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W Kempf

Publications and source records attributed to W Kempf.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Differential expression of cytotoxic molecules and killer cell inhibitory receptors in CD8+ and CD56+ cutaneous lymphomas.

Cutaneous lymphomas of the cytotoxic phenotype, including CD8+ and CD56+ lymphomas, have only recently been recognized. To characterize the phenotypic profile of these lymphomas, we investigated the expression of both cytotoxic molecules and killer cell inhibitory receptors by immunohistochemistry techniques. Frozen sections from four CD8+ and from three CD56+ cutaneous lymphomas were stained for the cytotoxicity markers including T-cell restricted intracellular antigen-1, perforin, granzyme B, and for expression of the inhibitory receptors including p58.1, p58.2, p70, p140, CD94, NKG2, and leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor (LIR-1). Apart from LIR-1, the CD8+ lymphomas in our series express p70 and p140 from the inhibitory receptors and only one or two of the cytotoxic proteins. The CD56+ lymphomas, on the other hand, express only LIR-1 of the set of inhibitory receptors and the whole panel of cytotoxic antigens. Various subtypes of cytotoxic cutaneous lymphomas (CD8+ and CD56+) differ in regard to their phenotypic and functional profile, which may explain differences in their biological behavior.

Adult↗

Tumor-infiltrating T cells in primary cutaneous B-cell lympho-proliferative disorders.

BACKGROUND: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are considered to play an important role in the antitumoral immune response. The presence and percentage of CD8-positive tumor-infiltrating T cells have been shown to correlate with differentiation and prognosis in various neoplasms. The aim of this study was to determine the number of CD8-positive T cells in various primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders and to evaluate its correlation with the histological type of tumor. METHODS: Fifty-three lesions were examined by immunohistochemistry with antibodies targeting CD3, CD4, CD8 and TIA-1. Thirty-two lesions had been diagnosed as primary cutaneous B-cell lymphomas (CBCL) and 21 as B-cell pseudolymphomas (B-PSL). CBCLs included 15 follicular lymphomas (FL), 6 marginal zone lymphomas (MZL), and 11 diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (LCL). The number of CD8-positive cytotoxic T cells was determined by computer-assisted morphometrical microscopy. RESULTS: No significant difference could be detected in the density of CD8-positive T cells in B-PSL (101/105 microm(2)), FL (110/105 microm(2)), and MZL (122/105 microm(2)). In contrast, the number of CD8-positive cells (55/105 microm(2)) in LCL was significantly lower (p<0.01) compared to B-PSL, FL and MZL. CONCLUSIONS: In summary the number of CD8-positive T cells in B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders differs in regard to tumor type and differentiation with lowest numbers in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. However, due to an overlap of the number of TILs, this parameter cannot be employed as a diagnostic parameter for individual cases.

CD3 Complex↗

Lymphomatoid papulosis and human herpesviruses--A PCR-based evaluation for the presence of human herpesvirus 6, 7 and 8 related herpesviruses.

BACKGROUND: Lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) is a chronic, recurrent lymphoproliferative disorder of the skin that belongs to the group of primary cutaneous CD30-positive T-cell lymphomas. Ultrastructural and clinical features of LyP suggest that it has a viral etiology. Human herpesviruses have been proposed as causative cofactors for LyP because of their oncogenic potential and their association with other lymphomas. METHODS: LyP skin lesions and a LyP-derived cell line were examined for the presence of the recently discovered oncogenic human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) and the two T-lymphotropic human herpesviruses 6 and 7 (HHV-6 and HHV-7) by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using virus-specific oligonucleotide primers. Furthermore, a recently described method involving degenerate PCR primers was applied to detect highly conserved DNA sequences shared by a variety of herpesviruses, especially oncogenic gamma-herpesviruses, in an attempt to identify a yet undiscovered herpesvirus associated with LyP. RESULTS: HHV-6 and 8 could not be found in 26 archival and 11 snap-frozen LyP lesions and a LyP tumor cell line. HHV-7 DNA sequences were detected in 14% (5 of 37) of LyP samples. HHV-6 was found in 23% (3 of 13) and HHV-7 in 8% (1 of 13) of normal skin samples from healthy individuals, respectively. Using degenerate PCR primers to amplify the highly conserved polymerase region of herpesviruses, no DNA sequences related to human herpesviruses could be detected. CONCLUSIONS: LyP is not associated with HHV-6, HHV-7 and HHV-8. In addition, the studies using degenerate PCR primers do not indicate the presence of a previously undescribed human herpesvirus in LyP.

