Is there a hepatitis B virus-associated glomerulonephritis? Identification of HBsAG, HBcAG and HBeAG in kidney with monoclonal antibodies

In an attempt to clarify the relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and glomerulonephritis (GN), and to explore the significance and possible mechanisms of HBV deposition in kidney, renal biopsy specimens obtained from 69 HBV carriers with various forms of GN and 69 age-, sex-, and renal histology-matched controls were studied with 4-layer PAP immunoperoxidase and indirect immunofluorescence techniques using monoclonal antibodies to HBV surface (HBsAg), core (HBcAg) and e antigen (HBeAg). The 3 HBV associated antigens were detected in the kidney in 18/18 patients with membranous nephropathy and in 21/26 (80.8%) patients with lupus nephritis regardless of whether HBV antigenemia was present or not. In certain types of primary GN, including IgA nephropathy, mesangial proliferative GN and membrano-proliferative GN, HBsAg in the kidney was more common in patients with HBs antigenemia than in those without it (49.1% vs 26.4%, P less than 0.05). No significant difference was observed between patients with and without HBV antigenemia in terms of HBcAg or HBeAg deposition in kidney. Immunopathological studies showed granular deposition of HBV antigens in exactly the same pattern as that of Ig(s) and complement components, and the characteristics of HBV deposition in the kidney were closely correlated with the extent of immune deposits. We conclude that the deposition of HBV-associated antigens in the kidney is often non-specific, although HBsAg is more commonly seen in some HBsAg carriers with GN.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Primary glomerulonephritis in China. Analysis of 1001 cases

The morphologic classification and clinical spectrum of 1,001 cases of primary glomerulonephritis (GN) in Jinling Hospital during 1980-1988 were analysed. It was found that the incidence of mesangial type lesion including mesangial proliferative GN, IgA nephropathy and IgM nephropathy ranks first (21.5%, 32.1% and 10.1% respectively), which is not only the commonest cause of patients clinically manifesting nephrotic syndrome and gross hematuria but also the predominant type of nephritis causing uremia and hypertension.

Purification and N-terminal partial sequence of anti-epilepsy peptide from venom of the scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch

An anti-epilepsy peptide (AEP) was isolated and purified from venom of the scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch. The purification procedure included CM-Sephadex C-50 chromatography, gel filtration on Sephadex G-50 and DEAE-Sephadex A-50 chromatography. Its homogeneity was demonstrated by pH 4.3 polyacrylamide-disc-gel electrophoresis, focusing electrophoresis and SDS/polyacrylamide-disc-gel electrophoresis. The Mr of this peptide, calculated from measurements in SDS/15%-polyacrylamide-disc-gel and SDS/20%-polyacrylamide-disc-gel electrophoresis, is 8300. The isoelectric point is 8.52 by pH 8-9.5-range isoelectric focusing. No haemorrhagic or toxic activities were found. No toxicity was found even after the dose reached 28 mg/kg. The pharmacological tests showed that the AEP had no effect on heart rate, blood pressure or electrocardiogram, but strongly inhibited epilepsy induced by coriaria lactone and cephaloridine. The fluorescence spectrum showed that the peptide has a strong emission peak at 337 nm. Amino acid analysis suggested that the AEP is composed of 66 residues from 18 amino acids and has an Mr of 8290. The sequence of the first 50 N-terminal residues is as follows: Asp-Gly-Tyr-Ile-Arg-Gly-Ser-Asp-Asn-Cys-Lys-Val-Ser-Cys-Leu-Leu-Gly-Asn- Glu-Gly - Cys-Asn-Lys-Glu-Cys-Arg-Ala-Tyr-Gly-Ala-Ser-Tyr-Gly-Tyr-Cys-Trp-Thr-Val- Lys-Leu - Ala-Gln-Asp-Cys-Glu-Gly-Leu-Pro-Asp-Thr-.

Interactions of porphyrins with purified DNA and more highly organized structures

Studies of the solution properties of gold(III)tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridyl) porphine and its DNA binding characteristics have been conducted utilizing uv/vis absorption spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD), Mossbauer spectroscopy, and temperature-jump relaxation techniques. These studies indicate that over the concentration range considered this water soluble gold(III) porphyrin does not aggregate, binds axial ligands only weakly with a preference for soft Lewis bases, and is capable of intercalation into nucleic acids of appropriate base pair content. The interaction of this and several other porphyrins with the synthetic polynucleotide poly(dA-dC).poly(dT-dG) has been studied. Spectroscopic signatures for intercalation were found for those derivatives not having axial ligands. Intercalation into chromatin in vitro can also occur with those porphyrins and metalloporphyrins which do not have axial ligands. Finally, studies utilizing microinjection techniques indicate that once within the cell, tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridyl)porphine tends to localize in the nucleus.

Sex difference of antifertility effect by passively immunized monoclonal sperm antibodies

Sperm-specific monoclonal antibodies (MS 204, MS 207, HS 11, and HS 63) that had been shown to inhibit fertilization of mouse oocytes in vitro were used to passively immunize male and female mice. In vitro and in vivo fertilization experiments were performed to compare the efficacy of resulting antifertility effects owing to the presence of circulating sperm antibodies. When the sperm from the antibody-treated mice were recovered for insemination, a partial inhibition of fertilization of mouse oocytes in vitro was observed. However, under the same antibody dose that effectively inhibits the in vivo fertilization of treated female mice the fertilization rate of the treated male was not significantly reduced, when they were mated with normal superovulated females followed by in vitro embryo culture. Similarly, on day 9 after mating with the antibody-treated males, the number of fetuses in mated females was not significantly different from that of the control. In contrast, when the antibody-treated females were mated with the proven fertile males, the number of fetuses was significantly reduced in response to the antibody treatment. When I-125-labeled monoclonal sperm antibodies were used to passively immunize male mice, the percentage of antibodies recovered from epididymis (relative to that of blood) was not much different from that of other organs, except for lower percentages detected in brain and testis. In treated females, oviduct and uterus revealed the presence of relatively high percentages of antibodies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Inhibitory effects of monoclonal sperm antibodies on the fertilization of mouse oocytes in vitro and in vivo

The inhibitory effects of monoclonal antibodies on the fertilization of mouse oocytes were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Among the 40 sperm-specific monoclonal antibodies that had been examined, nine showed significant inhibition of the fertilization of mouse oocytes in vitro. MS 204 was shown to cause a high incidence of penetration of the zona pellucida of mouse eggs by multiple sperm, when the sperm concentration for insemination exceeds 1 X 10(5)/ml. This antibody prevented further penetration of the vitelline membrane by sperm. On the other hand, sperm penetration to zona was inhibited in the presence of MS 207. However, neither MS 204 nor MS 207 caused significant inhibition of penetration of zona-free mouse or hamster eggs by sperm. MS 204 and MS 207 were also found to inhibit the fertilization of mouse oocytes in vivo and embryo development in vitro, when superovulated mice were injected intraperitoneally with given doses of antibodies prior to the mating. Further in vitro culture of the recovered 2-cell oocytes revealed little or no further embryo development beyond two- to four-cell stages. In the controls, greater than 80% of the retrieved oocytes were fertilized and successively developed to the blastocyst stages in vitro when the ascites fluid from NS-1 cells was administered. Two of the monoclonal antibodies generated against human sperm antigens, HS 11 and HS 63, were shown to cross-react specifically with mouse sperm acrosomal antigens and also inhibited the fertilization of mouse oocytes in vitro and in vivo. The results of this study suggest that some monoclonal antibodies to sperm acrosomal antigens exhibit strongly inhibitory effects on the in vitro and in vivo fertilization of mouse oocytes as well as subsequent development of early embryos. As a comparative control, rabbit antisera against sperm-specific enzymes, lactate dehydrogenase-X and 3-phosphoglycerate kinase-2, showed little or no inhibition on the fertilization of mouse oocytes in vitro or in vivo or the subsequent embryo development.

Studies on the property of sulfhydryl binding site on the lung normal and cancer cell membrane of Chinese hamster with maleimide spin labels

In this paper, five maleimide spin labels with different chain lengths were used to study the properties of binding sites of sulfhydryl groups on the membrane proteins of normal cell V79 and cancer cells V79-B1 in the lung of Chinese hamster. The ratio of the strongly immobilized component to the weakly immobilized component (s/w) and the rotational correlation time (tau c) were calculated on the basis of ESR spectra. From the varying of the s/w and tau c with the chain lengths of spin labels it was deducted that the binding sites of sulfhydryl groups on V79 and V79-B1 membrane proteins were of conical shape and that the binding sites of sulfhydryl groups on V79 membrane protein were deeper and narrower than those on V79-B1.