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Biomedical subjects

S H Stone

Publications and source records attributed to S H Stone.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Association of hereditary cataracts in strain 13/N guinea-pigs with mutation of the gene for zeta-crystallin.

Congenital nuclear cataracts transmitted by an autosomal dominant gene are present in a line of strain 13/N guinea-pigs. Studies on the lens proteins from these animals demonstrate changes in both the composition and structure of the crystallins relative to normal controls. The most prominent difference is in the zeta-crystallin, a taxon-specific crystallin which has been shown to be related to the alcohol dehydrogenases. In animals homozygous for the cataract phenotype the normal zeta-crystallin polypeptide is absent from the lens. Quantitation is difficult in the cataractous lenses from heterozygotes because of protein changes secondary to opacification: however in liver and kidney which have catalytic levels of the protein, the concentrations are approximately half that present in tissue from normal control animals. These findings suggest that in the cataractous animals a mutation has occurred in the gene for zeta-crystallin. In addition, a novel protein which is very similar to zeta-crystallin is synthesized only in the lenses of animals with cataract. This protein appears to be the product of the mutant gene for zeta-crystallin. These data support the hypothesis that this hereditary congenital cataract results from a specific mutation in the zeta-crystallin gene.

Animals

Zeta-crystallin, a novel lens protein from the guinea pig.

Lens proteins from the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) were found to be similar to those of other mammals with the exception of the presence of a previously undescribed constituent comprising about 10% of the total soluble lens proteins. This oligomeric protein is composed of polypeptides with apparent molecular weight of 38,000 and elutes from gel exclusion chromatography columns in the beta H-crystallin fraction. Following purification by ion exchange chromatography an antibody was raised against the protein. Using that antibody and antibodies specific for other crystallins we could detect no cross-reactivity between the guinea pig protein and any other reported lens crystallin. This protein, which we have named zeta (zeta)-crystallin, is the first reported mammalian lens crystallin which is not part of the alpha- or beta-gamma families of crystallins. Unlike all other known mammalian crystallins, which have little or no alpha-helical structure, zeta-crystallin is estimated to be approximately 30-40% alpha-helix.

Animals

Transfer of autoimmune encephalomyelitis with T lymphocytes in strain 13 guinea pigs.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and/or tuberculin sensitivity were transferred to histocompatible recipients with myelin basic protein-stimulated and/or PPD stimulated guinea pig lymph node T cells previously separated by depletion of B cells ("panning") on rabbit anti-guinea pig Ig antibody-coated Petri plates. The depletion was augmented by complement-mediated lysis using mouse anti-guinea pig B-cell monoclonal antibody (31D2), rabbit anti-mouse Ig, and rabbit complement. B cells did not transfer EAE nor provide protection against active immunization with guinea pig spinal cord antigen.

Animals

Dose-dependency of MBP-induced demyelination in the guinea pig.

The pathology of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by bovine myelin basic protein (MBP) has been examined in the guinea pig with a series of doses ranging from 37.5 micrograms to 600 micrograms. This was to investigate whether the previously demonstrated lack of demyelinative effect by MBP was dose-related. At all doses tested, MBP induced clinical disease. Inflammation was the major feature of lesions in all animals. However, no demyelination was seen when 75 micrograms MBP or less was given. At higher doses (150 micrograms upwards), MBP always induced intense inflammation but demyelination was encountered inconsistently. These observations support the contention that in addition to an immune response to MBP, other factors contribute to autoimmune demyelination.

Animals

Chronic experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in strain 2 guinea pigs. Absence of resistance to nervous system changes and sex dependence of clinical disease.

Experimental autoimmune (allergic) encephalomyelitis (EAE) was induced in Strain 2 guinea pigs, a strain usually regarded as resistant to EAE. The development of disease in groups of juvenile male or female Strain 2/N guinea pigs was irregular with clinical EAE manifesting only in some groups of females. All animals examined morphologically (12 females and 9 males), between 3 and 18 months postinoculation, showed extensive changes in the central nervous system, although 12 of these had displayed no neurologic signs. This silent central nervous system disease, reminiscent of similar phenomena in man, indicates that Strain 2/N is fully competent immunologically at the level of the target organ.

Animals

Chronic relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. treatment with combinations of myelin components promotes clinical and structural recovery.

Preliminary results are presented on the treatment of Strain 13 guinea pigs with chronic relapsing experimental autoimmune (allergic) encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by a single sensitisation with whole spinal cord. Animals were treated at different stages of the disease with injection containing either myelin basic protein (MBP) alone in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA), or MBP in combination with a lipid hapten of myelin, galactocerebroside (GC) in IFA. The rationale for this treatment stemmed from previous work which suggested that MBP was responsible for T cell sensitisation in EAE and that GC was important in producing demyelinating antibodies and that both myelin components were needed in the induction of disease. Although treatment with MBP alone caused some initial stabilisation of the disease process, subsequent relapses occurred in all animals. However, in animals given MBP and GC together, either early or late in the course of the disease, marked clinical improvement has been noted with little or no development of relapses over an observation period of more than one year post-treatment. In addition, evidence of extensive remyelination and oligodendroglial proliferation in CNS lesions has been found in MBP-GC-treated animals suggesting that this therapy might be beneficial for CNS repair and relevant to multiple sclerosis.

