Patient empowerment improves follow-up data collection after fetal surgery for spina bifida: institutional audit

OBJECTIVES

To define and grade fetal and maternal adverse events following fetal surgery for spina bifida and to report on the impact of engaging patients in collecting follow-up data.

METHODS

This prospective single-center audit included 100 consecutive patients undergoing fetal surgery for spina bifida between January 2012 and December 2021. In our setting, patients return to their referring unit for further pregnancy care and delivery. On discharge, referring hospitals were requested to return outcome data. For this audit, we prompted patients and referring hospitals to provide data in cases of missing outcomes. Outcomes were categorized as missing, returned spontaneously or returned following additional request, by the patient and/or referring center. Postoperative maternal and fetal complications until delivery were defined and graded according to Maternal and Fetal Adverse Event Terminology (MFAET) and the Clavien-Dindo classification.

RESULTS

There were no maternal deaths, but severe maternal complications occurred in seven women (anemia in pregnancy, postpartum hemorrhage, pulmonary edema, lung atelectasis, urinary tract obstruction and placental abruption). No cases of uterine rupture were reported. Perinatal death occurred in 3% of fetuses and other severe fetal complications in 15% (perioperative fetal bradycardia/cardiac dysfunction, fistula-related oligohydramnios, chorioamnionitis and preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM) before 32 weeks). PPROM occurred in 42% of patients and, overall, delivery took place at a median gestational age of 35.3 weeks (interquartile range, 34.0-36.6 weeks). Information provided following additional request, from both centers and patients but mainly from the latter, reduced missing data by 21% for gestational age at delivery, 56% for uterine-scar status at birth and 67% for shunt insertion at 12 months. Compared with the generic Clavien-Dindo classification, the MFAET system ranked complications in a more clinically relevant way.

CONCLUSIONS

The nature and rate of severe complications following fetal surgery for spina bifida were similar to those reported in other large series. Spontaneous return of outcome data by referring centers was low, yet patient empowerment improved data collection. © 2023 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The Streptokinase Reactivity Test. I. Standardization

1. An attempt was made to standardize a method which determines the reactivity of a given blood sample with streptokinase (SKRT).

2. The nature of the thrombin and streptokinase used can greatly influence the test.

3. The 20 minutes value is less influenced by a number of parameters than other points on the streptokinase versus lysis time plot.

Enhancing the Fibrinolytic Activity in Human Blood by Occlusion of Blood Vessels

The lytic activity was measured in blood obtained from a superficial elbow vein when a cuff with a known pressure was attached above the elbow and compared with the activity in the blood taken at the same moment from the control arm without any pressure.

1. Using a pressure 20 mm above the systolic pressure, no enhancement could be obtained in the first 10 minutes.

2. Using a diastolic or systolic pressure during 3 minutes, the fibrinolytic activity was about 2.8 times the activity in the control sample.

3. Using a pressure halfway the diastolic and systolic, the fibrinolytic activity after 3 minutes was about 3.5 times, and after 10 minutes about 11 times the activity in the control sample.

Simultaneous Parenchyma-Preserving Liver Resection, Cytoreductive Surgery and Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for Stage IV Colorectal Cancer

BACKGROUND

The outcome of stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC) has improved with modern systemic therapy. However, the concomitant presence of liver metastases (LM) and peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) remains associated with a dismal prognosis and surgery in this context remains exceptional.

METHODS

Stage IV CRC patients with LM and PC undergoing simultaneous cytoreductive surgery, intraperitoneal chemotherapy (IPC) and liver resection/ablation were identified from prospectively collected databases. We assessed response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT), postoperative complications, progression free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

Twenty-one patients with resectable disease were treated between 2007 and 2014. In 16 patients (76%), NACT was administered and tumour response defined their selection. The remaining 5 (24%) were selected according to the pattern of recurrence. Median peritoneal cancer index was 5 (range: 3-10.5). Liver surgery included 34 wedge resections, 5 ablations and one bisectionectomy to treat a total of 45 hepatic lesions with a median of 2 per patient (range: 1-2) and a median size of 1.35 cm (range: 0.8-2). Tumour regression grade 4 (fibrosis but residual cancer cells predominate) was seen in 50% of the resected metastases after NACT. Median hospital stay was 17 days (range: 14-24); severe morbidity (Clavien-Dindo grade 3-4) occurred in 24% and no perioperative mortality (0-90 days) was recorded. The median OS was 44 months (range: 31-57) while the median PFS was 10 months (range: 8-12).

CONCLUSIONS

Combined parenchyma-preserving liver resection, cytoreductive surgery and IPC in patients with LM and PC from CRC can be performed safely and results in promising mid-term overall survival.

Conservative treatment of spontaneous dissection of the subclavian artery

Dissection of the subclavian artery usually occurs as a result of trauma, endovascular interventions or connective tissue disorders. Only rarely has it been described occurring spontaneously. The treatment can be endovascular, open surgery, conservative or a combination of the above. There are no guidelines. The best approach is the one tailored to the lesion itself. This case presents a 73-year-old man with a tiresome and heavy feeling in the right arm. He was diagnosed having a spontaneous dissection of the right subclavian artery, accompanied by a complete occlusion more distally. Because of the relatively minor symptoms he was treated conservatively using anticoagulants. After 6 months of treatment there was complete revascularisation with good pulsations at the right wrist.

Conservative Treatment of Spontaneous Dissection of the Subclavian Artery

Dissection of the subclavian artery usually occurs as a result of trauma, endovascular interventions or connective tissue disorders. Only rarely has it been described occurring spontaneously. The treatment can be endovascular, open surgery, conservative or a combination of the above. There are no guidelines. The best approach is the one tailored to the lesion itself. This case presents a 73-year-old man with a tiresome and heavy feeling in the right arm. He was diagnosed having a spontaneous dissection of the right subclavian artery, accompanied by a complete occlusion more distally. Because of the relatively minor symptoms he was treated conservatively using anticoagulants. After 6 months of treatment there was complete revascularisation with good pulsations at the right wrist.

Models for the longitudinal genetic analysis of same-age twins: application to HDL cholesterol

Models are presented for the analysis of longitudinal data from same-age twins which permit the exploration of a remarkably diverse array of alternative explanations for continuity and change during development. Data of this type permit the detection of new sources of genetic or environmental covariation during development that are not expressed at earlier ages and, because they include the effects of age-specific genes, the resulting heritability estimates are more reliable than those obtained from relatives who differ in age. The proposed models were applied to measurements of HDL cholesterol obtained on 81 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) twins and 69 dizygotic (DZ) pairs at 11, 12.5 and 14 years of age. All three MZ co-twin correlations were substantially higher than the self correlations across occasions, suggesting that new sources of genetic or environmental covariation must be expressed during early adolescence. This interpretation was confirmed by analysis of the full covariance matrices which showed that only models which assumed the expression of new or age-specific genes could explain the observed pattern of covariation. Because they include the effects of age-specific genes, the resulting heritabilities (0.80–0.83) were substantially higher than many previous estimates.

