Dendritic cells and B cells maximize mucosal Th1 memory response to herpes simplex virus.

Although the importance of cytotoxic T lymphocytes and neutralizing antibodies for antiviral defense is well known, the antiviral mechanism of Th1 remains unclear. We show that Th1 cells mediate noncytolytic antiviral protection independent of direct lysis through local secretion of IFN-gamma after herpes simplex virus (HSV) 2 infection. IFN-gamma acted on stromal cells, but not on hematopoietic cells, to prevent further viral replication and spread throughout the vaginal mucosa.

Assessment of external dose indoors in Lithuania.

The aim of this paper was an assessment of external exposure indoors and its dependence on construction materials and indoor radon concentrations in Lithuanian living houses. Relationship of absorbed dose rate in air indoors and activity indexes of the most commonly used construction materials (wood, concrete and bricks) have been studied using results received in measurements done in >4700 rooms in 1995-2005. Possible connections of dose rate indoors with indoor radon concentrations are also discussed.

Evaluation of a method of intracoelomic catheterization in koi.

Objective: To develop an easy and safe method for catheterization and determine the pharmacokinetics of a single dose of enrofloxacin after intracoelomic administration in koi.

Design: Prospective study.

Animals: 20 healthy koi.

Investigation of heavy metals transportation from soil to the pine tree.

The Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is the most common tree in Lithuanian forests. Research on the impact of pollutants on pines allows us to evaluate pollutants in a major part of Lithuanian forests.

Toxicity to Tradescantia of technogenic radionuclides and their mixture with heavy metals.

The genotoxic effects on Tradescantia of (137)Cs, (90)Sr, and (236, 242)Pu, a heavy metal mixture [Cd, Cr(VI), Cu, Mn(II), Ni, Pb, Zn] and of a complex mixture of these toxicants were determined. The impact of radionuclides on plants subjected to ionizing radiation exposure was estimated. The number of somatic mutations and the quantity of nonviable stamen hairs were used as end points in the testing.

Combined analysis of cytokine genotype polymorphism and the level of expression with allograft function in African-American renal transplant patients.

Cytokine gene polymorphism and expression levels were evaluated in a group of African-American patients who had undergone renal transplantation. It was hypothesized that possession of specific cytokine alleles might be influential in predisposing the recipient to allograft rejection. Thus, we sought to establish a relationship between cytokine gene polymorphism, the levels of cytokine expression, and the outcome of allograft function.

Variations of the ambient dose equivalent rate in the ground level air.

The ambient dose equivalent rate is caused by ionizing radiation of radionuclides in the atmosphere and on the ground surface as well as by cosmic radiation. Seasonal and diurnal variations of the ambient dose equivalent rate (ADER) in the ground level air are influenced by the concentration of 222Rn daughters. The 222Rn concentration in the ground level atmosphere, in turn, depends on the rate of the 222Rn exhalation from soil and turbulent air mixing.

Familial clustering of end-stage renal disease in Mississippi.

Background: Familial clustering of ESRD has been noted in the families of 20-40% of African-Americans (AA) with ESRD but has been observed much less often in Caucasians (Cau). Because our impression indicated a higher frequency in Caucasians than reported in several recent studies we conducted a 2-year prospective evaluation of patients referred for renal transplantation to assess the frequency of familial clustering of ESRD in both Caucasians and African-Americans.

Methods: Detailed family histories were obtained in 350 ESRD patients referred for renal transplantation, 335 of whom could provide appropriate information regarding first- and second-degree family members (252AA and 83 Cau) who were maintained on out-patient dialysis at least one month or had received a renal transplant.

Effect of poverty and other socioeconomic variables on renal allograft survival.

Background: Socioeconomic variables including low income and noncompliance impact negatively upon long-term renal allograft survival, especially in African Americans. We sought to determine whether other socioeconomic variables contributed to noncompliance and allograft survival.

Methods: A detailed history of socioeconomic variables was made at the time of renal transplant evaluation in 450 consecutive candidates, 128 of whom (89 African American, 39 Caucasian) have thus far undergone transplantation.

Prospective pretransplant ultrasound screening in 206 patients for acquired renal cysts and renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Numerous studies have reported an increased prevalence of renal cell carcinoma in association with acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD). In 1995, the clinical practice guidelines of the American Society of Transplant Physicians for evaluation of renal transplant candidates recommend not screening for ACKD and renal cell carcinoma, on the basis of the low frequency of cancer and reported regression of ACKD after transplantation. The objective of this study was to prospectively evaluate the prevalence of ACKD and renal cancer during renal transplant evaluation.

