Vaccination of newborns of HBsAg-positive carrier mothers with a recombinant DNA hepatitis B vaccine

Thirty neonates born to HBsAg-positive mothers were vaccinated with a 20 microgram dose of the SmithKline Biologicals recombinant DNA yeast-derived vaccine within 24 hours after birth, with similar inoculations repeated 1 and 2 months later. Preliminary results indicate that the recombinant vaccine was well tolerated and immunogenic. A 100% seroconversion rate was achieved 4 months after the first vaccine dose and the anti-HBs geometric mean titres progressively rose from 14 to 31,279 and 361 IU/l at months 1, 2, 4, and 6, respectively. Although a longer period of observation and comparison with a historical control group are needed to evaluate its protective efficacy in this high-risk population, the fact that no vaccinated newborns have been infected is encouraging.

Effects of experimental gastroduodenal reflux on density of mast cells and plasmocytes in the fundic mucosa of the rat

IgA-, IgM-, IgG- and IgE-positive plasmocytes and mast cells were counted in the fundic mucosa of two groups of rats which underwent gastroenteroanastomosis or sham operation 12 months previously. Experimentally induced duodenogastric reflux constitutes a model for biliary gastritis which is characterized by a decrease in the IgA plasmocyte count along with an increase in IgG and IgE plasmocytes and, especially, an increase in mast cells. It is suggested that this allergic-type reaction is responsible for the hyperplasia of gastric crypts seen in biliary gastritis.

[Unruptured aneurysms of the sinus of Valsalva disclosed by syncopal disorders of cardiac excitability. Apropos of 2 cases]

Aneurysms of the sinus of Valsalva are rarely diagnosed before rupture into the cardiac cavities which usually leads to the appearance of a continuous murmur and cardiac failure. In the two cases described, the presenting symptom of the aneurysm was syncope due to cardiac hyperexcitability: ventricular tachycardia in the first and paroxysmal tachyarrhythmia in the second case. The presenting symptoms of unruptured aneurysms of the sinus of Valsalva were analysed. In general, they are: uncontinuous cardiac murmurs: either diastolic murmurs of aortic regurgitation, systolic murmurs of mitral or tricuspid regurgitation, or, as in our first case, of obstruction to right ventricular ejection; arrhythmias: the commonest are conduction defects, which can be syncopal; hyperexcitability (especially ventricular) seems to be very care. Echocardiography is a valuable tool for the diagnosis of sinus of Valsalva aneurysms. The appearances of unruptured aneurysms in our two patients are described. The presence of syncopal cardiac hyperexcitability, possibly associated with one of the preceding auscultatory abnormalities is an indication for echocardiography which may lead to the diagnosis of this condition.

[Pseudotumoral mitral endocarditis. Diagnostic and therapeutic problems apropos of a case report with review of the literature]

The authors report an observation of infectious endocarditis of the mitral valve with voluminous pseudo-tumoral growth. The developmental, symptomatic and etiological characteristics of this form of endocarditis were specified through a review of the literature. Echocardiography provides the best means of early detection of these large vegetations but it is not always easy to distinguish them from other left intra-auricular tumors, more especially as several cases of infectious myxoma have been described. Spontaneous development of mitral endocarditis is very harmful, as are infected left intra-auricular tumors, and surgical treatment of these disorders seems essential as soon as the infectious process has been arrested.

Dose-response study of RIT 4237 oral rotavirus vaccine in breast-fed and formula-fed infants

The RIT 4237 live attenuated bovine rotavirus vaccine was given orally at three dose levels to 75 breast-fed, 40 formula-fed and 24 fasting infants ages 4 to 6 months. Vaccine of 10(8.3) (50% tissue culture-infective doses) (TCID50) per dose gave a neutralizing antibody response in 14 of 14 (100%) formula-fed, in 18 of 26 (69%) breast-fed and in 5 of 8 (63%) fasting infants, or an overall response rate of 77% (37 of 48). The overall response rate to a vaccine of 10(7.2) TCID50 per dose was 61% (33 of 49), or slightly but not significantly lower than that at the higher dose level. On the other hand a vaccine of 10(6.3) TCID50 per dose gave a significantly (P less than 0.01) lower composite response rate of 33% (14 of 42). The overall serologic response rate to the vaccine at the two higher doses was somewhat better (24 of 28, 86%) in formula-fed infants than in breast-fed infants (37 of 52, 71%). However, the response rate of the breast-fed infants can also be considered satisfactory. Thus the current recommendation for use of the RIT 4237 vaccine would be administration of a dose of at least 10(8) TCID50 after feeding with either formula or breast milk.

