Vernon N. Dodson

Immunoglobulin Binding in Cardiomyopathic Hearts

Bound gamma globulin was demonstrated by the direct immunofluorescent technique in heart tissue from three patients with severe congestive cardiomyopathy. In two of these patients complement (&bgr;1C) was also bound to the heart muscle. Heart tissue from one of six patients who died of myocardial infarction showed a trace of bound gamma globulin, but no bound complement. During life, the heart in advanced cardiomyopathy may preferentially fix heart-reactive immunoglobulins to specific sarcolemmal and subsarcolemmal antigens, and antiheart antibody may not be detectable in the serum.

Isozyme profiles and protein patterns in specific organ damage

Serum lactic dehydrogenase isozymes have been utilized as a means of detecting specific organ damage in rats. The serum LDH isozyme patterns seen in response to liver or kidney damage are markedly different, thus these patterns were utilized to identify the damaged organ. Liver damage resulted in increased activity of the serum LDH-5 isozyme while kidney damage produced increased activity of LDH-1 and LDH-2. The ip injection of mercuric chloride (HgCl2) resulted in elevated activity of LDH-1 and LDH-2, characteristic of kidney damage, after doses as low as 2 mg/kg. In a time sequence study following the injection of 4 mg HgCl2/kg body weight, there was an early elevation of LDH-5 suggestive of liver damage. This was followed approximately 12 hours after injection by marked increase of LDH-1 and LDH-2 characteristic of kidney damage. An alteration of the serum protein electrophoretic pattern was also noticed in HgCl2 treated animals. This technique of studying serum isozyme patterns may become a valuable tool in the detection of organ damage produced by toxic compounds.

Certain immunologic substances in the serum of patients with myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular diseases

Abstract Serum anti-heart hemagglutinins occurred in 29 per cent of patients with myocardial infarction, as compared to 6 per cent of normal control subjects, had a high prevalence in patients with rheumatic heart disease, occurred in 2 of 5 with a cardiomyopathy, and had a very low frequency in individuals who had noncardiac diseases with or without a vascular component. Serum inhibitors of anti-heart hemagglutinations were found in one half of the patients with myocardial infarction and in those having diseases with vascular involvement, e.g., lupus erythematosus, pulmonary embolism, and syphilitic aortitis. The inhibitors found associated with cardiovascular diseases inhibit at either the antigen or antiserum site during the hemagglutination test, whereas the normal sera which display inhibition do so at both sites, suggesting a lack of anti-heart specificity. From these data it appears that, with the sequential use of both the anti-heart hemagglutination technique and the inhibition test, positive results can be obtained in over one half of the patients with myocardial infarction. As diagnostic adjuncts, these tests still offer only limited assistance in the clinical detection of cardiovascular diseases. A positive anti-heart hemagglutination inhibition test alone appears to be related to less specific vascular damage.

Chemical Histologic and Immunologic Responses in Rats to CCl4 By Different Routes of Administration.

Summary Rats given a single, small dose of CCl4 by gastric intubation showed a significant elevation of liver lipids and liver hydroxyproline when sacrificed after 7 days. Rats which received a comparable dose by subcutaneous injection showed only elevated hydroxyproline levels. When the same dose was administered by inhalation neither liver lipids nor hydroxyproline content were increased. The incidence of microscopic lipidoses was greatest in the gastric and subcutaneous groups, while the incidence of necrosis was greater in the gastric and inhalation groups than in the subcutaneous group. A few immune responses were demonstrated by anti-liver hemagglutinations but none by Ouchterlony gel precipitin or skin tests.

Chemical, histologic and immunologic responses in rats to CCl4. II. Relative influence of choline deficiency.

Summary Rats were exposed to two different dose levels of CC14 by inhalation while on a normal diet or one deficient in choline for 2 or 4 weeks. The lipid and hydroxyproline content and the histology of the livers were studied. Anti-liver factors were determined by hemagglutination and precipitin methods and skin tests utilizing extracts prepared from normal and CC4-exposed rats. Choline deficiency produced the greatest lipidosis in the liver and was associated with a high prevalence of anti-liver serum factors by hemagglutination. Under the conditions of these experiments, CC14 did little to influence these parameters.