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Clonal history of a cord blood donor cell leukemia with prenatal somatic JAK2 V617F mutation

Graft-versus-T-cell lymphoma effect: a sustained CR after tapering immunosuppressive drugs in a patient with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma in relapse after allogeneic transplantation

Background Hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) is a common complication after hematopoietic allogeneic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) associated with intensity of the conditioning regimen, cyclophosphamide (Cy) therapy, and BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) infection. Methods We analyzed 33 consecutive haploidentical (haplo) HSCT recipients transplanted for hematologic diseases. Eleven patients had a previous transplant. Median follow-up was 11 months. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine + mycophenolate mofetil and post-HSCT Cy. Results Thirty-two of 33 patients achieved neutrophil recovery. Cumulative incidence (CI) of platelet recovery was 65%. CI grade II–IV acute GVHD was 44%. Twenty patients developed HC in a median time of 38 days. CI of HC at day 180 was 62%. BKPyV was positive in blood and urine of 91% of patients at HC onset. HC resolved in 18/20 patients. Factors associated with HC were previous transplant (P = 0.01) and occurrence of cytomegalovirus reactivation before HC (P = 0.05). Grade II–IV acute GVHD was not associated with HC (P = 0.62). CI of day 180 viral infections was 73%. Two-year overall survival (OS) was 50%; HC did not impact OS (P = 0.29). Conclusion The incidence of HC after haplo with post-HSCT Cy is high and is associated with morbidity, especially in high-risk patients such as those with a previous transplant history and with impaired immune reconstitution.

Total thermotolerant coliforms (TTC) and Escherichia coli strains were isolated from sewage from a treatment plant before and after peracetic acid (PAA) disinfection. The plasmid profiles of 120 E. coli strains were analyzed. Although PAA disinfection effectively reduced the number of TTC and E. coli strains, the percentage of E. coli strains containing plasmids was not statistically different among water samples. The sizes of the plasmids found ranged from3 kb to56 kb, but plasmids of between 3 and 5 kb were encountered most frequently.

The plasmid contents of 306 strains of Escherichia coli isolated from raw and treated sewage from a treatment plant as well as from the water 1 km downstream were determined. The number and molecular weight of plasmids isolated from a representative sample of these strains were also measured. It was observed that biological treatment did not significantly alter these parameters. In contrast, statistically significant differences in plasmid number and size were observed when strains from sewage (raw and treated) were compared with strains isolated from brackish water. In raw and treated sewage, more than 96% of the strains contained plasmids, compared with 85% in brackish water. Nine to 13% of the strains from sewage contained plasmids with more than 56 kilobases, while only 5% of the strains from brackish water reached this size.Key words: Escherichia coli, plasmids, two-dimensional electrophoresis, sewage treatment, brackish water.

Twenty four strains of coagulase-negative staphylococci from clinically significant blood cultures were separated in four groups on the basis of oxacillin susceptibility and phenotype of resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics. Susceptibility testing included disk diffusion testing, M.I.C. and M.B.C. determinations and finally, measurements, at sequential times (from 0 to 6 hours), of the bactericidal effect of aminoglycosides alone or combined with oxacillin or vancomycin. Aminoglycosides clinical use (gentamicin, netilmicin, tobramycin and amikacin) exhibited an efficient early bactericidy over the sensitive strains to any tested aminoglycosides and to oxacillin (group 1, 13 strains). When strains having a phenotype of resistance to kanamycin and neomycin (group 2, 4 strains) or kanamycin and tobramycin (group 3, 2 strains) were considered, amikacin inefficiency was assessed by time-killing assay even though disk diffusion testing as well as M.I.C. and M.B.C. determinations failed to demonstrate it. In the same way, only bactericidy measurements indicated the lack of activity of amikacin or netilmicin over strains exhibiting a phenotype of resistance to gentamicin plus kanamycin and tobramycin (group 4, 5 strains). Netilmicin appeared as the most active aminoglycoside over the strains studied. Crude results of disk diffusion testing might appear as an oversimplification, especially when coagulase-negative staphylococci are considered; the early-bactericidy assay findings were stressing for the need of interpreting the results of antibiotic testing on the ground of resistance mechanisms.