Evaluation of immuno-dot-blot assay for detection of cholera-related enterotoxin antigen in Salmonella typhimurium.

Twenty-five strains of Salmonella typhimurium isolated in India were examined for the presence of cholera/coli-related enterotoxin antigen by a previously described latex particle agglutination test and by a newly developed immuno-dot-blot test using immunopurified goat antibody against the cholera-related enterotoxin isolated from an Escherichia coli strain of human origin. The immuno-dot-blot assay could detect 0.02 ng of purified enterotoxin.

Comparative study of Vibrio cholerae non-O1 protease and soluble hemagglutinin with those of Vibrio cholerae O1.

Protease and soluble hemagglutinating activities produced by a non-O1 Vibrio cholerae strain isolated from a patient with diarrhea were compared with similar activities produced by V. cholerae O1. The soluble protease activities were indistinguishable in heat stability, immunodiffusion, inhibition by antiserum, and electrophoretic analysis.

Characterization of the receptor for cholera toxin and Escherichia coli heat-labile toxin in rabbit intestinal brush borders.

125I-labelled heat-labile toxin (from Escherichia coli) and 125I-labelled cholera toxin bound to immobilized ganglioside GM1 and Balb/c 3T3 cell membranes with identical specificities, i.e. each toxin inhibited binding of the other.

Competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for cholera-related enterotoxins in Salmonella typhimurium.

We report a rapid competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to screen Salmonella typhimurium strains for cholera-related enterotoxin antigens. Polymyxin B extracts of bacterial cells from syncase-glucose broth cultures of 7 of 15 strains gave positive results. The specificity of the test was confirmed with known heat-labile-enterotoxin-positive and -negative Escherichia coli strains which gave significantly different values.

Rapeseed embryo development in culture on high osmoticum is similar to that in seeds.

The development of Brassica napus L. cv Tower embryos of different ages cultured in vitro with and without high osmoticum (0.48 and 0.

Immunity to heat-labile enterotoxins of porcine and human Escherichia coli strains achieved with synthetic cholera toxin peptides.

Antiserum to a synthetic peptide, CTP3, consisting of residues 50 to 64 of the B subunit of cholera enterotoxin (CT), a sequence which is conserved in heat-labile enterotoxins from Escherichia coli strains of human (H-LT) or porcine (P-LT) origin, cross-reacted with and neutralized all three enterotoxins. It also cross-reacted with genetically engineered chimeric B subunit proteins in which H-LT amino acids had been substituted for the corresponding residues in P-LT. Antisera against another CT peptide, CTP1, consisting of residues 8 to 20, were weakly cross-reactive with H-LT but not with P-LT, whereas antisera against four other CT peptides were not cross-reactive with the heterologous enterotoxins.

Contribution of echocardiography to cardiac diagnosis.

In order to quantify information provided by echocardiography for residents in internal medicine and for cardiologists, 150 selected patients were studied by echocardiography, and the ultrasonic diagnosis was compared with the clinical evaluation. Among 144 patients with adequate visualization of the heart, echocardiography provided findings that were totally unexpected to the residents in 13 (9%) and to the cardiologist in 9 (6%) patients. Echocardiography also provided information relevant to the management of the patient in another one-third of the cases.

Sphenoid sinusitis presenting as chronic meningitis.

Sphenoid sinusitis is a frequently misdiagnosed infection. Delay in recognition and treatment carries a very poor prognosis. An unusual case of sphenoid sinusitis mimicking a syndrome of chronic meningitis is presented.

Initial psychologic responses of parents to the diagnosis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in their children.

As part of a prospective, longitudinal study of school-aged children with newly diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), we examined how the parents adjusted to the illness. The present article documents this process for the first year of IDDM. We found no support for earlier claims that most parents resort to blatantly neurotic or psychopathologic behavior to cope.

Role of ABA in Maturation of Rapeseed Embryos.

Development of Brassica napus L. cv Tower embryos of different ages cultured in vitro with and without abscisic acid (ABA) was compared with normal development in situ to investigate the role of ABA in embryo maturation. Endogenous ABA levels were measured by radioimmunoassay, and sensitivity to ABA was assayed in terms of its ability to suppress precocious germination and stimulate accumulation of storage protein and storage protein mRNA.

Monoclonal antibodies to outer membrane antigens of Vibrio cholerae.

Hybridoma-derived monoclonal antibodies were prepared against outer membrane antigens of four strains of Vibrio cholerae that were cultivated under iron-limited conditions, and these antibodies were partially characterized. We established a library of 66 hybridomas which produced monoclonal antibodies defining 16 different V. cholerae antigens.

Nucleotide sequence of a cDNA clone of Brassica napus 12S storage protein shows homology with legumin from Pisum sativum.

The most abundant protein in seeds of Brassica napus (L.) is cruciferin, a legumin-like 12S storage protein. By in vitro translation of embryo RNA, and pulse-chase labelling of cultured embryos with (14)C-leucine, we have shown that the 30 kd α polypeptides and 20 kd β polypeptides of cruciferin are synthesized as a family of 50 kd precursors which are cleaved post-translationally.

Initial coping responses and psychosocial characteristics of children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

School-aged children with newly diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) were studied longitudinally in order to document how they adjusted to the medical illness and to assess salient background factors. The extent of life stress and the prevalence of psychiatric disorders that predated the IDDM were within normative ranges, and there was no characteristic preexisting "diabetic personality." The initial strain of living with IDDM elicited two general modes of coping.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to measure antibodies to purified heat-labile enterotoxins from human and porcine strains of Escherichia coli and to cholera toxin: application in serodiagnosis and seroepidemiology.

Serum immunoglobulin G antibodies to purified heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) from human (LTh) and porcine (LTp) Escherichia coli strains and cholera enterotoxin (CT) were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Sera from patients with LTh E. coli infection showed a prominent response with LTh, an intermediate response with LTp, and a meager response with CT.

Application of monoclonal antibodies and genetically-engineered hybrid B-subunit proteins to the analysis of the cholera/coli enterotoxin family.

Single amino acid substitutions, introduced by genetic engineering, significantly modify the behavior of the B-subunits of the cholera/coli enterotoxin family in SDS-PAGE and also markedly affect the reactivity of the proteins with mouse hybridoma-derived monoclonal antibodies raised against H-LT. The results indicate that single amino acids play an important role in defining epitopes in these proteins.