Normal Baseline Values for Isometric Shoulder Strength in Scaption for Healthy Filipino Individuals in the 20-30 year Age Group

Introduction:

Isometric shoulder strength is vital in the management of individuals suffering from shoulder diseases such as rotator cuff tears. Normal values for the working Filipino population who are at risk of developing shoulder problems are lacking. The objective of this study was to determine the isometric baseline isometric shoulder strengths in scaption of healthy Filipino individuals aged 20-30 years old without a history of a shoulder injury.

Material and Methods:

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study measuring the isometric strength values using the handheld IDO isometer of dominant and non-dominant shoulder of healthy Filipino individuals aged 20 to 30 years old.

Results:

There is no significant difference in the mean isometric shoulder strength between the dominant and non-dominant arm for both sexes. The male gender scored higher values compared to the female gender and is statistically significant.

Conclusion:

There is no difference in isometric shoulder strength between the dominant and non-dominant shoulder. Strength differences favour the male gender.

P1418 Clinical profile and outcome of infective endocarditis patients transferred to a tertiary center

METHODS

Prospective observational study with a retrospective analysis of 468 episodes of infectious endocarditis admitted to our center from 2003 to 2018. Of these, 252 (54%) were admitted directly in our center and 216 (46%) were transferred from hospitals in the area of influence. We analyze the features and compare them.

RESULTS

The average age from transferred patients was lower (63 vs. 66 years; p = 0.015), from which 74% were men. Non-transferred patients had major comorbidity with a significant percentage of comorbidities (81 vs. 66%; p = 0.005), greater Charlson"s index (3.4 vs. 1.98; p 0.005) and EuroScore (logistic Euroscore I ; 27 vs. 22; 0.034). The diagnosis delay was similar (7.3 vs. 7.6 days) with a large number of clinical (84% vs. 73%) and echocardiographic (52 vs. 40; p = 0,012) complications in transferred patients with more need for surgery (81 vs. 61%, p = 0.002), and with more operated patients of those transferred. The mortality of non-transferred patients, admitted directly in the tertiary center, was higher (51 vs. 43%), but presenting no significant differences.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients transferred from other centers have a profile with less comorbidity but high need for surgery, possibly related to well-stablished selection and derivation criteria, with a slightly lower mortality, although with no significant differences in comparison to patients admitted directly to the tertiary referral hospital.

Inhibition of growth hormone receptor activation by pegvisomant may increase bone density in acromegaly

Treatment of acromegaly with pegvisomant lowers serum IGF-1 and raises serum growth hormone. As both IGF-1 and GH are important for bone growth and remodeling, we were concerned that lowering of IGF-1 could cause loss of bone. To evaluate the effects of treatment of acromegaly with pegvisomant on bone mineral density (BMD) we developed an observational, prospective study. 7 acromegaly patients participated in the study. Male and female subjects aged 18 years or more were eligible to participate. Patients were eugonadal or on adequate gonadal replacement therapy for at least 3 years before participating in the study. These patients were treated with a mean dosage of 20 mg of pegvisomant daily for up to 7 years. Bone mineral density (BMD) was evaluated by dual X-ray absorbtiometry (DXA) at baseline, 8, and 18 months as a part of a prospective trial and periodically thereafter. Baseline mean serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) concentration±SD was elevated in all patients (679.86±138.21 ng/ml). The IGF-1 concentrations at 18 months decreased significantly from baseline (p=0.016). Wilcoxon signed-rank tests showed significant increases in the spine BMD from baseline to 18 months (p=0.016) and significant increases in the right hip BMD from baseline to 18 months (p=0.032). The range of the increases was 4.3-17.8% at 7 years. It is concluded that successful treatment of acromegaly with pegvisomant increases BMD.

Remission of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy and primary central nervous system lymphoma in an HIV-infected patient

The coexistence of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) and primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare event, usually associated with a fatal outcome. We report the case of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individual presenting with both PML and PCNSL who made a remarkable recovery after highly active anti retroviral therapy (HAART) and radiation therapy, and discuss diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of both conditions.

Immunophenotyping of solid tumors, a new approach for molecular profiling solid tumors

10057

Methods of determining prognosis in breast, ovary, and colon cancer includes detection of molecular markers such as the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER-2/neu. These markers are routinely assessed via immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Fluorescent In-situ hybridization (FISH). Flow cytometry (FC) has not yet been established for routine detection of these markers in tumors. We performed FC on cells from fourteen ovary, five breast, and four colon cancer tumors. FC was used to detect the presence of ER, PR, HER-2/neu, Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), E-cadherin, RAS, ERK and TUJ1. Cells obtained directly from tumoral tissue were simultaneous analysized by cell cycle stage (G0, G2M, and > G2M) and presence of antigenic markers. In ovarian tumors, 7 of 14 samples demonstrated >50% of cells with her-2/neu expression in aneuploid fractions (>G2M), 9 of 14 in G2M phase, and only 2 of 14 in G0 phase. With respect to ER, 7 of 14 ovarian tumors exhibited >19% of cells in G2M and >G2M fractions, while only 1 of 14 samples had >19% at G0. The PR receptor was expressed in >19% of cells in 8 of 14 (>G2M), 7 of 14 (G2M), and 2 of 14 (G0). In breast tumors, 4 of 5 tumors demonstrated >50% expression of HER-2/neu in G2M and >G2M cell phases, and only 2 of 5 demonstrated >50% her2neu expression in G0. Three of five tumors had >19% cellular expression of ER in the >G2M and G2M phases, while only one had >19% in G0. With PR, 3 of 5 breast tumors had >19% cellular expression in G0, G2M, and >G2M phases. In colon tumors, 2 of 4 had >50% cellular expression of her2neu in >G2M fractions, 4 of 4 in G2M, and only 1 of 4 in G0. Interestingly, cell fractions containing G2M and > G2M DNA had > 50% cellular expression for RAS and ERK in 2 of 4 colon tumors. No colon tumors expressed RAS and ERK significantly in G0 cells. We found that ER, PR, and HER-2/neu marker expression were consistent with established expression patterns. Additionally, these data point to specific expression patterns that are associated with the cell cycle stage. In particular, we note high expression levels of Her-2/nue, ER, and PR in aneuploid (>G2M) cell populations. These results suggest that patterns of differential expression can be readily assessed in tumor tissues using flow cytometry, and has the potential for broad application to the study of solid tumors.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Flow cytometry: a new approach for the molecular profiling of breast cancer

The established method in prognosis of breast cancer includes detection of molecular markers, such as the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER-2/neu. These markers are routinely checked via immunohistochemistry (IHC). HER-2/neu is also detected by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Flow cytometric analysis has not yet been used for detection of such markers. Flow cytometry was performed on four established breast cancer cell lines: MCF7, T47D, BT474, MDA-MB-231, and on one normal breast epithelial cell line: MCF10A. Flow cytometric analysis was used for the detection of ER, PR, HER-2/neu, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and E-cadherin. Currently, EGFR and E-cadherin are not standard predictive factors in determining survival of breast cancer patients, but both may be beneficial to prognosis. Cells undergoing flow cytometric analysis lost marker expression with increasing passage number. The highest expression was found at cells passaged 0-1 times. MCF7, T47D, and BT474 all had similar marker expression patterns. E-cadherin demonstrated a strongly positive pattern with marker expression of 85-92% among the three cell lines. ER, PR, and HER-2/neu demonstrated a weakly positive expression pattern when compared with E-cadherin. Marker expression ranged from 15 to 61%. These three cell lines were almost negative for expression of EGFR where expression ranged from 0 to 6%. MDA-MB-231 had almost no expression of all 5 markers, with positive values ranging from 0 to 5%. MCF10A had weak positive to almost negative expression values of ER, PR, HER-2/neu, and E-cadherin, which ranged from 3 to 13%. EGFR, both surface and cytoplasmic markers, again were not expressed in MCF10A cells with an expression value of <1%. We found that ER, PR, and HER-2/neu marker expressions in 5 out of 5 cell lines were consistent with established expression patterns. EGFR and E-cadherin expression in 4 out of 5 cell lines were also consistent with established expression patterns. We have shown that flow cytometry provides quantitative data on expression patterns of important prognostic markers in breast cancer.

