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Biomedical subjects

E Keystone

Publications and source records attributed to E Keystone.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Growth and detection of human bone marrow B-lineage colonies.

A reproducible method for growing normal human bone marrow B-lineage colonies in agar is described. The clonogenic cells require a rich medium, Opti-MEM (GIBCO/BRL, Burlington, Ontario, Canada), and a source of T-cell-derived factors for growth. The conditions described appear to be limiting for the colony progenitor, suggesting assay clonality. Three novel methods that permit routine and rapid detection of these human B-cell colonies are also described. Colonies containing cells that secrete immunoglobulin are detected by plaquing and protein immunoblotting, while RNA transcripts can be detected by RNA colony blotting. The detection of more than one secreted immunoglobulin isotype or RNA species in a single colony can also be achieved. This B-cell colony assay and the associated detection methods will allow the further delineation of human B lymphopoiesis in both normal and disease states.

B-Lymphocytes↗
PubMed1990

In vitro production of interferon-gamma by peripheral blood from patients with Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis and rheumatoid arthritis.

The production of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), CD4 cells, or CD8 cells in response to interleukin-2 (IL-2) stimulation has been studied; the samples were obtained from 12 healthy control subjects, 19 patients with Graves' disease (10 hyperthyroid and nine euthyroid), 13 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (four hypothyroid and nine euthyroid), and 15 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (11 active and four inactive). A dose of IL-2 (25 U/ml) was utilized to induce IFN-gamma by PBMC from all four groups. The incremental increase in IFN-gamma values (with IL-2 stimulation minus without stimulation) was significantly less in PBMC from patients with Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and rheumatoid arthritis than that in PBMC from control subjects. The values from PBMC in patients with Graves' disease in a euthyroid state were below normal but greater than those from patients with Graves' disease in a hyperthyroid state. The incremental increase in IFN-gamma values from Graves' disease PBMC correlated with the serum TSH values (r = 0.622, P less than 0.01), but not with thyroid autoantibodies (anti-thyroid microsomal antibodies, anti-thyroid microsomal antibodies, nor TSH-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin activities). The incremental increase in IFN-gamma from PBMC from both control subjects and Graves' disease was correlated with that from CD4 cells (r = 0.711, P less than 0.01), but not with that from CD8 cells. The production of IFN-gamma in response to IL-2 from PBMC in Graves' disease correlated inversely with thyroid function, appearing to reflect the very effect of hyperthyroidism in this process. The precise explanation of these phenomena remains unclear. The decreased response of IFN-gamma to IL-2 stimulation by PBMC from patients with Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and rheumatoid arthritis seems to be a non-specific phenomenon occurring in both organ specific autoimmune disease and systemic autoimmune disease. It may be due to a down-regulation in autoimmune disease of CD4 cells in response to IL-2, a decreased level of IL-2 cellular receptors or a decreased receptor affinity, associated increased soluble IL-2 receptors, or a defect of the intra-CD4 cellular IL-2 signal to produce or release IFN-gamma in the conditions studied.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Dermatomyositis associated with normal serum muscle enzyme levels].

Cases of polymyositis or dermatomyositis in which levels of all the serum muscle enzymes are within the normal range throughout the entire clinical course are very rare. It has recently been suggested that when there is no increase in creatine kinase the prognosis in dermatomyositis is poor and there is a higher incidence of malignancy and interstitial lung disease associated with the condition. We describe a rare case of dermatomyositis without increase in serum muscle enzymes, including creatine kinase. No evidence of malignancy or interstitial lung disease was found after a followup of 18 months. In accordance with the report of a similar case, we suggest that the absence of an increase in creatine kinase in dermatomyositis is not necessarily a poor prognostic sign.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The immunologic detection and characterization of cartilage proteoglycan degradation products in synovial fluids of patients with arthritis.

Antibodies were used in radioimmunoassays with gel chromatography to detect the hyaluronic acid-binding region, core protein, and keratan sulfate of human cartilage proteoglycan in the synovial fluids of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis. All fluids contained proteoglycan that was mainly included on Sepharose CL-4B; this result indicates cleavage of proteoglycan (which is normally excluded). The hyaluronic acid-binding region was the smallest and most commonly detected fragment. It was relatively free of keratan sulfate and core protein, and it could sometimes bind to hyaluronic acid. Other larger fragments containing core protein and/or keratan sulfate were detected in every fluid.

Aggrecans↗
PubMed1987

Autoantibody analysis of patients with graft versus host disease.

The sera of 26 patients with graft versus host disease (GVHD) were analyzed for the presence of autoantibodies. Because the clinical spectrum of GVHD resembles some of the systemic collagen vascular diseases, particular attention was given to antinuclear antibodies and autoantibodies directed against saline soluble cellular antigens. 39% (10/26) of the patients had a positive ANA at a titer of greater than or equal to 1/80. Antibodies to double-stranded DNA were demonstrated in 4 sera (15%), to smooth muscle in 9 (41%) and to nucleoli in 6 (22%). Three sera had precipitating antibodies to saline extracts of rabbit thymus and/or bovine spleen. None of these precipitins showed lines of identity with known autoantibody systems. High titers of ANA were correlated with a previous diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and multiple autoantibodies correlated with the severity of GVHD.

Autoantibodies↗
PubMed1985

Monocyte procoagulant activity in glomerulonephritis associated with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Monocyte infiltration and activation of the coagulation system have been implicated in the pathophysiology of glomerulonephritis. In this study, spontaneous procoagulant activity (PCA) was measured in circulating mononuclear cells to determine whether elevated PCA correlated with the presence of proliferative glomerulonephritis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). No increase in PCA was found in 20 patients with end-stage renal failure, 8 patients with glomerulonephritis without SLE, and 10 patients undergoing abdominal surgical or orthopedic procedures as compared with 20 normal controls. In eight patients with SLE but with no apparent active renal disease, PCA was not elevated above normal basal levels. Seven additional patients with SLE who had only mesangial proliferation on biopsy also had no increase in PCA. In contrast, eight patients with focal or diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis, and one patient with membranous nephritis who ultimately developed a proliferative lesion, had a marked increase in PCA with greater than 100 times the base-line levels. The activity was shown to originate in the monocyte fraction of the mononuclear cells and was shown to be capable of cleaving prothrombin directly. The prothrombinase activity was not Factor Xa, because it was not neutralized by anti-Factor X serum and was not inhibited by an established panel of Factor Xa inhibitors. Monocyte plasminogen activator determinations did not correlate with renal disease activity. We conclude that monocyte procoagulant activity, a direct prothrombinase, seems to correlate with endocapillary proliferation in lupus nephritis and could be a mediator of tissue injury.

Blood Coagulation Factors↗
PubMed1982

Circulating immune complexes in patients with progressive systemic sclerosis.

Forty-one patients with progressive systemic sclerosis were studied for the presence of immune complexes by the fluid- and solid-phase C1q binding, C1 activation, and the fluid-phase conglutinin assays. Complement activation and autoantibodies were also studied. Immune complexes were detected in only 6 patients (15%); activation of complement was found in 5 others. The clinical and serologic features of patients with complexes were compared with those in whom complexes were not identified. No significant difference was found with respect to serology. Organ involvement was generally more frequent in the group with immune complexes, but the difference was statistically significant only with respect to lung involvement. The present data suggest that, although complement-fixing immune complexes are infrequently detected in progressive systemic sclerosis, they may play a role in the pathogenesis of lung lesions associated with the disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Aberrations in lymphocyte subpopulations and function during psychological stress.

Eight trainees in psychiatry taking their final oral fellowship examinations were compared with 16 controls to determine the effect of stress on their immune system. Two measures of stress were utilized to distinguish the highly stressed subjects from those minimally stressed. T cell subpopulations, B cell numbers, mitogen reactivity, natural killer cell activity, plaque forming cell responsiveness, antigen specific T suppressor cell activity, and hormone levels were studied 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after the exam. The results demonstrated transiently elevated numbers of T and B lymphocytes but impaired plaque forming cell and mitogen responsiveness in the highly stressed group prior to their exam which normalized later. The results support the concept that stress may significantly alter the immune response in man.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Impaired antigen-specific suppressor cell activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Antigen-specific suppressor cell activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells was investigated in twenty-nine patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and sixteen normal, age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Suppressor cell activity was generated by priming peripheral blood mononuclear cells with high dose antigen (ovalbumin) and adding the washed primed or control (unprimed) cells to autologous optimally stimulated target plaque-forming cell (PFC) cultures. The ability of the primed cells to interfere with an optimal ovalbumin-specific PFC response in the target cultures was used as a measure of antigen-specific suppressor cell activity. The results demonstrated reduced suppressor cell activity in the SLE patients relative to controls--46.8 +/- 3.6% vs 63 +/- 2.4% suppression respectively (P less than 0.01). Consistent with reduced suppressor cell activity was an increase in the plaque-forming cell response to ovalbumin in patients relative to controls (880 +/- 73 vs 763 +/- 102 PFC/10(6) cells respectively [P = 0.10]). No correlation was demonstrated between suppressor cell activity in SLE patients and disease activity or therapy.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of inherited deficiency of the fifth component of complement on arthritis induced in mice by Mycoplasma pulmonis.

