Consistent, multi-instrument single tube quantification of CD20 in antibody bound per cell based on CD4 reference.

Detecting changes in the expression levels of cell antigens could provide critical information for the diagnosis of many diseases, for example, leukemia, lymphoma, and immunodeficiency diseases, detecting minimal residual disease, monitoring immunotherapies and discovery of meaningful clinical disease markers. One of the most significant challenges in flow cytometry is how to best ensure measurement quality and generate consistent and reproducible inter-laboratory and intra-laboratory results across multiple cytometer platforms and locations longitudinally over time. In a previous study, we developed a procedure for instrument standardization across four different flow cytometer platforms from the same manufacturer. CD19 quantification was performed on three of the standardized instruments relative to CD4 expression on T lymphocytes with a known amount of antibody bound per cell (ABC) as a quantification standard. Consistent and reliable measures of CD19 expression were obtained independent of fluorochrome used demonstrating the utility of this approach. In the present investigation, quantification of CD20 relative to CD4 reference marker was implemented within a single tube containing both antibodies. Relative quantification of CD20 was performed using anti-CD20 antibody (clone L27) in three different fluorochromes relative to anti-CD4 antibody (clone SK3). Our results demonstrated that cell surface marker quantification can be performed robustly using the single tube assay format with novel gating strategies. The ABC values obtained for CD20 expression levels using PE, APC, or PerCP Cy5.5 are consistent over the five different instrument platforms for any given apparently healthy donor independent of the fluorochrome used.

Linfoma MALT de vesícula biliar / MALT lymphoma of the gallbladder

No disponible

Extranodal follicular lymphoma in the lung of a free-ranging red deer (Cervus elaphus).

A hunted free-ranging female red deer (Cervus elaphus) from a region near the Nahuel Huapi National Park, Northern Patagonia, Argentina, had a focally extensive peribronchial lymphoid proliferative lesion in the lung characterized by formation of multiple follicles, with prominent germinal centers lacking mantle zone cells and antigen-related polarity. On examination of immunohistochemically stained tissues, a predominance of B cells (cluster of differentiation [CD]20 positive) with only a few scattered T cells (CD3 positive) were present. The histologic and immunohistochemical characteristics are consistent with follicular lymphoma, which is frequently seen in human beings and less frequently in domestic animals.

Isolation and characterization of the B-cell marker CD20.

The integral membrane protein CD20 has been identified as an important therapeutic target in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). CD20 binding of many antibodies including the therapeutic antibody, rituximab, has been shown to be critically dependent upon the conformation of a loop structure between the third and fourth helical transmembrane regions. In this work, human and murine CD20 proteins expressed in Escherichia coli are shown to be localized with the cell membrane and are purified in nondenaturing detergent solutions. The purified human and murine CD20 proteins have a substantial helical structure as measured by circular dichroism spectroscopy. Only small changes in the secondary structure are observed following the reduction of CD20, with the addition of SDS, or after heating. The rituximab antibody is shown to bind to purified human CD20 with nanomolar affinity. Rituximab binding is abolished by reduction and alkylation of CD20, with data consistent with the proposed antibody epitope being within the disulfide-bonded loop formed between cysteine residues 167 and 183. Disulfide-bond-dependent antibody binding is partially recovered following reoxidation of reduced CD20. Antibody binding is unaffected by mutations of cysteines proposed to be in the intracellular domain of CD20. The affinities of intact rituximab and its Fab fragment to the isolated and purified CD20 are similar to the observed affinity of rituximab Fab for CD20 on the surface of B cells. However, the intact rituximab antibody shows much higher affinity for CD20 on B cells. This suggests that B cells display CD20 in such a way that allows for marked avidity effects to be observed, perhaps through cross-linking of CD20 monomers into lipid rafts, which limits receptor diffusion in the membrane. Such cross-linking may play a role in partitioning CD20 into lipid rafts and in enhancing antibody-dependent B-cell depletion activities of rituximab and other therapeutic anti-CD20 antibodies.

Promotion of activated human B cell apoptosis and inhibition of Ig production by soluble CD95 ligand: CD95-based downregulation of Ig production need not culminate in activated B cell death.

CD95/CD95L interactions are vital to normal lymphoid homeostasis and in the protection against autoimmunity. To directly assess the effects of CD95L on activated B cell survival and Ig responses, purified human peripheral blood B cells, activated in vitro with SAC + rIL2, were incubated with a soluble CD95L fusion protein (fp) and assayed for apoptosis and IgG/IgM production. CD95L fp reproducibly increased apoptosis of these activated B cells and inhibited their Ig production. However, CD95L fp-mediated effects on activated B cell survival could be uncoupled from those on Ig production in that a soluble CD40L fp was incapable of reversing CD95L fp-mediated downregulation of Ig responses despite inhibiting CD95L fp-mediated apoptosis. Moreover, despite the specific caspase-8 inhibitor z-IETD-fmk substantially protecting transformed CL-01 B cells from CD95L fp-mediated apoptosis and permitting their ongoing proliferation, caspase-8 inhibition had no protective effects on CD95L fp-mediated inhibition of constitutive IgM production by CL-01 B cells. Collectively, these results point to a CD95-based downregulatory pathway in activated B cells that need not necessarily culminate in their death.