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Biomedical subjects

H Brunner

Publications and source records attributed to H Brunner.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Induction of interferon by mycoplasmas in mouse spleen cell cultures.

Interferon production in cocultures between lymphoma cells and lymphocytes was previously found to be caused by mycoplasma contamination of the tumor cells. Here we have shown that M. arginini caused interferon production in spleen cells of C57BL/6 mice. The producer cell in spleen cell cultures was insensitive to treatment with anti-theta serum plus complement and it was present in spleen cell cultures of homozygous nude mice. Macrophage depletion did not adversely affect interferon production whereas interferon production was abolished in cultures of cells obtained after passage through nylon wool columns. Collectively, these data suggest, but cannot definitively prove that interferon is produced by B cells. By the use of specific antisera it was found that by all probability the interferon produced represented interferon alpha.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Pirenzepine and cimetidine in the treatment of peptic ulcer.

In a randomized, controlled multicenter-study 126 patients with endoscopically proven duodenal ulcer were treated with 100 mg Pirenzepine daily and 128 patients with 1000 mg Cimetidine daily. Endoscopic evaluation was done by an independent endoscopist after four weeks. At this time 64.3% of the Pirenzepine-treated patients and 73.4% of the patients on Cimetidine had the ulcer healed. The chi-square value of 2.48 indicates that the difference was not statistically significant, that Pirenzepine is equally or at least not essentially less effective than Cimetidine in the treatment of duodenal ulcer. Pain relief was good in both groups with a trend in favour of Cimetidine. Side effects were seldom, mild and reversible.

Anti-Ulcer Agents↗
PubMed1981

[Serum paraaminobenzoic acid following the use of N-benzoyl-L-tyrosyl-paraaminobenzoic acid in the diagnosis of pancreatic insufficiency].

In 25 patients with chronic exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and 37 controls, the PABA test was compared with the concentration of chymotrypsin in stool. In additional 16 patients the test could not be evaluated (rate 21%). By determination of the PABA levels in serum before and one hour after ingestion of N-benzoyl-L-tyrosyl-PABA the test can be shortened and simplified: 1 hour serum levels in 9 patients with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency were 0.5 +/- 0.5 nMol/ml compared with 8 controls with 6.4 +/- 2.0 nMol/ml. PABA serum levels correlated significantly with chymotrypsin in stool. Compared with the conventional PABA test, since it is easily applicable in outpatients and the results are not influenced by medication or food.

4-Aminobenzoic Acid↗
PubMed1981

[30 years of cataract operation (author's transl)].

A survey is given of 26443 cataract operations at the University Eye Hospital of Graz in the years 1950-1980. Different phases are evident: 1. Extraction with a forceps. 2. A phase of expression. 3. Extraction by means of an erysiphake. 4. Extraction with a cryo-extractor. Enzymatic zonulolysis is of particular importance and performed with trypsin only. Almost all cataract operations are performed by enzymatic zonulolysis with trypsin. Details of the operation technique are pointed out. The connections between cataract surgery and increased intraocular pressure, vitreous body complications and retina and mentioned. Complications during and after operation and problems of anesthesia are discussed. Different special questions like cataract diabetes, cataract and myopia, cataracta complicata, cataracta congenita, cataracta traumatica and cataracta secundaria are pointed out. Our opinion is also given on combined operations like cataract and glaucoma, cataract and keratoplasty or binocular cataract operation. The correction of aphakia by means of intraocular lenses or refractive keratoplasty is discussed.

Anesthesia, General↗
PubMed1981

Evidence for bradykinin potentiation by angiotensin congeners in conscious rats.

It has become increasingly clear that the potent vasoactive peptides bradykinin and angiotensin share a common point of metabolism, i.e., angiotensin-converting enzyme or kininase II, and may interact with prostaglandins to regulate regional blood flow. To establish whether the sensitivity to exogenous bradykinin was affected by the presence of angiotensin, vasodepressor dose-response curves to injected bradykinin were performed in conscious rats before and during a 1-h infusion of angiotensin I (30 ng/min), angiotensin II (30 and 300 mg/min), and [Sar2,Ala8]angiotensin II (5 micrograms/min). All of these induced a parallel leftward shift of the bradykinin dose-response curve of approximately threefold. No similar changes were observed during control infusions of dextrose, similar pressor doses of lysine vasopressin, or norepinephrine. Sensitivity to bradykinin was enhanced by saralasin in normal and nephrectomized rats, suggesting that the antagonist itself was responsible. Similar potentiation was present during both acute (1 h) and chronic infusions (9 days) of angiotensin II and attenuated the effect of a converting-enzyme inhibitor on bradykinin sensitivity. Accordingly, these results suggest a competitive interaction in vivo between angiotensin congeners and bradykinin at a point of bradykinin degradation, probably angiotensin-converting enzyme or kininase II. This is a potential additional mechanism by which these systems may interact to affect regional blood flow and must be considered in the interpretation of results obtained during saralasin infusion.

Angiotensin I↗
PubMed1981

Experimental prostatitis in female Mastomys natalensis--a preliminary report.

Female Mastomys natalensis were inoculated with a suspension of Klebsiella pneumoniae into the bladder. All animals developed prostatitis without urinary tract infection between the 9th and the 12th day after inoculation. 10(4) - 10(5) CFU of K. pneumoniae per gram prostatic tissue could be cultivated. Histologically acute purulent prostatitis was detected in most cases 6 days after infection. In the follow-up periacinar infiltration predominated.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

[Enzyme-immuno-assay in listeriosis: detection of antibody and antigen (author's transl)].

An enzyme-immuno-assay (EIA) was developed for the determination of antibodies to Listeria monocytogenes O- and H-antigens of serotypes 1 and 4b, which are predominant in the Federal Republic of Germany. The results correlated well with the tube agglutination but the titers in EIA were considerably higher. Thus one advantage of EIA was its sensitivity. In addition, the EIA offers the possibility to detect antibodies belonging to different immunoglobulin classes. The EIA is easy to perform and required smaller amounts of reagents than the tube agglutination. Since optical densitys is determined in the EIA, the data obtained in this system are less variable than the tube agglutination which is read by eye. The method proved also to be useful for the detection of Listeria-Antigen. Approximately 0.3 microgram/ml of H-antigen could still be detected in the EIA. Since the serological diagnosis of Listeria-infections is hampered by the cross-reactions to various other bacterial antigens the detection of Listeria-antigen by a sensitive immunological procedure could be of considerable value. This is especially the case when culture procedures are not promising, e.g. during or after antimicrobial chemotherapy.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1981

Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae represents one of the most common etiologic agents of lower respiratory tract disease of man. Data from a 12-yr period of surveillance in Seattle, WA, USA, revealed that infection rates varied from 2% in endemic years to 35% in epidemic periods (J Infect Dis 139: 681, 1979). Most persons with M. pneumoniae infections have a relatively mild disease, which is not usually accompanied by frequent complications. Atypical pneumonia caused by the organisms is most prevalent in school-age children, with peak occurrence at about 10 years old. In this group, 13 to 18% of those infected develop pneumonia. Clinical disease is uncommon below 4 and above 50 years of age. M. pneumoniae infections probably occur throughout the world. It has been estimated that approximately 50% of the infections in adults but only 20% in children are completely asymptomatic. The usual clinical picture of atypical pneumonia and the wide range of unusual manifestations of M. pneumoniae disease are presented. Except for a few single case reports, histopathology of M. pneumoniae disease has been extensively studied after experimental infection of hamsters and guinea pigs. These animal models had to be developed because of the benign course of most M. Pneumoniae diseases in man. Due to this limited information on the pathology of natural disease, comments on its pathogenesis are also based on findings using experimental models. Infection is established by attachment of the organisms to the surface membrane of ciliated epithelial cells. Antigenic similarities between the glycolipids of M. pneumoniae membranes and host tissue, unspecific blastogenesis and immunosuppression during infection have been described. These phenomena may explain a decreased protective immune mechanism of the host during infection. Several as yet unexplained features of M. pneumoniae disease support the hypothesis that lung infiltrates in M. pneumoniae infection may be, in part, immunologically determined in a host sensitized by one or more silent infections.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Protective efficacy of Mycoplasma pneumoniae polysaccharides.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae accounts for up to 35% of all pneumonias at times when influenza epidemics are not prevalent. Therefore, considerable efforts have been directed towards the developmemt of a vaccine against mycoplasmal respiratory tract disease. The protective efficacy of inactivated M. pneumoniae vaccine, prepared so far, did not exceed 67%. This incomplete protective effect may have been due to insufficient immunogenicity and/or to failure of vaccines administered by the parenteral route to stimulate local immune mechanisms on the mucosal surfaces of the respiratory tract. Intranasal inoculation of attenuated strains, either of high passage level on artificial medium or temperature-sensitive mutants, were therefore tested as vaccine candidates for M. pneumoniae disease, but the attenuation for man, achieved so far, was not sufficient. Therefore, the successful development of polysaccharide vaccines for pneumococcal and meningococcal diseases stimulated a study on similar approaches for the development of the prophylaxis for mycoplasma pneumonia. The immunogenicity and the protective efficacy of M. pneumoniae polysaccharides and glycolipids were investigated in hamsters. Staphylococcal radioimmunoassay antibodies could be detected in the sera of the animals after intramuscular injection of M. pneumoniae polysaccharides. A significant reduction in the lung lesion score and in the number of viable organisms in the lung was observed in animals immunized with polysaccharides by the intramuscular or intranasal route, 10 d after challenge with virulent organisms. A protective effect was not seen in animals previously immunized with reaggregates of M. pneumoniae glycolipids and membrane protein of Acholeplasma laidlawii, although serum antibodies could be detected prior to challenge. The results encourage the continuation of experiments on polysaccharides as vaccines against mycoplasmal pneumonia.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

[Infectious non-gonococcal urethritis in males (author's transl)].

Infectious non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) is a sexually transmitted disease of considerable importance. The etiologic agents are bacteria, to lesser extent yeasts, parasites (Trichomonas) or viruses. A considerable part of NGU is caused by bacterial groups with peculiar properties: Mycoplasmas, which lack a rigid cell wall, and chlamydiae, which are intracellular parasites. Because of the diversity of etiologic agents and qualified microbiological diagnosis is a prerequisite for a specific and successful therapy.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1981

[Influence of antibodies on the phagocytosis of Klebsiella pneumoniae by alveolar macrophages (author's transl)].

Phagocytosis of Klebsiella pneumoniae by alveolar macrophages of guinea pigs was investigated. Lavage of guinea pig lungs yielded a cell suspension of approximately 85% alveolar macrophages. The remaining cells were predominantly lymphocytes and a few polymorphonuclear leucocytes. After incubation for 5 hours at 37 degrees C the macrophages adhered to the glass surface whereas leucocytes could be washed away. This resulted in a pure culture of macrophages containing 95-98% living cells. Specific antibodies to phenol-water extracts of K. pneumoniae were induced in rabbits. These antisera increased the rate of uptake of the bacteria by macrophages at least 35-fold as compared to macrophages without added antiserum. Preimmunization sera of rabbits also increased the uptake of bacteria by macrophages but by far less than hyperimmune sera. A very sensitive Enzyme-Immuno-Assay (ELISA) for detection of antibodies to the phenol-water extracts of K. pneumoniae was developed. Low levels of antibodies were demonstrated in the pre-immunization sera of rabbits by ELISA but not by the tube agglutination test. These low antibody titers could explain the increased uptake of the bacteria by alveolar macrophages in the presence of preimmunization sera. The influence of complement components on phagocytosis in our sera was small and was therefore not studied in any detail.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

[Influence of antibiotics on the phagocytosis of Klebsiella pneumoniae by alveolar macrophages (author's transl)].

The effect of gentamicin and cephalothin on the phagocytosis of Klebsiella pneumoniae by alveolar macrophages of guinea pigs was tested. At their minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) the antibiotics did not influence the uptake of bacteria by macrophages in the presence of various antibody titers. As expected, the number of surviving bacteria after intracellular ingestion decreased at MBC of the antibiotics. The uptake of bacteria was inhibited by very high concentrations of gentamicin and cephalothin only. The intracellular killing of the bacteria was already higher in the presence of relatively low antibiotic concentrations (one third of the minimal inhibitory concentration, MIC) as compared to the killing without antibiotics. Above this levels, even if they were considerably higher than the MIC, the antibiotics had no additional effect on the number of bacteria surviving after ingestion. These findings indicate that concentrations above one third of the MIC of gentamicin or cephalothin are not necessarily of advantage for the effect of macrophages on the bacteria, provided that sufficient levels of antibodies are also present.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Large-scale isolation of middle and higher molecular weight uremic toxins.

Reverse osmosis (40 bar) using membranes with a nominal cut-off of 500 Dalton is a useful method for the desalting and concentration of hemofiltrates (20-30 L) or even dialysates (120-240 L) from patients with end-stage renal failure. The removal of electrolytes and lower molecular weight solutes from the middle and higher molecular weight fractions can be carried out in one step. The freeze-dried residues show characteristic differences in their molecular weight distributions which are dependent upon their origin (Cuprophane dialysates or RP-6-hemofiltrates). Subfractionation is performed using Sephadex G-15 macrocolumns (2 m x 5 cm), the LKB-Ultrogel AcA 54 and Sephacryl S-200 as well as ion exchange chromatography. The fractions are characterized by their ability to suppress the incorporation of 3H-thymidine into rat bone-marrow as well as HeLa cell cultures. The greatest inhibitory activity originates from those fractions which are not dialysable using Visking tubes in vitro. The results indicate that the middle and higher molecular weight spectra do in fact overlap, suggesting that also higher molecular weight substances are involved in uremic intoxication.

Animals↗