Cell surface phenotype of in vitro proliferating lymphocytes in HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (HAM/TSP)

The in vitro proliferation of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) without any mitogenic stimulation is one of the hallmarks of human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection. Recent evidence suggests a difference in the degree of the phenomenon between HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) and asymptomatic HTLV-I carriers (AC). In this article, we demonstrated several alterations in the features of the in vitro transformed lymphocytes between patients with HAM/TSP (n = 16) and AC (n = 8). The percentages of total CD8+ and CD8+CD28+ cells were significantly increased in the in vitro proliferating T lymphocytes derived from the patients with HAM/TSP when compared to those from AC. HAM/TSP was segregated from AC by the high degree of the proliferation of CD8+CD28+ cells. The expression of HTLV-I-specific antigens on the cultured PBLs was detected only in the subjects which showed low CD8+CD28+/CD4+ ratio of the in vitro proliferating lymphocytes. These findings suggest that this phenomenon distinguishes HAM/TSP from AC, not only in quantity but also in quality.     

三个统一:21世纪中医学发展取向的思考

21世纪中医学的发展，面临着理顺民族性表述方式与国际性科学内涵关系的问题，因此必须辩证地把握结构与机能、实证科学手段与人文精神、过程与结果之间的谐调统一，这样既符合中医学术体系特征，又能与当代生命科学研究保持一致。     

Serologic evidence for human ehrlichiosis in Africa

Human ehrlichiosis is a recently recognized rickettsial disease. It is caused byEhrlichia chaffeensis, an intraleucocytic Gram-negative, obligate intracellular bacterium, grouped within the genusEhrlichiae. Most human cases of ehrlichiosis have been diagnosed in the USA. Two cases have been reported outside of the USA, one in Europe and one in Africa. From 1 January to 30 June 1992, 765 sera from blood donors or other asymptomatic subjects in 8 African countries, including Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Mali, Central African Republic, Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Commores Islands, were tested by indirect immunofluorescence for the presence ofE. chaffeensis antibodies. Positive sera were confirmed by Western immunoblotting. Only two of 765 sera tested were positive. One serum obtained from Burkina Faso had an IgG titer of 1:200 and one from Mozambique had an IgG titer of 1:80. Human ehrlichiosis seems to occur infrequently in Africa, although many more sera from additional African countries need to be evaluated.     

Expansion of CD3+CD56+ lymphocytes correlates with induction of cytotoxicity by interleukin-2 gene transfer in human breast tumor cultures

Background: Mice immunized with murine mammary carcinoma cells genetically engineered to secrete interleukin-2 (IL-2) are rendered resistant to subsequent challenge with unmodified tumor cells, and in the case of mice bearing established tumors, the rate of development of pulmonary metastases is reduced. Despite these encouraging animal results, little is known about the induction of antitumor immunity by IL-2 gene transfer in human breast cancer. Methods: Adenovirally mediated IL-2 gene transfer was performed in 12 tumor fragment cultures established from seven primary breast cancers. Autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were cocultured with transduced tumor fragments, and changes in phenotype and cytotoxicity were measured. Results: IL-2 was never detectable in the untransduced cultures, but it peaked at 5.0—1,324.8 ng/ml in the transduced cultures. Lymphocyte counts declined in all untransduced cultures, but they increased two- to sevenfold in four transduced cultures. CD4:CD8 ratios decreased from a mean of 2.11 at baseline to 1.27 after stimulation in coculture (p=0.03). Expansion of lymphocytes expressing the natural killer cell phenotype (CD3⁻CD56⁺) occurred in only one culture, but the CD3⁺CD56⁺ population increased in four of six cultures. Lymphocytes from four of 10 cocultures generated significant cytotoxicity against allogeneic breast cancer cells. Induction of cytotoxicity correlated with expansion of the CD3⁺CD56⁺ phenotype (R²=0.805, p=0.02). Conclusions: IL-2 gene expression by human breast cancer causes expansion of CD3⁺CD56⁺ cytotoxic lymphocytes. This phenotype is consistent with that of a non-major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-restricted cytokine induced killer cell population previously described. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the U.S. Army. Presented at the 49th Annual Cancer Symposium of The Society of Surgical Oncology, Atlanta, Georgia, March 21–24, 1996.     

