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Buczyński J, Yanagihara R, Mora C, Cartier L, Verdugo A, Araya F, Castillo L, Gibbs CJ, Gajdusek CD, Rogers-Johnson P, Liberski PP. Tropical spastic paraparesis. Folia Neuropathol 2002; 39:265-9. [PMID: 11928898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is the cause of endemic tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) or HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (HAM). Because TSP/HAM is not a fatal disease, the neuropathology of this disease, albeit relatively well understood, is based on the examination of just a few incidental cases. We summarise our experience with the neuropathology of tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM). We studied three cases of TSP/HAM from different parts of the world. We demonstrated peculiar lamellated structures, called "multilamellar bodies" (MLB). It is tempting to suggest that MLB may represent specific ultrastructural markers of TSP/HAM. The pathology of the anteriorand posterior horns was similar and comprised axonal degeneration, accompanied by extensive astrocytic gliosis. Lymphocytic infiltration, particularly observed as "cuffs" around blood vessels, was scattered among other cellular elements. Ultrastructurally, myelin sheaths were relatively well preserved, and some demyelinated but not remyelinated fibres were observed. Moreover, axons with abnormal accumulations of neurofilaments, suggestive of axonal degeneration, were detected. Several axons contained Hirano bodies. In many samples glial processes replaced most of the remaining neuropil.
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2
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Wagner HN, Weinberger DR, Kleinman JE, Casanova MF, Gibbs CJ, Gur RE, Hornykiewicz O, Kuhar MJ, Pettegrew JW, Seeman P. Neuroimaging and neuropathology. Schizophr Bull 2001; 14:383-97. [PMID: 3264934 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/14.3.383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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3
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Kenney K, Brechtel C, Takahashi H, Kurohara K, Anderson P, Gibbs CJ. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to quantify 14-3-3 proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid of suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease patients. Ann Neurol 2001. [DOI: 10.1002/1531-8249(200009)48:3<395::aid-ana18>3.0.co;2-a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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4
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Stone GA, Johnson BK, Druilhet R, Garza PB, Gibbs CJ. Immunophenotyping of peripheral blood, ranges of serum chemistries and clinical hematology values of healthy chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). J Med Primatol 2000; 29:324-9. [PMID: 11168822 DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0684.2000.290503.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
This paper presents clinical chemistry, hematology and immunophenotyping data from 102 chimpanzees over a 2-year period. The groupings were: 3 years or less, 4-7 years, and 8 + years. These data are intended to augment formerly published information on these parameters and to serve as a concise reference guide for primate veterinarians and researchers for whom these data may be useful. This study has larger samplings than previously published data and more panel constituents by immunophenotyping.
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5
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Kenney K, Brechtel C, Takahashi H, Kurohara K, Anderson P, Gibbs CJ. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to quantify 14-3-3 proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid of suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease patients. Ann Neurol 2000; 48:395-8. [PMID: 10976650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
The detection of 14-3-3 protein by Western immunoblot is a sensitive and specific cerebrospinal fluid marker of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). We developed a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that reliably detects 14-3-3 in cerebrospinal fluid. In a prospective study of 147 cerebrospinal fluid samples, the mean 14-3-3 concentration among pathologically confirmed CJD patients (28.0+/-20.6 ng/ml, n = 41) is significantly higher than the mean in the cerebrospinal fluid of those with other neurological disorders (3.1+/-2.9 ng/ ml, n = 84). At a cutoff value of 8.3 ng/ml, the ELISA has a sensitivity of 92.7% and a specificity of 97.6%. The 14-3-3 ELISA supports a diagnosis of CJD in patients who fulfill clinical criteria for possible CJD.
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6
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Brown P, Rau EH, Johnson BK, Bacote AE, Gibbs CJ, Gajdusek DC. New studies on the heat resistance of hamster-adapted scrapie agent: Threshold survival after ashing at 600°C suggests an inorganic template of replication. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2000; 97:3418-21. [PMID: 10716712 PMCID: PMC16254 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.97.7.3418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
One-gram samples from a pool of crude brain tissue from hamsters
infected with the 263K strain of hamster-adapted scrapie agent were
placed in covered quartz-glass crucibles and exposed for either 5 or 15
min to dry heat at temperatures ranging from 150°C to 1,000°C.
