Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0038002 (splenomegaly)
 9,873 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Murine retrovirus infection induces loss of vitamin E and immune dysfunction with loss of cytokine production by T-helper cells. Therefore interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) was given during dietary vitamin E supplementation to effectively prevent murine retrovirus-induced immunosuppression, cytokine dysregulation, and development of murine AIDS. Administration of IFN-gamma during vitamin E supplementation significantly prevented development of retrovirus-induced suppression of splenic natural killer cell activity and T cell proliferation. It also significantly slowed retrovirus-induced elevation of T helper (Th) 2 cytokine [interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, and IL-10] production and monokine (IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) secretion by splenocytes. The treatment also prevented loss of Th1 cytokine (IL-2 and IFN-gamma) secretion by splenocytes from retrovirus-infected mice alleviating splenomegaly and hypergammaglobulinemia. The combined therapy had an additive therapeutic impact. It was more effective than IFN-gamma treatment or vitamin E supplementation alone in delaying the development of retrovirus-induced immunosuppression with its cytokine dysregulation.
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PMID:Vitamin E supplementation with interferon-gamma administration retards immune dysfunction during murine retrovirus infection. 749 68

Clonal expansions of CD3+ large granular lymphocytes (LGL) have been classified as T-LGL leukemia. The majority of patients with T-LGL leukemia have a chronic disease (years) manifested often by severe neutropenia, rheumatoid arthritis, and mild-to-moderate splenomegaly. The characteristic phenotype of the leukemic LGL is CD3+, CD8+, CD16+, CD57+, and CD56-. In this report we describe an aggressive variant of T-LGL leukemia in which leukemic LGL also expressed CD56, as identified by two-color flow-cytometry analysis. In contrast to the chronic nature typical of T-LGL leukemia, these patients presented with a severe systemic illness that was rapidly progressive and resistant to treatment. Atypical clinical features included rapidly increasing spleen size to massive proportions, extensive lymphadenopathy, and the presence of B symptoms (fever, nightsweats, weight loss). Hematologic and pathologic features were also unusual for T-LGL leukemia. These patients had very high LGL counts at diagnosis (range 11,692 to 26,312 microL), which increased rapidly despite treatment. Histopathologic examination of splenic sections showed extensive infiltration of red pulp cords and sinuses by leukemic cells with atrophy of the white pulp. These clinicopathologic features are similar to those described for patients with natural killer cell (NK)-LGL leukemia, whose cells are also CD56+. However, unlike NK-LGL leukemia, we could not show a direct pathogenic role for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), as Southern-blot analyses using an EBV-joined termini probe were negative in these patients. Our findings suggest that CD3+, CD56+ LGL leukemia is a distinct clinicopathologic entity separate from the usual CD3+, CD56- T-LGL leukemia. The expression on leukemic LGL of CD56, an adhesion molecule, may determine the aggressive biologic nature of this newly described disease.
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PMID:CD3+, CD56+ aggressive variant of large granular lymphocyte leukemia. 754 72

Female C57BL/6 mice were infected with LP-BM5 retrovirus, causing murine AIDS which is functionally similar to human AIDS. Dietary supplementation, with a 15-, 150- and 450-fold increase of vitamin E in a liquid diet, significantly restored levels of interleukin-2 (IL) and interferon-gamma produced by splenocytes, which were suppressed by retrovirus infection. Retrovirus infection elevated levels of IL-6 and IL-10 produced by splenocytes, which were significantly normalized by all levels of vitamin E supplementation, respectively. Increased levels of IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, produced by splenocytes during progression to murine AIDS, were also significantly normalized by all levels of vitamin E supplementation. Vitamin E supplementation restored retrovirus-suppressed splenocyte proliferation and natural killer cell cytotoxicity. Vitamin E supplementation also alleviated the AIDS symptoms: splenomegaly and hypergammaglobulinemia. These data indicate that dietary vitamin E supplementation at extremely high levels was not immunotoxic, and can modulate cytokine release and normalize immune dysfunctions during progression to murine AIDS. It should favorably affect host resistance and thereby retard the development of AIDS.
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PMID:Modulation of immune function and cytokine production by various levels of vitamin E supplementation during murine AIDS. 762 53

