Expression of receptors for plasminogen activators on endothelial cell surface depends on their origin

Summary.  Receptors for plasminogen activators present on endothelial cell (EC) surface regulate local plasmin activity. Plasmin generation by human ECs, derived from cerebral cortex, skin and lung, iliac artery, iliac vein, aorta and coronary artery, was studied. The respective ECs were treated with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) or with recombinant urokinase-type plasminogen activator (ru-PA), washed, plasminogen added and the plasmin generated then assayed. The largest amounts of plasmin were generated by cerebral ECs, under baseline conditions or after exposure to rt-PA or ru-PA ( P  < 0.0001). Exposure to rt-PA also resulted in more plasmin generation than ru-PA in the cerebral ECs ( P  < 0.0001) but not in the other ECs. Heparin enhanced plasmin generation by both rt-PA and ru-PA. Specific antibody against annexin II, a t-PA receptor, blocked plasmin generation by rt-PA. Western blotting showed higher amounts of annexin II on the cell membrane in cerebral ECs. This suggests that expression of annexin II in ECs depends on their location, being greatest in cerebral ECs. In contrast, expression of u-PA receptor was the same for all ECs. This has implications for higher risk of intracranial bleeding during thrombolytic therapy, and for a role of t-PA in neurological development and function.     

肿瘤-睾丸抗原基因在肾透明细胞癌中的表达

目的 研究6种肿瘤.睾丸抗原(CT)基因在肾透明细胞癌中的表达及其临床意义.方法 采用逆转录-聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)技术检测42例肾透明细胞癌患者癌组织(新鲜标本,T1期16例,12期12例,T3期10例,T4期4例;G1 10例,G2 18例,G3 14例)及其中14例患者癌旁组织的cTAGE-1、cTAGE-2、MAGE-A1、MAGE-A3、MAGE-A12及NY-ESO-1基因mRNA的表达.结果 42例肾透明细胞癌组织中100%(42/42)至少表达6种CT基因中一种,14例癌旁组织表达均阴性.肾透明细胞癌组织中MAGE-A12表达最高,其次为MAGE-A3,MAGE-A1,cTAGE-1,cTAGE-2及NY-ESO-1,分别为71%(30/42),69%(29/42),67%(28/42),64%(27/42),60%(25/42)及48%(20/42).肿瘤不同分期、不同分级之间6种CT基因表达的差异均无统计学意义(Pearson x2检验法,P＞0.05).结论 CT基因在肾透明细胞癌中有较高表达,可望成为肾透明细胞癌特异性免疫治疗的靶基因.     

Novel IgE peptide-based vaccine prevents the increase of IgE and down-regulates elevated IgE in rodents

BACKGROUND: Immunotherapy with anti-IgE antibodies for treatment of allergy is promising but a short half-life and extremely high cost limit its application. OBJECTIVE: We sought to develop IgE vaccines that induce longer-lasting auto-antibodies to neutralize self-IgE as an alternative therapy. METHODS: The vaccine was made by conjugating three synthetic peptides corresponding to human IgE receptor-binding sites to a carrier, hepatitis B surface antigen. To test the immunogenicity of the vaccine, rats were immunized with the vaccine or hepatitis B surface antigen as control. Serum IgG titres to human IgE and the IgE of other species were measured. The inhibition by rat antisera of the binding of human IgE to its receptor was assessed by ELISA, flow cytometry analysis, and passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA), and its ability to recognize receptor-bound IgE was examined. The in vivo effect of the vaccine was evaluated in trichosanthin-sensitized mice and rats. In the preventative study, vaccination started before sensitization commenced, while in the treatment study, vaccination started after sensitization. Sensitized mice and rats receiving injections of the carrier served as controls. Trichosanthin-specific IgE was measured using PCA. RESULTS: Sera from vaccine-immunized rats contained high titre antibodies that reacted with soluble and plate-bound but not with receptor-bound human IgE; they also reacted with mouse, rat, and dog IgE. Furthermore, the sera inhibited the binding of human IgE to its receptor in a dose-dependent manner. In preventative and treatment studies, serum trichosanthin-specific IgE levels were significantly reduced in vaccinated groups compared with controls. CONCLUSION: Antibodies against self-IgE can be induced by IgE peptide-based vaccines, which are effective in preventing the increase of IgE and in down-regulating IgE in sensitized animals.     

Seminal Fluid and the Expression of MHC Class I Antigens in the Placenta of the Rat

PROBLEM : To determine whether seminal fluid influences the expression of MHC class I antigens on the surface of basal trophoblast cells in the placenta of the rat. METHODS : Transfer of DA × DA embryos into a WF (allogeneic) or DA (syngeneic) recipient made pseudopregnant by hormonal treatment followed by mating with a vasectomized male (seminal fluid) or by mechanical stimulation (no seminal fluid). Antigen expression was determined by electron microscopic immunocytochemistry using the appropriate gold-labeled monoclonal antibodies. RESULTS : Seminal fluid did not affect the expression of MHC class I antigens on the surface of the basal trophoblast in either allogeneic or syngeneic matings. CONCLUSIONS : The suppression of the expression of paternal class I antigens on the surface of the basal trophoblast cells in allogeneic pregnancies most likely occurs at the genome level shortly after fertilization.     

