Ferritin in bone marrow and serum in iron deficiency and iron overload

Nonheme iron and ferritin in the bone marrow and serum ferritin was investigated in patients with iron deficiency anaemia or iron overload. As controls served patients without any disturbance of the iron metabolism. There is a precise correlation between the nonheme iron and ferritin in the bone marrow of patients with and without disturbance of iron metabolism. A correlation was also found between the ferritin in the bone marrow and the serum. Nonheme iron and ferritin in the bone marrow and serum ferritin was decreased in patients with iron deficiency anaemia. Conversely, the same parameters were increased in patients with iron overload.     

Cytokines Inducing Bone Marrow SCA+ Cells Migration into Pancreatic Islet and Conversion into Insulin-Positive Cells In Vivo

We hypothesize that specific bone marrow lineages and cytokine treatment may facilitate bone marrow migration into islets, leading to a conversion into insulin producing cells in vivo. In this study we focused on identifying which bone marrow subpopulations and cytokine treatments play a role in bone marrow supporting islet function in vivo by evaluating whether bone marrow is capable of migrating into islets as well as converting into insulin positive cells. We approached this aim by utilizing several bone marrow lineages and cytokine-treated bone marrow from green fluorescent protein (GFP) positive bone marrow donors. Sorted lineages of Mac-1⁺, Mac-1⁻, Sca⁺, Sca⁻, Sca⁻/Mac-1⁺ and Sca⁺/Mac-1⁻ from GFP positive mice were transplanted to irradiated C57BL6 GFP negative mice. Bone marrow from transgenic human ubiquitin C promoter GFP (uGFP, with strong signal) C57BL6 mice was transplanted into GFP negative C57BL6 recipients. After eight weeks, migration of GFP positive donor'' bone marrow to the recipient''s pancreatic islets was evaluated as the percentage of positive GFP islets/total islets. The results show that the most effective migration comes from the Sca⁺/Mac⁻ lineage and these cells, treated with cytokines for 48 hours, were found to have converted into insulin positive cells in pancreatic islets in vivo. This study suggests that bone marrow lineage positive cells and cytokine treatments are critical factors in determining whether bone marrow is able to migrate and form insulin producing cells in vivo. The mechanisms causing this facilitation as well as bone marrow converting to pancreatic beta cells still need to be investigated.     

Challenges in the Diagnosis of Iron Deficiency in Children Exposed to High Prevalence of Infections

Background

While WHO guidelines recommend iron supplements to only iron-deficient children in high infection pressure areas, these are rarely implemented. One of the reasons for this is the commonly held view that iron supplementation increases the susceptibility to some infectious diseases including malaria. Secondly, currently used markers to diagnose iron deficiency are also modified by infections. With the objective of improving iron deficiency diagnosis and thus, its management, we evaluated the performance of iron markers in children exposed to high infection pressure.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Iron markers were compared to bone marrow findings in 180 anaemic children attending a rural hospital in southern Mozambique. Eighty percent (144/180) of the children had iron deficiency by bone marrow examination, 88% (155/176) had an inflammatory process, 66% (119/180) had moderate anaemia, 25% (45/180) severe anaemia and 9% (16/180) very severe anaemia. Mean cell haemoglobin concentration had a sensitivity of 51% and specificity of 71% for detecting iron deficiency. Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and soluble transferrin receptor/log ferritin (TfR-F) index (adjusted by C reactive protein) showed the highest areas under the ROC curve (AUC^ROC) (0.75 and 0.76, respectively), and were the most sensitive markers in detecting iron deficiency (83% and 75%, respectively), but with moderate specificities (50% and 56%, respectively).

Conclusions/Significance

Iron deficiency by bone marrow examination was extremely frequent in these children exposed to high prevalence of infections. However, even the best markers of bone marrow iron deficiency did not identify around a quarter of iron-deficient children. Tough not directly extrapolated to the community, these findings urge for more reliable, affordable and easy to measure iron indicators to reduce the burden of iron deficiency anaemia in resource-poor settings where it is most prevalent.     

