Differentiation of bursal secretory-dendritic cells studied with anti-vimentin monoclonal antibody

Embryonic and posthatched differentiation of bursal secretory dendritic cells, which express vimentin intermediate filaments, were studied with anti-vimentin (clone 3B4) and anti-cytokeratin (clone Lu5) monoclonal antibodies. Anti-cytokeratin staining revealed that medullary reticular epithelial cells formed a continuous network at every age, whereas the vimentin positive cells were single and showed dendritic appearance. On the basis of location, number, shape, polarized appearance, and Ia staining, the vimentin-positive cells and secretory dendritic cells appeared to be the same cell. Secretory dendritic cell precursors entered the bursal epithelium between 11 and 13 days of embryogenesis. The first vimentin positive cell appeared in the bud of 14-day embryos. Bud formation preceded the appearance of vimentin-positive cells. These observations suggested that the secretory dendritic cell precursor did not express vimentin when it entered the epithelium. Between 15 days of embryogenesis and 2 weeks of posthatch development, the changes in vimentin staining pattern revealed a cytological differentiation of the vimentin-positive cell. During rapid bursal growth, the number of secretory dendritic cells (vimentin-positive cells) increased about 18 times possibly by proliferation of vimentin-negative precursors in the epithelial arches of the corticomedullary border. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Further studies on the chronotherapy of asthma with inhaled steroids: The effect of dosage timing on drug efficacy

Background: Chronotherapy studies with inhaled corticosteroids have shown optimal therapeutic benefit when steroids are administered four times per day (QID) or once daily at 3 PM.Objective: This study evaluated whether more convenient once-daily dosage times (8 AM and 5:30 PM) produce improvement in asthma equivalent to QID.Methods: Efficacy outcome measures included FEV₁, peak expiratory flow rates, bronchial responsiveness, use of β₂-agonists, nocturnal awakenings, and responses to a quality of life questionnaire. Systemic effects were blood eosinophil count, cortisol level, 24-hour urinary cortisol, and evaluation for oral candidiasis and dysphonia.Results: Baseline measurements for all three treatment groups were similar. For morning peak expiratory flow rate, significant improvement was seen for the QID group (p = 0.001) and the 5:30 PM group (p = 0.003), but not the 8 AM group (p = 0.75). For evening peak expiratory flow rate, significant improvement was seen for the QID group (p = 0.005) and the 5:30 PM group (p = 0.01), but not for the 8 AM group (p = 0.47). There were significant improvements in all other outcome variables for each group except PC₂₀. There was a significant improvement in PC₂₀ only in the QID group. The systemic effects of the three regimens were comparable.Conclusion: Dosing of inhaled steroid at 5:30 PM had no increased systemic effects and produced efficacy similar to QID dosing. Dosing at 8 AM did not produce results consistently comparable to QID dosing. Optimal once-daily dosing of inhaled steroid is between 3 PM and 5:30 PM.     

Cellular composition of the bone marrow in the chicken. I. identification of cells

Incorporation of Fe⁵⁵ in vivo was used for verifying on radioautographs the identity of chicken bone marrow cells that are in the process of heme syntheses. Under the experimental conditions all labeled cells may be considered to be linked with erythroid differentiation. They were classified into five maturational stages according to their morphology and capacity for DNA synthesis. Granulocytes were identified by the presence of specific granules. All mononuclear cells were classified as lymphocytes which had a pachychromatic nucleus, a high nucleocytoplasmic ratio, lacked the capacity for DNA synthesis, and resembled small lymphocytes of the bursa, spleen and bone marrow that bound, in vitro, anti-chicken gamma globulins labeled with I¹²⁵. Radioautography with H³TdR was used to identify proliferating and non-proliferating members of each cell population. With the use of the morphological criteria thus established, reproducible differential counts could be performed on chicken bone marrow smears also in the absence of specific labeling. In normal, 3, 4, and 8 week old White Leghorn chicks, such counts revealed the bone marrow as a member of the lymphomyeloid complex preferentially adapted to the production and maturation of erythroid cells, while the reserve of granulocytes was found to be small compared to that of mammalian marrow. The percentage of lymphocytes appears to increase with age but, in contrast to rodent marrow, a proliferating precursor cell pool for lymphocytes could not be identified in chicken marrow up to the age of eight weeks.     