DNA, Viral↗

Progression of lymphomatoid papulosis to systemic lymphoma is associated with escape from growth inhibition by transforming growth factor-beta and CD30 ligand.

Our objective is to understand the mechanism of progression of lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) to CD30+ systemic lymphoma. LyP lesions appear in recurrent crops that regress, only to reappear at a later date in the same or different locations. About 10% of patients develop systemic lymphoma. Because transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and CD30 ligand inhibit the growth of normal lymphocytes and can be detected in regressing lesions of LyP, we tested the effect of these cytokines on cell lines clonally derived from LyP in the progression to systemic lymphoma. TGF-beta failed to inhibit the growth of lymphoma cells from advanced disease due to mutations of the TGF-beta receptor complex that prevented binding of the ligand to tumor cells. A CD30 ligand agonist antibody caused proliferation of tumor cells from one patient and had no effect on tumor cells of another. In contrast, a Fas agonist antibody caused significant growth inhibition of all cell lines. The results suggest that progression of LyP to lymphoma is associated with escape of lymphoma cells from growth regulation by TGF-beta and CD30 ligand.

Antibodies↗

Skin cancers in organ transplant recipients: two cases of virus-induced neoplasms.

Immunosuppression profoundly influences the prevalence of skin disorders in transplant recipients. Skin tumors occur with high incidence and constitute a major part of transplantation-related morbidity and mortality. We report on 2 immunosuppressed patients presenting with rapidly growing epithelial and mesenchymal neoplasms after renal transplantation. The diagnostic approach, differential diagnosis and treatment options are discussed emphasizing the characteristics of cutaneous lesions in immunosuppressed transplant recipients.

Adult↗

Intralesional therapy with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab in primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: We report the use of a new treatment modality in 2 patients with primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoma. In a 58-year-old woman with progressive nodular lesions on the scalp and face, several treatment attempts either failed or could not be used because of severe adverse effects and underlying epilepsy. The patient declined radiotherapy. A 30-year-old man presented with recurrence of tumor nodules occipitally, thoracically, on the arm, and on the right thigh after several excisions. OBSERVATIONS: Intralesional injection of rituximab, a chimeric antibody directed against the CD20 transmembrane antigen present in malignant and normal B cells, resulted in partial regression of tumor nodules. No adverse effects occurred except pain during or shortly after injection and, in one patient, a slight rise in body temperature. Due to the treatment a prolonged complete disappearance of B cells from peripheral blood samples was observed. CONCLUSION: Intralesional rituximab therapy is a nontoxic and effective treatment for cutaneous B-cell lymphoma that deserves further investigation in larger clinical trials.

Adult↗

Clinicopathological characterization of an HIV-2-infected individual with two clonally unrelated primary lymphomas.

Human immunodeficiency virus 2 (HIV-2) is endemic in West Africa and is a causative agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Only a small number of HIV-2-infected patients have been described in detail. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is the second most common neoplasm occurring in HIV-1-infected patients, but its incidence seems to be lower in HIV-2-infected individuals. We report an HIV-2-infected patient from Cape Verde (West Africa) with separate and distinct systemic and primary central nervous system large B-cell lymphomas and review the findings of cases of HIV-2-associated lymphomas reported in the literature. Different clonal rearrangements of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene could be detected in the two lymphomas of our patient by polymerase chain reaction and sequence analysis. These data indicate the presence of two clonally unrelated large B-cell lymphomas in the same patient, which is an unusual finding. Neither Epstein-Barr virus nor human herpesvirus 8 could be detected in the tumor tissues or the cerebrospinal fluid. HIV-2 infection should be considered in patients with NHL, especially in those from West Africa.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

[Herpes genitalis].

