Bram Rose

Localization of Fluorescent Antibodies to Human Growth Hormone in Human Anterior Pituitary Glands.

Conclusions Using the fluorescent antibody technic it has been shown that labelled rabbit antibodies to Raben human growth hormone localized specifically in cells of the human anterior pituitary gland. This antibody probably localizes exclusively in eosinophil cells of normal human pituitaries and in eosinophilic adenomata from patients with acromegaly.

Effect of Adrenocorticotropic Hormone on Anaphylaxis in the Guinea Pig

Summary The administration of adrenocorticotrophic extract to sensitized guinea pigs prior to injection of a shock dose of antigen failed to influence the course of anaphylactic shock in a group of 18 animals.

Mechanism of cyro-precipatation—I characteristics of a human cyroglobulin

Abstract Studies were undertaken to evaluate the physico-chemical and immunochemical characteristics of a particular human cryoprotein obtained from the serum of a patient suffering from idiopathic cryoglobulinemia. Physico-chemical characterization studies showed that this particular protein represents a single species of protein molecules and belongs to human immunoglobulin G class with lambda type light polypeptiode chain and γ1 type heavy chain specificity. The solubility of the cryoprotein depends on temperature, pH and the concentration of ionic and non-ionic solutes. Although the number of basic amino acid residues remained the same as the patients own IgG, the cryoprotein has relatively larger proportion of hydrophobic amino acid residues and lesser number of acidic amino acid residues. Studies on the hydrodynamic properties at pH 5·0 suggest that the cryoprotein has a shape more spherical than that of normal human IgG. Studies on the transition from ‘gel’ to ‘sol’ state under certain conditions of temperature, pH, and ionic and non-ionic solutes indicate that the phenomenon of cryoprecipitation as observed here reflects an inadequacy in water: protein interaction.

Studies on the effect of the administration of pituitary adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) to a case of Loeffler's syndrome and a case of tropical eosinophilia

Abstract 1.1. Pituitary adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) was administered to a patient with Loefflers syndrome and a patient with tropical eosinophilia. The ACTH was given intramuscularly in divided doses. A total of 140 mg. and 120 mg. were administered, respectively. 2.2. A transient increase in total circulating leucocytes occurred in both subjects. There followed a marked decrease to virtual disappearance of circulating eosinophiles in the patient with Loefflers syndrome. In the case of tropical eosinophilia, however, although a decrease in total eosinophiles occurred, the percentage decrease was much less and did not persist. 3.3. The relation of these findings to the clinical picture of these two syndromes is discussed. 4.4. The blood histamine level was within normal limits even in the presence of high eosinophilia and did not vary with the changes in eosinophile counts.

Alterations in the Blood Histamine in Shock

Conclusions In a series of patients in varying types of shock manifested by clinical signs, hemoconcentration, and lowering of the B.P. the total blood histamine has been determined. The results indicate that in the cases studied a marked diminution of the histamine content of the blood occurs when shock is established as compared with control values and those after recovery. There appears to be some correlation between the severity of the shock and the degree of blood histamine decrease. Blood histamine has also been found to be low in agonal states. The significance of these findings is discussed.

Corticotropilin, cortisone, and hydrocortisone in diseases of hypersensitivity: I. Biological corticoid excretion during acute symptoms

Abstract The excretion of urinary glucocorticoids was studied in a group of fifty-eight patients during active asthma. It was shown that persistence of symptoms is not associated with a rise in the level of glucocorticoid excretion in the urine. Spontaneous recovery from asthma and recovery induced by nonspecific therapy, however, are associated with a rise in urinary corticoid excretion. The results suggest that the asthmatic patient may excrete smaller quantities of urinary corticoids than do normal subjects and that the persistence of symptoms may be due in part to an inability of the pituitary or adrenal to augment the output of corticoids or to respond to the stimulus of asthma. The results in two cases of urticaria and nine of atopic dermatitis do not differ significantly from those found in normal subjects, and in this respect they differ from the asthmatic patients.

Electrophoretic separation of skin-sensitizing antibody from the sera of ragweed-sensitive patients

Abstract 1.1. The separation of ten sera from ragweed-sensitive patients into their electrophoretically separable protein components, using starch electrophoresis, is described. The advantages of the method are discussed and several modifications are presented. 2.2. The resulting sera fractions were tested by passive transfer techniques to determine the localization of skin-sensitizing antibody present in the whole sera. 3.3. It was found that the albumin and alpha globulin fractions have no skin-sensitizing activity, while both beta and gamma globulin fractions demonstrate significant skin-sensitizing activity. These findings and the results of previous work of this nature have been discussed.

Physico-chemical and immunologic studies on macroglobulins.

Normal sera are resolved in the ultracentrifuge into two major peaks with sedimentation constants of the order of 4.5 and 6.5 S 2 and a minor peak of heavy materials, amounting to less than 3 per cent of the total proteins, with a sedimentation constant of about 20 S. In 1944, Waldenstrdm (1) reported the presence of a large amount of fast sedimenting moieties (19 to 20 S) in sera of some patients with marked hyperglobulinemia. This finding prompted him to assume that these serum components were of high molecular weight and he named them macroglobulins. He also reported that these serum components could be precipitated out on dilution of the serum with 16 volumes of distilled water. In recent years a number of workers have reported the presence of components in pathological sera with properties similar to those assigned by Waldenstrdm to macroglobulins (2-10). However, in a number of cases the macroglobulins detected by the precipitation test with distilled water had sedimentation constants as low as 12 S and as high as 30 S. On the basis of electrophoretic mobilities, macroglobulins have been reported to occur either in the 8 or y-globulin regions (2, 3, 5, 6, 8-11). Vogler, Oberhinsli, and Kofler (12) found that the diffusion coefficient for some macroglobulins was 1.2 x 10-7 cm2. per sec. in contrast to the accepted value for normal y-globulins of about 3.8 X 10-7 cm2. per sec. This finding was considered

Blood Histamine in the Rabbit During Anaphylactic Shock

Summary During acute anaphylactic shock in the rabbit, a marked decrease in total blood histamine occurs. No increase of plasma histamine is observed.

Immunologic studies of ragweed-sensitive patients treated by a single repository antigen injection.

T HE treatment of allergic rhinitis and asthma due to pollens by the injection of allergens emulsified in oil has been attempted in the past on several occasions. However, the results were not very encouraging.‘, 2 It is only recently33 4, 5 that practical and useful methods of treatment, based on the emulsion principle, have been devised. Although this mode of treatment is now widely used, several pertinent questions remain unanswered, such as the utilization of objective methods which might demonstrate the efficiency or superiority of such treatment over the conventional meth0d.O This paper is primarily concerned with immunologic studies ( SSAt titers, blocking antibody titers, hemagglutinin titers) on the sera of 35 ragweed-sensitive patients who were all treated by a single repository ragweed injection in June, 1960, at the Royal Victoria Hospital Allergy Clinic.