Mary Ann South

Differential Stimulation of Mouse Lymphoid Cells by Phytohemagglutinin and Pokeweed Mitogen

Summary The in vitro response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and pokeweed mitogen (PWM) of lymphoid cells from thymectomized, irradiated, bone marrow reconstituted (TIR) mice was compared to that of intact age controls. TIR spleens, lacking cells of the thymus-dependent compartment, responded only to pokeweed mitogen, whereas spleens from intact donors responded to both PHA and PWM. These results suggest that PHA stimulates thymus-dependent cells; whereas PWM stimulates cells of the non-thymus-dependent compartment.

A fatal X-linked recessive reticuloendothelial syndrome with hyperglobulinemia: X-linked recessive reticuloendotheliosis

In the past two generations of a Latin American family, 17 preschool-age boys died following a brief illness characterized by fever, hepatosplenomegaly, lymph node enlargement, purpura, hyperglobulinemia, and anemia. All were related through their mothers, and the disorder occurred in the pattern of an X-linked recessive trait. Postmortem examination of 12 boys revealed widespread infiltration by immature mononuclear cells and mature plasma cells. Results of extensive studies in the most recently affected boy are described.

IgA IN NEONATAL IMMUNITY

The most common sites of infection, in the neonate and throughout life, are the peculiar areas inside yet outside the body, the mucous membranes. It has been realized since the beginning of knowledge of the adaptive immune response that the mucous membranes must require an unusual defense system. Only two years after the definition of antibody activity in the serum, antibodies were found in sa1iva.l Yet it has only been within the last decade that a beginning has been made in the definition of the unique immune system that exists for the mucous membranes. This communication will present evidence that a mucous membrane immune system, the “local” immune system, truly exists, that it is separate from the general immune system in both affector and effector limbs, and that it is heavily involved with a particular form of immune globulin, IgA. An attempt will be made to relate the existence of this system to the problem of neonatal enteric infection.

Chronic granulomatous disease of childhood in a 17-year-old boy

A patient is described who had many features of chronic granulomatous disease of childhood, including life-long history of illness, simultaneous granulomatous and purulent response to an organism of low-grade virulence, presence of “golden histiocytes” in the affected organs, and faulty bactericidal capacity of phagocytes. Differing from the classically described cases were his long survival and the absence of evidence of a sex-linked genetic pattern.

Anti-LW Antibody Production in a Child with Combined Immune Deficiency Disease (Thymic Alymphoplsia)

IN 1967 a six-month-old boy was evaluated for severe moniliasis and persistent pneumonia. A diagnosis of thymic alymphoplasia was established by the following data: low gamma-globulin levels, absen...

Cord serum IgA in congenital cytomegalovirus infection

EVALUATION of cord serum concentrations of IgM has been reported as a useful but a nonspecific aid in the diagnosis of congenital infections caused by the TORCH agents (Toxoplasma, Rubella virus, Cytomegalovirus, Herpes virus)? Melish and Hanshaw ~ reported that five of 19 (26%) infants with culture proved congenital cytomegalovirus infection had elevated cord IgM levels. It has been suggested that infants with congenital CMV infection may produce small amounts of IgA in response to antigenic stimulus by the virus2 McCracken and Shinefield a studied eight infants two to 11 days of age with clinical signs of CMV infection and found IgA present in all of the patients whereas age and weight-matched, noninfected control infants did not have detectable lgA. The concentrations of IgA and IgM in cord serum in congenitally infected and noninfected infants entered in a prospective study of congenital CMV infection are presented here.

Inhibition of the Mixed Lymphocyte Reaction with Fab Fragments from Anti-Human ALG

Summary The human mixed lymphocyte culture reaction (MLCR) as measured by incorporation of 14C-thymidine is inhibited in the presence of an appropriate concentration of equine anti-human lymphocyte globulin (ALG). Fab fragments prepared from ALG also inhibit the MLC reaction. However, unlike the intact ALG molecules, the Fab fragments are noncytotoxic for human lymphocytes. ALG derived Fab fragments could be potentially useful in suppressing allograft reactivity in vivo. We thank Dr. Gordon R. Dreesman for performing the analytical ultracentrifuge analyses and Mrs. Jane Ann Martin for her technical assistance.

A Chick Embryo Model for the Study of Allograft Rejection

Discussion and Summary The data presented here indicate that fragments of heart tissue from outbred chick embryo donors of 5–14 days of incubation may be successfully grafted to the CAM of chick embryos which are 8 days of incubation or older. The cardiac tissue becomes vascularized, continues to grow and continues contractions which rhythmically expel blood from the vascular channels. The CAM of embryos younger than 13 days of incubation do not accept the grafts. Rejection of the grafts in more than 90% of the embryos can be effected by administration of peripheral blood lymphoid cells from outbred chickens. Washed cells obtained from the spleens of chickens can also bring about graft rejection but experiments comparing lymphoid cells from the spleen and the blood of the same chicken showed that the blood lymphoid cells are consistrntly more effective in producing rejection The incidence of rejection reactions is directly related to the cell dosage. Conversely the number of surviving. rhythmically contracting grafts is indirectly related to the cell dosage. Histological studies showed that massive cellular ac:cumulations occur in the celltreated grafts. These are associated with destruction of most or all of the cardiac fibers by day 10 following administration of the cells.

THE IgM ANTIBODY RESPONSE IN RUBELLA DURING PREGNANCY

VESIKARI AND VAHERI (1968) and Best, Banatvala and Watson (1969), working mainly with non-pregnant cases of acute rubella, studied the sedimentation profile of rubella haemagglutination-inhibiting (HI) antibodies in sucrose density gradients. Rubella HI antibodies corresponding to heavy immunoglobulins IgM were found exclusively in serum collected during the first month after the onset of symptoms. Macrae (1 969) expressed doubts about the practicability of this complex method for diagnosis of recent infection. The validity of the method has been questioned by Newman, Horta-Barbosa and Sever (1 969) who found overlapping of IgG into the IgM-containing fractions of serum from children with congenital rubella, In experiments started before the appearance of the above reports, we attempted to identify the rubella virus-specific immunoglobulins by density gradient centrifugation of serum from pregnant women. Under the conditions presented in this report, IgM antibodies to rubella virus could be identified by examining a single fraction which was found not to be contaminated by IgG. As in non-pregnant subjects, rubella virus antibody activity was detected in the IgM fraction for only the 1st mth after the onset of the rubella rash.