Generalized AA-amyloidosis in a 58-year-old Caucasian woman with an 18-month history of gastrointestinal tuberculosis

 We report on a 58-year-old Caucasian woman who went to a general practitioner about recurrent abdominal pain, night sweats and weight loss of a few weeks’ duration. Once gynaecological disease had been ruled out, the patient was admitted to hospital with severe abdominal pain and intestinal obstruction and a right-sided hemicolectomy was performed. Following the investigation of osteolytic lumbar vertebrae, 18 months after visiting the general practitioner the patient was finally found to be suffering from generalized AA-amyloidosis secondary to gastrointestinal tuberculosis. This had been misinterpreted as Crohn’s disease. Re-examination of the specimens from the right-sided hemicolectomy demonstrated that scanty deposits of AA-amyloid were present 9 months after the first presentation. AA-amyloid can thus be present in serious inflammatory disease even during the first 9 months after the initial clinical presentation. Received: 23 June 1998 / Accepted: 19 August 1998     

CD1 genotyping of patients with Mycobacterium malmoense pulmonary disease

Mycobacterium malmoense is an opportunistic mycobacterium that occasionally causes disease in non-immunosuppressed individuals. As only a few individuals exposed to these organisms actually develop clinical disease, it is possible there is a genetic component to susceptibility. CD1 molecules are capable of presenting antigens from more virulent mycobacteria to T cells; therefore, we were interested in discovering whether recently described polymorphisms in CD1 molecules modulated susceptibility to M. malmoense pulmonary disease. The CD1 system comprises five genes (CD1A, -B, -C, -D, and -E) located on chromosome 1 (1q22-23). CD1 molecules are structurally and functionally related to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules and are expressed on dedicated antigen-presenting cells. The primary function of CD1 molecules is to present lipid and glycolipid antigens to T cells. We have developed an allele-specific polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) method of CD1 genotyping. Using this method, we compared the allele and haplotype frequencies of CD1 in 49 HIV-negative patients with M. malmoense pulmonary disease with those in 342 normal controls. The CD1A and CD1E alleles were nominally identified as CD1A*01, CD1A*02, CD1E*01 and CD1E*02, and the control gene frequencies were found to be 5%, 95%, 67% and 33%, respectively. No significant difference was observed between the patient and control cohorts. Positive linkage disequilibrium values of 0.73 were observed between CD1A*02 and CD1E*01 (P<0.0001; chi2 test), and 0.94 between CD1A*01 and CD1E*02 (P<0.0001; chi2 test). Typing was also performed for two previously described CD1D alleles (CD1D*01 and CD1D*02), although only CD1D*01 was detected.     

Comparative evaluation of two commercial assays for direct detection ofMycobacterium tuberculosis in respiratory specimens

Two commercial systems for the amplification and detection ofMycobacterium tuberculosis directly from respiratory samples were compared. The Roche Cobas Amplicor MTB Test and the Roche manual Amplicor MTB Test (Roche Diagnostic Systems, USA) were applied to 755 decontaminated respiratory specimens collected from 470 patients. Results were compared with those of acid-fast staining and culture. A total of 251 specimens were collected from 156 patients diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, including 28 specimens corresponding to 13 patients that were receiving antituberculous treatment. Given the overall positivity rate of 33.2% (251/755), the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 92.4, 100, 100, and 96.5%, respectively, for the Cobas Amplicor MTB Test and 90.8, 100, 100, and 95.8%, respectively, for the Amplicor MTB Test. For 204 (81.3%) smear positive specimens and 47 (19.7%) smear negative specimens, the sensitivity values were 100 and 59.6%, respectively, for the Cobas Amplicor MTB Test and 100 and 51%, respectively, for the Amplicor MTB Test. There were no statistically significant differences in sensitivity or specificity between the two assays and culture (p>0.05). The overall results of both assays were concordant for 99.5% of the samples. It is concluded that although both nucleic acid amplification methods are rapid and specific for the detection ofMycobacterium tuberculosis complex in respiratory specimens, the Cobas Amplicor MTB Test appears to be slightly more sensitive than the Amplicor MTB Test when smear negative specimens are investigated.     

