2. Quantities and Units in Bone Densitometry

2.1 Introduction Many of the quantities used in bone densitometry today lacka clear definition. For example, the term bone mineral density     

Immunization with Nanogram Quantities of Nitrocellulose-Bound Antigen, Electroblotted from Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate–Polyacrylamide Gels

Intrasplenic immunization with antigen immobilized on nitrocellulose (NC) paper results in an immune response with nanogram amounts of antigen without the use of Freund's adjuvant. Comparing the sensitivity of the intrasplenic immunization with intraperitoneal or subcutaneous administration, we found that the intrasplenic method resulted in more positive animals with higher titres than did the other techniques with the smallest amount of antigen (70 ng of bovine serum albumin). With larger amounts of albumin the intraperitoneal method yielded the highest titres. No loss of antigenicity was observed when we immunized with equal amounts of protein separated by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), immunoblotted and stained with either Coomassie brilliant blue R 250 or Amido black 10 B.     

Sandwich Elisa for Detection of Picogram Quantities of Interleukin-8

A sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for interleukin-8 (IL-8), a neutrophil chemoattractant and activator. A polyclonal antibody to recombinant human IL-8 was raised in rabbits, and the IgG was isolated from the antisera using a protein A column. Native and biotinylated forms of this antibody served as the capture antibody and developing antibody for the ELISA, respectively, and avidin-conjugated horse radish peroxidase provided the means for enzymatic color development. The lower limit of sensitivity for the assay was found to be 84 ± 20 pg/ml IL-8 (mean ± SD for 10 determinations). An inter-assay variability of 15-29% and an intra-assay variability of 12% were observed. The assay was able to detect IL-8 when the samples were prepared in either normal saline, RPMI, or human plasma. The development of this rapid, sensitive assay should provide a means to more fully evaluate the role of this cytokine in diverse disease states.     

Sandwich Elisa for Detection of Picogram Quantities of Interleukin-8

A sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for interleukin-8 (IL-8), a neutrophil chemoattractant and activator. A polyclonal antibody to recombinant human IL-8 was raised in rabbits, and the IgG was isolated from the antisera using a protein A column. Native and biotinylated forms of this antibody served as the capture antibody and developing antibody for the ELISA, respectively, and avidin-conjugated horse radish peroxidase provided the means for enzymatic color development. The lower limit of sensitivity for the assay was found to be 84 ± 20 pg/ml IL-8 (mean ± SD for 10 determinations). An inter-assay variability of 15-29% and an intra-assay variability of 12% were observed. The assay was able to detect IL-8 when the samples were prepared in either normal saline, RPMI, or human plasma. The development of this rapid, sensitive assay should provide a means to more fully evaluate the role of this cytokine in diverse disease states.     

Quantities of Yersinia pestis in fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae, Ceratophyllidae, and Hystrichopsyllidae) collected from areas of known or suspected plague activity

We used a quantitative competitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (QC-PCR) to determine bacterial loads in 669 fleas collected in areas of confirmed and suspected plague epizootics. Fleas were collected out of rodent burrows (67.9%) and off of captured animals (24.1%) and rodent carcasses (8.1%). An initial PCR screening assay indicated that 12.1% (81/669) of all fleas were positive for Yersinia pestis. Fleas collected from burrows had significantly lower (chi2 = 264.9, P < 0.0001) infection rates (6.8%) but significantly higher (Student t-test, P < 0.0001) bacterial loads (mean = 10(5.6) Y. pestis per flea) than fleas collected off of rodent carcasses (infection rate = 92.6%; mean bacterial load = 10(4.8) Y. pestis per flea). None of the fleas collected off of captured animals were positive for Y. pestis by PCR, although seven of the 176 captured animals were serologically positive for Y. pestis.     

Quantities of Clostridium botulinum organisms and toxin in feces and presence of Clostridium botulinum toxin in the serum of an infant with botulism.

A 7-week-old boy presented with symptoms and signs characteristic of infant botulism, and the diagnosis was confirmed by the detection of Clostridium botulinum type A organisms and toxin in the feces. The levels of organisms and toxin in the feces were measured throughout the 81-day period in hospital. The maximum levels detected were 2.46 x 10(8) C. botulinum type A colony-forming units and 64,000 mouse 100% lethal doses of type A toxin per g (wet weight) of feces. C. botulinum toxin was also detected in two samples of the patient's serum, collected 3 and 10 days after admission. Improvement in the patient's clinical condition occurred before the levels of organisms and toxin in the feces reached their maxima. A slight improvement may also have occurred while toxin was still present in the serum.     

Specific Inhibition of Antibody Production: II. Paralysis Induced in Adult Mice by Small Quantities of Protein Antigen

A state of immunological paralysis has been induced in adult CBA mice by intraperitoneal injections of small quantities of bovine γ globulin (BGG). The minimum paralysing dose of BGG has been found to be between 50 and 200 μg. A dose as small as 2 μg. has been found to have a slight paralysing effect. The time necessary for the induction of paralysis by 50 μg. to 2 mg. of BGG in CBA mice is 3–4 days.

Paralysis is induced by only one component of BGG; this component is incapable of inducing an antibody response unless an injection of adjuvant is made at the same time or slightly before the injection of the antigen. The BGG is centrifuged at an RCF of 20,000–30,000 g to remove particulate matter. Failure to remove the particulate matter leads to sporadic immune responses in groups of mice injected with the protein. Mice given a paralysing injection of BGG were subsequently challenged by an injection of BGG in Freund's adjuvant. The result of this challenge was tested by an injection of radioactively-labelled antigen and the elimination of this antigen from the circulation of the challenged mice was followed for several days. `Immune elimination' can easily be distinguished from `non-immune elimination'. The presence of antibody to the non-paralysing components of BGG in sera from paralysed mice was confirmed using the Ouchterlony geldiffusion technique.

