Demonstration of HTLV-Related Pro viral DNA Sequences and Antibodies Reactive with HTLV Internal Proteins in an Hungarian Patient with Sézary Syndrome

DNA sequences distantly related to the proviral DNA of HTLV-I were found in the leukemic cells of a Hungarian patient suffering from Sézary syndrome. Serum samples from the patient contained antibodies reactive with the internal core polypeptides of HTLV-I and HTLV-II, but not with the env gene encoded type-specific HTLV antigens. The husband and daughter of the patient also had antibodies of the same specificity. These findings suggest the presence of a virus distantly related to HTLV-I and HTLV-II.

99m Tc-HMPAO labelled leukocyte scintigraphy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a comparison with disease activity

The aim of this study was to test the applicability of 99mTc-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) labelled leukocyte joint scintigraphy in the assessment of disease activity in 21 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and to compare leukocyte scintigraphy with the Disease Activity Score (DAS), a validated activity index developed by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR). Twenty-one patients with rheumatoid arthritis were investigated by using 99mTc-HMPAO labelled leukocyte joint scintigraphy. The clinical and laboratory data were recorded, and the DAS was calculated and compared with the scintigraphic results in each case. A relatively high DAS score (4.71+/-1.07) was found in the majority of patients. The degree of accumulation of 99mTc-HMPAO leukocytes showed no correlation with a patient's age, gender, duration of disease, use of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), visual analogue scale (VAS), Richie index, DAS, or any laboratory parameters. In contrast, a significant correlation was found between the global regional accumulation of the labelled leukocytes of the hands and feet, and the swollen-joint count. It is concluded that radiolabelled leukocyte scintigraphy could become one of the promising methods in the assessment of disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Flow cytometric assay of phagocytic activity of human neutrophils and monocytes in whole blood by neutral red uptake

In a new, simple, and fast flow-cytometric method for the simultaneous measurement of phagocytic activity of human neutrophils and monocytes in whole blood, the fluorescence capability of the well-known vital stain, neutral red was used. The incubation of 0.5 ml heparinized human blood with the phagocytic stimulus of zymosan dose- and time-dependently increased the percentage and the red fluorescence intensity of both neutrophils (4.3 +/- 1.2 times) and monocytes (2.7 +/- 0.7 times) measured cytofluorimetrically. Decreased uptake of neutral red was observed in a patient with phagocytic disorder, based upon impaired engulfment of particles and production of reactive oxygen species. In a patient with chronic granulomatosis, however, no decrease of neutral red uptake was measured. Platelet activating factor and phorbol myristate acetate were also able to increase the uptake of neutral red by both monocytes and neutrophils, but to a lesser extent than zymosan. The advantage of this method is the possibility for the simultaneous measurement of phagocytic activities of monocytes and neutrophils stimulated by either particles or soluble activators. This method is suitable for the selective measurement of activation processes not related to the production of free radicals in the phagocytes.

Correlations of monocyte phagocytic receptor expressions with serum immune complex level in systemic lupus erythematosus

The expression of Fc gamma RI, Fc gamma RII, and Fc gamma RIII (the IgG receptors CD64, CD32, CD16) as well as CR3 (the C3bi receptor, CD11b) on monocytes in the blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was investigated. The relationship between the receptor expression and the serum immune complex (IC) concentration was analysed. The decrease in mean fluorescence intensity (FI) of the Fc gamma RII of patients' monocytes stained by specific monoclonal antibodies (MoAb IV3) was very close to statistical significance (P = 0.052). The expression (FI) of CR3 (using MoAb OKM1) on monocytes of patients was also decreased, but not significantly. The detected decrease of Fc gamma RII and CR3 was inversely correlated with the high circulating immune complex level in patients' sera. At the same time, Fc gamma RI expression on SLE monocytes (using MoAb 32) was significantly elevated and this change was in parallel with the serum IC concentration.

HTLV-related markers in a Hungarian patient with adult T-cell leukemia

Monoclonal integration of DNA sequences related to, but not identical to HTLV-I provirus was detected in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of a Hungarian male suffering from ATL. The patient and his parents showed serological cross-reactivity with both HTLV-I and HTLV-II group-specific antigens. Restriction enzyme analysis with EcoRI, PstI, BamHI, HindIII and SacI revealed structural similarity of the provirus integrated in the DNA of ATL cells to HTLV-I but not to HTLV-II. Data suggest that this provirus and HTLV-I are similar to each other along gag and pol regions, but they are different in the env region.

