Prediction of mobilized hematopoietic stem cell yield in patients with multiple myeloma: Usefulness of whole-body MRI-derived indices.

INTRODUCTION: High-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplant is the mainstay of treatment for multiple myeloma (MM). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of MRI-derived indices to predict mobilized hematopoietic stem cell yield. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this exploratory pilot work, we retrospectively analyzed 38 mobilization procedures for MM. Successful mobilization procedure was defined as a total yield of >4.0×106 CD34+ cells/kg. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors with a significant effect on successful mobilization from among clinical characteristics including number of prior lines of therapy, period from diagnosis to harvest, type of monoclonal protein (M protein); and radiological characteristics including total diffusion volume (tDV), median apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of tDV, and mean fat fraction of bone marrow calculated by MRI. RESULTS: Univariate analyses showed that relatively poor mobilization was significantly associated with M protein of Bence-Jones type and with median ADC of tDV (P = 0.02 and P = 0.004, respectively). Multivariate analyses using these two indices showed that median ADC of tDV was a significant predictive factor for adequate mobilization (P = 0.01), with an area under the curve of 0.784 (cutoff value, 1.18×10-3 mm2/s; sensitivity, 72.7%; specificity, 87.5%). CONCLUSION: The present data indicate that median ADC of tDV is a predictive factor for relatively poor mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells in MM patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplant.

Oligonol, a Low-molecular Weight Polyphenol Extracted from Lychee Fruit, Modulates Cholesterol Metabolism in Rats within a Short Period.

There is growing research interest in the hypocholesterolemic effect of various food components such as polyphenols. In this study, we examined the effects of oligonol-a low-molecular weight polyphenol extracted from lychee fruit-on cholesterol metabolism in rats under short-term administration. Administration of oligonol for 3 days significantly increased cecum weight and decreased cecal n-butyric acid concentrations in rats. Oligonol also significantly lowered the levels of hepatic cholesterol and increased the levels of total neutral steroids excreted in the feces. It also increased fecal ß-muricholic acid significantly, whereas the levels of total acidic steroids remained unchanged. Gene expression of hepatic CYP7A1 (cytochrome P450 family 7 subfamily A member 1) significantly increased following the administration of oligonol. This increase could be ascribed to changes in the expression of farnesoid X receptor, small heterodimer partner, and fibroblast growth factor 15 in ileum. Our data suggest that oligonol induces hypocholesterolemic effects through the inhibition of biliary cholesterol absorption from the intestine and the upregulation of cholesterol catabolism in rats even following short-term administration. Therefore, oligonol may be an important food component for reducing cholesterol level.