Residual infectivity in the treated samples was assayed by the
intracerebral inoculation of dilution series into healthy weanling
hamsters, which were observed for 10 months; disease transmissions were
verified by Western blot testing for proteinase-resistant protein in
brains from clinically positive hamsters. Unheated control tissue
contained 9.9 log
10
LD
50
/g tissue; after
exposure to 150°C, titers equaled or exceeded 6
log
10
LD
50
/g, and after exposure to 300°C,
titers equaled or exceeded 4 log
10
LD
50
/g.
Exposure to 600°C completely ashed the brain samples, which, when
reconstituted with saline to their original weights, transmitted
disease to 5 of 35 inoculated hamsters. No transmissions occurred after
exposure to 1,000°C. These results suggest that an inorganic
molecular template with a decomposition point near 600°C is capable
of nucleating the biological replication of the scrapie agent.
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Cervenáková L, Buetefisch C, Lee HS, Taller I, Stone G, Gibbs CJ, Brown P, Hallett M, Goldfarb LG. Novel PRNP sequence variant associated with familial encephalopathy. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS 1999; 88:653-6. [PMID: 10581485 DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-8628(19991215)88:6<653::aid-ajmg14>3.0.co;2-e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Human transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a group of chronic progressive neurodegenerative disorders that may be hereditary, infectious, or sporadic. Hereditary TSEs are associated with mutations in the PRNP gene on chromosome 20p12-pter. We report on a family in which seven patients developed limb and truncal ataxia, dysarthria, myoclonic jerks, and cognitive decline. The age of onset in the 30s, 40s, or 50s, prolonged disease duration, cerebellar atrophy on imaging, and the presence of synchronic periodic discharges on electroencephalogram suggested a familial encephalopathy resembling Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease. A novel H187R mutation has been identified in affected, but not in unaffected, family members or unrelated controls suggesting a pathogenic role for this mutation. Am. J. Med. Genet. (Neuropsychiatr. Genet.) 88:653-656, 1999. Published 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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8
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Takahashi H, Iwata T, Kitagawa Y, Takahashi RH, Sato Y, Wakabayashi H, Takashima M, Kido H, Nagashima K, Kenney K, Gibbs CJ, Kurata T. Increased levels of epsilon and gamma isoforms of 14-3-3 proteins in cerebrospinal fluid in patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY IMMUNOLOGY 1999; 6:983-5. [PMID: 10548598 PMCID: PMC95810 DOI: 10.1128/cdli.6.6.983-985.1999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
We established four hybridoma cell lines producing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against 14-3-3 proteins. Immunoblot analysis revealed that epsilon and gamma isoforms were specifically increased in premortem cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Furthermore, dot immunoblot analysis showed that MAbs were more specific for native antigen than polyclonal antibodies were.
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Bernad PG, Gibbs CJ, Soyer A, Loscalzo M, Klein AE. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease diagnosable by EEG and cerebrospinal fluid analysis without brain biopsy: a case report. CLINICAL EEG (ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY) 1999; 30:132-5. [PMID: 10513318 DOI: 10.1177/155005949903000404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This case illustrates a classic example of CJD in its clinical presentation and course and the EEG. It also shows dramatically the utility of a newly developed protein assay in the diagnosis of this disease. This assay has the potential of eliminating the need for brain biopsy in most cases, thus providing a safer diagnostic method for both staff and patients. In addition, the case points out that anatomical structural studies such as CT and MRI do not replace the utility of EEG in the comprehensive evaluation of rapid onset dementia, but rather complement the usefulness of EEG.
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Kabrane-Lazizi Y, Fine JB, Elm J, Glass GE, Higa H, Diwan A, Gibbs CJ, Meng XJ, Emerson SU, Purcell RH. Evidence for widespread infection of wild rats with hepatitis E virus in the United States. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1999; 61:331-5. [PMID: 10463689 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.1999.61.331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 180] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis E is an important medical pathogen in many developing countries but is rarely reported from the United States, although antibody to hepatitis E virus (anti-HEV) is found in > 1% of U.S. citizens. Zoonotic spread of the virus is suspected. Sera obtained from 239 wild rats trapped in widely separated regions of the United States were tested for anti-HEV. Seventy-seven percent of rats from Maryland, 90% from Hawaii, and 44% from Louisiana were seropositive for anti-HEV. Rats from urban as well as rural areas were seropositive and the prevalence of anti-HEV IgG increased in parallel with the estimated age of the rats, leading to speculation that they might be involved in the puzzling high prevalence of anti-HEV among some U.S. city dwellers. The discovery of a in rats in the United States and the recently reported discovery that HEV is endemic in U.S. swine raise many questions about transmission, reservoirs, and strains of HEV in developed countries.
