A comparative study of the outcome of renal transplantation in peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis patients

Fifty-four cases of renal transplantation performed in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients were compared with 48 cases in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Three immunosuppressive treatments were used: prednisolone, azathioprine and cyclosporine. Methylprednisolone was used to treat rejection, and polyclonal Atgem or monoclonal OKT3 antibodies were used if there was no response. There was no difference in sex, age, donor source, immunosuppressive regime, duration of dialysis before transplantation, or duration of follow-up between the two groups. Following transplantation, there was no significant difference in patient mortality and survival or graft survival between the groups. The incidences of infections were also similar in the two groups. PD is commonly used in developing countries as an alternative to hemodialysis for the treatment of chronic renal failure. This study has shown that renal transplantation can be successfully performed in patients treated by this method.

Multinucleate condition of Puccinia striiformis in colonies isolated from infected wheat leaves with macerating enzymes

A fluorescence microscopy study was carried out to examine the multinuclear condition in parasitic colonies of one isolate of Puccinia striiformis in leaf tissue of a susceptible wheat. At 5 and 10 days after inoculation, colonies were isolated with macerating enzymes and sequentially stained with 4′-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole and Calcofluor for nuclear counts in the intercellular hyphal cells, haustorium mother cells, and urediniospores. In 10-day-old colonies, more than 98% of the hyphal cells located adjacent to the uredinia were binucleate. Elsewhere in the colonies, the hyphal cells were highly variable in nuclear number; approximately 20% contained two nuclei, 18% contained four, 26% contained six, and 28% contained eight. In 5-day-old colonies, the hyphal cells were also highly variable in nuclear number, regardless of where they were located in the colony. The nuclear condition of haustorium mother cells was less variable; the majority contained either two or four nuclei. All urediniospores examined were binucleate. In the parasitic state, the multinucleate condition apparently occurs only in P. striiformis and not in other cereal rust fungi. Key words: multinucleate condition, stripe rust, Puccinia striiformis, DAPI, Calcofluor.

Extracellular beta-1,3-Glucanases in Stem Rust-Affected and Abiotically Stressed Wheat Leaves : Immunocytochemical Localization of the Enzyme and Detection of Multiple Forms in Gels by Activity Staining with Dye-Labeled Laminarin

Endo-beta-1,3-glucanase activity in intercellular washing fluid (IWF) from leaves of wheat (Triticum aestivum) increased 10-fold 4 days after leaves were infected with the wheat stem rust fungus (Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici), while exo-beta-1,3-glucanase activity remained unchanged at a low level. Heat and ethylene stress had no effect, whereas mercury treatment resulted in a 2-fold increase in endo-beta-1,3-glucanase activity. With a new method of activity staining using laminarin-Remazol brilliant blue as substrate in overlay gels, 18 electrophoretic forms of endo-beta-1,3-glucanase were detected in IWF from unstressed leaves and up to 24 forms in IWF from stem rust-infected leaves. Most of the increase in beta-1,3-glucanase activity and in the number of beta-1,3-glucanases after rust infection was due to a nonspecific, stress-related effect on the plant, but two major forms of the enzyme probably originated from the fungus. beta-1,3-Glucanase was localized cytochemically with anti-barley-beta-1,3-glucanase antibodies. With preembedding labeling, the enzyme was demonstrated on the outside of host and fungal cell walls. Postembedding labeling localized the enzyme in the host plasmalemma and in the domain of host cell walls adjoining the plasmalemma, throughout walls of intercellular hyphal cells and haustoria, in the fungal cytoplasm, and in the extrahaustorial matrix. Cross-reactivity of beta-1,3-glucanases from wheat and germinated uredospores of the rust fungus with the anti-barley-beta-1,3-glucanase antibodies was confirmed in dot blot assays and on Western blots.