Objective (range, 5-47 months) 5%) had ILD-preceding myositis, and 4 (50%) had simultaneous onset. Chest high-resolution computed tomography frequently showed lung-base predominant ground glass opacities (GGO) with volume loss. The results of surgical lung biopsies indicated that 4 patients had nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) and/or organizing pneumonia (OP) patterns. All but 1 received corticosteroid therapy, and 6 patients were also given cyclosporin. The mean duration of follow-up was 22 months

Neutropenia is a common laboratory finding in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, the molecular mechanism of SLE neutropenia has not been fully explained. In this study, we examined whether TNF-related apoptosisinducing ligand (TRAIL) is involved in the pathogenesis of SLE neutropenia using samples from SLE patients. Serum TRAIL levels in SLE patients with neutropenia were significantly higher than those of SLE patients without neutropenia and healthy volunteers. Serum TRAIL levels showed a significant negative correlation with neutrophil counts in SLE patients. The expression of TRAIL receptor 3 was significantly lower in SLE patients with neutropenia than in patients without neutropenia or in healthy volunteers. Treatment with glucocorticoids negated the decrease of TRAIL receptor 3 expression on neutrophils of SLE patients. TRAIL may accelerate neutrophil apoptosis of neutrophils from SLE patients, and autologous T cells of SLE patients, which express TRAIL on surface, may kill autologous neutrophils. IntroductionNeutropenia in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was first described more than 70 years ago 1 and is found in about 50%-60% of patients with SLE. 2 Clinically, increased susceptibility to infections is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with SLE. 3,4 In this regard, not only treatment with adrenal glucocorticoids and/or immunosuppressive drugs but also decreased numbers of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) is obviously responsible for the increased incidence of infections. [5][6][7][8][9] However, the detailed molecular mechanism of neutropenia in SLE has not been fully elucidated.Traditionally, PMNs have been considered to be the first line cell component of the body defense mechanism against bacterial pathogens and were regarded as terminally differentiated cells incapable of protein synthesis and committed to death within 72 hours. [10][11][12] Recently, it was indicated that neutrophils were not only capable of receiving signals from different proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, but also could synthesize many important proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines to modulate immune responses, such as interferon-gamma (IFN-␥), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-␣), and interleukin-8 (IL-8). 13,14 And these proinflammatory mediators, relevant to the inflamed site in vivo, also act to modulate the constitutive death of neutrophils. 15,16 Regarding neutrophil apoptosis, Fas 17 and TNF-␣ 18 were reported to be able to shorten neutrophil lifespan at early time points. Recently, it was reported that TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) could accelerate neutrophil apoptosis. 19 Also, TRAIL was reported to be involved in the monocyte apoptosis induced by T cells in SLE. 20 However, the role of TRAIL in neutropenia of SLE is still unclear.In this study, we have investigated the TRAIL receptors on neutrophils and TRAIL-induced neutrophil apoptosis using samples from SLE patients. A difference in the expression pattern of TRAIL receptors between SLE patients and healt...

We report three Japanese children with chronic active Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and neurologic findings that included symmetric calcifications in the bilateral basal ganglia. This finding, common in pediatric acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), suggests that EBV could be responsible for calcification in the basal ganglia seen in children with AIDS and in other idiopathic diseases.

We have grown an epitaxial two-dimensional nitrogen (N) atomic sheet in GaAs by using the site-controlled N δ-doping technique. We observed a change of the electronic states in N δ-doped GaAs from the isolated impurity centers to the delocalized impurity band at 1.49 eV with increasing N-doping density. According to the excitation-power- and temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectra, the emission related to localized levels below the impurity band edge was dominant at low excitation power and temperature, whereas the effects of the localized levels can be neglected by increasing the excitation power and temperature. Furthermore, a clear Landau shift of the PL-peak energy was observed at several Tesla in the Faraday configuration, in contrast to the case in the impurity limit.