骨髓间充质细胞联合PDMS支架构建移植胰岛微环境的实验研究

目的为了提高移植胰岛的活性和功能,构建适合移植胰岛生存的微环境。 方法采用聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）和氯化钠晶体构建三维支架,联合骨髓间充质细胞（MSCs）、纤维蛋白和胰岛共同构建迷你"人工胰腺"。采用链脲佐菌素（STZ）诱导的糖尿病大鼠移植模型评价效果,将"人工胰腺"移植到糖尿病大鼠大网膜内,对照组行假手术,术后隔天监测移植大鼠血糖水平;数据采用t检验和曼-惠特尼U检验。 结果用PDMS构建的三维巨孔支架,支架内可见大量不规则孔洞空间。胰岛和MSCs可成功装载入支架内,HE染色结果显示,支架孔内存在胰岛,胰岛周围包绕有MSCs。糖尿病大鼠大网膜内移植结果显示,移植后各时间点（1,3,5,7 d）,"人工胰腺"移植组糖尿病大鼠血糖水平分别为（278.70±86.06）mg/ dl、（323.50±44.29）mg/ dl、（283.30±74.00）mg/dl、（304.80±13.33）mg/dl,较假手术对照组（606.00±52.40）mg/dl、（589.70±55.78）mg/dl、（615.00±54.84）mg/dl、（630.30±48.17）mg/ dl均降低,差异具有统计学意义（t = 7.96、9.15、8.82,U = 0.00,P均< 0.01）。 结论MSCs联合PDMS三维支架构建的微环境,可为移植胰岛提供生存的环境,为临床开展胰岛移植提供新的策略。     

Conservation of bone marrow CFUc in different phases of the cell cycle during cryopreservation

The effect of low temperature (-196 degrees C) preservation on the recovery of colon-forming units (CFUs) of bone marrow at different phases of the cell cycle before cryopreservation is dealt with. The intact bone marrow "enriched" with CFUs in S phase of the cell cycle and the bone marrow without colony-forming units in S phase were exposed to cryopreservation. After cryopreservation of the bone marrow enriched with CFUs in S phase and th bone marrow without colony-forming units in S phase the number of CFUs decreases by the same value as in the cryopreserved bone marrow obtained from intact mice.     

Incorporation of Bone Marrow Cells in Pancreatic Pseudoislets Improves Posttransplant Vascularization and Endocrine Function

Failure of revascularization is known to be the major reason for the poor outcome of pancreatic islet transplantation. In this study, we analyzed whether pseudoislets composed of islet cells and bone marrow cells can improve vascularization and function of islet transplants. Pancreatic islets isolated from Syrian golden hamsters were dispersed into single cells for the generation of pseudoislets containing 4×10³ cells. To create bone marrow cell-enriched pseudoislets 2×10³ islet cells were co-cultured with 2×10³ bone marrow cells. Pseudoislets and bone marrow cell-enriched pseudoislets were transplanted syngeneically into skinfold chambers to study graft vascularization by intravital fluorescence microscopy. Native islet transplants served as controls. Bone marrow cell-enriched pseudoislets showed a significantly improved vascularization compared to native islets and pseudoislets. Moreover, bone marrow cell-enriched pseudoislets but not pseudoislets normalized blood glucose levels after transplantation of 1000 islet equivalents under the kidney capsule of streptozotocin-induced diabetic animals, although the bone marrow cell-enriched pseudoislets contained only 50% of islet cells compared to pseudoislets and native islets. Fluorescence microscopy of bone marrow cell-enriched pseudoislets composed of bone marrow cells from GFP-expressing mice showed a distinct fraction of cells expressing both GFP and insulin, indicating a differentiation of bone marrow-derived cells to an insulin-producing cell-type. Thus, enrichment of pseudoislets by bone marrow cells enhances vascularization after transplantation and increases the amount of insulin-producing tissue. Accordingly, bone marrow cell-enriched pseudoislets may represent a novel approach to increase the success rate of islet transplantation.     

微孔法分离大鼠骨髓内皮祖细胞

用一种杂交瘤皿,根据内皮祖细胞集落形成单位(endothelial progenitor cells colony-forming units,EPCs-CFUs)的形态特征和EPCs表面特异性标记物分离EPCs.取大鼠股骨、胫骨骨髓,将全骨髓接种在聚苯乙烯制作的杂交瘤皿上,培养4～7天后出现CFUs,将这些集落分别挑选出来后,取单个集落的部分细胞免疫荧光鉴定EPCs表面特异性标记物CD133/VEGFR-2.CD133/VEGFR-2双阳性即为EPCs-CFUs.与此对应的余下一部分继续传代增殖,流式细胞术鉴定CD133/VEGFR-2/CD34,并把此方法命名为微孔法.发现接种后第4天,显微镜下可见明显的CFUs.免疫荧光鉴定大约7%的CFUs为CD133 /VEGFR-2 ,进一步传代培养,流式细胞术鉴定CD133 /VEGFR-2 /CD34 细胞纯度达70%以上.传代细胞可在体外形成血管样结构,并表达内皮细胞特异性标记物vWF.结果表明通过微孔法能成功地从大鼠骨髓分离到EPCs.     