Marker profile, enzyme activity, and function of a human myelomonocytic leukemia cell line

Morphological and functional characteristics of a permanent human leukemia cell line (DD) that possesses myelomonocytic features were investigated. The cells bear a second type Fc gamma receptor and form rosettes with sheep erythrocytes sensitized with rabbit IgG (EA). However, the surface-bound EA is not internalized. The cell line lacks the surface markers CD2, CD19, CD14, HLA-DR, Fc gamma receptor I, Fc gamma receptor III, and CR3. alpha 1-Antitrypsin, lysozyme, Factor XIII a subunit of blood coagulation, and acid phosphatase reactions were negative. A terminal differentiation of the DD cell line was observed when the expression of CD14, CR3, Fc gamma receptor I, and Fc gamma receptor III was induced. The DD cells induced with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate or Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide can internalize EA via Fc gamma receptor II and complement-coated yeast in the function of the inducers. The phagocytic ability appears to be parallel with the appearance of enzymes which participate in phagocytosis.

[Reflections on non-differentiated collagenosis or non-differentiated autoimmune syndrome]

The authors review the Non-Differentiated Collagenosis (NDC) described by Gyula Petrányi 29 years ago, and try to establish whether it is still necessary to maintain this clinical picture. Relying on data from special literature and on their own findings, the authors conclude that the maintenance of the NDC terminology is justified by the fact that poly-systemic autoimmune diseases take time to develop and that at certain stages of this development it is almost impossible to make a firm decision as to which clinical picture the process will lead to. The authors discuss the clinical and immunological features of NDC, the implications for the patients and things to be done in order to recognise the NDC disease process. They also emphasize a more frequent occurrence of the features of NDC than is generally stated, and that such patients need regular, competent and devoted medical attention.

CD5 positivity on peripheral blood B lymphocytes in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome

The increased number of the CD5+ (Leu 1) B cells in 9 of 17 patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) were found in this study. The percentage of CD5+ B cells that demonstrated an increased number of these cells was more than 45% in patients with pSS, and the normal level 26.3 +/- 8.8% in control subjects. The ratio of the CD5+ B cells was higher if the pSS was in the active stage.

Antigen density on the surface of mononuclear cells in SLE

Searching for the cause of the known immunological abnormalities in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the density of cell surface antigens was measured after immunofluorescent staining in a cell sorter. The densities of CD3, CD4, CD5, CD8 and sIgM lymphocyte antigens were the same on patients' lymphocytes as on lymphocytes from healthy subjects. The intensity of HLA-DR immunofluorescence was found to be decreased on patients' monocytes, while the expression of HLA-DR on lymphocytes of patients with SLE hardly differed from that in healthy subjects. Pretreatment of normal mononuclear cells with patients' sera free from immune complexes decreased the binding of anti-HLA-DR antibody to normal monocytes, but it hardly caused alteration on lymphocytes. After culturing, the expression of HLA-DR antigen on patients' monocytes became the same as on normal cells. A causal role of anti-HLA-DR autoantibodies is suggested and discussed.

Progressive systemic sclerosis occurring in patients exposed to chemicals

Eight patients with systemic sclerosis previously exposed to organic chemical agents were investigated. Laboratory and clinical data of these patients were evaluated. The interval between the beginning of exposition and symptoms was 6.1 +/- 4.9 years. Considering the laboratory findings, a slight decrease in OKT4 positive T cell number was found. The antinucleolar and fine speckled antinuclear antibody pattern was found simultaneously in five cases. The possible role of chemical agents in the development of sclerodermic changes is discussed.

