Joerg A. Jensen

Stressful Events, Dysphoric Mood, and Immune Responsiveness

This study measured depressive symptoms in 98 men of whom 49 had and 49 had not had a recent experience of family death or serious family illness. The relationships of depression and occurrence of the stressful event to immune function was explored. Persons with higher scores on depression in both groups showed less responsiveness of their lymphocytes to phytohemagglutinin and to allogeneic cells. Data indicate that not all persons react the same way to stressful events and that those with high and low depressive features can be differentiated by their immune responses.

Anxiety and Immune Responsiveness

More stress from hospitalization, measured by level of anxiety at time of admission, in 75 males without cancer, infection, or autoimmune disease was associated with depressed immunological response of lymphocytes in vitro but positive reactions to skin tests of more delayed hypersensitivity. Findings suggest that psychological states of perceived stress and anxiety influence functioning of the immune system and could lead to greater vulnerability to infections and disease.

Renal xenograft prolongation by suppression of natural antibody

Abstract Porcine renal xenografts were prolonged ten to twenty times longer than controls by specific suppression of the dogs antipig erythrocyte antibody. Depression of antibody levels was achieved by techniques involving either multiple xenografting or intravenous administration of pig stroma. Depletion of up to 95% of the dogs antipig erythrocyte antibody was achieved without affecting normal levels of antibody against sheep erythrocytes. Addition of the dogs own pretreatment serum, given while xenografts were doing well, caused immediate rejection. Since the same canine antibody involved in rejection is also directed against the pig erythrocyte, it is likely that at least one “transplantation antigen” is common to both erythrocytes and kidney cells of the pig.

Stress and immune function in diabetes mellitus

Type I diabetic men were found to have a greater number of stresses, more perceived stress per episode, greater anxiety, poorer immune function, and less metabolic control than Type II diabetic men. Degree of family support and compliance with the medical regimen did not differ. Correlation of perceived stress with immune function and metabolic control showed that Type I had more correlates than Type II, with more perceived stress associated with more depressed immune responses.

Isolation from nurse shark serum of immune 7s antibodies with two different molecular weight H-chains

Abstract We have isolated 7S antibodies from the sera of nurse sharks hyperimmunized with bovine gamma globulin (BGG). The procedures employed in the purification were affinity column chromatography. BGG linked to Sepharose-4B and DE 52 column chromatography. The antibodies isolated by these procedures were reactive with BGG and pure by the criteria of Ouchterlony. immunoelectrophoresis and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Reductive cleavage of the 7S anti-BGG antibodies with dithiothreitol (DTT) produced predominantly 50,000 mol. wt H-chains and to a lesser degree. 72.000 mol. wt H-chains on SDS-PAGE. The L-chains were of 23.000 mol. wt. Natural 19S and 7S immunoglobulins were purified from non-immune shark sera by low ionic strength precipitation (Jensen, 1969). polyethylene glycol precipitation, DE 52 column chromatography and Concanavalin A-Sepharose affinity column chromatography. Reductive cleavage of the natural 19S and 7S immunoglobulins with DTT and analysis by SDS-PAGE revealed only 72,000 mol. wt H-chains and 23.000 mol. wt L-chains. Experimental evidence indicated that two types of 7S anti-BGG antibodies were engendered after immunization, one with H-chains of 50,000 mol. wt 7S(IgH 50 ) and another with H-chains of 72.000 mol. wt 7S (IgM). The IgH 50 is present in non-immune sera at low concentrations. A sensitive and specific procedure was developed to detect the IgH 5 immunoglobulins in non-immune sera. It involved: fluorescent labeling of the sharks immunoglobulins: specific precipitation of the labeled immunoglobulins, and separation and detection of the fluorescent labeled H-chains.

Surgical Stress in the Healthy Elderly

Surgery has sometimes been studied as a stressful event. The aim here was to determine the relationship between degrees of anxiety before surgery and postoperative outcomes in healthy old and young men. Old and young men were selected if they had no illnesses or prior surgery and were scheduled for elective hernia repair. Levels of anxiety were measured preoperatively along with other physiologic, psychologic, and immunologic modalities. Operative data and follow‐up data for 30 days were obtained. Old and young men did not differ significantly before surgery. When age groups were divided by preoperative anxiety and their postoperative outcomes compared, more anxiety was associated with more pain‐relieving medications and more disability days in each age group. Furthermore, the old anxious had even more disability days and complications than did other groups. The study points to the need to prepare the old, even those essentially in very good health, for even a minor surgical stress in order to improve their overall health outcomes.

Complement-Mediated Vasoconstriction and Graft Rejection

The hyperacute rejection of renal allografts has much in common with pig-to-dog renal xenograft rejections. An analysis of the xenograft model revealed new functional aspects of graft rejection that appear to be an integral part of the humoral immune injury. Anaphylatoxin or C5a, a cleavage product of the fifth complement component was shown to play a major role in the rejection of isolated kidneys; it was generated in pig and dog serum by activation of the complement system and caused severe Vasoconstriction in the renal vasculature. It is suggested that histocompatibility antibodies and complement may affect allograft survival via this potent mediator.

Purification and properties of the C4 inactivator from nurse shark serum.

Abstract Highly purified C4 inactivator (C4I) has been isolated from a crude C4I preparation. The crude C4I activity was generated from nurse shark serum by the procedure of Jensen (1969). The procedures employed in the purification were; (A) ammonium sulfate fractionation of the crude C4I, (B) DE 52 column chromatography, (C) hydroxyapatite column chromatography, (D) Sephadex G-100 gel filtration and (E) preparative acrylamide gel electrophoresis. Analytical disc gel electrophoresis at steps A through D in the purification procedure revealed five closely spaced protein bands (three major and two minor) that exhibited C4I activity. The five heteromorphs were separated at Step (E). Rabbit antiserum against crude C4I gave single line and arc on ouchterlony and immunoelectrophoresis with the purified material (D). Moreover, antiserum against D gave a single arc with the crude C4I. The five isomers showed esterase activity of similar specificity with Nα-acetylglycyl- l -lysine methyl ester and Nα-tosyl- l -arginine methyl ester. Experimental evidence indicates that the five heteromorphs are charge isomers. A mol. wt of ca. 67,000 was calculated for the isomers by analytical gel electrophoresis and of 70,000 by Sephadex gel filtration. The minimum mol. wt by SDS gel electrophoresis was 23,000. A three subunit structure for C4I is suggested. Treatment of human C4 with purified C4I at 37°C for 30 min resulted in a cleavage of the C4 molecule.