Recurrent nocardiosis in a renal transplant recipient.

As the case presented here illustrates, nocardiosis, like other infections in which cell-mediated immunity plays a large defensive role, can relapse after apparent cure and occasionally at times remote from the original infection. Although relapse in patients with transplants has been cited as a reason for continued prophylaxis, only a few of these cases are adequately documented. This case supports the advice of those authors who give suppressive antibiotic therapy for the duration of immunosuppression in transplant recipients recovering from infections due to Nocardia sp.

Fatal disseminated Conidiobolus coronatus infection in a renal transplant patient.

A case of fatal disseminated fungal infection due to Conidiobolus coronatus in a patient with a renal transplant is described. This organism, known to cause localized infections in otherwise healthy individuals in the tropics, is now recognized as a cause of fatal infection in immunosuppressed hosts. Histologically, localized infections are characterized by lack of vessel invasion and the presence of an eosinophilic sleeve around fungal elements, called the Splendore-Hoeppli phenomenon.

Racial differences in the survival of cadaveric renal allografts. Overriding effects of HLA matching and socioeconomic factors.

Background: The long-term survival of cadaveric renal allografts is lower in black recipients than in white recipients, although the one-year graft survival is similar in these racial groups. We sought to determine what factors account for this disparity.

Methods: We studied 100 consecutive recipients of primary cadaveric renal allografts (57 were black and 43 white) at least 1 year after transplantation (mean, 40 months); all had received identical immunosuppressive therapy.

Retrieval of renal function by revascularization of renovascular disease.

Renal dysfunction due to renal artery occlusive disease is potentially reversible and this diagnosis should be considered in all patients with renal failure, especially in patients with other manifestations of occlusive peripheral vascular disease, those with severe hypertension, and those over 45 or under 20 years of age at the onset of hypertension (i.e., older or younger than the usual age for onset of "essential" hypertension).

Renal transplantation in Mississippi.

The present article reviews the results of cadaveric renal transplantation and organ donation in Mississippi during the years 1984-88. Patient and graft survival in cadaveric renal transplantation have continued to improve since the introduction of cyclosporine as an immunosuppressive agent. In the Mississippi Transplant Program recipients of primary cadaveric renal transplants currently demonstrate 93% patient and 82.

Anti-class II antibody production prolongs renal allograft survival.

It is widely accepted that transfusions are beneficial to the outcome of renal allotransplantation. Whereas some investigators suggested that transfusions may induce both specific and nonspecific suppression of the cell-mediated immune response, others disagree. To lend clarity to this discrepancy, we collected 40 serum samples before and after blood transfusion therapy of first-time cadaveric renal allograft recipients and evaluated each for T cell and B cell cytotoxic antibodies using an Amos modified complement-dependent microlymphocytotoxicity assay.

Captopril-associated acute interstitial nephritis.

A 57-year-old male with mild impairment of renal function secondary to diabetic glomerulosclerosis developed acute renal failure (creatinine 32.4 mg/dl) associated with a generalized desquamative skin rash and peripheral eosinophilia shortly after initiation of antihypertensive therapy with captopril. An acute interstitial nephritis was demonstrated on renal biopsy, and improvement was temporally related to initiation of therapy with prednisone.

Treatment and prevention of basal cell carcinoma with oral isotretinoin.

Twelve patients with multiple basal cell carcinomas resulting from varying causes were treated with high-dose oral isotretinoin (mean daily dosage: 3.1 mg/kg/day) for a mean of 8 months. Of the 270 tumors monitored in these patients, only 8% underwent complete clinical and histologic regression.

Plasma kinin levels in acute renovascular hypertension in dogs.

The role of kinins in the hypertensive response to acute renal artery constriction (RAC) was examined in the dog. RAC resulted in an increase in systemic arterial pressure (SAP) from 144 +/- 6 to 155 +/- 4 mm HG (p less than 0.05).

Epidemic hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. A broadening horizon.

A virus identical to or closely related to the viruses of the epidemic hemorrhagic fevers and/or nephropathia epidemica has been demonstrated serologically in rats from geographically separate areas of this country by three groups of investigators. This information suggests a previously unrecognized health threat that should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients initially seen with febrile illnesses and acute renal failure. The salient features of these viral diseases and the clues that should alert the clinician to seek serologic confirmation of Hantaan or an immunologically related virus are discussed herein.