A HIGH FREQUENCY OF INHERITED DEFICIENCY OF COMPLEMENT COMPONENT C4 IN DARWIN ABORIGINES

Abstract A high frequency of serum complement component C4A deficiency may explain the higher prevalence and greater severity of systemic lupus erythematosus reported in Australian Aborigines. Inherited deficiencies of serum complement components C4A, C4B, and C2 were examined in two Australian Aboriginal populations from Darwin and Alice Springs and compared with the prevalence of complement deficiencies in white Australian blood donors. The frequency of C4A deficiency alleles was 29% in Darwin Aborigines compared with 12% in Alice Springs and 17% in Canberra blood donors. Partial C4B deficiency was also higher in Darwin Aborigines than in the other populations. Inherited deficiency of serum complement component C2 was not observed.     

1 alpha(OH)D3 (ETALPHA) treatment and receptor studies in 16 patients with chronic and myeloproliferative disorders

10 patients with CLL and 2 with CML were treated with gradually increasing doses of 1 alpha(OH)D3, up to 4 micrograms daily during 6 wk. 3 patients with preleukemia and 1 with myelofibrosis were treated with 2 micrograms daily of 1 alpha(OH)D3 for a prolonged period up to 17 wk. The treatment with 1 alpha (OH)D3 did not result in changes of disease parameters in any of the patients under study. Receptor studies for 1,25(OH)2D3 were performed in 8 CLL patients and revealed only 1 patient with increased specific receptor binding capacity. The maximum tolerable dose of 1 alpha(OH)D3 varied individually, but was in the range of 2-4 micrograms daily.     

Dopaminergic transmission in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus to produce acupuncture analgesia in correlation with the pituitary gland

Acupuncture analgesia (AA) caused by low frequency stimulation of the acupuncture point (AP) was abolished by hypophysectomy and adrenalectomy. Termination of the AA producing pathway from the AP to the pituitary gland was in the medial hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (M-HARN). The origin of the descending pain inhibitory system associated with AA was in the posterior HARN (P-HARN). AA in the hypophysectomized rats, and enhanced neuronal activity in the P-HARN that were abolished during acupuncture stimulation, were both restored by intraperitoneal microinjection of 0.5 mg/kg morphine or 0.1 micrograms beta-endorphin into the P-HARN during acupuncture stimulation. Of the analgesia produced by dopamine or beta-endorphin injected into the P-HARN, that caused by beta-endorphin disappeared after denervation of the M-HARN. The P-HARN neurons that responded to acupuncture stimulation also responded to iontophoretic dopamine, but not to iontophoretic morphine nor ultramicroinjected beta-endorphin. The transmission between the M-HARN and P-HARN may be dopaminergic, and beta-endorphin might presynaptically modulate this transmission. Reduction of sodium ions may have been the reason for abolition of AA after adrenalectomy.     

Antibodies to interleukin-1 inhibit cytokine-induced proliferation of neonatal rat Schwann cells in vitro

Unfractionated cytokines have been shown to induce in vitro proliferation of neonatal rat Schwann cells but the nature of the mitogen(s) is not known. A mixture of rabbit antibodies specific for recombinant interleukin-1α (IL-1α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) inhibited Schwann cell proliferation induced by unfractionated human cytokines whereas antibodies to interleukin-2 (IL-2) and control IgG did not. However, purified human IL-1 and recombinant human IL-1α or β did not induce Schwann cell proliferation on their own.     

Folding and function of the myelin proteins from primary sequence data.

To explain how the myelin proteins are involved in the organization and function of the myelin sheath requires knowing their molecular structures. Except for P2 basic protein of PNS myelin, however, their structures are not yet known. As an aid to predicting their molecular folding and possible functions, we have developed a FORTRAN program to analyze the primary sequence data for proteins, and have applied this to the myelin proteins in particular. In this program, propensities for the secondary structure conformations as well as physical-chemical parameters are assigned to the amino acids and the pattern of these parameters is examined by calculating their average values, autocorrelation functions and Fourier transforms. To compare two proteins, their sequences are aligned using a unitary scoring matrix, and homologies are searched by plotting a two-dimensional map of the correlation coefficients. Comparison of the corresponding myelin basic proteins (MBP) and P0 glycoproteins (P0) for rodent and shark showed that the conserved residues included most of the amino acids which were predicted to form the alpha or beta conformations, while the altered residues were mainly in the hydrophilic and turn or coil regions. In both rodent and shark the putative extracellular domain of P0 glycoprotein displayed consecutive peaks of beta propensity similar to that for the immunoglobulins, while the cytoplasmic domain showed alpha-beta-alpha folding. To trace the immunoglobulin fold along the P0 sequence, we compared the beta propensity curve of P0 with that of the immunoglobulin M603, whose three-dimensional structure has been determined. We propose that the flat beta-sheets of P0 are orientated parallel to the membrane surface to facilitate their homotypic interaction in the extracellular space. An extra beta-fold in the extracellular domain of shark P0 compared with rodent P0 was found, and this may result in a greater attraction between the apposed extracellular surfaces and may account for a smaller extracellular space as measured by x-ray diffraction. A computer search of the myelin protein sequences for functional motifs revealed sites for N-glycosylation, phosphorylation, nucleotide binding, and certain enzyme activities. We note especially that there are potential nucleotide binding sites in proteolipid protein (PLP), MBP and 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP). This is consistent with the experimental observations that PLP acts like an ionophore or proton channel when reconstituted into planar lipid bilayers, MBP binds GTP, and CNP catalyzes in vitro the hydrolysis of 2',3'-nucleotides into corresponding 2'-nucleotides.     