SCID and SCID/beige mice were used to study the pathogenesis of B. catarrhalis administered by intranasal, intraperitoneal or intravenous routes. Challenged adult animals did not appear overtly clinically ill. Similar symptoms were observed regardless of the challenge route, and pretreatment of mice with human transferrin did not enhance clinical virulence. Susceptibility to B. catarrhalis appeared to be age-dependent as some mice under one week of age died following challenge. Postmortem findings included circumscribed pale foci on the liver, splenomegaly and mineralization of the myocardium. Presence of lesions did not correlate with the assessment of clinical well being, and severity of the lesions was found to be challenge strain-dependent. Liver lesions and splenomegaly were not observed in animals challenged with heat-killed bacteria or placebo. SCID/beige mice were more affected than SCID mice both clinically and pathologically, suggesting that natural killer cell and polymorphonuclear cell functions may be important in resolving B. catarrhalis challenge.
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PMID:Branhamella catarrhalis pathogenesis in SCID and SCID/beige mice. Brief report. 826 59

Infection of severe combined immunodeficient mice, which lack T and B lymphocytes, with polyomavirus (PyV) induced an acute hematological disorder leading to the death of the mice by 2 weeks postinfection. The disease was characterized by a dramatic decrease in megakaryocytes, multiple hemorrhages, anemia, thrombocytopenia, splenomegaly, a massive myeloproliferation and splenic erythroproliferation with a defect in maturation of the myeloid elements similar to that in acute leukemia. This pathology in severe combined immunodeficient mice is very different from that of the well-characterized tumor profiles induced by PyV in normal newborn or nude mice. Viral T and capsid (VP1) antigens and viral genome were detected in some cells in the spleen, but not in the majority of the proliferating myeloid cells. This suggests that the myeloproliferation is induced by some indirect mechanism, such as secretion of growth factors or cytokines by virus-infected cells, rather than by direct transformation by PyV. Neither the spread of PyV, its replication in different organs, nor the pathogenesis or the time of death were altered by depleting natural killer cells in vivo by anti-natural killer cell antibodies. Analysis of the spleen leukocyte population indicated that the cells expressed high levels of class I major histocompatibility complex antigens and were resistant to lysis by activated natural killer cells.
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PMID:Acute, lethal, natural killer cell-resistant myeloproliferative disease induced by polyomavirus in severe combined immunodeficient mice. 831 Nov 19

Chronic natural killer cell lymphocytosis is a persistent state of natural killer (NK) cell (CD3-CD16/CD56+) excess in the peripheral blood that is not associated with clinical lymphoma. In 16 consecutive patients (median age 60.5 years, range 7-77), males were overrepresented (M:F 7:1) and the median absolute NK cell count was 4.09 x 10(9)/l (range 1.2-16.6). Bone marrow examination was performed in 14 patients and showed atypical granulomata in two; chromosome studies in seven patients were normal. Clonal T-cell receptor gene rearrangement was not found in any of 12 patients evaluated. At presentation, seven patients (44%) had no clinical symptoms or signs and the others had vasculitic skin lesions (three patients), non-neutropenic fever (three patients), recurrent neutropenic infection (two patients), musculoskeletal symptoms (two patients), peripheral neuropathy (two patients), aphthous ulcers (one patient), and splenomegaly (one patient). Five patients had anaemia, five had neutropenia, and two had thrombocytopenia. After a median follow-up of 5.1 years (range 0-10.2) from immunophenotypic diagnosis or 5.7 years (range 0.1-14.1) from documentation of absolute lymphocytosis, vasculitic glomerulonephritis developed in one patient, accelerated splenomegaly developed in a patient receiving myeloid growth factor treatment, and severe aplastic anaemia developed in one patient. Treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or immunosuppressive agents was variably successful.
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PMID:A long-term study of patients with chronic natural killer cell lymphocytosis. 1051 98