Biological measurements of Crohn's disease activity--a reassessment

Fifty-eight patients with Crohn's disease were studied in order to compare disease activity as measured by a clinical scoring system, with nutritional status, the laboratory measurements reflecting nutritional status, and the serum levels of acute phase proteins, using principal component analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis. We confirmed that orosomucoid is the laboratory measurement which correlates best with clinical assessment of disease activity, followed by ESR and C-reactive protein. Serum albumin correlated poorly with clinical disease activity, although body weight showed an inverse correlation. Serum fibronectin, a protein involved in the production of fibrous tissue, did not detect the presence of fibrous strictures in the intestine.

Immunisation of nurses with a live varicella vaccine

34 nurses who had no previous history of chickenpox and were seronegative to varicella zoster virus (VZV) were immunised with a live attenuated varicella vaccine (OKA-RIT strain) and followed up for up to 36 months. No major vaccine reactions were observed. At 5 months and at 1 year, 94% of the nurses had seroconverted but at 3 years only 64% had detectable antibody. Lymphocyte transformation to VZV antigen tested in seven nurses in whom antibody was no longer detectable gave positive stimulation indices. 2 of 13 vaccinated nurses who looked after children with chickenpox became infected but 1 of them had not seroconverted after vaccination. Chickenpox developed in 6 out of 7 unvaccinated seronegative nurses who looked after children with chickenpox. This study shows that the OKA-RIT strain VZV vaccine is safe and immunogenic in adults and may therefore be considered for use in susceptible health care workers. The investigations also show that both cell-mediated and antibody tests are needed for long-term assessment of immunity to chickenpox after vaccination.

Role of histamine in the cell turnover changes associated with experimental gastric ulceration in the mastomys

Using an animal model of gastric ulceration, in vivo and in vitro methods were developed to assess the importance of histamine in the cell turnover abnormalities previously found to occur in the preulcerous phase of gastric ulceration induced by mucosal anaphylaxis, and by using specific H1- and H2-receptor agonists and antagonists to define which receptors were involved. In ovalbumin-immunized animals, intramucosal ovalbumin injection led to a highly significant increase in cell turnover as measured by [3H]thymidine uptake (p less than 0.001). This increase was not affected by treatment with the H2 antagonist cimetidine, but was significantly reduced by the H1 antagonists promethazine and clemastine (p less than 0.01). A cell culture method was then used to examine the effects of added histamine and its antagonists. Histamine at a concentration of 10(-7) M was found to have a significant stimulatory effect on cell proliferation (p less than 0.001), and this effect was blocked by promethazine and clemastine but not by cimetidine. In contrast, histamine at a concentration of 10(-2) M had an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation which was accentuated by cimetidine and partially reversed by promethazine and clemastine. The H1 agonist betahistine was found to have stimulatory effects similar to those of histamine in low concentration (10(-7) M and 10(-6) M), but the H2 agonist 4-methyl histamine did not affect thymidine uptake at these concentrations. Both H1 and H2 agonists had a similar inhibitory effect at a concentration of 10(-2) M. It is concluded that histamine probably plays an important part in the changes in cell kinetics associated with gastric ulceration induced by this method, and that the trophic effects of histamine are mediated by H1-receptors. H2-receptors appear to have only a limited role in the control of cell proliferation.

Animal models for hormone-dependent human breast cancer. Relationship between steroid receptor profiles in canine and feline mammary tumors and survival rate

The present study shows that canine and feline mammary tumors, like human breast tumors, can be polyreceptive, i.e., they can contain estrogen (ER), progestin (PR), androgen, glucocorticoid, and/or mineralocorticoid cytosol receptors. Furthermore, a follow-up of 45 bitches with mammary carcinoma has indicated that the survival rate is significantly higher in animals with receptor-rich (ER and/or PR) tumors. This indicates that these canine mammary tumors should be evaluated further for their suitability as an animal model for hormone-dependent human breast carcinoma.

