ABSTRACT
For peacekeeping and peace enforcing missions abroad the Netherlands Armed Forces decided to use universal donor frozen blood products in addition to liquid products. This article describes our experiences with the frozen blood inventory, with special attention to quality control. It is shown that all thawed (washed) blood products are in compliance with international regulations and guidelines. By means of the -80 degrees C frozen stock of red cells, plasma and platelets readily available after thaw (and wash), we can now safely reduce shipments and abandon the backup 'walking' blood bank, without compromising the availability of blood products in theatre.
Subject(s)
Blood Preservation , Cryopreservation , Military Medicine , Blood Banks/standards , Blood Banks/supply & distribution , Blood Preservation/standards , Cryopreservation/standards , Humans , Netherlands , Quality ControlABSTRACT
This study compared phenotype and behaviour of seven head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines and normal epithelial cells. Indications were found that in HNSCC cells: 1) loss of the cell-cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin was correlated with loss of epithelioid cell morphology but not with loss of cell-cell cohesion; 2) reduced expression of the cell-cell adhesion molecule desmoglein was unrelated to cell shape or motility; 3) high expression of the cell-substrate adhesion molecule alpha 6 beta 4, a receptor for laminin, corresponded with epithelioid colony formation while, in our adhesion assay, low expression of alpha 6 beta 4 paradoxically coincided with an increased adhesion to laminin; 4) presence of vimentin intermediate filaments coincided with loss of anchorage dependency. We propose that by simultaneous downregulation of E-cadherin, replacement of alpha 6 beta 4 by an aberrant laminin receptor and co-expression of vimentin a malignant phenotype arises of spindle-shaped, motile, anchorage-independent HNSCC cells with enhanced laminin-binding capacity.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/metabolism , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/pathology , Cell Adhesion Molecules/metabolism , Cell Adhesion/physiology , Head and Neck Neoplasms/metabolism , Head and Neck Neoplasms/pathology , Intermediate Filaments/metabolism , Neoplasm Proteins/metabolism , Cadherins/metabolism , Cell Communication , Cell Movement , Cell Size , Cytoskeletal Proteins/metabolism , Desmogleins , Desmoplakins , Extracellular Matrix Proteins/metabolism , Humans , Phenotype , Tumor Cells, Cultured , Vimentin/metabolismABSTRACT
As part of a study on the relationship of tumour phenotype and behaviour, we have characterized two head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines, derived from human laryngeal carcinomas and designated HLaC'79 and HLaC'82. Cytogenetic analysis revealed that HLaC'79 and HLaC'82 shared 10 major chromosome rearrangements indicating that the cell lines had a common origin. In the extremely complex chromosomal patterns, abnormalities were found in chromosomes 1, 3 (surplus 3q) and 5 (i(5p) x 2). Both cell lines displayed constitutive expression of vimentin and were capable of anchorage-independent growth in agarose gels. However, in spite of their common origin specific differences were found. Cells of HLaC'79 were spindle shaped and formed tumours in athymic mice. In contrast, cells of HLaC'82 had a compact morphology, contained less vimentin, were more contact inhibited and were not tumorigenic. These results indicate that malignant transformation in HLaC'82 was partially reversed.