[Prevalence of mood disorders in Parkinson's disease patients treated with subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation]

Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) is a recognized treatment for advanced and severe forms of Parkinson's Disease. The procedure improves motor signs and often allows a reduction of the medication. The impact of the procedure on cognitive and neuropsychiatric signs of the disease is more debated and there is an international consensus for the need of a multidisciplinary evaluation of patients undergoing such programs, including a neuropsychiatric assessment. We present a review of the literature as well as the experience at our centre focused on the short and long term outcome on mood following STN-DBS.

A Phase II Study of the Combination of Endocrine Treatment and Bortezomib in Patients with Endocrine Resistant Metastatic Breast Cancer

Background: The introduction of anti-hormonal treatment has been a major revolution in breast cancer management. The majority of patients with metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancer eventually suffer from progression of their disease despite different types of anti-hormonal treatment. Preclinical studies have indicated bidirectional inhibitory interactions between ER and NF-kappaB, governing in part endocrine-resistance and enhanced growth. The hypothesis that inhibition of NF-kappaB activation by a proteasome inhibitor might reverse the sensitivity to endocrine therapy was the rationale to initiate a phase II trial.Aim, Material and Methods: The aim is to investigate whether the addition of open label bortezomib to either a SERM or an AI will result in documented activity in patients with progressive and measurable disease on the identical endocrine agent. This endpoint is evaluated according to RECIST criteria every 8 weeks. The patients are stratified into 2 treatment groups, according to their current endocrine treatment either tamoxifen or an AI. Bortezomib is administered on days 1, 8, 15, 21 of a 6 week regimen at a dose of 1.6 mg/sqm on each treatment day. Consecutive tumour biopsies (if accessible) and blood samples are collected for translational purposes. Clinical benefit was predefined by the patients obtaining at least either stable disease, or a partial or a complete response according to RECIST criteria, lasting for at least four weeks. A two-stage statistical approach showed that this should at least occur in 1 patient in the first cohort of 14 patients, prior to further accrual.Results: At present N=9 patients have been enrolled. Eight patients received AI+bortezomib, while one received TAM+bortezomib. N=5/9 patients had progressive disease, N=4/9 patients had stable disease of which two patients (N=2/9) had stable disease continuing for more than 4 weeks. There were no objective antitumour responses observed. N=4/9 had grade III diarrhoea. Median time to treatment failure was 69 days [35-140], either due to toxicity (N=3/9) or (eventual) progression (N=6/9).Conclusions: Preliminary results shows that the clinical benefit rate is 22% (N=2/9). Although preliminary, these results warrant further accrual and suggest that the biological hypothesis seems clinically valid. Further recruitment is ongoing.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 4099.

Deregulation of cell-death pathways as the cornerstone of skin diseases

Deregulation of cell-death pathways plays a key role in the pathogenesis of various skin diseases. The different types of cell death are mainly defined by morphological criteria, and include apoptosis, autophagic cell death, and necrosis. The process of apoptosis is well characterized at the molecular level and involves the activation of two main pathways, the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways, converging into the execution of apoptosis by intracellular cysteine proteases, called caspases. The relevance and implication of these apoptotic pathways in the pathophysiology of skin diseases, such as toxic epidermal necrolysis, graft-versus-host disease and skin cancer, has been extensively studied. The role of autophagic cell death in progression of skin tumours and response to cytotoxic drugs is only beginning to be elucidated.

Circulating tumor cell detection: A direct comparison between the CellSearch System, the AdnaTest, and CK-19/mammaglobin RT-PCR in patients with metastatic breast cancer

e22117

Background: The detection, enumeration and isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTC) has considerable potential to influence the clinical management of patients with breast cancer. There is however a substantial variability in the rates of positive samples using existing detection techniques. Methods: This study was designed to compare three techniques for detecting CTC in blood of 80 patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and 20 healthy controls: the CellSearch System, which is an automated, standardized and regulatory-approved system for the immunocytochemical detection and quantification of CTC in blood; ii) the AdnaTest Breast Cancer Select/Detect, which involves the detection of tumor-associated transcripts by RT-PCR after an immunomagnetically enrichment of tumor cells; iii) an in-house developed multimarker qRT-PCR assay, which involves the quantification of tumor-associated transcripts (CK-19 and MAM) by qRT- PCR. Results: As a result, 23% of patients with MBC were positive by the CellSearch System (≥5 CTC), 22% by the AdnaTest (>0.30 ng/μl for any of the amplicons), 31% by qRT-PCR for CK-19 and 49% by qRT-PCR for MAM. Samples were more likely to be positive by qRT-PCR for at least one mRNA marker than by the CellSearch System (P<0.001) or the AdnaTest (P <0.001). The concordance between samples analyzed by the CellSearch System and the AdnaTest was substantial (κ = 0.667, P <0.001). Agreement between both detection techniques was observed in 88% of blood samples. When the CellSearch System was compared with the qRT-PCR assays for CK-19 and MAM, we observed agreement percentages of 78% and 58%, respectively (κ = 0.462, P <0.001 and κ = 0.159, P = 0.09). Agreement between the AdnaTest and the qRT-PCR assays for CK-19 and MAM was observed in 78% and 53% of blood samples, respectively (κ = 0.443, P <0.001 and κ = 0.05, P = 0.607). Conclusions: We observed a substantial variation in the detection rates of CTC in blood from MBC patients using three different techniques. A higher rate of positive samples was observed using a combined qRT-PCR approach for CK-19 and MAM, which suggests that this is currently the most sensitive technique for detecting CTC.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

The presence of circulating total DNA and methylated genes is associated with circulating tumour cells in blood from breast cancer patients

Circulating tumour cells (CTC) and tumour-related methylated DNA in blood have been separately assessed for their utility as a marker for subclinical metastasis in breast cancer. However, no studies have looked into the relation between the both molecular markers in this type of cancer. In this study, we investigated the correlations between total/methylated DNA and CTC in the blood from metastatic breast cancer patients. We simultaneously obtained whole blood, plasma and serum samples from 80 patients and 20 controls. The CellSearch System was used to enumerate CTC in blood samples. Plasma total DNA levels were determined by a QPCR method. Sera were analysed by methylation-specific QPCR for three markers: adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), ras association domain family protein 1A (RASSF1A) and oestrogen receptor 1 (ESR1). Total DNA levels in patients were significantly increased when compared with controls (P<0.001) and correlated with the number of CTC (r=0.418, P<0.001). Hypermethylation of one or more genes was detected in 42 (53%) serum samples from breast cancer patients and in three (16%) serum samples from controls (P=0.003). APC was hypermethylated in 29%, RASSF1A in 35% and ESR1 in 20% of breast cancer cases. Detection of a methylated gene in serum was associated with the detection of CTC in blood (P=0.03). The detection of large amounts of circulating total/methylated DNA correlated with the presence of CTC in the blood from patients with breast cancer. This can be interpreted in two ways: (a) CTC are a potential source of circulating tumour-specific DNA; (b) high numbers of CTC and circulating methylated DNA are both a phenotypic feature of more aggressive tumour biology.

Circulating tumour cell (CTC) detection: a direct comparison between the CellSearch system, the AdnaTest, CK19/MAM RT-PCR and unmethylated/methylated free DNA in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Abstract #5025

Introduction: The detection, enumeration and isolation of CTC has considerable potential to influence the clinical management of patients with breast cancer. There is however a substantial variability in the rates of positive samples using existing detection techniques. This study was designed to compare the sensitivities and specificities of three techniques for detecting CTC in blood of patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Furthermore, correlations between CTC and circulating total and tumor-related methylated DNA were investigated.&#x2028; Material and Methods: The presence of CTC in blood samples of 80 patients with MBC and 20 healthy controls was assessed by two commercial systems: i) the CellSearch System (Veridex LLC, Warren, NJ), in which epithelial cells are immunomagnetically separated and fluorescently labeled, and nucleated (DAPI+) cells with the EpCAM+, cytokeratin (CK) 8/18/19+, and CD45- phenotype are counted as CTC and ii) the AdnaTest and a real-time qRT-PCR assay for the detection of CK-19 and mammaglobin (MAM) transcripts. Plasma total DNA levels were measured by a qPCR method. Sera were analyzed by methylation-specific qPCR for three methylated markers: APC, RASSF1A and ESR1. The results obtained with AdnaTest are being analyzed and will be presented at the meeting.&#x2028; Results: Numbers of CTC identified by the CellSearch test were significantly higher in blood samples of patients with MBC than in healthy controls: the median number of CTC detected in 7.5 ml of blood was 1 (range 0-2617) in patients with MBC and 0 (range 0-1) in controls (P&lt;0.001). Using ≥2 cells as a threshold for positivity, which corresponds to 100% specificity in the control population, 34% of samples from patients with MBC were positive with the CellSearch test. Using a cut-off to ensure 100% specificity in the control population, 31% of patients were positive for CK-19, 49% for MAM and 61% for CK-19 and/or MAM by qRT-PCR. When the CellSearch test and the qRT-PCR for CK-19 and MAM were compared, the concordance was 57%. Positive samples with the CellSearch test, but not with the qRT-PCR assay, also showed significantly higher levels of circulating total DNA and were more likely to be positive for one of the methylated DNA markers in serum.&#x2028; Conclusion : We observed a substantial variation in the detection rates of CTC in blood from breast cancer patients using different techniques. A higher rate of positive samples was observed using a combined qRT-PCR approach for CK-19 and MAM, which suggests that this is currently the most sensitive technique for detecting CTC.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 5025.

Angiogenic escape and tumour progression in two patients with metastatic breast cancer receiving bevacizumab treatment

Abstract #1029

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) has an important role in tumour progression by promoting angiogenesis. VEGF-A inhibitors, such as bevacizumab (Bev) and VEGF-Trap are being introduced into the treatment of breast cancer in order to target angiogenesis by inhibiting VEGF-A.&#x2028; Material and Methods: Two patients with metastatic breast cancer are described having tumour progression while being treated with single agent Bev. Both patients participated in the AVADO clinical phase III study, where shown to have received Bev in combination with docetaxel (D) as first line treatment for metastatic breast cancer. The first patient (A) had received 6 cycles of D and Bev and was for 4 months on single agent Bev (15mg/kg/3wk) before progressing. Pt B had received 9 cycles of D and Bev and was on 7 months of single agent Bev (15mg/kg/3wk) before disease progression. Tumour biopsies of progressing lesions were obtained after informed consent. Routine histological assessment and a CD34/Ki67 double staining were performed on their primary tumour as well as on the newly developed metastasis (A+B). Chalkley counts (CC) and endothelial cell proliferation fractions (ECP) were assessed by two independent observers. RT-PCR Taqman low density arrays with a gene panel of 94 angiogenesis related genes were performed in triplicate on both metastasis and compared to 10 other primary breast tumours.&#x2028; Results: Both lesions showed a high CC, respectively 7.5±0.62 (A) and 4.8±0.2 (B). Both lesions had elevated ECP values of 14% (A) and 8% (B).&#x2028; Using the 2 (-__CT) method and 18S as an internal control, the VEGFR1 mRNA was highly overexpressed in both A (25.18±0.12 fold change) and B (38.60±0.07 fold change) compared to the mean of 10 unselected primary breast tumours serving as controls (p&lt;10-7). Similarly, in metastasis B, VEGF-B, TGFB1 and PDGFRA were found to be overexpressed, i.e. out of range [min-max] of the 10 primary breast tumours. A had out of range overexpression of VEGF-C. The gene expression of VEGF-A, VEGF-D, VEGFR2, VEGFR3, PDGFB and PDGFRB in both A and B were found to be in the range of the 10 controls.&#x2028; Conclusion: We describe two patients with progressive disease while being treated with Bev after an initial response on the combination of D and Bev. These new sites of disease showed a highly angiogenic and apparently vascular dependent growth pattern, in spite of high dosed anti-VEGF-A regimen. This suggests the existence of an important VEGF-A independent alternative modality of the tumour to promote angiogenesis. VEGFR1 was remarkably overexpressed in both metastases compared to controls. The expression of placental growth factor, a VEGFR1 specific ligand is further being explored. Knowledge of the biology of Bev resistance is essential since it could be useful in designing well considered combinations of targeted therapies.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 1029.