Synthesis of non-globin proteins in rabbit-erythroid cells. Synthesis of a lipoxygenase in reticulocytes.

Peripheral rabbit reticulocytes synthesize at least 30 non-globin proteins. One of them is identified as a characteristic lipoxygenase on the basis of its molecular weight, its immunological properties and its behaviour on an ion-exchange column. The enzyme is not produced in bone marrow cells. The synthesis of the lipoxygenase in peripheral blood cells commences on the 3rd day of a bleeding anaemia, increases up to the 5th day and stays constant thereafter at least up to the 14th day. It is concluded that the appearence of the lipoxygenase, which plays a key role in the degradation of mitochondria in the course of maturation of reticulocytes to erythrocytes, is regulated at the translational level.     

The Spleen Plays No Role in Nephrotoxic Serum Nephritis,but Constitutes a Place of Compensatory Haematopoiesis

Background

The spleen has been implicated in the pathogenesis of immune-complex glomerulonephritis by initiating and resolving adaptive immune responses. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the role of the spleen in experimental nephrotoxic serum nephritis (NTS).

Methods

In order to accelerate the disease, animals were subjected to NTS by preimmunizing male C57BL/6J mice with rabbit IgG three days before injecting the rabbit anti-glomerular basement antiserum, or were immunized only. A group underwent splenectomy before NTS induction.

Results

We observed enlargement of the spleen with a maximum at 14 days after NTS induction or immunization only. Splenectomized mice were found to develop albuminuria and renal histological changes comparable to sham-operated controls. Nevertheless, anaemia was aggravated in mice after splenectomy. During the course of NTS, we detected CD41⁺ megakaryocytes and Ter119⁺ erythroid precursor cells in the spleen of mice with NTS and of immunized mice. Ter119⁺Cxcr4⁺ cells and the binding partner Cxcl12 increased in the spleen, and decreased in the bone marrow. This was accompanied by a significant systemic increase of interferon-gamma in the serum.

Conclusions

In summary, splenectomy does not influence the course of NTS per se, but is involved in concomitant anaemia. Extramedullary haematopoiesis in the spleen is probably facilitated through the migration of Cxcr4⁺ erythroid precursor cells from the bone marrow to the spleen via a Cxcl12 gradient and likely arises from the suppressive capacity of chronic inflammation on the bone marrow.     

Characteristics of the pathways of erythroid cell differentiation in birds in anemia

A comparative study has been made of erythroid cell development pathways in the peripheral blood of pigeons during severe, moderate and weak forms of anaemia. Three modes of erythrocyte formation from bone marrow precursor are described: 1. A reserve erythropoiesis--the principal process during severe anaemia; the bone marrow precursors are basophylic erythroblasts which are reversibly blocked in phase G2 of the cell cycle; in results the rapid, increase of erythrocyte population above the normal level, although the cells have 25-30 per cent deficiency in haemoglobin content. 2) A mode of erythropoiesis, whose precursors are proliferating polychromatophylic erythroblasts; this is the principal mode of erythropoiesis at the moderate anaemia, leading to restoration of the normal quantity of erythrocytes with a normal haemoglobin content. 3) A mode of erythropoiesis with proliferating orthochromatic erythroblasts being precursors (which do not divide normally); this is the principal mode during the weak anaemia to result in a slow restoration of the number of erythrocytes with an excess in haemoglobin content. It is shown that regulation of the restoration processes during anaemia are characterized by a specific combination of cell proliferation and differentiation.     

Effect of recombinant human alpha interferon (INF) and antilymphocyte globulin (ALG) on normal and aplastic anaemia haematopoietic progenitor cell growth.