SUMMARY Human T lymphotrophic virus type-I (HTLV-I), a human retrovirus, infects CD4+ lymphocytes and is thought to modify their function and a possible association with pulmonary diseases has also been suggested. However, little is known about the influence of HTLV-I on diffuse pan-bronchiolitis (DPB), a chronic inflammatory lung disease with infiltration of lymphocytes and hyperplasia of the bronchusassociated lymphoid tissue. In this study, 35 DPB patients with and without HTLV-I infection were examined. HTLV-I positive DPB patients were likely to have a larger affected area with lower FEV 1 . The CD3 + /CD25 + lymphocyte percentage was significantly higher in the BALF of HTLV-I positive patients than in negative patients. MIP-1 a , IP-10 and levels in BALF were also significantly higher in HTLV-I positive patients than in negative patients. The levels of MCP-1 and IL-8 were not significantly different. In HTLV-I positive patients, the MIP-1 a and IP-10 levels showed a significant positive correlation with the percentage of CD3 + /CD25 lymphocytes. BALF cells of all HTLV-I positive DPB patients showed expression of p40 tax mRNA. We suggest that HTLV-I infection may modify DPB pathogenesis via activation of T cells. We also found that the frequency of ATL development in HTLV-I positive DPB patients was significantly higher than in all HTLV-I positive patients (OR = 8·22, 95% CI = 2·61-25·9, P < 0·01). The levels of TGF-b in patients who developed ATL were significantly lower than in patients who did not develop ATL. Sensitivity and specificity were 80% and 85·7%, respectively (cut-off = 20 pg/ml). We also propose that these features should be taken into consideration in the treatment of DPB in HTLV-I infected individuals.

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BackgroundInterstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are common in patients with connective tissue diseases (CTDs). Although the diagnosis of an underlying CTD in ILD (CTD-ILD) affects both prognosis and treatment, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish CTD-ILD from chronic fibrosing interstitial pneumonia (CFIP). B cell–activating factor belonging to the tumour necrosis factor family (BAFF) plays a crucial role in B cell development, survival, and antibody production.MethodsWe examined serum levels of BAFF, surfactant protein D (SP-D), and Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) in 33 patients with CTD-ILD, 16 patients with undifferentiated CTD-ILD, 19 patients with CFIP, and 26 healthy volunteers. And we analysed the relationship between serum BAFF levels and pulmonary function, as well as the expression of BAFF in the lung tissue of patients with CTD-ILD.ResultsSerum levels of BAFF were significantly higher in CTD-ILD patients compared to healthy subjects and CFIP patients. However, there were no significant differences in serum levels of SP-D and KL-6. Furthermore, serum BAFF levels in CTD-ILD patients were inversely correlated with pulmonary function. BAFF was strongly expressed in the lungs of CTD-ILD patients, but weakly in normal lungs.DiscussionThis is the first study to demonstrate that serum BAFF levels were significantly higher in CTD-ILD patients compared to healthy subjects and CFIP patients. Furthermore, serum BAFF levels were correlated with pulmonary function. We consider that serum BAFF levels in patients with CTD-ILD reflect the presence of ILDs disease activity and severity.ConclusionThese finding suggest that BAFF may be a useful marker for distinguishing CTD-ILD from CFIP.

We report on a 13-year old girl with severe aplastic anemia and hypertrophic cranial pachymeningitis. She was admitted to our hospital with severe headache and vomiting. A computerized tomographic (CT) scan of the brain on the third day of symptoms showed a hyperdense area in the tentorial region. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed iso-intensity in the same tentorial region in T1- and T2-weighted images, and gadolinium enhancement of this region suggested a thickened dura mater. Initially, a diagnosis of subdural or subarachnoid hemorrhage was made. Since her platelet count was low (3000/microl) making the patient a poor-risk candidate for surgery, and the area was limited to the dura mater, conservative therapy, including glycerol administration and platelet transfusion, was carried out. Despite clinical improvement 10 days after admission without specific therapy, the iso-intense region on the left side of the tentorial region remained unchanged on MRI. On the other hand, the iso-intense area on the right side of the tentorial region became hyperdense on T1-weighted MRI images and was also enhanced by gadolinium. Cerebrospinal fluid findings were normal except for slightly elevated protein at 62 mg/dl. A diagnosis of hypertrophic cranial pachymeningitis of the tentorial dura mater with hemorrhage on the right side was made. Although hypertrophic cranial pachymeningitis is a rare disease, it must be considered in the differential diagnosis of severe headache in a case of aplastic anemia.