Multidrug transport in human glioblastoma cells is inhibited by transforming growth factors type beta 1, beta 2, and beta 1.2

The transforming growth factors type beta 1, beta 2, and beta 1.2 suppress multidrug transport in human pat-1 glioblastoma cells and even in cells that strongly over-express mdr genes and are resistant to inhibition of multidrug transport by chemosensitizers. Thus, inhibition of multidrug transport by cytokines might be a new approach to increase cellular accumulation of chemotherapeutic agents in multidrug resistant glial tumor cells. Interestingly, a member of the more distantly related decapentaplegic subgroup of transforming growth factors, the bone morphogenetic protein BMP 2, did not inhibit multidrug transport.     

Synthesis of deramciclane* labeled with tritium in various positions

[(1R)‐endo]‐(+)‐3‐bromocamphor was dehalogenated with tritium gas to [3‐³H]camphor and via [3‐³H]phenylborneol converted to [3‐³H]deramciclane isolated as the fumarate salt (specific activity 51.8 GBq/mmol). This three step synthesis from [3‐³H]camphor gave an overall yield of 22%. Benzyloxy‐acetic acid methyl ester was reduced with sodium‐borotritide to 2‐benzyloxy‐ethanol‐[1‐³H], and through a four step procedure was converted to 2‐dimethylaminoethyl‐[2‐³H] chloride. The latter was condensed with the sodium derivative of 2‐phenylborneol giving rise to [2‐dimethylamino‐[2‐³H]ethoxy]deramciclane isolated as the fumarate (specific activity 8.177 GBq/mmol). This six step synthesis from [³H]NaBH₄ gave an overall yield of 6%. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CO2 reactivity and autoregulation in fetal brain

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in preterm infants is well known to be associated with the high morbidity and mortality of this group. Previous studies have suggested altered cerebral blood flow (CBF) as an important pathologic factor. We measured the CBF in nearterm rabbit fetuses using the hydrogen clearance technique. The local CBF of the rabbit fetuses was significantly low compared with that of the maternal rabbits. The response of CBF to changes in PaCO₂ was observed in rabbit fetuses. The CO₂ reactivity index of the fetal rabbit was lower than that of the maternal rabbit. This low CO₂ reactivity might reflect the immaturity of the fetal brain and its low CBF. We were unable to monitor the fetal blood pressure, but the fetal CBF remained stable when the maternal blood pressure was altered. It is well known that IVH in preterm infants originates from the subependymal germinal matrix and that this has many fragile vessels. Our observation suggests that even a small increase of CBF during hypercapnia might have a large effect towards producing hemorrhage.     

Immunoregulatory Factor Released From a Cell Line Derived From Human Decidual Tissue

ABSTRACT: The culture supernatant of the TTK-1 cell line, established from human decidual tissue, was found to contain a factor that strongly suppressed the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). The mechanism of the MLR-suppressive activity as well as the biochemical characterization of this factor was analyzed. The TTK-1 supernatant suppressed the MLR much more strongly than the culture supernatants of the three other malignant cell lines examined. The molecular weight of this factor was estimated to be between 43 kilodaltons (kd) and 67 kd by gel filtration chromatography. The TTK-1 supernatant also suppressed the proliferation of the interleukin 2 (IL-2)-dependent T cell lines, but did not suppress that of the IL-2-independent T cell lines, suggesting that the TTK-1 supernatant inhibited the action of IL-2 and subsequently suppressed the MLR. The fact that the TTK-1 cell line originated from human decidual tissue might imply the important role of this factor in immunological fetomaternal balance.     

Rational design of hypoallergens applied to the major cat allergen Fel d 1

BACKGROUND: Allergen-specific immunotherapy is the only treatment for allergic disease providing long-lasting symptom relief. Currently, it is mainly based on the use of crude allergen extracts. The treatment may be improved by the use of genetically engineered allergens, hypoallergens, aiming at a more effective and safer therapy. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to provide a rational design of hypoallergen candidates for immunotherapy by using structural information and knowledge of B and T cell epitopes of an allergen. METHODS: The three-dimensional structure of the major cat allergen Fel d 1 was systematically altered by duplication of selected T cell epitopes and disruption of disulphide bonds. Seven Fel d 1 derivatives were generated and screened for allergenic reactivity in comparison with recombinant Fel d 1 in competition-ELISA. The allergenicity was further evaluated in basophil activation experiments and T cell reactivity was assessed in a lymphoproliferation assay. RESULTS: Three out of seven Fel d 1 derivatives, with two duplicated T cell epitopes and one or two disulphide bonds disrupted, were carefully evaluated. The three derivatives displayed a strong reduction in allergenicity with 400-900 times lower IgE-binding capacity than recombinant Fel d 1. In addition, they induced a lower degree of basophil activation and similar or stronger T cell proliferation than recombinant Fel d 1. CONCLUSION: By a rational approach, we have constructed three Fel d 1 hypoallergens with reduced IgE-binding capacities and retained T cell reactivities. This strategy may be applied to any well-characterized allergen to improve immunotherapy for allergic patients.