Kiyokatsu Tanabe

Detection of circulating antigens of Pneumocystis carinii in human sera by a sandwich enzyme-immunoassay

A countercurrent immunoelectrophoresis test has been used for detection of circulating antigens of Pneumocystis carinii in humans; however, this study describes another experiment by sandwich enzyme-immunoassay. Antiserum was prepared by immunizing rabbits with P. carinii cysts which had been propagated in athymic nude rats. Profiles of time course in patients with the positive antigenemia show that P. carinii antigens are detectable prior to an onset of acute pneumonia. Since the sandwich enzyme-immunoassay has an ability of comparing serially monitored levels of the antigen in a quantitative value, the method is to be widely used as a clinical laboratory examination.

Clinical evaluation of antimalarial regimens in Japan.

The actual situation of the treatment of malaria for the past 10 years in Japan was investigated and analyzed. As a result, it was revealed that there were not a few cases which had been treated improperly probably because of the difficulty of getting antimalarial agents. Moreover, it was made clear that the death rate on falciparum malaria was constantly high, 8.7%, as expected and the relapse rate of vivax malaria was still as high as 18.0%. There was the recrudescence of falciparum malaria at 8.1%, maybe because of the influence of the prevalence of the drug-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum. The trouble in getting antimalarial agents has been overcome since 1980. Study Group on Pharmacotherapy of Imported Tropical Diseases was organized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 1980, and antimalarial agents have been supplied free of charge through the Study Group for the treatment of the disease. The number of cases of imported malaria has increased in our country. There are a lot of problems to be solved quickly to cope with the situation: people who travel abroad should be enlightened on the danger of the infection of malaria and take prophylactics for the disease and physicians should get familiar with the disease being supplied with information about it.

Binding of HBs Antigen to HeLa Cells by Use of Reconstitution into Liposomes and Fusion by Sendai Virus

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was reconstituted into liposomes composed of phosphatidylserin. An isolated membrane fraction of HeLa cells was mixed with the liposomes, then the liposomes were incubated with HeLa cells in the presence of Sendai virus. In this system the attachment of HBsAg to the cell surface was enhanced and became resistant to treatment with trypsin‐EDTA. The presence of the HBsAg on the cell surface was revealed by immunoelectron‐microscopy. This technique may provide a model system for studying immunological reactions to HBsAg‐bearing target cells in vitro.