Evaluation of the Culturette Brand Ten-Minute Group A Strep ID technique.

A direct extraction of the antigens of group A beta-hemolytic streptococci from 557 throat swabs was performed by a new microtechnique of the nitrous acid extraction method with the Culturette Brand Ten-Minute Strep ID technique from Marion Scientific, Division of Marion Laboratories, Inc., Kansas City, Mo. This group A latex reagent kit contains the reagents for the micronitrous acid extraction of throat swabs and does not require a centrifugation step in its protocol. There was a 99.3% (553 of 557) total agreement between the direct nitrous acid extraction-latex agglutination method and the standard culture method. The direct extraction method yielded an identification of 95.1% (78 of 82) of the group A streptococci identified by the standard method. Throat swabs used for standard culture may also be extracted with nitrous acid for the detection of group A antigen. A 5-min nitrous acid extraction destroys the viability of bacteria associated with normal throat flora as well as group A streptococci and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This highly rapid method is simple to perform and requires no costly instrumentation. Accordingly, it would be most applicable in a hospital laboratory as well as in a physician's office.     

Spontaneous disruption of mycotic aneurysm involving innominate artery

We report a case of ruptured mycotic aneurysm involving innominate artery requiring an urgent surgical treatment. A 62-yr-old woman presented with fever and dyspnea. Previously, she was diagnosed with colon cancer and received right hemicolectomy and one cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy. On echocardiogram, pericardial effusion was noted and emergency pericardiocentesis was performed. CT scan revealed aortic aneurysm involving ascending aorta and innominate artery, and thrombi surrounding those structures. Patch repair of the defect in the ascending aorta and ringed Goretex graft to bypass the innominate and ascending aorta were performed. We believe that this is the first case of ruptured mycotic aneurysm involving innominate artery.     

Presence of pili on the surface of Francisella tularensis

Francisella tularensis is a highly infectious gram-negative bacterium with potential for use as a bioweapon. Analysis of the F. tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS) ultrastructure by electron microscopy revealed the presence of long, thin fibers, similar in appearance to type 4 pili. The highly virulent F. tularensis Schu S4 strain was found to contain type 4 pilus genes, and we confirmed that these genes are present and expressed in the LVS.     

Daily stress and mood and their association with pain,health-care use,and school activity in adolescents with sickle cell disease

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which daily stress and mood are associated with pain, health-care use, and school activity in adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD). METHOD: Adolescents with SCD (n = 37; aged 13 to 17 years) completed daily diaries assessing pain, stress, mood, activity, and health-care use for up to 6 months. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Daily increases in stress and negative mood were associated with increases in same-day pain, health-care use, and reductions in school and social activity. Increases in positive mood were associated with decreases in pain, less health-care use, and more activity participation. Notably, pain was predictive of higher stress and lower positive mood on subsequent days. CONCLUSION: Pain in adolescents with SCD is stressful and may lead to alterations in mood states. Understanding the way in which these variables relate to health-care use and activity may lead to improved pain management approaches.     

Identification of wall-specific antigens synthesized during germ tube formation by Candida albicans.

Walls of the two cellular forms (blastoconidia and mycelia) of Candida albicans ATCC 26555 were obtained from cells metabolically labeled (6-h pulse) with 14C-protein hydrolysate and [3H]threonine. Walls were purified by thorough washings with buffered and sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions and digested with Zymolyase 20T. The enzymatic treatment released four major high-molecular-weight mannoproteins (HMWM), with apparent molecular masses of 650, 500, 340, and 200 kilodaltons (HMWM-650, HMWM-500, HMWM-340, and HMWM-200, respectively), from yeast cells, whereas two high-molecular-mass mannoproteins (HMWM-260 and HMWM-180) were solubilized from mycelial cells. Some additional minor low-molecular-weight species were also detected in the enzymatic digests of walls from both types of cell. Single and dual pulse-chase experiments indicated that the HMWM-260 and HMWM-180 species reflect de novo synthesis of new proteins specific for the mycelia and do not represent a topological rearrangement of blastoconidium wall components. Monoclonal antibodies were raised against the HMWM-260 species (quantitatively the predominant component in the mycelial walls), and polyclonal rabbit antibodies were obtained against yeast or mycelial cell walls. Anti-mycelial cell wall polyclonal antibodies were adsorbed to whole killed blastoconidia to remove antibodies against common blastoconidium and mycelial wall antigens. Titration by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that the monoclonal antibodies could recognize an epitope of the protein moiety of the HMWM-260 mannoprotein. Immunoblotting and immunofluorescence techniques using these monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies confirmed that the HMWM-260 and HMWM-180 species are specific components of the envelope of the mycelial cell walls.     

Detection of the apoptosis-suppressing oncoprotein bc1-2 in hormone-refractory human prostate cancers.

The oncoprotein encoded by bc1-2 is unique because of its intracellular location (a mitochondrial membrane protein) and apparent mode of action (suppression of apoptosis). To date, this oncogene has been associated only with the development of certain forms of human B-cell lymphoma. In this report, we describe our experience with a monoclonal antibody made against a synthetic peptide for bc1-2 that can recognize the bc1-2 protein and identify cells in human prostate glands expressing this proto-oncogene with in situ immunohistochemical procedures. These procedures were utilized to survey a series of 62 human tissues to evaluate whether bc1-2 might have a role in the developing prostate gland or in prostate oncogenesis. While all primordial epithelial cells in a fetal prostate gland immunostain for bc1-2, normal and hypertrophic prostate glands of the adult show bc1-2 expression restricted to the basal cells. All epithelial cells in areas of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia were stained by this antibody, as were most (62%) localized invasive prostatic carcinomas. In contrast, all primary prostatic carcinomas and metastases obtained from metastatic prostate cancer patients after hormone treatment (hormone-refractory tumors) stained positive for bc1-2. This study demonstrates that the oncoprotein encoded by bc1-2 can be detected at sequential stages in the natural history of human prostate cancer. Since the bc1-2 oncoprotein is known to suppress the cellular response to apoptotic stimuli, it will be important to determine whether bc1-2 expression is a factor in the development of prostate cancers and in the survival of hormone-refractory prostate cancer cells.