The assessment of the state of the immune system in the patients presenting with bronchial asthma and concomitant diseases of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses

The objective of the present investigation was to study the influence of diseases of the nasal cavity (NC) and paranasal sinuses (PNS) concomitant with bronchial asthma (BA) on the development of peculiar features of the patients' immune status. Phenotypic characteristics of the main lymphocyte subpopulations from peripheral blood of 101 patients were obtained by means of flow cytometry with the use of fluorescein isocyanate- or phycoerythrin-labeled monoclonal antibodies. Special emphasis was laid on the elucidation of characteristics of humoral and cell-mediated immunity in the patients presenting with BA and concomitant NC and PNS diseases and their comparison with the respective parameters in the patients with isolated lesions in the upper respiratory tract (allergic rhinitis and polypous rhinosinusitis) and lower respiratory tract (bronchial asthma). It was shown that the patients with concurrent lesions of the upper and lower respiratory tracts experience marked intensification of the immune reactions in the form of the elevated number of activated B-lymphocytes (CD23+), serum IgE level, and peripheral eosinophil count.     

The nasal valve. Part I. Anatomical and physiological nature, clinical manifestations of dysfunction and methods for its diagnostics

In this article, the critical analysis of the available publications concerning anatomical and physiological nature of the nasal valve, clinical manifestations of its dysfunction, and diagnostic methods is presented. Various diagnostic tools are considered with special reference to the anatomical features of the nasal valve and mechanisms of its disorders. The study revealed contradictory opinions as regards the causes underlying valvular insufficiency and the necessity of the objective evaluation of nasal breathing in the patients with this pathology. The need of the search for the new methods of topical diagnostics of nasal valve dysfunction is substantiated.     

Thermotherapy for laryngeal cancer

An analysis of the data on the treatment of 91 cases of advanced cancer of the larynx showed that local UHF-hyperthermotherapy is more efficient than the SHF one as a component of radiotherapy. Use of the latter procedure was followed by a higher rate of late-onset radiation injuries. Moreover, combined application of hyper-fractionated irradiation and UHF-hyperthermotherapy involved practically no grave complications while 5-year survival increased.     

Lymphokine-stimulated macrophage phagocytosis of fluorescent microspheres: a rapid new assay

A highly sensitive and rapid in vitro macrophage phagocytosis assay is described for screening of lymphokine preparations with macrophage activating properties. Non-induced mouse peritoneal macrophages were incubated on glass slides for 60 min in the presence of fluorescent 2 micron latex beads and partially purified lymphokine fractions or media control. Lymphokine samples were prepared from culture supernatants of the B lymphoblastoid cell line RPMI 1788 by high performance liquid chromatography of a soluble trichloroacetic acid extract of concentrated culture supernatant. Phagocytosis was measured by direct counts of the percent phagocytic cells and the number of intracellular beads per 100 cells as seen by fluorescence microscopy. Phagocytic uptake in the presence of as little as 0.1 ng of active lymphokine could readily be determined qualitatively by correlation plots and quantitatively by appropriate statistical programs for data processing by computer. This technique provides a rapid, reproducible, screening assay for biological activity of macrophage activating lymphokines and other compounds affecting macrophage phagocytosis.     

Modulation of immunoreactivity to periodontal disease-associated microorganisms during pregnancy.

The lymphocyte blastogenic response to a panel of antigens and mitogens was assessed in a group of 20 women throughout their pregnancy. In addition, a group of five nonpregnant women was monitored simultaneously to identify variations in response to the same stimulants. The stimulants included orally associated bacterial antigens (Streptococcus sanguis, Actinomyces viscosus, Bacteroides asaccharolyticus, Bacteroides melaninogenicus subsp. intermedius, Bacteroides [Capnocytophaga] ochraceus, and Fusobacterium nucleatum) and non-orally associated-stimulants (streptokinase-streptodornase, tetanus toxoid, concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin, and pokeweed mitogen). Intrinsic (cells cultured in male AB plasma) suppression of the lymphocyte response to these stimulants was observed to occur by the second trmester of pregnancy and was resolved after parturition. Additionally, an extrinsic (cells cultured in autologous plasma) suppression was also suggested to occur in a similar manner. There was no detectable enhancement of the blastogenic response to oral bacteria associated with elevated gingivitis, which is generally reported to occur during nonpregnancy gingivitis. We propose that concomitant immunosuppression occurs during the second trimester, which masks such enhancement.     

Monocyte suppression of Fusobacterium nucleatum-induced human polyclonal B-lymphocyte activation.

Previous studies reported that Fusobacterium nucleatum induced polyclonal B-lymphocyte activation (PBA) as determined by immunoglobulin M production in cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. However, the PBA response was greatly enhanced when the cells were depleted of esterase-positive, adherent cells (i.e., monocytes). The purpose of this study was to confirm and further examine the suppression of F. nucleatum-induced PBA (F. nucleatum-PBA) by blood monocytes. For comparison, PBA induced by pokeweed mitogen (PWM-PBA), which is enhanced by monocytes, was assessed in some experiments. We found the removal of monocytes from unfractionated cells by (i) Sephadex G-10, (ii) anti-monocyte specific OM-1 monoclonal antibody plus complement, or (iii) L-leucine methyl ester, a compound which selectively kills lysosome-rich cells, resulted in a population of cells responsive to F. nucleatum-PBA and unresponsive to PWM-PBA. The addition of double adherence-purified monocytes (greater than 85% esterase-positive cells), particularly in concentrations of greater than 10%, to lymphocytes depleted of monocytes by G-10, OM-1, or L-leucine methyl ester treatments, suppressed F. nucleatum-PBA and enhanced PWM-PBA. Monocytes also suppressed a mixture of isolated T and B cells combined in a T/B cell ratio of 3:1, which is an optimal ratio for F. nucleatum-PBA. Allogeneic monocytes suppressed F. nucleatum-PBA, although at low numbers these cells were not as suppressive as autologous monocytes. Heating at 56 degrees C for 15 min, sonicating, or freeze-thawing the monocyte preparations resulted in an abrogation of monocyte-induced suppression of F. nucleatum-PBA. Kinetic studies in which fresh monocytes were added daily to lymphocytes stimulated with F. nucleatum or PWM showed that the monocytes must be added within the first 2 days of culture to suppress F. nucleatum-PBA or enhance PWM-PBA. Monocytes incubated with F. nucleatum for 48 h released into the culture medium a soluble factor that suppressed F. nucleatum-PBA. The results from this study demonstrate a potent mechanism by which the host might prevent exaggerated nonspecific immunoglobulin responses when exposed to PBA-inducing concentrations of F. nucleatum. On the other hand, the induction of suppressive monocytes (or monocyte-mediated suppressive factors) by interaction with F. nucleatum might result in the inhibition of host protective immune reactions.     

Comparison of various detection methods for periodontopathic bacteria: can culture be considered the primary reference standard?

The development of diagnostic tests for a periodontal infection raises the issue as to what the appropriate reference standard, or "gold standard," should be for the evaluation of a new test. The present research was initiated to compare the ability of several detection methods, i.e., a serial dilution anaerobic culture and/or microscopic procedure, a DNA probe procedure, and immunological reagents using both an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and an indirect immunofluorescence assay to detect Treponema denticola, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Bacteroides forsythus, and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in subgingival plaque samples taken from 204 periodontally diseased tooth sites. The prevalence of the four monitored species varied as a function of both the species and the detection method. Spirochetes were present in 99% of the plaques, whereas A. actinomycetemcomitans was detected at the lowest frequency. The culture method yielded the lowest prevalence values for the three cultivable species. This raised the question as to which results, those obtained by culture or those obtained by the DNA probes and the immunological reagents, were the most reliable. This issue was addressed by looking at the prevalence profile of the monitored organisms, as determined by all the detection methods. If the species was detected by three or four of the detection methods, then it was considered present, whereas if it was absent by three or four of the detection methods, then it was considered absent. This approach showed the DNA probes and immunological reagents to be significantly superior (P less than 0.05) to the culture approach for the detection of P. gingivalis, A. actinomycetemcomitans, and B. forsythus and to be comparable to the microscopic approach in the detection of T. denticola.