Variability of glutathione S-transferase alpha in human liver and plasma.
(1/1625)
BACKGROUND: Glutathione S-transferases are a family of enzymes involved in the binding, transport, and detoxification of a wide variety of endogenous and exogenous compounds. Little information is available about the variability of class alpha glutathione S-transferases in human liver, where they are highly expressed, or in serum. METHODS: Both total class alpha glutathione S-transferase (GST-alpha, composed of GSTA1-1, GSTA1-2, and GSTA2-2) as well as GSTA1-1 concentrations were measured by specific and sensitive ELISA in liver cytosols of 35 organ donors and in plasma samples of 350 healthy controls. RESULTS: The mean total GST-alpha and GSTA1-1 in liver cytosols were 25.1 +/- 9.4 and 10.7 +/- 5.3 microg/mg protein, respectively, and did not correlate with activities of aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase. The mean total GST-alpha in liver was significantly higher in females compared with males (28.8 +/- 10.0 vs 22.0 +/- 7.8 microg/mg protein; P <0.05). In contrast, the median total GST-alpha in plasma was lower in females compared with males (2.0 and 2.8 microg/L, respectively; P <0.0001). The median ratios for GSTA1-1/total GST-alpha in liver and plasma were 0.42 and 0.58, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: GSTA1-1 constitutes approximately one-half of the total amount of alpha class GSTs in human plasma and liver. Total GST-alpha values are higher in female liver but lower in plasma compared with the respective values in males. (+info)
High prevalence of hepatitis G virus (HGV) infections in dialysis staff.
(2/1625)
BACKGROUND: Patients on renal replacement therapy, haemodialysis (HD), or after kidney transplantation (TX), are known to be at risk of acquiring blood-borne infections (HBV, HCV). GBV-C/Hepatitis G virus (HGV) has been described recently and is considered to cause blood-borne infections. The aim of this study was to analyse the risk for the medical staff of HD and TX patients to acquire HGV infection. METHODS: Eighty-five HD patients and 86 TX recipients were compared with 49 health-care workers and 64 blood donors as controls. The HGV prevalence was determined by RT-PCR and antibodies to E2 protein. RESULTS: A high prevalence of HGV was found in the medical staff (24%) which nearly corresponded to the prevalence of the patients (TX 36%, HD 25%) but not to the controls (9%). In contrast, the prevalence of HCV was low in the medical staff (2%) and controls (0%) but high in HD (13%) and TX (13%). Age and duration of employment in the department did not significantly influence the HGV prevalence in staff. The number of viraemic subjects in staff was high, possibly indicating a more recent infection. CONCLUSION: An occupational risk for HGV exists in medical staff of dialysis and transplant patients. Further routes of transmission than only parenteral may play a role in this setting. (+info)
Single leukapheresis products collected from healthy donors after the administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor contain ten-fold higher numbers of long-term reconstituting hematopoietic progenitor cells than conventional bone marrow allografts.
(3/1625)
Cytokine-mobilized peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) have been used successfully for hematopoietic reconstitution following allogeneic transplantation. The ease of harvest, the faster engraftment and the high yield of CD34+ cells have made this source of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) an attractive alternative to bone marrow (BM). In the present study we compared the engraftment potential of conventional BM allografts and single leukapheresis products (LPs) collected from healthy donors following the administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). For this, lineage-committed and primitive HPCs were assessed by flow cytometry and by colony- and cobblestone area-forming cell (CFC, CAFC) assays. Mean numbers of CD34+ cells in LPs (n = 11) were similar to that of BM grafts (n = 12) (278+/-57 vs 227+/-34 x 10(6) CD34+ cells). The frequencies of CFCs, week 5 CAFCs and week 8 CAFCs were 1.6-, 8.4- and 10.3-fold higher in the CD34+ compartment of mobilized blood than that of marrow, resulting in significantly higher yields of clonogenic HPCs in LPs when compared to BM grafts. We conclude that G-CSF preferentially mobilizes clonogenic progenitors capable of short- and, in particular, longterm reconstitution, and that the engraftment potential of single LPs is superior to that of BM allografts. Hence, the use of PBPCs may be favorable for protocols that include graft manipulations with expected cell loss (eg T cell depletion, CD34+ selection). PBPCs may also be advantageous for gene therapy trials due to their high numbers of potential target cells (eg CAFCs). (+info)
B cell lymphoproliferative disorders following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: risk factors, treatment and outcome.
