PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S J Vernace

Publications and source records attributed to S J Vernace.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1985

Detection of two forms of HBeAg (free-and IgG-bound HBeAg) in patients with HBe antigenemia using staphylococcus bearing protein A.

Protein A-bearing Staphylococcus aureus organisms (STA) were used to separate free HBeAg from IgG-bound HBeAg. Free HBeAg was detected in the supernate while IgG-bound HBeAg could be liberated from the pellets using MgCl2 or a glycine buffer. HBeAg was determined by radioimmunoassay and the results expressed as patient's cpm/normal control's cpm ratio (S/N ratio). This ratio was demonstrated to be proportionate to the antigen concentration and used as a titer of HBeAg. Sera of 40 HBsAg-negative healthy volunteers and 82 HBeAg-positive patients who were either asymptomatic HBsAg carriers or had various diseases including chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH), chronic active hepatitis (CAH), and renal disease undergoing hemodialysis, were tested for free HBeAg and IgG-bound HBeAg. Patients with CAH from two different countries were compared. Free HBeAg was detected in all patients but one, IgG-bound HBeAg was detected with similar prevalences (from 56% to 67%) in HBsAg asymptomatic carriers, hemodialysis patients, CPH and Italian CAH patients. In contrast, all CAH patients from New York, who had frequently been exposed to HBV infection, had detectable levels of IgG-bound HBeAg, with the highest S/N ratios observed in the study, and frequently showed an unfavorable outcome. In AVH due to HBV and delta agent co-infection, IgG-bound HBeAg was detected in two of four patients only in the initial stage of the disease. The data reported indicate that a separate determination of free- and IgG-bound HBeAg may have clinical value.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Circulating complement fixing immune complexes in chronic hepatitis. Use of anti-C3 enzyme immunoassay to define antibody class and nature of antigen.

An anti-C3 enzyme immunoassay (anti-C3 EIA) was used to identify the antigen and antibody of immune complexes (IC). HBsAg, liver cell membrane antigens (LSP and LP-2), IgA, IgG and IgM were determined in IC of 258 patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH) and 31 patients with chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH). IC that contained an antibody of either IgG, IgM or IgA class were detected in all types of CAH and CPH investigated. IC were seen more frequently in patients with cirrhosis than in CAH patients without cirrhosis and patients with CPH. LSP and LP-2 in IC were detected in 50% of patients with CAH and, infrequently, in CPH patients. In a group of 56 patients with CAH, followed for two to nine years, those patients treated with steroids showed a tendency to clear IC, whereas no variation was seen in untreated patients. While the presence of IC seems to indicate a decreased clearance of IC, a damaging activity of IC on the liver or the immune system remains to be demonstrated.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMed1982

Geographic differences in HBV related, autoimmune, and cryptogenic chronic active hepatitis.

To clarify the importance of ethnic and geographic factors in chronic active hepatitis (CAH), HBV markers and autoantibodies (AMA, ANA, SMA), have been compared in 158 patients with biopsy-proven CAH from New York City and in 92 patients with CAH from Milan. HBsAg-positive CAH was more frequently observed in Milan (49%) than in New York City (27%). However, among HBsAg-positive patients, HBcAg, HBeAg, and epidemiologic risk factors for acquisition of HBV infection were more frequently found in New York than in Italy. The prevalence of HBsAg-negative, anti-HBc-positive CAH and cryptogenic CAH was similar in the two cities, while autoimmune CAH was more frequently observed in New York (20%) than in Milan (2%). In particular, the prevalence of autoimmune hepatitis was higher among Jewish patients than among patients of Anglo-Saxon or Latin ethnic background in New York. Thus, environmental and/or ethnic factors may influence the prevalence of the four major types of CAH.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1980

A radioisotopic leukocyte adherence test.

A modification of the leukocyte adherence inhibition method is described which utilizes 51Cr-labeled blood mononuclear cells placed in microwells. The test is reproducible, objective, employs approximately 2,000 cells per well, and allows multiple replicates of several antigens. With the two antigens tested, SK-SD and PPD, both increases and decreases of leukocyte adherence are observed. Serum proteins are important in the medium and inactivated AB serum gave the best results. A good correlation was observed between this leukocyte adherence test and positivity of skin testing,

Chromium Radioisotopes↗
PubMed1978

Dane particles-associated hepatitis B core antigen in patients with HBsAg-positive chronic hepatitis.

Dane particles-associated hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) was determined by radioimmunoassay in 61 patients with hepatitis B surface antigen (HGsAg)-positive chronic hepatitis. HBc antigenemia was observed in 61% of patients, especially in those with epidemiological risk factors. Patients with chronic active hepatitis as well as those with chronic persistent hepatitis may have HBc antigenemia. The highest levels of HBcAg were observed in male homosexuals. Follow-up determinations indicate the general tendency of HBcAg to decrease or disappear. HBcAg-positive patients with chronic active hepatitis had a poor prognosis, whereas HBcAg-negative patients frequently had a favorable clinical course of the disease (P less than 0.001). The assay of HBcAg in the serum of patients with HBsAg-positive chronic active hepatitis is a useful parameter with both clinical and epidemiological importance.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen in hepatitis B surface antigen-positive and -negative chronic hepatitis.

Antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) is a sensitive indicator of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, anti-HBc has been found in only a few patients with chronic hepatitis. Therefore, we tested for anti-HBc in 124 sera from 67 patients with histologically proven chronic hepatitis by the indirect fluorescent antibody technique. All patients, except for one with chronic hepatitis who was seropositive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag), had anti-HBc that persisted throughout the follow-up period (three months to three years). Of 33 HBs Ag-seronegative patients, anti-HBc was detected in seven patients and persisted for six months to two years. These findings suggest that in this study 21% of patients with chronic hepatitis with undetectable amounts of HBs Ag in the serum had evidence of recent or continued HBV replication.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

T and B lymphocytes in patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH).

Absolute numbers of T and B lymphocytes as well as active E rosette-forming cells were measured in twenty-seven patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH), and in thirty control patients. In patients with CAH without cirrhosis, active E rosette-forming cells (a subpopulation of T lymphocytes considered to be actively involved in cell-mediated immune reactions) as well as lymphocytes with surface markers for IgA, IgM and IgG were increased. In patients with CAH and cirrhosis, total T lymphocytes were decreased. These results emphasize the significance of lymphocytes in CAH, and suggest the importance of monitoring T- and B-cell populations in patients with this disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Immune response to hepatitis B virus in children with papular acrodermatitis.

Papular acrodermatitis of childhood (PAC) is characterized by papular eruption of skin, lymphadenopathy, and acute hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive anicteric hepatitis. To study the course of hepatitis B virus infection we followed 16 patients with PAC, 2 to 7 years of age, for periods ranging from 6 to 46 months. All patients tested developed hepatitis B surface antigenemia subtype ay, and produced antibody to hepatitis B core antigen with the highest incidence after 3 to 5 months. Half of the children investigated developed antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen 4 to 18 months (mean, 6.5) after the onset of PAC. At the end of the investigation, 31% of the children were still HBsAg-positive, 50% were antibody to hepatitis B core antigen-positive, and in 43% the activity of serum aminotransferases was abnormal. Liver biopsy repeated in 2 children showed chronic aggressive hepatitis. The pattern of antibody response to hepatitis B virus is similar in both HBsAg-positive hepatitis and PAC. The frequent development of HBSAg carrier state and the high proportion of children with liver abnormalities at the end of the investigation suggest an impaired clearance of hepatitis B virus and a tendency to chronicity.

Acrodermatitis↗
PubMed1976

Immune complexes in hepatocytic nuclei of HB ag-positive chronic hepatitis.

To localize immune complexes in viral hepatitis Type B and to assess their pathogenic role, we examined by the direct fluorescent-antibody technic 21 liver specimens with hepatitis B core antigen (HBc Ag) in hepatocytic nuclei from 10 patients with HBs Ag-seropositive acute viral hepatitis and from 11 patients with HBs Ag-seropositive chronic active hepatitis. IgG with in vitro fixation of complement was demonstrated in HBc Ag-containing hepatocytic nuclei of all patients with chronic active, but not in those with acute viral hepatitis. All patients except for one had antibody to HBc Ag in the serum as determined by indirect immunofluorescence. The evidence suggests that intranuclear IgG in chronic active hepatitis has anti-HBc specificity and forms immune complexes with HBc Ag. The binding of IgG to intranuclear HBc Ag might have pathogenic importance in chronic active hepatitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1976

Extrahepatic malignancy in chronic liver disease: report of six cases.

Six patients are described with chronic liver disease, 3 with primary biliary cirrhosis and 3 with chronic active hepatitis, all of whom developed malignant disease in organs other than the liver. Two malignancies were mixed histiocytic-lymphocytic lymphomas. All patients had received corticosteroid or azathioprine therapy. Specific lymphocyte counts and immunoglobulin and antibody determinations failed to reveal a consistent pattern of abnormality to recognize the patient at risk. Several diseases in which the immune responsiveness is disturbed seem to have this potentiality in common, especially if therapy that further alters immunological reactivity is given.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1975

Cell-mediated immune reactivity to hepatitis B surface antigen in liver diseases.

The cellular immune reactivity to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was studied in patients with liver diseases using a purified preparation of HBsAg and the leukocyte-migration agarose test. Inhibition of leukocyte migration by HBsAg was found in all 9 patients in the acute phase of viral hepatitis but not during convalescence. HBsAg inhibited migration of leukocytes in only 1 of 15 patients with chronic persistent hepatitis, in none of 16 with chronic periportal hepatitis, and in 2 of 21 with nonhepatic liver diseases. In normal control subjects inhibition of migration was found only in 1 physician exposed to HBsAg. Similar but not identical results were obtained with HBsAg-positive serum used as antigen. In patients with chronic hepatitis there was no correlation between reactivity to HBsAg and the presence of autoantibodies or anti-HBs. While further investigations using other preparations of antigens associated with HBV (e.g., hepatitis B core antigen) may better clarify the role of hepatitis B virus in some liver diseases, the present investigations suggest that a reactivity to HBsAg in patients with acute viral hepatitis may indicate clearing of the antigen, whereas in patients with chronic hepatitis it may reflect a state of specific tolerance to this antigen.

Acute Disease↗