结核分枝杆菌Ag85B与IL-12基因真核共表达质粒的构建及表达

目的 :构建结核分枝杆菌Ag85B和鼠IL 12基因的共表达载体pBud85B IL12。方法 :将结核分枝杆菌Ag85B基因和鼠IL 12基因同时克隆入含多启动子的共表达载体pBudCE4 .1中 ,构建真核共表达质粒pBud85B IL12。以pBud85B IL12转染COS 7细胞 ,通过RT PCR及ELISA方法检测目的基因的表达。结果 :在COS 7细胞中同时可检测到Ag85B和IL12的表达。结论 :pBud85B IL12共表达质粒的成功构建 ,为对其免疫原性、免疫反应性及免疫保护作用的进一步研究奠定了基础     

蛋白激酶Cθ信号途径在结核分枝杆菌抗原激活人γδT细胞增殖和分化中的作用

目的 研究蛋白激酶Cθ(protein kinase Cθ,PKCθ)信号途径在结核分枝杆菌抗原(Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen,Mtb-Ag)激活人γδT细胞增殖和分化中的作用.方法 健康人外周血单个核细胞(PBMC)用Mtb-Ag和IL-2优势刺激和扩增γδT细胞,或预先用5.0μmol/L Rottlerin(楸毒素)预处理,培养不同时间后,用流式细胞术(FCM)检测γδT细胞表面活化分子和细胞因子表达;同时采用活体染料羧基荧光素乙酰乙酸(CFSE)标记细胞,流式细胞术分析Mtb-Ag刺激γδT细胞后的增殖和各子代细胞百分率.结果 PBMC经Mtb-Ag刺激后3d,γδT细胞CD69和CD25表达分别为46.2%和45.6%,而Rotderin预处理显著地抑制了CD69和CD25表达(P＜0.01);PBMC经Mtb-Ag激活培养5、10和15d,培养扩增细胞中的γδT细胞比例分别为9.6%、54.6%和82.4%,其中第5天已有少部分γδT细胞发生增殖,第10天和第15天时几乎全部γδT细胞分裂都在6代以上,用Rottlerin预处理,显著抑制了γδT细胞增殖反应,但在培养第10天后仍有少部分γδT细胞发生增殖反应;同时在培养第7天、14天和21天,用PMA(佛波酯)+Ionomycin(离子霉素)再刺激后,产生IFN-γ的γδT细胞均在80%左右;培养21d时,有2.6%的γδT细胞表达IL-4.在Rottlerin预处理组产生TH1型细胞因子IFN-γ的γδT细胞均显著减少(P＜0.05),而γδT细胞表达TH2型细胞因子IL-4则几乎完全抑制(P＜0.01).结论 PKCθ信号途径在Mtb-Ag刺激γδT细胞的增殖和分化中均起重要作用.     

含结核分枝杆菌Ag85A基因的2型重组腺相关病毒的构建和免疫原性

目的构建含结核分枝杆菌Ag85A基因的2型重组腺相关病毒并初步研究其免疫原性。方法采用PCR法从结核杆菌H37Rv株扩增Ag85A基因，将PCR扩增产物克隆于2型腺相关病毒（AAV-2）表达质粒pSNAV中，构建重组质粒pSNAV-Ag85A；用脂质体转染的方法将重组质粒转入BHK-21细胞中，G418筛选得到能表达目的基因混合细胞系BHK—Ag85A；用具有rAAV-2包装功能的辅助病毒感染BHK-Ag85A，纯化后得到rAAV-2-Ag85A：Western blotting检测重组病毒Ag85A基因在BHK-21细胞中的表达；rAAV-2-Ag85A免疫Balb／c小鼠．ELISA法检测血清中抗-Ag85A抗体，^51Cr释放分析检测细胞毒性T淋巴细胞（CTL）活性。结果PCR扩增的Ag85A基因序列与GenBank公布的序列一致，纯化后得到的rAAV-2-Ag85A滴度为1×10^12 virus particles／ml；Western blotting检测到rAAV-2-AgSSA在BHK-21细胞中能够表达出一相对分子质量为32000的多肽；rAAV-2-Ag85A免疫的Balb／c小鼠．抗-Ag85A抗体的滴度可达1：1024，同时还可激发Ag85A特异性的CTL产生。结论rAAV-2-Ag85A构建成功．rAAV-2-Ag85A免疫小鼠可以同时诱导体液和细胞免疫反应的出现。rAAV-2-Ag85A对于防止结核分枝杆菌感染．尤其是作为结核病的治疗性疫苗可能具有潜在的应用价值，值得进一步深入研究。     

