Search PubMedSearch

Biomedical subjects

H Stein

Publications and source records attributed to H Stein.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Insulin-like growth factor-I and its complexes in normal human articular cartilage: studies of partition and diffusion.

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) plays a major role in cartilage homeostasis. Our objective was to study the penetration of IGF-I, both alone and bound to serum proteins, into the different zones of normal human cartilage using radioactively labeled IGF-I. The uptake of free IGF-I was higher than that predicted on the basis of excluded volume calculations and showed concentration dependence: we attributed this to reversible binding of the hormone to the tissue. Since the extent of binding was much higher than that calculated for binding to cell receptors, we concluded that IGF-I binds to matrix components. The kinetics of desorption of IGF-I from cartilage confirmed our conclusions regarding binding. The degree of uptake of IGF-I protein complexes prepared by labeling human serum with [125I]IGF-I showed that such complexes are largely excluded from normal cartilage and that the amounts present in the tissue are too low to affect proteoglycan metabolism.

Absorption

Hodgkin's disease with monoclonal and polyclonal populations of Reed-Sternberg cells.

BACKGROUND: There is strong evidence that Reed-Sternberg cells have a lymphoid phenotype, but clonally rearranged genes for B-cell and T-cell antigen receptors have not been demonstrable in tumor tissue from most patients with Hodgkin's disease. To elucidate this issue, we assayed single Reed-Sternberg cells from 12 patients with classic Hodgkin's disease of a B-cell immunophenotype to detect rearranged immunoglobulin variable-region heavy-chain (VH) genes. METHODS: We isolated single Reed-Sternberg cells from frozen sections that had been immunostained for CD30. The rearranged VH genes of these cells were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction and analyzed by gel electrophoresis and nucleotide sequencing. RESULTS: In all 12 patients, the Reed-Sternberg cells studied contained rearranged VH genes. Three patterns were observed: in three patients the rearrangements in each patient were identical, in six patients all the rearrangements were unrelated and unique, and in three patients both identical and unrelated rearrangements were detected. Apparently somatic mutations of VH genes were present in some Reed-Sternberg cells but absent in others. CONCLUSIONS: Reed-Sternberg cells with B-cell phenotypes have rearranged VH genes; therefore, these cells arise from B cells. The pattern of VH gene mutations suggests that Reed-Sternberg cells can correspond to either immunologically naive or memory B cells. In half our patients the population of Reed-Sternberg cells was polyclonal; in the other half, monoclonal or mixed cell populations were found. Correlation with the clinical stage suggests that polyclonal Hodgkin's disease can present as a widespread lymphoma.

Adolescent

ALK gene products in anaplastic large cell lymphomas and Hodgkin's disease.

The translocation t(2;5)(p23;q35), discovered in CD30+ anaplastic large cell (ALC) lymphomas, creates a potentially oncogenic fusion gene, part of which is contributed by a novel tyrosine kinase, ALK. Absence of ALK expression from normal hematolymphoid cells provides a basis for the morphologic assessment of t(2;5). The distribution of the t(2;5) in ALC lymphomas and Hodgkin's disease (HD), as assayed by nonmorphologic methods, is controversial. We used in situ hybridization and/or immunohistology to show ALK gene products in 85 ALC lymphomas, 82 HD cases, 40 other lymphoproliferations, as well as in 6 HD- and 4 ALC lymphoma-derived cell lines. ALK gene products were restricted to t(2;5)-positive ALC lymphoma cell lines and tumor cells of 16 primary non-B cell, common-type ALC lymphomas. These were mainly from young patients with initial lymphonodal disease. ALK expression was not detectable in any other specimen, including all cases of HD and HD-like type ALC lymphoma as well as secondary ALC lymphomas. Full congruence was noted for labeling results obtained with both methods. In agreement with cytogenetic analyses, but at variance with recently published studies, ALK gene expression distinguishes a subset of ALC lymphomas from other CD30+ lymphomas, including HD. The results do not support concepts attributing a significant role to the t(2;5) in the development of HD.

Activin Receptors

CD79a: a novel marker for B-cell neoplasms in routinely processed tissue samples.

