Kallikrein and Male Subfertility. Usefulness of High-Unit Kallikrein Tablets

Kallikrein und Subfertilität des Mannes: Nützlichkeit von hochdosierten Kallikrein-Tabletten
In einer klinischen Studie bei 26 Männern mit einer schlechten Spermatozoenmotilität wurde der therapeutische Einfluß einer langfristigen oralen Anwendung von Kallikrein bei Subfertilität des Mannes untersucht. Es wurden zwei Gruppen gebildet: A) – 9 Fälle mit weniger als 40% Motilität und B) – 17 Fälle mit mehr als 40% Motilität. Die Gruppe A erhielt 600 KU/Tag oral über einen Zeitraum von 6 Monaten; Gruppe B erhielt für 3 Monate 300 KU/Tag oral und für die folgenden drei Monate 600 KU/Tag.
Folgende Veränderungen der Spermaparameter konnten während der Kallikreinbehandlung beobachtet werden:

• a)

   kein Anstieg der Spermatozoendichte
• a)

   eine signifikante Besserung der quantitativen und qualitativen Spermatozoenmotilität
• a)

   Besserung der Spermatozoenmorphologie
• a)

   signifikanter Anstieg der Gesamtzahl motiler Spermatozoen
• a)

   das Spermavolumen nahm zu; der Befund ließ sich allerdings nicht statistisch sichern.

Testosteron, LH und FSH im Blutplasma zeigten keine signifikanten Veränderungen. Bei einer Bestimmung von verschiedenen Bestandteilen des Spermaplasmas ergab sich unter der Zufuhr von Kallikrein ein Anstieg der sauren Prostataphosphatase und der GOT, während die alkalische Prostataphosphatase eine abfallende Tendenz ezigte; für Fruktose, Cholesterin und LDH ergab sich keine Änderung.
In 8 Fällen (30.8%) trat eine Schwangerschaft ein – Nebenwirkungen wurden nicht beobachtet.     

In vitro IgE-secreting cells in man I. Mitogen-independent and -dependent subpopulations

In vitro IgE secretion by atopic and normal peripheral-blood lymphocytes was examined in culture with pokeweed mitogen or Staphylococcus aureus strain Cowan-I (StaCw) or without mitogen. IgE secreted in culture supernatants was measured with double antibody radioimmunoassay. Enumeration of IgE-secreting cells was made by a protein-A plaque assay. IgE was detected in increasing quantities in supernatants of cultured lymphocytes without mitogen up to the 12th day. IgE-plaque-forming cells were formed by the lymphocytes in large numbers on days 4–7 in cultures with mitogen. These results suggest that not only mitogen-independent but also mitogen-dependent subpopulations may exist in the IgE-secreting cells.     

Concanavalin A-induced Suppressor Cell Activity in Lipoid Nephrosis

Suppressor cell activity (SCA) was analysed in 28 patients with lipoid nephrosis (LN) and I patients with chronic proliferative glomerulonephritis (CGN). We have assessed the ability of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) stimulated by concanvalin A(Con A) to inhibit the proliferative response of normal allogeneic lymphocytes by both Con A and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). It was found that the LN patients in the earlier phase of relapse had significantly increased levels of suppression index (SI) when compared with the values obtained with normal controls. In contrast, the mean suppression values in the PBL from LN patients in remission and CGN patients with or without nephrotic syndrome, whether the mitogen used was Con A or PHA, were similar in those of the control subjects. Moreover, when individual patients were followed through their clinical illness. LN patients had high levels of SI, particularly in the beginning of acute exacerbations; the SI levels then decreased sharply in the latter phase of relapse and again increased to relatively normal levels with the onset of clinical remission. These in vitro findings suggest that there exists an alteration in Con A-induced SCA in a group of patients with LN.     

Test for Ability of Decay-Accelerating Factor (DAF, CD55) and CD59 to Alleviate Complement-Mediated Damage of Xeno-Erythrocytes

We investigated the susceptibility to human complement (C) of xeno-erythrocytes into which phosphatidylinositol (PI)-anchored human C regulatory protein, decay-accelerating factor (DAF) or CD59 had been incorporated. Erythrocytes of sheep (Esh), swine (Esw), dog (Edg), and guinea pig (Egp), unsensitized with human natural antibody (Ab), were used as xeno-target. C-mediated lysis of erythrocytes (E) was induced in both classical and alternative pathways in parallel with the density of the sensitized Ab, except for Egp. The efficacy of DAF/CD59-mediated protection of the xeno E from human C, however, differed among these E species. In both classical and alternative pathways, Esh or Esw, which are non-activator surfaces, were protected by the incorporated DAF or CD59, DAF being more effective than CD59. On the other hand, CD59 was more effective than DAF in both pathways in protection of Egp, which is an alternative pathway activator.
To elucidate this different behaviour of DAF and CD59, C3 step inhibition by the incorporated DAF or CD59 was measured. DAF was effective in the suppression of classical pathway-mediated C3 deposition in Esh, Esw and Egp, but not in Edg, while CD59 exhibited negligible effects in this regard. Next, inhibition of the lysis by CD59 was tested by haemolytic assay. CD59 did not block the C5b-8-mediated lysis in any xeno E. It also barely blocked C5b-9-mediated lysis, except in the case of Egp, in which CD59 partly blocked C9 attack. Membrane constituents on targets other than the incorporated complement inhibitors may be a crucial factor in the induction of cytolysis and, presumably, in hyperacute rejection.