Ribosomal vaccines. I. Immunogenicity of ribosomal fractions isolated from Salmonella typhimurium and Yersinia pestis

The immunogenicity of ribosomes and ribosomal subfractions isolated from Yersina pestis and Salmonella typhimurium has been studied. Ribosomes and ribosomal protein isolated from S. typhimurium protected mice against lethal challenge. Ribosomal ribonucleic acid isolated by phenol extraction failed to induce any significant level of protection in mice. None of the ribosomes or ribosomal subfractions isolated from Y. pestis were effective in inducing immunity to lethal challenge. These results suggest that the immunogen of the ribosomal vaccine is protein.

Vesico-ureteric reflux following renal transplantation

Twenty-eight patients who had received a renal transplant have been studied in order to determine the incidence and significance of vesico-ureteric reflux in association with urinary infection.

The ureters had been anastomosed either by uretero-ureteric or ureterovesical techniques without an anti-reflux procedure.

Ten of the 28 patients had reflux into the transplant and 4 had reflux into a non-functioning ureteric stump. Reflux was significantly more frequent in the ureterovesical group.

Marked reflux in patients with recurrent urinary infections was associated with renal damage. Marked reflux in uninfected patients or mild reflux in patients with recurrent urinary infections was not associated with renal damage.

Site in cell-free protein synthesis sensitive to diphtheria toxin

The effects of diphtheria toxin on cell-free protein synthesis in a bacterial system, and preparations obtained from animals that were sensitive and resistant to toxin were examined. In the presence of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), toxin inhibited the incorporation of amino acids by endogenous and synthetic polynucleotides in both rat liver and guinea pig liver cell-free systems that were exposed to 6 Lf units per ml of toxin. A cell-free system derived from Streptococcus faecalis was resistant to high concentrations of toxin. Dialyzed toxin-antitoxin floccules that are formed in the presence of NAD and the 105,000 x g supernatant fluid from rat liver contain NAD. Such floccules are also active in protein synthesis in the absence of added transferase I or II. An operational model presents the view that the intoxication complex is formed at the ribosomal level and occurs in two steps. First, the toxin molecule binds to transferase II and alters its stereospecific relationship to transferase I, but it does not result in an inactive complex. Second, the stereospecific alteration in transferase I, but it does not result in an inactive complex. Second, the stereospecific alteration in transferase II caused by the binding of diphtheria toxin allows NAD to bridge between transferase I and II, which then results in an inactivated complex. The sensitivity of the cell-free system derived from the normally resistant rat implies that in some cells the cell membrane serves as a permeability barrier to the toxin molecule. The resistance of bacterial cell-free protein synthesizing systems to diphtheria toxin may reflect basic differences between transferase enzymes from bacterial and mammalian sources.

Renal tumors in the neonatal period

Eight infants with renal tumors diagnosed in the first month of life are presented. Three well-differentiated mesenchymal tumors were studied using angiographic and electron-microscopic techniques in addition to conventional histologic methods. The morphology of these unusual tumors is presented in detail and classification as benign fibromyoma or fibromyomatous hamartoma is defended. An association between renal tumors in the newborn and maternal polyhydramnios is also documented for the first time.