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H Kirchhoff

Publications and source records attributed to H Kirchhoff.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

The Mycoplasma arthritidis infection in congenitally athymic nude rats.

Fifteen young (47-81 days old) and 5 adult (360 days old) Rowett nude rats (rnu/rnu) and 12 euthymic littermates (rnu/+) (56 days old) were infected with Mycoplasma (M.) arthritidis ISR1. The polyarthritis developing after the infection was more severe in the athymic than in the euthymic rats. In the nude rats the disease was progressive and led to the death of 6 animals whereas in the euthymic littermates the disease was resolved within 70 days after infection. In contrast to euthymic rats athymic animals did not develop antibodies against M. arthritidis within 6 weeks (young nude rats) or 23 weeks (adult nude rats) after infection, indicating that M. arthritidis is a thymus dependent antigen. However, low antibody titers were found in the nude rats infected at an age between 47 and 81 days at 340 days after infection, probably due to the development of T-cells which occur in older nude rats. The euthymic as well as the young athymic rats showed an increase in antibody titers after a challenge infection 345 days after the first infection and both were resistant to challenge infection. On the contrary the adult nude rats infected with M. arthritidis did not develop antibodies against the mycoplasmas and were highly susceptible to a second infection after 198 days. This indicates that antibodies play an important role in the defence of the M. arthritidis infection in rats.

Aging↗
PubMed1992

Tetrazolium [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] reduction by mycoplasmas.

We investigated 22 mycoplasma and acholeplasma species for their ability to reduce tetrazolium salts by using the MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay. The test results were evaluated visually, as well as spectrophotometrically, by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay reader. Our results were very similar to the results obtained when the tetrazolium salt reduction assay described by Aluotto et al. was used. However, the MTT reduction assay appeared to be better because it is faster, more objective and sensitive, easier to evaluate, and less expensive; in addition, it allows quantitative determinations. By using regression analysis a linear correlation between formazan production and the number of colony-forming units was demonstrated for all of the species investigated, indicating that the MTT assay can also be used for growth, toxicity, or chemosensitivity tests for the mycoplasma species that are capable of reducing tetrazolium salts.

Acholeplasma↗
PubMed1991

Effects of active and passive immunization in the Mycoplasma arthritidis infection of rats.

Viable, heat-inactivated, formalin-inactivated and sonicated Mycoplasma (M.) arthritidis antigens as well as immune sera against M. arthritidis and spleen cells from Lewis rats recovered from M. arthritidis infection were injected into naive Lewis rats prior to a challenge infection with 10(7) cfu of M. arthritidis and tested for their protective effects. Viable mycoplasmas induced arthritis combined with the production of high titers of antibodies against M. arthritidis and resistance to a second infection. The application of the inactivated M. arthritidis-antigens in emulsion of incomplete Freund's Adjuvant (ICFA) to naive rats, which also induced a strong antibody production, as well as the inoculation of reconvalescent serum from rats infected with M. arthritidis and hyperimmune serum against M. arthritidis from rabbits and mice protected rats also from an outbreak of arthritis after challenge. The injection of sonicated M. arthritidis antigen without ICFA which failed to induce the production of antibodies and the transfer of spleen cells from rats recovered from M. arthritidis infection had no protective function. The investigations showed, that antibodies play an important role in the prevention of M. arthritidis infections in Lewis rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

[Unusual, supernatural presentations of birth in mythology and legends].

Although a multitude of differently motivated explanations have been brought forth in connection with legendary and pictorial representations of unusual--mostly extragenital-birth, an attempt is made to demonstrate certain common features by means of numerous examples. A hero or a god was not supposed to be born naturally ("naturally" being synonymous with "unclean", "contaminated"); his birth had to take place in an extravagant manner and was thus an attribute of immortality. Proof of this, for example, is the creation of Adam and Eve in Genesis. Special attention is given to the biphasic character of creation of life: 1. the lifeless figure, and 2. the act of animation, of coming to life. A large variety of comparisons from legends, myths and tales are exemplified by means of illustrations, such as e.g. the birth of the Buddha, Mithras, Athena, Dionysos, Adonis etc.

Bible↗
PubMed1991

Mycoplasma phocarhinis sp. nov. and Mycoplasma phocacerebrale sp. nov., two new species from harbor seals (Phoca vitulina L.).

