Polyclonal and allergen-induced cytokine responses in children with elevated immunoglobulin E but no atopic disease

BACKGROUND: Reduced Th1 and elevated Th2 cytokine responses are considered to be a principal mechanism in the generation of the inflammation leading to the manifestations of atopic disease in the skin of atopic dermatitis and in the airways of asthma. If reduced Th1 and elevated Th2 responses are principal determinants of the manifestation of atopic disease it might be expected that subjects with established disease would exhibit differences in their cytokine profiles as compared with atopic patients without clinical disease. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether asymptomatic atopic children exhibit a cytokine imbalance similar to that seen in patients with established atopic disease or if they behave like non-atopic controls. Cytokine responses in a group of children with elevated IgE but no clinical manifestations of disease, atopic children with established disease and non-atopic controls were compared. METHODS: We examined allergen-induced (house dust mite, HDM, rye grass pollen and RYE) cytokine responses in parallel with polyclonal (staphylococcal enterotoxin B, SEB) cytokine responses in a group of children with elevated serum IgE levels without current or past evidence of atopic disease (median age 6.6 years) and compared these with a non-atopic control group (median age 6.5 years) and a group of children with atopic disease (median age 6.7 years). RESULTS: Symptomatic atopic children had reduced SEB-induced IFN-gamma and increased SEB-induced IL-4 and IL-5 as compared with non-atopic controls. In contrast, SEB-induced IFN-gamma, IL-4 and IL-5 production in asymptomatic atopics was not significantly different from the non-atopic control subjects. Allergen-induced Th1 (IFN-gamma) and Th2 (IL-5 and IL-13) cytokine production was increased in both symptomatic atopics and asymptomatic atopics when compared with non-atopic controls. CONCLUSION: The defect in polyclonally induced IFN-gamma production was associated with the clinical manifestation of atopic disease but not the atopic stateper se. This suggests that the global reduction in IFN-gamma is the key determinant of the development of overt atopic disease. In contrast, elevated allergen-induced Th2 cytokine responses in children related to the atopic state per se irrespective of the presence of clinical atopic disease.     

Spectrophotometric investigation of complex formation of an oxime PAM-4Cl with palladium(II) and its analytical application

The colour reaction of 4-hydroxyiminomethyl-1-methylpyridinium chloride (PAM-4Cl) and palladium(II) chloride has been investigated. The optimum reaction conditions, spectral characteristics, conditional stability constant and composition of the yellow water-soluble complex have been established. A new spectrophotometric method is proposed for the microdetermination of PAM-4Cl.     

Production and characterization of a new monoclonal antibody effective in recognizing the CD3 T-cell associated antigen in formalin-fixed embedded tissue

Phenotypic analysis of lymphoproliferative disorders is now considered mandatory for accurate classification which is the basis for optimum patient management. This is presently carried out in most cases using a range of antibodies recognizing B and T-cell antigens effective in paraffin sections, and an antibody to CD3 is currently a key member of such panels, indicating T-cell phenotype. Current antibodies to CD3 are polyclonal with the inherent disadvantages of this type of reagent compared to monoclonal antibodies. In this study, we have used a recombinant fusion protein representing part of the epsilon subunit of the CD3 molecule to generate a novel monoclonal antibody (NCL-CD3-PS1) effective in paraffin sections. The antibody has been characterized biochemically and by immunohistochemistry using a wide range of normal and pathological tissues. Lineage and phenotype specificity have been supported in our study and results from other laboratories are awaited with interest.     

Smith-Fineman-Myers综合征的候选基因GPC4分析

目的:探讨GPC4基因与中国山东Smith-Fineman-Myers综合征(SFMS)的关系,并分析SFMS患者GPC4基因突变。方法:利用primer3设计扩增GPC4全部编码序列及内含子和外显子接头序列的引物,采用PCR扩增结合PCR产物直接测序方法检测GPC4基因开放性阅读框架区域基因突变。结果:在GPC4基因开放性阅读框架区域内并未检测到导致疾病的基因突变。结论:山东SFMS家系患者不是由于GPC4基因编码区域基因突变所致。     

Immunoglobulin G4 antibodies to rat urinary allergens, sensitization and symptomatic allergy in laboratory animal workers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We have previously reported that high rat urinary allergen (RUA) exposure was not associated with increased risk of rat allergy in long-term-exposed laboratory animal (LA) workers. We aimed to assess whether strong allergen-specific IgG4 responses could explain the absence of a dose response in these subjects. We investigated whether IgG4 was associated with allergen exposure and prevalence of sensitization or respiratory symptoms to rats. The longitudinal relation between IgG4 and rat allergy was studied using data obtained during 2 years of follow-up. METHODS: Five hundred and twenty-nine LA workers answered a questionnaire on respiratory symptoms and occupational history and participated in skin prick testing. Blood samples were analysed for specific IgG4 and IgE to RUA. Exposure to RUA was estimated based on personal air samples. The relation between IgG4 and newly occurring sensitization or rat allergy was studied in workers who were not sensitized or did not report respiratory symptoms to rats. RESULTS: IgG4 titres were higher in atopic than in non-atopic subjects, and increased with higher allergen exposure. Titres were highest in subjects who were sensitized and reported respiratory symptoms to rats when compared with those who were not (geometric mean [geometric standard deviation] = 202 [5.7] vs. 8.4 [18.3] AU). The association between IgG4 and sensitization or symptomatic rat allergy was independent of estimated allergen exposure. IgG4 was a strong predictor of newly occurring sensitization and symptomatic rat allergy during follow-up in atopic and rat-sensitized subjects. CONCLUSION: High exposure to RUA is associated with a strong allergen-specific IgG4 antibody response. High anti-RUA IgG4 is a strong predictor of prevalent and incident sensitization and symptomatic rat allergy in atopic and rat-sensitized subjects. IgG4 can therefore not explain the absence of a dose response between allergen exposure and allergy in long-term-exposed workers. We consider anti-RUA IgG4 to be a marker that combines aspects of exposure and susceptibility.     

