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Biomedical subjects

L B Mills

Publications and source records attributed to L B Mills.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Improved results of delayed-type hypersensitivity skin testing in HIV-infected patients treated with topical dinitrochlorobenzene.

BACKGROUND: Infection with HIV results in progressive deterioration of cell-mediated immunity, with consequent impairment of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin reactivity. Topical dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) is thought to increase cellular immune function in HIV infection. OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to evaluate changes in DTH skin reactivity of HIV-infected patients who were given DNCB therapy. METHODS: DTH skin testing and lymphocyte subset analysis were performed in five HIV-infected patients before the start of DNCB treatment and after 3 months of therapy. Topical DNCB application was carried out by the patients according to a standardized protocol. RESULTS: DNCB therapy enhanced DTH skin test responses in four of five patients. Three patients who were anergic before the start of treatment reacted to skin test antigens while using DNCB. The skin test results did not correlate with lymphocyte subset changes. CONCLUSION: DNCB treatment improves DTH skin test responses in HIV-infected patients, indicating a positive effect on cellular immune function.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed1977

Purification and partial characterization of the principal deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase from Mycoplasmatales.

In this report we present the first description of the isolation and partial characterization of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) polymerase activity from two species of Mycoplasmatales, Mycoplasma orale type 1 and M. hyorhinis. We have identified only a single DNA polymerase species in the mycoplasma crude extracts, and the enzymes from the two organisms are very similar in their structural and enzymatic properties. The purified polymerase from each source has a specific activity of greater than 50,000 U/mg of protein, a sedimentation coefficient of 5.6s, and an estimated molecular weight by gel filtration of 130,000. On sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the most highly purified M. orale fraction contains a single major protein band of 130,000 daltons, which we believe may represent the polymerase protein. The enzymes are most reactive with gapped (activated) DNA and show a marked preference for this primer template over oligodeoxyribonucleotide-initiated homoribo- or homodeoxyribo-polymers. The most purified preparations are devoid of contaminating endonuclease activity and also appear to lack associated 5' leads to 3'- or 3' leads to 5'-exonuclease activities, as determined by highly sensitive assays. The absence of the 3' leads to 5'-exonuclease is particularly remarkable in that this activity is essentially ubiquitous among the DNA polymerases that have thus far been characterized from procaryotes.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Decrease in viral load associated with topical dinitrochlorobenzene therapy in HIV disease.

Quantitative measurement of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA is being used to assess the efficacy of various treatment modalities in HIV disease. Topical dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) therapy has been associated with improved clinical and immunologic parameters in HIV-infected patients. We have now examined the effect of topical DNCB treatment on plasma HIV RNA levels in a small prospective study. Eight HIV-infected subjects had T-cell counts and plasma viral load measured prior to initiation of DNCB therapy and 3-4 months after starting treatment. Six patients who refused DNCB therapy served as simultaneous controls. The mean CD4 and CD8 T-cell counts did not change significantly in either group over the study period. In contrast, plasma HIV RNA levels decreased one-half to greater than one log in each DNCB-treated subject, and the decrease in viral copies was statistically significant (p = 0.006). In the control group, plasma HIV RNA levels increased significantly over the course of the study (p = 0.037). We conclude that topical DNCB therapy has the ability to lower viral load in HIV-infected patients. The long-term effect on viral burden of this inexpensive, readily available therapeutic modality merits further investigation.

Administration, Topical↗