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R Vergona

Publications and source records attributed to R Vergona.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Immune responses to killed influenza vaccine in patients with type 1 diabetes: altered responses associated with HLA-DR 3 and DR 4.

To assess the immunologic differences related to histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes in patients with type 1 diabetes, trivalent killed influenza virus vaccine was given in the fall, when no influenza occurred, to 59 patients with diabetes (mean age 16 years) and 64 siblings without diabetes (mean age 36 years). All subjects had normal hemagglutination inhibition antibody responses at days 14 and 42 after vaccination, with no significant differences noted between patients with diabetes and those without diabetes. However, subjects with HLA haplotypes DR 3, DR 4, or both had lower antibody responses to influenza A/Chile and B/USSR at 14 days after vaccination (p less than 0.02) than DR x/x controls (who lacked 3 or 4). Lymphocyte transformation (LT) responses before and after vaccination were similar for patients with diabetes and those without diabetes. Of significance was that subjects with HLA haplotypes DR 3, DR 4, or both had 41.1% LT responders at 42 days after vaccination, compared with subjects with HLA-DR x/x (lacking 3 or 4) who had 22.6% responders (p less than 0.03), when influenza A/Chile was used as an antigen. Although not significant, influenza antigens A/Philippines and B/USSR each showed similar trends with increased postvaccine LT responses. The HLA associations were independent of sex, age, and the presence of diabetes. These studies suggest that HLA haplotypes DR 3 and DR 4, which were clearly linked to type 1 diabetes mellitus, were also associated with altered immune responsiveness to influenza viral proteins.

Adolescent

A comparative diuretic and tissue distribution study of bumetanide and furosemide in the dog.

Intravenous dose-response data obtained from renal clearance studies in anesthetized dogs indicated that bumetanide was approximately 30-fold more potent than furosemide in enhancing sodium excretion. After the administration of 0.01 mg/kg of bumetanide or 1.0 mg/kg of furosemide, the relationship between i.v. diuretic activity and tissue distribution was evaluated. In dog renal clearance experiments, bumetanide and furosemide significantly enhanced urine flow, sodium and potassium excretion. Inulin clearance as an estimate of glomerular filtration rate was not altered by either drug, but sodium reabsorption was decreased with bumetanide (13%) and furosemide (12%). At these diuretic doses, both compounds were bound to dog plasma protein to about the same extent (86-91%), although total plasma levels were 100-fold higher for furosemide. Within 1/2 hour after the i.v. administration of 14C-bumetanide or 14C-furosemide, 86 to 99% of the 14C in urine, plasma, kidney, and liver appeared as unchanged drug. One minute after maximal diuresis bumetanide was found to have a higher affinity (3-fold) for kidney compared to furosemide. These data offer a possible explanation for the i.v. diuretic potency difference between these two compounds. Furthermore, the lack of significant difference in plasma protein binding and the absence of urinary metabolites of either drug suggest that other factors may also contribute to the marked differences in diuretic activity between bumetanide and furosemide.

Animals

Fluorescamine as a terminating agent in solid phase peptide synthesis.

Fluorescamine was shown to be an excellent terminating agent for blocking unreacted amino groups during solid phase peptide synthesis. A comparison of the termination efficiency of fluorescamine versus that of acetylation revealed that the former method gave superior products as assessed by peptide analysis, dansyl-amino end group determination and biological assay. In addition, fluorescamine terminated fragments were converted to non-fluorescent spirolactones during the deprotection stage. These spirolactones were stable to subsequent solid phase reaction conditions and were readily removed from the target peptide.

Acetylation