瘤型麻风动物模型的NK细胞活性的体外测定

本文报道了瘤型麻风小鼠模型中脾脏NK细胞活性的体外测定,以及加入外源性IL-2对这一活性的影响。结果表明,随着感染时间的延长,小鼠脾脏中NK细胞活性逐渐降低。感染1月小鼠的NK细胞活性明显低于正常小鼠,感染3月小鼠的NK细胞活性较感染1月小鼠更低(P值均<0.01)。将含有IL-2的上清液加入NK细胞活性检测系统中,发现外源性IL-2可逆转感染小鼠的NK细胞活性,使其恢复达正常水平。结合IL-2与NK细胞活性在免疫调节中的作用,对瘤型麻风动物模型的特殊表现作了讨论。     

结核分枝杆菌Rv2450蛋白诱导小鼠免疫应答的实验研究

目的:以原核表达的结核分枝杆菌Rv2450蛋白在小鼠体内诱导体液和细胞免疫应答。方法:采用皮下包埋的方法,以预先转移到硝酸纤维素膜上的原核表达的Rv2450蛋白免疫小鼠(10只)3次,每次间隔2周。用间接ELISA法检测免疫小鼠血清特异性抗体的滴度。末次免疫完成后4周,处死3只免疫小鼠并分离脾淋巴细胞,体外经PPD(2μg/孔)刺激后,用MTT比色法检测免疫小鼠脾淋巴细胞的增殖指数。用ELISA法检测脾淋巴细胞悬液中IFN-γ、IL-10及IL-12的水平。结果:Rv2450蛋白免疫小鼠血清特异性抗体的滴度为1∶3200,淋巴细胞增殖指数为3.76±0.19。免疫小鼠脾淋巴细胞培养液中IFN-γ、IL-10及IL-12的含量,分别为(1740±19)ng/L、(678±15)ng/L、(469±13)ng/L,均高于各组的生理盐水对照组(P<0.05)。结论:Rv2450有可能作为新型结核疫苗的候选组分。     

分枝杆菌噬菌体D29气溶胶特性的研究

目的 为了研究噬菌体D29气溶胶吸入治疗结核分枝杆菌的可行性,测试了噬菌体D29耐雾化能力、喷雾量、气溶胶粒径等气溶胶特性参数.方法 负压实验室气雾柜内发生噬菌体D29气溶胶,TSI3321气溶胶粒径分析仪测试了气溶胶空气动力学直径.Anderson六级空气微生物采样器测试了生物粒子气溶胶中值直径.据雾化前后噬菌体D29的浓度变化及体积变化得到噬菌体D29的雾化时间存活率和雾化量.结果 噬菌体D29气溶胶空气动力学直径为0.872 μm,生物粒子气溶胶中值直径为2.21 μm.噬菌体D29在雾化5、15、30、45、60 min后的存活率分别为89.78%、77.19%、48.86%、33.99%、30.12%.气溶胶的雾化量为232 μl/min.结论 噬菌体D29气溶胶粒径、耐雾化能力及喷雾量等气溶胶参数可以进一步进行动物气溶胶吸入治疗结核分枝杆菌感染方面的研究.