Clinical studies have convincingly demonstrated that WBC reduction of blood components can reduce the incidence of primary HLA antigen alloimmunization at least in patients with acute myeloid leukemia.1 However, despite receiving WBC‐reduced platelets, approximately 19 percent of acute myeloid leukemia patients still became alloimmunized.1 In addition, it is not known whether WBC reduction will pr

Intravenous anti-D is often used in the treatment of autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura (AITP), but little is known about its mechanisms of action. To investigate anti-D's potential in vivo mechanism(s) of action, a small group (N = 7) of children with chronic AITP was studied. The children initially received either 25 or 50 μg/kg of WinRho-SD in a four-cycle cross-over trial, and peripheral bloo

Although the mechanism of action of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in treating antibody-dependent thrombocytopenia remains unclear, most studies have suggested that IVIg blocks the function of Fc receptors in the reticuloendothelial system (RES) and/or the protective effect may be due to the presence of variable region-reactive (anti-idiotype) antibodies within IVIg. We evaluated the effect of

Two flow cytometric parameters are generally used to quantify platelet activation as measured by P-selectin (CD62) expression: percentage and mean channel fluorescence of CD62-positive platelets (%+ and MCF+, respectively). We describe a method for calculation of indices of platelet activation for positive (IPA+) and total (IPA(Σ)) platelets, which reflect integrated amounts of CD62 expressed in t

Background and Objectives: Our objective was to study the effect of storage time on the filtration of platelet concentrates (PCs). We compared the total number of white blood cells (WBC), as well as the distribution of WBC subsets, in units filtered before and after storage. Materials and Methods: Buffy coat-derived PCs were filtered either fresh or after 5 days of storage, and total WBC were enum

Recipient IgG immunity against leukoreduced donor platelets is dependent on indirect T-cell allorecognition and is suppressed in vivo by inhibitors (aminoguanidine, AMG) of inducible nitric oxide synthase (INOS). To examine recipient processing pathways of donor platelet antigens, enriched macrophages (antigenpresenting cells [APC]) from BALB/c (H-2(d)) mice were pulsed with allogeneic C57BL/6 (H-

Platelet activation status (PAS) is used for characterizing quality and function of platelets in various experimental and clinical settings. In this study, we created a set of platelet populations differing in PAS, using stimulation of platelets with thrombin in a wide range of concentrations, and analyzed a number of flow cytometric parameters, which characterize PAS by measuring P-selectin (CD62

In a murine model of platelet alloimmunization, we examined the definitive role that mononuclear cells (MC) have in modulating platelet immunity by using platelets from severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. CB.17 (H-2(d)) SCID or BALB/c (H-2(d)) mouse platelets were transfused weekly into fully allogeneic CBA (H-2(k)) mice and antidonor antibodies measured by flow cytometry. MC levels in BA

Accurate assessment of in viva or in vitro platelet activation requires optimal preanalytical conditions to prevent artefactual in vitro activation of the platelets. The choice of anticoagulant is one of the critical preanalytical conditions as anticoagulants exert different effects on the activation of platelets ex vivo. We tested the effectiveness of Diatube-H (also known as CTAD; sodium citrate

BACKGROUND: Experimental manipulation of transfusion-induced alloimmunization is limited in humans by ethical considerations. Conversely, studies of alloimmunization in animal models may not reflect the human immune system closely enough to be of optimal benefit. The development of an in vivo model of human alloimmunization that is amenable to experimental manipulation is thus desirable. STUDY DES

The pathophysiology of platelet dysfunction in the Wiskott-Aldrich immune deficiency syndrome (WAS) remains unclear. Using flow cytometry, we have characterized the functional properties of platelets from 10 children with WAS. Patients with WAS had thrombocytopenia, small platelets, increased platelet-associated IgG and reduced platelet-dense granule content. Levels of reticulated 'young' platelet

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of cyclic oral high-dose (HD) dexamethasone therapy in pediatric patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), which has been reported to cause complete remission in adults with chronic ITP. Study design: Eleven children with primary chronic ITP, with a median disease duration of 28 months (range, 6 to 120 months), were treated with cycles of

Patients with both acute and chronic autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura (AITP) have in vitro lymphocyte defects in the form of platelet-stimulated proliferation and cytokine secretion. A blinded study was performed to determine if these defects are related to serum cytokine levels and/or platelet antigen expression. Compared with controls, 53% of children with chronic AITP, but only 9% of those w

Leukoreduced allogeneic platelet transfusions have been previously shown to initially stimulate an in vitro cellular cytotoxicity and subsequently induce the formation of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antidonor alloantibodies. To further characterize these responses and determine if they are related, recipient BALB/c H-2(d) mice were treated with aminoguanidine (AMG), a selective inhibitor of inducible n

Biochemical analyses were performed on blood samples obtained from two children (P1, P2) who presented with acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) following a recent varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection. Patient sera had antibodies that were reactive with normal blood-group O platelets as measured by flow-cytometric assay. Western blot analysis of electrophoretically separated normal blood-

Preeclampsia, a common complication of pregnancy, contributes significantly to maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. It may lead to both quantitative and qualitative defects of maternal and neonatal platelets. In this prospective study, flow cytometry has been used to study expression of platelet-surface glycoproteins (GPs) on maternal and neonatal platelets of both healthy and preeclamptic

With platelet activation, there is modulation of platelet surface molecule expression. In flow cytometric analyses of in vivo platelet activation, results are often confounded by activation induced in vitro by the preparative procedures. It is particularly important therefore to prevent or retard platelet activation as soon as possible after withdrawal of the blood sample. Taking blood into parafo

To study the cellular immunology of platelet-induced alloimmunization, a murine transfusion model was developed. BALB/c (H-2(d)) recipient mice ware transfused weekly with 2 x 108 platelets or 103 leukocytes from C57BL/6 (H- 2b) donor mice. Recipient antidonor major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I alloantibodies could be detected in flow cytometric assays by the fifth platelet transfusion

We determined whether disulfide-linked insulin peptides that are immunogenic in vitro for CD4+ T cells bind to major histocompatibility complex class II in vivo. Radiolabeled recombinant human insulin (rHI) was injected into BALB/c mice, and processed rHI peptides bound to I-A(d) molecules on different thymic antigen-presenting cells were characterized. The A6-A11/B7-B19 and A19-A21/B14-B21 disulf