Immune cell therapy with autologous Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) or lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells was performed in 2 adults with severe chronic active EBV infection (SCAEBV). The patient in case 1, who had complications of pancytopenia, high fever, and massive splenomegaly, was treated with 13 doses of LAK cell infusion followed by 4 doses of autologous CTL infusion. The patient in case 2, who had liver dysfunction due to natural killer cell-type infection, was treated with 4 doses of autologous CTL infusion. In case 1, the LAK cell infusions were effective in lowering the viral load and improving several biochemical parameters (lactate dehydrogenase, soluble interleukin 2 receptor) and resulted in complete amelioration of the high fever. Subsequent infusions of autologous CTLs reduced the viral load only temporarily and were accompanied by an increase in frequency of EBV-specific T-cells in the blood. However, the patient's main problem of pancytopenia was not resolved. In case 2, infusion of autologous CTLs did not improve the patient's hepatic dysfunction or viral load but caused a significant increase in autoantibody levels. Thus the effect of auto-CTL treatment was limited or deteriorative in SCAEBV patients.
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PMID:Clinical effects of infusing anti-Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes into patients with severe chronic active EBV infection. 1289 53

We report a case of Epstein-Barr virus-associated aggressive natural killer cell leukemia/lymphoma with giant splenomegaly in which splenectomy resulted in progression of apoptosis and hemophagocytosis. The serum level of ferritin, triglycerides, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin 10 (IL-10), and soluble Fas ligand (sFasL) increased markedly, and liver damage progressed after splenectomy. The number of apoptotic cells in peripheral blood smears increased following splenectomy. In the present case, splenectomy caused disruption of the cytokine network, resulting in apoptosis of blood cells and hepatocytes, as well as phagocytosis.
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PMID:Marked elevation of soluble fas ligand and cytokine secretion after splenectomy in aggressive natural killer cell leukemia/lymphoma. 1551 19

Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is an autosomal recessive disorder of immune regulation characterized by fever, splenomegaly, cytopenia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypofibrinogenemia, and hyperferritinemia. Although presentation usually occurs during the first 2 years of life, congenital presentation is rare. We report siblings with a presumptive diagnosis of familial HLH who presented with hydrops fetalis and severe hepatic involvement ultimately resulting in their deaths. This report emphasizes the difficulty of confirming the diagnosis of HLH. However, establishing the diagnosis has important implications for genetic counseling and family planning. HLH should be considered in the setting of perinatal liver failure. The immunologic basis of the disease is incompletely understood but testing for natural killer cell function, and perforin defects may be helpful in establishing a diagnosis. HLH can be treated with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and stem cell transplantation.
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PMID:Fulminant neonatal liver failure in siblings: probable congenital hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. 1694 69

Evidence is continuing to accumulate that the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) receptor plays an important role in acute leukemias. Acute myeloid leukemia patients often express constitutive active mutant forms of the receptor in their leukemic cells. A t(12;13)(p13;q12) translocation between Tel and the FLT3 receptor was recently described in a patient with myeloproliferative disease (MPD). Here a Tel-FLT3 construct mimicking this fusion protein was used to generate transgenic mice. The fusion protein was previously found to constitutively activate FLT3 signaling and transform Ba/F3 cells. Expression of the fusion protein in the transgenic mice was found in all tissues assayed including spleen, bone marrow (BM), thymus and liver. These mice developed splenomegaly and had a high incidence of MPD with extramedullary hematopoiesis in the liver and lymph nodes. Spleens also had increased dendritic and natural killer cell populations. In vitro analysis of the hematopoietic progenitor cells derived from Tel-FLT3 transgenic mice showed a significant increase in the number of CFU-GM in the BM, and CFU-GM, BFU-E and CFU-GEMM in the spleen. BM also showed significant increases of in vivo CFU-S colonies. Thus, transgenic mice expressing constitutively activated Tel-FLT3 develop MPD with a long latency and also result in the expansion of the hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.
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PMID:Transgenic mice expressing Tel-FLT3, a constitutively activated form of FLT3, develop myeloproliferative disease. 1726 28


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