Summary. In this report, we describe two patients with idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) who received a non-myeloablative allogeneic transplantation following a reduced-intensity preparative regimen of melphalan and fludarabine. In both cases, complete donor chimaerism and remission were achieved, and have lasted for more than 10 months. This report provides proof of principle for the feasibility of non-myeloablative transplantation for patients with idiopathic HES, who can show co-morbidity due to eosinophilic infiltration of their organs.
Background: Large protein aggregates, known as circulating immune complexes (CICs), are formed in biological fluids as a result of the development of the body's immune response to various provoking factors. The kinetic characteristics of the formation and removal of immune complexes (ICs), their physical parameters, the isotypic composition of immunoglobulins (Igs) and the antigenic component of the CICs may reflect certain aspects of certain pathological and metabolic processes taking place in humans and animals. The aim of this study is to assess the kinetic characteristics of the formation and removal of the CICs that form in blood after eating. We also analyze the changes in the isotypic composition of Igs of ICs that accompany this biological process in rodents and humans.
Methods: We identified the CICs, which differed in size and class of Igs, using dynamic light scattering. To remove ICs from the plasma, we used immune-affinity sedimentation. Monoclonal antibodies for the Igs of different isotypes were added to the plasma samples to determine the isotypic composition of the ICs.
Results: A large number of ICs were formed in the blood of rats and humans after eating (food CICs). In rats, food ICs are almost immediately filtered in the liver, without circulating in the bloodstream through the body. In humans, the level of food ICs in the blood increases for 3.5 h after ingestion, then within 7–8 h their gradual removal takes place. It was found that in the process of digestion in humans, the isotypic composition of Igs in the CICs changes and becomes more diverse.
Conclusions: The molecular–cellular mechanisms of the formation and utilization of food CICs in humans and rodents do not match completely.
The aim of this study was to evaluate efficacy of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and to specify significant factors affecting clinical outcomes. Patients and methods. The study included 354 ALL patients aged 1 to 61 years who underwent allo-HSCT over a period of 1995 to 2015. Before HSCT, 24% of patients were in the 1st remission, 26%-in 2nd remission, 17%, in the ≥ 3rd remission; 34% of patients had active disease. Results. Overall survival (OS) was 47% when HSCT was performed in remission status versus 18% in patients transplanted in active disease state (p <.0001). Appropriate relapse incidence (RI) comprised 26% and 50%, respectively (P <.0001). Five-year OS was similar in children and adults (48% and 47% respectively, p>0.2). Pre-transplant remission state showed certain correlations with OS in pediatric and adult transplant patients, i.e., 79% vs 60% for HSCT in 1st remission; 40% vs 43% in 2nd remission, and 33% vs 23% for the patients treated in ≥ 3rd remission. ALL RI in children and adults were also comparable for HSCT carried out in 1st remission (21% vs 32%), 2nd remission (33% vs 17%), and 17% vs 23% for HSCT performed in ≥3rd remission (p>0.2). Most ALL patients underwent myeloablative conditioning regimen (MAC) before allo-HSCT (n=89). OS in MAC group was 53% versus 40% among patients who underwent reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens (n=70, p=0.04). The conditioning regimen intensity did not correlate with the RI after allo-HSCT (24% and 30% (MAC vs RIC respectively), p=0.09). Non-relapse mortality (NRM) did not significantly differ for children and adults (32% vs 37%, p>0.2), being dependent on the disease state: 21% vs 25% after HSCT in the 1st remission; 31% and 43%, when treated in the 2nd remission, and 50% vs 61% if transplanted in ≥3rd remission. Conclusion. Allo-HSCT from an HLA-matched related or unrelated donor is indicated in patients with high-risk ALL in first remission and in all the patients in the second remission.
The development of an effective malaria vaccine is a high global health priority. Vaccine vectors based on adenovirus type 5 are capable of generating robust and protective T cell and antibody responses in animal models and are currently being evaluated in clinical trials for HIV and malaria. They appear to be more effective in terms of inducing antigen-specific immune responses as compared with non-Ad5 serotype vectors. However, the high prevalence of neutralizing antibodies to Ad5 in the human population, particularly in the developing world, has the potential to limit the effectiveness of Ad5-based vaccines. We have generated novel Ad5-based vectors that precisely replace the hexon hypervariable regions with those derived from Ad43, a subgroup D serotype with low prevalence of neutralizing antibody in humans. We have demonstrated that these hexon-modified adenovectors are not neutralized efficiently by Ad5 neutralizing antibodies in vitro using sera from mice, rabbits and human volunteers. We have also generated hexon-modified adenovectors that express a rodent malaria parasite antigen, PyCSP, and demonstrated that they are as immunogenic as an unmodified vector. Furthermore, in contrast to the unmodified vector, the hexon-modified adenovectors induced robust T cell responses in mice with high levels of Ad5 neutralizing antibody. We also show that the hexon-modified vector can be combined with unmodified Ad5 vector in prime-boost regimens to induce protective responses in mice. Our data establish that these hexon-modified vectors are highly immunogenic even in the presence of pre-existing anti-adenovirus antibodies. These hexon-modified adenovectors may have advantages in sub-Saharan Africa where there is a high prevalence of Ad5 neutralizing antibody in the population.
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