B. D. Janković

Neuro-Endocrine Correlates of Immune Response

Bilateral symmetrical electrolytic lesions were produced in the following areas of the rat brain: hypothalamus, reticular formation, thalamus, superior colliculus, caudate nucleus and amygdaloid compl

The embryonic lympho-neuro-endocrine relationship

Abstract The lympho-neuro-endocrine relationship was studied in 17-day-old chicken embryos thymectomized at 72 hr, bursectomized at 52–64 hr, and partially decapitated (hypophysectomized) at 33–38 hr of incubation. Semifine and ultrathin sections of the thymus, bursa of Fabricius, and adenohypophysis were examined. The bursa was underdeveloped in thymectomized and decapitated embryos; in the plical mesenchyme, there was a depletion of granulocytes in decapitated, and an abundance of granulocytes in thymectomized embryos. The thymus of decapitated embryos showed a reduction in size, partial depletion of lymphocytes, and enlargement of interlobullar areas. The thymus of bursaless embryos appeared normal. However, reticuloepithelial cells of the thymus of both decapitated and bursectomized embryos exhibited an increase in the number of secretory granules and intracytoplasmic cysts. The adenohypophysis of thymusless embryos was characterized by a moderate depletion of prolactin-producing (PRL) cells, somatotrophic (STH) cells, and gonadotrophic (GTH) cells. In bursaless embryos, the adenohypophysis showed only a slight decrease in the number of GTH cells, and PRL cells tended to be larger in size. It was concluded that the embryonic lympho-neuro-endocrine communications establish the basic structural and functional network for the developing immune system.

Preparation of specific anti-thymocyte and anti-bursacyte sera in rabbits.

A method of producing anti-thymocyte and anti-bursacyte sera in rabbits is described. Chickens which served as donors of cells were thoroughly perfused with saline to remove plasma proteins and circulating blood elements. For immunization, thymocytes were obtained from neonatally bursectomized birds, and bursacytes from chickens thymectomized at hatching. The purification of rabbit anti-lymphocyte sera included absorptions with leucocyte-free suspension of chicken erythrocytes, chicken liver cell membranes, thymocytes from bursectomized-irradiated and bursacytes from thymectomized-irradiated chickens, and chicken IgM and IgG immunoadsorbents. Cytotoxicity and fluorescent-antibody assays revealed that anti-thymocyte and anti-bursacyte sera thus produced clearly distinguished the surface antigenic determinants of thymocytes from those of bursacytes.

Negative immune deviation induced by lithium cation

Abstract Female CBA mice were treated with lithium chloride (5 and 10 mEq/kg), and immunized with sheep red blood cells. The plaque-forming cell response was much lower in lithium-treated mice than in control saline-treated mice. Multiple injections of lithium chloride induced profound morphological changes in the spleen and thymus. These immune changes were transient.

Cation-Induced Immunosuppression: The Effect of Lithium on Arthus Reactivity, Delayed Hypersensitivity and Antibody Production in the Rat

Arthus reactivity and delayed skin sensitivity to bovine serum albumin (BSA), and anti-BSA antibody production were markedly impaired in female Wistar rats repeatedly injected with lithium chloride.

Suppression of experimental allergic thyroiditis in rats treated with lithium chloride.

Abstract Wistar rats were repeatedly injected with 5 mmol of lithium chloride/kg of body weight before and during sensitization with bovine thyroglobulin in complete Freund’s adjuvant. Treatment with lithium chloride significantly suppressed Arthus and delayed skin hypersensitivity reactions to thyroglobulin, and to a lesser extent production of anti-thyroglobulin antibody and experimental allergic thyroiditis.

Amphetamine and haloperidol modulatory effects on Purkinje cell activity and on EEG power spectra in the acute rat model of epilepsy

The modulation of cerebellar Purkinje cell activity and EEG from parietal cortex was studied in the rat model of epilepsy induced by penicillin under acute haloperidol and amphetamine treatment. The discharge pattern of Purkinje cells showed tendency towards inhibition and EEG power spectra increased after parenteral administration of penicillin (1000000 IU/kg, i.p.). Acute haloperidol treatment (1 mg/kg, i.p.), performed after the development of penicillin induced epileptic episodes, elicited a prominent excitation of Purkinje cell discharges associated with parallel increase in mean EEG power spectra. However, acute DL-amphetamine treatment induced marked suppression of Purkinje cell discharges as well as outstanding decrease of the mean EEG power spectra. These results indicate that cerebellar Purkinje cells may be important in the control of seizure activity and that noradrenergic influences are relevant.

The effect of cortical lesion on systemic penicillin epilepsy in rats

There is a certain recovery of function following brain damage, due to neuronal plasticity. The experiments were performed in order to investigate the effects of cortical lesion on seizural activity in rats induced by systemic application of penicillin. The sensorimotor cortex was unilaterally removed in the lesioned animals, while the control animals were only sham operated or non-operated (before implantation of the electrodes). Seizural activity was recorded by means of electroencephalograms before and after penicillin treatment (1,000,000 I.U./kg, i.p). Testing of penicillin started at least 30 days after cortical lesion. Seizural activity was characterized by spike and wave complexes accompanied by vigilance reduction and sometimes by mild myoclonic jerks in both control and lesioned animals. The early period (about 2 h after penicillin administration) with appearance of the spike-wave discharges with relative increase of the mean total electroencephalogram powers as well as the succeeding period 2.5-5.5 h after penicillin administration) with maximum number of spike-wave discharges did not differ in the electroencephalogram of the control and lesioned animals. The late period of penicillin effect (from 6-11 h after penicillin administration) with frequent spike-wave discharges and still large mean total electroencephalogram powers was observed only in lesioned animals. It is concluded that a cortical lesion destabilizes the brain function in the rat model of epilepsy induced by parenteral administration of penicillin.

Antigenic correlation between rat brain synaptic vesicles and rat bone marrow B lymphocytes.

Rabbit anti-rat brain synaptic vesicle serum reacted with thymocytes and B lymphocytes in cytotoxicity and immunofluorescence assays. Quantitative absorption analysis revealed that this antiserum contained antibodies specific for antigenic determinants on the surface membrane of a subpopulation of rat bone marrow B lymphocytes.

Cellular and Immunological Events Following Injection of Antigen into the Chicken Thymus

It seems generally accepted that the thymus, as a “central” or primary lymphoid organ (l), is not capable of taking a direct part in the realization of immune reactions. So far as avian species are concerned, the thymus plays a role in the development of cell mediated immunity, whereas it does not interfere with the antibody-producing capacity of the immune system, the latter capacity being dependent on the function of the bursa of Fabricius. However, experimental observations made in our laboratory imply that the chicken thymus is capable of participating directly in immune responses. Consequently, chicken thymus shares some characteristics with so-called “peripheral” or secondary lymphoid tissues. Besides, it seems that the avian thymus may be engaged in antibody production.