Effect of fibrinogenolytic products D and E on fibrinogen and albumin synthesis in the rat.

Previous studies are in conflict over the effect of infusing mixed fibrinogen-fibrin degradation products on fibrinogen synthesis, as determined by changes in fibrinogen concentration or by incorporation of labeled amino acids into fibrinogen. We have injected purified homologous fragments D1 and E into rats and measured their fibrinogen and albumin synthetic rates by the [14C]carbonate technique, a method that provides quantitative estimates of hepatic secretory protein synthesis. Fibrinogen fractional synthetic rates were increased 2.

Leptospirosis experience at Groote Schuur Hospital, 1969-1979.

The diagnosis of leptospirosis requires a high index of suspicion and a knowledge of the wide variety of syndromes with which these patients present. The clinical and laboratory features of 14 patients with leptospirosis seen at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, between 1969 and 1979 are described.

Insulin, glucagon and liver regeneration.

Partially hepatectomized rats receiving intragastric amino acids synthesize less DNA than similar rats receiving intragastric water alone. In the present study insulin and glucagon levels were measured in rats receiving amino acids or water alone. In both groups of rats insulin levels were depressed and glucagon levels elevated.

Unique determinants associated with hybridoma proteins expressing a cross-reactive idiotype: frequency among individual immune sera.

It is possible to prepare antisera that recognize individual members of a family of hybridoma proteins in which all members of the family express the cross-reactive idiotype (IdCR) characteristic of the A/J anti-Ars response. These hybridoma-specific reagents also recognize a small percentage of the IdCR+ anti-Ars antibodies, which constitute the normal A/J anti-Ars response. Thus, the previously reported sequence heterogeneity of our IdCR+ hybridoma proteins actually represents components of the normal A/J anti-Ars response.

Takayasu's syndrome--evidence for a liver lesion.

Liver function tests were carried out in 40 patients with Takayasu's syndrome. The alkaline phosphatase level was elevated in 73% of patients, the SGOT level in 59%, and the lactic dehydrogenase level in 84,6%. In contrast, creatinine phosphokinase levels were elevated in only 23.

Chronic active hepatitis experience of Groote Schuur Hospital, 1964 - 1977.

From 1964 to 1977, 54 patients with clinical, biochemical and histological criteria of chronic active hepatitis were seen at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town. Our experience with this disease is reviewed, and the diagnosis and mangement are commented on.

Immunohistological localization of ligandin in human tissues.

An immunohistochemical localization of ligandin was undertaken in formalin fixed and paraffin wax embedded human tissues using the indirect immunoperoxidase (PAP) method and a monospecific antiligandin serum raised in rabbits. A substance reacting with this antiligandin serum was distributed diffusely in normal liver and selectively in kidney, intestine, testis, ovary and adrenal cortex. Small changes in the distribution and intensity of the reaction product were found in inflammatory conditions such as hepatitis, cholestasis, pyelonephritis and renal allograft rejection.

Albumin metabolism in health and disease.

Studies performed at the University of Cape Town on the metabolism of albumin have been reviewed. The control of albumin metabolism in protein energy malnutrition, in acute exposure to alcohol and after partial hepatectomy in the rat is discussed.

Liver tumours and the contraceptive pill: Controversies in aetiology, diagnosis and management.

Six female patients seen at Groote Schuur Hospital between 1973 and 1977, with the types of liver lesion that have been linked aetiologically with the contraceptive pill, are described. Four had focal nodular hyperplasia (1 with spontaneous rupture), and 1 patient had a hepatocellular carcinoma. The sixth patient had spontaneous rupture of the liver but no tumour was demonstrated.

Chloride cells and chloride exchange in the skin of a sea-water teleost, the shanny (Blennius pholis L.).

The fine structure of the skin and its importance in chloride outfluxes were investigated in a sea-water teleost, the shanny (Blennius pholis L.). The epidermis is composed of three cells types: epithelial cells, mucous cells and chloride cells.

The effect of intragastric feeding with amino acids on liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in the rat.

The incorporation of 14C-thymidine into DNA was measured at 4-hr intervals from 16 to 32 hr after partial hepatectomy in groups of rats. Rats forcefed solutions of amino acids or branched-chain amino acids showed a significant reduction in the DNA specific activity 24 hr after partial hepatectomy when compared to rats forced fed an equal volume of water. Intragastric feeding with ketoanalogues of the branched-chain amino acids did not alter thymidine incorporation into DNA significantly.

Patterns of hepatic injury induced by methyldopa.

Twelve patients with liver disease related to methyldopa were seen between 1967 and 1977. Illness occurred within 1--9 weeks of commencement of therapy in 9 patients, the remaining 3 patients having received the drug for 13 months, 15 months and 7 years before experiencing symptoms. Jaundice with tender hepatomegaly, usually preceded by symptoms of malaise, anorexia, nausea and vomiting, and associated with upper abdominal pain, was an invariable finding in all patients.

In vitro and in vivo studies on the ovicidal activity of fenbendazole.

The in vitro ovicidal activity of fenbendazole against eggs of Ostertagia ostertagi, Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus colubriformis was observed using different concentrations of active principle. The optimum concentration for ovicidal activity is evidently 0.5 ppm fenbendazole.

Cutaneous respiration in seven sea-water teleosts.

The oxygen consumption of excised skin (MO2 is.cut.) and the normal cutaneous oxygen uptake by the skin in situ from the external medium (MO2 ext.

Radioimmunoassay of plasma ligandin: a sensitive index of experimental hepatocellular necrosis.

The development of sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay for ligandin, a protein present in abundance in the hepatic cytoplasm, has permitted measurement of ligandin in rat plasma. Plasma ligandin levels were estimated in normal, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-treated, and bile duct-ligated rats, with parallel estimation of serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT). Plasma ligandin levels rose at a greater rate and to higher levels than did SGOT in CCl4-treated rats and showed a more linear increment to increasing doses of CCl4.

[Cutaneous respiration in a Selachian (Scyliorhinus caniculus L.)].

Cutaneous oxygen consumption (Mo2) and cutaneous oxygen uptake from the external medium were investigated in an elasmobranch Scyliorhinus caniculus L. In spite of an important Mo2 (2.75 +/- 0.

alpha-Fetoprotein in liver disease.

Ther serum concentration of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was measured by radio-immunoassay in 98 patients with liver disease including hepatoma, chronic active hepatitis, alcoholic cirrhosis, and acute virus B hepatitis. Raised AFP levels, above 30 ng/ml, were found in 87% of patients with acute viral hepatitis, in 82% of patients with primary liver cell carcinoma, in 58% with chronic active hepatitis and in 14% of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. However, levels above 1 000 ng/ml were found only in patients with hepatoma and in acute viral hepatitis.