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M Jíra

Publications and source records attributed to M Jíra.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Autoantibodies against histones and actin in patients with rheumatic diseases assessed by the western blot method.

Using the Western blot method, the authors analyzed 85 sera obtained from patients with rheumatic diseases, focused on the presence of antihistones and antiactin autoantibodies. The authors detected a 32% incidence of the two investigated autoantibody specificities. In a group of 42 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in 22 sera (52%) positive antihistone antibodies were present, whereby autoantibodies anti-H1 and anti-H2B were most frequent. In 15 sera in this group of patients (36%) antiactin autoantibodies were present.

Actins

[Autoantibodies against histones and actin determined by western blotting in patients with rheumatic diseases].

Using the Western blot method, the authors analyzed 85 sera obtained from patients with rheumatic diseases, focused on the presence of antihistones and antiactin autoantibodies. The authors detected a 32% incidence of the two investigated autoantibody specificities. In a group of 42 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in 22 sera (52%) positive antihistone antibodies were present, whereby autoantibodies anti-H1 and anti-H2B were most frequent. In 15 sera in this group of patients (36%) antiactin autoantibodies were present.

Actins

[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

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

Generation of lymphokine-activated killer cells does not require DNA synthesis.

We studied the role of DNA synthesis in the induction of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells by recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2) and the dependence of this phenomenon on DNA synthesis. Doses of gamma-irradiation (1000-5000 rads) that profoundly reduced DNA synthesis in human peripheral blood mononuclear leucocytes (PBL) also effectively suppressed the development of cytotoxic activity in the absence of IL-2. However, the same doses of irradiation affected the induction of LAK activity by IL-2 to a much lesser extent. Blocking the formation of deoxyribonucleotides by hydroxyurea, which resulted in a complete inhibition of DNA synthesis in PBL or purified T lymphocytes, had virtually no effect on the generation of LAK cells. These results indicate that the expression of LAK activity is not dependent on DNA synthesis.

Cytotoxicity, Immunologic

Lymphokine-activated killer cell activity in rheumatoid arthritis.

The lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell activity in the peripheral blood of 23 patients with rheumatoid arthritis has been studied. Two control groups comprised (a) nine patients with another chronic inflammatory disease (sarcoidosis) and (b) 19 normal healthy volunteers. The LAK activity induced by human recombinant IL-2 was very similar in controls and patients with rheumatoid arthritis but was significantly decreased in patients with sarcoidosis, although the frequency of LAK-cell precursors measured using a limiting dilution assay was comparable in all three groups. The DNA synthetic response of peripheral blood mononuclear (PBM) cells to IL-2 was slightly decreased in patients with both rheumatoid arthritis and sarcoidosis as compared to controls, but this decrease was not statistically significant. Spontaneous DNA synthesis in PBM cells cultured in the absence of IL-2 was essentially identical in all three groups. We conclude on the basis of these results that the higher risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in patients with rheumatoid arthritis cannot be attributed to an impairment of LAK activity. Furthermore, the doses of gamma-irradiation, which abolished the 'background' cytotoxicity of PBM cells cultured without IL-2 and also blocked effectively both spontaneous and exogenous IL-2-dependent DNA synthesis, had little effect on the generation of LAK activity. These observations are discussed in regard to the role of non-specific cytotoxic cells and the therapeutic efficacy of antiproliferative drugs in rheumatoid arthritis.

Adult