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Biomedical subjects

W G Becker

Publications and source records attributed to W G Becker.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1981

In vitro studies of IgE synthesis by human blood mononuclear cells.

IgE was detected in increasing quantities in supernatants of cultured human blood mononuclear cells, with peak amounts being found in 7 to 12-day cultures. Inhibitors of protein synthesis or of cell division reduced IgE production. Significantly greater amounts of IgE were made by cells from patients with elevated serum IgE than by those from normal adults. Pokeweed mitogen caused modest (threefold) augmentation of IgE synthesis is normal control cultures but inhibited it in cultures from patients with elevated serum IgE. Co-culturing unfractionated mononuclear cells from some atopic patients with cells from normal people resulted in significant suppression of the expected amount of IgE synthesis but not of IgM or IgG production. This suggests that a suppressor cell population or function is present in normal adults that regulates B cell IgE synthesis and that patients with elevated IgE may be deficient in this function. Results of coculture studies with isolated T and B cell-enriched subpopulations support the possibility that such activity exists in normal T cell populations. The marked augmentation of IgE synthesis by patients' B cells when separated from their own T cells indicates that patients' T cells have some regulatory capacity, but control T cells were more potent in this regard.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Lymphocyte responses to purified ragweed allergens in vitro. I. Proliferative responses in normal, newborn, agammaglobulinemic, and atopic subjects.

To evaluate cell-mediated immune responsiveness to pollen allergens in atopic subjects, we studied the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthetic responses of their cultured lymphocytes to purified ragweek antigens E, K, and Ra-3. Since lymphocytes from some highly ragweed-sensitive subjects gave poor proliferative responses when harvested on day 6, we undertook a series of dose-response and time-course studies in atopic and control subjects. Surprisingly, vigorous DNA synthetic responses to antigen E occurred with lymphocytes from all 45 subjects, including 19 highly ragweed-sensitive atopic and control subjects. Surprisingly, vigorous DNA synthetic responses to antigen E occurred with lymphocytes from all 45 subjects, including 19 highly ragweed-sensitive atop adults (8 immunotherapy treated, 11 untreated); 13 nonatopic controls; 4 newborns, and 9 agammaglobulinemic patients. The geometric mean of peak response counts per minute in all 45 subjects was 21,163 and in unstimulated cultures was 2,416 (p = less than 0.0001). The mean day on which the maximal responses occurred was 8.7, and the mean dose eliciting the maximum responses was 59 mug/ml. Statistical comparisons of the stimulated culture data revealed no significant intergroup differences. The finding of vigorous responsiveness to these purified pollen allergens by lymphocytes from nonatopic normal, newborn, and agammaglobulinemic subjects suggests that ragweed pollen antigens are either ubiquitous and lead to cell-mediated responsiveness in all subjects with intact cell-mediated inmunity, or that they may have miogenic properties in addition to their known antigenic properties.

Adult↗
PubMed1968

Shift with age in steady-state concentrations of androstenedione and testosterone in incubations of guinea-pig testis.

Minces of testes from mature and immature guinea pigs were incubated with [(14)C]androstenedione. Other portions of the same testes were simultaneously incubated with [(14)C]testosterone. Under steady-state conditions, the predominant steroid was [(14)C]androstenedione in the presence of tissue from young animals and [(14)C]testosterone in that from mature animals, irrespective of the compound added initially. It is concluded that the steady-state equilibrium favours the weak androgen androstenedione in the presence of tissue from the young animals, but favours the potent testosterone in that from the mature animals. Portions of tissue were homogenized in phosphate buffer. The net reduction of [(14)C]androstenedione to [(14)C]testosterone was less by homogenates of testes from young animals than by those from mature animals. Doubling the concentration of the NADPH-generating system did not affect this difference between the homogenates.

17-Ketosteroids↗