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Biomedical subjects

E Mendel

Publications and source records attributed to E Mendel.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Relationship between serum cyclo(His-Pro) concentrations and the nutritional status of HIV-infected patients.

Cyclo(His-Pro) (CHP) is a gut-neuropeptide that influences both appetite and carbohydrate metabolism. This study was undertaken to determine whether concentrations of CHP correlated with various clinical markers of nutritional status and progression of HIV infection. Serum concentrations of CHP were analyzed in a clinical sample of 100 HIV-positive patients whose HIV clinical status ranged from asymptomatic to advanced disease with weight loss. We found a relationship between CHP concentrations and serum albumin and hemoglobin levels, markers of chronic nutrition and disease. However, no correlation was seen between CHP and cortisol concentrations, a marker of acute stress. To analyze the relationship of HIV clinical stage and CHP, patients were divided into three subgroups: asymptomatic, mildly symptomatic, and clear-cut AIDS. CHP concentrations were significantly correlated with HIV clinical stage. These data lead to the hypothesis that CHP is a marker of disease progression and that it potentially plays a role in modulating the nutrition of HIV-infected patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

The endoscopic stylet: technical notes.

The use of a small-diameter, rigid ventriculoscope as a stylet to place a catheter optimally within cerebrospinal fluid-containing spaces, is described.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts

Isolated lumbosacral neurenteric cyst with partial sacral agenesis: case report.

A case of an isolated intraspinal lumbosacral neurenteric cyst in a 5-year-old girl with partial sacral agenesis is reported. The cyst wall contained transitional epithelium and smooth muscle characteristic of the urinary bladder, suggesting a possible cloacal origin of the cyst. No prior cases of concomitant neurenteric cysts with partial or complete sacral agenesis have been reported, and the occurrence of an isolated intradural extramedullary sacral neurenteric cyst is rare. The possible pathogenesis of this lesion is described.

Child, Preschool

Coccidioidomycotic brain abscess. Case report.

Coccidioidomycosis is an infection originating in the San Joaquim Valley of southern California, but now seen with increasing frequency throughout southern California and the southwestern United States. Central nervous system involvement is usually manifested as meningitis. The authors present the case of a young man with pulmonary coccidioidomycosis who developed a brain lesion that proved to be a coccidioidomycotic abscess. With the increasing incidence of the disease, this manifestation may be encountered more often and should therefore be included in the differential diagnosis of any patient from an endemic area who presents with a brain mass.

Adult

Coccidioidomycosis brain abscess. Case report.

Coccidioidomycosis is an infection originating in the San Joaquin Valley of southern California, but is now seen with increasing frequency throughout southern California and the southwestern United States. A central nervous system involvement is usually manifested as meningitis. The authors present the case of a young man with pulmonary coccidioidomycosis who developed a brain lesion that proved to be a coccidioidal abscess. This manifestation may now be more frequently seen and therefore should be included in the differential diagnosis of any patient presenting with a brain mass who is from an area in which this disease is endemic.

Adult

Mutational hot spots in Ig V region genes of human follicular lymphomas.

The genes coding for the Ig light chains expressed in two cases of human follicular lymphoma were cloned and sequenced. In each case, multiple independent isolates of the tumor population were compared. Although each tumor represented a single clone of B cells with a unique V/J joint, different cells within each tumor had accumulated multiple point mutations in the V gene during clonal expansion. Most of the mutations observed were silent, but some resulted in amino acid replacements. Identical silent mutations were often observed in independent isolates of each tumor. By combining the current data with VH sequences obtained previously from the same cells, it was apparent that the repetitive silent mutations could not be explained solely by a genealogic tree. Such mutations could represent hot spots whose tendency to mutate may be influenced by neighboring DNA sequences or by the methylation of specific cytosine residues.

Amino Acid Sequence

Hybridoma fusion cell lines contain an aberrant kappa transcript.

The V region sequence of a non-productive kappa transcript from two myeloma fusion partners has been determined. This transcript has an aberrant VJ recombination site resulting in a translation stop site at position 105. It is variably expressed in hybridomas made from all fusion partners derived from the original MOPC-21 tumor. The amount of this transcript may greatly exceed levels of the productive light chain mRNA.

Animals

A rapid method for cloning and sequencing variable-region genes of expressed immunoglobulins.

A rapid procedure is described for cloning immunoglobulin V region genes from cells that express them. cDNA is synthesized from mRNA template using primers homologous to the immunoglobulin constant-region genes. Blunt-ended, double-stranded cDNA is obtained by sequential addition of enzymes to a single tube. The cDNA is inserted directly into the M13 vector, which is screened by plaque lifting for the presence of specific inserts. Screening probes can be generated from 32P-labeled single-stranded cDNAs generated from primers different from those used for cloning, or alternatively, from previously cloned V or C gene segments. The ease of cloning a cDNA V region is directly related to the abundance of Ig-specific mRNA within the cell of interest. This method minimizes the number of steps and the time needed to obtain accurate and complete sequences of any expressed Ig V region gene.

Amino Acid Sequence

Identification of an IgE-binding protein by molecular cloning.

The synthesis and function of IgE are dependent on IgE-binding proteins, which include cell surface IgE receptors and IgE-binding lymphokines. To further our understanding of the IgE system, we have engaged in the molecular cloning of genes for some of these proteins. In studying the in vitro translation products of mRNA from rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cells, we have identified a Mr 31,000 polypeptide that binds IgE and is also reactive with antibodies to proteins affinity-purified from RBL cells with IgE immunoadsorbent. For the molecular cloning, double-stranded cDNA was synthesized from sucrose gradient-fractionated RBL mRNA, inserted into plasmid pBR322, and used to transform Escherichia coli. By screening transformants with a hybridization-selection/in vitro translation procedure, we identified one clone containing cDNA that hybridized to mRNA coding for a Mr 31,000 IgE-binding protein. The DNA sequence of this cloned cDNA (571 base pairs) was determined and the amino acid sequence corresponding to part of the protein was deduced. In RNA blot analysis, the cDNA hybridized with a mRNA of 1100 nucleotides found in RBL cells but absent in cells not expressing IgE receptors. This cloned cDNA most likely codes for the Mr 31,000 IgE-binding protein identified in RBL cells, which appears to be related to the IgE-binding phenotype of the cells and which may have a significant role in the IgE-mediated activation of basophils and mast cells.

Amino Acid Sequence