Functional and structural characterization of two populations of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells

BACKGROUND

The characterization of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (HM-DC) subsets have been a very difficult and elusive task because of the lack of appropriate reagents. We, therefore utilized several diverse approaches to evaluate two populations of HM-DC including flow cytometry, ultra-structural evaluation by electron microscopy, and functional assays. In addition, we studied the kinetics of the expression of antigens on HM-DC at diverse intervals of time and identify surface markers and functional differences of these two HM-DC subsets.

RESULTS

This study identified that a phenotype of HM-DC as defined by CD11c+, CD86+, and CD40+ could be separated in the presence or absence of TGF-beta1 into two different subsets of DC: (i) HM-DC without Birbeck granuli (Mo-DC) and (ii) HM-DC with Birbeck granuli (Mo-LC). Furthermore, the functional studies showed that the HM-DC treated with TGF-beta1 (Mo-LC) exhibited the presence of Birbeck granuli and could actively divide. In addition, after undergoing more than four cell divisions, these cells split into at least two additional subsets of Mo-LC: (iia) Mo-LC with high forward scatter (FSC) and (iib) Mo-LC with normal FSC. In contrast, the Mo-DC cultured in absence of TGF-beta1 did not exhibit Birbeck granuli, showed reduced ability to divide, and kept the normal FSC when analyzed.

CONCLUSIONS

This study enabled us to determine in HM-DC: (i) the existence of antigenic and functional differences between various subpopulations of Mo-DC and Mo-LC; (ii) the existence of differences in the kinetics of antigens expression among the subsets of Mo-DC and Mo-LC; (iii) the existence of specific markers for each of the subpopulations of HM-DC.

Description of a flow cytometry approach based on SYBR-14 staining for the assessment of DNA content, cell cycle analysis, and sorting of living normal and neoplastic cells

RATIONALE

This study aimed to expand the utilization of a simplified flow cytometric approach that employing SYBR-14/PI staining into broader flow cytometry applications, including (i) measurement of the DNA content; (ii) performing cell cycle analysis on mammalian cells; and (iii) sorting of live SYBR-14-stained mammalian cells based on DNA content.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Cell lines of human origin were stained with SYBR-14 and propidium iodide (PI) and assessed by a dual-color flow cytometry. Finally, sorting of living SYBR-14-stained human cell lines was performed.

RESULTS

Dual staining with SYBR-14 and PI of human cells followed by flow cytometry analysis demonstrates that in addition to quality assessment, this staining could be utilized to determinate the DNA content on mammal cells. In addition, it resolves the diploid, tetraploid, and aneuploid DNA content. Furthermore, the SYBR-14-stained mammal cells were efficiently sorted based on DNA content and live cells were obtained. All these features have not been previously described with the utilization of this staining approach.

CONCLUSIONS

Results of this study demonstrate that this flow cytometric approach not only allows assessment of the viability of cells, but also the DNA content of mammal cells. In addition, this approach allows one to sort viable cells stained with SYBR-14. These findings open-up unexpected and unrestricted avenues for sorting of living mammal cells and provide significant advantages over the traditionally cumbersome sorting approaches for living cells, which demand very specialized and expensive UV light sources as well as sophisticated sorting procedures.

Evolution of urticaria pigmentosa into indolent systemic mastocytosis: abnormal immunophenotype of mast cells without evidence of c-kit mutation ASP-816-VAL

