Presence of antibodies reacting specifically with structural proteins of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) among antibodies composing circulating immune complexes in breast cancer patients

All-Union Oncologic Scientific Center, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR N. N. Trapeznikov.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 105, No. 4, pp. 475–477, April, 1988.     

口服耐受的机制及其在自身免疫病治疗中的应用

口服耐受是指口服蛋白引起的一种免疫低反应状态。自Ｗｅｌ１ｓｌ９１１年首先报道这种现象以来，口服耐受引起了广泛关注，大量研究者发现给动物饲服蛋白质或绵羊红细胞后，再次消化道外免疫时，动物对这些抗原不再具有良好的反应性，而对其它抗原的反应正常［１］。免疫...     

Attachment loss and serum antibody levels against autologous and reference strains of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in untreated localized juvenile periodontitis patients

Abstract Immunological data have been suggested to be a potential tool in the diagnosis, classification and monitoring of periodontal diseases. However, the role of circulating antibodies in periodontal patients is poorly understood. Patients suffering from localized juvenile periodontitis (LJP) are often reported to show high titers of serum IgG antibodies against Aetinobaeillus actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcotnitans), but several affected patients do not. Most studies use well-known reference strains of the bacterium for testing against the patients' sera. The aim of the present investigation was to study the relationship between serum IgG antibody levels to autologous A. actinomycetemcomitans strains and clinical attachment loss (CAL). In addition, we wanted to assess the patients’serum titers against 4 well-known reference strains of the bacterium as well as their general potential immunoglobulin response. Intravenous blood samples were taken from 23 LJP patients and 10 healthy individuals, and autologous A. actinomycetemcomitans strains were cultured from 18 of the L.JP patients. CAL was measured at 4 different sites around ail present teeth and assessed as a % of teeth with at least 1 site moderately ≥2<5 mm) or severely (≥5 mm) involved. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to evaluate the serum titers of IgG antibodies to A. actinomycetemcomitans antigens. No significant correlation was found between serum IgG antibody titers to autologous strains and CAL. However, there was a trend that low responders had more moderately affected teeth than had high responders and patients with undetectable A. actinomycetemcomitans levels, which is in agreement with a hypothetically protective role of the antibodies. The total counts of immunoglobulin assessed in all participants showed that the predominant class was IgG and the reference group displayed significantly less (p<0.05) IgG and IgG1 counts than the LJP patients. Both the reaction pattern against reference and autologous strains varied widely. We conclude that the specific antibody response against A. actinomycetemcomitans shows a weak correlation to clinical attachment levels in LJP patients.     

Evaluation and Treatment of Children with Primary Immune Deficiency in the Emergency Department

The potential for morbidity and mortality in patients who have PID with febrile and nonfebrile illness is extremely high. Familiarity with the clinical manifestations of PID and collaboration with a pediatric immunologist are prerequisites for optimal short-term care of these complex patients. Conservative management with empiric broad-spectrum antimicrobials, early and aggressive surgical debridement of abscesses, and admission at a tertiary pediatric care center are often indicated.     

Solid phase C1q microassay for the rapid detection of circulating immune complexes

A C1q solid phase microassay was designed for the rapid detection of circulating immune complexes. Its level of sensitivity is comparable to that of the Raji cell and greater than the C1q binding assay; furthermore, it is faster and low in cost. These conditions make it more practical and applicable in the clinical setting.     

Treatment of septic thrombocytopenia with immune globulin

Thrombocytopenia frequently complicates systemic infection and results from multiple possible mechanisms. We and others have demonstrated that platelet-associated IgG (PAIgG) levels are elevated in the majority of patients with septic thrombocytopenia. Corticosteroids may be undesirable as a treatment for thrombocytopenia for patients with severe infection because of their potential for suppressing the immune response. We hypothesized that septic thrombocytopenia is, in most cases, an immune disorder analogous to idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) which might respond to intravenous gamma-globulin as a treatment for increasing the platelet count in this disorder. Intravenous immune globulin (IVIG), 400 mg/kg daily for 3 days, was administered in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Twenty-nine patients who developed thrombocytopenia during a documented, septic episode were studied. Patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), hypersplenism, or drugs known to cause thrombocytopenia were excluded. Elevated PAIgG levels were documented in 52% of evaluable patients. Mean platelet counts in the IVIG group rose from 43K at study entry to 178K (411% rise) by Day 9. In the placebo group platelets rose from 51K to 125K (261% rise;P = 0.02). Seventy-seven percent of the IVIG group had a minimum peak rise of 35K, vs 56% of the placebo group. Three patients in the placebo group had a serious bleeding episode, vs one in the IVIG group. The use of IVIG to treat septic thrombocytopenia not associated with DIC leads to a more rapid, more sustained, and greater increase in platelet count than placebo. Its use is recommended in the septic patient who is bleeding or is likely to need invasive or surgical procedures.     

Abnormal IL-2 receptor levels in non-pregnant women with a history of recurrent miscarriage

BACKGROUND: Immunological abnormalities have been found in pregnant women with a history of recurrent miscarriage. This study compared interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) levels in non-pregnant women with a history of recurrent miscarriage with those found in serum from a non-pregnant group with no such history. METHODS: Group 1 comprised 49 non-pregnant women with a history of recurrent miscarriage (at least three consecutive miscarriages). Group 2 comprised 22 non-pregnant women with no history of miscarriage. Serum IL-2R levels were measured in all patients. RESULTS: The results obtained showed that although all women were not pregnant at the time of sampling, IL-2R levels were significantly higher in women in Group 1 compared with those in Group 2 (1589 +/- 1289 versus 1082 +/- 823 pg/ml; P < 0.05). Follow-up data were available for 21 women from Group 1. The next pregnancy ended successfully for 14 of these women, while seven miscarried again. The IL-2R levels obtained pre-pregnancy were not significantly different between the two groups (1480 +/- 910 versus 1356 +/- 716 pg/ml). CONCLUSION: This study has shown that non-pregnant women with a history of recurrent miscarriage have raised IL-2R levels. These increased pre-pregnancy IL-2R levels did not necessarily predict miscarriage for the next pregnancy.     

Inhalation anesthetic-induced neuroinvasion by an attenuated strain of West Nile virus in mice

There are contradictory reports regarding the effects of inhalation anesthetics on the immune system. Measurable immune responses have been studied in vitro, but little is known about the in vivo effects in the intact organism. We used an attenuated, non-neuroinvasive, nonlethal strain of the encephalitic West Nile virus, termed WN-25, which can become lethal in combination with environmental stressors, to study possible modulatory immune effects of inhalation anesthetics in mice. Both single short-term exposure and repeated exposure to halothane and nitrous oxide were studied. Exposure to 30% CO2 served as a positive control. Mortality, brain invasion, spleen weight, and antiviral antibodies served as the experimental endpoints. Halothane and nitrous oxide led to viral brain invasion, increased mortality, and suppressed immune response in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Repeated exposures had a cumulative effect. Assessment of the stability of the viral attenuation did not demonstrate any alteration in the character of the virus, suggesting an increased access to the brain by inhalation anesthetics that led to the fatal encephalitis. These findings may be of special concern to populations at risk, such as operating room staff and patients undergoing general anesthesia in endemic areas of encephalitic virus species, in which subclinical infection may develop into an overt disease.     

Innate immunity, macrophage activation, and atherosclerosis

Summary:  Inflammation underpins the development of atherosclerosis. Initiation and progression of vascular inflammation involves a complex cellular network, with macrophages as major contributors. Activated macrophages produce proinflammatory mediators, bridge innate and adaptive immunity, regulate lipid retention, and participate directly in vascular repair and remodeling. Recent efforts to elucidate molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of vascular inflammation in atherosclerosis have implicated several families of innate immune recognition receptors in inflammatory activation during the course of this disease. This article reviews our current understanding of innate immune recognition receptors, signaling pathways, and putative ligands implicated in activation of macrophages in the disease. In its final section, we propose a model for the role of macrophages in bridging inflammation and atherosclerosis from the perspective of innate immune recognition and activation.