Fibroblastic subpopulations in uninjured and wounded rabbit oral mucosa.

Fibroblast cultures derived from uninjured and reparative rabbit buccal mucosa were compared in terms of extracellular glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content and cellular response to interleukin-1 (IL-1). Under identical growth conditions, proliferation of both cell lines was the same. Both lines incorporated [3H]-glucosamine into GAG in cellular, pericellular, and medium fractions, with the majority of incorporated label residing in the medium.

In vivo analysis of castanospermine, a candidate antiretroviral agent.

Castanospermine (1,6,7,8-tetrahydroxyoctahydroindolizine), an inhibitor of glycoprotein processing, has been shown to inhibit the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) with acceptable toxicity in cultured cells. In contrast to reverse transcriptase inhibitors, castanospermine targets host enzymes. We have analyzed castanospermine in murine systems, using cultured cells as well as live animals.

Detection of antisperm antibodies on the surface of motile spermatozoa. Comparison of the immunobead binding technique (IBT) and the mixed antiglobulin reaction (MAR).

Investigators testing for antisperm antibodies have recently focused on tests that detect the Ig classes of the sperm-bound antibodies. The aim of this study was to compare the sensitivity of two of these tests, viz. the immunobead binding technique (IBT) and the mixed antiglobulin reaction (MAR).

Distinctive fibroblastic subpopulations in skin and oral mucosa demonstrated by differences in glycosaminoglycan content.

The glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content of rabbit skin, oral mucosa, and cultured [3H]-glucosamine-labeled dermal and submucosal fibroblasts was compared. Skin contained predominantly dermatan sulfate (DS) and a small amount of hyaluronic acid (HA), whereas mucosa contained primarily keratan sulfate (KS) and smaller quantities of HA and DS. Culture medium from dermal and submucosal fibroblasts contained GAGs co-electrophoresing with DS, HA, and chondroitin sulfate (CS), although the relative proportions of these GAG differed.

Documentation of IgA1 and IgA2 antisperm antibodies within seminal fluid.

Antisperm antibodies of the IgA class, when bound to sperm, impair the sperm's ability to penetrate cervical mucus. IgA proteases offer a potential treatment of autoimmunity to spermatozoa in infertile men by enzymatically degrading immunoglobulins on the sperm surface. As IgA1 but not IgA2 is cleaved by IgA proteases, we determined through use of IgA subclass-specific monoclonal antibodies the presence and relative proportions of antisperm IgA1 and IgA2 in seminal fluid.

Intrauterine insemination as treatment for antisperm antibodies in the female.

Ninety-one women with long-standing infertility in the presence of humoral antisperm antibodies (ASA) underwent 473 cycles of intrauterine insemination of washed sperm (IUI), resulting in 26 pregnancies. Nine pregnancies were achieved in 67 women who underwent 285 IUI during unstimulated cycles (13% pregnancy rate; 3% pregnancy/cycles of treatment). Twenty women underwent 86 IUI after clomiphene citrate (CC) stimulation, resulting in 6 pregnancies (30%; 7% per cycle), while 28 underwent 102 cycles of IUI after human menopausal gonadotropins (hMG) stimulation, resulting in 11 pregnancies (39%; 11% per cycle).

Towards a biomarker of mammalian senescence: carbonic anhydrase III.

Three proteins (D2, D3, D4) have been identified in the male Fischer 344 rat liver that decrease their concentration dramatically to virtually zero during the transition from physiological maturity to senescence. D3 (Mr 28 kDa), absent (or at a very low concentration) from the livers of newborns and females of all ages, reaches at 60 days (sexual maturity) its maximum concentration, which declines almost linearly thereafter. A homologous protein (CNBr peptide map) occurs in the BALB/c mouse under similar conditions.

Luteal phase sera and progesterone enhance sperm penetration in the hamster egg assay.

The hormonal factors responsible for variation in sperm penetration rates of zona-free hamster ova caused by the use of human sera were investigated. Sera obtained at different times in the menstrual cycle, 17-beta estradiol (E2), or progesterone (P) was added to Biggers Whitten and Whittingham (BWW) medium used for the sperm penetration assay. Luteal phase sera enhanced egg penetration significantly when compared with either follicular or preovulatory sera (48.

Interleukin-1-induced changes in extracellular glycosaminoglycan composition of cutaneous scar-derived fibroblasts in culture.

Fibroblast cultures established from explants of mature scar and skin tissue were analyzed with regard to extracellular glycosaminoglycan (GAG) composition and response to interleukin-1 (IL-1). Following a serum-free 48 hour label with [3H]glucosamine, pericellular and medium GAGs were isolated by precipitation with cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) and analyzed by cellulose acetate electrophoresis. In addition, susceptibility of the precipitates to Streptomyces hyaluronidase, chondroitinase ABC and heparitinase was determined.

Murine chromosomal regions correlated with longevity.

In this longevity analysis of 360 BXD recombinant inbred female mice (20 different strains), 2 strains had very significantly shorter survival and 1 strain had very significantly longer survival than the other 17 strains; 4 other strains had less significant lengthening of survival compared to the other 13 strains in a proportional hazards model of survival. Mean survival on the shortest lived strain was 479 days; on the longest lived strain the mean survival was almost double (904 days). Ranges of survival within strain were very large (averaging 642 days), and strain accounted for only 29% of the variation in survival, showing that there are important environmental and/or special developmental effects on longevity even in this colony housed in a single room.

Detection in human sera of antibodies directed against the hamster egg oolemma.

Heteroantibodies were demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence in human sera, which reacted with unfertilized and fertilized hamster eggs. Oolemmal antigens to which these antibodies were directed were distinct from antigen present on the surface of living human spermatozoa. Both species-specific and tissue-specific heteroantibodies were demonstrated by absorption with hamster liver and ovary.

Emigration from Israel 1950-1981: a simulation study.

"Using our mathematical model of a general theory of normative regulation, we have reproduced over 80% of the variance in the cumulative percentages of emigrants [from Israel], as well as the yearly percentages from 1950 to 1981. These results suggest that, except for a limited period following the 'Six-Day War' of 1967, no situation-specific explanations are needed to account for the trends in emigration from Israel, and the phenomenon can be adequately accounted for by the general theory of normative regulation in modern industrialized societies. Some practical conclusions to mitigate the process are drawn from these findings.

Modulation of fibroblast growth and glycosaminoglycan synthesis by interleukin-1.

Cellular response to inflammatory mediators is central to the regulation of new scar tissue formation. Fibroblasts derived from normal dermis and from 14-day old skin wound granulation tissue were compared with regard to production of non-collagenous extracellular matrix and response to interleukin-1 (IL-1). Following a serum-free 48 hour labeling with [3H]-glucosamine, the cellular, pericellular and medium fractions from the two cell types were collected, precipitated with cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), and analyzed by cellulose acetate electrophoresis.

Seminal fluid antisperm antibodies do not reflect those present on the sperm surface.

Given the increasing evidence that head-directed antibodies can impair fertilization in vitro, as well as play a role in the impaired entry of sperm into cervical mucus, our findings provide strong support for the direct analysis of immunoglobulins bound to the sperm surface, rather than by indirect analysis through the study of seminal fluid.

Hyaluronidase activity of rabbit skin wound granulation tissue fibroblasts.

The objective of this work was to identify and compare hyaluronidase activities of normal dermal and dermal wound granulation tissue fibroblasts. Direct evidence of the fibroblast as a source of tissue hyaluronidase was obtained. Fourth passage rabbit dermal fibroblasts were harvested on culture days 4, 8, 14, 18, and 22.

Effects of sperm-reactive monoclonal antibodies on the cervical mucus penetrating ability of human spermatozoa.

A group of monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) was tested by immunobead binding and indirect immunofluorescence to determine its reactivity with antigenic moieties present either on the surface of motile human spermatozoa or internally. Those Mabs reactive with the surface of motile spermatozoa impaired their ability to penetrate cervical mucus in vitro, while Mabs solely reactive with freeze-thawed, nonmotile sperm (presumptive subsurface epitopes) were without effect on sperm function.

The effect of an IgA1 protease on immunoglobulins bound to the sperm surface and sperm cervical mucus penetrating ability.

A major site of impaired fertility in men with autoimmunity to sperm rests at the level of restricted sperm entry and motion within cervical mucus. We studied the effects of a protease derived from Neisseria gonorrhoeae, whose substrate specificity is limited to human IgA1, on the ability of antibody-bound sperm to penetrate human cervical mucus in vitro. IgA on the sperm surface, but not IgG, was degraded by IgA1 protease.

Stimulation of lysyl oxidase (EC 1.4.3.13) activity by testosterone and characterization of androgen receptors in cultured calf aorta smooth-muscle cells.

Previous studies have indicated a greater incidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in men than in women of child-bearing age, suggesting that vascular interactions with sex steroids may effect pathogenesis in these cases. In the present study, it was found that the presence of 10-100 nM-testosterone in the growth medium of calf aortic smooth-muscle cells in culture stimulates lysyl oxidase activity approx. 2.

Comparison of Bacteroides vulgatus strains in the enhancement of experimental ulcerative colitis.

Strains of Bacteroides vulgatus from a variety of sources were tested for their abilities to enhance the inflammatory response in an experimental model for ulcerative colitis. Although there were considerable differences noted in inflammatory responses when guinea pigs were immunized with the various strains, there did not appear to be any correlation between the source of the isolates and the severity of the carrageenan-induced lesions. Strains from patients with ulcerative colitis were no more active in the model system than were strains from patients with antibiotic-associated colitis or strains from a healthy human source.

Ultrastructural immunolocalization of lysyl oxidase in vascular connective tissue.

The localization of lysyl oxidase was examined in calf and rat aortic connective tissue at the ultrastructural level using polyclonal chicken anti-lysyl oxidase and gold conjugated rabbit anti-chicken immunoglobulin G to identify immunoreactive sites. Electron microscopy of calf aortic specimens revealed discrete gold deposits at the interface between extracellular bundles of amorphous elastin and the microfibrils circumferentially surrounding these bundles. The antibody did not react with microfibrils which were distant from the interface with elastin.

Anti-sperm antibodies, detected by agglutination, immobilization, microcytotoxicity and immunobead-binding assays.

To determine the reliability of tests currently utilized in the detection of sperm-reactive antibodies, sera were provided as unknowns and studied without knowledge of the clinical histories. Four laboratories performed tray agglutination tests (TAT), three complement-dependent immobilization (SIT), and single laboratories sperm cytotoxicity (SCT), passive haemagglutination (PHA) and immunobead binding (IBB). Most investigators demonstrated an excellent correlation between duplicate sample results.

Conception rates in couples where autoimmunity to sperm is detected.

In men with autoimmunity to sperm, a varying proportion of spermatozoa in the ejaculate are found to have surface-bound immunoglobulins. We asked whether the extent of autoimmunity, as judged by this criterion, would have predictive value in determining the chance of conception. Infertile couples where husbands were found to have antisperm antibodies were treated for other factors leading to impaired reproduction, but no specific treatment was offered for reduction of these antibodies.