Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S K Ackerman.
Human and rat alveolar macrophages produce haemolytic C2 during in vitro culture. We conclude that C2 synthetic ability is maintained during in vivo maturation of human monocytes to macrophages and that production of complement components by mature tissue macrophages may be important for optimal generation of inflammatory responses.
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The host defense responses to Nocardia asteroides are not known. We have investigated a patient with common variable adult onset hypogammaglobulinemia who developed fatal disseminated nocardiosis. The patient had low levels of serum immunoglobulins; the total lymphocyte count was normal as were the percentages of circulating T and B cells. Transmission electron microscopic studies demonstrated typical N. asteroides within the brain parenchyma and nonspecific inflammatory changes in the central nervous system. The findings suggest that humoral immunity may play a major role in the host defense of patients with this disease.