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Biomedical subjects

J Strejcek

Publications and source records attributed to J Strejcek.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Response of peripheral blood lymphocytes to antigenically nonspecific mitogens in systemic erythematosus].

In 24 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus the proliferating response of lymphocytes of the peripheral blood stream to mitogens PHA, ConA and PWM was examined. The spontaneous incorporation of 3H-thymidine was increased in two patients. The mean response to PHA and PWM was reduced, while the response to ConA was within the normal range. In the active stage of the disease the lymphocyte response was in general lower in the stage of low activity. There was no correlation between the number of CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes nor the CD4/CD8 index and the lymphocyte response to mitogens. In systemic lupus erythematosus the response to PWM was lower than in rheumatoid arthritis, while in rheumatoid arthritis the response to PHA and ConA was lower than in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Concanavalin A

[Various clinical courses of hypersensitivity vasculitis with eosinophilia].

The authors present three case-histories of patients who were followed up for prolonged periods and where the diagnosis of hypersensitive vasculitis was made. During the follow up period it was not possible to prove development into a different group of vasculitis or to detect a hitherto latent associated disease. Another common sign of the investigated patients was eosinophilia repeatedly found in peripheral blood, bone marrow and tissues. According to clinical criteria the above patients could not be included in groups of known types of vasculitis which are associated with eosinophilia. The patients differed significantly as to clinical manifestations of the disease, the response to different therapeutic approaches and some laboratory immunological indicators. The authors discuss the possible participation of eosinophilia in the tissue damage.

Adult

Natural killer and interleukin-2 induced cytotoxicity in asthmatics. I. Effect of acute antigen-specific challenge.

Natural killer (NK) cell activity and interleukin-2 (IL-2) induced cytotoxicity to NK-resistant targets T24 in a group of patients with grass pollen seasonal asthma were investigated. Acute bronchial provocation with this antigen was also performed and blood samples were taken before and 15 min after the maximal clinical response. NK activity was elevated in this group but there was a significant decrease after acute challenge. IL-2 induced cytotoxicity was also increased and declined after antigen challenge. Limiting dilution analysis for minimal frequencies of precursors of the IL-2 induced killer cells was introduced and showed increased numbers of lymphokine-activated killing precursors in this group of patients. These data might indicate the aberrations of the IL-2 system in immediate type allergy but the clinical significance of these findings remains to be determined.

Adult

Natural killer cell activity following thermal injury.

The role of natural killer cell activity in immunosurveillance following thermal injury remains unknown. We utilize a chromium-51-release assay of K562 targets to monitor NK activity. NK activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells of severely burned patients (BSA greater than 20%) was determined once a week until the convalescence period was completed. From the second week after thermal injury, impairment of NK activity was demonstrated, but the differences did not reach statistical significance. However, a correlation was found between decline of NK activity and incidences of septic complications. Surprisingly, no decline in NK activity was observed in the first week after thermal injury.

Adolescent

Effect of human recombinant interleukin (IL-2) on peripheral blood mononuclear cells of burned patients.

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) has been suggested to play a key role in the immune response. To investigate the effect of human recombinant IL-2 on proliferative and cytotoxic responses in burn patients, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 20 severely burned patients (body surface area (BSA) greater than 20 per cent) were studied in this way. Proliferative response measured by tritiated thymidine uptake was impaired from week 2 following injury. IL-2-activated cytotoxicity to NK-resistant target T24 was significantly impaired from week 2. To clarify if the defect in cytotoxic response is due to a decreased number of cell precursors or due to reduced responsiveness to IL-2, a limiting dilution assay was introduced. However, there was no reduction in precursor cell numbers. These data suggest that, in addition to impaired IL-2 production, there is an endogenous defect in IL-2 responsiveness. This may be of clinical importance since it is not possible to reverse this defect, at least in vitro.

Adolescent

Immunoglobulin E (IgE) in patients with severe burns.

The concentrations of immunoglobulin E (IgE) were measured serially in 30 patients with severe burn injury. A characteristic finding was a rapid and dramatic increase of IgE in the serum of all patients, some of whom showed up to 20-fold increases. IgE was also found in considerable amounts in blister fluid and pleural effusions. In some patients raised IgE values were the only indicator of an anamnestic immediate allergic state. No correlation was found between the IgE levels and clinical characteristics of individual patients but significant changes seemed to be present only in patients with a burn covering more than 20 per cent of the body surface area.

Adult

Autoantibodies in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and their clinical significance.

Data concerning autoantibodies in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are rare and controversial and only the results of indirect immunofluorescence methods are available in the literature. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and clinical significance of autoantibodies in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy by means of the Western blot which is a highly sensitive immunological technique. Sera from twelve (48.0%) of the whole group of 25 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy reacted with actin from the HeLa extract. The incidence of anti-actin antibodies in sera from 23 ischaemic heart disease patients was 13.0% (P less than 0.025) and in 37 apparently healthy subjects was 8.1% (P less than 0.001). When samples were assayed on the actomyosin prepared from Xenopus laevis muscle, sera of 14 (56.0%) of the patients exhibited actin positivity while the positivity in ischaemic heart disease and in healthy subjects was found to be 13.0 and 13.5%, respectively (P less than 0.001). Presence of anti-actin antibodies was related to the functional and clinical status and the progression of the disease. Anti-actin antibodies were found more frequently in medically treated patients. These data suggest that anti-actin antibodies are probably not directly involved in the pathogenesis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, but their detection might be useful as an additional marker of disease severity.

Actins

Effect of human recombinant interleukin-2 on cytotoxic response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in melanoma patients before surgery.

Natural killer activity against K562 targets and recombinant interleukin-2 induced cytotoxicity to NK resistant targets (MEL-4 and T24) was investigated in 15 melanoma patients. Before elective surgery no differences in cytotoxic activities were demonstrated when compared with patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma and controls. No correlation with the depth of the melanoma lesion was observed. Numbers of precursors of IL-2 induced killers in melanoma patients were in normal range. In conclusion, no defects in non-specific NK and IL-2 induced behavior in peripheral blood of melanoma patients were found. Other factors, specific, non-specific, related or unrelated to the tumor side should be thus considered.

Cytotoxicity, Immunologic