Mastocytosis comprises a heterogeneous group of hematological disorders which are morphologically defined by proliferation and accumulation of tissue mast cells in one or more organs. Clinical manifestations of mastocytosis range from disseminated maculopapular skin lesions (= urticaria pigmentosa [UP]) that may spontaneously regress to highly aggressive neoplasms like mast cell leukemia or mast cell sarcoma. Recently, it could be shown that systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a clonal disorder often exhibiting mutations of c-kit, a protooncogene encoding the tyrosine kinase receptor for stem cell factor (SCF). Mutations of c-kit are considered to play a key role in the pathogenesis of mastocytosis. Therefore, we investigated the unique case of a 36 year-old male patient with indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM) evolving from UP (cutaneous mastocytosis) by means of histology, immunophenotyping and molecular biology. At the time of initial diagnosis the bone marrow showed only a mild diffuse increase in mast cells but compact infiltrates were missing. The serum tryptase levels were normal. Five years later, however, the bone marrow histology displayed patchycompact mast cell infiltrates, which now allowed to establish the diagnosis of an ISM. The serum tryptase levels at this time were markedly elevated. At both time points, mast cells were analyzed by immunohistochemistry using anti-tryptase antibody AA1, by flow cytometry using antibodies against CD2 and CD25, and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on laser-microdissected, single pooled mast cells. Immunohistochemistry revealed strong tryptase-positivity of mast cells in both cutaneous and bone marrow infiltrates. Flow cytometry yielded an aberrant expression of CD2 and CD25 on bone marrow mast cells. However, repeated thorough PCR analysis failed to unveil c-kit mutation in atypical mast cells of skin and bone marrow samples of both dates. These findings clearly show that ISM can evolve from UP. Moreover, our study provides further evidence that the c-kit mutation Asp-816-Val is not invariably present in ISM.

Up-regulation by feline interleukin-4 and down-regulation by feline interferon-gamma of major histocompatibility complex class II on cat B-lymphocytes

Interleukin-4 (IL-4) exhibits numerous biological and immunoregulatory functions on B- and T-lymphocytes, monocytes, and dendritic cells in both mice and humans. In the present study, we show that IL-4 also has a regulatory function in the cat species. Cells transfected with IL-4 DNA expressed a biologically active protein as demonstrated by the up-regulation of MHC class II molecules on B-lymphocytes (CD21(+)) in a flow cytometric assay. Increased levels of MHC class II expression on CD21(+) cells were seen in 11 out of 12 cats (p<0.05). In addition, 12 out of 12 cats showed up-regulation of MHC class II on CD21(-) cells, mainly consisting of T-lymphocytes (p<0.05). In contrast, concanavalin A (ConA)-induced culture supernatant from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) containing high levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) transcripts induced down-regulation of MHC class II molecules on CD21(+) cells of all samples (p<0.05). Variable results were observed for CD21(-) cells incubated with ConA-conditioned medium (p=0.71). The nature of the cytokine(s) responsible for these effects remains to be determined. However, the fact that down-regulation of MHC class II molecules on B cells occurred in all cats tested suggests that IFN-gamma may be involved. These data provide further insight into the mechanism by which MHC class II expression is regulated in feline lymphocytes, and suggest that the Th1/Th2 paradigm is also present in the cat.

DNA measurement and cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry

Measurement of cellular DNA content and the analysis of the cell cycle can be performed by flow cytometry. Protocols for DNA measurement have been developed including Bivariate cytokeratin/DNA analysis, Bivariate BrdU/DNA analysis, and multiparameter flow cytometry measurement of cellular DNA content. This review summarises the methods for measurement of cellular DNA and analysis of the cell cycle and discusses the commercial software available for these purposes.

Flow cytometric assessment of transduction efficiency and cytotoxicity of herpes simplex virus type 1-based amplicon vectors

BACKGROUND

In this study, we compared herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) amplicon vector stocks prepared by transient cotransfection with two different BAC-cloned packaging-defective HSV-1 helper genomes, fHSVDeltapacDelta27 and fHSVDeltapac, with respect to transduction efficiency and cytotoxicity. Both fHSVDeltapacDelta27 and fHSVDeltapac are packaging defective because the pac signals have been deleted; fHSVDeltapacDelta27 contains an additional deletion in the HSV-1 ICP27 gene, which increases the safety of the system.

METHODS

HSV-1 amplicon pHSVGFP under the control of the HSV-1 immediate-early (IE) 4/5 promotor was packaged into virus particles by transient cotransfection with either fHSVDeltapacDelta27 or fHSVDeltapac DNA. Cultures were infected with the two different vector stocks and examined under the fluorescence microscope and analyzed by flow cytometry over a 5-day period to assess transduction efficiency and cytotoxicity.

RESULTS

Both vector stocks, pHSVGFP[fHSVDeltapacDelta27] and pHSVGFP[fHSVDeltapac], efficiently transduced the target cells. Interestingly, the highest mean fluorescence intensities were measured at 1 day after infection, whereas the number of GFP-fluorescent cells reached a peak at day 3 after infection. At day 3 after infection, a slight increase in the number of dead cells was observed in those cultures transduced with high doses of vector stock. Between days 3 and 4 after infection, the number of dead cells increased dramatically in all the cultures, transduced and nontransduced. Only the cultures infected with a high dose of pHSVGFP[fHSVDeltapac] displayed a significant further increase in the number of dead cells between days 4 and 5 postinfection.

CONCLUSIONS

Flow cytometry allowed comparison of transduction efficiency and cytotoxicity mediated by the two different amplicon vector stocks. Cultures infected with pHSVGFP[fHSVDeltapacDelta27] were more viable than those infected with pHSVGFP[fHSVDeltapac](P < 0.05). The practical implications of this study are at the level of vector design. Flow cytometry has proven a fast and reliable approach to assess the quality of potential gene transfer vectors prior to their use in (pre) clinical trials.

Flow cytometric assessment of allopurinol susceptibility in Leishmania infantum promastigote

BACKGROUND

Leishmaniasis is a major tropical and subtropical parasitic disease. Sodium stibogluconate, N-methyl -D-glucamine antimoniate, amphotericin B, pentamidine, and ketoconazole are drugs used to treat this disease. Some of these drugs cause severe adverse side effects and treatment failures are common. Allopurinol, a purine analog, has been used to treat leishmaniasis, alone or combined with the previously mentioned drugs. Low cost, ease of administration (oral), and lack of toxicity make allopurinol a particularly appealing candidate.

METHODS

The effect of allopurinol on Leishmania infantum (MCAN/ES/89/IPZ229/1/89, zymodeme MON1) wild-type promastigotes (wt-p229), and an altered form of these promastigotes (allo-p229) resulting from long term in vitro exposure to allopurinol, was determined by [(3)H]-thymidine incorporation assays and by diverse flow cytometric approaches.

RESULTS

Allopurinol arrested the proliferative capacity of wt-p229 promastigotes, reduced the proportion of viable cells, and decreased their total protein content. In contrast, allo-p229 promastigote proliferation was only slightly decelerated and the proportion of viable cells and the protein content were not affected by the allopurinol treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The flow cytometry approach allowed us to demonstrate differences in allopurinol susceptibility of the two promastigote forms, expanding the spectrum of flow cytometry applications in studies of parasite resistance.

Revision of the functional analysis and structural features of immortalized dendritic cell lines derived from mice lacking both type I and type II interferon receptors

Cell lines with dendritic morphology were obtained from several organs of mice lacking both type I and II interferon receptors after a retroviral immortalization procedure. Their surface antigen phenotype was analyzed by flow cytometry with monoclonal antibodies and their functional capabilities to induce antigen dependent specific immune response was also determined. Two representative cell lines called AG101 (skin-derived) and AG116 (brain-derived) were cloned and analyzed in more detail. Cytometric analysis showed that they constitutively expressed the cell surface markers CD45, CD1 1b, MHC class II, F4/80, N418, B7-2 and ICAM1. Despite both cell lines expressing Thy-1 only, the AG116 show CD4 but both were negative for CD8 and B220. The functional analysis showed that the cell lines were capable and very efficient at actively taking up, processing and presenting soluble antigens like Ovalbumin (OVA). The processed protein was presented by both cell lines to the OVA-peptide-specific T cell hybridoma BO97.105, which responded specifically with the production of IL-2. In addition AG101 and AG116 cells were able to induce in naive allogeneic T cells, a mixed lymphocyte reaction, determined by T cell proliferation and T cell dependent L-2 production. Moreover, the capability to prime naive syngeneic T cells was also demonstrated by loading AG101 and AG116 cells with soluble antigens, then co-culturing with naive T cells which yielded both T cell proliferation and IL-2 production. The cell lines priming capability was shown to be quite similar, as freshly isolated and cultured cutaneous dendritic cells from 129Sv/Lv mice (wtDCs) to prime naive T cells. In addition to a basal production of IL-6, the cell lines were found to increase their synthesis of IL-6 and IL-12 p40 after interaction with T cells in a similar way as mature wtDCs. Also it was determined that DC cell lines devoid of functional IFN system allow the replication of infectious agents like BDV and even are able to induce in vivo a specific humoral response against proteins of the BDV. Therefore, the cell lines AG101 and AG116 show structural and functional features of DCs. They are able to take up, process and present antigens as well as prime naive T cell in a similar manner as nontransformed DC. Therefore, these cell lines will be useful for studying the interactions between DC and the effectors cells of the immune response at the clonal level and in the absence of functional interferon receptors.

