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Biomedical subjects

S Shulman

Publications and source records attributed to S Shulman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

A study of the detection of sperm antibody in cervical mucus with a modified immunobead method.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a new immunobead binding test (IBT) procedure that will detect sperm antibody in cervical mucus (CM), especially in very small samples of mucus. DESIGN: After the interaction of donor sperm with bromelin-dissolved CM, the motile sperm cells were separated from other cells and debris and then tested with a standard immunobead method. SETTING: The CM and serum samples were obtained from a sequence of referred patients who were sent to this testing laboratory. PATIENTS: There were 60 women who provided 64 samples of CM and 41 samples of blood serum. They were partners in infertile couples. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: A useful distinction was made between positive and negative results for the mucus samples by this CM-IBT procedure. The usable samples of mucus could be as little as 0.05 g (wet weight). RESULTS: From the 60 women, seven mucus samples were positive; in the repeated testing, the same results were obtained with five of the six positive samples and seven of seven negative samples. CONCLUSION: This method (CM-IBT) can be clinically useful for detecting sperm antibody in CM, especially because it is effective for tiny samples. In this method, the motile sperm cells are better separated from the debris after the incubation step. When the IBT was applied to the serum samples from the same women, there was no correlation between serum-IBT and CM-IBT, showing that both materials must be tested.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1991

Failure to confirm the presence of a retrovirus in cultured lymphocytes from patients with Kawasaki syndrome.

We and others previously reported DNA polymerase activity in culture supernatants of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with acute Kawasaki syndrome (KS). In the present study, we further characterized the previously detected polymerase activity and attempted to confirm its presence in cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells from additional patients with KS. Characterization experiments indicated that the polymerase activity was typical of a DNA-dependent DNA polymerase rather than viral reverse transcriptase. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures from 17 additional KS patients were negative for reverse transcriptase activity in three laboratories. Our findings do not provide support for a retroviral etiology of KS. Further studies should continue to focus on infectious agents in efforts to elucidate the etiology of KS.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1979

A solid-phase radioimmunoassay for bound anti-platelet antibody: studies on 45 patients with autoimmune platelet disorders.

A highly sensitive, solid-phase radioimmunoassay has been developed for detecting platelet-bound immunoglobulin, which employs 125I-staphylococcal protein A. The assay detects platelet IgG at the picogram level, which is 10- to 50-fold more sensitive than currently available procedures. It is relatively simple and can be performed on frozen extracts from as little as 2 X 10(5) platelets. Washed platelets are frozen, thawed, sonicated, and centrifuged at 20,000 X g. The supernatant, which contains 7S IgG, is applied in serial dilution to the wells of a plastic microliter plate capable of adsorbing protein. Commercial rabbit anti-human IgG is added and then "sandwiched" to 125I-staphylococcal protein A. The wells are removed from the plate and assayed for radioactivity. Thirty-two of 35 thrombocytopenic patients (92%) with ATP had platelet IgG values greater than those of controls by 2 S.D. and averaged 150 +/- 145 (S.D.) ng/10(6) platelets; 11 healthy controls, 11.4 +/- 7.4 ng; five "thrombocytopenic" controls, 9.7 +/- 13 ng. The platelet count (X) correlated inversely with IgG/platelet (Y) according to the equation: Log Y = -0.66 log X + 4.8; r = -0.71, p less than 0.001. Elevated platelet IgG levels were also found in 5 ATP patients in "apparent remission"; two of four had evidence for compensated thrombocytolysis (increased megathrombocytes). Elevated platelet IgG levels were also found in six patients with thrombocytopenia secondary to lymphoproliferative disorders.

Autoantibodies↗
PubMed1978

New method of treatment of immune infertility.

A history is presented of a couple suffering from long-standing infertility, which on laboratory investigation was found to be immunologic infertility, as expressed in the male partner. This case of male infertility was diagnosed by findings of sperm antibody in both the serum and the seminal plasma of the man, using both the Kibrick and the F-D sperm agglutination test methods. A new effort at treatment, by means of attempted immunosuppression, was proposed and applied, using corticosteroid medication. The special feature of this treatment involved a high dosage (96 mg. per day of methylprednisolone) for a short period (seven days). Laboratory studies revealed that the antibody levels, in both his serum and seminal plasma, did fall considerably. The wife became pregnant in the subsequent cycle. It is proposed that such diagnostic and treatment efforts be tried in other cases of male immunologic infertility.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1978

Immune infertility and new approaches to treatment.