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Antiviral Agents↗

Pityriasis rosea--a virus-induced skin disease? An update.

Pityriasis rosea (PR) is an acute, inflammatory skin disease of unknown cause. Clinical and experimental findings indicate an infectious etiology of PR. Various infectious agents including viruses have been proposed as causative agents and their presence in PR samples has been extensively investigated. Recently, human herpesvirus 7 was linked to PR, but contradictory findings have been reported by various investigators. Here, we describe the features of PR that suggest an infectious cause and review the data from viral studies in PR reported in the literature. In addition, we present a pathogenetic model of PR which may be helpful in planning and evaluating studies for the search of a putative PR-associated virus. Based on the current state of knowledge, none of the known viruses could, so far, be conclusively associated with PR.

Acute Disease↗

Increased expression of human herpesvirus 7 in lymphoid organs of AIDS patients.

BACKGROUND: Human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) interferes reciprocally with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in CD4 T lymphocytes, as infection with HIV results in a down modulation of the CD4 molecule and inhibition of replication of HHV-7, and vice versa. Correlations between HHV-7 and HIV at the organ level have not been studied in detail. OBJECTIVE: To study the presence and cellular distribution of HHV-7 in lymphoid organs, i.e. lymph nodes (LNs) and spleen in AIDS patients and HIV-seronegative individuals. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. The detection of HHV-7 specific antigen pp85, the 85 kDa encoded tegument phosphoprotein by U14 gene, was performed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) with a well characterized monoclonal antibody (mAb 5E1) to pp85. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was applied to detect HHV-7 specific DNA sequences. RESULTS: Cells infected with HHV-7 were detected in five of seven LNs from AIDS patients and in one of five LNs from HIV-seronegative patients. The infected cells were mainly macrophages. In samples from HIV-seropositive patients, a significantly higher number of HHV-7 infected cells could be observed than in specimens from HIV-seronegative patients. Neither the antigen nor DNA sequences of HHV-7 could be detected in spleen tissue from HIV-seronegative and AIDS patients. CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate that HHV-7 undergoes a higher extent of reactivation from latency and/or of replication under immunosuppression due to HIV-infection, similar to the other beta-herpesviruses HHV-6 and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). The data further suggest that LNs, but not the spleen, may be a site of latency and consequently of reactivation of HHV-7 in AIDS patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Allelic deletion at 9p21-22 in primary cutaneous CD30(+) large cell lymphoma.

The genetic alterations responsible for the development of cutaneous lymphoma are largely unknown. Chromosome region 9p21 contains a gene locus encoding an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase 4, and heterozygous deletions of this tumor suppressor gene (p16) have been shown in a variety of malignant tumors. We studied 11 randomly selected cutaneous CD30-positive large cell lymphomas. Several areas containing 20-50 CD30-positive lymphocytes were microdissected in each case and subjected to single-step DNA extraction. Loss of heterozygosity analysis was performed using polymorphic markers at 9p21 (IFNA, D9S171, D9S169) and 17p13 (TP53). Samples from normal cells apart from CD30-positive lymphocytes, e.g., CD30-negative lymphohistiocytic infiltrates and normal epidermal layer, were also obtained in all cases from the same slide for comparison with the tumor samples. Expression of CD30 and T-lineage antigens (CD3, CD45Ro) was confirmed in all cases. Immunohistochemical staining for p16 and p53 was performed using the monoclonal antibodies sc-1661 and DO-7, respectively. Of the 11 informative cases, seven (64%) exhibited loss of heterozygosity at least for one marker at 9p21 (p16), whereas no allelic deletions were found for the polymorphic marker at 17p13 (p53). On immunohistochemistry loss of the p16 protein was detected in two of 11 cases. Nuclear staining for p53 protein was found in four of 11 cases. Here, we provide the first evidence of the involvement of the tumor suppressor gene p16 in primary cutaneous large cell lymphoma. Whether p16 deletion in these lymphomas is associated with disease progression and whether this method could serve as an early marker to detect lymphomas at an early stage needs to be addressed in future studies. J Invest Dermatol 115:1104-1107 2000

Adult↗

Distinct effects of CD30 and Fas signaling in cutaneous anaplastic lymphomas: a possible mechanism for disease progression.

