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S Hinrichs

Publications and source records attributed to S Hinrichs.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Molecular epidemiology of EBNA-1 substrains of Epstein-Barr virus in posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders which have infrequent p53 mutations.

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs), which are highly associated with Epstein-Barr virus infection, have a low frequency of molecular genetic abnormalities. Recently it has been suggested certain EBV substrains may be associated with specific lymphoma subtypes. The goals of our study were two fold: 1) to determine the prevalence of EBNA-1 substrains and prognostic utility in PTLD and 2) to determine the incidence of p53 gene mutations and p53 protein overexpression in 32 EBV-positive PTLD cases. Tumor DNA was sequenced to identify EBNA-1 substrains at codon 487 and p53 gene mutations in exons 5-8. The PTLD samples contained the following EBNA-1 substrains: P-thr in 17/32 (53%), P-ala in 11/32 (34%), and V-leu in 4/32 (13%). More heterogeneity within major subtypes was seen in the PTLD cases than in the referral group. A second group of 25 referral (non-PTLD) samples including infectious mononucleosis (6) and sequential EBV positive virology samples (19) contained P-thr in 17/25 (68%); P-ala in 2/25 (8%); and V-leu in 6/25 (24%). In the 29 B-cell PTLD the time to presentation was an average of 13.3 months in the P-ala group, 16.6 months in the P-thr group, and 40.6 months in the V-leu group: (p>0.05). There was no difference in survival in patients (median overall--60 months) between the three different substrains of EBNA-1 (Log rank test, p=0.39). One of 31 (4.1%) cases (a diffuse large cell B-cell) had a p53 mutation. Seven of 31 (23%) cases (all B-cell), including the p53 mutated case, had over-expression of p53 protein. We conclude EBNA-1 substrains vary in PTLD and suggest the pattern reflects the geographical incidence of substrains in the region. We also conclude p53 mutations are not a significant molecular genetic abnormality in PTLD.

Epstein-Barr Virus Infections↗

Characterization of thyroglobulin-directed and polyreactive catalytic antibodies in autoimmune disease.

Polyreactive and thyroglobulin (Tg)-directed proteolytic activities present in the serum IgG of healthy controls and patients with autoimmune disease were studied by electrophoretic separation of 125I-labeled Tg reaction products and spectrofluorometric measurement of Pro-Phe-Arg-methylcoumarinamide cleavage at the Arg-methylcoumarinamide bond. A decrease of the polyreactive proteolytic activity accompanying an increase of the Tg-cleaving activity in IgG from autoimmune thyroiditis (ATh) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients was evident. The Tg, a known target of autoimmune reactions in ATh, was cleaved at lower levels by Abs from patients with this disease than from SLE patients. The Tg-cleaving and Tg-binding activities of the autoantibody preparations were not correlated. Enhanced rates of cleavage at saturating substrate concentrations (Vmax), not increased Tg-binding affinities, were evident in IgG preparations with the greatest Tg-cleaving activity. Similarly, diminution of the polyreactive proteolytic activity in IgG from the autoimmune disease patients was due to decreased Vmax values, not decreased substrate-binding affinities. No cleavage of Tg by IgG from subjects with HIV-1 infection, or from mice hyperimmunized with an albumin-hapten conjugate was evident, suggesting that generation of Tg-cleaving Abs does not accompany V region affinity maturation in response to unrelated Ags. These observations establish Tg as a target of catalytic autoantibodies in SLE and ATh, suggest a transition from polyreactive proteolytic activity to autoantigen-directed activity in autoimmune disease, and open the possibility that combining site chemical reactivity is a factor driving the expression of catalytic activity by autoantibodies.

Autoantibodies↗

BK papova virus pneumonia following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

BK papova virus infection is frequently seen after bone marrow transplantation as a causative agent of hemorrhagic cystitis. We report an 8-month-old child with osteopetrosis who died of a severe interstitial pneumonia after receiving an unrelated umbilical cord transplant. On autopsy, BK virus was detected in the lung tissue using immunofluorescence assay, cell culture and PCR. No other pathogens were recovered. BK virus infection should be considered as a cause of interstitial pneumonia in children undergoing transplantation.

