Charcot-Marie-Tooth phenotype produced by a duplicated PMP22 gene as part of a 17P trisomy-translocation to the X chromosome

The Charcot-Mane-Tooth disease type 1A (CMTlA) phenotype is most often associated with a 1.5 megabase (mb), tandem duplication of chromosome 17 band p12 (17˜12). The prevailing hypothesis is that the demyelinating neuropathy results from a dosage effect of the peripheral myelin protein gene PMP22 which is included within this duplication. We present a patient with clinical and electrophysiological features ofCMTlA in whom an extra PMP22 gene resulted from a rare unbalanced translocation of 17p to the X chromosome. This finding further supports the hypothesis of gene dosage as the basis for CMTlA. More-over, this case highlights the importance of fluorescence in siiu hybridization (FISH) as an alternative molecular technique in the diagnosis of CMTlA.     

Inhibition of the Mixed Lymphocyte Culture Response by Antibody Following Successful Human Renal Transplantation

Immunoglobulin G, appearing after several months in the serum of a recipient of a successful kidney transplant from a closely matched sibling donor, was demonstrated to progressively inhibit unidirectional mixed lymphocyte cultures when donor lymphocytes were used either in responding or stimulating cell populations. The active recipient IgG had no effect in cultures in which donor cells were not used, nor did IgG obtained from other individuals show nonspecific inhibitory effects on cultures containing donor cells. It is suggested that the MLC inhibitory immunoglobulin may serve an immunoregulatory function after renal transplantation.     

Immunohistochemical, in situ hybridization, and ultrastructural localization of SARS-associated coronavirus in lung of a fatal case of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Taiwan

This article describes the pathological studies of fatal severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in a 73-year-old man during an outbreak of SARS in Taiwan, 2003. Eight days before onset of symptoms, he visited a municipal hospital that was later identified as the epicenter of a large outbreak of SARS. On admission to National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei, the patient experienced chest tightness, progressive dyspnea, and low-grade fever. His condition rapidly deteriorated with increasing respiratory difficulty, and he died 7 days after admission. The most prominent histopathologic finding was diffuse alveolar damage of the lung. Immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization assays demonstrated evidence of SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infection in various respiratory epithelial cells, predominantly type II pneumocytes, and in alveolar macrophages in the lung. Electron microscopic examination also revealed coronavirus particles in the pneumocytes, and their identity was confirmed as SARS-CoV by immunogold labeling electron microscopy. This report is the first to describe the cellular localization of SARS-CoV in human lung tissue by using a combination of immunohistochemistry, double-stain immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, electron microscopy, and immunogold labeling electron microscopy. These techniques represent valuable laboratory diagnostic modalities and provide insights into the pathogenesis of this emerging infection.     

B cell growth and differentiation factors interact with receptors distinct from the interleukin 2 receptor

Human B lymphocytes preactivated with Staphylococcus aureus Cowan strain I can proliferate and differentiate to Ig-secreting cells when cultured in the presence of recombinant interleukin 2 (IL2). We have compared 2 different B cell growth factors (BCGF) and a B cell differentiation factor (BCDF) to IL2 in the regulation of human B lymphocyte growth and differentiation. Utilizing a competitive binding assay, neither a high molecular weight BCGF (HMW-BCGF) nor a low molecular weight BCGF (LMW-BCGF) competitively inhibited the binding of radiolabeled IL2. Blocking studies with the anti-Tac monoclonal antibody demonstrated that B cell proliferation to IL2 was inhibited while a crude supernatant containing BCGF and IL2 was only partially inhibited. B cell Ig secretion induced by IL2 was also inhibited by anti-Tac while a crude supernatant and partially purified BCDF were not. Furthermore, IL2 plus BCGF was shown to enhance B cell proliferation better than either factor alone and IL2 plus a BCDF enhanced B cell Ig secretion better than either factor alone. By separating activated B cells into Tac-positive and Tac-negative fractions, much of the previously noted enhancement with the 2 factors was found to be secondary to the differential sensitivity of the 2 populations to BCGF and IL2 or BCDF and IL2. Thus, LMW-BCGF, HMW-BCGF and a partially purified BCDF appear to interact with receptors distinct from the IL2 receptor in mediating their effects on B cell growth and differentiation.