A total of 120 mycoplasma strains were recovered from 97 of 265 diseased seals investigated during the seal epidemic in the North Sea and in the Baltic Sea in 1988. Mycoplasmas were isolated from the respiratory tracts (including lungs), hearts, brains, and eyes of the seals. Thirty strains were filter cloned and investigated for their morphological, biochemical, and serological characteristics compared with the characteristics of previously described species. The results of an indirect immunofluorescence test, a growth inhibition test, and an immunobinding assay showed that these strains belong to two new species, for which the names Mycoplasma phocarhinis and Mycoplasma phocacerebrale are proposed. M. phocarhinis (17 strains) did not ferment glucose or hydrolyze arginine but did reduce tetrazolium chloride and potassium tellurite and produced films and spots. M. phocacerebrale (13 strains) metabolized arginine but not glucose and produced phosphatase but did not reduce tetrazolium chloride and potassium tellurite. Both species lysed sheep erythrocytes but did not absorb sheep or guinea pig erythrocytes. The type strain of M. phocarhinis is strain 852 (= ATCC 49639), and the type strain of M. phocacerebrale is strain 1049 (= ATCC 49640).

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Surface parasitism of the fish mycoplasma Mycoplasma mobile 163 K on tracheal epithelial cells.

The interaction of Mycoplasma mobile 163 K with epithelial cells was investigated in tracheal organ cultures of gnotobiotic rats by electron microscopy. Ultrathin sections showed that the epithelial cells were heavily colonized and damaged by the mycoplasmas 2 days after infection. Numerous organisms were attached to fragments of the cytoplasmic membranes; others entered the injured cells and adhered to cell structures. Organisms were interconnected by fibrillary material supporting their adherence to the cell surface. Non-infected tracheal rings remained viable, differentiated and well organized up to 28 days of cultivation. The present investigation characterizes M. mobile 163 K as a surface parasite.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Isolation of Mycoplasma moatsii from the intestine of wild Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus).

The intestinal tracts of twenty inbred SPF rats (LEW, BN, WKY, DA) and six wild Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout 1769) were investigated for mycoplasmas. Cultivation was in three different media. Mycoplasmas were not isolated from the intestine of the inbred SPF rats but were found in the epithelia and contents of caecum, colon and jejunum as well as in fecal samples of all of the wild Norway rats investigated. The mycoplasmas isolated all belonged to the same species, and were identified as Mycoplasma moatsii, originally isolated from grivit monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) and thought to be specific for this host.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

T cell lines responding to Mycoplasma arthritidis and chondrocytes in the Mycoplasma arthritidis infection of rats.

CD 4+ T cell lines responding specifically to Mycoplasma (M.) arthritidis were established from spleen and lymph nodes of a Lewis rat infected with M. arthritidis. The T cell response to M. arthritidis was MHC class II-restricted. M. arthritidis-reactive T cell lines also responded to syngeneic chondrocytes suggesting that M. arthritidis and chondrocytes may share a common antigenic structure. The T cell lines reacting with chondrocytes may play an important role in the chronic stage of the M. arthritidis-induced arthritis of rats by maintaining immune reactions initiated by M. arthritidis antigens and originally established to eliminate the mycoplasmas. These autoimmune reactions could perpetuate after disappearance of the mycoplasmas and possibly last for the entire lifetime.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Epitope-sharing between Mycoplasma arthritidis and chondrocytes demonstrated by monoclonal antibodies.

Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies against Mycoplasma (M.) arthritidis membranes were investigated in the indirect immunofluorescence test (IIFT) and enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for their reactivity with rat and human chondrocytes as well as with rat skin fibroblasts. The monoclonal antibody A 79 gave positive reactions with rat chondrocytes in the IIFT up to a dilution off 1: 128 and in EIA up to a dilution of 1:16. In the EIA, the monoclonal antibodies A 31, A 32 and A 58 recognized M. arthritidis as well as rat and human chondrocyte membrane antigens up to dilutions of 1:128 and 1:256 and rat skin fibroblasts up to dilutions of 1:32/64. In the IIFT, the whole surfaces of the rat and human chondrocytes were strongly fluorescing after the treatment with the polyclonal antiserum against M. arthritidis. The monoclonal antibody A 79 caused weak fluorescence (rat chondrocytes) or no fluorescence (human chondrocytes) on the surface of the chondrocytes but a stronger fluorescence on areas around and between them. From these results it can be concluded that A 79 probably reacts with antigens of the chondrocyte matrix.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

[Artistic representation of the female breast as an attribute of femininity and fertility and also the origin of life force and wisdom].

The artistic representation of the female breasts is based upon two totally independent concepts, which are different in their expression. On the one hand, the figure, clasping her hands around her breasts, stands for womanliness and fertility. On the other hand, the act of voiding milk or water, symbolizes donation of or wisdom. These two functions of the female breasts are a large number of illustrations.

Art↗
PubMed1990

Isolation of Mycoplasma arthritidis from the joint fluid of boars.

During an outbreak of a disease in a swine insemination centre in Bavaria, Fed. Rep. of Germany, characterized by conjunctivitis, severe polyarthritis and infertility mycoplasmas have been isolated from the joint fluids of the three boars investigated. Two of the isolate could be typed as Mycoplasma (M.) arthritidis which causes arthritis in rats, mice and rabbits, the third as M. collis, a probably apathogenic rodent mycoplasma species. One of the two isolated M. arthritidis strains (strain D 263) was injected intravenously in rats and mice, which developed mild to severe polyarthritis or even died, depending on the numbers of organisms inoculated. Since the bacteriological and virological investigations of the joints of boars did not yield a causative agent, it is to suppose that M. arthritidis played the substantial role in the production of the disease of the boars. It is very likely that the boars caught the mycoplasmas from rodents infected with the isolated species.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Mycoplasma fermentans-derived high-molecular-weight material induces interleukin-6 release in cultures of murine macrophages and human monocytes.

A Mycoplasma fermentans-derived high-molecular-weight material (MDHM) is described which causes differentiation of concanavalin A-stimulated CBA/J or C57BL/6 mouse thymocytes to cytolytic effector T cells (CTLs). The effect of MDHM was inhibited by addition of monoclonal anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) antibody. It could also be abolished after removal of adherent cells. However, adherent cell-depleted thymocytes could still form CTLs after addition of IL-6. The action of MDHM could thus be explained by the capacity of MDHM to stimulate IL-6 release from adherent cells. MDHM was active on macrophages from CBA/J and C3H/HeJ endotoxin nonresponder mice and was also capable of stimulating IL-6 release from human monocytes. On gel chromatography, MDHM had an apparent molecular size of 1.5 x 10(6) daltons. Treatment with RNase and DNase had no effect on either size or biological activity. Proteinase K did not abolish activity but reduced the apparent molecular size of MDHM. MDHM production by M. fermentans required either coculture with eucaryotic cell lines in RPMI 1640 medium with fetal calf serum or addition of eucaryotic cell sonic extracts to this medium. The biological activity of MDHM is not identical to that of a mitogen for murine spleen cells derived from M. arthritidis; MDHM caused only slight proliferation in this system compared with the mitogen from M. arthritidis, and the latter did not elicit IL-6 release from macrophages. The results are discussed in relation to mycoplasmas as putative etiological agents for rheumatoid arthritis, since high IL-6 titers were reported for synovial fluid from patients with this disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Strain differences in sensitivity of rats to Mycoplasma arthritidis ISR 1 infection are under multiple gene control.

At least 5 female rats from each of 24 inbred (ACI, AS, BDIX, BH, BN, BS, BUF, DA, LE, LEW, MWF, OM, SPRD-Cu3, W-Krypt, and WKY), RT1 congenic [BH.1L(LEW), LEW.1A(AVN), LEW.1C(WIST), LEW.1LV3(BH), LEW.1K(SHR), and LEW.1N(BN)], and F1 hybrid [(LEW x BN)F1, (LEW.1W x LEW.1A)F1, and (LEW x LEW.1W)F1] strains, representing eight independent major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haplotypes (a, b, c, dv1, k, l, n, and u) and five related RT1 haplotypes (av1, lv1, lv3, uv2, and uv3), were inoculated intravenously with Mycoplasma arthritidis, and the severity of the polyarthritis that developed was determined by estimating arthritis scores and weight reductions. The 24 inbred, congenic, and F1 hybrid rat strains differed considerably in their sensitivity to infection with M. arthritidis and in the severity of the polyarthritis that they developed. Statistical evaluation showed that in the acute phase (days 1 to 42 after infection) as well as in the chronic phase (days 39 to 121 after infection) of the disease, the means of the arthritis scores for the strains form a continuous variation without significant interruptions, with the very sensitive LEW rats, the RT1 congenic rats on LEW background, the F1 hybrids with LEW, and the MWF, BS, BH, and DA rats on one end and the resistant WKY, BUF, W-Krypt, LE, and OM rats on the other end. A continuous variation was also observed for the means of the growth rates. There were, however, no significant differences between the sensitive and the resistant rat strains in the antibody titers determined by complement fixation test and enzyme immunoassay. Heritabilities of arthritis scores were calculated for all strains (h2 = 0.39 to 0.62), for the RT1 congenic strains (h2 = 0.04 to 0.14), and for several strains with identical MHC genes (h2 = 0.61 to 0.93). The results show that non-MHC genes are probably responsible for the sensitivity of rats to infection with M. arthritidis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1990

[Examination of cattle with respiratory diseases for Mycoplasma and bacterial bronchopneumonia agents].

