Tamar Gotlieb-Stematsky

Studies on the tumorigenic properties of baby hamster kidney cell lines and a method of selection of high and low tumorigenic clones

Abstract Established baby hamster kidney cell lines (BHK 21 , C 13 , 1BH 3 ) may produce tumors when 1000 cells or more are injected subcutaneously in adult hamsters. Highly tumorigenic and low tumorigenic cell clones can be selected from such cell lines by growing dispersed cells in the presence or absence, respectively, of CO 2 . Highly tumorigenic cell clones will produce tumors with as few as 10 cells, whereas the nontumorigenic clones will produce only an occasional tumor when 10 5 to 10 6 cells are injected. The arrangement of the cells in respect to each other in the cell culture was not correlated with the tumorigenic property. Various degrees of piling up and acidity are exhibited by the different cell cultures.

Mild form of acute herpes simplex encephalitis in childhood

We describe two patients, aged 3.5 years and 15 years, with a mild form of herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE). The disease was characterized by convulsions and lymphocytic pleocytosis in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Involvement of herpes simplex virus (HSV) was established by antibody measurements in serum and CSF. Recovery was complete with no antiviral drug administration. It appears that scrutinized serological work-up would widen our concept of mild forms of HSE, with a better prognosis and complete recovery.

Antibody- and Cell-Mediated Immunity to Herpes Simplex and Epstein—Barr Viruses in Psychotic Patients

The search for a possible viral etiology of mental illnesses gained momentum in the last decade with the important discoveries of viruses and viruslike infectious agents in slow progressing encephalopathies and diseases of the central nervous system. In addition, case reports accumulated in the medical literature that described and pointed to temporal or antecedent association between infectious diseases, in particular herpes and infectious mononucleosis, and psychotic manifestations (Shearer and Finch, 1964; Gotlieb-Stematsky and Glaser, 1982). Special interest was directed towards the understanding of factors implicated in schizophrenia (Torrey and Peterson, 1974; Rimon, 1983). Efforts at correlating serological parameters pointing to viral infections associated with mental diseases were carried out by Rimon and Halonen (1969), who were the first to demonstrate elevated herpes simplex virus (HSV) antibodies in patients with depressive illnesses. Rising antibody titers to HSV were found by Cleobury et al. 1971) in aggressive psychopaths, and high antibody titers to HSV and cytomegalovirus (CMV) were demonstrated by Lycke et al. (1974) in hospitalized depressive psychosis patients. Moreover, cell-mediated immunity (CMI) to HSV, investigated by Cappel et al. (1978) in psychotic depression, was found similar to that observed after acute HSV infection or recurrence. On the other hand, antibodies to HSV were not found significantly higher in hospitalized psychiatric children than in normal ones (Jorgensen et al., 1982).

Blastogenic response of lymphocytes derived from patients with hematopoietic malignancies to antigens of a type C retrovirus isolated from a Burkitt's lymphoma cell line

Cellular immune response to antigens associated with a type C retrovirus derived from Burkitts lymphoma (BL) lymphoblastoid cells was studied in patients with hematopoietic malignancies, noncancer patients and healthy controls. Response was determined by lymphocyte blastogenesis assay measuring [3H]-thymidine incorporation, thereby enabling the calculation of stimulation indices (SI). Positive response (SI greater than 2.0) was demonstrated in patients with multiple myeloma (MM), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) and BL. No response was demonstrated in the non-cancer and healthy controls. Specific blastogenic response was obtained towards antigen extracted from three different cell lines infected with the tested type C retrovirus. No response was evident towards purified whole or purified disrupted virions or antigen extracted from murine myeloma MOPC-315 cells secreting a murine type C retrovirus or an antigen extracted from Mason-Pfizer monkey virus-infected NC-37 cells. The correlation between human hematopoietic malignancies and the in vitro lymphocyte blastogenic response to the BL-derived type C retrovirus was statistically highly significant.

Ultrastructure of Intracytoplasmic Particles in a Burkitt’s Lymphoma Cell Line

Electron microscopic examination of a Burkitts-lymphoma-derived cell line, P3HR-1, repeatedly revealed clusters of membrane-free nucleoids within the cytoplasmic matrix. The particles possessed an electron-lucent center surrounded by two layers - a dense ring and a fuzzy broad outer layer.

Importance of the concomitant presence of palpable MOPC-315 tumor in stimulation of splenocytes by C-type MOPC-315 virus in Vitro

BALB/c mice inoculated with MOPC-315 tumor cells developed an antiviral response against C-type particles extracted from subcutaneous tumors of plasmacytoma-bearing mice as shown by in vitro stimulation of spleen cells from tumor-bearing mice by virus-containing preparations. Induction of blastogenic response by virus-containing preparations was found to occur in unfractionated spleen cell populations, the glass-wool non-adherent fraction (depleted of macrophages and tumor cells) and the nylon-wool non-adherent (T-enriched) fraction of spleen cells. The antiviral response was no more detectable in spleens of tumor-bearing mice cured by melphalan. Cured mice developed a strong antitumor immune response as shown by their resistance to challenge with a tumorigenic dose of MOPC-315 tumor cells. However, challenge with tumor cells of cured, resistant mice did not induce reappearance of antiviral response.

Interferon in Schizophrenia

The association of schizophrenia and viral infection and/or immune dysfunction was considered and critically summarized by DeLisi and Crow (1986).

Immune Modulation in Major Depressive Patients in Remission

Compromised immunologic function has been demonstrated in psychological stress, bereavement, and depression (Calabrese et al., 1987). Lymphocyte function has been assessed in vitro by proliferative response to nonspecific mitogenic agents such as phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A), and pokeweed mitogen (PWM), yielding blunted stimulation with the three mitogens in the bereaved subjects (Bartrop et al.,1977; Schleifer et al., 1983). In addition, Schleifer et al. (1983) studied prospectively bereaved individuals for white blood cell counts and T and B lymphocyte subpopulations and found no changes in the parameters tested.