A number of patients who have involuntary infertility show sperm antibodies in the blood serum, as detected by two quite different methods of spermagglutination. These techniques are the Kibrick method (gelatin agglutination test) and the F-D method (tube-slide agglutination test). By the former technique, the sera of 18% of women and 9% of men from infertile couples were found to be positive; by the latter technique, the sera of 15% of women and 5% of men were positive. Such cases are termed "immunologic infertility." In an effort to develop new methods for the treatment of infertility, two procedures were explored. One is a sperm washing insemination method in which fresh semen from a man with the antibody is centrifuged, resuspended in an albumin solution, and then used for insemination. The second is an immunosuppression method, using methylprednisolone at a dose of 96 mg/day for 7 days. A striking decrease in antibody level was seen in some cases, with ensuing pregnancy. The success rates for these methods have been of the order of 14% to 22%.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1978

Significant immunologic factors in male infertility.

A number of patients who suffer from involuntary infertility showed a sperm antibody in the blood serum as detected by 2 different methods of sperm agglutination. These techniques are the Kibrick method (gelatin agglutination test) and the F-D method (tube-slide agglutination test). With the former technique 9% of men and 18% of women from infertile couples had a positive result, while the latter technique revealed 5% of men and 15% of women with positive results. Such cases are termed immunological infertility. Several cases of necrospermia also showed sperm antibody activity. In vasectomized men it has been shown that 50 to 60% have sperm antibody during the first year postoperatively. To develop new methods for treatment of infertility immunosuppression by means of corticosteroid medication was applied. A 7-day regimen of 96 mg. per day methylprednisolone was studied. A drastic decrease of antibody level could be seen in some cases and the wives became pregnant. There has been approximately a 30% success rate in a group of 15 such couples.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1978

Isolation and properties of thyroglobulin-related 4S protein in the soluble fraction of thyroid tissue.

A 4S protein which is thyroglobulin-related and which is immunologically distinguished from unusually iodinated albumin-like proteins or impaired substances of thyroglobulin synthesis, was found in the thyroid-soluble fraction even in the normal gland, though in minute amounts. In the present study, purification and characterization of the substance has been carried out using human and hog thyroid glands. This protein contains some of the immunospecific determinants of thyroglobulin, although the amino acid composition of the protein differs from that of thyroglobulin. The 4S protein has a molecular weight of about 58,500 as determined by the sedimentation equilibrium method. Interestingly, the present 4S protein is eluted just in front of, or together with, thyroglobulin by gradient elution chromatography on a DEAE-cellulose column, and it is precipitated with thyroglobulin at 1.9 M ammonium sulfate. Therefore, it was concluded that a molecular-sieving process is necessary for the purification of thyroglobulin, in addition to a complex procedure which consists of ammonium sulfate fractionation and DEAE-cellulose chromatography.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1978

Antibodies to spermatozoa. VIII. Correlation of sperm antibody activity with postcoital tests in infertile couples.

A study of the correlation between results of postcoital tests (PCTs) and presence of sperm antibodies in sera of either male or female partners or in the cervical mucus of seminal plasma, was made in 127 infertile couples. The percentage of positive antibody tests increased progressively as PCT results deteriorated from excellent to poor. Thus, the percentage of positive serum tests, by either method used, was 7% in the excellent group as compared to 52% in the poor group. This progressive increase was evident only in the females; the antibody tests in the males did not correlate directly with the PCT results. Nonetheless, even with excellent PCT results, 7% of women and 21% of men showed presence of antibodies. On the other hand, in the group showing poor PCTs, 48% of women had an absence of antibodies.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Isolation and properties of a succinylated subunit of human thyroglobulin.

A subunit of succinylated (40:1 molar ratio, succinic anhydride:lysine residues) human thyroglobulin (Tg) was prepared by gel filtration on 6% and 4% agarose. This subunit (S-8) had a sdegrees20, w of 7.6S, Ddegrees20, w of 2.96 x 10(7) and an equilibrium molecular weight of 165,000 after correction for bound succinic anhydride (SA). The S-8 component was suggested to be a quarter unit of intact Tg. The S-8 and intact Tg had nearly identical amino acid compositions with differences only in glutamic acid, glycine and proline. The iodine content of both components was similar. The succinylated S-8 subunit, as well as material which sedimented with a value of 2S or less, retained some but not all heteroantigenic and autoantigenic sites in immunodiffusion and inhibition of passive hemagglutination.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1977

Properties of carbohydrate-stripped thyroglobulin. III. Solubility characteristics of thyroglobulin.

In studying the solubility characteristics of thyroglobulin, it was found that the removal of sialic acid residues from either human or hog thyroglobulin by treatment with neuraminidase markedly decreased the solubility in salt solutions. On the other hand, naturally sialic acid-rich thyroglobulin obtained from human diffuse goiter was slightly more soluble than thyroglobulin in which sialic acid content was within the normal range. However, the desialized preparations prepared from both normal and sialic acid-rich thyroglobulin showed markedly lower solubility and further, showed no significant difference in solubility between them. These results indicate that the surface charge of thyroglobulin which influenced the salting-out property depends largely on the number of sialic acid residues in a thyroglobulin molecule, not on the degree of iodination of thyroglobulin.

Amino Acids↗