Myeloid regeneration after bone-marrow transplantation monitored by serum measurements of myeloperoxidase, lysozyme and lactoferrin

Bone-marrow regeneration after chemo- and radiotherapy-induced aplasia can be monitored by serum levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO), lysozyme (LYS) and lactoferrin (LF). In 10 patients with leukemia, serum measurements were performed before and after bone-marrow transplantation. Bone-marrow regeneration was suggested by increments in serum MPO and LYS 5 and 4 days prior to the increase in mononuclear cells (Mono) and 10 and 9 d before the increase in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) in the peripheral blood. LF started to rise 4.5 d before detectable circulating PMNs. 2 patients with early relapses of leukemia post transplantation are shown to display atypical patterns of serum MPO and LYS. We conclude that serum measurements of MPO, LYS and LF may be used as early and sensitive means to monitor bone-marrow activity during hematological regeneration. However, the findings also strongly support the earlier proposal that MPO alone may be used to reflect myeloid activity in the bone-marrow in general.     

Acquired supravalvar membranous stenosis of the left atrioventricular valve

Acquired supravalvar membranous stenosis of the left atrioventricular valve developed in a nine year old boy with atrioventricular discordance. The supravalvar membrane had not been present when a partial annuloplasty was performed on the left atrioventricular valve eight years before. The stenosis was relieved by operative excision of the membrane.     

Significance of coupling intervals of spontaneous ventricular arrhythmias in long-term ECG in patients with coronary heart disease

Coupling intervals of premature ventricular beats and complex arrhythmias were studied by 24-h ambulatory electrocardiographic recordings in 76 patients (35 sudden death patients and 41 survivors) with coronary artery disease. A first Holter (HM 1) was recorded at the time of left ventricular angiography and a second Holter (HM 2) after a mean interval of 34.4 +/- 11.2 months (range 2-61 months). All patients were only treated medically. The mean heart rate was significantly faster in patients who died suddenly than in survivors in both HM 1 and HM 2 (p less than 0.01). In HM 1, there were no significant differences in mean coupling intervals between patients who died suddenly and survivors, whereas in HM 2, coupling intervals of premature ventricular beats and couplets were significantly shorter in patients who died suddenly than in survivors (p less than 0.05). Patients with coupling intervals for couplets less than 500 ms died significantly earlier than those patients with coupling intervals greater than 500 ms (p less than 0.05). Our data show that there is a relationship between heart rate, coupling intervals and sudden death. Patients with fast heart rates and coupling intervals for couplets less than 500 ms represent a group at high risk of sudden death.     

Fate of TR-2, the hepatic metabolite of the tremorgenic mycotoxin verruculogen, in sheep

1. Verruculogen is eliminated in bile after transformation to TR-2, only a trace of which was excreted as such in faeces of sheep given verruculogen per os. Negligible TR-2 was present free in urine; no glucuronide was found. 2. An isomer of TR-2, a minor component of the bile of sheep given verruculogen, has been defined by 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy and the isomerism involves the disposition of the two adjacent hydroxyl groups with a concomitant change in the conformation of the ring adjacent to the indole. 3. 14C-TR-2, added to the perfusate of isolated rat liver, was excreted unchanged in the bile, implying no significant loss of any biliary TR-2 subject to enterohepatic recycling in vivo. 4. 14C-TR-2 incubated anaerobically in sheep ileum contents was 95% transformed into more polar metabolites, the majority of the radiolabelled metabolites isolated being water soluble. 5. The principal fate of biliary TR-2 is as a metabolic substrate for the intestinal microflora.     

The essential fatty acid deficient chicken as a model for cystic fibrosis

The essential fatty acid deficient (EFAD) chicken was evaluated as a model for cystic fibrosis (CF). Three semipurified diets--(I) 1% hydrogenated coconut oil (HCO), (II) 10% soybean oil + 1% HCO, and (III) 11% HCO--were fed to chickens from hatching to 5, 8, or 11 wk. Groups I and III exhibited poor weight gain and abnormal serum fatty acid patterns characteristic of EFAD. Production of prostaglandin F2 alpha, thromboxane B2, 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha, and prostaglandin E in lung was significantly reduced at 5, 8, and 11 wk in both EFAD groups. Histopathologic examination revealed increased peribronchiolitis in group I compared with II. Incidence of pulmonary lesions in group III was intermediate. These data support the theory that essential fatty acids are necessary to maintain proper lung function. In this respect, the chicken is a good model for studying the relationship between EFAD and pulmonary disease in CF patients.     

Subfractionation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes by partitioning in two-polymer aqueous phase systems. Characteristics of a small subpopulation of cells with high partition coefficient

Mixtures of aqueous solutions of dextran and poly(ethylene glycol) form immiscible 2-phase systems that are suitable for the separation of viable, functionally-competent cells on the basis of their surface properties. With the appropriate choice of ionic composition, these systems will separate cells on the basis of charge-related surface characteristics. We have previously shown that in charge-sensitive phase systems, human B lymphocytes have a low partition coefficient (K) and T cells have an intermediate K. The cell subpopulation with the highest K values contains large null lymphocytes that have most of the antibody-dependent and natural killer activities. The present study further characterizes this latter cell subpopulation. 8-33% of peripheral blood lymphocytes in normal persons had high K values. About 50% of these cells had typical Giemsa-staining granules characteristic of killer cells and one third had Fc receptors, but lacked complement receptors. Although 15-30% of the cells with high K values formed rosettes with sheep erythrocytes, there was virtually no response to T-cell mitogens such as PHA and Con A. Mixing cells having high K values with mitogen-responsive T cells from intermediate cell fractions revealed no evidence of suppressor-cell activity to explain the poor mitogen response. The studies indicate that a heterogeneous population of cells share charge-related surface properties resulting in a high partition coefficient. These cells comprise a significant proportion of human peripheral blood lymphocytes and include virtually all of the large granular lymphocytes as well as a large population without this morphology that shares the feature of unresponsiveness to T-cell mitogens.