(4/1625)
Twenty-six cases of B cell lymphoproliferative disorder (BLPD) were identified among 2395 patients following hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT) for which an overall incidence of BLPD was 1.2%. The true incidence was probably higher, since 9/26 of the diagnoses were made at autopsy. No BLPD was observed following autologous HSCT, so risk factor analyses were confined to the 1542 allogeneic HSCT. Factors assessed were HLA-mismatching (> or = 1 antigen), T cell depletion (TCD), presence of acute GvHD (grades II-IV), donor type (related vs unrelated), age of recipient and donor, and underlying disease. Factors found to be statistically significant included patients transplanted for immune deficiency and CML, donor age > or = 18 years, TCD, and HLA-mismatching, with recipients of combined TCD and HLA-mismatched grafts having the highest incidence. Factors found to be statistically significant in a multiple regression analysis were TCD, donor age and immune deficiency, although 7/8 of the patients with immunodeficiencies and BLPD received a TCD graft from a haploidentical parent. The overall mortality was 92% (24/26). One patient had a spontaneous remission, but subsequently died >1 year later of chronic GVHD. Thirteen patients received therapy for BLPD. Three patients received lymphocyte infusions without response. The only patients with responses and longterm survival received alpha interferon (alphaIFN). Of seven patients treated with alphaIFN there were four responses (one partial and three complete). These data demonstrate that alphaIFN can be an effective agent against BLPD following HSCT, if a timely diagnosis is made. (+info)
Analysis of hepatitis G virus (HGV) RNA, antibody to HGV envelope protein, and risk factors for blood donors coinfected with HGV and hepatitis C virus.
(5/1625)
Serologic, biochemical, and molecular analyses were used to study hepatitis G virus (HGV), antibody to the HGV envelope protein (anti-E2), risk factors, clinical significance, and the impact of HGV on coexistent hepatitis C virus (HCV). Among 329 donors with confirmed HCV infection, 12% were HGV RNA-positive and 44% were anti-E2-positive (total exposure, 56%). HGV RNA and anti-E2 were mutually exclusive except in 9 donors (1.5%); 8 of 9 subsequently lost HGV RNA but anti-E2 persisted. HGV had little impact on alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, or gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase in donors with HGV infection alone or those coinfected with HCV. A multivariate analysis showed that intravenous drug abuse was the leading risk factor for HGV transmission, followed by blood transfusion, snorting cocaine, imprisonment, and a history of sexually transmitted diseases. In summary, HGV and HCV infections were frequently associated and shared common parenteral risk factors; HGV did not appear to cause hepatitis or to worsen the course of coexistent hepatitis C. (+info)
Prevalence of TT virus infection in US blood donors and populations at risk for acquiring parenterally transmitted viruses.
(6/1625)
Two overlapping sets of TT virus (TTV)-specific polymerase chain reaction primers were used to test for presence of TTV, which was found in approximately 10% of US volunteer blood donors, 13% of commercial blood donors, and 17% of intravenous drug abusers. The rate of TTV infection among US non-A, non-B, non-C, non-D, non-E hepatitis patients was only 2%. Among commercial blood donors and intravenous drug abusers, only 1%-3% of the TTV-positive individuals were coinfected with GB virus C (GBV-C), a parenterally transmitted virus. This suggests that GBV-C and TTV may have different routes of transmission. Comparison of the sensitivities of 2 TTV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer sets showed that the majority of samples were detected with only 1 of the 2 sets. Therefore, previous studies in which only a single PCR primer pair was used may have significantly underestimated the true prevalence of TTV. (+info)
Neutrophil activation and hemostatic changes in healthy donors receiving granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.
(7/1625)
Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) enhances neutrophil functions in vitro and in vivo. It is known that neutrophil-derived products can alter the hemostatic balance. To understand whether polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) activation, measured as PMN degranulation and phenotypical change, may be associated to hemostatic alterations in vivo, we have studied the effect of recombinant human G-CSF (rHuG-CSF) administration on leukocyte parameters and hemostatic variables in healthy donors of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs). Twenty-six consecutive healthy donors receiving 10 micrograms/kg/d rHuG-CSF subcutaneously for 5 to 7 days to mobilize HPCs for allogeneic transplants were included in the study. All of them responded to rHuG-CSF with a significant white blood cell count increase. Blood samples were drawn before therapy on days 2 and 5 and 1 week after stopping rHuG-CSF treatment. The following parameters were evaluated: (1) PMN activation parameters, ie, surface CD11b/CD18 antigen expression, plasma elastase antigen levels and cellular elastase activity; (2) plasma markers of endothelium activation, ie, thrombomodulin (TM) and von Willebrand factor (vWF) antigens; (3) plasma markers of blood coagulation activation, ie, F1+2, TAT complex, D-dimer; and (4) mononuclear cell (MNC) procoagulant activity (PCA) expression. The results show that, after starting rHuG-CSF, an in vivo PMN activation occurred, as demonstrated by the significant increment of surface CD11b/CD18 and plasma elastase antigen levels. Moreover, PMN cellular elastase activity, which was significantly increased at 1 day of treatment, returned to baseline at day 5 to 6, in correspondence with the elastase antigen peak in the circulation. This change was accompanied by a parallel significant increase in plasma levels of the two endothelial and the three coagulation markers. The PCA generated in vitro by unstimulated MNC isolated from rHuG-CSF-treated subjects was not different from that of control cells from untreated subjects. However, endotoxin-stimulated MNC isolated from on-treatment individuals produced significantly more PCA compared with both baseline and control samples. All of the parameters were decreased or normal 1 week after stopping treatment. These data show that rHuG-CSF induces PMN activation and transiently affects some hemostatic variables in healthy HPC donor subjects. The clinical significance of these findings remains to be established. (+info)
Evaluation of the INNO-LIA HTLV I/II assay for confirmation of human T-cell leukemia virus-reactive sera in blood bank donations.
(8/1625)
We have evaluated a new serological confirmatory test (INNO-LIA HTLV I/II Ab [INNO-LIA]) for human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV) using a large collection of samples from Brazilian blood donors (Sao Paulo region) and compared the results with those obtained by Western blotting (WB) tests (WB2.3 and WB2.4). Blood donations were initially screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on viral lysates, and repeatedly reactive samples were further tested by WB2.3. When available, samples were also tested by PCR, two additional ELISAs based on recombinant antigens (recombinant ELISAs), a new-generation WB assay (WB2.4), and the INNO-LIA. Of the 18,169 samples tested, 292 (1.61%) were repeatedly reactive in the ELISAs (viral lysate based) and were further tested by WB2.3; 97 were positive (19 that were typed as HTLV type I [HTLV-I], 12 that were typed as HTLV type II [HTLV-II], and 66 that were nontypeable), 17 were negative, and 178 had indeterminate results. Of the samples with indeterminate results, 172 were tested by INNO-LIA, which could resolve 153 samples as negative. Regarding the positive samples, WB2. 3 and INNO-LIA produced concordant results for all HTLV-I-positive samples, whereas for HTLV-II they agreed for 10 of 12 samples; the 2 samples with discordant results were considered to be positive for HTLV-II by WB with WB2.3 but negative for HTLV-II by INNO-LIA and the two recombinant ELISAs. Furthermore, of the 66 nontypeable samples, 60 underwent testing by INNO-LIA; 54 turned out to be negative by the latter test as well as by recombinant ELISAs. In conclusion, the new serological confirmatory assay for HTLV (INNO-LIA HTLV I/II Ab) resolved the results for the majority of the indeterminate and positive-untypeable samples frequently observed by WB assays. (+info)