Detection of antigliadin antibodies in bullous diseases and their recognition of similar antigenic polypeptides

The presence of antigliadin antibodies (AGA) in dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) has been associated with gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Because of the discrepancies in the specificity of AGA, we examined the sera of patients with DH, pemphigus and pemphigoid for AGA both by enzyme immunoassay and by immunofluorescence. Approximately 80-90% of sera of patients with DH had AGA. AGA were not disease-specific, they also occurred in about 40-80% of patients with pemphigus and pemphigoid depending on the method employed. In addition, AGA were also present in normal subjects. The incidence of AGA increased with age. AGA from patients with various bullous diseases recognized the same polypeptides thus suggesting that the presence of AGA cannot be regarded as a serological marker of DH.

Comparative studies of different gliadin preparations in detecting antigliadin antibodies

Antigliadin antibodies (AGA) have been used as indicators of celiac disease. The presence of these antibodies in other gastrointestinal and liver disorders and even in normal healthy controls casts a shadow on the diagnostic significance of AGA. We examined 91 normal controls of varying ages and 97 patients with various gastrointestinal and liver disorders. Forty-eight of 97 nonceliac patients were positive for AGA, and diagnosis-specific incidences ranged as high as 75% in patients with small bowel disease. In addition, the levels of AGA were dependent upon age as their presence increased from 12% in children with a mean age of 10, to 35-40% in normals within the 60-70 age group. The lack of celiac disease specificity of AGA was not due to either the source of gliadin nor to the sensitivities of the test methods. Both the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the immunofluorescence methods gave comparable results. ELISA was more sensitive than immunofluorescence. These results thus strongly suggest that AGA are not markers of celiac disease and increase with age in normals.

Liquid-chromatographic determination of two antidepressants, trazodone and mianserin, in plasma

Plasma containing trazodone or mianserin was extracted. The organic phase containing trazodone was evaporated and the residue was reconstituted in dilute acid. Mianserin was back-extracted from the organic phase with dilute acid. Both drugs were chromatographed on mu Bondapak C18 columns, with phosphate/acetonitrile as the mobile phase. Peak-height ratios of drug/internal standard were linearly correlated with concentrations between 25 and 2000 micrograms/L for trazodone, and between 25 and 200 micrograms/L for mianserin, with respective between-run CVs of 4.7% and 7.6%. Detection limits were 5 ng. Of some common drugs and metabolites examined, nortriptyline co-elutes with the internal standard used in the trazodone assay, while flurazepam co-elutes with mianserin. Concentrations of trazodone in 26 patients ranged from 73 to 1678 micrograms/L. For two geriatric patients, concentrations were about 2000 micrograms/L. For two overdose patients, they were about 5000 micrograms/L. The concentration of mianserin was 27 micrograms/L for a volunteer treated with a single 40-mg oral dose.

Liquid-chromatographic determination of two antidepressants, trazodone and mianserin, in plasma

Plasma containing trazodone or mianserin was extracted. The organic phase containing trazodone was evaporated and the residue was reconstituted in dilute acid. Mianserin was back-extracted from the organic phase with dilute acid. Both drugs were chromatographed on mu Bondapak C18 columns, with phosphate/acetonitrile as the mobile phase. Peak-height ratios of drug/internal standard were linearly correlated with concentrations between 25 and 2000 micrograms/L for trazodone, and between 25 and 200 micrograms/L for mianserin, with respective between-run CVs of 4.7% and 7.6%. Detection limits were 5 ng. Of some common drugs and metabolites examined, nortriptyline co-elutes with the internal standard used in the trazodone assay, while flurazepam co-elutes with mianserin. Concentrations of trazodone in 26 patients ranged from 73 to 1678 micrograms/L. For two geriatric patients, concentrations were about 2000 micrograms/L. For two overdose patients, they were about 5000 micrograms/L. The concentration of mianserin was 27 micrograms/L for a volunteer treated with a single 40-mg oral dose.

Comparison of the chemotactic responsiveness of two fibrosarcoma subpopulations of differing malignancy

There are several points of similarity between the processes of cancer metastasis and inflammation. In both, cells circulate in the vasculature, arrest, and cross vessel walls, thereby entering the extravascular tissues. In vitro, leukocytes and some, but not all, tumor cells exhibit chemotaxis. Since the chemotactic response of leukocytes effect their transvascular migration, we propose that chemotactic responsiveness contributes to the ability of circulating tumor cells to localize in extravascular tissues. This study was done to seek a relationship between chemotactic responsiveness of tumor cells and their behavior in vivo. Two subpopulations of cells were isolated from a methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma. The two cell lines were compared with regard to their biologic behavior in vivo and their chemotactic responsiveness in vitro. In vivo one subpopulation was highly malignant. An injection of 2.0 x 10(5) cells into the footpad of syngeneic mice led to the development of primary tumors in 87% of the animals and lung metastases in 61% of the animals with primary tumors. This line demonstrated chemotaxis to a factor that behaved similarly in gel filtration and showed immunologic reactivity similar to that of a previously described tumor cell chemotactic factor derived from the fifth component of complement. In contrast, an injection of the same number of cells from the second subpopulation of fibrosarcoma cells led to the development of primary tumors in only 12% of syngeneic mice, and lung metastases did not occur. Neither this subpopulation nor normal embryonic fibroblasts demonstrated chemotactic responsiveness. We postulate that the ability of tumor cells to respond to specific chemotactic stimuli may be one of the many unique properties which distinguish malignant from benign tumor cells. This is the first report documenting the chemotactic responsiveness of non-ascites tumors and fibrosarcomas.

Cerebral mycotic aneurysm of fungal origin. Case report

A young man who had a long history of sinusitis developed subarachnoid hemorrhage and died. Autopsy showed a mycotic aneurysm of fungal origin at the junction of the right posterior cerebral and internal carotid arteries. Four of five reported cases of fungal aneurysm were due to Aspergillus infection.