Search

Summary Diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) represents the most prevalent aggressive B‐cell lymphoma. The group is heterogeneous and the outcome is variable. A variety of approaches have been employed with the objective of improving the stratification of DLBCL patients according to their prognosis, based on the cell of origin. Recently, distinct genetic subtypes of DLBCL have been identified. Given the importance of cell migration in immune cells, the objective of this study was to ascertain whether different genetic subtypes of DLBCL exhibit disparate migration abilities. MCD‐ and EZB‐type DLBCL cell lines were subjected to testing to ascertain their basal velocity in straight microchannels and their ability to overcome tight constrictions of 2 μm. The EZB‐type cell lines showed superior basal migration velocity and constriction passage time, and a similar trend was observed in live cell imaging of native human DLBCL tissue. In addition, MCD‐type DLBCL exhibited significantly elevated levels of nuclear lamin A/C, which is responsible for the stiffness of the nuclear envelope and could thus explain the disparate migration behaviours observed among these subtypes. Our study suggests that different genetic subtypes of DLBCL may not only influence the outcome after therapy but also the motility of the tumour cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human lymph nodes play a central part of immune defense against infection agents and tumor cells. Lymphoid follicles are compartments of the lymph node which are spherical, mainly filled with B cells. B cells are cellular components of the adaptive immune systems. In the course of a specific immune response, lymphoid follicles pass different morphological differentiation stages. The morphology and the spatial distribution of lymphoid follicles can be sometimes associated to a particular causative agent and development stage of a disease. We report our new approach for the automatic detection of follicular regions in histological whole slide images of tissue sections immuno-stained with actin. The method is divided in two phases: (1) shock filter-based detection of transition points and (2) segmentation of follicular regions. Follicular regions in 10 whole slide images were manually annotated by visual inspection, and sample surveys were conducted by an expert pathologist. The results of our method were validated by comparing with the manual annotation. On average, we could achieve a Zijbendos similarity index of 0.71, with a standard deviation of 0.07. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: The aim of the present study was to validate the sensitivity and specificity of the new “point-of-care” NMP22® BladderChek® test compared to photodynamic diagnosis (PDD). Methods: Voided urine samples from 100 patients with suspicion of bladder cancer were collected to perform the NMP22® BladderChek® test and voided urinary cytology. The nuclear matrix protein 22 (NMP22) levels were measured by a lateral flow immunochromatographic qualitative assay, using 10U/ml as the cut-off value. Subsequently patients underwent PDD, using 5-aminolevulinic acid or hexyl-aminolevulinate; previous bladder washings for cytology were collected. Sensitivity and specificity of the NMP22® BladderChek® test were compared with cytology and PDD. Results: Forty of the 100 patients had urothelial malignancies (22 pTa, 4 pT1, 3 pT2, 9 carcinoma in situ, 2 pTx; 16 G1, 6 G2, 18 G3). The sensitivity was 65% for the NMP22® BladderChek® test, 44% for voided cytology, 75% for washing cytology, and 93% for PDD. Specificity rates were 40%, 78%, 62%, and 43%, respectively. Positive predictive values were 0.42, 0.58, 0.53, and 0.52 and the negative predictive values 0.63, 0.68, 0.82, and 0.9, respectively. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that the NMP22® BladderChek® is an easily applied test, giving diagnostic findings within 30min. However, validated by the highly sensitive PDD, the NMP22® BladderChek® test demonstrates poor specificity and sensitivity and, therefore, cannot be recommended for screening or surveillance in daily clinical routine use. Further studies with careful patient selection are necessary to identify the patient population that might benefit from the NMP22® BladderChek® test. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Although checkpoint molecules like CTLA-4 and PD1 have been described several years ago, checkpoint inhibitors such as nivolumab (an anti-PD-1 antibody) have only recently been used to treat classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). Several studies have shown convincing therapeutic effects of nivolumab in cHL. However, the mechanism of action of nivolumab in cHL is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to monitor changes in cell motility and cell contacts after administration of nivolumab to an in vitro model of cHL as well as to native hyperplastic lymphoid tissue and native human tissue from cHL. In both tissue and in vitro, CD4+, CD8+, CD30+ and CD20+ cell velocities were unchanged after nivolumab incubation. In contrast, in primary cHL tissue, the duration of cell contacts between CD4+ T cells and Hodgkin-Reed-Sternberg cells was significantly increased after 5 hours of nivolumab treatment, and the number of contacts with HRS cells was also slightly increased for CD4+ T cells (not significant), suggesting that CD4+ T cells in particular contribute to the cytotoxicity observed as a result of nivolumab therapy. There was no change in the duration of cell contacts in the hyperplastic lymphoid tissue after nivolumab incubation. In conclusion, we show here for the first time by imaging of native lymphoma tissue an enhanced interaction of CD4+ T cells and Hodgkin-Reed-Sternberg cells in cHL after nivolumab administration.