Bacillus Calmette-Guérin as an anti-tumor agent. The interaction with cells of the mammalian immune system.
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Animals↗
Biomedical subjects
M Davies
Publications and source records attributed to M Davies.
Psychotic symptoms in prepubertal major depressive disorder.
Symptoms of psychosis and psychoticlike phenomena were systematically inquired for, using a semistructured diagnostic interview protocol, in 58 prepubertal children who fulfilled Research Diagnostic Criteria for major depressive disorder. Subjects were classical into endogenous and nonendogenous subtypes. Forty-eight percent of the sample reported hallucinations. Thirty-six percent (including 48% of those in the endogenous subtype and 24% of those in the nonendogenous subtype) reported auditory hallucinations that consisted of one or more words other than their names, experienced in clear consciousness. Sixteen percent reported visual or tactile hallucinations. Four children were rated as having delusional ideas. Symptoms were analyzed in terms of contents, formal characteristics, thematic and temporal consistency with depressed mood, extent of the child's belief in the reality of the experience, frequency, and experienced location of auditory hallucinations. The psychopathologic meaning of the reported phenomena is uncertain.
Age Factors↗
Sleep architecture and REM sleep measures in prepubertal children with major depression: a controlled study.
We performed a three-night polysomnographic study of 54 rigorously assessed, drug free, prepubertal children who fit unmodified Research Diagnostic Criteria for major depressive disorder, and two groups of nondepressed controls (25 with emotional disorders and 11 who were normal). The groups did not differ polysomnographically, even though a high proportion of depressives and neurotics reported sleep disturbance in structured interviews. Sleep stage data do not appear to differentiate children with prepubertal major depressive disorders from nondepressed neurotic or normal children. Other psychobiologic findings in prepubertal depressives together with marked age effects on polysomnographic correlates of adult major depressive disorders suggest the hypothesis that polysomnographic abnormalities in adult major depressives are secondary to an interaction between depression and age.
Adult↗
Epidemiology of depressive mood in adolescents: an empirical study.
The epidemiology and correlates of depressive mood were measured in a representative sample of public high school students in New York State and a subsample matched to their parents. Depressive mood was measured by a self-reported scale validated in a clinical sample. Adolescents with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder scored higher than those with other psychiatric diagnoses. In the general adolescent sample, ex differences in depressive mood paralleled those previously reported for adults, with girls scoring higher than boys. Adolescents reported higher depressive mood than their parents, with the differences greater in daughter-mother than in son-father pairs. If judged by mood differences, adolescence was a stressful period in the life cycle. Lowest levels of adolescent depressive mood correlated with high levels of attachment both to parents and to peers. Sex differences in depressive mood in adolescents may be accounted for by masked depression and increased delinquency among boys as compared with girls.
Adolescent↗
Mechanisms of BCG action. I. The induction of nonspecific helper cells during the potentiation of alloimmune cell-mediated cytotoxic responses.
Donor mice were treated IV with BCG and after various time intervals the spleens from these animals were injected into syngeneic recipients which were simultaneously challenged with an allogeneic tumour. The spleen cells from the BCG-treated donors, but not untreated donors, conferred on the recipients an ability to induce a potentiated CMC reaction against the tumour. The transference of BCG-induced potentiating activity could not be explained by the transference of viable BCG organisms, but was mediated by a cell that was anti-Thy.1-sensitive, silica-resistant, plastic-nonadherent, and nylon wool-adherent, and was sensitive in vivo to anti-thymocyte serum but resistant to hydrocortisone. By the use of congenic strains of mice that differed at the Thy.1 allele, it was shown that the cells responsible were not precursors of the cytotoxic lymphocytes but were cells that produced an amplification of the response of the recipient host's precursor cytotoxic T cells.
Animals↗
A quantitative assay for the measurement of immune responses directed against the human placenta.
A quantitative in vitro immune assay based on the classical chromium release assay has been developed to detect immune responses directed against alien antigens expressed by the developing foetus and present on the maternal-facing surface of the human placenta. A plasma membrane fraction from the surface of the placenta was prepared and the vesicles thus formed were radiolabelled with 51 Cr. The 51Cr-labelled vesicles, by various criteria, were found to be suitable for use as targets in a 'release assay'. Further, by means of experimentally immunised animals, the target membranes were shown to be capable of detecting both cellular and humoral anti-placental activity.