A study of lymphocyte subsets in patients with angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy

Immunological marker studies of peripheral blood lymphocytes in 22 patients with typical angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy were carried out. There was a decrease of the absolute lymphocyte number, of T-helper cells and the T4/T8 ratio in the active stage of the disease. The active T-cells and total T-cells were reduced both in the active and in the inactive state. The number of B-cells was in both states increased. Implications and possible mechanism of these observations are discussed. The histological findings and the clinical picture of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy (AILD) or immunoblastic lymphadenopathy (IBL) were described by Frizzera et al (1974) and Lukes & Tindle (1975). The aetiology and pathogenesis of AILD are unknown. Hyperimmune phenomena, hypersensitivity (Lukes & Tindle, 1975), and chronic antigenic stimulation (Neiman et al, 1978) were suggested as possible factors. A defect in T-cell regulatory function with secondary B-cell system proliferation was also postulated due to the decreased T-suppressor cells (Lukes & Tindle, 1975; Frizzera et al, 1974). In almost all of the reported cases of AILD there has been a decrease in T-cells and an increase in B-cells (Pruzanski, 1980). In this report we describe the results of immunological studies of peripheral blood lymphocytes in 22 patients with typical AILD. We have found that the active state of the disease is characterized by T-lymphopenia due to the decrease of OKT4 positive cells.

Large granular lymphocytes, Leu 7 reactivity and natural killer cell function in peripheral blood of patients with Hodgkin's disease

The percentage and absolute number of lymphocytes and Leu 7+ cells were significantly lower in HD even in active stages. There was no significant difference in the percentage of LGL between the three groups (control, active HD, inactive HD), however, because of differences in counts of lymphocytes the absolute number of LGL was significantly lower in HD even in the active group than that in healthy controls. The absolute count of LGL and Leu 7+ cells in patients in remission was significantly higher than that in active HD. Natural cytotoxicity against K-562 cells was also significantly lower in active patients in comparison with controls, while the percentage of cytotoxicity was slightly but not significantly higher in patients in remission than that in the active group. A positive correlation was observed between all the three examined parameters both in controls and in patients with active and inactive HD.

Subset specificity of lupus antilymphocyte antibodies studied by two-colour microfluorimetry

Subset specific lymphocytotoxic activity of lupus sera was studied by a combination of selective immunofluorescence labelling and complement-mediated lysis. Most frequently death of B cells was detected. Many of the sera caused lysis of T lymphocytes; selective cytotoxicity against suppressor T cells could be observed less frequently. All the anti-T4, anti-T8 and anti-B lymphocyte antibodies proved to be cold reactive.

Cellular DNA content of T helper, T suppressor and B lymphocytes in SLE

The ratio of in vivo activated T helper, T suppressor and B cells in the blood of patients with SLE has been studied through simultaneous subset specific immunofluorescence labelling and the analysis of cellular DNA content with the help of flow fluorimetry. In the active stage of the disease an increase was observed in the proportion of proliferating cells either among the T helper cells or the B cells. Occasionally, however, the rate of proliferation in both subsets grew at the same time. Cases with a high number of activated B cells have proved to be more serious. The percentage of the T suppressor cells in the S-G2-M phase of the cell cycle increased moderately in both the active and the inactive stages of the disease. Our results are also discussed in relation to the pathogenetic mechanism of SLE.

Studies on the lymphocyte subpopulation in systemic lupus erythematosus by monoclonal antibodies

T cells and T-cell subsets were studied with monoclonal antibodies in 15 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) during a 6-wk period. During active states of disease, all investigated T-cell subsets decreased, but the reduction of suppressor cells seemed to be more pronounced, therefore the helper/suppressor ratio increased. Less suppressor cells could be detected during clinical impairments and more during improvements.

Inhibition of carbonic anhydrase by pirenzepine

Previous work of the authors established a parallelism between gastric mucosa carbonic anhydrase (CA) activity and the values of acid secretion. It was shown that histamine (Ht) is a physiological activator of CA, and that there could be histaminic H2 receptors located on the molecule of CA. Pirenzepine (GZ) is a drug recently introduced in the therapy of gastroduodenal ulcer (GDU). Although its effect of decreasing acid secretion is clinically known, its mechanism of action remains uncertain. Original investigations are presented proving by in vitro and in vivo experiments on pure CA and on CA from human red blood cells and gastric mucosa that GZ is a strong inhibitor of CA. In this concept, GZ may be considered both an enzymatic inhibitor and an antagonist of histaminic H2 receptors.