Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0026764 (multiple myeloma)
 36,148 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We studied bone biopsies from 26 patients with myelomatosis with apparently normal skeletal metabolism. Quantitative histomorphometric measurements suggested that skeletal disease was progressive despite normocalcaemia and normal urinary excretion rates of calcium and hydroxyproline. When biopsies were divided according to the involvement of marrow by plasma cells, bone resorption--as judged by the eroded surface--increased significantly the greater plasma cell burden. Osteoclasts were frequent with moderate tumour burdens, but there was no further increase in the number of osteoclasts when plasma cell infiltration increased by more than 50% of bone marrow. Contrary to expectation, the numbers of osteoblasts and bone formation rates were increased with bone biopsies with moderate tumour burden, but were markedly lower when plasma cell infiltration occupied more than 50% of bone marrow, due to a decreased functional capacity of osteoblasts. We conclude that skeletal bone disease in myeloma is commonly progressive despite apparently stable bone disease as judged by biochemical measurements. The major mechanism of bone loss in myelomatosis is increased osteoclastic resorption but decreased bone formation contributes to bone loss with heavy plasma cell burdens. Urinary excretion of calcium and hydroxyproline provide insensitive indices of bone resorption in myelomatosis.
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PMID:Abnormal bone remodelling in patients with myelomatosis and normal biochemical indices of bone resorption. 146 62

The prognostic significance of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) has been evaluated in bone marrow trephine biopsies from 64 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) prior to therapy. The univariate Kaplan-Meyer survival analysis showed a significant correlation between survivals and AgNOR counts (median of survival 51.3 months for cases with < or = 4.62 AgNORs per plasma cell (PC) versus 16 months for cases with > 4.62 AgNORs per PC; P = 0.0000) or AgNOR distribution in PC nucleus (AgNOR configuration) (median of survival 71.67 months for cases with tightly grouped AgNORs, 16.26 for partially grouped and 11.74 for dispersed AgNORs; P = 0.001). Significant prognostic correlations were also found for monoclonal immunoglobulin type (P = 0.008), platelet counts (P = 0.0078), serum creatinine level (P = 0.0001), Durie's clinical stage (P = 0.02), percentage of plasma cells in bone marrow biopsies (BMPC%) (P = 0.005), pattern of medullary involvement (P = 0.003) and PC atypia (P = 0.009). Borderline result was detected for the percentage of PCs in aspirates (P = 0.06). No significant correlation was found between prognosis and patients age, sex, haemoglobin level, serum albumin or calcium level, marrow cellularity and excess of haemosiderin. Multivariate survival analysis showed that only two variables were significantly correlated with prognosis: AgNOR counts (P = 0.003) and AgNOR configuration (P < 0.001). In addition, the analysis of variance showed significant association between AgNOR number and platelet counts, haemoglobin level, calcaemia, creatininaemia, clinical stage, percentage of PCs in aspirates, BMPC%, pattern of medullary involvement, PC atypia, marrow cellularity and configuration of AgNORs. Our results indicate that AgNOR counts and configuration have prognostic and diagnostic value and therefore they are useful independent parameters to assess the pretherapeutic aggressiveness of multiple myeloma.
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PMID:Argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region counts and prognosis in multiple myeloma. 148 55

Multiple myeloma affects bone, and enhanced bone resorption is a characteristic finding. In the present study the serum concentration of osteocalcin, serum bone gla-protein, which is a protein specific for bone turnover and reflects osteoblast activity, was analysed at diagnosis in 48 patients with multiple myeloma. At that time there was a significant relationship between disease stage (Durie-Salmon) and osteocalcin levels, lower levels being found in patients with more advanced disease. No relationship was found between osteocalcin and serum calcium levels. To date, 33 patients have died. There was a significant correlation between initial osteocalcin levels and patient survival. These findings suggest that serum osteocalcin could be a marker of prognostic significance for survival in multiple myeloma.
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PMID:Serum osteocalcin concentrations in patients with multiple myeloma--correlation with disease stage and survival. 154 35

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was demonstrated to be a strong autocrine or paracrine plasmocytoma cell growth factor in humans. Using a bioassay, high serum IL-6 (S-IL-6) levels were correlated with disease severity in plasma cell dyscrasias. Since other cytokines could interfere with the bioassays, we developed a specific radioimmunoassay to study S-IL-6 levels in 102 patients with monoclonal gammopathy (MG). S-IL-6 level was studied by a double antibody radioimmunoassay using a rabbit polyclonal anti-IL-6 antibody and a human recombinant IL-6 as the standard. The lowest value of the standard significantly different from zero was found to be 78 pg/ml. Within-run and between-run precisions were characterized by a mean coefficient of variation of 3.72 and 5.5%, respectively. The mean analytical recovery was found to be 113% and the immunochemical identity of IL-6 standard and S-IL-6 was shown by dilution tests. IL-6 was detected in all tested sera. Sera from 66 healthy volunteers and 43 patients with acute leukemia or malignant lymphoma were tested as controls. In healthy subjects, S-IL-6 values were 294 +/- 86 pg/ml. MG were classified as multiple myeloma (MM), macroglobulinemia, and MG of undetermined significance (MGUS). The distribution of S-IL-6 levels in patients with MG was significantly higher than in healthy subjects but lower than in patients with acute leukemia or Hodgkin's lymphoma. Results obtained in 55 patients with MM were related to other biological parameters. S-IL-6 levels correlated with bone-marrow plasmacytosis (P less than .0005), serum-lactate dehydrogenase (S-LDH; P less than .005), serum beta 2 microglobulin (S -beta 2m; P less than .01), and serum calcium (S-Ca; P less than .025) and inversely correlated with haemoglobin (P less than .025). Our results indicate that 1) radioimmunoassay is suitable for the measurement of human IL-6 in serum; 2) high S-IL-6 levels are observed in a small number of patients with MG; and 3) S-IL-6 level correlates with tumour cell mass in patients with overt MM.
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PMID:Radioimmunoassay for the measurement of serum IL-6 and its correlation with tumour cell mass parameters in multiple myeloma. 154 13

Anti-effector cell mAb 5C6.10.4 (5C6) inhibits cytotoxic activity of fish nonspecific cytotoxic cells (NCC). We now show that 5C6 also inhibits mammalian NK cell activity using fresh and cultured (CRC) leukemic rat NK cells. The inhibitory activity of 5C6 was caused by blocking of conjugate formation between NK cells and YAC-1 targets. Binding studies done by flow cytometry (FCM) showed that mAb 5C6 specifically bound to 8% of unfractionated rat spleen cells. Enrichment by nylon-wool fractionation produced 27.2% specific binding, along with a 3.4-fold enrichment in cytotoxic activity. Tissue distribution studies revealed that the highest number of cells recognized by mAb 5C6 were found in NWNA spleen cells (28.7%), followed by liver (18.9%) and peripheral blood (13.9). Two-color FCM showed that although all 3.2.3 mAb-positive cells were also stained with mAb 5C6, a small percentage of 3.2.3. negative noncytotoxic NWNA spleen T cells were 5C6 positive. Redirected lysis experiments demonstrated that anti-effector mAb-producing myeloma cells could be killed by CRC and NWNA spleen cells. In addition, mAb 5C6 produced specific inhibition of redirected lysis of each myeloma target. Experiments were also conducted to determine the signaling capability of the FAM complex. Binding of the anti-FAM mAbs to NWNA rat spleen cells caused a rapid increase in cytosolic free calcium of approximately 472 nM. Western blot analysis of CRC cell lysates showed that the molecules recognized by anti-FAM mAbs have molecular weights of 38 and 42 kDa. These studies indicate that the anti-effector mAbs recognize a functionally relevant molecule on rat NK cells that is involved in the first steps of cytolysis, i.e., antigen recognition, and which also triggers the activation of signal-transducing events in these cells.
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PMID:Detection of function-associated molecules on rat NK cells and their role in target cell lysis. 155 47