     

Quantities of receptor molecules for colony stimulating factors on leukocytes in measles

We analyzed the comparative amounts of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSFr) and granulocyte macrophage CSF (GM-CSFr) receptors expressed on neutrophils and monocytes in measles patients to investigate the role of these CSFrs in the development of leukopenia including neutropenia and monocytopenia in measles. EDTA-anticoagulated peripheral blood of 19 measles patients, 10 children with other infections showing leukopenia and 16 children with normal complete blood cell counts (CBC)s were analyzed using flow cytometry and QuantiBRITE. The leukocyte (5260 +/- 2030/uL vs. 9900 + 2680/uL, p=0.000), neutrophil (2580 +/- 960/uL vs. 4250 +/- 2750/uL, p=0.024) and the lymphocyte counts of measles patients (1810 +/- 1430/uL vs. 4530 +/- 3450/uL, p= 0.006) were lower than in the normal controls. The neutrophils of measles patients expressed similar amounts of G- CSFr (1858 +/- 355) as normal children (1764 +/- 477, p= 0.564) and leukopenic patients (1773 +/- 673, p=0.713), but lower levels of GM-CSFr (535 +/- 118) than normal children (957 +/- 344, p=0.000) and leukopenic patients (832 +/- 294, p=0.002). The monocytes of measles patients expressed similar amounts of G-CSFr (916 +/- 336) and GM-CSFr (3718 +/- 906) as normal children (1013 +/- 391 and 4125 (2645, p > 0.05) but less than leukopenic patients (1454 +/- 398 and 5388 +/- 806, p > 0.05). The neutrophil and monocyte counts of measles patients did not correlate with the amount of G-CSFr or GM-CSFr expressed on neutrophils or monocytes (p > 0.05), but in the normal children, the monocyte count correlated with the levels of GM-CSFr on monocytes (r=0.951, p=0.049). In conclusion, neutropenia is one of the more important characteristics of measles patients, which could be due to the decreased GM-CSFr expression on neutrophils. However, the monocytopenia found in measles patients is not due to the decreased expression of CSFr on the monocytes.     

不同年龄大鼠心血管组织中血管紧张素Ⅱ含量的变化

目的 探讨血管紧张素Ⅱ(Angiotensin Ⅱ,AngⅡ)在不同年龄大鼠心肌和主动脉及血液组织中含量的变化,以及AngⅡ含量在大鼠心肌、主动脉组织中的差异性.方法 随机抽取1月龄组大鼠12只作为幼年组、6月龄组大鼠12只为青年组和24月龄组大鼠12只为老年组,通过放射免疫分析法测定AngⅡ的含量.用SPSS10.0对实验数据进行统计学分析.结果 1月龄组、6月龄组和24月龄组血液中AngⅡ含量相比逐渐升高(P<0.05);1月龄组与6月龄组和24月龄组心肌中AngⅡ含量相比逐渐降低(P<0.05);1月龄组与6月龄组和24月龄组主动脉中AngⅡ含量相比逐渐降低,与心肌呈现同样变化(P<0.05).1月龄组大鼠心肌中AngⅡ含量比1月龄组大鼠主动脉中AngⅡ含量高(P<0.05);6月龄组大鼠心肌中AngⅡ含量比6月龄组大鼠主动脉中AngⅡ含量高(P<0.05);24月龄组大鼠心肌中AngⅡ含量也比24月龄组大鼠主动脉AngⅡ含量高(P<0.05).结论 各月龄组大鼠心肌AngⅡ含量比主动脉组织中AngⅡ含量高;大鼠AngⅡ含量随年龄的增长其在心肌和主动脉组织中逐步降低,而血液中AngⅡ含量却是逐渐升高然后降低.     

Simplified Method to Generate Large Quantities of Dendritic Cells Suitable for Clinical Applications

The present study describes the optimization of an in vitro culture method for generating large amounts of dendritic cells (DC) in serum-free conditions from leukapheresis containing a mixed population of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) which are cultured in the presence of GM-CSF and IL-13. Initial comparisons between the generation of DC from bulk and monocyte-enriched leukapheresis products showed that the presence of lymphocytes during the culture favors the differentiation of monocytes into DC. DC yields obtained from mixed mononuclear cell cultures were between 38 and 54% higher than yields obtained from monocyte-enriched cultures. Both types of cultures resulted in the generation of DC with an immature phenotype (CD83^? and high phagocytic activity), which have been previously shown to be good stimulators for T cell responses. DC yields of bulk cultures in serum-free conditions were significantly higher than those obtained in the presence of 2% human serum. The cytokines of the supernatants of serum-free cultures comprised a significant content of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1, IL-12 and TNF-α. Maturation of DC generated by this method can be induced by treatment with double-stranded RNA, LPS or TNF-α, resulting in enhanced surface expression of CD80, CD86, CD40, CD83 and MHC molecules on the DC. The methodology described here offers the possibility for generating large amounts of clinical grade DC from bulk leukapheresis products, thus avoiding DC precursor purification steps, and thereby minimizing the risks of contamination. This culture process may be applied to cell-based therapeutic approaches for the treatment of cancer or chronic viral infections.