An autopsy-proved case of AIDS in Taiwan

The first case of AIDS positively identified in a non-foreigner in Taiwan was a 25-year-old unmarried male who had practiced homosexuality for ten years. The patient began to have abdominal pain accompanied with loose stools and weight loss in June 1985, followed by fever, cough, headache, dizziness, and loss of memory. Facial hyperpigmentation and extensive oroesophageal candidiasis were noted. Laboratory studies showed severe lymphopenia with a reversed T-helper to T-suppressor ratio, cutaneous anergy and polyclonal gammopathy. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies were positive by ELISA and Western blot, and the virus was isolated from the blood. At autopsy, disseminated cytomegalovirus infection, extensive CNS toxoplasmosis and early lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma were demonstrated. The detection of HIV in the adrenal medulla supports the consensus that the virus is neurotropic.     

大鼠坐骨神经干内S—100蛋白检测

用Ｗｅｓｔｅｍ Ｂｌｏｔ方法确认周围神经于内含有Ｓ－１００，然后运用免疫组化ＰＡＰ方法对Ｗｉｓｔａｒ大鼠坐骨神经的近侧和远侧进行Ｓ－１００检测，染色结果用电子图像进行系统分析处理。结果显示：Ｓ－１００分布于周围神经束间膜，雪旺氏细胞浆内及细胞膜上，神经轴内未见有Ｓ－１００存在，图像处理结果证实，正常大鼠坐骨神经干内的Ｓ－１００呈均匀分布。     

Studies on Alternaria allergens. I. Isolation of allergens from Alternaria tenuis and Alternaria solani.

Extracts of Alternaria tenuis and Alternaria solani were separated into dialyzable (molecular weight less than 10,000) and non-dialyzable forms. The latter was further fractionated by gel filtration through Sephadex G-100 followed by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. The dialyzable material was fractionated by gel filtration through Sephadex G-50. The allergenic activities of the fractions obtained from the A. tenuis extract was measured in vitro by the radioallergosorbent test assay and the allergenic potency was measured by radioallergosorbent test inhibition assay. Allergenic activity was detected in most of the non-dialyzable fractions, the majority of the activity being in the last G-100 fraction (MW approximately 20,000) which was predominantly protein in nature. The same component may be responsible for the activity found in the dialyzate and its first G-50 fraction since the immunodiffusion studies indicated that the last G-100 fraction has antigenic components in common with those of the first G-50 fraction. In addition, cross-reactions between A. tenuis and A. solani extracts show that the two species share common antigenic determinants.     

恶性疟原虫113肽抗原基因重组的减毒鼠伤寒沙门菌在家兔中免疫应答的研究

我们已经在减毒鼠伤寒沙门菌ＳＬ３２６１以融合蛋白的形式表达了人工合成的恶性疟原虫杂合１１３肽基因ＡＢ（ＧＺ－ＡＢ）。活菌以２×１０９ＣＦＵ经口服免疫新西兰家兔，用ＥＬＩＳＡ测定抗体水平，结果于首次免疫或加强免疫后都可检测到一定水平的特异性抗体。所免疫的家免可以诱发针对恶性疟原虫抗原及ＧＺ－ＡＢ的迟发性超敏反应（ＤＴＨ）。我们的研究表明，含有多个恶性疟原虫抗原表位的人工合成基因可以在减毒鼠伤寒沙门菌中表达，活菌可诱发家兔产生特异的体液免疫及细胞免疫，为恶性疟口服活菌苗的制备打下基础。     

An unusual expression of a squamous cell marker, small proline-rich protein gene, in tracheobronchial epithelium: differential regulation and gene mapping.

An unusual expression of a putative squamous cell marker, small proline-rich protein (spr1), in mucociliary epithelial cells of conducting airways was demonstrated in a serum-free culture system. A cDNA clone was isolated from the cDNA library of monkey tracheobronchial epithelial (TBE) cells by differential hybridization. This cDNA clone, MT5, exhibited 98% homology to a DNA sequence obtained from human keratinocytes treated with either UV light or phorbol esters (T. Kartasova et al., 1988, Mol. Cell. Biol. 8:2195-2230). The predicted peptide of MT5 is unusual for its high content of proline (29%), glutamine (18%), and cysteine (9%) and its repeated PKVPEPC units. The level of spr1 mRNA in cultured cells was inhibited more than 90% by vitamin A. In contrast, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) stimulated the level of spr1 mRNA by 3- to 8-fold. This differential regulation coincided with the effects of these chemicals on the cornification of cultured TBE cells. Using MT5 as a probe, we have localized the tracheal spr1 gene on the human chromosome 1 by a Southern blot analysis using a panel of human-rodent somatic cell hybrid DNAs. The gene was further sublocalized to bands q22-23 by in situ hybridization.     