The effect of recombinant alpha interferon (INF) and of antilymphocyte globulin (ALG) to the colony stimulating factor (CSF) production was examined with in vitro culture of the bone marrow of healthy and of aplastic anaemia (AA) persons. In healthy persons the supernatant of lymphocytes preincubated with PHA and ALG was found to show a stimulating effect to clonogenic properties of marrow progenitors, the mentioned effect being not in proportion to the concentration value. Similar properties are shown by interferon in these persons. In patients with aplastic anaemia, a considerable stimulating ALG effect to the granulocytic formation of colonies and a lesser stimulating effect of interferon were shown.     

Utilization of Iron Dextran

The utilization of iron dextran was investigated in normal subjects, in patients with iron-deficiency anaemia, and in anaemias associated with rheumatoid arthritis, reticulosis, and uraemia. Utilization of iron for haemoglobin formation at 14 days was found to be depressed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, reticulosis, and uraemia, but when a concomitant iron-deficiency anaemia was present utilization was significantly increased. When iron dextran is used to treat anaemias in such conditions an optimum therapeutic response will be obtained only when bone marrow iron stores are absent.     

Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia in patients with diseases of the hematopoietic and lymphatic systems

Microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia was diagnosed in the course of haematopoietic and lymphatic disorders such as chronic granulocytic leukemia, chronic myelofibrosis, chronic lymphatic leukemia, Osler's disease, chronic monocytic leukemia, and lymphoplasmocytic lymphoma, in 11 patients (6 women and 5 men) aged between 33 and 81 years (mean age 58.8 years) treated at the Haematological Out-Patient Clinic of the Postgraduate Medical Education Centre within 1977-1987. The following laboratory tests were carried out: 1) morphology of the peripheral blood and bone marrow, especially some haematological parameters concerning erythrocytes and blood platelets; 2) biochemical tests reflecting erythrocytes disintegration; 3) haemostasis. All examined patients suffered from haemolytic anaemia of various degree with characteristic changes in erythrocyte shape (helmets, tear-drops etc.). Haemolytic origin of anaemia was confirmed by the increased LDH activity. In the majority of patients no compensative stimulation of haematopoiesis (reticulocytosis, red blood cells hyperproliferation in bone marrow) was seen. Clinical symptoms of haemostatic disorders such as haemorrhagic diathesis and vein thrombosis were diagnosed in 50% of the patients. Blood platelet counts ranged from markedly decreased to significantly increased. Bone marrow smears did not show increased number of megacariocytes. Bleeding time was prolonged in the majority of examined patients while prothrombin index--decreased). Abnormal fibrinogen levels (decreased or increased) were found in the majority of patients with fibrin degradation products. Microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia in these patients differ from the typical Moschowitz's disease clinically probably due to the lack of compensative stimulation of erythropoiesis and lower thrombocytopenia.     

Pluripotent haemopoietic progenitor cells (CFU-Sd8) in peripheral blood of hereditarily anaemic Belgrade (b/b) rats

The unique anaemic syndrome of the Belgrade laboratory (b/b) rat is due to an intracellular iron deficiency which is induced by a not yet defined mutation, resulting in impairment of haemopoiesis. We investigated the CFU-Sd8 number and concentration in the peripheral blood of b/b rats to study the relationship between medullary and extramedullary haemopoiesis in this anaemic syndrome. The results show normal concentration of CFU-Sd8 in the peripheral blood of b/b rats. This finding was unexpected in the state of severe anaemia and disturbed growth factor production in b/b rats, where the mobilization of CFU-Sd8 from bone marrow to blood is expected. The results suggest that severe anaemia is not regularly accompanied by the mobilization of pluripotent progenitors from bone marrow to the blood.     

The osteogenic role of the dura mater in adult rabbits during regeneration of the skull]

It was shown in experiments with adult rabbits that the regeneration of skull vault bones after artificial trauma proceeds, mainly, at the expense of osteogenic activity of dura mater, rather than by means of outgrowth of bone from the defect margins. During regeneration, dura mater connects with the granulation tissue which fills the area of defect. The first bone islets are formed by the surface layer of dura mater near the defect margins and then all over the defect area. During regeneration bone islets merge with each other and with the old bone at the defect margins. In experiments with separation of the defect margins from dura mater by millipore filter, regeneration is insignificant over the filter near the old bone margins (bone trabeculae form which close destructed bone marrow cavities); the bone forms intensively under the filter on dura mater. In experiments with the removal of a piece of skull bone together with the adjacent region of dura mater, no bone regeneration occurs, the defect area is filled by the scar tissue.     