Heterogeneity among juvenile antisocial behaviours: findings from the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioural Development

The examination of heterogeneity in antisocial behaviour was accomplished by applying latent class analytic methods to multivariate categorical data on 389 same-sex male twins, aged 11 to 16 from the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioural Development (VTSABD). The data included multiple measures of oppositional and conduct disorder, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, impulsivity, reading disability and anxiety from mother, teacher, and child report from both questionnaire and interview (child and adult psychiatric assessment; CAPA). A latent four-class model provided a good fit to the data and yielded four phenotypically and aetiologically distinct latent classes: (1) a non-symptomatic class influenced by both additive genetic and shared environmental factors; (2) a hyperactivity-conduct disturbance class accounted for by both additive and non-additive genetic effects; (3) a 'pure' conduct disturbance class with a very strong shared environmental component; and (4) a multisymptomatic class explained entirely by the additive effect of the genes. Further characterization of these four latent classes by age of the child and parental psychiatric history is also shown.

Event-related potential correlates selectively reflect cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenics

Schizophrenics show event-related potential (ERP) and particularly P3 abnormalities. To study the more detailed relationships between these ERP alterations and cognitive dysfunction we recorded and analyzed ERPs using a particular experimental approach. In 34 schizophrenics and 25 controls ERPs were obtained by a visual Go/Nogo task requiring response inhibition and were decomposed into temporally independent topographical components using Independent Component Analysis (ICA). ICA disentangled different subcomponents of P3. Subcomponent P3b with a parietal maximum amplitude was significantly reduced in the schizophrenics, probably reflecting their attentional deficits. Subcomponent P3ng with a frontal maximum amplitude and enhanced during Nogo condition appeared as an electrophysiological index of response inhibition. A significantly reduced P3ng enhancement, found in schizophrenics, probably reflects their impaired response control.

CONCLUSIONS

ICA can successfully identify ERP subcomponents with distinct scalp topographies representing significant differential indices of normal and abnormal cognitive processing. Involvement of frontal brain areas in disturbed executive control in schizophrenics is supported by our ICA findings.

Gender differences in binge-eating: a population-based twin study

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether genetic and environmental effects on liability to binge-eating (BE) are of equal importance for males and females and whether the same genetic risk factors predispose to BE in the two sexes.

METHOD

Questionnaire data on 8045 same sex and opposite sex twins, aged 19-31 years, from a population-based Norwegian registry, was used to estimate the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to liability for BE utilizing structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

In the best-fitting model, the magnitude of genetic and environmental effects on BE was the same for males and females. Heritability was 51%. The correlation between genetic risk factors in men and women was estimated to be +0.57.

CONCLUSION

Binge-eating appears to be equally heritable in males and females. Although the majority of the genetic risk factors are shared between the sexes, there may exist gender-specific genetic effects on liability.

Auditory and visual event-related potentials in alcoholics: abnormalities of components and brain electrical field

Alterations of ERPs recorded over midline scalp sites have frequently been reported in alcoholics. To assess the P3 and other ERP components topographically, auditory and visual ERPs were recorded from 33 scalp electrodes in abstinent alcoholics and healthy controls using an oddball paradigm. At the Cz electrode the alcoholics showed decreased visual N1 and increased auditory N2 amplitudes. Topographically, the negative centroids of the visual N1 and P3 and the auditory N2 differed between groups, and the positive centroid of the visual P3 was displaced toward the right hemisphere. While no valid diagnostic classification could be obtained by using the traditional ERP component P3 recorded from Pz, the combination of visual N1 and auditory N2 amplitudes at Cz with centroid parameters amounted to 51% explained variance and 92% correct discrimination of alcoholics from controls. Abnormalities of N1 amplitude and P3 topography similar to the current findings in alcoholics have previously been described for schizophrenics.

Genetic and environmental causes of covariation in interview assessments of disruptive behavior in child and adolescent twins

Multirater, face-to-face, interview data relating to conduct disorder (CD), oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD), and inattentive, impulsive, and hyperactive components of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a population-based sample of 1376 pairs of 8- to 16-year-old MZ and DZ twins are analyzed to examine (1) the genetic and environmental causes of correlation among ratings of ODD and CD symptoms and (2) the pattern of genetic and environmental correlation among the three components of ADHD. Parental ratings of ADHD showed marked sibling contrast effects, specific within raters but partly common across components. After these effects were removed, there was a modest genetic correlation between maternal and paternal ratings, but genetic effects were virtually uncorrelated across boys and girls. Genetic correlations among inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity were all large but fell well short of unity. There was little evidence that counts of symptoms of CD and ODD were genetically independent but the genetic correlations among ratings of twins, mothers, and fathers were all relatively modest. ODD and CD showed much higher genetic correlations across sexes than did the measures of ADHD. There was no evidence of rater contrast effects or of shared family environment influences in the twin resemblance for ODD and CD.

An evaluation of different approaches for behavior genetic analyses with psychiatric symptom scores

We used a simulation study to evaluate six approaches for behavior genetic analyses of psychiatric symptom scores. For the selection of the correct model, the best results were obtained with approaches using transformed scores in combination with a procedure involving p-values. With normalizing transformations, the chi 2 test statistic gave a reasonable impression of the overall fit of the model but was less accurate when used as a difference test. The asymptotic distribution free estimation methods yielded chi 2s that were much too large. All data analysis techniques yielded substantially biased parameter estimates. The most biased results were obtained with normalizing transformations. The least biased results were obtained with tobit correlations, but because of its large standard errors the most precise estimates were obtained with polychoric correlations and optimal scale scores. An empirical study showed that a recognition of the role of methodological factors was helpful to understand part of the differences between assessment instruments, raters, and data analysis techniques that were found in the real data.

Identification of new HER2/neu-derived peptide epitopes that can elicit specific CTL against autologous and allogeneic carcinomas and melanomas

Twenty-two new HLA-A2.1-binding peptides derived from the protooncogene HER2/neu were identified and analyzed for their capacity to elicit peptide and tumor-specific CTL responses. We used peptide-pulsed autologous DC from the ascites of patients with ovarian carcinomas to induce CTL. Of the 22 tested new HER2/neu-derived epitopes that could bind HLA-A2 with high (IC50 < 50 nM) or intermediate (50 nM < IC50 < 500 nM) affinity, we report the recognition by CTL of at least four novel epitopes, including HER2(9435), HER2(9665), HER2(9689), and HER2(10952), and confirm that of the known HER2 (9369) epitope. These epitopes were able to elicit CTL that specifically killed peptide-sensitized target cells and, most importantly, a HER2/neu-transfected cell line and the autologous tumor cells. We also confirm that HER2/neu is overexpressed in several melanoma lines, and as a new finding, report that some of these lines are sensitive to CTL induced by the HER2 (9369), HER2(9435), and HER2(9689) epitopes. Finally, CTL clones specific for HER2 (9369), HER2(9435), and HER2(9689) epitopes were isolated from tumor-specific CTL lines, further demonstrating the immunodominance of these epitopes. These findings broaden the potential application of HER2/neu-based immunotherapy.

