperexpression (P = 0.007), unfavorable cytogenetic abnormalities (P = 0.008) and with a reduced probability of achieving complete remission (CR) (36% vs 68%) (P = 0.035) as well as with a shorter survival (6 vs 12 months) (P = 0.032). In conclusion, CD56 antigenic expression on AML cells represents an important adverse prognostic factor and therefore its presence should be regularly investigated for a better prognostic assessment of AML patients at diagnosis. Leukemia (2001) 15, 1161-1164.