Cytomegalovirus Isolation from a Chimpanzee with Acute Demyelinating Disease After Inoculation of Multiple Sclerosis Brain Cells

A strain of cytomegalovirus (CMV) was isolated during the third subcultivation of explants from the left frontal lobe of a chimpanzee that developed paralysis more than 3 years after intracerebral inoculation at birth with brain cell cultures derived from a patient with multiple sclerosis. Another strain of CMV was also isolated from a lymph node culture taken from the same chimp. The isolates, designated MZM-13 and MZM-14, produced a cytopathic effect characteristic for CMV when inoculated into brain, ganglion, or fibroblast cultures of human or simian origin. Infected cells contained characteristic Cowdry A intranuclear as well as intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies, and 100-nm spherical herpes-like virus particles were detected by electron microscopy in the nucleus and cytoplasm of infected cells. Virus was further identified as CMV with convalescent human anti-CMV serum. Complement-fixing antibody to CMV was present at a titer of 1:32 when the acutely ill chimpanzee was sacrificed. No antibody was detected at birth or at 1 or 2 years of age. A newborn chimpanzee inoculated intracerebrally with MZM-13 developed clinically asymptomatic lesions in the central nervous system characterized by acute and chronic inflammation and degeneration of myelin in cranial and spinal nerve roots. Restriction endonuclease analysis of viral deoxyribonucleic acid isolated from these two viruses indicated that MZM-13 and MZM-14 are identical and are closely related to chimpanzee CMV. No similarity in restriction endonuclease fragment patterns was found between MZM virus and the Towne and Clegg strains of human CMV.     

Acute optic neuritis: a virological study in relation to multiple sclerosis.

Previous ultrastructural examination of peripheral blood lymphocytes revealed the presence of intranuclear filamentous structures in multiple sclerosis (MS) and in some optic neuritis (ON) patients. The present investigation was undertaken in the attempt to correlate the presence of such structures with the etiology of ON and MS and possibly to demonstrate the viral origin of the filaments. Suitable virological and serological techniques were used to detect and isolate infectious agents from peripheral blood samples and body excretions of 12 monosymptomatic ON patients at their first acute attack. Nevertheless, any efforts to demonstrate the presence of a virus in these patients have been unsuccessful: no evidence of active viral infection was obtained by serological studies of serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples, nor could viral antigens or inclusions be observed by immunofluorescence and cytochemical analysis. Negative results were also obtained from studies performed in parallel on MS patients and various controls. The significance of the failure to isolate infectious agents from either ON and MS patients is discussed.     

The use of vesicular stomatitis virus (visna virus) pseudotypes to demonstrate visna virus receptors in cells from different species

Summary Superinfection of visna virus (VV)-infected cells with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) resulted in the formation of a pseudotype virus population containing a VSV genome within a VV coat [designated VSV (VV)] as determined by plaque reduction neutralization with antisera to VSV and VV. These VSV (VV) virions were capable of infecting cell cultures from a number of species that were nonpermissive for VV alone. Limited propagation of VV in some mammalian species would thus appear to be due to an intracellular restriction rather than to absence of VV receptors.     

Parainfluenza 1 (6/94) virus-induced white matter degeneration: enhancement by adoptive transfer of virus-sensitized immunocytes.

Intracerebral (i.c.) inoculation of parainfluenza 1 (6/94) virus into weanling Lewis rats produced meningitis, choroiditis, ependymitis, and a rare noninflammatory white matter degeneration (WMD). Adoptive transfer of immune spleen cells (ISC), 3 to 5 days after virus infection, significantly increased the incidence of WMD. Conversely ISC given 2 days prior to virus infection not only protected rats from developing WMD, but also from developing meningitis, choroiditis, or ependymitis. Thus the temporal relationship of 6/94 virus inoculation to the virus-specific immune response appears critical in determining whether WMD will develop in association with 6/94 virus infection. Although sensitized immunocytes may prevent pathologic changes if given prior to virus inoculation, such immunocytes enhance the production of WMD if given after such inoculation. These studies underline the dual role of the immune response in 6/94 virus infection, and indicate that 6/94 virus-induced WMD is, in part, immunemediated.     

Human brain in tissue culture. IV. Morphological characteristics.

The morphology of cells from normal and diseased brains and PML-SV40 transformed brain cells grown on glass cover slips in cultures is described. Seven types of cells are identifiable, four of which are probably of mesenchymal origin whereas the remaining three are neurologlial. A classification on the basis of the morphologic features is presented.     

Epidemiology and susceptibility to antifungal agents of fungi isolated from clinical specimens from patients hospitalized in the Department of General and Liver Surgery of the Medical University of Warsaw

The aim of this study was to analyze the type and antibiotic susceptibility of fungi isolated from clinical specimens obtained from patients hospitalized in the Department of General, Transplantation and Liver Surgery of the Medical University of Warsaw between 2000 to 2002. Among the 326 clinical samples found to be positive on mycological culture, 356 strains were cultured. The most common isolates were yeastlike fungi of the genus Candida 334 (93.8%), while others included 33 other types (6.2%). The most commonly isolated species were Candida albicans, 194 strains (54.5%); Candida glabrata, 68 (19.1%); Candida krusei, 20 (5.6%); Candida inconspicua, 20 (5.6%); Candida tropicalis, 17 (4.8%); and Candida parapsilosis, 6 (1.7%). Upon testing for susceptibility to antifungal agents, all strains were susceptible to amphotericin B, while 43.8% of strains showed intermediate susceptibility to fluconazole and 25.3%, to itraconazole. Control of fungal infections in transplant and in immunocompromised patients is hindered by the low percentage of strains susceptible to commonly used antifungal agents, particularly of the triazole group.     

Effects of forskolin on growth and morphology of cultured glial and cerebrovascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells

The present experiments were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of forskolin on cAMP production, growth and morphology on cell cultures of glia, endothelium and smooth muscle derived from brain microvessels.

Forskolin significantly increased formation of cAMP and decreased incorporation of thymidine in all three cell types. The thymidine incorporation was reduced dose-dependently with maximal growth inhibition at 100 μM forskolin. A 1 hr preincubation with forskolin abolished thymidine incorporation by cells grown in fetal calf serum (FCS)-containing media over the following 24 hr.

In cerebromicrovascular endothelium and smooth muscle, forskolin caused drastic and immediate changes of cell morphology and F-actin composition that were reversible. In glial cells, morphological changes were visible only after exposure to forskolin for more than 24 hr. These changes were accompanied by increased staining with antibodies against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).

These findings support the contention of cAMP involvement in growth regulation of these cells and indicate that forskolin might be used as a tool to induce growth arrest and possible differentiation in cell cultures from mammalian brain.     

Surgical site infections in liver recipients in the early posttransplantation period: etiological agents and susceptibility profiles

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the frequency of microbial isolates and their susceptibility profiles from cultures at the surgical site of 83 liver recipients in the early posttransplantation period. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We prospectively collected microbiologic culture data on 83 adult patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) using standard procedures and commercially available tests. Susceptibility of the strains to antibacterial agents was performed by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. RESULTS: All patients were followed prospectively for the first 4 weeks after surgery. Among 284 microbial isolates from clinical surgical site samples in 80 liver recipients, cultures were positive in 110 samples. The most commonly isolated species were: Gram-positive cocci (n = 222 isolates, 78%) with dominance of methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCNS; 42%) and high-level aminoglycoside-resistant enterococci (HLAR strains; 24.3%). Gram-negative bacteria were identified in 21.5% of positive cultures, including 30 strains (24%) from the Enterobacteriaceae family, with 13.3% of extended spectrum beta-lactamase producers [ESBL(+)]. Significant differences (P = .0012) were observed during the analysis of changes in the occurrence of Gram-positive bacteria isolated from the surgical site in the first week versus the second to the end of the fourth week. CONCLUSION: Gram-positive bacteria predominated as 78% of isolates.