BK Virus↗

Carcinogenesis by methylbenzylnitrosamine near the squamocolumnar junction and methylamylnitrosamine metabolism in the mouse forestomach.

We repeated and extended a 1973 study by Sander and Schweinsberg on forestomach tumorigenesis in mice by methylbenzylnitrosamine (MBZN). Groups of 80 adult CD-1 mice of both sexes received 96 mg/kg of MBZN subdivided into 24 doses of 4 mg/kg, 12 doses of 8 mg/kg or 6 doses of 16 mg/kg (groups 1-3, respectively). The mice were injected i.p. twice weekly with MBZN in 30% dimethylsulfoxide and 6-8 mice/group were killed every 4 weeks up to 40 weeks. Ten untreated control mice did not develop forestomach tumors. Forestomach papillomas occurred in 35-53% of the treated mice, with the highest incidence and shortest latency (mostly <24 weeks) in group 3. Squamous carcinomas of the forestomach were found in 31% of group 1 and 4-6% of groups 2 and 3. Ninety-two percent of the carcinomas and 94% of the papillomas in the 8-mm wide forestomach occurred < or = 1 mm from the squamocolumnar junction (SCJ) with the glandular stomach. This is interesting in view of the rising incidence of human adenocarcinoma near the gastroesophageal SCJ. Methyl-n-amylnitrosamine (MNAN) yields 2-, 3- and 4-hydroxy-MNAN (HO-MNAN) in a 1:3:2 ratio when incubated with rodent tissues for which MNAN is carcinogenic. This metabolism may be due to cytochrome P450 isoform believed responsible for MNAN and, probably, MBZN activation. When freshly excised mouse forestomach and esophagus were incubated for 2 h with 23 microM MNAN, total HO-MNAN yields were 0.79 +/- 0.05 and 1.81 +/-0.08 nmol/100 mg tissue per h (mean +/- SE), respectively, with about 1:3:2 ratios between 2-,3- and 4-HO-MNAN. This compares with published mean HO-MNAN yields in nmol/100 mg per h of 1.2 for rat esophagus (where MNAN and MBZN are strongly carcinogenic) and <0.1 for rat forestomach. These findings may explain why MNAN and MBZN induce forestomach tumors in mice but not in rats and why MNAN induces esophageal tumors in mice, but does not explain why MBZN given i.p. fails to induce esophageal tumors in mice. Three sections of the mouse forestomach (closest-to to furthest-from the SCG) showed total HO-MNAN yields from MNAN of 0.61+/-0.05, 0.38+/-0.03 and 0.48+/-0.02 nmol/100 mg per h (mean +/-SE), respectively. This may help explain why the MBZN-induced forestomach tumors were non-centrated near the SCJ.

Adenocarcinoma↗

HTLV-I sequence in lymphoproliferative disorders.

Several recent studies reported the detection of partially deleted HTLV-I provirus in biopsies of lesions from patients with mycosis fungoides (MF) and T-cell anaplastic large-cell lymphoma. We studied lesions from 59 patients (21 B-cell lymphomas: 16 diffuse and five follicular; 11 cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, including seven MF; one T-immunoblastic lymphoma; 10 diffuse anaplastic large-cell lymphomas: two B, four T, and four of indeterminate phenotype; three Hodgkin's lymphomas; eight atypical lymphoid proliferations; four other lymphoid lesions, and one squamous-cell carcinoma) using primers to the gag, pol and pX regions of HTLV-I in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect relevant sequences. A total of 10 patients showed one or more PCR-amplifiable products, including five of 11 patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (45%) as compared with one of 21 patients with B-cell lymphomas (4.3%). We did not find a high incidence of positivity in anaplastic large-cell lymphomas, as reported previously. Detectable HTLV-I sequences were not limited to any subtype of lymphoma, and a pX sequence was detected in a squamous-cell carcinoma. Sequence analysis of one amplified product from each of the three regions studied showed a 94.2, 100, and 98.9% homology to the corresponding prototypical gag, pol, and pX HTLV-I sequences, respectively, indicating that the amplified sequences were derived from HTLV-I or a very closely related virus. HTLV-I sequences were detected in a significant proportion of patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, but their role in the pathogenesis of the neoplasm is still unclear.