Multiple myeloma remains a fatal disease. However, in the last few months new biologic and clinical information has been provided about this disease. In particular, the immunophenotype of myeloma cells seems to indicate, at least in some patients, the possibility of a stem cell involvement in the pathogenesis of myeloma. Moreover, the recent progress in understanding the complex cytokine network has revealed the possibility that myelomatous proliferation is highly influenced by some cytokines such as interleukin-6, interleukin-3, interleukin-2, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Furthermore, it has been shown that the mechanism responsible for the resistance of myeloma cells to chemotherapy may be partially overcome by the use of calcium antagonists associated with quinine. Finally, new insights into the pathogenesis and biology of the disease have been provided by studies of molecular biology and flow cytometry undertaken in multiple myeloma patients. The best conventional induction treatment remains to be defined. However, the increased use, as new therapeutic modalities, of interferon-alpha and transplantation procedures in multiple myeloma opens new hopes of a cure. In the future, a better comprehension of the multiple myeloma biology associated with a wider use of new and more effective therapeutic approaches will certainly improve the natural course of the disease.
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PMID:Biology and treatment of multiple myeloma. 159 Dec 96

Patients with both end-stage renal disease and multiple myeloma are prone to changes in ionized calcium homeostasis that may have grave consequences. However, only total calcium level is reported in most routine laboratory testing, with various algorithms used to derive the physiologically important ionized or free calcium level to guide treatment. We studied a patient with multiple myeloma undergoing long-term hemodialysis who presented with a markedly elevated total calcium level but with only minimal elevation in the ionized calcium level. All of the commonly used algorithms would have overestimated the ionized calcium level, and some of these might have led to inappropriate treatment. When therapy depends critically on the ionized calcium level, direct measurement is essential.
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PMID:Interpretation of hypercalcemia in a patient with end-stage renal disease. 159 63

Circulating monomeric human calcitonin (hCT-M), parathyroid hormone, osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase, urinary hydroxyproline, corrected serum calcium and inorganic phosphate were measured in 49 multiple myeloma patients and 49 matched controls. In patients with Durie-Salmon stage III disease hCT-M levels (16.9 +/- 5.8 ng/l, mean +/- SD) were significantly higher than controls and stage I patients (P less than 0.01), and correlated directly with corrected serum calcium (r = 0.74; P less than 0.001). In the same subgroup 14 of 15 patients had plasma hCT-M concentrations higher than the mean + 2SD of the controls. The calcium infusion test induced an increase of hCT-M in normocalcemic patients which was significantly greater in patients with advanced disease than in either controls or stage I patients. These findings suggest that hCT-M may be a biochemical index of bone resorption and disease activity in myeloma patients with osteolysis. In fact, its plasma concentrations were elevated in a large proportion (93%) of patients with severe bone involvement, and correlated directly with serum calcium. Moreover, our findings suggest the presence of a calcitonin-dependent calcium homeostatic mechanism, that protects against hypercalcemia due to tumor osteolysis.
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PMID:Plasma monomeric calcitonin as a marker of disease activity in multiple myeloma patients with osteolysis. 163 26