Immortalized cell lines derived from mice lacking both type I and type II IFN receptors unify some functions of immature and mature dendritic cells

Cells with dendritic morphology obtained from several organs of mice lacking both type I and II IFN receptors were immortalized by a retrovirus and analysed for their phenotype and for their function to induce cognate immune responses in vitro and in vivo. Two cell lines called AG101 (skin) and AG116 (brain) were cloned and analysed in more detail. They constitutively expressed the cell surface markers CD45, CD11b, MHC class II, F4/80, N418, B7-2 and ICAM1 but were CD8- and B220-negative. Cells from both lines were capable of taking up ovalbumin (OVA). The processed protein was presented to the OVA-specific T cell hybridoma BO97.105 which responded specifically with the production of IL-2. AG101 and AG116 cells were able to induce a mixed lymphocyte reaction as shown by a 50-fold increase of IL-2 production over background. Naive T cells were stimulated by antigen-primed AG101 and AG116, resulting in a T cell proliferation which was 20-30 times over background, and in IL-2 production it was 10 times the background. The capacity of AG101 or AG116 cells to prime naive T cells was directly compared with freshly isolated and cultured cutaneous dendritic cells (DC) from 129 Sv/Ev mice (wtDC). After cognate T cell interaction, IL-6 (20-100-fold) and IL-12 p40 (100-1000-fold) were similarly up-regulated in either AG101, AG116 or mature wtDC. To analyse the capacity of the immortalized DC to induce antibodies in vivo, cell line AG116 was permanently infected with Borna disease virus (BDV) which is unable to replicate in adult mice. One hundred and twenty-nine Sv/Ev mice injected with different cell numbers of AG116 carrying BDV (but not control cells) produced antibodies against the viral BDVp40 and BDVp24 protein. Therefore, the cell lines AG101 and AG116 appear to unify some functions of immature and mature DC. They are able to pick up antigen and process it. In the absence of externally added cytokines, the antigen presented on AG101 or AG116 cells drives T cells with an efficiency similar to mature DC. The cloned cell lines may prove to be useful to study both immune response and replication of infectious agents in the absence of functional interferon receptors.

Characterisation of two human dendritic cell-lines that express CD1a, take-up, process and present soluble antigens and induce MLR

Dendritic cells (DC) are bone marrow derived cells present in diverse tissues and organs including the skin, mucosae and blood. DC have a capital role in the afferent pathway of the immune response because of its role in up-take, processing and presenting antigens to immune cells. Human DC are usually identified by the expression of surface CD1a and HLA-DR. Despite the significant recent developments for in vitro generation of DC derived from blood by using cytokines like GM-CSF and IL-4, the studies on DC and specially on human Langerhans cells (LC) have been hampered by the laborious isolation procedure and the small yield of cells obtained by the various methods of isolation used so far. Therefore, a priority has been a search for monoclonal dendritic cell-lines with LC characteristics in order to facilitate the research in this area. The present study reports on the generation of two stable, self-replicant, adherent, dendritic, CD1a+, HLA-DR , CD45RO , CD23/FcERII+ cell-lines that up-take and process soluble antigens but also inducing MLR and antigen-dependent T-cell response.

Unexplained visual loss after lumbar spinal fusion

Two cases of visual loss after spinal fusion surgery are described. In both cases, surgery was lengthy, the patient's head was placed in a dependent position, and hemodilution and deliberate hypotension were combined. One patient was achondroplastic, the other obese. Possible risk factors associated with ischemic optic neuropathy after anesthesia and surgery are discussed.