C4d Deposition and Clearance in Cardiac Transplants Correlates With Alloantibody Levels and Rejection in Rats

Antibody-mediated rejection of human cardiac transplants is correlated with C4d deposits and macrophage infiltrates in capillaries of endomyocardial biopsies. We produced an antibody to rat C4d to study C4d deposition and clearance in Lewis rats that were sensitized with a blood transfusion from DA rats 7, 14 or 21 days before cardiac transplantation. Cyclosporin A (CsA) immunosuppression was initiated after transplantation at a dose that inhibited graft rejection, antibody production and C4d deposition in unsensitized recipients. Blood transfusion elicited high levels of circulating IgG alloantibodies, predominantly of the complement-activating IgG2b subclass, that peaked 14 days after transplantation. At this time, macrophages accumulated in capillaries, and C4d deposits were diffuse and intense on arteries, capillaries and veins. Grafts that survived 90 days in sensitized recipients still had deposits of C4d that were associated with increased interstitial fibrosis and vasculopathy in arteries. Clearance of C4d was determined by retransplanting DA cardiac allografts from Lewis recipients back to DA recipients. C4d deposits were decreased to minimal levels within 5 days after retransplantation. Thus, C4d deposition is not limited to the capillaries, but extends throughout the arterial tree, and despite formation of a covalent bond, C4d is cleared within days.     

Dose-dependent kinetics of the enantiomers of MK-571, an LTD4-receptor antagonist

Summary The disposition of the enantiomers of MK-571 (MK-0679 and L-668,018) following single i. v. doses of MK-571 (L-660,711) was studied in a three way cross-over study in 12 healthy male volunteers. Each volunteer received 75 mg, 300 mg and 600 mg i. v. doses of MK-571 at weekly intervals.The disposition of both enantiomers appeared dose-dependent, since the AUC increased disproportionately faster than the dose. The dose dependency was much more pronounced for L-668,018: its AUC increased 6-fold from the 75 to the 300 mg dose, 16-fold from 75 to 600 mg and 2.7 fold from 300 to 600 mg. For MK-0679, the corresponding increases in AUC were 4.8-, ll-, and 2.3 fold. Regardless of dose, the elimination of L-668,018 was more rapid than that of MK-0679.The disposition of MK-0679 needs to be investigated independently to detect any potential influence of L-668,018 on its disposition.     

脐血抗—HPCA—2和Tük3标记的CD34阳性细胞的流式细胞仪比较分析

在标记脐血造血祖细胞表面抗原（ＨＰＣＡ），ＣＤ３４中，比较抗－ＨＰＣＡ－２－ＦＩＴＣ和Ｔｋ３（纯抗体）标记的ＣＤ（３４＋）细胞在流式细胞仪分析中的荧光特征及两种单抗标记的ＣＤ（３４＋）细胞与体外培养的粒单细胞集落形成单位（ＣＦＵ－ＧＭ），红系爆发形成单位（ＢＦＵ－Ｅ），和混合集落形成单位（ＣＦＵ－Ｍｉｘ）的相关性。结果发现脐血有核细胞中，抗ＨＰＣＡ－２阳性细胞占１．０５±０．７２％（ｎ＝１３），Ｔｋ３阳性细胞占２．０６±１．２５％（ｎ＝８），差别显著（Ｐ＜０．０５）。每毫升脐血两种抗体标记的细胞分别为９６．５６±５６．６４和２３１．４０±１６３．９３（Ｐ＜０．０５）。尽管ＨＰＣＡ－２阳性细胞与Ｔｋ３阳性细胞数量呈显著正相关（ｒ＝０．８７５，Ｐ＜０．０１），前者与ＣＦＵ－ＧＭ，ＢＦＵＥ，ＣＦＵ－Ｍｉｘ及集落总数ＣＦＵｓ均呈正相关，而后者仅与ＣＦＵ－ＧＭ，ＣＦＵｓ相关。研究提示在检测造血祖细胞时，用抗－ＨＰＣＡ－２－ＦＩＴＣ代替Ｔｋ３可降低假阳性，获得较好的ＯＤ（３４＋）细胞与ＣＦＵ间的线性关系。