Animals

Optic neuritis and chronic relapsing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis: relationship to clinical course and comparison with multiple sclerosis.

Optic nerve tissue from strain 13 guinea pigs sensitized for chronic (relapsing) experimental allergic encephalomyelitis has been examined up to 3 years postinoculation. The changes were compared with the clinical history in each case, with lesions occurring elsewhere in the central nervous system and with optic nerve tissue from a single case of chronic multiple sclerosis. In chronic experimental allergic encephalomyelitis was found that optic neuritis was a consistent finding. Active lesions in the optic nerve were a feature of animals sampled up to 4 months postinoculation. Unlike lesions in the spinal cord, changes occurring in long term animals did not parallel clinical signs. The absence of active lesions in long term animals was apparently not due to a resistance to recurrent disease on the part of the tissue since a second challenge with central nervour system tissue was capable of producing active inflammation in the optic nerve. It appears, therefore, that in its unmanipulated state, chronic experimental allergic encephalomyelitis is more a disease of the spinal cord. Optic nerve changes in the case of multiple sclerosis did not compare well with the guinea pit lesions--discrepancies which we speculate as being related to differences in anatomy, age, species, and longevity of the disease process (among others), rather than a difference in pathogenesis.

Animals

Chronic relapsing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. Correlation of circulating lymphocyte fluctuations with disease activity in suppressed and unsuppressed animals.

Groups of juvenile Strain 13 guinea pigs sensitized for chronic relapsing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) with isogeneic central nervous system (CNS) tissue in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) were either left to develop late-onset chronic EAE (unsuppressed), or given a series of injections of bovine myelin basic protein (MBP) in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) to suppress the disease. All unsuppressed animals developed disease and all suppressed animals remained healthy over a 27-month period of study. some unsuppressed and suppressed animals were rechallenged with CNS tissue in CFA 12 or 26 months post-inoculation (PI). Unsuppressed animals all became sick 2-4 weeks after rechallenge, while rechallenged, suppressed animals were protected, indicating that the suppression was permanent. Pathologic findings in the CNS complemented the clinical changes. Circulating lymphocyte studies were performed on animals from all groups. Early (active, high-affinity rosetting) T cell levels in unsuppressed animals showed significant decreases during exacerbations (P less than 0.01) and normal values during remissions. After rechallenge, circulating early T cells decreased in unsuppressed animals with the development of signs. In suppressed animals, early T cells showed significant elevations during, and for a short time after, the period of suppressive injections, and normal values afterwards. These levels did not change significantly after rechallenge. Late (total, 24 hour rosetting) T cell and B cell values showed minor fluctuations only which did not correlate with disease activity. These results indicate that chronic relapsing EAE can be successfully suppressed with MBP in IFA, that this suppression is permanent and that the immunologic findings presented correlate well with the clinical and pathologic facets of the disease. the findings are presented in terms of their relevance to multiple sclerosis.

Animals

Chronic relapsing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis: CNS plaque development in unsuppressed and suppressed animals.

Central nervous system (CNS) lesion morphology has been studied in inbred Strain 13 guinea pigs sensitized for chronic relapsing EAE in which the disease was either left to develop (unsuppressed) or was suppressed with injections containing myelin basic protein (MBP). Pathologic changes correlated well with clinical activity. In unsuppressed chronic EAE animals, active clinical disease was invariably matched by acute inflammation in the CNS. In more chronic states, the CNS displayed fibrosis and remyelination while relapses showed the CNS to contain recent changes superimposed upon old lesions. In animals in which the disease was suppressed by injections of MBP, clinical signs did not develop. However, some early subclinical changes were seen morphologically. These lesions were able to remyelinate early on and there was no progression in lesion formation. Apparently, therefore, MBP had a beneficial effect upon the course of the disease and had promoted structural repair. It thus appears that MBP therapy might be one effective approach for the prevention of chronic relapsing EAE. The findings should prove relevant to future MBP trials in multiple sclerosis.

Animals

Suppression of chronic allergic encephalomyelitis: relevance to multiple sclerosis.

The expression of chronic relapsing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in strain 13 guinea pigs was suppressed with a single series of injections of myelin basic protein in incomplete Freund's adjuvant. The suppression appeared permanent, and subsequent rechallenge with central nervous system antigen failed to elicit exacerbations.

Animals

Glial bridges and Schwann cell migration during chronic demyelination in the C.N.S.