Pesticide-containing diets augment anti-sheep red blood cell nonreaginic antibody responses in mice but may prolong murine infection with Giardia muris

The effects of oral ingestion of different pesticides (lindane, phosalone, carbaryl) and of a polychlorinated biphenyl (pyralene) on nonreaginic antibody production in BALB/c mice and also on the duration of Giardia muris infection have been studied using the animal model of this disease. Only lindane and carbaryl produced significant effects on systemic antibody production following oral immunization with sheep red blood cells (SRBC). Lindane ingestion led to a twofold increase in IgG2b antibody titer to SRBC (P less than 0.05) and carbaryl significantly increased both IgG1 and IgG2b titers. No reduction was seen in the synthesis of any antibody class. The effect of feeding with lindane was to increase the duration of giardiasis significantly (P less than 0.002), and these mice developed systemic anti-Giardia antibodies more frequently than Giardia-infected mice on normal diets. These results suggest that in the doses used these pesticides may increase systemic antibody responses to orally ingested antigens, and by inference that spontaneous elimination of giardiasis is independent of the systemic nonreaginic antibody response to the parasite.

Assessment of appropriate laboratory measurements to reflect the degree of activity of ulcerative colitis

Eleven laboratory parameters were compared with the clinical grading of disease activity in 44 patients with ulcerative colitis, using multiple stepwise regression analysis to identify which measurements significantly reflect the severity of the disease. Only 2 parameters, serum orosomucoid and haematocrit showed significant correlation with clinical status. It is suggested that in the method of assessing disease activity proposed by Truelove and Witts the haemoglobin, which in this study was found to have no value, could be replaced by an equally simple test, the haematocrit. Comparisons are made between the relative usefulness of these parameters in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Role of mast cell mediators in pathogenesis of anaphylactic gastric ulcer

In an attempt to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms of gastric anaphylactic ulcer we measured tritiated thymidine incorporation in gastric cells, their mitotic rate and the degranulation of mast cells in the preulcerous phase. The results showed that there is a highly significant increase in cell turnover and mast cell degranulation in the mucosa of sensitized animals. Changes were found at the site of ovalbumin challenge, where point ulceration occurred within 48-72 h. The tissue culture studies demonstrated that the mucosa of sensitized animals produces significantly more histamine when challenged with ovalbumin than the mucosa of nonsensitized animals. Addition of histamine to the tissue culture medium in which normal gastric mucosa was cultured led to an increase in [3H]-thymidine uptake at low concentration, and a decrease at high concentration. Serotonin added to the culture medium had no significant effect on [3H]-thymidine uptake, but heparin at high concentration was found to have a stimulatory effect. These studies show that anaphylactic gastric ulceration is associated with an increase in mucosal cell turnover, and that the mast cell mediator responsible for this increase may be histamine.

Abrogation by subsequent feeding of antibody response including IgE, in parenterally immunized mice

We have investigated the possibility of oral administration of ovalbumin (OVA) to prevent a secondary antibody response and interrupt reaginic antibody production. Repeated feeding seems necessary for both. Quality of results was dependent on the number of ingestions. Differences in abrogation of antibody response between mice strains were observed. Best results were obtained with AKR mice, good suppression was seen in C3H strain, and inconsistent results were obtained with DBA/2. 10 OVA oral doses were necessary to prevent a secondary antibody response in parenterally immunized mice, but 4 doses interrupted reaginic production in sensitized AKR mice. These results demonstrate that antigen feeding can prevent a secondary antibody response and interrupt reaginic antibody production.

Gastric ulcer disease: gastric ulcer induced by mucosal anaphylaxis in ovalbumin-sensitized Praomys (Mastomys) natalensis

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Protective immunity and the cell-mediated immune response in mice following oral administration of an avirulent strain of Salmonella typhimurium

Oral vaccination with Salmonella typhi-murium M 206 has been shown to confer highly significant protection on BALB/c and low-responder (LR) Biozzi mice a 30 days, but no protection was observed in high-responder (HR) Biozzi mice. None of the three strains showed any evidence of significant protection 10 days after primary vaccination. A correlation was noted between the degree of protection and the results of tests measuring cell-mediated immunity, both in vitro (MIF test), and in vivo (colloidal carbon clearance). Phagocytosis was significantly more active in vaccinated mice, both at days 10 and 30, except in HR mice. MIF production was only found at day 10 in HR mice, and was present at day 30 in both HR and LR mice. Our results emphasize the importance of the role of macrophage phagocytosis in the protection of mice against Salmonella infections.

