Biomedical subjects

C B Menzies

Publications and source records attributed to C B Menzies.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1990

Immunological abnormalities in BXSB mice at the onset of SLE development.

Male BXSB mice develop murine lupus spontaneously at about 3 months of age. Polyclonal B-cell activation is thought to play a major role in the development of the syndrome in these mice, but the immunological events which lead to this activation are not known. We therefore examined the immune characteristics of mice aged 10-16 weeks, at the onset of disease. We found several immunological markers, indicating polyclonal B-cell activation leading to early, preclinical, disease activity in both male and female BXSB mice, but consistent abnormalities in the percentages and function of lymphocyte subpopulations were found only in male BXSB mice. In particular, the ratio of helper to suppressor/cytotoxic T cells was found to be significantly lower in male BXSB, than in either females of this strain, or normal control DBA2 mice. We conclude that defective immunoregulation is likely to be significant in the initiation of murine lupus, since it is detectable at the onset of disease in male BXSB mice.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

A search for common immunological abnormalities at the onset of murine lupus in two genetically different strains.

Mice of the genetically different BXSB and MRL/lpr strains develop murine lupus spontaneously at about three months of age. Polyclonal B-cell activation is thought to play a major role in the development of the syndrome in each strains, but the immunological events which lead to this activation are not known. We therefore examined the immune characteristics of mice aged 10-16 weeks, at the onset of the disease. We found consistent abnormalities in the percentages of lymphocyte sub-populations in both male BXSB, and male and female MRL/lpr mice. In particular, the ratio of helper to suppressor/cytotoxic T cells was found to be significantly lower in male BXSB, and in male and female MRL/lpr mice than in normal, control, DBA2 mice. Significant increases in serum IgG and IgA concentrations, indicative of polyclonal B cell activation, were present in each strain. The histological appearance of the lymphoid organs and the functional responses to mitogen stimulation were, however, distinctly different. We conclude that defective immunoregulation is likely to be significant in the initiation of murine lupus, since it is detectable at the onset of disease in two genetically distinct strains. It may be associated, however, with different immunological phenomena in strains of different genetic backgrounds.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Experimental autoimmune thyroiditis: attempt to correlate disease development with lymphocyte subset changes.

An attempt was made to correlate lymphocyte subset abnormalities with the development of experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAIT) in thymectomized and irradiated rats of five inbred strains. The peripheral blood subpopulations were analysed using the fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS-IV). A significant lymphopenia with a severe decrease in helper T cells was identified in all the treated rats. In addition, a significant loss of suppressor cytotoxic T cells was found in rats of the most susceptible strain (August) and in the majority of affected individual rats of the other strains. The simple, modified protocol which we used revealed differences in strain susceptibility to EAIT, with 66% of August rats having histological evidence of disease, 50% of Lewis, 44% of Agus, 30% of Hooded Lister and 20% of Wistar, at 5 to 8 months after treatment. Levels of antithyroglobulin antibody, estimated by an ELISA assay, correlated well with the histological results. In all groups, three times as many females as males were affected. Our findings support the view that genetic and immunoregulatory factors are involved in the development of EAIT, with loss of both helper and suppressor cells playing an important role.

Animals↗

PubMed1980

Impaired thymus-derived lymphocyte function in patients with malignant brain tumour.

Cell-mediated immunity was evaluated in 28 patients with malignant glioma, using in vivo and in vitro tests of lymphocyte function. The results were compared to those found in patients with carcinomatosis (11 subjects), benign brain tumours (9), other neurological disorders (20) and normal, healthy controls (21). Significant impairments of delayed hypersensitivity responses to common antigens was found in patients with malignant glioma and in those with generalised malignancy. A less significant depression of lymphocyte responses was also detected in patients with meningioma. The impairment in cell-mediated immunity was shown not be due to a serum blocking factor. Our data indicate that there is defective T cell function in patients with glioma, similar to that reported in cases with malignancies outside the central nervous system. This impaired immunity may have clinical significance.

Adolescent↗