Comparing the biological and cultural inheritance of personality and social attitudes in the Virginia 30,000 study of twins and their relatives

Measures of four dimensions of personality (Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Lie scores) and six aspects of social attitudes (to sex, taxation, militarism, politics, religion and a general conservatism scale) were obtained by mailed questionnaire from 29,691 US subjects including adult twins (n = 14,761) their parents (n = 2360), their spouses (n = 4391), siblings (n = 3184) and adult children (n = 4800). After correction for the average effects of age, sex and source of sample, familial correlations were computed for 80 distinct biological and social relationships. The data allow for the estimation of the additive and non-additive effects of genes, assortative mating, vertical cultural inheritance and other non-parental effects of the shared environment on differences in personality and social attitudes. The interaction of genetic and environmental effects with sex may also be analyzed. Model-fitting analyses show that personality and social attitude measures differ markedly in major features of family resemblance. Additive and dominant genetic effects contribute to differences in both personality and attitudes, but the effects of the family environment, including vertical cultural transmission from parent to child, are much more marked for social attitudes than for personality. There is substantial assortative mating for social attitudes and almost none for personality. The causes of family resemblance depend significantly on sex for almost every variable studied. These findings clarify and extend the more tentative findings derived from previous twin, family and adoption studies.

The influence of genetic factors and life stress on depression among adolescent girls

BACKGROUND

The possible causes of greater depression among adolescent girls were investigated by examining variation in the influence of genetic and environmental risk factors among 182 prepubertal female, 237 prepubertal male, 314 pubertal female, and 171 pubertal male twin pairs from the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development.

OBJECTIVES

To compare the trajectory of depressive symptoms among boys and girls from childhood to adolescence; to analyze the role of genetic, shared, and unique environmental factors in depression among prepubertal and pubertal male and female twins; and to investigate a possible link between liability to depression and one salient index of the child's environment: past-year life events.

METHODS

Child-reported depression was assessed using the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Interview and ratings of past-year life events and pubertal status obtained by maternal questionnaire and interview, respectively.

RESULTS

The impact of life events on depression was particularly evident in the adolescent girls. The results from model fitting indicate increased heritability for depression in this group, and its long-term consistency was mediated primarily by latent genetic factors. Model fitting also showed that at least part of the liability to depression and to life events can be linked to a common set of genes in the adolescent girls, and there is a notable developmental increase in the genetic variance for life events.

CONCLUSIONS

The greater heritability for depression in pubertal girls, its genetic mediation over time, and the increase in genetic variance for life events may be one possible explanation for the emergence of increased depression among pubertal girls and its persistence through adolescence.

Genetic and environmental influences on subtypes of conduct disorder behavior in boys

Oppositional and conduct disorders are a heterogeneous collection of disruptive behaviors associated with diverse risk factors and varying outcomes. Data from males in the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development (VTSABD) are used to explore the relative importance of genetic and environmental influences on four previously described disruptive subtypes: property violations, status violations, oppositional behavior, and aggression. Striking differences between results according to mother and child ratings are found, indicating the need to consider carefully the origin of rater differences. Child ratings indicate support for a general genetic liability, with greatest influence on property violations, oppositional behavior and aggression. Maternal ratings suggest that the genetic factors influencing conduct disorder behavior are more specific to the behavioral area, with the stronger genetic influence on property violations and aggression.

Interferon gamma impairs the ability of monocyte-derived dendritic cells to present tumour-specific and allo-specific antigens and reduces their expression of CD1A, CD80 AND CD4

Dendritic cells (DC), the most potent antigen-presenting cells found to date, can be generated from the adherent fraction of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by culture with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and IL-4. When interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) was added to the culture medium, the expression of CD1a, CD4 and CD80 markers were significantly reduced, while that of HLA-A, B, C, MHC II (MHC-DR), CD11a and CD54 were increased. T cell proliferation analysis showed that the DC derived from monocytes cultured with GM-CSF, IL-4 and IFN-gamma only induced weak responses in both activated and naive allogenic CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells when compared to the reaction elicited by DC cultured without IFN-gamma. Furthermore, the DC derived from cultures with IFN-gamma, loaded with an immunogenic peptide derived from the HER2/neu protein [HER2 (9466)], only induced low levels of TNF release and weak proliferative responses in a specific cytotoxic CD8(+) T lymphocyte clone. Therefore, our results indicate that IFN-gamma negatively influences the differentiation and function of monocyte-derived DC by affecting the expression of surface molecules involved in their antigen-presenting function. This supports the general hypothesis that there exists a feedback immune regulatory mechanism between T cells and monocytes/DC.

Genetic "clocks" and "soft" events: a twin model for pubertal development and other recalled sequences of developmental milestones, transitions, or ages at onset

We propose and explore a twin model to examine the basis for synchrony that often characterizes different facets of normal development. In so doing we also present an approach to the analysis of "soft" events; events for which available reports of dates or ages of occurrence are unreliable or inconsistent. Discrepancies among reports are accounted for by a statistical measurement model. This combines current status error reflecting uncertain definition of onset and two mechanisms for the phenomenon of "telescoping," namely, systematic compression of the time scale and heteroscedastic random measurement error. Statistically, the model can be viewed as a mixed generalized linear model with random effects within both mean and variance functions or, alternatively, as involving multiplicative random effects. We apply the model to multiple maternal reports on menarche and onset of breast development in twin daughters. Fitted to data from the Virginia Twin Study Of Adolescent and Behavioral Development by the use of penalized/predictive quasi-likelihood, the model provided much improved estimates of the true age-at-onset distribution as compared to those from a naive analysis. Results suggested that the observed variance was made up almost entirely of genetic variance and measurement error variance due to telescoping and current status errors and that the timing of breast development and menarche are largely under the control of a common set of genes. Results also indicated that maternal recollections of the onset of breast development were both more poorly defined and subject to greater recall errors than maternal recollections of menarche.