Role of homocytotropic antibodies in pathogenesis of gastric ulcer

Praomys (Mastomys) natalensis were sensitised by peritoneal injection of ovalbumin mixed with aluminium hydroxide. The animals developed homocytotoropic IgE and IgG 1 antibodies. When presensitised animals were challenged with ovalbumin in the gastric wall, a gastric ulcer appeared. This ulceration, induced by an immunological release of histamine, could be inhibited by the administration of disodium cromoglycate. The present model is useful for producing a gastric ulcer in a determined site. It supports the theory of a possible allergic component in the pathogenesis of the human disease.

Distribution of IgA 1 and IgA 2 plasma cells in various normal human tissues and in the jejunum of plasma IgA-deficient patients

The distribution of IgA 1 and IgA 2 plasma cells was studied in normal human tissues. IgA 2 is a minor constituent in peripheral lymph nodes as well as in serum and in bone marrow plasma cells. An increased proportion of IgA 2 plasma cells was observed in gastric and intestinal mucosa, as well as in bronchial mucosa and salivary and mammary glands. Tonsils and mesenteric lymph nodes exhibit values intermediate between those of central and peripheral lymphoid systems. In patients with plasma IgA-deficiency, IgA 2 is the predominant intestinal IgA plasma cells. This may explain the frequent association of an asymptomatic condition and plasma IgA deficiency.

Response of anamnestic IgA-producing cells in the mouse gut after repeated intragastric immunization

1) Repeated intragastric immunization after a 90-day interval results in a local immunologic memory. 2) Repeated intragastric immunization does not induce the same circulation of gut lymphocytes as does the initial oral immunization. 3) Measurement of circulating antibodies is a poor criterion for gauging the local immune status. 4) A gastric intubation dose of 4 X 10(9) SRBC given daily for 4 days appears to be suboptimal for the induction of a local immune response.

Effect of cimetidine on tritiated thymidine incorporation by the stomach, jejunum, colon, liver and spleen of mice

The administration of cimetidine to mice at a dose of 200 mg/kg and per 24 h inhibits the tritiated thymidine incorporation by the stomach, jejunum, colon and liver and stimulates incorporation by the spleen. These results may furnish an explanation for the rare secondary effects observed in humans. It is also proposed that endogenous histamine may play a role of cytohormone, regulating tissue trophicity.

Effect of food intake on circulating antigen-antibody complexes in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis

Serum antibodies directed against 5 alimentary antigens and antigen-antibody complexes were determined in 15 control subjects and in 15 patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Cirrhotic patients presented an increased immune response against these antigens. Antigen-antibody complexes were detected in the fasting plasma of 7 cirrhotic patients. The level of immune complexes increased in 6 out of these 7 patients 1 h after lunch.

[Regeneration of the reproductive system and differentiation of extra-gonadic germ cells inEisenia foetida Sav.]

The regeneration of the reproductive system from the body wall reduced to its parietal mesoderm covered with epidermis has been studied in adult worms. It has enabled us to show that each reproductive organ can normally become differentiated independently of the others, from determined territories in the older parietal mesoderm.An extra-gonadic germ line is liable to be formed in the coelomic layers, particularly in the ventral region of the genital segments. This line may become differentiated as male but not as female.The extra-gonadic germ elements appearing in the female territory are incapable of complete self-differentiation.

[Consequences of experimental triploidy on the fertility and sexual differentiation of a normally amphigonic and diploid lombrician, Eisenia foetida Sav]

The fertility of experimental triploid worms has been studied in Eisenia foetida Sav. This study has led us to the conclusion that the female germ line is abortive while the male germ line may as an exception take part in fertilization. Histological controls have confirmed the differentiating ability of the male line and the break in the development of the female line.