Immunological profiles of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia. I. State before the start of treatment.

In view of the increasing interest in the immunotherapy of CML it seems highly desirable to broaden the present knowledge on the immune reactivity of CML patients. A group of 24 patients and 24 healthy controls were studied for the total of 15 immunological parameters, including the prevalence of antibodies against human herpesviruses and papillomaviruses. To clearly discriminate between changes associated with the disease and those induced by the therapy, all patients were enrolled prior to the start of any anti-leukaemic therapy. Statistically significant differences between patients and controls were found in the levels of IgA, C4 component of complement, CRP and IL-6, the production of Th1 cytokines in stimulated CD3 cells and the E. coli stimulatory index. The analysis of the interrelationship between the results obtained in the individual patients presented some unexpected findings, such as the lack of correlation between the CRP and IL-6 levels. It will be the purpose of a follow-up to determine whether and how the immune status of the patients prior to the treatment correlates with their response to therapy and how the individual immunological profiles change in the course of the disease. These observations will be utilized in the future immunotherapeutic studies to constitute the vaccine- and placebo-treated groups.

[Comments on antiphospholipid antibody tests]. / Nekolik poznámek k laboratornímu vysetrováiní antifosfolipidoýsch protilátek.

The Lancet was the first to report the use of anticardiolipin antibody test in a group of patients at risk of recurrent arterial and/or venous thrombosis and recurrent pregnancy losses, 23 years ago. The condition characterized by specific clinical and laboratory signs and initially called the anticardiolipin syndrome came to be known as the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) when cross-reactivity of cardiolipin with other phospholipids was revealed. The study of APS still arouses controversy. Even after two decades of research, there is disagreement on the standardisation and interpretation of antiphospholipid antibody (APLA) test results. More international workshops have been organized on APLA tests than on any other autoantibody test. However, there is still wide interlaboratory variation in APLA detection. Therefore, comprehensive quality control procedures have to be integrated into the routine workload of laboratories performing APLA analysis. Participation in an external quality assessment (EQA) scheme is essential for any laboratory seeking to maintain and provide quality service.