In both T- and B-lymphocyte activation, antigen receptor or mitogen stimulation results in phosphoinositide turnover, generation of InsP3 and diacylglycerol, and a sustained rise in intracellular Ca2+, from both intracellular Ca2+ stores release and enhanced transmembrane Ca2+ influx. There is also an associated K+ efflux and membrane hyperpolarization. Patch clamp studies in T and B cells have revealed the presence of several types of ion channels that apparently contribute to the ion fluxes and to the membrane potential changes associated with lymphocyte activation. Three types of T-cell channels are described in this review. First, patch clamp studies have revealed the presence of a nonvoltage-gated, Ca2+ permeable channel, the probability of whose opening increases upon exposure of the T cell to activating ligands. Enhanced opening probability appears to be mediated by the second messenger InsP3, implying that InsP3 is responsible for both intracellular Ca2+ stores release and enhanced transmembrane Ca2+ influx. Thus, the control of [Ca2+]i remains coupled to TCR/CD3 function. The Ca2+ permeable channel also undergoes a Ca2(+)-dependent inactivation process in an autoregulatory fashion. In addition, voltage-gated K+ channels, which closely resemble the delayed rectifier K+ channel of nerve and muscle, can be classified into three subtypes, according to their voltage dependence of activation, inactivation kinetics, and pharmacological sensitivity. The expression of the three K+ channel subtypes varies with the cell's developmental state and functional class. The voltage-activated K+ channel is postulated to have a role in mitogenesis, based on studies that demonstrate an increase in K+ channel amplitude in the 24-48 hr following mitogen stimulation, and on studies that demonstrate that K+ channel blockers inhibit mitogenesis in a dose-dependent manner with the same potency sequence for ion channel block. The precise functional role of the voltage-activated K+ channel remains to be determined. Finally, a Ca2(+)-activated K+ channel in T cells has recently been described. This channel presumably underlies the K+ efflux and membrane hyperpolarization that accompany the mitogen-induced increase in [Ca2+]i. Three channel types that may contribute to activation have also been described in B lymphocytes. In murine myeloma and hybridoma cells, a voltage-gated Ca2+ channel similar to Ca2+ channels in nerve, heart, and muscle is present. It is unclear whether or not this type of Ca2+ channel is present in straight B-cell lines.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Patch clamp studies of lymphocyte activation. 169 81

Patients suffering from malignant disease will probably develop some metabolic abnormality of electrolytes. Hypernatremia is defined as an elevation of serum natrium over 150 mEq/l and caused by decrease of water intake, low level of ADH secretion and impaired response of kidney to ADH. Hyponatremia below 135 mEq/l of serum natrium is caused by SI-DAH, sick cell syndrome and increased loss of natrium from the kidney. On the other hand, hyperkalemia is defined as an elevation of serum kalium over 5.0 mEq/l and caused by acute tumor cell lysis syndrome, adrenal and renal insufficiency. Hypokalemia is caused by kalium loss from kidney and hypersecretion of mineral corticoid. Hypercalcemia is found in the high frequency among patients with malignant disease. Hypercalcemia is defined as an elevation of serum calcium over 11.0 mg/dl, although the most important aspect is the level of ionized calcium. The excess calcium causes defective urinary concentration with polydipsia, nausea and vomiting leading to volume depletion. At serum calcium levels about 13.8 mg/dl, there may be rapid deterioration or renal function, dehydration, coma and cardiac arrhythmias. Hypercalcemia is rarely the first manifestation of cancer. There are three principle pathogenic causes of malignant hypercalcemia, 1) hypercalcemia is a feature of several hematological cancers, including Burkitt's lymphoma, T cell leukemia, but most commonly with myeloma. The hypercalcemia in these myeloma patients is due to the secretion of an osteoclast activator, a lymphokine by the myeloma cells. 2) all patients with bony metastases have biochemical evidence of increased bone resorption. However, not all patients with bony metastases develop hypercalcemia. Probably the hypercalcemia is due partially to increased renal tubular reabsorption of calcium, mediated by a humoral factor, with activity similar to that of parathormone. 3) hypercalcemia in the patients without bony metastases is due to increased bone resorption caused by the ectopic secretion by the tumor. Mildly symptomatic patients will benefit from modest salt loading. They are dehydrated and replacement of the extracellular fluid is the first line of treatment. This may require 4-10 l normal saline/24 h. In addition, frusemide will increase calcium excretion. Calcitonin may be given subcutaneously or intravenously to refuse the mobilisation of calcium from bone. Glucocorticoids are unhelpful, but will prolong the effect of calcitonin. A diphosphonate is also useful.
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PMID:[Palliative therapy in cancer. 4. Palliation of the symptoms from a malignant tumor. (2)]. 169 56


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