Electrophoresis of guinea-pig complement components (C3, C5, C6, C7, C8 and C9) on polyacrylamide gel

The electrophoretic mobilities of C3, C5, C6, C7, C8 and C9 of guinea-pig complement were studied using polyacrylamide (PAA) gel as a supporting medium. The haemolytic activity of each complement component was readily revealed as a discrete haemolytic band in blood agar containing intermediate red blood cells and appropriate reagents which was overlayed on the PAA gel plate after electrophoresis. By this method, the relative mobilities of C3, C5, C6, C7, C8 and C9 were determined as 0.19, 0.40, 0.17, 0.27, 0.31 and 0.57 respectively. An additional, distinct, haemolytic C5 band was detected when native guinea-pig serum was run. The relative mobility of the haemolytic activity which was not detected when purified C5 was electrophoresed, was 0.25.

Quantitation of α_1A and α_1D-adrenoceptor mRNA in prostate tissues from patients with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia

Background: To treat symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia α1-adrenoceptor antagonists with little antagonism at α1b-adrenoceptor were used to avoid orthostatic hypotension. In benign prostatic hyperplasia tissues α1D-adrenoceptor are thought to predominate, but in the Japanese experience, either α1A- or α1D- adrenoceptor antagonists can alleviate benign prostatic hyperplasia symptoms. We hypothesized that prostatic expression of α1A- and α1D-adrenoceptor varies quantitatively between patients. Materials and Methods: We immunohistochemically localized α1A- and α1D-adrenoceptor within benign prostatic hyperplasia tissues, and quantitated mRNA expression for these subtypes by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Results: Immunohistochemistry detected both subtypes in stromal but not detected epithelial cells. Copy numbers of α1A-adrenoceptor mRNA in benign prostatic hyperplasia tissue were significantly higher than those of α1D-adrenoceptor mRNA. Among patients; the ratio of α1A- to α1D-adrenoceptor mRNA ranged from 1.0 to 8.4. Conclusion: An ideal therapeutic antagonist for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia symptoms should block both α1A- and α1D-adrenoceptor Keywords: Adrenoceptor subtypes; Benign prostatic hyperplasia; Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction DOI: 10.3126/jpn.v1i1.4439Journal of Pathology of Nepal (2011) Vol.1, 1-7

Studies on the Mechanism of Immune Adherence

Sheep erythrocytes sensitized with antibody and carrying on their surface the first four components of complement (EAC′1423) are capable of adhering to human erythrocytes. Removal of C′1 and C′2 from EAC′1423 does not affect the immune adherence reaction (IA).

Treatment of EAC′43 or EAC′4 with pronase results in the removal of C′4 without affecting the antibody. Pronase-treated EAC′43 cells retain IA activity with human erythrocytes.

Tannic acid-treated cells can be coated with highly purified C′3. The resulting C′3-coated sheep erythrocytes adhered to human erythrocytes but not to non-primate erythrocytes. Treatment of C′3-coated cells with C′3 inactivator destroys their ability to adhere to human erythrocytes. Isotope-labeled C′3 on tanned cells was 1/32 as effective in IA as C′3 on EAC′1423.

These results indicate that C′3 is the only component required for the IA reaction with human erythrocytes, and may enable the elucidation of the molecular structure of C′3 in relation to its immune adherence reactivity.

The effects of Cu-chlorophyllin on the active site formation of each component of guinea-pig complement

The effects of Cu-chlorophyllin on the formation of intermediate complexes (site formation) by each component of guinea-pig complement on sensitized sheep erythrocytes were examined. When the Z value of immune haemolysis varied between 0·30 and 2·66, the 50 per cent inhibition doses of Cu-chlorophyllin on C′1, C′2, C′5, C′6 and C′7 were 2·3–3·2×10^-5M, 0·31–0·37×10^-5M, 1·4–1·6×10^-5M, 1·0–1·2×10^-5M and 2·4–2·8×10^-5M, respectively. Site generation of C′3 and C′9 was enhanced whereas no effect was observed on C′4 and C′8 site formation.

Positive antinuclear antibody in atopic dermatitis

Serum samples from atopic dermatitis (AD) patients were examined with two antinuclear antibody-detecting methods, using HEp-2 cells as substrate. 34.0% of 47 AD patients tested with FITC-conjugated polyvalent immunoglobulins (method 1) had positive antinuclear antibody (ANA). 26.3% of 57 AD patients examined with FITC-conjugated anti-IgG (method 2) had positive ANA. We found that AD patients who had facial lesions tended to have positive ANA, whereas severe AD patients tended to have high titres of ANA.