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K D Elgert

Publications and source records attributed to K D Elgert.

68 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Inactivation of complement by Loxosceles reclusa spider venom.

Zymosan depletion of serum complement in guinea pigs rendered them highly resistant to lesion by Loxosceles reclusa spider venom. Guinea pigs deficient in C4 of the complement system are as sensitive to the venom as normal guinea pigs. The injection of 35 micrograms of whole recluse venom intradermally into guinea pigs lowered their complement level by 35.7%. Brown recluse spider venom in concentrations as slight as 0.02 micrograms protein/ml can totally inactivate one CH50 of guinea pig complement in vitro. Bee, scorpion, and other spider venoms had no influence on the hemolytic titer of complement. Fractionation of recluse spider venom by Sephadex G-200 filtration separated the complement-inactivating property of the venom into three major regions which could be distinguished on the basis of heat stability as well as size. None was neutralized by antivenom. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of venom resolved the complement inactivators into five fractions. Complement inactivated by whole venom or the Sephadex fractions could be restored to hemolytic activity by supplements of fresh serum but not by heat-inactivated serum, pure C3, pure C5, or C3 and C5 in combination.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Suppressor cell activity in tumor-bearing mice. I. Dualistic inhibition by suppressor T lymphocytes and macrophages.

Spleen cells from mice bearing methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcomas impaired mitogen responses of normal syngeneic lymphocytes. Nylon wool column and other depletion techniques were utilized to characterize the cellular source of suppressive activity in tumor-bearing host (TBH) spleens. Evidence is presented for two distinct suppressor cell systems operating in the spleens, but not lymph nodes, of BALB/c mice bearing transplanted tumors. Spleens from TBH were shown to have greatly increased numbers of macrophages over their normal counterparts. TBH macrophages were observed to have suppressive activity at low in vitro concentrations. Anti-Thy 1 serum treatment of TBH macrophages abrogated low dose inhibition but not suppression due to high numbers of macrophages. No functional difference was detected between anti-Thy 1 serum-treated TBH and normal splenic macrophages. In a macrophage-depleted culture system, mildly nylon wool adherent, anti-Thy 1 serum, and hydrocortisone succinate-sensitive suppressor cells could be detected. Soluble supernatant products of TBH spleen and thymus cells were also found to inhibit in vitro mitogen responses, whereas TBH macrophages and lymph node cells demonstrated no soluble suppressive activity. The major source of soluble inhibitor of DNA synthesis (IDS) seems to be an anti-Thy 1 serum, hydrocortisone-sensitive population.

Animals↗
PubMed1974

Immunological studies of Brown recluse spider venom.

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of Loxosceles reclusa venom demonstrated that only one of seven or eight major (plus three or four minor) protein components caused necrosis in guinea pig skin. Sephadex gel filtration separated the venom into three major peaks, the second peak of which contained the dermonecrotic activity. Hyperimmunization of rabbits with increasing doses of venom from L. reclusa produced potent precipitating antisera, and the rabbits became resistant to lesion development. Ouchterlony-type immunodiffusion and immunoelectrophoretic studies revealed six to seven distinct precipitation lines, one of which stained intensely for esterase activity. Immunohistochemical techniques failed to detect any protease, lipase, catalase, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, or amylase activity in the venom. The spreading activity of recluse spider venom in guinea pig skin was inhibited as much as 71% by antivenom. Venom preincubated with antivenom was unable to incite lesions in guinea pig skin. Passive immunization of guinea pigs 18 h before an injection of venom conferred venom resistance upon the animals. Local injections of antivenom immediately after intradermal injections of venom markedly reduced the dermal lesion. Heparin reduced the local and systemic effects of venom when preincubated with whole venom or when administered systemically before an intradermal injection of venom. Treatment of whole venom with the chelating agent ethylenediaminetetraacetate did not inhibit its necrotic activity. Transfer studies from a 24-h lesion indicated that the necrotic activity was localized and remained active in tissue for at least 24 h but not for 5 days. No lesions developed when high concentrations of venom were intradermally injected into the skin of sacrificed guinea pigs, indicating that an interaction of body constituents and venom is essential for the development of a lesion.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Interferon-gamma reduces tumor-induced Ia- macrophage-mediated suppression: role of prostaglandin E2, Ia, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