Models for the longitudinal genetic analysis of same-age twins: application to HDL cholesterol

Models are presented for the analysis of longitudinal data from same-age twins which permit the exploration of a remarkably diverse array of alternative explanations for continuity and change during development. Data of this type permit the detection of new sources of genetic or environmental covariation during development that are not expressed at earlier ages and, because they include the effects of age-specific genes, the resulting heritability estimates are more reliable than those obtained from relatives who differ in age. The proposed models were applied to measurements of HDL cholesterol obtained on 81 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) twins and 69 dizygotic (DZ) pairs at 11, 12.5 and 14 years of age. All three MZ co-twin correlations were substantially higher than the self correlations across occasions, suggesting that new sources of genetic or environmental covariation must be expressed during early adolescence. This interpretation was confirmed by analysis of the full covariance matrices which showed that only models which assumed the expression of new or age-specific genes could explain the observed pattern of covariation. Because they include the effects of age-specific genes, the resulting heritabilities (0.80-0.83) were substantially higher than many previous estimates.

Immunological relatedness of the protective mechanisms against tuberculosis and cancer

BACKGROUND

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), an attenuated strain of tuberculous bacillus, is the source of vaccines providing unclear and variable protection against tuberculosis (TB) and cancer. Thermostable macromolecular antigens (TMAs) are major mycobacterial complexes immunodominant in disease. A60 (TMA complex of BCG) protects mice against TB development, via T lymphocyte (TL)-mediated macrophage (Mphi) activation, halting intracellular mycobacterial replication. In most A60-primed mice, cytolytic TLs and Mphi infiltrate cancer tissue, resulting in 80-100% rejection. Adoptive TL transfer is indispensable for Mphi-dependent tumour cell inactivation via oxygen and nitrogen radicals. Neoplasm development induces immune anergy with depletion ofA60-specific TL and activated Mphi. A60 protects mice against TB and cancer by inducing the synthesis of three lymphokines: interleukin 2 (IL-2), interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). Tumour cells prevent A60-dependent synthesis of these lymphokines in vivo and in vitro.

CONCLUSION

These data provide some clues to immune surveillance and tumour escape mechanisms, as well as to the antituberculous and antineoplastic BCG action.

Genetics and developmental psychopathology: 1. Phenotypic assessment in the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development

We introduce an overlapping cohort sequential longitudinal study of behavioral development and psychopathology in a representative sample of 1412 pairs of twins aged 8 through 16 years. Multiple phenotypic assessments involve a full psychiatric interview with each child and each parent, and supplementary parental, teacher, and child interview material and questionnaires. For the first wave of assessments, the numbers of reported DSM-III-R symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD), Overanxious Disorder (OAD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Conduct Disorder (CD), and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), assessed through interviews, confirm patterns of age and sex trends found in other epidemiological samples, but underscore their dependence on whether the child or the parent is the informant. Correlations across domains for symptoms reported by the same informant are often as large as correlations across informants for the same domain of symptoms. Factor analyses of these symptom counts, taking account of informant view and unreliability of assessment, show the high degree of correlation between SAD and OAD, between MDD and OAD, and between CD and ODD. ADHD symptoms are relatively independent of the other domains, but show moderate correlations with CD, ODD, and MDD. Factorially derived dimensional questionnaire scales, based on child, parental, and teacher reports, show patterns of relationship to symptom counts consistent with both convergent and discriminant validity as indices of liability to clinical symptoms. Across informants, questionnaire scales provide as good a prediction of symptoms as do clinical interviews. Multitrait-multimethod confirmatory factor analysis reveals the patterns of relationship between symptoms of psychiatric disorder in children taking due account of informant and unique sources of variance. Gender differences are consistent within the correlated clusters of ODD/CD and MDD/SAD/OAD, although there are disorder-specific age trends. There are large informant-specific influences on the reporting of symptoms in clinical interviews. Dimensional questionnaire scales provide a useful source of additional information. In subsequent analyses of genetic and environmental etiology of childhood psychopathology we must expect that results may differ by informant and method of assessment. Multivariate and developmental analyses that explore the sources of these differences will shed new light on the relationship between genetic and environmentally influenced vulnerability and the manifestation of psychopathology in specific circumstances.

Can negative self-schemes in depressives be altered through sleep deprivation?

This paper addresses the question whether negative cognitive style represents a state or trait variable of depressive patients. For this reason, it studies the influence of sleep deprivation on negative self-schemes of those patients. 10 patients suffering from DSM-III-R major depression were compared with 10 age- and sex-matched controls on a task for rating the self-descriptiveness of positive and negative adjectives as well as a subsequent word recognition task. Three sessions were involved: an initial session (baseline), the second following a night of sleep deprivation, and the third after a successive full night's sleep. During the baseline examination, depressives showed a relatively negative cognitive bias; that is, the same number of positive and negative self-scheme elements. In comparison to controls, they showed significantly more negative and significantly less positive self-scheme elements. The same pattern emerged in a word recognition task for the number of recognized self-scheme elements. These variables indicated no change in the depressive group following sleep deprivation. Depressive subjects' reaction times on self-descriptiveness rating were significantly longer for positive than for negative self-scheme elements at the baseline session. The opposite was true for controls. Here, a sleep deprivation effect was evident. There was no longer a difference in the speed of information processing for positive as compared to negative self-scheme elements. This applied to both depressive and control groups.

In vitro analysis of cancer prevention by a mycobacterial antigen complex and of cancer-promoted inhibition of immune reactions

The antigen complex A60 of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin protected mice against experimental tuberculous infection, and prevented cancer development after challenge with EMT 6 cells. Although humoral and cellular immune reactions elicited by A60 in vivo remained unaffected in cases of tumor rejection, they were suppressed in the case of neoplastic growth. In the present work, these in vivo observations were analyzed by in vitro techniques. Activated macrophages played a major role, and cytolytic T lymphocytes a minor role, in A60-promoted cancer cell cytolysis leading to tumor rejection. In vitro, EMT 6 cells weakly inhibited the proliferation of A60-specific B lymphocytes and strongly inhibited the functions of activated macrophages. However, the collapse of both humoral and cellular immune reactions during the course of cancer development was also accompanied by an inhibitory action of EMT 6 cells on the multiplication and functions of A60-specific T lymphocytes. Tumor-dependent repression of macrophage activation was therefore due to both a direct action of tumor cells on macrophages and an indirect one via inhibition of macrophage-activating T cell functions. On the other hand, tumor-induced collapse of the anti-A60 Ig synthesis was mainly due to inhibition of B-cell-activating T cells, with a weaker direct effect of tumor cells on B lymphocytes. Consequently, A60 and tumor cells exert opposite effects on the immune system at several levels.