The formation of fibrotic bridges from subpial astrocytes into the subarachnoid space of the spinal cord and the migration of Schwann cells to the central nervous system (C.N.S.) is appraised in chronically demyelinated C.N.S. lesions. Spinal cord tissue was studied from inbred, Strain 13 guinea pigs with chronic experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). It has been found that uncommitted Schwann cells are present around remyelinated fibres in nerve root entry zones, between meningeal cells at a distance from the roots and along blood vessels within the spinal cord parenchyma. It is speculated that these cells migrate via the above route to the C.N.S. In the present model, this invasion might be aided by glial fibrosis, a process which leads to surface irregularities in the spinal cord, an extensive extracellular space and possible breaches in the glia limitans through which Schwann cells might penetrate.

Animals

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis--migration of early T cells from the circulation into the central nervous system.

Study of lymphocytes from the blood of guinea pigs with acute EAE induced by isologous spinal cord in adjuvant reconfirmed that in comparison to normals, the percentage of early (active or high affinity rosetting) T cells decreases dramatically and that these changes can be correlated with clinical signs. In addition, we have investigated matching samples of CNS infiltrating cells recovered by ultrasonication and have found that coinciding with the decrease in early T cells in the circulation, significantly higher levels (P less than 0.001) of these cells appear within the CNS compartment; It is concluded that the decrease of early T cells in the circulation is caused by their migration to the target organ, the CNS.

Animals

Suppression of acute and chronic experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in Strain 13 guinea pigs. A clinical and pathological study.

Adult inbred Strain 13 guinea pigs develop an acute, fatal form of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) about 2 weeks after a single injection of isologous spinal cord in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), but similarly injected juveniles develop a delayed, rarely fatal chronic form. Thirty-seven sensitised adult Strain 13 animals were separated into 2 groups. One group was permitted to develop acute EAE. The other group was injected intramuscularly with 1 mg of guinea pig or bovine myelin basic protein (MBP) in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) on day 2, 7 or 10 post-inoculation (PI) followed by 0.2 mg in IFA every third day for a total of 10 doses. Animals in the unsuppressed group succumbed to acute EAE 13-16 days post-sensitisation. No animal in the suppressed group died during this period. Animals treated with MBP beginning 2 days PI showed no clinical signs, but mild clinical manifestations occurred in animals suppressed from days 7 and 10 PI. These signs remitted by 21 days post-sensitisation. One suppressed animal (out of 21) died during the fourth week postsensitisation. The other 20 suppressed animals appeared clinically normal towards the end of the course of MBP injections and remained so for the 6 months of study. Morphological examination revealed that CNS lesions occurred in all animals. In animals suppressed with MBP beginning on day 2 PI, lesions consisted only of a few meningeal inflammatory cells. Animals given MBP beginning on day 7 or 10 PI and sampled 1-2 weeks later, had lesions which could not be distinguished from those occurring in the non-suppressed acute EAE group. In time, the suppressed animals developed lesions which were typical of chronic EAE with remyelination as a predominant feature. Preliminary experiments on the suppression of chronic EAE in 5 juvenile Strain 13 guinea pigs have revealed that 3 MBP-injected animals failed to develop clinical disease over a 28-week period of study although lesions typical of chronic EAE were present. Simultaneously, 2 non-suppressed juvenile animals developed clinical signs by 12 weeks. These were associated with both acute inflammation and demyelination superimposed upon regions of chronic demyelinative activity.

Acute Disease

Attempts to induce chronic experimental allergic neuritis in strain 13 and Hartley guinea pigs.

An attempt has been made to develop a model of chronic experimental allergic neuritis (EAN) using juvenile and adult inbred (Strain 13) and Hartley guinea pigs sensitized with peripheral nerve in complete Freund's adjuvant. Animals were followed clinically for periods ranging from 2 to 44 weeks postinoculation and then sacrificed for light and electron microscopy. Out of a total of 39 animals, 16 showed either clinical signs or had histopathologic changes. The remaining 23 guinea pigs were free of any disease. The animals' age at inoculation and strain did not seem to affect either the clinical course or ultimate histopathologic changes. The 7 animals that had clinical EAN displayed signs ranging from weight loss and soiling to quadriparesis (one animal). The histologic changes consisted of meningeal and perivascular inflammation as well as peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system demyelination and remyelination. An interesting abnormality seen the nerve roots of several animals was the proliferation of Schwann cells around remyelinated PNS fibers reminiscent of the "onion-bulb" formations seen in human hypertrophic neuropathies. Because of the lack of ongoing demyelination, onion-bulb formation appeared in this case to be a secondary proliferation of Schwann cells after a single primary episode of demyelination. It is concluded from the present study that despite some interesting histopathologic changes, the animals studied were largely resistant both to acute as well as chronic EAN.

Age Factors