[Clinical and immunopathological significance of chimerism in bone marrow and organ transplantations].

Chimerism is an exceptional immunogenetic state, characterized by the survival and collaboration of cell populations originated from two different individuals. The prerequisites to induce chimerism are immunosuppression, myeloablation or severe immunodeficiency of the recipients on one side and donor originated immuno-hematopoietic cells in the graft on the other. Special immunogenetic conditions to establish chimerism are combined with bone marrow transplantation, transfusion and various kinds of solid organ grafting.

In vitro effect of transfer factor on active rosettes and leucocyte migration of patients with cancer.

The in vitro effect of transfer factor (TF) and its obtained by gel filtration was studied on the active rosettes and leucocyte migration inhibition. TF and one fraction (IV) restored the reactivity of lymphocytes from tumour-bearing patients to tuberculin and Candida antigens in the leucocyte migration assay. TF and fraction IV was also found to enhance the number of active rosettes of tumour-bearing patients, whereas no such effect was observed on lymphocytes of patients with active SLE or controls.

Myasthenia gravis: ALG treatment of seriously ill patients.

The authors review the theoretical basis of human antilymphocyte globulin (ALG) and human antihymocyte globulin (ATG) treatment in myasthenia gravis. Ten selected seriously ill myasthenic patients were treated with ALG and/or ATG. Three of the patients improved significantly and a further four moderately, whereas the condition of three patients did not change.