Efficacy of a 1:1 and 1:5 mixture of technical permethrin and piperonyl butoxide against Anopheles quadrimaculatus and Psorophora columbiae

Anopheles quadrimaculatus and Psorophora columbiae adults were treated with a 1:1 and 1:5 mixture of technical permethrin and piperonyl butoxide. These mixtures (0.00075 lb AI/acre) at 100, 200, and 300 ft. downwind of application killed a similar (P < or = 0.05) percentage of Ps. columbiae ranging from 45.1 to 68.8% and 85.7 to 100.0% after 1 and 24 h posttreatment, respectively. Similar results were obtained at 1 and 24 h posttreatment against An. quadrimaculatus (0.00075 lb AI/acre) where percentage mortality ranged from 42 to 62% and 63 to 78% after 1 and 24 h posttreatment, respectively. At 24 h posttreatment, significantly more mortality (P < or = 0.05) occurred in An. quadrimaculatus than in Ps. columbiae for both the 1:1 and 1:5 formulations above, except at 100 ft. downwind. A higher dosage against An. quadrimaculatus (0.001 lb AI/acre) resulted in a higher mean mortality at 1 h posttreatment (45.1-79.1%) and 24 h posttreatment (59.2-86.0%) than at the lower dosage. A 25% increase in permethrin (0.001 lb AI/acre) vs. a 400% increase in piperonyl butoxide alone gave increases in mortality of 30.4% vs. 8.6%, respectively.

Identification of novel CD23 transcripts on human T and B lymphocytes and eosinophil cell line

The main aim of the present studies was to investigate the structure of the human low-affinity IgE Fc receptor (CD23) present on T and B lymphoid cells and eosinophil cell line. A novel finding in these studies has been the detection and sequence analysis of CD23 transcripts in human T lymphocytes. These studies have established that some of the human T-cell populations analyzed express CD23 mRNA and that its structure is quite similar to that previously described for human B lymphocytes. A second major finding in these studies is that some human T- and B-cell lines and eosinophil cell line contain multiple forms of CD23 transcripts. These appear to be generated via alternative splicing, resulting in transcripts that may encode a truncated, possibly secretory form of CD23. These findings in human T and B lymphocytes and eosinophils provide new information about the structure of lymphocyte CD23 and suggest that alternative processing of transcripts generates CD23 mRNA that encodes CD23 isoforms. These studies are the first experimental evidence showing that CD23 isoforms may occur in the human and are the first direct evidence for production of CD23 by human T lymphocytes. In addition, these studies provide the first experimental evidence that T and B lymphocytes express CD23 transcripts lacking exon 3-encoded sequences, raising the possibility that a secretory form of CD23 may be synthesized by human T and B lymphocytes, and eosinophils.

Alternative transcripts of the human CD23/Fc epsilon RII. A possible novel mechanism of generating a soluble isoform in the type-II cell surface receptor

Human CD23/Fc epsilon RII is a 45 kDa type-II membrane glycoprotein having two isoforms (a and b) that only differ in the structures of their intracytoplasmic tails. CD23/Fc epsilon RII has been demonstrated to have multiple roles in the immune system such as regulation of lymphocyte growth and differentiation and IgE-mediated immune responses. Here, we found that the human B-cell line RPMI8866, in addition to a and b transcripts, contained shorter transcripts (a' and b') that lack the entire third exon. These alternative transcripts were also detected in peripheral blood lymphocytes as well as other hematopoietic cell lines with CD23/Fc epsilon RII. Because exon 3 encodes all of the transmembrane segment and the anchoring region of the cytoplasmic tail, it is suggested that a' and b' transcripts encode secretory forms of CD23/Fc epsilon RII or they may function as regulatory transcripts involved in the control of CD23/Fc epsilon RII expression.

CD23 isoforms in murine T and B lymphocytes

A major objective of the present studies was to seek biochemical evidence for the production of the low affinity IgE Fc receptor (CD23) by murine T cells. These studies have established that most of the murine T cell populations analyzed express CD23 mRNA. Some T cell populations contained a transcript whose nucleotide sequence was identical to that previously reported for the CD23 cDNA cloned from murine B cells. Some T and B cells contained CD23 transcripts lacking exon-3-encoded sequences. If translated, these transcripts would yield a CD23 polypeptide lacking the transmembrane segment and all but six amino acids of the intracytoplasmic tail. The truncated CD23 transcripts detected in T and B cells in these studies appear to be generated via alternative splicing. It is possible that these transcripts encode soluble, secretory forms of CD23, or that these transcripts have regulatory functions that influence CD23 gene expression. These investigations provide new information about the structure of murine lymphocyte CD23, they predict the occurrence of CD23 isoforms in the mouse, and they present direct evidence for the production of CD23 by murine T lymphocytes.