The CD79 molecule, comprising two polypeptide chains, mb-1 (CD79a) and B29 (CD79b), is physically associated in the B-cell membrane with immunoglobulin. It transmits a signal after antigen binding and may, therefore, be considered the B cell equivalent of CD3. It appears before the pre-B-cell stage, and the mb-1 (CD79a) chain can still be present at the plasma cell stage. In this report, we describe a new anti-CD79a monoclonal antibody, JCB117, which reacts with human B cells in paraffin embedded tissue sections, including decalcified bone marrow trephines. When tested on a total of 454 paraffin embedded tissue biopsies, gathered from a number of different institutions, it reacted with the great majority (97%) of B-cell neoplasms, covering the full range of B-cell maturation, including 10 of 20 cases of myeloma/plasmacytoma. It is of interest that the antibody labels precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia samples, making it the most reliable B-cell marker detectable in paraffin-embedded specimens in this disorder. All neoplasms of T cell or nonlymphoid origin were negative, indicating that antibody JCB117 may be of value to diagnostic histopathologists for the identification of B-cell neoplasms of all maturation stages.

Antibodies, Monoclonal

Patterns of cytokine gene expression in peripheral T-cell lymphoma of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy type.

Peripheral T-cell lymphoma of angioimmunoblastic lymph-adenopathy type (AILD-TCL) is histologically characterized by a mixed infiltrate of atypical T cells, B cells including B immunoblasts, and plasma cells, as well as eosinophilic granulocytes accompanied by proliferated high endothelial venules, while, clinically, fever and weight loss are often observed. These morphologic and clinical pecularities are widely believed to reflect abnormal patterns of cytokine expression. To evaluate this hypothesis, 11 lymph nodes with AILD-TCL were studied for the presence of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), lymphotoxin (LT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-1 beta transcripts by in situ hybridization (ISH) using [35S]-labeled cytokine-specific RNA probes in seven cases subsequent to immunohistology for cell type characteristic antigens. Expression of all four cytokines was strongly enhanced in AILD-TCL when compared with the control groups of lymphoblastic lymphomas and peripheral T-cell lymphomas, other than AILD-TCL. TNF and LT transcripts were present in atypical T cells and in a variable proportion of B immunoblasts in all AILD-TCL cases, whereas IL-6 and IL-1 beta specific transcripts were mainly found in nonlymphoid cells. To verify a possible cytokine expression by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected cells, which are frequently present in AILD-TCL, the detection of EBV-encoded nuclear RNAs (EBER) was combined with ISH for cytokine transcripts. It became evident that expression of LT and TNF by EBV-infected cells was largely restricted to B immunoblasts, which were only infrequently present in most AILD-TCL cases, whereas the expression of IL-6 was very rare, and IL-1 beta was not found in EBV-infected cells. These data suggest that expression of TNF and LT genes may contribute to the characteristic histologic and clinical features of AILD-TCL and that cytokine expression by EBV-infected cells does not, in most cases, contribute significantly to the overall cytokine expression. Because it has been shown that LT is an autocrine growth factor for EBV-infected B cells, expression of this cytokine could contribute to the proliferation of EBV-infected B cells in AILD-TCL and, in the setting of immunosuppression, may ultimately play a role in the development of B-immunoblastic lymphomas.

Cytokines

Recombinant human interleukin 4 has antiproliferative activity on human tumor cell lines derived from epithelial and nonepithelial histologies.

