Protease inhibition of natural killer (NK) and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytoxicity (ADCC) activities

The ability of protease inhibitors to modulate NK and ADCC cell activities was studied. NK and ADCC cell activities were suppressed by 1,10 phenanthroline (PHE), N-alpha-p-tosyl-L-lysine chloromethyl ketone (TLCK), L-1-tosylamide-2-phenylethylchoromethyl ketone (TPCK), N-benzoyl-DL-tyrosine ethyl ester (BTEE), and phenylethylchoromethyl fluoride (PMSF). The effect of these protease inhibitors on ADCC was not mediated through the early phase of cytotoxicity involving Fc-receptor binding, since they failed to alter EoxA rosetting of effector cells. The results suggest that an activated esterase system might play a role in the later phase of the cytotoxic mechanism by ADCC cells and perhaps NK cells.

Wisconsin Behavior Rating Scale: measure of adaptive behavior for the developmental levels of 0 to 3 years

The development of the Wisconsin Behavior Rating Scale was examined. We hypothesized that the extensive content of the scale as well as its arrangement of items with progressive difficulty would be effective in discriminating a rather homogeneous group of individuals functioning between 0 and 4.0 years. The scale was standardized on a sample of 325 institutionalized mentally retarded persons and a sample of 184 nonretarded infants and young children. Highly acceptable levels of reliability and validity were established for both samples. With respect to factorial validity, cognitive and psychomotor abilities accounted for approximately 83% of the explained variance. The hypothesis was supported in terms of adequate results of high concurrent and construct validity of the scale.