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Biomedical subjects

N A Munn

Publications and source records attributed to N A Munn.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Microglia dysfunction in schizophrenia: an integrative theory.

Schizophrenia is a devastating illness of unknown etiology. It is characterized by increased brain ventricular volume, suggesting a progressive neurodevelopmental condition. There is evidence suggesting a correlation between in utero viral exposure and subsequent occurrence of schizophrenia. Many neurotransmitter systems have been implicated as being dysfunctional in schizophrenia. There are also data suggesting immune system dysfunction in schizophrenia, and a negative correlation between schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis. Microglia are phagocytic immune cells in the central nervous system (CNS) derived from peripheral blood monocytes. They are involved in brain development, neuroproliferative and neurodegenerative activities, several CNS illnesses, and CNS viral immunity. They may also be involved in neurotransmitter regulation. The current theory postulates microglial dysfunction initiated by early CNS viral exposure results in the abnormal neural development and neurotransmitter dysfunction seen in schizophrenia.

Brain↗
PubMed1989

Immunoregulatory effects of alpha-endorphin, beta-endorphin, methionine-enkephalin, and adrenocorticotropic hormone on anti-tetanus toxoid antibody synthesis by human lymphocytes.

This study assesses the effects of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), alpha-endorphin (alpha-endo), beta-endorphin (beta-endo), and methionine-enkephalin (met-enk) on tetanus toxoid-stimulated in vitro specific antibody (anti-TT) synthesis. ACTH and TT-costimulated cultures enhanced antibody (Ab) synthesis over control TT-stimulated cultures at 10(-9) and 10(-11) M and suppressed Ab synthesis at 10(-13) and 10(-17) M. The alpha-endo and TT-costimulated cultures enhanced Ab synthesis over control cultures at all concentrations tested (10(-7) to 10(-15) M). Cultures costimulated with beta-endo and TT enhanced Ab synthesis over control cultures at 10(-11) M and suppressed Ab synthesis at doses above and below 10(-11) M. The met-enk and TT-costimulated cultures produced more Ab than controls at 10(-9) M; and the met-enk and TT-costimulated cultures produced less Ab than controls at other concentrations as low as 10(-17) M and as high as 10(-7) M. The results of this study provide one reason as to why the interactions between the neuroendocrine and immune systems remain unclear.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1986

The detection of specific antibody formation to recall antigens after human bone marrow transplantation.

The results of this study show that donor-derived immunity can be detected and persists in long-term survivors with and without chronic graft-v-host disease (GVHD) after human marrow grafting. Seventy-one marrow recipients (60 long-term and 11 short-term survivors) were studied for the presence of specific serum IgG antibodies to tetanus toxoid (TT), and 46 marrow recipients (35 long-term and 11 short-term) were tested for antibodies to diphtheria toxoid (DT) and measles virus after marrow grafting using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Of the 60 long-term survivors, 31 were healthy and 29 had chronic GVHD. None of the recipients were immunized to the test antigens postgrafting. Most long-term healthy recipients exhibited antibody titers to the recall test antigens, whereas only a minority of those with chronic GVHD had antibody titers to recall antigens. In healthy long-term recipients (greater than or equal to one year postgrafting) whose donors were immune to the test antigens, 25 of 31 had titers to TT, 11 of 17 had titers to DT, and 12 of 20 had titers to measles. In recipients with C-GVHD, 13 of 29 had titers to TT, six of 15 had titers to DT, and six of 15 had titers to measles virus. Within 100 days postgrafting, 11 of 11 had anti-TT titers, ten of ten had anti-DT titers, and seven of eight had antimeasles virus titers.

Antibodies↗