Interleukin 4, a T cell-derived 20-kDa glycoprotein, plays an important role in regulating the immune response of B cells, T cells, and macrophages against infections and malignant cells. For this reason recombinant human interleukin 4 (rhIL-4) has entered early clinical trials in cancer patients. In the present study we report that rhIL-4 has an antiproliferative effect on five of nine cell lines derived from human colon tumors, head and neck tumors, and glioblastomas as measured by a decrease of colony formation in human tumor cloning assays. All of the cell lines with in vitro responsiveness express at least 100 high-affinity receptors for human interleukin 4 per cell on their cell surface, whereas the nonresponsive tumor cell lines lack expression of high-affinity receptors for human interleukin 4 on their cell surface. In the next series of experiments we have xenotransplanted some of the responsive cell lines into athymic nude mice. Subsequently, the animals were treated s.c. twice daily with 0.5 mg/m2 rhIL-4 or control vehicle for at least 12 days. There was a clear growth inhibition of these xenotransplanted tumors in the mice treated with rhIL-4. Histology of the tumors in both groups revealed no marked infiltration with murine hematopoietic and lymphocytic cells as evaluated by staining with a rat anti-mouse CD45 antibody. We conclude that rhIL-4 has a direct therapeutic activity on the growth of some human epithelial and nonepithelial tumor cell lines which, along with its regulatory function on hematolymphopoietic cells, makes this cytokine an interesting candidate for experimental tumor therapy.

Animals

Morphology, immunophenotype, and distribution of latently and/or productively Epstein-Barr virus-infected cells in acute infectious mononucleosis: implications for the interindividual infection route of Epstein-Barr virus.

The present study was undertaken to unequivocally demonstrate the morphology, immunophenotype, and localization of Epstein Barr virus (EBV)-infected cells as well as the type of infection (latent versus productive) in tonsils of acute infectious mononucleosis. Paraffin sections from nine cases with clinical, serologic, and morphologic evidence of EBV infection were analyzed for the detection of small transcripts, designated EBER1 & 2, and BHLF1 by in situ hybridization (ISH) using nonisotopically labeled probes. ISH was combined with immunohistology, employing a broad panel of antibodies against B-, T-, epithelial-, macrophage-, and follicular dendritic cell (FDC)-antigens. All EBER-positive cells could be identified as lymphocytes, as they did not exhibit any morphologic or immunologic characteristics of epithelial cells, macrophages, or FDCs. A preferential accumulation of EBER-positive cells was noted around crypts, within surface squamous epithelium, and in the surroundings of necrosis. The majority of these lymphocytes could be shown to be B cells, which morphologically included Reed-Sternberg (RS)-like cells, immunoblasts, medium-sized lymphoid cells, as well as cells with plasmacytoid differentiation. In all cases, a varying number of EBER-positive T cells could be identified. ISH for BHLF1-RNA detection showed that almost all cases contained single positive small lymphoid cells, indicating a transition from latent to productive infection cycle. Such cells could also be detected within the crypt epithelium reaching up to its surface. Additional screening of 123 oropharyngeal mucosa samples from patients without evidence of acute EBV-infection, using the polymerase chain reaction for EBV-DNA detection combined with EBER- and BHLF1-ISH showed single latently infected lymphocytes in only one case. Our data imply that infected lymphocytes and not epithelial cells are, in fact, the reservoir for EBV infection, and that these are the cells that participate in the interindividual virus transfer.

Adolescent

The distribution of CD10 (NEP 24.11, CALLA) in humans and mice is similar in non-lymphoid organs but differs within the hematopoietic system: absence on murine T and B lymphoid progenitors.

Prior studies in the human have implied an important function for CD10 (CALLA, neutral endopeptidase 24.11) in early lymphoid development. To examine the role of this ectoenzyme in an experimental system, a rat mAb specific for mouse CD10, termed R103, was generated. Immunohistological and flow cytometric analyses indicate that the distribution of CD10 in non-lymphoid anatomical compartments is virtually identical in human and mouse. However, CD10 expression within the hematopoietic system is strikingly different. In contrast to human spleen, lymph node and thymus, the corresponding mouse organs contain no detectable CD10+ cells. Mouse granulocytes, unlike human granulocytes, also lack CD10 expression. Five-color flow cytometric studies of adult bone marrow (BM) from C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice with mAb specific for CD43, B220, HSA, BP-1 and immunoglobulin M fail to detect any significant number of CD10+ cells at pro-B, pre-B or B cell stages. In addition, lymphoid cells in both (rIL-7) independent and rIL-7-dependent in vitro pro-B cell cultures lack CD10 expression. Consistent with this result, CD10 mRNA is not detected. Unlike the AA4.1+ population from day 13 and 14 fetal liver, the CD10+ subset is unable to reconstitute T and B lymphoid compartments in RAG-2-/- mice. Nevertheless, mouse CD10 is readily found on BM stromal elements known to support early B lineage lymphoid development. Given the common expression of CD10 on human and mouse BM stromal elements, this enzyme may have an important function in the stromal cell-dependent phase of hematopoiesis.