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Abstract
We used RNA fingerprinting by arbitrary primed PCR to identify genes whose expression is up-regulated in the brain of hamsters affected by prion disease. One gene implicated by RNA fingerprinting encoded the hamster homologue of protein nexin-I (PN-I), a serine proteinase inhibitor, and was further investigated by Northern blot analysis. PN-I mRNA levels were increased at pre-clinical stages (19 days after inoculation) and remained elevated when the spongiform encephalopathy was anatomopathologically and clinically evident (at 50 and 80 days). Future RNA screening conducted as illustrated may help to reveal a spectrum of genes relevant for the etiopathogenesis and/or diagnosis of prion disease.
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12
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Liberski PP, Buczyński J, Yanagihara R, Mora C, Gibbs CJ, Gajdusek C, Cartier L, Verdugo A, Araya F, Castillo L. Ultrastructural pathology of a Chilean case of tropical spastic paraparesis/human T-cell lymphotropic type I-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM). Ultrastruct Pathol 1999; 23:157-62. [PMID: 10445282 DOI: 10.1080/019131299281653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I), is the cause of endemic tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) or HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (HAM). Because TSP/HAM is not a fatal disease, the neuropathology of this disease, albeit relatively well understood, is based on the examination of just a few incidental cases. Previously, we demonstrated peculiar lamellated structures, called "multilamellar bodies" (MLB). In this report, we present the ultrastructural neuropathology of a TSP/HAM case from Chile, with further detailed descriptions of MLB. It is tempting to suggest that MLB may represent specific ultrastructural markers of TSP/HAM. The pathology of the anterior and posterior horns was similar and was comprised of axonal degeneration, accompanied by extensive astrocytic gliosis. Lymphocytic infiltration, particularly observed as "cuffs" around blood vessels, was scattered among other cellular elements. Ultrastructurally, myelin sheaths were relatively well preserved, and some demyelinated but not remyelinated fibers were observed. Moreover, axons with abnormal accumulations of neurofilaments, suggestive of axonal degeneration, were detected. Several axons contained Hirano bodies. In many samples, glial processes replaced most of the remaining neuropil. In a few specimens of the anterior and posterior horns of the spinal cord, MLB were observed. These structures consisted of stacks of 30 to 40 electron-dense lamellae, which were interrupted by narrow electron-lucent spaces. All of the lamellae were immersed within an amorphous substance of intermediate density. Neurons of the dorsal root ganglia were basically normal except for increased lipofuscin accumulation. As in the spinal cord, myelinated axons were well preserved, but a few were demyelinated and surrounded by concentric arrays of Schwann cell membranes. Also, axons of the dorsal roots accumulated increased number of neurofilaments. Mast cells and Schwann cells were increased in number, the latter containing abundant pi granules and myelin fragments.
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14
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Piccardo P, Dlouhy SR, Lievens PM, Young K, Bird TD, Nochlin D, Dickson DW, Vinters HV, Zimmerman TR, Mackenzie IR, Kish SJ, Ang LC, De Carli C, Pocchiari M, Brown P, Gibbs CJ, Gajdusek DC, Bugiani O, Ironside J, Tagliavini F, Ghetti B. Phenotypic variability of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease is associated with prion protein heterogeneity. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 1998; 57:979-88. [PMID: 9786248 DOI: 10.1097/00005072-199810000-00010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 164] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS), a cerebello-pyramidal syndrome associated with dementia and caused by mutations in the prion protein gene (PRNP), is phenotypically heterogeneous. The molecular mechanisms responsible for such heterogeneity are unknown. Since we hypothesize that prion protein (PrP) heterogeneity may be associated with clinico-pathologic heterogeneity, the aim of this study was to analyze PrP in several GSS variants. Among the pathologic phenotypes of GSS, we recognize those without and with marked spongiform degeneration. In the latter (i.e. a subset of GSS P102L patients) we observed 3 major proteinase-K resistant PrP (PrPres) isoforms of ca. 21-30 kDa, similar to those seen in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. In contrast, the 21-30 kDa isoforms were not prominent in GSS variants without spongiform changes, including GSS A117V, GSS D202N, GSS Q212P, GSS Q217R, and 2 cases of GSS P102L. This suggests that spongiform changes in GSS are related to the presence of high levels of these distinct 21-30 kDa isoforms. Variable amounts of smaller, distinct PrPres isoforms of ca. 7-15 kDa were seen in all GSS variants. This suggests that GSS is characterized by the presence PrP isoforms that can be partially cleaved to low molecular weight PrPres peptides.
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15
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De SK, Venkateshan CN, Seth P, Gajdusek DC, Gibbs CJ. Adenovirus-mediated human immunodeficiency virus-1 Nef expression in human monocytes/macrophages and effect of Nef on downmodulation of Fcgamma receptors and expression of monokines. Blood 1998; 91:2108-17. [PMID: 9490697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
To characterize the effect of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) nef expression in human monocytes/macrophage (HMO) and U937 on the levels of FcgammaRs, HLA antigens, and monokines, elutriated HMOs and U937 cells were transfected with an adenovirus-mediated Nef expression system. Nef-expressing cells downmodulated FcgammaRI, FcgammaRII, and upregulated HLA class I molecules. Nef-expressing HMOs, treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), overexpressed tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), and IL-10. However, IL-6 was induced by LPS and inhibited by PMA. Additionally, a subpopulation of Nef-expressing HMOs underwent apoptosis. Our data suggest that HIV-1 nef downmodulated FcgammaRs in myeloid cells in a manner similar to that previously reported for its effect on CD4+ in T cells.
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MESH Headings
- 3T3 Cells
- Adenoviridae/genetics
- Animals
- Apoptosis
- CD4 Antigens/biosynthesis
- CD4 Antigens/genetics
- Cation Exchange Resins
- DNA, Antisense/genetics
- Down-Regulation
- Gene Expression Regulation, Viral
- Gene Products, nef/physiology
- Genes, nef
- Genetic Vectors/genetics
- HIV-1/genetics
- HLA Antigens/biosynthesis
- HLA Antigens/genetics
- Humans
- Interleukin-1/biosynthesis
- Interleukin-1/genetics
- Interleukin-10/biosynthesis
- Interleukin-10/genetics
- Interleukin-6/biosynthesis
- Interleukin-6/genetics
- Lipids
- Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology
- Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/pathology
- Macrophages/metabolism
- Mice
- Monocytes/metabolism
- Monokines/biosynthesis
- Monokines/genetics
- Receptors, IgG/biosynthesis
- Receptors, IgG/genetics
- Receptors, Interleukin-2/biosynthesis
- Receptors, Interleukin-2/genetics
- Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate/pharmacology
- Transfection
- Tumor Cells, Cultured
- Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/biosynthesis
- Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/genetics
- nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
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Sung V, Venkateshan CN, Williamson L, Ward R, Espey MG, Gibbs CJ, Moffett JR, Namboodiri MA. Immuno-electron microscopy reveals that the excitotoxin quinolinate is associated with the plasma membrane in human peripheral blood monocytes/macrophages. Cell Tissue Res 1997; 290:633-9. [PMID: 9369539 DOI: 10.1007/s004410050969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Quinolinate (QUIN), a tryptophan-derived excitotoxin, was localized ultrastructurally in human peripheral blood monocytes/macrophages (MO) by immuno-electron microscopy. A combined carbodiimide/glutaraldehyde/paraformaldehyde-based fixation procedure was developed for optimal retention of QUIN in the cell as well as minimal loss of ultrastructure; a silver-enhanced colloidal gold detection system was used for electron-microscopic analysis. Gold particles representing QUIN immunoreactivity were associated with the inner side of the plasma membrane in normal MO. The number of gold particles increased significantly when QUIN levels were elevated by treatment with its precursor kynurenine, but location of the gold particles remained essentially the same under this condition. Treatment with interferon-gamma increased the number of Golgi bodies, vacuoles and pseudopodia, reflecting the activated state of the cell. Significantly increased numbers of gold particles representing QUIN were detectable in approximately the same location as in the case of kynurenine treatment. Combined treatment with kynurenine and interferon-gamma maximally increased the number of gold particles at the periphery of the cell. The pseudopodia were intensely stained with gold particles, while they were not detectable in the inner part of the cytoplasm or in any other organelle even under this activated condition. The significance of the specific location of QUIN revealed in the present study and its relation to the release and subsequent actions of QUIN are discussed.
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17
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Voevodin AF, Johnson BK, Samilchuk EI, Stone GA, Druilhet R, Greer WJ, Gibbs CJ. Phylogenetic analysis of simian T-lymphotropic virus Type I (STLV-I) in common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): evidence for interspecies transmission of the virus between chimpanzees and humans in Central Africa. Virology 1997; 238:212-20. [PMID: 9400594 DOI: 10.1006/viro.1997.8826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Serum and peripheral blood leukocytes from the chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) of the colony of the Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, were tested for the presence of STLV-I-specific antibodies and proviral DNA. Antibodies were determined by gelatin particle agglutination and Western blot (WB) assays utilizing HTLV-I antigens. Proviral DNA was detected by four PCR assays targeting three different regions of STLV-I genome: the fragments of the env and pol genes and LTR. Twenty of twenty-two DNA samples from WB-positive animals were PCR positive. None of the DNA samples from WB-negative (n = 5) and WB-indeterminate (n = 4) animals was PCR positive. The results of the nested and double nested env PCR tests were fully concordant; the seminested LTR PCR test was much less sensitive. The DNA sequences from the env (483 bp) and the pol (200 bp) genes and LTR (705 bp) were determined for six, two, and two chimpanzee STLV-I isolates, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that chimpanzee STLV-I isolates can be attributed to three clades. The first of these clades (SS-PTR1/CSA) included STLV-I isolates from the chimpanzees and West African subspecies of African green monkeys (Cercopithecus a. sabaeus). The other clades (S-PTR2 and S-PTR3) included STLV-I isolates only from chimpanzees. However, both S-PTR2 and S-PTR3 clustered together with Central African HTLV-I comprising the human/simian clade (HS-HSA/PTR). This pattern of phylogenetic clustering suggests that interspecies transmission of STLV-I occurred between chimpanzees and African green monkey subspecies as well between chimpanzees and human populations in Central Africa.
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18
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Abstract
The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are a group of subacute progressive degenerative diseases of the nervous system which are always fatal in their outcome. These diseases appear to be caused by the abnormal isoform of the precursor protein of amyloid designated prion protein. The normal isoform has been identified in the tissues of all mammalian species thus far tested as well as in Drosophila. We report the presence of this protein for the first time in the brains of fish.
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19
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Harrison LH, Vaz B, Taveira DM, Quinn TC, Gibbs CJ, de Souza SH, McArthur JC, Schechter M. Myelopathy among Brazilians coinfected with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I and HIV. Neurology 1997; 48:13-8. [PMID: 9008486 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.48.1.13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine whether subjects coinfected with HTLV-I and HIV have a higher frequency of myelopathy than subjects singly infected with HIV. DESIGN A prospective, nested case-control study of HTLV-I and HIV coinfected (cases) and HIV singly infected adults (controls) participating in a prospective HIV cohort study at a university hospital outpatient HIV clinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. MEASUREMENTS Subjects were evaluated for evidence of myelopathy by a neurologist unaware of their HTLV serologic status. Patients with at least two pyramidal signs, such as paresis, hypertonicity or spasticity, hyperreflexia, clonus, diminished or absent superficial reflexes, or the presence of pathologic reflexes (e.g., Babinski or Hoffmann), were defined as having myelopathy. Myelopathy severity was quantified using the Kurtzke Functional Disability Scale (FDS); patients with FDS scores > or = 4 were considered to have significant myelopathy. Selected patients with myelopathy underwent lumbar puncture for the evaluation of intrathecal synthesis of HTLV-I antibodies. RESULTS Of 15 coinfected subjects, 11 (73%) had evidence of myelopathy versus 10 of 62 subjects (16%) with HIV single infection (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 13.0, p = 0.00002). When only myelopathy patients with FDS scores of > or = 2 or > or = 4 were included, the association between coinfection and the presence of myelopathy remained (OR = 7.3, p = 0.0003 for scores > or = 2; and OR = 8.9 for scores > or = 4, p = 0.04). In addition, a higher proportion of coinfected subjects had peripheral neuropathy (40%) than controls (16%) (OR = 3.5, p = 0.07). CONCLUSION Coinfection with HTLV-I was strongly associated with myelopathy among subjects infected with HIV. The relative contribution of HTLV-I versus HIV in the pathogenesis of coinfection-associated myelopathy is not known. Coinfection may also be associated with peripheral neuropathy. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms of coinfection-associated neurologic conditions.
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20
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Gibbs CJ, Millar JG, Smith J. Spontaneous healing of osteitis fibrosa cystica in primary hyperparathyroidism. Postgrad Med J 1996; 72:754-7. [PMID: 9015472 PMCID: PMC2398661 DOI: 10.1136/pgmj.72.854.754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
A 24-year-old man with primary hyperparathyroidism and osteitis fibrosa cystica developed acute hypocalcaemia. Spontaneous healing of his bone disease was confirmed radiographically and by correction of the serum alkaline phosphatase. Hypercalcaemia associated with a raised serum parathyroid hormone recurred 90 weeks after the initial presentation. During the fourth neck exploration a parathyroid adenoma was removed, resulting in resolution of his condition. Haemorrhagic infarction of an adenoma was the most likely cause of the acute hypocalcaemic episode.
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21
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Namboodiri AM, Venkateshan CN, Narayanan R, Blinder K, Moffett JR, Gajdusek DC, Gravell M, Gibbs CJ. Increased quinolinate immunoreactivity in the peripheral blood monocytes/macrophages from SIV-infected monkeys. J Neurovirol 1996; 2:433-8. [PMID: 8972426 DOI: 10.3109/13550289609146910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Quinolinate (QUIN), a metabolite in the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan degradation and a neurotoxin that is thought to act through the NMDA receptor system, was localized in cultured peripheral blood monocytes/macrophages from SIV-infected monkeys using a recently developed immunohistochemical method. Significant increases in QUIN immunoreactive (IR) cells were detected in all five SIV-infected monkeys examined. Multinucleated giant cells, a hallmark of lentiviral infection, were visible in selected samples. Treatment with the QUIN precursors, tryptophan and kynurenine, increased the number of QUIN-IR cells in both the control and SIV-infected preparations, perhaps by a mass action mechanism. We hypothesize that in SIV-infected monkeys, infiltrating monocytes/macrophages contribute to the high level of brain QUIN and associated neuropathology.
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22
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Hsich G, Kenney K, Gibbs CJ, Lee KH, Harrington MG. The 14-3-3 brain protein in cerebrospinal fluid as a marker for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. N Engl J Med 1996; 335:924-30. [PMID: 8782499 DOI: 10.1056/nejm199609263351303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 400] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is no practical and reliable premortem test for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and the related transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Two proteins, designated 130 and 131, which have been detected in low concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, appear to be sensitive and specific markers for the disease. Attempts to identify these proteins, however, have been unsuccessful. We hypothesized that they may be present in the normal brain. METHODS We detected proteins 130 and 131 in normal human brain, partially sequenced their amino acids, and found that they matched the brain protein known as 14-3-3. We then developed a simple, rapid immunoassay for this protein and tested it in cerebrospinal fluid samples from 71 humans and 30 animals with spongiform encephalopathies and in control samples from 186 humans and 94 animals. RESULTS The immunoassay detected the 14-3-3 protein in cerebrospinal fluid from 68 of the 71 patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (96 percent, 95 percent confidence interval, 92 to 99 percent). Among 94 patients with other dementias, the specificity was 96 percent. If one excludes the three patients with dementia who had strokes within one month before testing, the specificity was 99 percent. The test was positive in 12 of 24 patients with viral encephalitis. In animals the sensitivity of the assay was 87 percent and the specificity was 99 percent. CONCLUSION In patients with dementia, a positive immunoassay for the 14-3-3 brain protein in cerebrospinal fluid strongly supports a diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. This finding, however, does not support the use of the test in patients without clinically evident dementia.
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Corbin DO, Mora CA, Garriques S, Rodgers-Johnson P, Gibbs CJ. Anterior horn cell degeneration in polymyositis associated with human T lymphotropic virus Type-1 in patients from Barbados. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1996; 54:625-8. [PMID: 8686782 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.1996.54.625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Anterior horn cell degeneration has only occasionally been noted in patients with tropical spastic paraparesis associated with human T lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) infection. We report on three adult patients with HTLV-1-associated polymyositis who had clinical evidence of anterior horn cell degeneration. One patient had moderate proximal weakness and muscle wasting in all four limbs, while two had mild upper limb weakness with more profound proximal weakness and wasting in the lower limbs. In all three patients, electromyographic findings were compatible with motor unit loss and muscle biopsies showed mononuclear inflammatory cell infiltration; muscle biopsies in two patients showed features of denervation. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to HTLV-1 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and confirmed by Western immunoblot in serum and cerebrospinal fluid in all three patients. In two, cell cultures were established from peripheral blood lymphocytes and HTLV-1 antigen was identified by immunofluorescence and the ELISA antigen-capture technique using an anti-p19 HTLV-1 mouse monoclonal antibody. The three cases illustrate the variety of neuromuscular disease, other than spastic paraparesis, that may occur in HTLV-1 infection. In some cases of HTLV-1-associated polymyositis, anterior horn cell degeneration may make a significant contribution to the muscle atrophy observed.
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Rodgers-Johnson PE, Hickling FW, Irons A, Johnson BK, Irons-Morgan M, Stone GA, Gibbs CJ. Retroviruses and schizophrenia in Jamaica. MOLECULAR AND CHEMICAL NEUROPATHOLOGY 1996; 28:237-43. [PMID: 8871965 DOI: 10.1007/bf02815228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Reports of an 18-fold higher incidence of schizophrenia among second-generation Afro-Caribbeans, and especially Jamaican migrants in the United Kingdom were soon called "an epidemic of schizophrenia," with the inference that a novel virus, likely to be perinatally transmitted, was a possible etiological agent. This intriguing observation led us to explore a possible link with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type one (HTLV-I), because it is a virus that is endemic in the Caribbean Island, is perinatally transmitted, known to be neuropathogenic, and the cause of a chronic myelopathy (tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I associated myelopathy. We therefore examined inpatients as the Bellevue Mental Hospital, Kingston, Jamaica and did standard serological tests for retroviruses HTLV-I and HTLV-II and HIV-I and HIV-II on 201 inpatients who fulfilled ICD-9 and DSM III-R criteria for schizophrenia. Our results produced important negative data, since the seropositivity rates for HTLV-I, the most likely pathogen, were no greater than the seropositivity range for HTLV-I carriers in this island population, indicating the HTLV-1 and the other retroviruses tested do not play a primary etiological role in Jamaican schizophrenics.
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Venkateshan CN, Narayanan R, Espey MG, Moffett JR, Gajdusek DC, Gibbs CJ, Namboodiri MA. Immunocytochemical localization of the endogenous neuroexcitotoxin quinolinate in human peripheral blood monocytes/macrophages and the effect of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I infection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1996; 93:1636-41. [PMID: 8643683 PMCID: PMC39994 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.93.4.1636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Quinolinate (Quin), a metabolite in the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan degradation and a neurotoxin that appears to act through the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor system, was localized in cultured human peripheral blood monocytes/macrophages (PBMOs) by using a recently developed immunocytochemical method. Quin immunoreactivity (Quin-IR) was increased in gamma interferon (IFN-gamma)-stimulated monocytes/macrophages (MOs). In addition, the precursors, tryptophan and kynurenine, significantly increased Quin-IR. Infection of MOs by human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) in vitro substantially increased both the number of Quin-IR cells and the intensity of Quin-IR. At the peak of the Quin-IR response, about 40% of the cells were Quin-IR positive. In contrast, only about 2-5% of the cells were positive for HTLV-I, as detected by both immunofluorescence for the HTLV-I antigens and PCR techniques for the HTLV-I Tax gene. These results suggest that HTLV-I-induced Quin production in MOs occurs by an indirect mechanism, perhaps via cytokines produced by the infection but not directly by the virus infection per se. The significance of these findings to the neuropathology of HTLV-I infection is discussed.
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