A total of 247 mycoplasma strains was isolated from 435 lungs, tracheobronchial secretions and nasal swabs originating from cattle with symptoms of bronchopneumonia. Mycoplasma (M.) bovis was found 89 times (36%) and was the most common mycoplasma species in the lungs. M. bovirhinis, M. bovigenitalium, M. spec. and Acholeplasma (A.) laidlawii were isolated 158 times (64%). Among these mycoplasmas M. bovirhinis was the most widespread species (114 isolations). In 55 cases (62%) M. bovis was associated with Pasteurella or Actinomyces (A.) pyogenes. The other mycoplasma species were found in 67 cases (42%) together with these bacteria. Without mycoplasmas Pasteurella and A. pyogenes occurred in 33 of the probes investigated (21%). Beside mycoplasmas Haemophilus (H.) somnus was isolated from 16 of 162 tracheobronchial secretions investigated. The results confirm earlier suppositions that in most of the cases bronchopneumonia of cattle is a multifactorial event, frequently associated with mycoplasmas--especially M. bovis.

Actinomyces↗
PubMed1990

[Detection of mycoplasmas in eye swab specimens of cattle].

In the present investigation 262 conjunctival swabs were taken from 178 cattle and examined for mycoplasmas. The isolation was possible from 111 swabs. Mycoplasmas were found in eyes with clinical symptoms of IBK (in 64 of 148 swabs investigated = 43.2%) as well as in healthy eyes (in 47 of 114 swabs investigated = 41.2%). Consequently a correlation between clinical findings and isolation of mycoplasmas could not be observed. Unfortunately 60 of 111 isolates could not be subcultivated after storage at -20 degrees C. Using the indirect immunofluorescence test 41 of the 42 surviving isolates were identified as M. bovoculi which before has not been isolated in the Federal Republic of Germany. One isolate was determined as A. laidlawii. The 17 M. bovoculi strains investigated for their biochemical reactions showed the same characteristics like the reference strain M. bovoculi M 165/69. In repeating examinations mycoplasmas could be isolated 5 times after one month and 14 times after 6 months. Cattle younger than 2 years were more often infected with mycoplasmas (62.5%) than older animals (19.4%). No difference, however, could be observed in the clinical manifestations of IBK between younger and older animals. Mycoplasmas were more frequently isolated in autumn (43.6%) than in spring (21.4%) and summer (29.3%). In most of the animals examined both eyes were colonized by mycoplasmas. No spiroplasmas could be detected in the 262 conjunctival swabs investigated.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

[Fluorescence serological and culture detection of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Mycoplasma hyorhinis in swine lungs].

The present paper compares the fluorescence-serological detection of M. hyopneumoniae and M. hyorhinis in frozen sections with cultural procedures. In 161 lungs of swine the agent of enzootic pneumonia, M. hyopneumoniae, was found almost exclusively in frozen sections (22 times). Only one strain was cultivable. M. hyorhinis was detected 59 times by culture but only 18 times in the sections. For the detection of M. hyopneumoniae therefore the fluorescence-serological investigation of lung sections is the preferable method.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Pathogenetic mechanisms in the Mycoplasma arthritidis polyarthritis of rats.

Mycoplasma arthritidis is the causative agent of severe polyarthritis in rats and mice, which resembles human rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Several mechanisms are involved in this disease. M. arthritidis releases substances acting on polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMNs), i.e. oxygen radical formation stimulating substances (500-3,000 daltons), a chemotactic substance (400 daltons) and an aggregating substance (500 daltons). These products were separated from the cell-free culture supernatant by gel chromatography on Sephadex G-15 and G-10 columns. Isolated membranes of M. arthritidis possesses toxic properties for rats, mice, and chicken embryos. Hemolytic activities for sheep red blood cells and toxic effects on fetal rat skin fibroblasts were detected for this 170,000 dalton substance. Cross-reactivity between M. arthritidis and rat tissues was demonstrated in several investigations with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. Polyclonal antibodies against M. arthritidis showed a strong reaction in immunofluorescence tests with rat chondrocytes. In Western blot analysis six corresponding protein bands were observed in M. arthritidis membranes and rat chondrocytes, favoring the idea of several shared epitopes. Monoclonal antibodies were established reacting with M. arthritidis as well as with rat and human chondrocytes in the immunofluorescence test and in the enzyme immunoassay. Cross-reactivity could be observed also on the cellular level. T-cell lines of the OX 19 and W 3/25 type were established that could be stimulated by M. arthritidis antigens and by syngeneic chondrocytes. In the initial stage of the arthritis, toxic processes seem to be predominant that are continued by autoimmune reactions in the progressing disease.

Animals↗