Search

Background. IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a fibroinflammatory condition. T-cells play a crucial role in the pathogenesis, and therefore, serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) may be a potential biomarker. Method. We studied the levels of sIL-2R in 26 histologically proven IgG4-RD patients with available serum sIL-2R and compared them to those in newly diagnosed and untreated sarcoidosis patients (n=78) and controls (n=101) and the serum sIL-2R levels in patients after treatment of IgG4-RD (n=15). The disease activity was measured using the IgG4-Related Disease Responder Index (IgG4-RD RI). Results. Median serum sIL-2R in IgG4-RD patients was 4667 pg/ml compared to 1515 pg/ml in controls (P<0.001) and 6050 pg/ml in sarcoidosis patients (P=0.004 compared to IgG4-RD). All IgG4-RD patients had elevated serum sIL-2R levels compared to the reference value of <2500 pg/ml in controls and 85% elevated serum IgG4; however, these did not correlate with each other. Both serum sIL-2R and IgG4 levels declined significantly after treatment (P=0.001 and P=0.01, resp.). Before treatment, serum sIL-2R level and IgG4-RD RI did not correlate with each other. However, the decrease in serum sIL-2R upon treatment did correlate significantly (P=0.04) with the decrease in disease activity assessed by IgG-RD RI. Conclusion. Serum sIL-2R is elevated in IgG4-RD reflecting the inflammatory process with enhanced T-cell activation. Furthermore, serum sIL-2R might serve as a potential marker of response to treatment in IgG4-RD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graves' disease ( GD) is an autoimmune disease that involves aberrant B and T lymphocyte responses. Detailed knowledge about lymphocyte subpopulation composition will therefore enhance our understanding of the pathogenesis of GD and might support the development of new immunomodulatory treatment approaches. The aim of this study was to gain detailed insight into the composition of the peripheral blood lymphocyte compartment in GD before and during anti-thyroid drug therapy. Major B and T lymphocyte subpopulations were investigated by flow cytometry in peripheral blood from newly diagnosed GD patients ( n = 5), GD patients treated with anti-thyroid drugs ( n = 4), patients with recurrent GD ( n = 7) and healthy controls ( HC; n = 10). In GD patients, numbers of activated T lymphocytes [human leucocyte antigen D-related ( HLA- DR)+ and CD25+] were increased. The B lymphocyte compartment in GD was characterized by significantly higher numbers of transitional ( CD38high CD27−, P < 0·03) and pre-naive mature ( CD38low CD27− IgD+ CD5+, P < 0·04) B lymphocytes, while memory populations were slightly decreased. The increased numbers of CD5+, transitional and pre-naive mature B lymphocytes correlated positively with fT4 plasma levels. GD is associated with increased numbers of activated T lymphocytes and transitional and pre-naive mature CD5+ B lymphocytes within the peripheral blood. The increase in CD5+ B lymphocytes was due mainly to an increase in transitional and pre-naive mature B lymphocytes. Increased fT4 plasma levels might be associated with this increase in transitional and pre-naive mature CD5+ B lymphocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The BIOMED-2 multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tubes for analysis of immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements have recently been introduced as a reliable and easy tool for clonality diagnostics in suspected lymphoproliferations. Quality and performance assessment of PCR-based clonality diagnostics is generally performed using human leukemia/lymphoma cell lines as controls. We evaluated the utility of 30 well-defined human T-cell lines for quality performance testing of the BIOMED-2 PCR primers and protocols. The PCR analyses of the TCR loci were backed up by Southern blot analysis. The clonal TCRB, TCRG and TCRD gene rearrangements were analyzed for gene segment usage and for the size and composition of their junctional regions. In 29 out of 30 cell lines, unique clonal TCR gene rearrangements could be easily detected. Besides their usefulness in molecular clonality diagnostics, these cell lines can now be authenticated based on their TCR gene rearrangement profile. This enables their correct use in molecular clonality diagnostics and in other cancer research studies.Leukemia (2007) 21, 230–237. doi:10.1038/sj.leu.2404486; published online 14 December 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is associated with chromosomal aberrations characterized by juxtaposition of proto-oncogenes to T-cell receptor gene loci (TCR), resulting in the deregulated transcription of these proto-oncogenes. Here, we describe the molecular characterization of a novel chromosomal aberration, inv(14)(q11.2q32.31), in a T-ALL sample, involving the recently described BCL11B gene and the TCRD locus. The inversion joined the 5'part of BCL11B, including exons 1-3, to the TRDD3 gene segment of the TCRD locus, whereas the reciprocal breakpoint fused the TRDV1 gene segment to the fourth exon of BCL11B. The TRDV1-BCL11B joining region was 1344?bp long and contained fragments derived from 20q11.22, 3p21.33 and from 11p12, indicating the complex character of this aberration. A strong expression of in-frame transcripts with truncated BCL11B and TCRD constant region (TRDC) were observed, but in contrast to normal T cells and other T-ALL samples, no wild-type BCL11B transcripts were detected in the T-ALL sample. Screening of 37 other T-ALLs revealed one additional case with expression of the BCL11B-TRDC fusion transcript. As BCL11B appears to play a key role in T-cell differentiation, BCL11B disruption and disturbed expression may contribute to the development of T-cell malignancies in man.Leukemia (2005) 19, 201-208. doi:10.1038/sj.leu.2403619 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]