非甲—戊型病毒性肝炎患者血清庚型肝炎病毒感染的研究

采用ＥＬＩＳＡ法及逆转录—ＰＣＲ（简称ＲＴ—ＰＣＲ）法检测３６例非甲—戊型肝炎患者血清庚型肝炎病毒抗体（简称抗ＨＧＶ）和庚型肝炎病毒（简称ＨＧＶＲＮＡ）。结果：７例（１９．４％）抗ＨＧＶ阳性，２例（５．４％）同时ＨＧＶＲＮＡ阳性；急性肝炎抗ＨＧＶ阳性者临床表现与抗ＨＧＶ阴性者无显著差异，慢性肝炎抗ＨＧＶ阳性者较抗ＨＧＶ阴性者轻。提示：ＨＧＶ可引起急、慢性肝炎，在非甲—戊型肝炎中占有一定比例，但不是主要原因。     

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome virus infection in livers studied by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry

ＨｅｍｏｒｒｈａｇｉｃｆｅｖｅｒｗｉｔｈｒｅｎａｌｓｙｎｄｒｏｍｅｖｉｒｕｓｉｎｆｅｃｔｉｏｎｉｎｌｉｖｅｒｓｓｔｕｄｉｅｄｂｙｉｎｓｉｔｕｈｙｂｒｉｄｉｚａｔｉｏｎａｎｄｉｍｍｕｎｏｈｉｓｔｏｃｈｅｍｉｓｔｒｙＹａｎｇＳｈｏｕｊｉｎｇ（杨守京）；Ｌ...     

病毒性肝炎60例临床与病理分析

对６０例病毒性肝炎患者进行肝穿刺活检，结果发现，临床与病理诊断的符合率为４６．６％，其中，急性肝炎的诊断符合率最低（２３．８％），慢性迁延型肝炎（慢迁肝）为４４．８％；ＨＢｓＡｇ阳性首次发病的患者中，急性乙型肝炎仅为１１．２％（２／１８）；临床诊断的慢性活动型肝炎（慢活肝）仅为病理检出的２５．７％（９／３５）；肝炎患者中脾肿大，凝血酶元时间延长、Ａ／Ｇ值＜１．２、抗ＨＢｃＩｇＭ阳性可作为慢活肝与慢迁肝鉴别的重要指标。这些对提高病毒性肝炎临床分型诊断的准确率及指导临床治疗有意义。     

Blockade of the human cardiac K+ channel Kv1.5 by the antibiotic erythromycin

Erythromycin administration has been associated with a prolongation of cardiac repolarization in certain clinical settings. This could be due to blockade of voltage-dependent K⁺ channels in the human heart. For this reason we examined the effects of erythromycin on a rapidly activating delayed rectifier K⁺ channel (Kv1.5) cloned from human heart and stably expressed in human embryonic kidney cells. When examined using the whole-cell patch clamp technique, erythromycin (100 μM) blocked Kv1.5 current in a time-dependent manner but required prolonged exposure to do so. However, when we examined Kv1.5 current using inside-out macropatches, erythromycin applied to the cytoplasmic surface rapidly (within 1-2 min) inhibited Kv1.5 current with an IC₅₀ value of 2.6 x 10^-5M (1.7 - 3.9 x 10^-5M, 95% C.L.). The main effect of erythromycin was to accelerate the rate of Kv1.5 current decay thereby reducing the current at the end of a prolonged voltage-clamp pulse. Erythromycin also blocked Kv1.5 current in both a voltage- and frequency-dependent manner but had little effect on the activation kinetics, deactivation kinetics, or the steady-state inactivation properties of Kv1.5. These data suggest that erythromycin acts as a blocker of an activated state of the Kv1.5 channel and that it may access its binding site from the intracellular face of the channel. This study is the first to examine the effects of erythromycin on a cloned human cardiac K⁺ channel. It is concluded that erythromycin blocks Kv1.5 at clinically relevant concentrations. Blockade of voltage-dependent K⁺ channels in the heart could contribute to the alterations in cardiac repolarization that have been observed with erythromycin. Received: 22 November 1996 / Accepted: 26 February 1997     

无偿献血中心检测出抗HIV阳性1例

目前,我国已实行了无偿献血制度,关于无偿献血人群是否存在HIV感染,笔者在1999～2001年期间检出HIV抗体阳性者5人其中已被确诊1人,现报告如下: