Tissue culture of normal rat glomeruli: characterization of collagenous and non-collagenous basement membrane antigens on the epithelial and mesangial cells.

Immunofluorescent studies were performed on epithelial and mesangial cells derived from normal rat glomeruli, using specific antisera directed against insoluble glomerular basement membranes (GMB), or directed against either type IV procollagen or non-collagenous antigens purified from basement membrane polypeptides synthesized by a murine tumour. In marked contrast to the mesangial cells, the epithelial cells contained large amounts of GBM antigens, of type IV procollagen, and of non-collagenous glycoproteins in the first two days after subculture plating. At the same time, the mesangial cells did not exhibit any basement membrane antigens.

The influence of ototoxic drugs on brainstem auditory evoked potentials in man.

To examine the short- and long-term consequences of ototoxic drug administration, the brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) have been recorded in patients undergoing treatment with aminoglycosides antibiotics. It appears that the rapidity of the i.v.

Tissue culture of normal rat glomeruli: contractile activity of the cultured mesangial cells.

Rat glomerular epithelial and mesangial cells, and rat skin fibroblasts, were cultured in RPMI medium containing 15% decomplemented fetal bovine serum. They were incubated for 1 h at 37 degrees C with 2 mM [Ca2+]. At that time, their response to various concentrations of angiotensin II, norepinephrine and carbamylcholine was studied by phase contrast microscopy.

Antiglomerular basement membrane nephritis after solvent exposure.

A rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis with definitive anuria was observed after solvent inhalation in two young women, aged 22 and 17 years. In both cases the renal biopsy specimen showed diffuse epithelial crescents in all glomeruli, with linear deposits of IgG along the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). High circulating anti-GBM antibody levels were found in sera by indirect immunofluorescence and radioimmunoassay.

[The adult respiratory distress syndrome. Clinical signs, radiology and biological data (author's transl)].

The etiology of shocklung is diverse. All causes lead to a lesion of the alveolar-capillary membrane with interstitial and subsequent alveolar edema. The clinical manifestations, although variable, are progressive and can be divided into 3 stages, which are the expression of a decrease in pulmonary compliance and of hypoxemia due to a ventilation-perfusion defect (shunt effect).

Specificity and nephrotoxicity of heterologous antibodies directed against renal basement membranes.

Two immune sera have been raised in sheep against rabbit glomerular and tubular basement membranes, respectively (GBM and TBM). Their specificity was investigated by immunoabsorption and radioimmunoassay, and their nephrotoxicity was studied by injecting them into New Zealand rabbits. Both antisera reacted in vitro collagen and noncollagen-related glycopeptides.

Synthesis of collagen and fibronectin by glomerular cells in culture.

The biosynthesis of collagen and fibronectin molecules by cultivated glomerular epithelial or mesangial cells was studied at confluency using radioactive proline or lysine as precursors. Collagen represented 0.5% of the total protein synthesized by the glomerular epithelial cells.

Tissue culture of normal rat glomeruli: glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis by homogeneous epithelial and mesangial cell populations.

The biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) by cultivated rat glomerular epithelial and mesangial cells was studied by incorporation of [35S]sulfate or [14C]glucosamine for 48 h. After dialysis, the incubation medium was subjected to digestion with papain. Labeled GAG were isolated from the digests by precipitation with cetylpyridinium chloride and ethanol.

[Anti-laminin and anti-type IV procollagen antibodies in Goodpasture's syndrome (author's transl)].

The sera of 24 patients presenting with Good-pasture's syndrome, and of 30 normal blood donors were tested for the presence of anti-basement membrane (BM) antibodies, by a radioimmunological method, using two highly purified BM antigens, i.e. the type IV (BM) procollagen and a non-collagenous glycoprotein (laminin) isolated from the BM matrix secreted by a murine tumor.

Isolation and characterization of rat renal glomerular cells in vitro.

Glomerular tufts were isolated from normal rat kidneys and were cultivated in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum. Studies on DNA synthesis demonstrated two peaks (A and B) of cell division. The cells of peak A grew as a monolayer until confluency, exhibited many junctional complexes and microvilli.

Asbestosis and systemic lupus erythematosus.

A case associating asbestosis and clinical lupus erythematosus (SLE), both diagnosed according to standard criteria, is described. It is suggested that such an association may bear some analogy to the well-known 'Caplan-Collinet' syndrome, associating silicosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Specificity of antibodies to heterologous glomerular and tubular basement membranes in BALB/c mice.

Balb/c mice were immunized with dog insoluble glomerular basement membrane (GBM) or tubular basement membrane (TBM). The titre of circulating antibodies was sequentially determined and their specificity was analysed using various soluble membrane fractions. Glomerular and tubular deposits were studied on serial biopsies by direct immunofluorescence.

[Peridiverticulitis of the colon: confrontation of pre- and postoperative diagnosis (author's transl)].

The authors report their experience with the surgical management of the peridiverticulitis coli (60 cases). It is frequently uneasy to have an accurate pre- and peroperative diagnosis of the nature and the grade of severity of the illness. So, the indication for surgery, the choice of the procedure, and the evaluation of the results are somewhat subjective.