Biomedical subjects

A J Okos

Publications and source records attributed to A J Okos.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1981

Immunoblastic lymphoma: an immunologic study.

An immunologic study of a 59-year-old man with immunoblastic lymphoma is presented. Shortly after his hospital admission, an uncompensated hemolytic process developed, caused by cold agglutinins. These antibodies had anti-i specificity, were of low titer at cold temperature, but demonstrated a high thermal amplitude. An apparent paraprotein was found by further immunochemical analysis to be polyclonal. The majority of cells in the peripheral blood (over 2000/cu nm), lymph node, and bone marrow that contained cytoplasmic IgG or IgM were plasma cells, although a small number of cells resembled lymphoblasts. Their staining with anti-lambda and anti-kappa chain reagents confirmed the polyclonality of the immunoglobins. Some plasma cells displayed the concomitant presence of both IgM and IgG immunoglobulins. Free immunoglobin was also demonstrated intercellularly in the lymph node section. The patient's acute hemolysis was controlled by plasmapheresis and eventually by combination chemotherapy. After chemotherapy, the clinical improvement was rapid, immunoglobulin levels returned to normal, and the patient remains asymptomatic 40 months after completing six courses of combination chemotherapy. This report provides evidence for polyclonal proliferation of B-lymphocytes in immunoblastic lymphoma.

Agglutinins↗

PubMed1980

Presence of J chain in human lymphoid cells.

The presence of J chain in normal lymphoid cells (examined at various stages of differentiation) and in lymphocytes and plasma cells from patients with malignant haematologie disorders was determined by the immunofluorescence technique. J chain was not detectable in the cytoplasm or on the surface of either pre-B or B cells, but was present in a few peripheral blood lymphocytes that contained intracellular immunoglobulins of various classes. After pokeweed mitogen stimulation, intracellular synthesis of J chain and immunoglobulins appeared simultaneoulsy and was most pronounced during early days of culture. These data indicate that J chain is not expressed during the earliest stages (pre-B and B cells) of differentiation of lymphoid cells and that the synthesis of J chain is closely linked to the production of immunoglobulin chains, irrespective of the class. Examination of lymphoid cells from bone marrow and peripheral blood of patients with various lymphoproliferative diseases (secretory and non-secretory multiple myeloma or Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia, H- or L-chain diseases, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, plasma cell leukaemia, and angioimmunoblastic lymphoma) revealed that J chain was present in various proportions of the cells that contained monomeric (IgG, IgD or IgA) or polymeric (IgA or IgM) immunoglobulins, as well as in cells from patients with H- or L-chain diseases. No correlation was apparent between the presence of J chain in lymphoid cells and their ability to secrete their product. Preliminary data indicate that J chain may participate in the intracellular assembly of immunoglobulins from their component chains.

B-Lymphocytes↗

PubMed1978

B lymphocyte precursors in human bone marrow: an analysis of normal individuals and patients with antibody-deficiency states.

Lymphoid cells containing cytoplasmic IgM but lacking stable surface IgM are believed to be the direct precursors of B lymphocytes. We have characterized these pre-B cells in the bone marrow of normal individuals and patients with a variety of immunoglobulin deficiencies or hematologic disorders by using immunofluorescence and autoradiography. Pre-B cells comprised 5.8 +/- 5.7% of lymphoid cells in normal bone marrow. Eleven patients with infantile X-linked agammaglobulinemia (X-LA) lacked B lymphocytes but had a normal frequency (3.8 +/- 3.6%) of bone marrow pre-B cells. A smaller proportion of marrow pre-B cells from patients with X-LA were engaged in spontaneous DNA synthesis than was found for normal controls. In individuals other than the group with X-LA, the number of circulating B cells was positively correlated with the frequency of marrow pre-B cells. These results indicate that patients with X-LA have a defect in maturation of pre-B cells, and suggest that some patients with acquired B lymphocyte deficiency may have lost the capacity to generate pre-B cells from stem cells.

B-Lymphocytes↗