Sites of aluminum accumulation in bone marrow: study using electron microscopy, ionic microscopy and X-ray microanalysis

Two methods of analytical microscopy have been used to study the distribution of aluminum in bone marrow of rats intoxicated by aluminum gluconate. Images of the distribution of aluminum in a field of 250 microns in diameter were obtained by analytical ion microscopy. They show that this element was concentrated in spots, associated with iron or alone, in the cytoplasm of some cells. Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) has shown that aluminum concentration occurred in cells of the reticulo-endothelial system, principally in the reticular cells of erythroblastic islets. In cells of the reticuloendothelial system, aluminum was observed in intracytoplasmic organelles having ultrastructural characteristics of lysosomes or phagolysosomes. In these organelles, aluminum is always associated with phosphorus and sometimes with iron. No cytoplasmic or nuclear aluminum accumulation was detected in any other variety of bone marrow cells. The consequences of the selective accumulation of aluminum in the cytoplasm of reticular cells of erythroblastic islets for the maturation of erythrocytes are discussed.     

Lipid composition of human bone marrow

1. A modified method for the analysis of phospholipid mixtures by selective hydrolysis is described. 2. The phospholipid compositions of normal human bone marrow and of the bone marrows of patients who died with anaemia or various forms of leukaemia were investigated. 3. Phospholipids from normal bone marrow comprised about 44% of lecithin, 4% of choline plasmalogen, 7% of glyceryl ether phospholipid (choline base), 10% of sphingomyelin, 22% of phosphatidylethanolamine plus phosphatidylserine, 8% of ethanolamine plasmalogen and 5% of glyceryl ether phospholipid (ethanolamine base). 4. The proportion of kephalin (i.e. phosphatidylethanolamine plus phosphatidylserine) in the pathological bone marrows tended to be lower than normal. No other consistent differences were observed between the normal and pathological samples. 4. A ceramide dihexoside was isolated from normal bone marrow.     

Prognostic significance of some clinical, morphological and cytogenetic findings in refractory anaemia (RA) and RA with sideroblasts

In 27 patients initially diagnosed as refractory anaemia (RA) or RA with sideroblasts (RA-S) according to the FAB-classification a number of clinical, morphological and cytogenetic parameters were correlated for prognostic significance. From these correlations it emerged that severe cytopenia is centrally positioned with regard to clinical course in RA and RA-S. Positive correlations were found to initial diagnosis, clonal cytogenetic abnormalities, progression to RA with an excess of blasts (RAEB) or acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), the percentage of bone marrow blast cells and prolonged half life for radioactively labeled iron. The degree of peripheral blood granulocytopenia, alone, was correlated to bone marrow hypoplasia. Moreover, the frequency of abnormal karyotypes was inversely correlated to bone marrow cellularity and proportional to the frequency of bone marrow blast cells. From these relationships it may be proposed that chromosome abnormalities are associated with prolonged blast cell generation times and inhibition of blast cell maturation resulting in reduced marrow cellularity and blast cell accumulation, and, in the peripheral blood, falling percentages of neutrophil granulocytes. With the blast cell accumulation the bone marrow cellularity again becomes hyperplastic and the preleukaemic condition is transformed into RAEB or AML.     

Development of hematopietic and lymphoid tissues in conjoint bone marrow and thymus transplants]

The model of heterotopic transplantation of the mixture of bone marrow and thymus fragments was used to study the interaction of hemopoietic and lymphoid tissues under their direct contact. The bone marrow and thymus fragments of adult mice F1 (CBAXXC57BL) were transplanted separately or in the mixture under the kidney capsule of mice of the same strain. During the whole period of observation (from 10 days up to 14 months), the development of bone marrow and thymus fragments in the joint transplants proceeded independently, no "mixed" stroma appeared, and the stroma of each organ ensured the differentiation characteristic of its organ. The development of joint transplants somewhat differs from that of isolated transplants: on the 10th day a greater amount of hemopoietic tissues was noted in the former; the bone marrow component increases continuously up to 6 months (vs. 1--2 months in the isolated transplants); the bone and hemopoietic tissues predominate in the joint transplants by 14 months, the amount of thymic tissue markedly decreases but it does not disappear completely.