TO THE EDITOR: In their interesting report, Zignego and colleagues (1) observed that the translocation t(14;18) involving the bcl-2 oncogene is much more common in patients with hepatitis C virus infection and mixed cryoglobulinemia, particularly those with type II disease. They measured Bcl-2 protein expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of two patients carrying the tran...

The effects of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) on the immune response have been extensively investigated; however, its effects on mammary gland immunity are only speculative. Although BLV has a tropism for B cells, it can affect both adaptive and innate immunities because these systems share many effector mechanisms. This scenario is the basis of this investigation of the effects of BLV on mammary ...

Previous experience of chronic pain causes enhanced responses to upcoming noxious events in both humans and animals, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, we found that rats with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced chronic inflammatory pain experience exhibited aggravated pain responses to later formalin test. Enhanced neuronal activation upon formalin assault...

In this study, we show that bovine leukemia virus (BLV)-induced persistent lymphocytosis (PL) results from the in vivo expansion of the CD11b+ B-lymphocyte population. This subset shares phenotypic characteristics with murine and human B-1 cells. BLV interactions with the sheep B-1-like subset were explored. We found that B-1- and B-2-like cells are initially infected to similar extents. Howeve...

Correspondence: Lourdes Florensa, MD, Laboratori de Citologia Hematològica, Laboratori de Referència de Catalunya, Hospital de l’Esperança, Av. Sant Josep de la Muntanya 12, 08024 Barcelona, Spain. Phone: international +34-93-285.02.00 ext 2189-2243 – Fax: international +34-93-210.84.06 – E-mail: [email protected] A44-year-old female was referred for investigation of a 10-year persistent lymph...

In this study we describe the clinical, morphologic, immunologic, and genetic features of a chronic peripheral blood lymphocytosis associated with posttraumatic splenectomy in patients with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection. Among a series of 2,365 consecutive HIV-1 seropositive cases investigated, eight patients were selected for the presence of more than 4,000 lymphocytes/mm3. ...