A simple and practical technic for detecting cancer cells in urine and urinary bladder washings by flow cytometry

DNA measurement by flow cytometry has been demonstrated to be a potentially useful technic in the diagnosis of bladder cancer by detecting neoplastic cells in bladder washings and urine specimens. The authors' goal was to develop a simple and practical method utilizing the new generation of cytofluorographs designed for use in the clinical laboratory. This method combined direct fixation with cell lysis yielding fixed intact nuclei. Following RNase and pepsin digestion, the nuclei were separated from debris and aggregates on a sucrose barrier, stained with ethidium bromide, and analyzed with an argon laser analytic cytofluorograph. Urines and bladder washings from 14 patients with positive urinary cytology and histologically diagnosed bladder cancers were compared with specimens from patients without urothelial malignancies. DNA histograms clearly delineated aneuploid from diploid populations and often identified S, G2M, and G1 phase nuclei. Aneuploid populations have been detected in all tumor specimens with positive cytologies studied to date.     

H-2 restriction and serotype crossreactivity of anti-reovirus cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL)

Murine anti-reovirus cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) were analyzed for H-2 restricted recognition of virus infected target cells and for potential cross-reactivity with cells infected by reovirus serotype 1 (T1; Lang strain) or by serotype 3 (T3; Dearing strain). Anti-reovirus CTL specifically lysed virus infected cells and lysis was shown to be H-2 restricted by the H-2Dd, H-2Ld, H-2Kd, H-2Kb, and H-2Kk antigens. No H-2 antigens were identified which failed to restrict virus recognition by anti-reovirus CTL. Anti-T1 and anti-T3 CTLs were also shown to crossreact completely with cells infected with the opposite virus serotype. Thus, anti-reovirus CTLs are restricted by a broad spectrum of H-2 antigens and they detect common rather than unique structural components of these two viral serotypes.     

Antiphospholipid antibodies and the outcome of pregnancy after the first in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer cycle

Increased antiphospholipid antibody prevalence has been demonstrated by a number of recent studies in in-vitro fertilization (IVF) patients but the potential effects of antiphospholipid antibodies on the different components of the reproductive process and the consideration of whether to test IVF patients for antiphospholipid antibodies are controversial. The present study was undertaken to investigate the possible association between the presence of circulating antiphospholipid antibodies (namely the lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies), among a series of 21 consecutive IVF patients having a clinical spontaneous abortion after their first embryo transfer. As a control group (n=42), the nearest IVF cycle resulting in an ongoing pregnancy before and after each miscarried IVF cycle (i.e. the closest cycles in temporal relationship to the index cycle) was used. One patient (4.8%) in the study group and two women (4.8%) among controls were seropositive for antiphospholipid antibodies. These low and similar seropositivity rates found in the two groups studied lead us to conclude that antiphospholipid antibodies testing in IVF patients should be considered only in those women having repeated failures of implantation/clinical abortion after embryo transfer but not in an infertile general population reaching an IVF programme.