Animals↗
An ontogenetic and interspecific study of the renin-angiotensin system in Australian anuran Amphibia.
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Animals↗
Enhancement by BCG of macrophage-like suppressor cells that inhibit the expression of cytotoxic T-cell effector function.
The expression of alloimmune splenic T-cell mediated cytotoxicity, as determined by the 51Cr release assay, in animals undergoing allograft rejection, was observed to be inhibited by a cell present in the plastic-adherent fractions of the spleens. The activity of the suppressor cell, induced by the presence of the allograft, was enhanced if the animals were treated with BCG: The latter also potentiated the rejection response. The suppressor cell acted at the cytolytic phase of the effector function so that there was a measurable increase in the response if the suppressor cells were removed from the immune spleens prior to the assay. The cell responsible for the suppressor activity was macrophage-like in its characteristics, being of light density, adherent to glass surfaces, Thy-1-negative and sensitive to the toxic effects of crystalline silica particles.
Animals↗
Jackknifing functions of multinomial frequencies, with an application to a measure of concordance.
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Epidemiologic Methods↗
The biodegradation of methoxychlor by Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Klebsiella pneumoniae was found to effect the reductive dechlorination of methoxychlor (2,2-bis(p-methoxyphenyl)-1, 1, 1-trichloroethane) and its dihydroxy derivative (2, 2-bis (p-hydroxyphenyl)-1, 1, 1-trichloroethane) to dichloro derivatives 2, 2-bis (p-methoxyphenyl)-1, 1-dichloroethane and 2, 2-bis (p-hydroxyphenyl)-1, 1-dichloroethane, respectively. Dehydrohalogenation to the corresponding diaryl dichloroethylenes, which themselves were not further degraded by this bacterium, was not observed. Cleavage of the methoxy groups to form the hydroxy compounds did not take place.
Chemical Phenomena↗
Immune responsiveness against the human placenta. II. Response with xenogeneic lymphocytes in culture.
Human placental plasma membrane vesicles were cultured for up to 5 days in the presence of spleen cells from (BALB/c X C57BL/6By) F1 hybrid mice. The membrane preparations either inhibited the uptake of [3H]-thymidine ([3H]-TdR) by destroying the viability of the T-cell population or stimulated weak lymphocyte division which was primarily an expansion of the T-cell population. This differential effect was dependent on the membrane concentration in culture and the length of time the membrane preparation had been stored. Membrane preparations that inhibited [3H]-TdR uptake could be converted into stimulatory-type membranes by preincubating them at 37 degrees for several days. This conversion coincided with a change in status concerning membrane susceptibility to disruption by cytotoxic non-T-cells present in the spleen of unimmunized animals. The conversion from stimulating-type membrane into inhibitory-type was never observed. Throughout these cultures the generation of cell-mediated cytolysis could not be detected.
Animals↗
The detection of monocytes in human renal biopsies: a prospective study.
A total of 52 non-transplant and 16 transplant renal biopsies were examined for the presence of monocytes in the glomeruli using the non-specific esterase reaction. Four of the non-transplant and 4 of the transplant group were positive. The 4 non-transplant samples all showed the presence of granular IgG and C3 together with electron dense deposits in the basement membrane. In contrast the positive transplant samples showed vascular rejection with little immune protein deposition and no deposits. One patient with focal glomerulosclerosis had large clumps of esterase positive material in the glomeruli in association with deposits of C3 and the presence of foam cells.
Fluorescent Antibody Technique↗
Bacterial cells as anti-tumour agents in man.
Since conventional cancer treatments cannot guarantee the destruction of all the tumour cells present within the patient, a relatively new form of therapy has been introduced whereby bacteria are used to stimulate immune responses, which if properly generated have the potential to eliminate the few remaining tumour cells that escaped the conventional treatments. This review deals with the results of clinical trials of immunotherapy and demonstrates that although it could form the basis of an effective therapy, it still requires more experiments to increase its efficiency and to decrease its side effects, the most serious of which is to accelerate tumour growth in some instances. The review concentrates on the two main agents currently in use, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin and Corynebacterium parvum.
BCG Vaccine↗
Immune responsiveness against the human placenta. I. Generation of cellular and humoral activity in experimental animals.