Comparison of lymphocyte populations bearing surface immunoglobulins in avian bone marrow, bursa, spleen and thymus.

Rabbit anti-chicken gamma-globulin was labeled with 125I and then incubated with cells from the bursa, thymus, spleen, and bone marrow of 4- and 8-week old birds. The same procedure was carried out on 11-week-old agammaglobulinemic chickens. Autoradiography revealed that the majority of large, medium, and small bursal lymphocytes bind the antibodies while labeled lymphocytes of each type in the spleen and thymus never exceeded 11 or 4 percent, respectively. Labeled medium and small lymphocytes in the bone marrow increased from 4.2 and 1.7%, respectively, at 4 weeks of age, to 9.5 and 8.8%, respectively, at 8 weeks of age. Labeled lymphocytes of all sizes were completely absent in all tissues of agammaglobulinemic chicks, including the marrow. Therefore, the increase in frequency of labeled lymphocytes in the bone marrow with age may be a result of recruitment of cells from the bursa of Fabricius. The majority of lymphocytes in the bone marrow do not label. Therefore, lymphocytes from the bone marrow may be T cells, subsets of B cells, or neither T or B cells.     

Cat shedding of Fel d I is not reduced by washings, Allerpet-C spray, or acepromazine

Background: No published studies have compared the effectiveness of several treatments proposed to reduce cat allergenicity. Cat washing studies demonstrating efficacy involved very small sample sizes or infrequent washings. Allerpet-C (Allerpet, Inc., New York, N.Y.), a widely advertised topical spray, and acepromazine, a tranquilizer advocated as efficacious in subsedating doses, have never been scientifically studied. Objective: We compared the effects of cat washing, Allerpet-C spray, and acepromazine with that of no treatment on the shedding of the primary cat allergen, Felis domesticus I by cats. Methods: In a blinded, comparative, controlled study, we measured the amounts of Fel d I shed during an 8-week treatment period with a sample of 24 female mongrel cats randomly assigned to four groups; one group received weekly distilled water washings, one received weekly Allerpet-C spray applications, one received daily oral acepromazine, and one had no treatment (control). Thirty-minute, twice-weekly air samples were collected from each cat with a laminated plastic–acrylic chamber and air sampler. Results: One-sample, two-sided t tests comparing baseline to final-week measurements revealed no significant change in Fel d I within each group (mean change ±SD: washing; 487.6 ± 1896.4 mU per 30 minutes, p = 0.63; Allerpet-C spray, 429.2 ± 871.6 mU per 30 minutes, p = 0.46 acepromazine; −620.6 ± 1031.2, p = 0.52 per 30 minutes). Furthermore, analysis of covariance revealed no significant change in Fel d I levels between groups (p = 0.72). Conclusions: Our data do not show significant reductions in Fel d I shedding as a result of any of these treatments. Therefore we cannot recommend them to patients allergic to cats. (J ALLERGY CLIN IMMUNOL 1995;95:1164-71.)     

The hydrolytic stability of Mitrathane (a polyurethane urea)--an x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study

The hydrolytic stability of microporous Mitrathane polyetherurethane urea vascular prostheses has been evaluated at pH 7 and pH 9, at 37 degrees, 60 degrees, and 80 degrees C for time periods of up to 968 days. Mechanical strength was evaluated using a hydrodynamic burst test and surface chemical changes by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The samples held at 80 degrees C showed the greatest mechanical strength loss which corresponded to the hydrolysis of the urethane groups. It was concluded that the gross in vivo surface degradation of Mitrathane prostheses, observed after six months, could not have been caused by simple chemical hydrolysis alone, as the polymer was found to be stable at 37 degrees C for at least 11 months.     

Lymphopineal tissue in the chicken

We have studied the chicken's pineal gland by light and electron microscopy at 3 and 4 weeks of age. The results indicated that lymphocytes, plasma cells, secretory cells, basophil and eosinophil granulocytes enter the parenchyma and a new histologically defined tissue is formed which we call lymphopineal tissue. Inside the pineal parenchyma, the number of thymidine labeled cells is almost three times higher than in the interstitium suggesting that the pineal's products might be blastogenic for the cells and/or exert an influence on post-thymic T-cell differentiation.