Tumor growth enhances macrophage (M phi) suppressor activity by causing M phi to increase synthesis of inhibitory molecules such as prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) or decreasing their expression of up-regulatory molecules such as the class II MHC protein Ia. Although these tumor-induced changes are correlated, it is unknown whether tumor-bearing host (TBH) Ia- M phi become more suppressive by increasing their PGE2 synthesis. To assess the role of PGE2 in tumor-induced Ia- M phi-mediated suppression of CD4+ T-cell alloreactivity, unseparated (Ia(+)-enriched) or Ia(+)-depleted (Ia-) populations of murine normal host (NH) or TBH splenic M phi were added to mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) cultures. NH or TBH Ia- M phi were significantly more suppressive than their respective unseparated populations, and TBH Ia- M phi were more suppressive than their NH counterparts. When PGE2 production was blocked with indomethacin, TBH Ia- M phi-mediated suppression was reduced more than suppression mediated by all other M phi populations. A PGE2-specific ELISA showed more PGE2 in Ia- M phi-containing cultures than in those with whole M phi and more in cultures containing TBH Ia- M phi than in their NH counterparts. Because interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) is a potent M phi activation molecule that regulates both Ia expression and PGE2 production, the effects of IFN-gamma on tumor-induced Ia- M phi-mediated suppression were investigated. Exogenous IFN-gamma reduced suppression mediated by all M phi populations except NH unseparated M phi. IFN-gamma suppressed alloreactivity without M phi or with NH unseparated M phi. Suppression mediated by NH or TBH Ia-, and TBH unseparated M phi was also reduced when M phi were pre-incubated with IFN-gamma before their addition to MLR cultures. IFN-gamma addition did not block Ia- M phi-mediated suppression by decreasing M phi PGE2 production. In fact, IFN-gamma addition increased PGE2 production two-fold in MLR cultures. However, IFN-gamma partly reduced suppression mediated by exogenous PGE2 added to M phi-depleted cultures. Cytofluorometric analysis showed that IFN-gamma increased the percentage of Ia+ M phi in NH and TBH Ia- M phi populations. Blocking TNF-alpha activity with anti-TNF-alpha antibodies caused IFN-gamma to suppress alloreactivity in all M phi-added cultures. Collectively, these data show that tumor-induced suppression mediated by Ia- M phi is caused by increased PGE2 synthesis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Normal and tumor-bearing host macrophage responses: variability in accessory function, surface markers, and cell-cycle kinetics.

Normal and tumor-bearing host (TBH) peritoneal macrophage (M phi) responses to in vitro lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment were measured by assessing functional and phenotypic changes. Both normal and TBH untreated M phi suppressed mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) reactivity at all concentrations. Normal host M phi treated with LPS for 3 h were suppressive at all concentrations. TBH M phi treated with LPS for 3 h were not suppressive in the MLR until more than 5% were added. Surprisingly, 24 h treatment of normal and TBH M phi with LPS induced cells that significantly enhanced MLR reactivity when added at 2% or 5%. These cells were not suppressive until a 20% M phi concentration was reached. LPS treatment of normal and TBH M phi changed the percentage of cells expressing the surface markers Mac-1, -2, -3, and Ia as determined by flow cytometry. Normal host peritoneal M phi treated with LPS for 3 h had decreased Mac-1 and -3 expression, but there was no change in Mac-2 or Ia. Plating for 24 h did not change the percentage of M phi expressing Mac-1, -3, or Ia but did cause an increase in Mac-2+ M phi. Treatment of normal host M phi with LPS for 24 h led to a decrease in Mac-1+ and Ia+ M phi, no change in Mac-3+ M phi, but an increase in Mac-2+ M phi. LPS treatment of TBH M phi for 3 h decreased the number of Mac-1+ M phi, but Mac-2+, -3+, or Ia+ M phi numbers did not change. Plating TBH M phi for 24 h caused a decrease in the number of Mac-1+ M phi, no change in Mac-3+ or Ia+ M phi, but an increase in Mac-2+ M phi. Treatment with LPS for 24 h led to no change in the number of Mac-1+, -3+, or Ia+ TBH M phi, but Mac-2+ M phi increased. The phenotypic and functional changes after LPS treatment led us to ask if these changes were detectable at the level of DNA and RNA. Flow cytometric analysis of acridine orange-stained M phi was used to measure DNA and RNA levels. This analysis determines M phi cell-cycle kinetics and estimates their RNA synthesis. In normal host M phi, a 3-h LPS treatment caused a decrease of cells in G0/G1 but an insignificant change in RNA levels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acridine Orange↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Tumor growth alters macrophage responsiveness to macrophage colony-stimulating factor during reactivity against allogeneic and syngeneic MHC class II molecules.

Tumor-induced changes in macrophage (M phi)2 accessory activities significantly suppress T-cell recognition of allogeneic and syngeneic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules. Because these changes are often associated with altered responses to stimulatory and inhibitory cytokines, we investigated the possibility that tumor growth alters the contribution of a macrophage regulatory cytokine, macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), during reactivity against allogeneic and syngeneic MHC class II molecules. T-cell reactivity against allogeneic MHC class II molecules was significantly suppressed by tumor-bearing host (TBH) M phi in the presence of M-CSF. M-CSF-induced suppression was independent of TBH M phi prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis. T-cell reactivity against syngeneic MHC class II molecules increased in the presence of M-CSF when normal host (NH) M phi served as the source of syngeneic molecules. However, T-cell reactivity against syngeneic MHC class II molecules in the presence of M-CSF did not change when TBH M phi served as stimulator/accessory cells. Although T-cell reactivity against NH syngeneic MHC class II molecules was additively increased by M-CSF and indomethacin (a PGE2 synthesis inhibitor) treatment, reactivity against TBH syngeneic MHC class II molecules increased solely through PGE2 synthesis inhibition. Admixtures of both NH and TBH M phi in the absence or presence of M-CSF suggest that tumor-induced suppression was not strictly due to decreased expression of MHC class II molecules. Collectively, these data suggest that TBH M phi are partly suppressive through altered responsiveness to M-CSF.

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