Mycoplasma pulmonis inoculated parenterally into mice deficient in the fifth component of complement (C5) caused a chronic arthritis of significantly greater magnitude than in immunologically normal mice. During the chronic phase of arthritis M pulmonis organisms were isolated from the joints and organs of C5 deficient mice more frequently and in larger numbers than from immunologically normal mice. The implications of the results are discussed in relation to the pathogenesis of M pulmonis induced arthritis and human connective tissue diseases.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Parotitis due to anaerobic bacteria.

Although Staphylococcus aureus remains the pathogen most commonly implicated in acute suppurative parotitis, the pathogenic role of gram-negative facultative anaerobic bacteria and strict anaerobic organisms in this disease is becoming increasingly recognized. This report describes a case of parotitis due to Bacteroides disiens in an elderly woman with Sjögren's syndrome. Literature reports on seven additional cases of suppurative parotitis due to anaerobic bacteria are reviewed. Initial therapy of acute suppurative parotitis should include coverage for S. aureus and, in a very ill patient, coverage of gram-negative facultative organisms with antibiotics such as cloxacillin and an aminoglycoside. A failure to respond clinically to such a regimen or isolation of anaerobic bacteria should lead to the consideration of the addition of clindamycin or penicillin.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Immunochemical and physical studies of the Sia test.

The Sia test was performed in strictly standardized conditions in boiled, bidistilled, deionized water (BBD) and in 0.01 M phosphate buffers pH 5.0 and 7.0. Normal human sera and sera from patients with diffuse hypergammaglobulinemia ( greater than 2.0 g/100 ml), immunoglobulin G (IgG) myeloma (M component greater than 5.0 g/100 ml), and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia were studied. In BBD all normal sera were Sia-negative, whereas 16 per cent of sera with diffuse hypergammaglobulinemia, 60 per cent of sera with IgG M component, and 44 per cent of macroglobulinemic sera with Sia-positive. Almost all sera from the above mentioned four groups gave positive results in phosphate buffer pH 5.0 and the majority of them, with the exception of normal human sera, gave positive results at pH 7.0. All precipitates isolated from the sera tested showed beta-alpha 2 bands in cellulose acetate electropherograms. Precipitates from the sera with diffuse hypergammaglobulinemia also showed gamma bands, and those from the myelomatous or macroglobulinemic sera showed strong bands corresponding to the M components. Whereas immunoelectrophoresis of the four-fold-concentrated precipitates showed up to 11 precipitation lines, radial immunodiffusion detected up to 18 proteins. The characteristic pattern of IgM/IgG immune complexes was observed in immunoelectrophoresis of Sia precipitates from hypergammaglobulinemic sera with rheumatoid factor. The recovery of immunoglobulins in the Sia precipitates varied greatly but that of IgM was usually greater than that of IgG or IgA. It may be concluded that the Sia test is entirely nonspecific regardless of the buffer or pH at which it is performed. The only advantages of this test seem to be the quick partial purification of IgM components and identification of their light chains, and the possible detection of immune complexes.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The relationship of interleukin-1 and immune functions to sleep in humans.

Serial sampling of peripheral blood from six healthy adult male volunteers was performed during daytime waking and nighttime sleeping. In addition, sleep physiology was assessed in all subjects (Ss) and sleep stages scored blind by standard criteria. Samples of plasma were analyzed for cortisol (Co) levels, functional interleukin-1 (IL-1), and interleukin-2 (IL-2) activity. Peripheral blood monocytes (PBM) were assayed to evaluate natural killer (NK) activity and mitogen responsiveness. Dramatic increase in IL-1 activity along with changes in other immune functions occurred during sleep and were related to onset of slow wave sleep.

Adult↗