Genetic and environmental influences on the covariation between hyperactivity and conduct disturbance in juvenile twins

Structural equation models were applied to the maternal ratings of 265 MZ and 163 DZ male-male, 347 MZ and 160 DZ female-female, and 262 male-female twin pairs, aged 8-16 years, who participated in the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development (VTSABD). Substantial additive genetic influences and contrast effects were found for hyperactivity, and additive genetic and shared environmental effects or positive comparison effects (particularly for the girls) for oppositional/ conduct disturbance. Bivariate model fitting showed that the covariation between hyperactivity and oppositional/conduct problems in both younger and older boys and girls is almost entirely attributable to genetic factors. However, whereas in the younger males and females the same set of genes explain all the variation in hyperactivity and conduct disturbance, in the older cohort at least some of the genetic effects are behavior- and gender-specific.

Synthesis of cytokines during tumour development in mice immunized with the mycobacterial antigen complex A60

The authors have previously reported on the ability of A60, an immunodominant antigenic complex of Mycobacterium bovis BCG, to prevent cancer development in mice challenged with EMT 6 tumour cells. Such effect proved to rely on neoplastic cell lysis by cytolytic T lymphocytes and activated macrophages. The involvement of cytokines in triggering the immune response leading to tumour rejection is analysed in the present work. The synthesis of IL-2, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha was strongly increased in A60-primed mice. Cancer development depressed the blood levels of these three cytokines. In vitro cultures of lymphocytes from lymph nodes and blood of A60-primed mice produced higher levels of these cytokines in the presence of A60, as compared to cultures lacking A60. Such effect was inhibited by co-incubation of lymphocytes with EMT 6 tumour cells In vitro cultures of macrophages yielded higher levels of TNF-alpha in the presence of A60 and co-incubation of these cells with EMT 6 tumour cells also inhibited TNF-alpha production. The enhanced synthesis of IL-2 and IFN-gamma, which promote activation of cytolytic T lymphocytes and macrophages, accounts for the increased tumour cell lysis induced in vivo by A60. The A60-promoted synthesis of TNF-alpha is partly responsible for the latter effect. The inhibitory action of EMT-6 tumour cells on cytokine synthesis is a powerful mechanism of tumour escape from the immune system's control.

Multivariate multipoint linkage analysis of quantitative trait loci

Resolution of the genetic components of complex disorders may require simultaneous analysis of the contribution of individual quantitative trait loci (QTLs) to multiple variables. A likelihood approach is used to illustrate how the complexities of multivariate data may be resolved with multipoint linkage analysis. Sibling pair data were simulated from a model in which two QTLs and trait-specific polygenic effects explained all the sibling resemblance within and between five variables. Multipoint linkage analysis was used to obtain individual pair probabilities of having zero, one, or two alleles identical by descent, and these probabilities were applied in a weighted maximum-likelihood fit function. The results were compared with those obtained using conventional linear structural equation modeling to estimate the contribution of latent genetic factors to the genetic covariance in the multiple measures. Both analyses were conducted using the Mx package. Relatively poor agreement was found between genetic factors defined in purely statistical terms by varimax rotation of the first two factors of the genetic covariance matrix and the structure obtained by fitting a model jointly to the phenotypic and the multipoint linkage data.

Visual evoked potentials elicited by a moving unidimensional noise pattern

(1) Motion onset and offset visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded in normal human subjects using a unidimensional noise pattern moving at 1, 8 and 64 degrees/s. The maximum N1-P1 amplitude of the motion onset response was obtained when using a fine noise pattern (maximum energy at 5.2 cpd) moving at 8 degrees/s. (2) At a velocity of 8 degrees/s, the motion onset response (fine pattern, 0.70 contrast) showed a morphology similar to the pattern disappearance response. Both at a lower (1 degrees/s) and a higher velocity (64 degrees/s) the N1-P1 amplitude of the motion onset complex was significantly reduced. The latency of the motion onset response (8 degrees/s) and the pattern disappearance complex were significantly different. (3) The effect of lowering the spatial content of the noise pattern on the amplitude of the motion onset response was different for the 3 velocities tested: the largest effect was at the lower velocity of 1 degrees/s; there was no similar effect on the pattern disappearance response. (4) With decreasing contrast, the N1-P1 amplitude of the motion onset response at 8 degrees/s decreased, but this reduction in amplitude was much less than that of the disappearance response. The contrast dependency of the motion onset complex was identical for binocular and monocular recordings. (5) Increasing the motion duration or the duration of the interstimulus interval did not alter the general morphology of the motion response.

Comparison between bacillus Calmette-Guérin and the A60 mycobacterial antigen complex used as cancer-preventive immunotherapies

Preparations of liver or lysates of Mycobacterium bovis strain Calmette-Guérin (BCG) have long been used as treatments for a variety of cancer types, especially those involving the urinary tract, with varying success. This study was conducted to compare the antitumoral activity of BCG and the thermostable macromolecular antigen complex of BCG (A60) when used as preventive treatments, in conjunction with or without tumor antigens, against growth and dissemination of the EMT6 murine tumor cell line. It was demonstrated that tumor antigens alone did not significantly alter the oncological indexes, although a slight increase in both T lymphocyte and macrophage activations was found. It was further demonstrated that A60 induces a protective activity up to 40% greater than that of live BCG and that this protection was not accompanied by any of the adverse effects sometimes observed during BCG immunotherapy.

Cancer prevention by adoptive transfer of antigen 60-activated immunocompetent cells

The authors have already shown that A60, the thermostable macromolecular antigen complex of Mycobacterium bovis BCG, induced resistance to tumour challenge in several murine systems. In the present work, the authors provided evidence that activated macrophages played a major role, and cytolytic T lymphocytes a minor one, in both in vivo and in vitro A60-promoted cancer cell cytolysis. To identify the types of immunocompetent cells involved in this protective effect, macrophages and T lymphocytes from A60-primed mice donors were adoptively transferred to irradiated recipients prior to EMT 6 tumour challenge. In some groups, A60-primed donors were survivors of previous tumour challenges. Transfer of T lymphocytes from the spleen or lymph-nodes of A60-immunized mice induced 80-90% protection against tumour challenge. Conversely, transferred macrophages, although cytolytically active, did not induce resistance to tumour implantation. Furthermore, adoptive transfer with T lymphocytes from A60-immunized and EMT 6 challenge-surviving donors induced 100% protection. It is concluded that stimulation of T lymphocytes by A60 is the key step which leads to activation of the immunocompetent cells involved in tumour rejection.

