Bone Grafts Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Bone Grafts, including details on spine fusion, surgery, procedure, risks.

Cytotoxic drug sensitivity of Epstein-Barr virus transformed lymphoblastoid B cells.

Markasz L, Stuber G, Flaberg E, Gustafsson Jernberg A, Eksborg S, Olah E, Skribek H, Szekely L

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the causative agent of immunosuppression associated lymphoproliferations such as post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD), AIDS related immunoblastic lymphomas (ARL) and immunoblastic lymphomas in X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome (XLP). The reported overall mortality for PTLD often exceeds 50%. Reducing the immunsuppression in recipients of solid organ transplants (SOT) or using highly active antiretroviral therapy in AIDS patients leads to complete remission in 23-50 % of the PTLD/ARL cases but will not suffice for recipients of bone marrow grafts. An additional therapeutic alternative is the treatment with anti-CD20 antibodies (Rituximab) or EBV-specific cytotoxic T-cells. Chemotherapy is used for the non-responding cases only as the second or third line of treatment. The most frequently used chemotherapy regimes originate from the non-Hodgkin lymphoma protocols and there are no specific cytotoxic drugs that have been specifically selected against EBV induced lymphoproliferative disorders. METHODS: As lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) are well established in vitro models for PTLD, we have assessed 17 LCLs for cytotoxic drug sensitivity. After three days of incubation live and dead cells were differentially stained using fluorescent dye. The precise number of living and dead cells was determined using a custom made automated laser confocal fluorescent microscope. RESULTS: Independently of their origin, LCLs showed very similar drug sensitivity patterns against 29 frequently used cytostatic drugs. LCLs were highly sensitive for vincristine, methotrexate, epirubicin and paclitaxel. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the inclusion of epirubicin and paclitaxel into chemotherapy protocols against PTLD may be justified.

Published 14 November 2006 in BMC Cancer, 6(1): 265.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Bone Grafts Research Today. All Rights Reserved.