Anthrax vaccine. Model of a response to the biologic warfare threat

Anthrax vaccine is being administered to all 2.4 million active duty, reserve, and National Guard troops, as prophylaxis against biologic warfare. The vaccine's effectiveness in this setting may be limited. This article discusses unresolved issues of safety, with an emphasis on the need for careful surveillance of vaccines used by the military, which has sidestepped the commercial process. Also considered are ethical issues related to the development and use of military biologics, as the United States Army advances its Joint Vaccine Acquisition Program, a plan to produce more than ten vaccines specifically for biologic warfare threat, and to administer them to all military servicemembers.

A human homolog of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe rad9+ checkpoint control gene

The product of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe rad9+ gene is required for cell cycle arrest at the G2 checkpoints in response to incompletely replicated or damaged DNA. We have identified a human cDNA from an infant brain library that is a structural homolog of S. pombe rad9+, by searching the dBest data base for sequences similar to the fission yeast gene. The human gene encodes a 391-amino acid long, 42,520-Da protein that is approximately 25% identical and 52% similar to the yeast protein. The human and yeast gene products demonstrate partial conservation of function, as the human cDNA can rescue to different degrees the sensitivity of S. pombe rad9::ura4+ cells to the DNA synthesis inhibitor hydroxyurea and gamma rays, as well as the associated checkpoint controls. These results suggest an underlying conservation of the molecular mechanisms of S and G2 checkpoint control pathways in most if not all eukaryotes. Fluorescence in situ hybridization using a fragment of the corresponding human genome as a probe, in conjunction with PCR reactions employing DNA from human X rodent somatic cell hybrids, has localized the gene to human chromosome 11q13.1-13.2. This region contains a number of tumor suppressor loci, and based on the biology of checkpoint control genes, HRAD9 should be considered a strong candidate for one of them.

Family practice in Saudi Arabia: chronic morbidity and quality of care

Over a one-year period, 2990 patients attended a primary health care practice in urban Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Of these, 33.5% had chronic disorders. Clinically significant obesity (BMI > 29.9 Kg/m2) was present in 24.5% of those with chronic disorders. Musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes mellitus (DM), digestive disorders and cardiovascular disease accounted for 38%, 36%, 24% and 22% of encounters respectively. Uncontrolled DM was encountered in 7.1% while uncontrolled systolic hypertension was present in 28.8% of patients with these disorders. A significant proportion (42%) of patients with bronchial asthma required emergency management. Symptomatic relief was obtained in 57% of patients with irritable bowel and 87% of patients with osteoarthritis of the knees. The results point to a trend of morbidity similar to that encountered in developed nations with affluence and sedentary life style. There is a need to focus on obesity, life style measures that reduce weight would be expected to positively influence diabetes, hypertension and osteoarthritis of the knees. Monitoring of outcome measures would help identify areas of improvement and preventive measures.

Appearance of cytolytic antibodies in sheep lymph following immunisation with tumour cells. Identification of antibody subclasses

Sheep were immunised with mouse P815 tumour cell suspensions and at intervals afterwards lymph was collected draining from the stimulated lymph nodes. The lymph samples were fractionated by column chromatography into IgM, IgG1 and IgG2 antibody fractions; these were then assayed for cytolytic functions on 51Cr labelled target P815 cells. Complement dependent antibodies were assayed using sheep complement; activity was first detected in the IgM fraction 3-4 days after immunisation and in the IgG1 fraction at 5-6 days. No CDA activity was found in fractions of the IgG2 antibody subclass at any time. Leucocyte dependent antibodies were detected only in the IgG fraction, and they appeared simultaneously in both IgG1 and IgG2 subclasses 5-6 days after immunisation.