Animals

Epstein-Barr virus in B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: unexpected infection patterns and different infection incidence in low- and high-grade types.

Two hundred and eight cases of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (B-NHL) occurring in Europeans without any signs of HIV infection were investigated for their association with an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was applied for EBV-DNA detection, in situ hybridization (ISH) for the cellular localization of EBV-encoded small nuclear RNAs (EBER) and immediate-early RNAs (BHLF), and immunohistology (IH) for the detection of EBV-encoded latent membrane protein (LMP) and EBV nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA2) expression. PCR and EBER-ISH produced congruent results in those cases with amplifiable DNA. EBV was present overall in 26 per cent (54/208) of the B-NHL cases. Through EBER-ISH, the virus could be localized merely in rare non-neoplastic bystander lymphocytes in 27 and additionally in tumour cells of 27 cases. Unexpectedly, the proportion of EBV-infected tumour cells present in the different cases varied between 1 and 100 per cent. All but three of the cases with infected tumour cells were of high-grade malignancy. Correlation with the morphological and immunological tumour phenotype revealed that all cases with more than 80 per cent EBER-positive tumour cells were either B-anaplastic large cell lymphomas (B-ALCL), sporadic Burkitt's lymphomas, or B-NHLs with partial or full plasmacellular differentiation. LMP was consistently absent from Burkitt's lymphomas and constantly expressed in B-ALCLs with EBER-positive tumour cells, while in all other instances it varied greatly and was rarer than EBER expression.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Antigens, Viral

Low incidence of mbr bcl-2/JH fusion genes in Hodgkin's disease.

Lymph node biopsies from 140 cases of Hodgkin's disease (HD) and from 30 non-malignant lesions were screened for the presence of t(14;18) translocations involving the major breakpoint region (mbr) of the bcl-2 gene and the joining region (JH) of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene, using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay with subsequent nucleotide sequencing of amplified bcl-2/JH junctional regions. Expression of the bcl-2 protein within the Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells was investigated in 86 cases of HD by immunohistochemistry on cryostat or paraffin sections. Although bcl-2 expression could be found in a proportion of neoplastic cells in up to one-third of HD cases, the frequency of t(14;18) gene fusions detected by PCR was low. We identified such gene fusions in only 3 out of 140 (2 per cent) HD cases, one biopsy of which presented with four clonally distinct bcl-2/JH sequences. No t(14;18) was found in any of 30 reactive lymph node lesions. All fusion gene sequences were unique regarding the localization of the chromosome 14 and 18 breakpoints and the extranucleotide N-insertions. None of these gene fusions conformed to t(14;18) breakpoint sequences previously characterized in our laboratories. Our findings point to a mere coincidence in some cases of HD lesions and cells carrying a t(14;18) in the same biopsy and argue against a significant role of bcl-2 in the pathogenesis of HD.

Base Sequence

[Primary pulmonary B-cell lymphoma of the MALT type].

The malignant B-cell lymphoma of the MALT-type shows significant differences from nodal lymphomas with respect to its biological, molecular genetic, and clinical properties. According to the proposal from the International Lymphoma Study Group for a Revised European-American Classification of Lymphoid Neoplasms, MALT-B-cell lymphomas have been defined as an extranodal subgroup of marginal zone B-cell lymphomas and may have lower and higher grade types. We have applied this classification to 24 cases of primary B-cell lymphomas of the lung. These tumors showed histopathologic features of low (n = 20) and/or high grade neoplasms (n = 4) recapitulating the structure of the acquired bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT). According to our experience, the diagnosis of BALT-type B-cell lymphoma, is both practically feasible and reproducible not only for surgical material but even for biopsy specimens.

Adult

SCL/Tal-1 expression in T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia: an immunohistochemical and genotypic study.

A comparative study of the immunohistochemical (Stem cell leukemia/T-cell acute leukemia [SCL/TAL-1] protein expression) and genotypic (deletions in the SCL/tal-1 gene) findings in T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is presented. Formalin-fixed tissue from 50 cases of T-ALL were stained with a novel monoclonal antibody, 2TL 242, which recognizes SCL/TAL-1 protein. Twenty-four cases showed nuclear immunolabeling of leukemic cells. Nuclear positivity was not evident in any other type of leukemia or lymphoma tested with the antibody. Genotypic analysis of 25 cases of T-ALL showed a deletion involving the SCL/tal-1 gene in nine cases. These results suggest that protein expression is not dependent on derangement of the SCL/tal-1 gene, because immunohistochemical detection of the protein was noted in the presence and absence of a tal-d1 deletion.

Base Sequence

Differential sensitivity of CD30+ neoplastic cells to gelonin delivered by anti-CD30/anti-gelonin bispecific antibodies.

Lymphocyte activation antigens, such as CD30, represent suitable target molecules for antibody-driven drug delivery in haemopoietic malignancies. A ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP) type 1 of potential interest for mAb targeting is gelonin, which displays a lower toxicity, as compared to other RIPs. In this study, two anti-CD30/antigelonin bispecific monoclonal antibodies (bimAbs), secreted by hybrid hybridomas, were used to deliver this RIP to CD30+ tumour cells. The two bimAbs, termed D4 and A18, were produced using the same anti-CD30 mAb and two anti-gelonin mAbs, directed to unrelated epitopes of the gelonin molecule. These bimAbs enhanced gelonin toxicity (IC50 5 x 10(-8) M, in the absence of mAbs) against the CD30+ L540 Hodgkin's lymphoma cell line in a protein synthesis inhibition assay. Thus, in the presence of 10(-9) M D4 bimAb, protein synthesis was inhibited with an IC50 of 5 x 10(-10) M as gelonin, whereas with A18 bimAb the IC50 was 8 x 10(-11) M. More interestingly, the combined use of the two bimAbs had a synergistic effect, since the IC50 of gelonin reached 6 x 10(-12) M. Among CD30 tumour cell lines, the Hodgkin's lymphoma L428 was also sensitive to gelonin delivered by bimAbs (IC50 6 x 10(-11) M), whereas the COLE Hodgkin's cell line and the T-ALL Jurkat were completely resistant to the toxic effect of gelonin and bimAbs. COLE and Jurkat cells were also resistant to a gelonin/anti-CD30 conventional immunotoxin, whereas they were sensitive to a saporin/anti-CD30 immunotoxin. This suggests that the resistance to gelonin is not related to a lack of internalization through the CD30 molecule but is associated with some property of the RIP.

Antibodies, Bispecific

The myeloic related protein MRP8/14 (27E10 antigen)--usefulness as a potential marker for disease activity in ulcerative colitis and putative biological function.

MRP8, MRP14 and their heterodimer MRP8/14 (27E10 antigen) are myeloic related proteins which have been shown to have a major role in inflammatory and immunological responses. In the present study monospecific antibodies against MRPs were used to investigate immunohistochemically the distribution of these proteins in routinely processed bowel tissues from 23 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). MRP8, MRP14 and their heterocomplex MRP8/14 were demonstrated in the majority of granulocytes and macrophages in tissues of patients with active UC. Furthermore by employing the ELISA technique we measured MRP8/14 serum levels in 62 patients with UC and the results were compared with those for healthy controls. Disease activities were determined by established clinical activity indices. Serum MRP8/14 concentrations were significantly (P < 0.0001) increased in patients with active ulcerative colitis. No enhancement of serum levels were found for MRP14 and MRP8 alone, respectively. The follow-up of individual patients with initially active disease showed a decrease of MRP8/14 serum levels in parallel with clinical improvement following the start of therapy. It is thus concluded that MRP8/14 accurately reflects the degree of disease activity in UC. Further, possible biological function of MRPs seems to be associated with the heterodimeric form (27E10 antigen) rather than with individual proteins. Our morphological results confirm the finding of enhanced MRP8/14 serum levels in patients with active UC.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones