Interface-mediated inactivation of pancreatic lipase by a water-reactive compound: 2-sulfobenzoic cyclic anhydride

2-Sulfobenzoic cyclic anhydride (SBA) rapidly and selectively inactivates porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) only when added during the hydrolysis of an emulsified ester such as tributyrin or dodecyl acetate. The present data suggest that the inactivation of PPL occurs preferentially at the oil/water interface and not in the aqueous phase, since colipase and bile salt were found to adversely affect the inhibition process. Moreover, it is shown that at a molar ratio of SBA to pure PPL of 1, 40% of the lipase activity was already irreversibly lost. Complete inactivation was observed at SBA to pure PPL molar ratios of 120. A 60% inactivation occurred when 0.5 mol of 3H-labeled SBA was attached per mole of PPL. The SBA-inactivated PPL competes for binding to the dodecyl acetate/water interface as efficiently as the native enzyme. Larger SBA concentrations are required when crude lipase preparations are used as well as with pure PPL in the presence of bile salts and colipase. Lipases were found to have variable sensitivities to SBA inactivation, depending on their origin. In the presence of bile salts and tributyrin at pH 6.0, human gastric lipase activity was not affected by the presence of a 10(6) molar excess of SBA.

Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of the anti-arrhythmic carocainide in man

The pharmacokinetics and metabolism of the anti-arrhythmic drug carocainide have been investigated in six healthy adult volunteers following single 100 mg intravenous and oral doses. Carocainide was labelled with 14C in the benzofuran ring. After i.v. administration, plasma concentration/time decay of carocainide was triexponential. Mean plasma elimination half-life of the drug was 5.0 +/- 2.2 h (i.v.) and 5.4 +/- 1.1 h (p.o.). Carocainide was virtually completely absorbed after the oral dose. The drug was eliminated mostly as unchanged drug in urine by the two routes of administration. There was some evidence that carocainide underwent enterohepatic cycling. Binding of carocainide to plasma proteins was saturable although not in the concentration range found in vivo. The drug was bound almost entirely to the alpha 1-acid glycoprotein fraction, to one class of binding sites with a moderate affinity constant (5.5 X 10(-4) M-1). Metabolism of carocainide, a secondary elimination process, occurred by oxidative cleavage of the benzofuran ring and by N-oxidation of the pyrrolidine ring.

A single VH-gene associated with a variety of D- and J-segments encodes for a large family of ABPC48-related antibodies induced by antiidiotypic immunization

Two series of monoclonal antibodies have been obtained from BALB/c mice immunized against two antiABPC48 antiidiotypic antibodies. They are divided into two serologically different classes. Class I antibodies bind only the immunizing antibody; class II antibodies display a broad binding capacity to various antiidiotypic antibodies, and some bind levan, as does ABPC48. Northern blot analyses and partial mRNA sequencing show that all class II antibodies express the VH-gene coding for ABPC48 and UPC10 antilevan antibodies associated with a variety of D- and J-segments. The third hypervariable region of the sequenced antibody with antilevan activity is structurally related to that of ABPC48 and UPC10 antibodies but has a different genetic origin. This study indicates that the identification of idiotype-related antibodies arising from antiidiotypic immunization may be misleading, if based on their antigen-binding properties; and it stresses the importance of structural approaches for the analysis of regulatory mechanisms ruling immune responses.

V kappa gene family in (Glu60 Ala30 Tyr10)n (GAT)-specific antibodies that express CGAT (or pGAT) public idiotypic specificities. Protein and mRNA sequencing of eight monoclonal V kappa chains

A large proportion of (Glu60 Ala30 Tyr10)n (GAT)-specific antibodies expresses public idiotypic specificities, termed CGAT (or pGAT), that require the presence of both the heavy and the light chains in order to be expressed. We report in this paper the complete sequence of eight V kappa regions pertaining to eight anti-GAT monoclonal antibodies derived from three strains of mice: BALB/c, DBA/2, and C57BL/6. The methodology used a combination of NH2-terminal amino acid and mRNA nucleotide sequencing. All eight sequences analyzed, although highly homologous and all pertaining to the same V kappa 1 subgroup, allowed definition of three germline genes that are likely to be present in all three strains of mice and also in NZB. It seems likely, however, that any given strain may not necessarily use all three genes for making anti-GAT antibodies. The search for structural correlates of idiotypes could not be framed in a simple picture, but our data suggest that similar idiotopes may result from different interacting primary structures, leading to structural homologies that should be visualized at three-dimensional level.

[Study of the spermatic bacterial flora in infertile males (author's transl)]

Two groups of infertile males (65 and 132 patients) have been investigated in two different laboratories, with two different methods to obtain semen. The bacteriological results are quite similar in the two groups. The microorganisms which have been isolated are : beta-hemolytic Streptococcus, Proteus, Epidermidis staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Corynebacter, Viridans streptococcus, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Bacillus, Neisseria, Escherichia coli, anaerobic Staphylococcus, anaerobic Streptococcus, anaerobic Corynebacter type IV. Fungus, Achromobacter, 20 p. cent of the patients are chronically infected without any clinical signs. This infection is probably of prostatic origin with an important number of bacteria in the semen (more than 3 000/ml). No relation has been shown between the bacteriological data and the physical and cytological characteristics of the sperm, except the pH : semens with a low pH are generally azoospermic and highly contaminated.

[Study of the spermatic bacterial flora in infertile males (author's transl)]

Two groups of infertile males (65 and 132 patients) have been investigated in two different laboratories, with two different methods to obtain semen. The bacteriological results are quite similar in the two groups. The microorganisms which have been isolated are : beta-hemolytic Streptococcus, Proteus, Epidermidis staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Corynebacter, Viridans streptococcus, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Bacillus, Neisseria, Escherichia coli, anaerobic Staphylococcus, anaerobic Streptococcus, anaerobic Corynebacter type IV, Fungus, Achromobacter. 20 p. cent of the patients are chronically infected without any clinical signs. This infection is probably of prostatic origin with an important number of bacteria in the semen (more than 3,000/ml). No relation has been shown between the bacteriological data and the physical and cytological characteristics of the sperm, except the pH : semens with a low pH are generally azoospermic and highly contaminated.

Partial structure of a rat IgD molecule with a deletion in the heavy chain

The isolation, purification and characterization of the rat IR-731 monoclonal immunoglobulin is reported. The molecule is IgD-like, as appreciated from immunochemical and biochemical characteristics. H and L chains, Fab and Fc tryptic fragments have been isolated, analyzed, and partial sequence data have been obtained, including most cysteyl-containing peptides. The heavy chain contains a deletion which encompasses most of the CH2 domain and the beginning of the CH2 domain, and observation which does not reflect the intron-exon organization depicted for some murine heavy chains at the gene level. Basic structural features of the hinge region of the IgD molecule (extreme susceptibility to proteolytic enzymes, presence of basic amino acids near its COOH-terminus) have been found for the IR-731 molecule. In addition, partial sequence of the light chains points to the existence of K subgroups in the rat. Very limited amino acid changes have been identified in the K constant region, suggesting a possible--but limited--polymorphism which might be isotypic and/or allotypic in nature.

[Pneumococcal capsular types of clinical specimens. Lyon: 1972-1977 and 1978 (author's transl)]

878 strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae were tested during two periods : 667 strains from 1972 to 1977 and 211 strains during 1978. Strains were isolated from spinal fluids, blood, peritoneal fluids, urines, exudate from respiratory tract except sputum. In polymicrobial specimens, only the predominant species were serotyped. From 1972 to 1977, 53,3% of strains are typed and 6 serotypes and pools are prevalent among 68,5% of typed strains, the most frequent are : 6 - D - 18 - 19. During the second period (1978) 82,5% of strains are typed, 9 serotypes are prevalent among 68,5% of typed strains, the most frequent are : 6 - 19 - 23 - 3. During 1978, 27,6% of strains are isolated from child wards, others from adults wards. A comparison of the relative frequencies of the serotypes in the two wards shows that the following 10 serotypes are the most frequent: 6 - 19 - 23 - 3 - 18 - 1 - 8 - 9 - 14 - 4.

The surgical treatment of fractures of the upper end of the humerus by blind pinning (author's transl)

During a period of five years, the authors have treated 250 fractures of the upper end of the humerus. Fifty-one were treated by blind pinning. Six to eight Kirschner wires are passed up to the head of the humerus under X-ray control through a hole made on the posterior aspect of the lower end of the humerus just above the olecranon fossa. The functional results were satisfactory in 70% of cases. The indications for pinning were for severely displaced fractures, comminuted fractures, either impacted or not, or slipping of the upper humeral epiphysis. The results were less satisfactory in cases with an elevated greater tuberosity. The technique cannot be applied to fracture-dislocations.

Structural and functional mapping of immunoglobulin V-regions

V-regions of immunoglobulins chains contain 3 types of positions, which are equally represented: invariant and sub-group characteristic, which account for the "framework" and hypervariable positions, responsible for antigen recognition. The 3 types of positions are grouped and fall within a very few discrete stretches. Sub-group characteristic segments containing one of the 2 cysteyl residues of the V-regions may be isolated by high voltage paper electrophoresis and provide a basis to type for sub-groups in the VK and in the VH human systems. This allowed to characterize a large set of human myeloma proteins that were used in a series of competitive hybridizations which indicated that sub-groups had no influence on preferential reassociations, which occurred in 80% of the cases. This preference seems to rely mostly on individual structural differences, which may be linked to heterogeneity at the framework level. Distinction between framework heterogeneity and hypervariable regions heterogeneity may be approached by raising antibodies against a mouse myeloma protein, MOPC 173, of known sequence, by means of syngeneic and allogeneic immunizations, using Balb/c and A/J mice. Junction of distinct portions of immunoglobulin chains such as the V and the C regions raises the possibility that some recognition signals may operate at the DNA level. Since rotational symmetry regions in the DNA are known to act as such signals, it is discussed whether such regions can be expected from the amino acid sequence data, especially in the vicinity of the "switch" peptide.