A micro ELISA for the diagnosis of cerebral cisticercosis

A micro ELISA for cysticercosis in the central nervous system was evaluated in 24 patients and compared with indirect hemagglutination. CSF ELISA results were positive in 17 of 20 patients (sensitivity 85%), whereas CSF indirect hemagglutination was positive in only 14 patients (sensitivity 70%).

Differential neuronal survival in the avian ciliary ganglion after chronic acetylcholine receptor blockade

We have described in the preceding 2 papers the development of the pharmacological and contractile properties of all targets of the ciliary ganglion: the iris and ciliary body (Pilar et al., 1987), and the choroidal coat (Meriney and Pilar, 1987). In this paper, we examine the chronic effects of ACh receptor (AChR) blockade on ciliary ganglion neuron survival. Nicotinic or muscarinic AChR blockers were administered daily to developing chicken embryos during the normal neuronal death period in the ciliary ganglion. The effects of the blockers on ganglionic and neuromuscular transmission were assessed, and neuronal survival was assayed by counting both the total number of ganglion neurons and the selectively HRP-labeled ciliary neurons after the normal neuronal death period. Blockade of ganglionic transmission decreases survival in both populations of neurons. Blockade of neuromuscular muscular transmission increases survival in the ciliary population, which innervates the striated iris and ciliary body muscle. In contrast, blockade of synaptic activity has various influences on the survival of the choroid population, which innervates the smooth muscle of the choroid coat. Smooth muscle muscarinic receptor blockade with atropine does not influence survival. At higher doses (which block ganglionic transmission), atropine decreases choroid survival. Survival of the choroid population is increased by nicotinic blockade with 75 micrograms alpha bungarotoxin (alpha BTX), but decreased by 12.5 micrograms alpha BTX. Two main conclusions arise from these studies. Activation of postsynaptic AChRs in both the ganglion and the periphery are important in the regulation of neuronal survival. These effects usually occur in opposite directions: Blockade of ganglionic transmission decreases neuronal survival, while paralysis of neuromuscular transmission increases neuronal survival. This embodies the "balance" hypothesis (Cunningham, 1982) for neuronal survival, which states that motoneurons must balance afferent and target interactions during a critical period after synapses are formed in both regions. The present observations support this hypothesis. However, although both ciliary and choroid neurons have been shown to depend on the presence of the periphery for survival, target muscle paralysis via AChR blockade rescues the ciliary neurons but does not influence survival in the choroid population. Target-dependent regulation of choroid neuron survival during the normal neuronal death period is clearly different from the regulation of ciliary neuron survival.

Acetylation of synaptosomal protein: inhibition by veratridine

Incubation of synaptosomes with [3H]acetate results in rapid labeling of protein. Labeling is decreased in the presence of veratridine, and the effect of veratridine is blocked by tetrodotoxin. Most of the radioactivity can be removed by base or acid hydrolysis, and is probably incorporated as acetate; it is this fraction that is affected by the veratridine. The data suggest that veratridine stimulates deacetylation is involved in membrane function.

Presence of a platelet aggregating factor in the plasma of patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and its inhibition by normal plasma

Three patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) were treated by infusion of normal plasma with dramatic responses. The plasmas collected from these patients during relapse induced in vitro aggregation of washed platelets from both normal donors and the patients during remission. The platelet aggregating factor was not dialyzable or adsorbable by Al(OH)3 and was not inactivated by diisopropylfluorophosphate, hirudin, or heparin in the presence of normal amounts of antithrombin. In contrast to the platelet aggregation induced by platelet isoantibody, the platelet aggregating activity of TTP plasma diminished as a function of time when it was incubated with normal plasma at 37 degrees C. These observations suggest that at least some instances of TTP appear to be due to deficiency of a plasma inhibitor to counteract a platelet aggregating factor demonstrated to be present in the plasma of these patients.