Base Sequence↗

Multiple HPV infection: microanatomy by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.

Specific human papillomavirus (HPV) types have been shown to be associated with proliferative epithelial lesions with variable biological consequences in infected patients. Simultaneous infection by more than one HPV type has been infrequently reported, and its clinical significance is unknown. We have examined four biopsies of cervical and vulvar tissue, each with evidence of infection by two different HPVs. Using both in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical techniques, we determined the cellular distribution of the viral infections. Using biotinylated type-specific probes and stringent conditions we were able to demonstrate that in each case the two HPVs occupied distinct, non-overlapping foci within the lesions. The condylomatous tissues contained DNA from HPV types that are associated with high-grade neoplasia and invasive cancer (16 and 18), as well as types commonly associated with benign proliferative lesions. Immunohistochemical analysis of the lesions with antibody to bovine papillomavirus capsid antigen failed to detect HPV in regions shown by in situ hybridization to contain HPV 16 and 18 DNA, whereas type 6 and 11 infected areas were readily identified. These results provide indirect evidence of viral interference between HPV types and indicate that interference may limit the number of HPV types that produce active infections within a single cell.

Cervix Uteri↗

DHFR gene amplification in cultured skin fibroblasts of ataxia telangiectasia patients after methotrexate selection.

During selection for methotrexate resistance, SV40-transformed human skin fibroblasts from patients with ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) underwent amplification of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene, experienced nearly complete loss of the integrated SV40 sequences and showed a 3.6-fold increase in Ki-ras gene copy number. Over a period of months methotrexate-resistant (MTXr) A-T subclones were obtained, which were able to grow in progressively increasing MTX concentrations up to 100 microM. The ED50 values determined as the effective dose of MTX causing 50% growth inhibition in comparison to control cells increased from 3 x 10(-2) microM for MTXs AT5BI-VA cells to 250 microM MTX for the MTXr AX100 subclone. In contrast, human skin fibroblasts of healthy individuals did not show DHFR gene amplification and loss of SV40 sequences under comparable conditions and were unable to grow in MTX concentrations greater than 1 microM. Gene amplification and loss of DNA sequences are features underlying the genomic instability known to be a characteristic property of A-T cells and being probably responsible for the high cancer incidence in these patients.

Ataxia Telangiectasia↗

[Effect of oxytocin on renin activity and aldosterone concentration in plasma as well as blood pressure in late pregnancy and early puerperium].

The effects of a low-dose oxytocin infusion on blood pressure during late pregnancy and early puerperium are unclear, and its effects on the renin-aldosterone axis are unknown. The present investigation was performed in 24 pregnant subjects at term and in 14 women within five days after vaginal delivery, 10 and 7 of these subjects serving as controls (5% laevulose being infused without oxytocin). A slight but significant decrease of plasma renin activity was found during oxytocin infusion antepartum as well as postpartum. The decrease of aldosterone concentration in plasma was also significant during late pregnancy, but not during the puerperium. An increase of diastolic blood pressure was only observed antepartum. In summary, however, the changes of blood pressure, renin and aldosterone described in the perinatal period in normotensive subjects were small and without clinical importance.

Adolescent↗

Pulmonary chondroma, extra-adrenal paraganglioma, and gastric leiomyosarcoma: Carney's triad.

The triad of pulmonary chondroma, extra-adrenal paraganglioma, and gastric leiomyosarcoma has been reported in five patients, all young women. The association of tumors apparently constitutes a syndrome. This paper describes the sixth affected patient, also a young woman, draws attention to the frequency of thoracic paraganglioma in the syndrome, and notes that the pulmonary cartilaginous lesion has frequently been misinterpreted as pulmonary hamartoma. Early exploration of the chest is indicated not only to rule out the possibility of metastatic gastric tumor but also to search for paragangliomas.

Calcinosis↗