Teizo Kabashima

Intravenous gammaglobulin therapy for thromboneutropenic neonates of mothers with systemic lupus erythematosus

i.v. IgG therapy was used to treat thromboneutropenia in 2 male neonates of mothers with SLE. The mothers of both neonates were thrombocytopenic but not neutropenic during the last 3 months of their pregnancies. Anti‐platelet and anti‐neutrophil IgG directed against platelets and neutrophils from the neonates were detected in the sera of both mothers. The platelet and neutrophil counts increased significantly with i.v. IgG therapy in both neonates, i.v. IgG therapy is a safe and effective regimen for passive immune thromboneutropenia.

A novel antibody wich precipitates 7.5S RNA is isolated from a patient with autoimmune disease

Abstract We have isolated a nobel antibody from a patient with autoimmune disease which reacts with the ribonucleoprotein complex containing 7.5S RNA. The 7.5S RNA consists of two species having slightly different electrophoretic mobilities. Fingerprinting analysis of these two species demonstrates that nucleotide sequences of the RNAs are very similar to each other. Nucleotide composition of the 7.5S RNA is found to be; A/U/G/C=20/18/32/30, indicating that the ratio of GC content of the RNA(62%) is relatively high. The RNA contains a pseudouridylic acid residue as a modified nucleotide. Immunofluorescence pattern stained with the antibody suggests that the ribonucleoprotein complex containing 7.5S RNA is located both in the nucleolus and the cytoplasm.

Monocyte-mediated suppression of T lymphocyte blastogenesis and its reversal by deoxyguanosine. Defects in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

We investigated monocyte-mediated suppression of T lymphocyte blastogenesis in normals and patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). When monocytes from normals were cocultured with autologous T lymphocytes with a ratio of 1:1 and stimulated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA), 3H-thymidine incorporation by T lymphocytes was suppressed. This monocyte-mediated suppression was reversed by purine nucleoside phosphorylase substrate, deoxyguanosine. In SLE patients, both monocyte-mediated suppression and its reversal by deoxyguanosine were defective. The defective function was observed both in patients with active and inactive diseases. The defective function was studied sequentially before and after change in the clinical status of patients. The defects remained unaffected regardless of the disease activity. The defects in monocyte-mediated suppression and its reversal by deoxyguanosine in SLE patients as demonstrated in our study suggest the presence of intrinsic monocyte dysfunction in SLE.

A case of giant cell arteritis simulating aortitis syndrome : A case report.

73才の女性で,巨細胞動脈炎に甲状腺機能亢進症と糖尿病を合併した症例を経験した.大動脈弓部動脈群を侵す巨細胞動脈炎と大動脈炎症候群との鑑別には,発病年令,頭痛,側頭動脈の圧痛,肺・腎血管病変の有無, polymyalgia rheumaticaの合併の有無,抗大動脈抗体の存在およびその抗体価, HLAなどが参考になると考えられる.診断上,生検は必須であるが,病変が分節的に側頭動脈以外の小動脈にも及ぶことがある.甲状腺機能亢進症を合併していたが,両者の合併の背景には自己免疫学的な機序の関与が示唆された.