Influence of the anti-T4 autoantibody cross-reacting with T3 on serum T3 level determined by RIA

We encountered a patient who showed remarkably high binding capacities of both 125I-T4 and 125I-T3, which suggests the presence of antithyroid hormone autoantibody. However, the serum level of T3 in the patient was not abnormal. Study of the specificity of anti-thyroid autoantibody revealed that the antibody present in the patient was the anti T4 antibody, which cross-reacted with T3. In addition, the binding capacity of the T4 autoantibody with T3 was inhibited by T4. Endogenous T4 is always present when T3 is determined by radioimmunoassay. Our findings indicate that the normal T3 level in the patient was because endogenous T4 inhibited the autoantibody binding with T3.     

A simple and rapid method for the determination of macrophage activating factor involving a new type of apparatus suitable for the measurement of macrophage chemiluminescence

A simple and rapid method for the determination of macrophage activating factor is described. A new type of apparatus suitable for the measurement of macrophage chemiluminescence was devised, and the effect of lymphokines on macrophage activities was studied by measuring phorbol myristate acetate-induced luminol-dependent chemiluminescence. An outstanding feature of the new apparatus is that the plastic dish used for the cell culture can be used as the vessel for the chemiluminescence reaction. When thioglycollate-elicited ICR mouse peritoneal macrophages were incubated with lymphokines, their ability to generate chemiluminescence increased rapidly, reaching a maximal level at about 4 h, and then it progressively decreased to the control level at 8 h. Although this increasing effect of lymphokines on macrophage chemiluminescence was short-lived, it could be seen at a relatively low concentration, at which lymphokine-mediated cytotoxic activity of macrophages was not observed.     

Studies on plasma immunoreactive human brain natriuretic peptide (hBNP) levels in patients with congestive heart failure and present forms of hBNP in human cardiac ventricle

By using a specific radioimmunoassay (RIA) for human brain natriuretic peptide (hBNP), we measured immunoreactive hBNP (ir-hBNP) in plasma from patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). There appeared to be relationship between the enhanced ir-hBNP secretory activity and the severity of the failing heart as well as that of immunoreactive human atrial natriuretic peptide (ir-hANP). However, the secretion of ir-hBNP was augmented much more than that of ir-hANP in sever CHF patients. Gel permeation chromatography coupled with the RIA revealed that ir-hBNP in human ventricle is composed with gamma-hBNP and hBNP (1-32) as well as that of human atrium. However, we found differences of the gamma-hBNP/hBNP (1-32) ratio in atrial and ventricular tissues. These findings suggest that the hBNP secretion mechanism differ in the two areas of human heart.     

Reconstitution of humoral immunity during pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Recently, increasing attention has been paid to hormonal regulations of the immune system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, cord sera and the corresponding maternal sera were obtained at delivery. Sera from pregnant women were obtained at early, middle, and late stages of pregnancy. These sera were tested for titer and avidity of measles or mumps virus-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) by means of a single-dilution, urea-denaturation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. RESULTS: A positive and significant correlation was found between the titer and avidity of the virus-specific IgG, both in the cord sera and in the maternal sera. This correlation was established already at the early stage of pregnancy. There were no such correlations found in nonpregnant individuals. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first observation in human subjects that the avidity and concentration of the virus-specific IgG had a positive and significant correlation. Pregnancy must have some significant effects on the regulation of humoral immunity.     

Synergistic effect of lymphokines and lipopolysaccharides on macrophage chemiluminescence. Appearance of spontaneous chemiluminescence and its correlation with cytotoxicity

A new type of chemiluminescence (CL) was observed in thioglycolate-elicited ICR mouse peritoneal macrophages which had been incubated for 24 h in medium containing lymphokines (LK) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS), and then exposed to a CL reagent solution containing luminol and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). The new CL, which was clearly distinguishable from PMA-induced CL, appeared immediately after the addition of the CL reagent solution, reaching a maximal level at about 30 s, and disappeared rapidly. We have called the new CL 'spontaneous CL', since it appeared spontaneously without PMA triggering. When the macrophages were incubated with LK in the presence of 10 ng/ml of LPS, the spontaneous CL began to appear after about 4 h incubation, the maximal level being reached at about 12 h, after which it decreased gradually on further incubation. After 48 h, it could not be observed at all. The spontaneous CL could be observed only in macrophages simultaneously treated with LK and LPS, as in the case of cytotoxicity. The correlation between spontaneous CL and cytotoxicity was suggested by the following; they showed a similar dose dependency to LK, and neither of them could be induced in aged macrophages which had been incubated in vitro for 1 day before exposure to LK and LPS. These results suggest that spontaneous CL measurement could possibly replace the cytotoxicity test as a simple method for the determination of macrophage activating factor.     

Protective effects of a water-soluble extract from cultured medium of Ganoderma lucidum (Rei-shi) mycelia and Agaricus blazei murill against X-irradiation in B6C3F1 mice: Increased small intestinal crypt survival and prolongation of average time to animal death

Radioprotective effects of a water-soluble extracts from cultured medium of Ganoderma lucidum (Rei-shi) mycelia (designed as MAK) and Agaricus blazei (Agaricus) against the shortening of survival time or the injury of crypt by X-irradiation were investigated in male B6C3F1 mice. MAK and Agaricus at three different doses were mixed into basal diet into biscuits at 5, 2.5 and 1.25% and administered from 1 week before irradiation. MAK (5% group) significantly prolonged animal survival as compared with basal diet group (control group) after 7 Gy of X-ray irradiation at a dose rate of 2 Gy min(-1). At doses of 8, 10 and 12 Gy X-irradiation at a dose rate of 4 Gy min(-1) MAK (5% group) significantly increased crypt survival as compared to other groups. These results suggest that MAK can act as a radioprotective agent.     

Synthesis and side-chain crystallization of comb-like polymers obtained from isopropenyl-1,3,5-triazines carrying two,three, and four long alkyl groups

Monomers containing several octadecyl groups, e.g., 2-isopropenyl-4,6-bis(octadecylamino)-1,3,5-triazine ( 2 ), 2-dioctadecylamino-4-isopropenyl-6-octadecylamino-1,3,5-triazine ( 3 ) and 2,4-bis(dioctadecylamino)-6-isopropenly-1,3,5-triazine ( 4 ) were prepared by the alkylation reaction of 2,4-diamino-6-isopropenyl-1,3,5-triazine ( 1 ) with 1-bromooctadecane in the presence of sodium hydride. In the free-radical homopolymerization of these monomers, the polymer yield of 3 was lower than that of 2 due to a decrease in the ceiling temperature, and the polymerization of 4 did not proceed. Copolymerizations of these monomers with styrene or methyl methacrylate were carried out and the monomer reactivity ratios (r₁ and r₂) were determined. The monomer reactivity decreased with increasing the number of octadecyl groups in the monomers. Crystallinity of the octadecyl side chains in the resulting comb-like polymers was evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry.