Comparison of the intensity and duration of effects of inhaled bitolterol and albuterol on airway caliber and airway responsiveness to histamine

Inhaled beta-agonists can produce bronchodilatation and reduce airway hyperreactivity in patients with asthma. Using these two measures, we compared inhaled bitolterol (three puffs, 1110 micrograms), albuterol (two puffs, 180 micrograms), and placebo administered by metered-dose inhaler in a blinded, crossover study of 40 subjects with chronic asthma. On each study day, subjects underwent histamine challenges at 1 1/2 hours before, and 1/2, 2, 4, 6, and 8 hours after inhaling one of the three test-drug treatments. Both drugs produced significant bronchodilatation at 30 minutes through 4 hours and significant effects on airway reactivity at 30 minutes through 2 hours (p less than 0.05). Bitolterol also produced small but significant bronchodilator effects at 6 hours and effects on airway reactivity at 4 hours (p less than 0.05). Effects of bitolterol on airway reactivity diminished significantly more slowly than effects of albuterol in subjects with baseline provocative concentration causing a 20% fall in FEV1 greater than or equal to 1.0 mg/ml of histamine (half-life of biologic effect 1.37 versus 0.92 hours; p less than 0.05) but not in subjects with baseline provocative concentration causing a 20% fall in FEV1 less than or equal to 1.0 mg/ml (half-life of biologic effect of 1.01 versus 1.00 hours; p greater than 0.05).     

细胞外信号调节激酶在TPPB促进PC12产生可溶性淀粉样前体蛋白中的作用

目的：观察在蛋白激酶C(PKC)激动剂TPPB促进可溶性淀粉样前体蛋白(sAPPα)释放过程中参与的信号转导通路。方法:以1 μmol/L的TPPB作用于PC12细胞3 h，同时加入信号转导通路的抑制剂，Western印迹法检测上清液内sAPPα的含量和细胞外信号调节激酶(p42/44MAPK)及磷酸化的p42/44MAPK的表达。结果:1 μmol/L的TPPB作用于PC12细胞3 h可以显著增加上清液内sAPPα的含量，细胞外信号调节激酶抑制剂U0126、c-Jun氨基末端激酶抑制剂SP600125和蛋白酪氨酸激酶抑制剂genistein可以部分消除此作用；而p38MAPK抑制剂SB203580对sAPPα的含量无显著影响。1 μmol/L的TPPB可以使磷酸化的p42/44MAPK表达增加，而对总的p42/44MAPK无显著影响。结论:细胞外信号调节激酶、c-Jun氨基末端激酶和蛋白酪氨酸激酶可能参与TPPB促进sAPPα生成的过程。     

Comparison between radioimmunoassay and direct and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for determination of antibodies against Haemophilus influenzae type b capsular polysaccharide.

Levels of antibodies against Haemophilus influenzae type b capsular polysaccharide were determined in acute-phase and convalescent-phase serum samples obtained from 21 children with invasive H. influenzae type b infections and from 44 children vaccinated with two H. influenzae type b vaccines. Amounts of immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, and IgA antibodies were measured by direct and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the total amount of antibodies was measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Results obtained by ELISA were calculated by multiple-point parallel-line comparison and by endpoint analysis. A very good correlation was obtained between direct and indirect ELISA values. In the lower range of antibody concentrations, the correlation between ELISA values obtained by endpoint analysis and those obtained by multiple-point parallel-line comparison was poor, since the latter method of calculation yielded values of up to 1 microgram/ml in sera that were negative according to endpoint analysis. These sera with negative endpoint titers also had undetectable or very low antibody concentrations as measured by RIA. Consistent with this finding, in acute-phase and prevaccination sera with undetectable or low antibody concentrations as measured by RIA, ELISA values calculated by multiple-point parallel-line comparison were much higher. In sera with higher antibody concentrations, however, parallel-line comparisons showed good correlation between RIA and ELISA values. Although no reference method for measuring true antibody concentrations is available, ELISA values as calculated by multiple-point parallel-line comparison appear to overestimate antibody concentrations in sera containing low antibody concentrations, whereas ELISA values obtained by endpoint analysis are less well correlated with RIA values at higher concentrations.     

Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte clones, established by stimulation with the HLA-A2 binding p5365-73 wild type peptide loaded on dendritic cells In vitro, specifically recognize and lyse HLA-A2 tumour cells overexpressing the p53 protein

Mutations in the tumour suppressor gene p53 are among the most frequent genetic alterations in human malignancies, often associated with an accumulation of the p53 protein in the cytoplasm. We have generated a number of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) clones that specifically recognize the HLA-A*0201 p53 wild type peptide RMPEAAPPV [65-73], designated R9V, by the in vitro stimulation of CD8 enriched peripheral blood lymphocytes from a healthy HLA-A*0201 donor using peptide loaded autologous dendritic cells. A total of 22 CTL clones were generated from the same bulk culture and demonstrated to carry identical T-cell receptors. The CTL clone, 2D9, was shown to specifically lyse the HLA-A*0201+ squamous carcinoma cell line SCC9 and the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-468. Our data demonstrate that human peripheral blood lymphocytes from normal healthy individuals comprise T cells capable of recognizing p53 derived wild type (self) peptides. Furthermore, the capacity of R9V specific T cell clones to exert HLA restricted cytotoxicity, argues that the R9V peptide is naturally presented on certain cancer cells. This supports the view that p53 derived wild type peptides might serve as candidate target antigens for the immunotherapeutic treatment of cancer.