肾综合征出血热内分泌组织中的病毒抗原、病变及其关系

作者应用免疫细胞化学法研究了HFRS尸检内分泌及其有关组织中病毒抗原的分布,病毒抗原阳性细胞与病变的关系,病变的类型及病毒感染对胰腺内胰岛素表达的影响,所用的一抗有抗肾综合征出血热(HFRS)病毒糖蛋白(G_2),核蛋白(NP)及血凝素(HA)抗原的单克隆抗体(15种)和多克隆抗体(PAb)以及抗胰岛素(INS)单克隆抗体。结果显示,内分泌组织中有两种染色形态的病毒抗原,一种是胞浆弥漫染色的抗原,为G_2,NP或HA阳性,阳性细胞弥漫分布,另一种是以病毒包涵体(IB)形式出现的颗粒性抗原,MAbs染色多为实性,PAb染色多为空泡状。在9例胰腺组织中,有4例几乎在所有腺上皮细胞和少数胰岛细胞均为IB阳性,但PAb染色可在胰岛细胞中显示出空泡状IB。在其它内分泌组织中,IB只在少数细胞中出现。抗原阳性细胞很少出现坏死,但在脑垂体及肾上腺灶性或片状凝固性坏死区域也有弥漫性抗原阳性及IB存在。胰腺组织的胰岛素染色显示,除1例胰岛INS强阳性,其余8例均有明显的INS染色减弱及阳性细胞减少的表现。结果提示,内分泌组织中有两种病变,即以IB为特征的病毒直接感染引起的细胞病变,是病毒的弱致病变作用,该病变可能对细胞的内分泌功能产生影响;另一种病变是组织的灶性或大片性同步性凝固性坏死,是继发于病毒感染后的出血和休克,该病变会     

Polymorphism analysis of four canine MHC class I genes

Abstract: We have studied the variability of four structurally complete dog leukocyte antigen (DLA) class I genes, termed DLA-12, -88, -79 and -64, in a population of mixed breed, unrelated dogs. The human HLA and canine DLA loci share a high degree of similarity in terms of gene structure. This analysis focused on the first three exons of each of four complete canine genes. Exons two and three are the major source of polymorphism in the corresponding human genes. In this analysis, DLA-88 was found to be significantly more polymorphic than the other three genes, with 44 distinct alleles observed among 63 mixed breed, unrelated dogs. The remaining genes had between one and four alleles when examined in 25 dogs. This work was carried out as part of an effort to develop an MHC typing system for the dog, which is critical to the further development of preclinical studies of hematopoietic stem cell and solid organ transplantation in the canine model.     

Antigenic diversity of the asexual developmental stages of Eimeria tenella

Total polypeptides from unsporulated and sporulated oocysts, sporozoites and the first two generations of merozoites of Eimeria tenella were fractionated by electrophoresis through polyacrylamide gels. The parasites are complex and the arrays of polypeptides differ for each of the developmental stages indicating that there is stagespecific control of gene expression. In particular, first generation merozoites display a markedly different polypeptide profile to that of either sporozoites or second generation merozoites. Changes in antigenicity during sporulation and the antigenic relationships between the three asexual zoite stages were examined by probing electroblotted polypeptides with a panel of antisera raised in rabbits to purified preparations of each stage. Antigenic cross-reactivity is well maintained throughout sporulation even though the sizes of antibody-reactive polypeptides change. In contrast there is a marked lack of cross-reactive epitopes between sporozoites, first and second generation merozoites.     

前列腺体积与前列腺特异抗原及抗原密度关系的多元回归研究

对１００例前列腺增生患者的前列腺体积，年龄，血清前列腺特异抗原，抗原密度进行多元回归与相关分析。结果；年龄和前列腺体积与血清ＰＳＡ浓度显著相关，其中，体积与ＰＳＡ之间的年龄与体积之间具有相关性、而年龄与ＰＳＡ之间无相关性，体积每增加１０ｃｍ＾３，ＰＳＡ增高０．９μｇ／Ｌ。     

Social class and obesity in 12-year-old children in Brussels: Influence of gender and ethnic origin

From their school health files, the body mass index of 2607 children, 1268 boys and 1339 girls, from the Brussels region of Belgium was analysed. The aim was to study the relationship between obesity and social class, gender and nationality. In Belgian girls, the lower their social class, the higher was the prevalence and severity of obesity. There was no such significant relationship in Belgian boys, nor in immigrant children of either sex, although the overall prevalence of obesity was similar in all groups. These results question certain hypotheses proposed to explain the relationship between social class and obesity. Conclusion From early adolescence on, social inequality influences the prevalence of obesity in Belgian girls, but not in Belgian boys nor in immigrant children. Prevention of obesity should take into account the influence of gender, social class and ethnic origin. Received: 21 January 1997 and in revised form: 30 September 1997 / Accepted: 21 October 1997     

Influence of continuous infusion of interleukin-1 alpha on the core protein and the core protein fragments of the small proteoglycan decorin in cartilage.

Decorin, a collagen-binding small proteoglycan, is considered to have a specific function in the organization or stability of the collagen network. Therefore, alteration of its molecular properties may be of pathophysiological relevance during the development of cartilage damage. It is shown here that normal cartilage from rabbit knee-joint contains glycosaminoglycan chain-bearing core protein fragments of 39, 23, and 18 kDa, each one amounting to approximately 5-6% of the intact decorin core protein. Continuous infusion of human recombinant interleukin-1 alpha for 14 days (200 ng/day) into a knee-joint led in condylar cartilage to a reduction in the amount of intact core protein from 2 micrograms/mg wet tissue to about 1.1 micrograms/mg. The increase in its quantity found after infusion of heat-inactivated interleukin-1 was not statistically significant. The concentration of all three core protein fragments became reduced to a similar extent as the intact core protein under the influence of the cytokine, and additional fragments were not found. Surprisingly, there was a much smaller response to interleukin-1-treatment in patellar cartilage.