Characteristics of Achromobacter xylosoxidans bacteremia in northern Taiwan.

There were 40 cases of Achromobacter xylosoxidans bacteremia during a 6-year period in a medical center in northern Taiwan. Males outnumbered females (72.5% vs 27.5%). Common underlying diseases and conditions in these 40 bacteremic patients were malignancies (57.5%), central venous catheter implants (55%), surgery (35%), neutropenia (30%) and use of steroids (25%). Recurrent bacteremia occurred in 4 patients (10%), all of whom had a central venous catheter implant which was considered the most probable source of infection. More than one-quarter (27.5%) of the cases were community acquired. The mortality rate due to A. xylosoxidans bacteremia was 47.5%. Risk factors significantly associated with mortality were nosocomial acquisition and polymicrobial bacteremia. Disk susceptibility testing showed that these isolates were resistant to aminoglycosides and most cephalosporins but were susceptible to piperacillin, imipenem, ceftazidime and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.     

Histiocytic lesions involving the bone marrow

Histiocytic lesions involving the bone marrow include a number of reactive and neoplastic disorders. This article discusses the morphologic, immunophenotypic, and genotypic features of a variety of diseases associated with histiocytes and/or monocytes. Lysosomal storage disorders and hemophagocytic syndromes are often first diagnosed by bone marrow examination. Granulomas involving the bone marrow may also be the first indication of a systemic disorder. Apart from acute and chronic monocytic leukemias, the bone marrow is rarely involved by malignant histiocytic disorders, of which Langerhans cell histiocytosis is the most common.     

Incidence and case-fatality rates resulting from the 1998 enterovirus 71 outbreak in Taiwan

In 1998, an epidemic of hand-foot-and-mouth disease and herpangina caused by enterovirus 71 occurred in Taiwan, leaving many fatalities and severely handicapped survivors in its wake. The reasons this rather common pathogen would cause such a large-scale epidemic remain unknown. A seroepidemiological survey to elucidate the epidemiological characteristics of this outbreak, including its incidence and case-fatality rates was undertaken. Microneutralization tests for antibodies against enterovirus 71 were used to screen four collections of serum samples: 1) 202 specimens taken from individuals > or = 4 years old in 1994; 2) 245 specimens collected from individuals of all ages in 1997; 3) 1,258 specimens collected from individuals of all ages in 1999; and 4) sera samples from a birth cohort of 81 children who had yearly blood samples taken from 1988-98. After the maternal antibody had declined, the seropositive rates began to increase with age. Approximately half of all children aged 6 years or older were enterovirus 71 seropositive. Significantly higher seropositive rates were noted in 1999 than in 1997, in children aged 0.5-3 years. The incidence of enterovirus 71 infection during the epidemic was estimated to be 13-22%, with the higher rates in younger children. The case-fatality rate was highest (96.96 per 100,000) in infants aged 6-11 months, and declined in older children. The results showed that enterovirus 71 is endemic in Taiwan. The apparent lack of large-scale enterovirus 71 activity in the 3 years before 1998 might have been the prelude to the epidemic's appearance in 1998, and might suggest that enterovirus 71 infection will reappear every few years. The lack of a protective antibody in younger children may account for the high incidence and case-fatality rate in this age group.     

细胞周期蛋白E对乳腺癌细胞MCF-7生长及周期相关基因的影响

观察细胞周期蛋白（ｃｙｃｌｉｎ）Ｅ的表达对乳腺癌细胞ＭＣＦ－７生长及其他周期相关基因的影响。方法构建正义和反义ｃｙｃｌｉｎ Ｅ ｃＤＮＡ真核表达载体,并采用ｌｉｐｏｆｅｃｔ ＡＭＩＮＥ转染,将其导入ＭＣＦ－７细胞,获得稳定表达正义及反义ｃｙｃｌｉｎＥ的细胞系,经Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ和Ｗｅｓｔｅｒｎ ｂｌｏｔ检测有外源性片片段的插入及表达,并作细胞生长曲线、四甲偶氮唑盐（ＭＴＴ）法和流式细胞计数分析;用