Sarcopenia reportedly predicts poor outcomes in elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, because previous studies only involved elderly patients, it is difficult to generalize these results to all patients with DLBCL. We retrospectively analyzed 207 patients with DLBCL who received the R-CHOP or R-THP-COP regimen between June 2004 and May 2014. Sarcopenia was measured by the analysis of CT images at the L3 level before treatment. The surface of muscular tissues was selected according to the CT Hounsfield unit. This value was normalized for stature in order to calculate the L3 skeletal muscle index (L3 SMI, cm(2)/m(2)). Median age at diagnosis in the 121 males and 86 females was 67 years (range, 19-86 years). The sex-specific cutoffs for the L3 SMI were determined by receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis. Sarcopenic patients were older than non-sarcopenic patients, with a median age of 70 and 65 years, respectively (p < 0.001). Other International Prognostic Index factors were not significantly different when comparing sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic patients. With a median follow-up of 50.4 months, the 3-year overall survival (OS) was 70 % in the sarcopenic group and 85 % in the non-sarcopenic group (p = 0.0260). In a subgroup analysis by gender, there was a significant difference in the OS when comparing sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic patients in males but not in females (p = 0.0003, p = 0.4440, respectively). Sarcopenia is an independent prognostic factor in male patients with DLBCL.

The immunomodulatory effects of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) are ascribed to its ability to catalyze breakdown of the essential amino acid L-tryptophan. We applied reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to examine IDO mRNA expression in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blasts, and investigated its clinical significance. We enrolled 62 patients with AML between April 2005 and March 2013. Bone marrow-derived mononuclear fractions were separated and extracted mRNA was amplified by PCR. RT-PCR showed that the bone marrow of 23 patients expressed IDO mRNA but not in 39. IDO mRNA expression did not significantly differ among cytogenetic risk profiles. The 3-year overall survival rates for patients with and without IDO mRNA expression were 39% and 74%, respectively (p < 0.005). The rates for patients with intermediate-risk cytogenetics with and without IDO mRNA expression were 16% and 70%, respectively (p < 0.005). The expression of IDO mRNA was associated with a poor prognosis of AML.

The immunomodulatory effects of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) are ascribed to its ability to catalyze the breakdown of the L-tryptophan along the L-kynurenine pathway. Because blasts from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) express IDO, the goal of this study was to investigate the role of L-kynurenine as a prognostic marker for AML. We enrolled 48 AML patients. L-kynurenine concentrations were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. The median serum L-kynurenine level was 1.67 μM. There was no significant difference in the complete remission rate between patients with L-kynurenine < 2.4 (77%) and ≥ 2.4 μM (75%). However, 3-year overall survival (OS) rates were significantly better in patients with low L-kynurenine levels (76%) than in those with high L-kynurenine levels (11%) (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, in intermediate-risk cytogenetics patients, only L-kynurenine was significantly associated with OS (p < 0.005). Multivariate analyses revealed that L-kynurenine and high leukocyte count were independent prognostic factors.

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Glaucous leaf and tough rachis phenotypes are rare in Aegilops tauschii, the D genome donor to common wheat (Triticum aestivum). The genes for glaucous leaf and tough rachis were mapped using microsatellite probes in A. tauschii. The glaucous phenotype was suppressed by the inhibitor W2 I located on chromosome 2DS. The gene W2 I was mapped to the distal part of 2DS, and was unlinked to the centromere. This suggests that the distance of the W2 I locus from the centromere was maintained during the evolution of hexaploid wheat from its diploid progenitors as the inhibitor gene is at the same position in A. tauschii and bread wheat. The Br t (Brittle rachis of A. tauschii) locus was located on the short arm of chromosome 3D, and was 19.7 cM from the centromeric marker, Xgdm72.3D. Br t causes breakage of the spike at the nodes, thus creating barrel-shaped spikelets, while Br 1 in hexaploid wheat causes breakage above the junction of the rachilla with the rachis such that a fragment of rachis is attached below each spikelet.