Multiple Myeloma Involving Skin and Pulmonary Parenchyma after Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation

Pulmonary involvement and skin involvement are rare complications of plasma cell neoplasms. Here we describe what may be the first reported case of a patient with relapse in both of these sites following autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.     

Lipid phase transitions in fatty acid-homogeneous membranes of Acholeplasma laidlawii B

The thermotropic behaviour of fatty acid-homogeneous membranes of Acholeplasma laidlawii B was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The organism was grown at 37°C in the presence of avidin, an inhibitor of fatty acid synthesis, in a medium supplemented with pentadecanoic acid-d₂₉; the enrichment of the membranes with this fatty acid was 95%. The temperature-dependent phase behaviour of the membranes was studied via the C–D stretching vibrational modes of the membrane lipids and was compared with that of the lipid extract. The high level of fatty acid homogeneity results in a sharp (for natural membranes) gel to liquid crystalline phase transition. The transition, in both the membranes and extracted lipids, is centered at about 6°C above the growth temperature. During the transition two principal liquid states are evident, one being more conformationally ordered than the other. The effect of proteins on the principal lipid phase transition is minimal. However, in the intact membranes there is evident a weaker, lower temperature transition, which is not evident in the extracted lipids.     

A guaianolide from Guevaria sodiroi

A new guaianolide has been isolated from Guevaria sodiroi. It has been assigned the trivial name guevariolide and its structure elucidated.     

Azide-stimulated oxygen consumption by the green alga Selenastrum minutum

Dark O₂ consumption by the green alga Selenastrum minutum was sensitive to inhibition by the cytochrome pathway respiration inhibitor cyanide in the absence of an alternative oxidase inhibitor, consistent with previous work that suggested that this alga lacks alternative oxidase capacity. In contrast, addition of low concentrations of the cytochrome pathway inhibitor azide (50–750 μ M ) resulted in a stimulation of dark O₂ consumption, while higher concentrations of azide (1–2 m M ) partially inhibited O₂ consumption. Measurements of changes in cellular levels of pyruvate, malate and pyridine nucleotides upon cyanide addition were consistent with the absence of alternative oxidase capacity, and suggested that cyanide inhibition of O₂ consumption was not due to nonspecific effects of cyanide. Addition of salicylhydroxamic acid (SHAM) also resulted in an increase in the rate of O₂ consumption. Both azide- and SHAM-stimulated O₂ consumption were sensitive to inhibition by 50 m M ascorbate or by cyanide. However, the ubiquinone analogs chloroquine and quinacrine specifically inhibited azide-stimulated O₂ consumption, with only minor effects on SHAM-stimulated O₂ consumption. These results suggest that azide-stimulated O₂ consumption was not mediated by the previously characterized SHAM-stimulated oxidase, and are consistent with the possibility that azide-stimulated O₂ consumption is mediated by a plasma membrane redox system.     

BIOGEOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF THE ARMORED PLANKTONIC DINOFLAGELLATE CERATIUM IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC AND ADJACENT SEAS1

The distribution of the dinoflagellate genus Ceratium Schrank (Dinophyceae) in the North Atlantic and adjacent seas was studied by a combination of new observations on a large number of plankton samples collected from the northeastern Atlantic and North Sea, data from cruises off the east coast of North America and Caribbean Sea, and reports in the literature of the past 90 years. Seventy species were recorded, and their distribution was examined by several methods. Distribution maps were plotted for all species, and from these the ranges of temperature tolerance were derived. The 240 sets of data, which took the form of lists of species present in 5° latitude / longitude blocks obtained from the new work and the published material, were analyzed by clustering and ordination multivariate techniques using the programs Twinspan and Decorana. Analysis of the individual species showed that surface water temperature is the most important factor determining distribution and the number of species in a particular area. Warm water and /or low latitudes have many more species than cold waters and/or high latitudes. For example, at 5°N there are on average 23 species per block, whereas at 60° N there are only 8 species. On the basis of this work, the Ceratium species are divided into Group 1, Arctic-temperate species normally only found in water of less than 15°C; Group 2, cosmopolitan species, which are found virtually everywhere and are the species most likely to form blooms or “brown water”; Group 3, intermediate species, which extend into neither the coldest nor the warmest water; Group 4, temperate-tropical species, which have a lower temperature boundary of 5°–12° C; Group 5, warm-temperate-tropical species with a lower temperature boundary of 14°–15°C; and Group 6, tropical species, which are rarely found in water of less than 20° C. Analysis of the sample sites also confirmed the predominant influence of temperature, and the Atlantic Ocean was divided into four biogeographical zones of which the boundaries follow isotherms of surface water temperature. Zone 1 consists of the Arctic and subarctic area, with the southern boundary closely following the 10° mean annual temperature (MAT) line. Zone 2 is an intermediate or cold-temperate zone, of which the southern boundary follows the winter 10° C MAT isotherm or the similarly placed summer 15° isotherm. Zone 3 is the warm-temperate or subtropical zone, which is very broad. The southern boundary closely follows the 25°C summer isotherm. Zone 4 is the tropical zone, where water temperature is never likely to be much less than 23°C. These findings are discussed in relation to experimental work and environmental observations. We suggest that the genus Ceratium provides an excellent tool for defining ocean currents and temperature changes and may become of value in studies of global change.     

Differences in the metastatic potential of two sublines of tumor 3LL selected for resistance to natural NK-like effector cells

Summary Normal syngeneic spleen cells were found to inhibit the local growth of the Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL) when injected together with the tumor cells at a ratio of 100:1 (spleen to tumor cells). The repeated injection of the tumor cells together with spleen cells enventually led to the selection of a tumor cell population whose growth could no longer be inhibited by normal spleen cells. In a previous report from this laboratory, a tumor subpopulation obtained in this manner was shown to display an increased metastatic potential, as well as a decreased sensitivity to natural resistance mechanisms in vivo and NK lysis in vitro. In the present study, we attempted to characterize the spleen cell population which mediated this selection process. We found that spleen cells depleted of T cells, B cells, or adherent macrophages retained their ability to inhibit tumor growth and select a resistant line in vivo. Subsequently, two tumor sublines derived by continuous in vivo passage of the parental tumor line with either unfractionated or nylon woll-non-adherent spleen cells were characterized. It was found that whereas both sublines were resistant to growth inhibition by normal spleen cells, only the subline derived from continuous passage with unfractionated spleen cells showed a reduction in the density of H-2^b molecules expressed on the cell surface and an enhanced metastatic potency. These results suggest that the resistance of a tumor line to natural killer cells may not always result in an increase in its metastatic potential. Abbreviations used in this paper: DBSS, Dulbecco's balanced salt solution; EM, Dulbecco's modification of Eagle's medium; FACS, Fluorescent activated cell sorter; FITC, fluorecein isothiocyanate; FUDR, 5-fluorodeoxyuridine; i.f.p., intrafootpad; Ig, immunoglobulins; IP, intraperitoneal; ¹²⁵IUDR, [¹²⁵I].iodo-2-deoxyuridine; NK, natural killer; N. Tx, neonatally thymectomized; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; SC, subcutaneously