R. L. Ozere

Congenital cytomegalovirus infection in two siblings from consecutive pregnancies.

Both the first and second infants of a young mother had congenital cytomegalovirus infection. The first child had severe cytomegalic inclusion disease and died at age 30 days. The second, born within a year, had viruria at birth and continued to excrete cytomegalovirus at 8½ months; at 5 months she also had viremia. Although congenital cytomegalovirus infection in more than one sibling may be rare, the possibility of its occurrence should not be overlooked; infants born to the mother of a previously affected child should be subjected to long-term follow-up. It is probable that if a healthy adult woman, who is a chronic cytomegalovirus carrier, becomes pregnant, the infection may be passed transplacentally to the fetus.

A new form of nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency in two brothers with defective T-cell function

Two brothers, age 9 and 11, respectively, have marked deficiency of nucleoside phosphorylase associated with defective T-cell function and normal B-cell function. Unlike the previously described five patients with this syndrome, each of these children has sufficient NP catalytic activity in their red blood cells (below 1% of the normal level) to be visualized after electrophoresis and staining for the enzyme. Their healthy sibling has normal NP activity and a normal isozyme pattern. The nonconsanguineous parents have about half-normal NP activity, but their electrophoretic patterns differ from each others and from those of their affected children. These findings are consistent with genetic heterogeneity at the NP structural gene locus, resulting in compound heterozygosity for two different abnormal alleles.

Interferon Production by Human Leucocytes in vitro. Reduced Levels In Lymphatic Leukemia.

Summary In vitro production of interferon by human normal and leukemic leucocytes, employing the Sendai-Sindbis system, has been compared. The interferon response of leucocytes derived from 13 treated cases of acute and chronic lymphatic leukemia, have been found to be markedly lower than that of normal controls. Likewise, one untreated case of acute lymphatic leukemia, also showed a depressed interferon level.

Production of Interferon by Human Mononuclear Leucocytes.

Summary A technique to produce suspensions of human mononuclear leucocytes has been employed to demonstrate the production of interferon by these cells in vitro using a Sendai-Sindbis virus system. There is also evidence from the experimental data that polymorphonuclear leucocytes participate in interferon production. Our thanks are due to Drs. C. E. van Rooyen and J. Embil, Jr., for their continuous interest and guidance and to Surgeon Captain R. H. Roberts, R. C. N. for valuable assistance in arranging blood donations.

LETHAL VIRUS-EMULSIFIER|[sol]|SOLVENT INTERACTION: IN VIVO AND IN VITRO STUDIES

Chemical emulsifiers and solvents are widely used in industrial compounds as dispersal or wetting agents. These compounds, which include insecticide spray formulations, are diverse alkylated aromatic molecules largely derived from petroleum oil byproducts. Previous experiments (Science, 192, pp. 1351-1353, 1976) have indicated increased lethality of EMC virus-infected young mice pre-exposed to several of these compounds. Further experiments with young mice using the emulsifiers Toximul, and Atlox, and the solvent Aerotex, have shown each enhances, to varying degrees, the lethality of EMC in suckling mice.Similarly various tissue culture systems (Hela, L-929, VERO, and secondary human kidney cells) were pretreated with subtoxic concentrations of the chemicals (0.01-10 ppm) and subsequently infected with appropriate viruses (VSV, EMC, Polio Type I). The results indicate that these chemicals significantly potentiate the plaquing efficiency of the culture systems.The potentiating effect of these chemicals on certain viral infections has thus been demonstrated both in vivo and vitro.The manner in which these complex chemicals alter a hosts reaction to a virus may be important in the pathogenesis of such conditions as Reyes syndrome.