Involvement of human intracisternal A-type retroviral particles in autoimmunity.

Prior studies have linked retroviruses to various arthropathies and autoimmune diseases. Sjögren's syndrome (SS), a systemic autoimmune disease, is characterized by aggressive infiltration of lymphocytes into the salivary and lacrimal glands, resulting in destruction of the glands and dry mouth and eyes (sicca syndrome). The infiltrating lymphocytes in SS may become overtly malignant, and thus, the incidence of lymphoma is greatly increased in SS patients.

Detection of retroviral antibodies in primary biliary cirrhosis and other idiopathic biliary disorders.

Background: Retroviruses have been implicated in the aetiology of various autoimmune diseases. We used immunoblots as a surrogate test to find out whether retroviruses play a part in the development of primary biliary cirrhosis.

Methods: We did western blot tests for HIV-1 and the human intracisternal A-type particle (HIAP), on serum samples from 77 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, 126 patients with chronic liver disease, 48 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, and 25 healthy volunteers.

First report of recombination between the HLA-DR and HLA-DQ loci within a family.

Although unusual associations of HLA-DR and HLA-DQ alleles seen in ancestral haplotypes have indicated that recombination between these genes occurred in the past, an actual crossover event between DR and DQ has never been shown within a family. In a study of families with Graves' disease we have identified an individual from a three generation family who inherited a maternal haplotype that is the result of a recombinational event between the HLA-DR and the HLA-DQ loci on her chromosomes. Family members were typed for HLA class I by the lymphocyte microcytotoxicity test and for HLA class II by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with sequence-specific primers or with sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes after PCR.

Effect of diabetes mellitus on the permeability of the blood-brain barrier to insulin.

Insulin derived from the peripheral circulation has been shown to exert various effects on the brain due to its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The relation between diabetes mellitus and insulin has been extensively studied for peripheral tissues but not for central nervous system tissues. We examined the effects that streptozotocin- or alloxan-induced diabetes have on the transport of insulin across the murine BBB.

Selective, physiological transport of insulin across the blood-brain barrier: novel demonstration by species-specific radioimmunoassays.

Insulin in blood is thought to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to act within the brain to help control appetite. We examined the ability of blood-borne insulin to cross the BBB. Human insulin was infused for 48 h subcutaneously at several doses into mice and the amount of human and murine insulin in serum and brain measured with species-specific radioimmunoassays.