Using a new adaptation of the 51Cr release assay, it was found that plasma membrane vesicles from the human placental microvillous surface were not only capable of eliciting both cellular and humoral immunity in mice, but were also susceptible to lysis by these immune components. The production of cytotoxic cells and circulating antibody in immunized animals was only observed in the presence of Freund's complete adjuvant. The cells exhibited reactivity only against vesicles from a limited range of placentae, while the antibodies showed reactions against vesicles from a wider range of placentae. These vesicles were also susceptible to lysis by antisera raised against placental alkaline phosphatase but were resistant to attack by antibodies raised against normal human serum and HLA (multispecific) determinants and by a cytotoxic monoclonal antibody against human beta 2-microglobulin. The cellular cytotoxicity in the spleens of immunized animals could be abrogated if the cells were pretreated with AKR anti-C3H antiserum and complement. Further, in the spleens of in immunized animals, a population of cells was detected that exhibited a 'natural' cytotoxicity against several of the membrane preparations. This cytotoxicity was heat-labile, being abrogated if the cells were preincubated at 37 degrees for 4 hr before the assay, but was resistant to attack by the anti-Thy 1 antiserum. The results indicate that the use of 51Cr-labelled placental microvillous vesicles is a useful way of searching for anti-trophoblast immunity which may now be applied to the search for immune responses in pregnancy.
Animals↗
Relationship of dexamethasone (2 mg) and plasma cortisol hypersecretion in depressive illness: clinical and neuroendocrine parameters.
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Adolescent↗
Some properties of human blood monocyte cell lysate neutral proteinase(s).
The proteinase content of highly purified preparations of human peripheral blood monocytes was investigated. Monocyte cell lysates exhibited activity at neutral pH against azocasein, 3H-labelled elastin as well as several synthetic substrates used to detect serine proteinases (EC 3.4.21.-) of human polymorphonuclear leucocytes. The cell lysates also contain at least two acid proteinases. The levels of neutral proteinase activity in monocytes was considerably less than that found in polymorphonuclear leucocytes. The effect of inhibitors on the monocytes neutral proteinases showed them to be of the serine type. Monocytes also solubilized and degraded the type IV collagen found in human glomerular basement membrane at neutral and acid pH. The action of the monocyte proteinase on glomerular basement membrane indicated that their properties were similar but not identical to that of the polymorphonuclear leucocyte serine proteinases. Since monocytes infiltrate the glomerulus in certain forms of immunologically mediated glomerulonephritis, it may well be that monocyte serine proteinases make a contribution to the glomerular damage that occurs.
Basement Membrane↗
The affinity of bacterial polysaccharide-containing fractions for mammalian cell membranes and its relationship to immunopotentiating activity.
The natural affinity of various bacterial glycopeptides and lipopolysaccharides for mammalian cell membranes was estimated quantitatively by comparison with the adsorption of lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli NCTC 8623 to erythrocytes, thymocytes, bone marrow cells, spleen cells, peritoneal lymphocytes and macrophages. Immunopotentiating activity was estimated by measuring the ability of the bacterial fractions to stimulate a humoral response to ovalbumin in HAM/1CR mice. When the affinity for mammalian cell membranes was compared with the stimulation of the antibody response, it was found that a negative correlation for peritoneal macrophages (rs = -0.94, P less than 0.0005) and a positive correlation for peritoneal lymphocytes (rs = +0.97, P less than 0.0005) and spleen cells (rs = +0.76, P less than 0.005) existed.
Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
Familial hypocalciuric hypercalcaemia and acute pancreatitis.
Four families with familial hypocalciuric hypercalcaemia were studied. The probands presented with abdominal pain, which in three was due to acute pancreatitis; in two the condition was life threatening. Serum concentrations of calcium, magnesium, phosphate, and immunoassayable parathyroid hormone, urinary calcium excretion, and the rate of renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate were measured; the findings were compared with results in 10 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism matched for serum calcium concentration to establish differences between the diseases. Familial hypocalciuric hypercalcaemia should be suspected in patients with hypercalcaemia in whom daily urinary calcium excretion is below 5 mmol (200 mg) provided renal insufficiency, vitamin D deficiency, and ingestion of drugs that reduce calcium excretion have been excluded. Most cases appear to run a benign course, but some may suffer considerable morbidity. Surgical treatment should be reserved for patients with severe complications, when all parathyroid tissue should be removed.
Acute Disease↗