Processing of kinetically defined boundaries in the cortical motion area MT of the macaque monkey

1. Electrophysiological recordings of 68 cells in the middle temporal area MT were made in paralyzed and anesthetized macaque monkeys. 2. Testing with our kinetic boundary stimuli always occurred under optimized conditions. To this end, the preferred direction, speed, stimulus position, and stimulus size of each cell were determined by quantitative tests. 3. The orientation selectivity to stationary luminance contrast edges served as a reference by which a response to kinetic boundaries could be compared. We found cells in area MT to be less selective to the orientation of luminance contrast stimuli than to the direction of motion. We confirmed the presence of neurons with preferred orientation aligned with their preferred direction. 4. The responses to kinetic edges defined by motion vectors moving in opposite directions, kinetic gratings with motion vectors in opposite directions, kinetic edges containing coherent motion and a stationary complementary field or coherent motion and a complementary field containing visual dynamic noise were compared. Kinetic boundaries were generated so that the motion vectors moved either parallel or orthogonal to the orientation of the discontinuity. For a cell to be considered as responding to the orientation of a kinetic boundary, it had to exhibit the same preferred orientation when the local motion vectors changed from parallel to orthogonal to the orientation of the kinetic boundary. 5. All cells in area MT changed their preferred orientation by 90 degrees when the coherent motion vectors changed from moving parallel to moving orthogonal to the boundary. This was the case independent of the types of kinetic boundary tested. We concluded that cells in area MT appear to respond to the motion vector over their classical receptive field (CRF) only and were unable to code the orientation of the kinetic boundary. 6. In those cells exhibiting an antagonistic surround, we examined the ability of the cell to code the position of a kinetic boundary. None of the cells tested signaled the position of a kinetic boundary. The side preference of the stimulus of the cells changed from left to right as the motion vectors in the stimulus reversed. This indicates that the cells were only selective for the motion vectors present over their CRF. 7. We found that the directional sensitivity of cells in area MT remained unaltered by the presence of additional motion vectors within the CRF. This suggests that cells in area MT extract a specific motion vector from a spatial configuration of vectors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The speed tuning of medial superior temporal (MST) cell responses to optic-flow components

The responses of macaque medial superior temporal (MST) cells to translation and to the optic-flow components-rotation, expansion/contraction, and deformation-were examined with particular regard to the speed tuning of MST cells for optic-flow stimuli and the effect of removing speed gradients from those stimuli. The use of position invariance as an indispensable criterion for assessing the authenticity of responses to optic flow is reviewed. By extending the scope of testing to include higher speeds it is found, in contrast to in previous reports, that MST cells generally respond to optic-flow components with a speed-response profile which is tuned for a particular range of speeds. Removal of the speed gradient had little effect on this observation. These and other properties of MST cells lead to the conclusion that one of the major functions of MST is the detection and encoding of self-motion.

Alteration of the immune response during cancer development and prevention by administration of a mycobacterial antigen

It has been shown previously that A60, an antigen complex of Mycobacterium bovis BCG, triggers humoral and cellular immune reactions in vivo and lymphocyte-dependent macrophage activation in vitro. In the present work, the ability of A60 to prevent murine tumour development, in conjunction or not with irradiated isologous cancer cells, was explored with Taper liver tumour (TLT), a mammary-derived neoplasm (EMT6), and Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL). Repeated injections of A60 prior to challenge reduced the incidence of EMT6 and 3LL solid tumours and increased life span. This effect was enhanced by simultaneous administration of gamma-irradiated cancer cells (80-100% suppression of EMT6 and 3LL tumour growth). In mice developing or rejecting tumours, the status of humoral and cellular immunity was evaluated by A60-based immunoassays. Tumor development was accompanied by a rapid decrease of both anti-A60 IgG titre in blood and A60-triggered delayed hypersensitivity reactions. Moreover, A60-induced T lymphocyte proliferation and macrophage-dependent autologous cancer cell cytolysis declined progressively during the course of tumour growth. In case of successful immunotherapy, a pattern similar to that of unchallenged controls was observed. Our results suggest that A60 promotes cancer rejection via tumour infiltration by lymphocytes and macrophages activated by A60-specific T lymphocytes. An increased processing of tumour-specific antigens and activation of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes is induced by administration of irradiated cancer cells in conjunction with A60.

Size, fatness and relative fat distribution of males of contrasting maturity status during adolescence and as adults

The somatic characteristics of boys of contrasting biological maturity status during adolescence are compared from 13-18 years and at 30 years of age. Within the mixed longitudinal Leuven Growth Study of Belgian Boys, 173 boys were followed annually from 13-18 years and were subsequently measured at 30 years of age. Age at peak height velocity (PHV) was estimated for 149 boys and the sample was then divided into three contrasting maturity categories based on the age at PHV: early (PHV < 13.37 years), average (PHV between 13.85 and 14.80 years) and late (PHV > 15.27 years) maturers. Using ANOVA for repeated measures and one-way ANOVA, differences in 18 somatic dimensions and five ratios of body proportions and subcutaneous fat distribution among the three maturity groups were tested from 13-18 years and at 30 years of age. There are consistent differences among boys of contrasting breadths, circumferences,and skinfolds on the trunk. There are no differences in skinfolds on the extremities. None of the differences in somatic dimensions and ratios among the three contrasting maturity groups are significant at 30 years of age except those for subscapular skinfold and the trunk/extremity skinfold ratio. Thus, during adolescence and in adulthood, late maturing boys have a distribution of subcutaneous fat that is associated with lower risk for several adult degenerative diseases.

Responses of macaque STS neurons to optic flow components: a comparison of areas MT and MST

1. We recorded and tested quantitatively 65 middle temporal (MT) and 82 middle superior temporal (MST) cells in paralyzed and anesthetized monkeys. 2. Responses to the three elementary optic flow components (EFCs)--rotation, deformation, and expansion/contraction--and to translation (in the display) were compared after optimization of stimulus direction, speed, size, and position. As a control responses to flicker were measured. 3. Response windows were adapted in correspondence with our finding that latencies of MT and MST cells decrease with increasing speed for all types of motion. 4. There was a response continuum in MT as well as in MST cells. Compared with translation, MST cells responded significantly more to rotation but less to flicker than MT cells. MST cells were significantly more direction selective for expansion/contraction than MT cells. 5. MST cells generally responded to fewer motion types than MT cells. 6. Position invariance of EFC direction selectivity was tested over a region of the visual field centered on the translation receptive field (RF). Direction selectivity for an EFC was not position invariant in MT cells but it was invariant in 40% of the MST cells tested. These cells were considered EFC selective. 7. Most EFC-selective MST cells were selective for a single EFC, possibly combined with translation. Few of them were selective for deformation. 8. EFC selectivity was also speed invariant and EFC-selective MST cells usually had RFs summating inputs over wide portions of the visual field. 9. EFC-selective MST cells with similar selectivities were clustered.