Platelet parameters. Part II. Platelet volume-number relationships in various normal and disease states.

The relationship between mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet count was evaluated in 259 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 311 patients with various haematological disorders. Platelet volume-number relationships determined in a previous study on normal subjects were used as a reference range. There was a significant inverse relationship between MPV and platelet count in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (r = -0.

Platelet parameters. Part I. Platelet counts and mean platelet volume in normal and pregnant subjects.

Platelet counts and mean platelet volume (MPV) were studied in 564 normal subjects and 297 pregnant women using a Coulter Model S-Plus electronic counter. The reproducibility of these measurements both intra- and inter-sample was documented. The mean platelet count in the normal group was 283 x 10(9)/l while the mean MPV was 9.

Legionella bozemanii pneumonia in an immunocompromised patient.

Legionella bozemanii, a rare cause of pneumonia, has a predilection for patients with impaired cellular immunity and underlying disease. We report the 12th culture-proven case of this infection, acquired in the community by a patient undergoing chemotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The diagnosis was established when studies of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid produced a positive reaction with species-specific fluorescent antibody and growth on selective culture media.

Platelet aggregations, fatty acids, clotting factors and serum lipids in rural and urban blacks, and urban whites in South Africa.

Platelet fatty acids, platelet aggregations, and coagulation factors were measured in 27 rural blacks, 27 urban blacks and 39 urban whites. Platelets were significantly less aggregable to collagen and arachidonic acid in in both black groups as compared to whites (p less than 0.01), but there were no significant differences in ADP or epinephrine aggregation between these groups.

Pregnancy induced hypertension: will treatment with dietary eicosapentaenoic acid be effective?

The current understanding of endothelial membrane prostaglandin metabolism is presented together with an explanation of how this may be altered in pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). A hypothesis is proposed to explain why dietary supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) may reverse abnormal prostaglandin metabolism, increase membrane fluidity and lower blood pressure in PIH.

Major histocompatibility antigens and lymphocyte subsets during experimental allergic neuritis in the Lewis rat.

Major histocompatibility antigens were identified in frozen sections of normal Lewis rat peripheral nerve tissue with monoclonal antibodies and an avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex system. Class I antigen is normally required for cytotoxic/suppressor T lymphocyte function and class II antigen for activation of helper T lymphocytes. In the sciatic nerves class I antigen was expressed diffusely by most endoneurial and perineurial cells but class II antigen only by a minority.

Normal haematological reference values in the adult black population of the Witwatersrand.

Normal haematological reference values for healthy adult blacks residing on the Witwatersrand are given. The haemoglobin concentration was 13.95 +/- 0.

Reactive thrombocytosis in pulmonary tuberculosis.

The incidence of reactive thrombocytosis in active pulmonary tuberculosis was studied in 122 patients. Thrombocytosis was common, platelet counts often exceeding 1 X 10(12)/1. A significant inverse correlation was noted between the mean platelet volume and the platelet count (r = -0.

A controlled trial of nandrolone decanoate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in postmenopausal women.

To determine whether an anabolic steroid had any benefit in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis 47 patients entered a parallel group study. Twenty four received nandrolone decanoate 50 mg intramuscularly every third week for two years and 23 patients received no anabolic steroids. Other therapy was unaltered.

Hematologic and iron-related measurements in rheumatoid arthritis.

The hematologic status of 265 patients with rheumatoid arthritis was assessed. In the group as a whole, a mild depression in the hemoglobin concentration and mean cell volume (MCV) was associated with an increase in the red blood cell distribution width (RDW), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and platelet count. Bone marrow trephine biopsies and further measurements of iron status and disease activity were done in [a further] 38 more anemic patients, and the findings in those with absent marrow iron (iron deficiency) were compared with those having stainable stores (anemia of chronic disorders).

Effects of a 4-week freshwater fish (trout) diet on platelet aggregation, platelet fatty acids, serum lipids, and coagulation factors.

Eight healthy subjects consumed a diet in which all animal products were replaced by 750 g/day of freshwater trout. Platelet eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) as a percentage of total platelet fatty acids rose from a prediet level of 0.2 +/- 0.

Transfer of glycerol by Endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase F to oligosaccharides during chitobiose core cleavage.

N-Linked oligosaccharides, when hydrolyzed by glycerol-containing preparations of endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (Endo) F from Flavobacterium meningosepticum were found to have glycerol attached to their reducing ends. The absence of a reducing end was confirmed by high-field 1H NMR spectroscopy, and the incorporated glycerol was verified through mass spectrometry and collisionally activated decomposition fast atom bombardment/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry techniques. Periodate oxidation of [1(3)-14C]glycerol-labeled oligosaccharides indicated glycerol was glycosidically linked via its 1(3) carbon to the C1 of the reducing end N-acetylglucosamine.

Structure of yeast external invertase Man8-14GlcNAc processing intermediates by 500-megahertz 1H NMR spectroscopy.

A series of high mannose oligosaccharides with the size range Man8-14GlcNAc was purified from Saccharomyces cerevisiae invertase, and the composition of each was determined by chemical analysis. Purity and composition were verified by 1H NMR spectroscopy at 500 MHz, and structures were assigned on the basis of chemical shifts in C1-H and C2-H protons of similarly substituted compounds of known structure. Such analyses showed that these invertase oligosaccharides were a homologous series of homogeneous compounds, each related to the next member by addition of 1 mol of mannose in a specific alpha-linked configuration.

Acute promyelocytic leukaemia associated with acute myocardial infarction. A case report.

In a case of acute promyelocytic leukaemia presenting with an acute myocardial infarction a fibrin-platelet thrombus was demonstrated postmortem in the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery. The possible pathogenesis of thrombus formation in the face of disseminated intravascular coagulation and thrombocytopenia is discussed.

Haematological and iron-related measurements in active pulmonary tuberculosis.

59 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis were evaluated in terms of haematological indices, iron-related measurements and markers of inflammation. The variables evaluated included the Hb, mean cell volume (MCV), serum iron, total iron-binding capacity, percentage saturation, serum ferritin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein. In addition, marrow iron stores were assessed both histologically and chemically.

Red blood cell distribution width in the anemia secondary to tuberculosis.

A study was done to explore the claim that anisocytosis as measured by the red blood cell volume distribution width (RDW) is raised in iron-deficiency anemia, but is normal in the anemia of chronic disorders. Measurements were done on 283 normal patients, 22 iron-deficient patients, and 102 tuberculotic patients, using a model S plus Coulter Electronic Counter with standard calibration. Mean (+/- SD) values for RDW were as follows: normals, 7.

Major carbohydrate structures at five glycosylation sites on murine IgM determined by high resolution 1H-NMR spectroscopy.

Mouse myeloma immunoglobulin IgM heavy chains were cleaved with cyanogen bromide into nine peptide fragments, four of which contain asparagine-linked glycosylation. Three glycopeptides contain a single site, including Asn 171, 402, and 563 in the intact heavy chain. Another glycopeptide contains two sites at Asn 332 and 364.

Deletions into an NH2-terminal hydrophobic domain result in secretion of rotavirus VP7, a resident endoplasmic reticulum membrane glycoprotein.

Rotavirus, a non-enveloped reovirus, buds into the rough endoplasmic reticulum and transiently acquires a membrane. The structural glycoprotein, VP7, a 38-kD integral membrane protein of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), presumably transfers to virus in this process. The gene for VP7 potentially encodes a protein of 326 amino acids which has two tandem hydrophobic domains at the NH2-terminal, each preceded by an in-frame ATG codon.

Inhibition of platelet aggregation by ketamine hydrochloride.

Ketamine hydrochloride, 10 mg/kg by intramuscular injection, inhibited aggregation of platelets from three out of three baboons. Aggregation to ADP, arachidonic acid, epinephrine, and collagen was inhibited but aggregation to ristocetin was normal. Two baboons anaesthetised with the related drug phencyclidine, 1.

Skeletal and blood biochemical characteristics of sheep during growth and breeding: a comparison of flocks with and without broken mouth.

Two-hundred female Scottish Blackface sheep ranging in age from 3 months to 5 1/2 years were used to investigate the relationships between blood biochemical characteristics, skeletal metabolism and dental health on 5 farms, 3 with broken mouth and 2 with no incidence of the disease. Skeletal growth to 6 months of age was faster in lambs from control flocks than in lambs from affected farms although growth thereafter was slower in the control group. A generally lower protein intake on control farms may account for this reduced growth rate.

Processing of the rough endoplasmic reticulum membrane glycoproteins of rotavirus SA11.

The synthesis and oligosaccharide processing of the glycoproteins of SA11 rotavirus in infected Ma104 cells was examined. Rotavirus assembles in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) and encodes two glycoproteins: VP7, a component of the outer viral capsid, and NCVP5, a nonstructural protein. A variety of evidence suggests the molecules are limited to the ER, a location consistent with the high mannose N-linked oligosaccharides modifying these proteins.

Long-term ultra-low-dose aspirin therapy and platelet function.

The effect of ultra-low-dose aspirin on platelet aggregation and thromboxane B2 (TXB2) production was studied in two groups of normal subjects. Group 1 received 162 mg/d and group 2 received 20 mg/d for 4 weeks. For the first 2 weeks the effects were similar in the two groups, namely inhibition of aggregation and inhibition of TXB2 production.

Homology of the NH2-terminal amino acid sequences of the heavy and light chains of human monoclonal lupus autoantibodies containing the dominant 16/6 idiotype.

The NH2-terminal amino acid sequences have been determined by automated Edman degradation for the heavy and light chains of five monoclonal IgM anti-DNA autoantibodies that were produced by human-human hybridomas derived from lymphocytes of two patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Four of the antibodies were closely related to the idiotype system 16/6, whereas the fifth antibody was unrelated idiotypically. The light chains of the 16/6 idiotype-positive autoantibodies (HF2-1/13b, HF2-1/17, HF2-18/2, and HF3-16/6) had identical amino acid sequences from residues 1 to 40.

The carbohydrate structure of porcine uteroferrin and the role of the high mannose chains in promoting uptake by the reticuloendothelial cells of the fetal liver.

Uteroferrin, the iron-containing, progesterone-induced phosphatase of the porcine uterus, is a glycoprotein carrying a single oligosaccharide chain. Most of the uteroferrin isolated from either uterine secretions or allantoic fluid has endoglycosidase H-sensitive carbohydrate chains with either five or six mannose residues. As determined by 1H-NMR spectroscopy, the Man6 oligosaccharide has the following structure.

The shear strength between bone and porous ceramic root implants in the guinea pig incisor socket.

Porous alumina and apatite implants have been placed in 67 guinea pig incisor tooth sockets after tooth extraction under anaesthetic. Bone readily grew into the spaces of the implant, and reduced the fibrous connective tissue between implant and bone. 'Pushout' tests have monitored the shear strength of the interlock between bone and implant.