Lymphomatoid papulosis is part of a spectrum of CD30+ cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorders characterized by spontaneous tumor regression. The mechanism(s) of regression is unknown. In a recent study, a selective increase in CD30 ligand expression in regressing lesions of lymphomatoid papulosis and cutaneous CD30+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma was shown, suggesting that activation of the CD30 signaling pathway may be responsible for tumor regression, whereas no difference in Fas/Fas ligand expression was found between regressing and nonregressing lesions. Therefore we tested the effects of CD30 and Fas activation on three CD30+ cutaneous lymphoma cell lines (Mac-1, Mac-2 A, JK) derived from nonregressing tumors of two patients who had progressed from lymphomatoid papulosis to systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma. To evaluate the effects of CD30 signaling, the cell lines were incubated with a CD30 agonistic antibody, HeFi-1. Proliferative responses, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and nuclear factor kappa B activities were determined with and without CD30 activation. Mac-1 and Mac-2 A showed increased proliferative responses to incubation with CD30 activating antibody, HeFi-1. Inhibition of the mitogen-activated protein kinase activity caused growth inhibition of the Mac-1, Mac-2 A, and JK cell lines. Activation of the Fas pathway induced apoptosis in all three cell lines. Taken together, these findings suggest that resistance to CD30-mediated growth inhibition provides a possible mechanism for escape of cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma from tumor regression. Mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitors are potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of advanced cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma. J Invest Dermatol 115:1034-1040, 2000

Cell Division↗

Angiogenesis in cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorders: microvessel density discriminates between cutaneous B-cell lymphomas and B-cell pseudolymphomas.

The role of angiogenesis in neoplastic disorders is supported by the evidence that tumor growth beyond a certain size requires induction of new blood vessels. The extent of tumor-associated angiogenesis, measured as microvessel density (MVD), has shown to correlate with aggressiveness and the prognostic outcome in several malignant neoplasms. Few data have been reported on the angiogenic response in lymphoproliferative diseases. In this study, the MVD has been assessed in benign and malignant primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. MVD was determined in formaldehyde-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens of primary cutaneous B-cell lymphomas (CBCL; n = 18) and cutaneous B-cell pseudolymphomas (B-PSL; n = 22) according to previously described protocols but was performed using computer-aided microscopic morphometry. The endothelial cells of microvessels were identified by immunohistochemical staining for factor VIII-related antigen and CD31. The MVD was 99 dots/mm2 for CBCL and 68 dots/mm2 for PSL, and a MVD of 115 dots/mm2 for CBCL and 73 dots/mm2 for PSL by using an antibody against factor VIII-related antigen and CD31 antigen, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed statistically highly significant differences in MVD between CBCL and B-PSL (P = 0.0036 with staining for factor VIII-related antigen and P = 0.0002 with staining for CD31 antigen). This study analyzes for the first time the angiogenic response in CBCL compared with that of B-PSL and demonstrates that MVD discriminates between CBCL and B-PSL. However, because of an overlap in the ranges of MVD in CBCL and PSL, the MVD is not useful as a diagnostic tool in individual cases.

Blood Vessels↗

Primary cutaneous T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease in a patient with Gardner's syndrome.

A 50-year-old patient, suffering from familial polyposis (Gardner's syndrome), initially presented with several nodules on his left arm. Histological examination revealed primary cutaneous T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma (TCRBCL). Staging procedures failed to detect any systemic involvement. Three years after total excision of the tumours, the patient presented with a non-specific dermatitis, enlarged axillary lymph nodes and splenomegaly. Histological and immunohistochemical examination of lymph node and spleen biopsy specimens resulted in the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease (HD) of the nodular sclerosis type. Sequence analysis of single cells micromanipulated from skin and from lymph node lesions indicated that both lymphoma infiltrates were derived from the same precursor germinal centre B-cell clone. This is a case showing a clonal relationship between TCRBCL and HD, providing support to the B-cell origin of Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells.

Gardner Syndrome↗