Subcellular localization of class I (A,B,C) and class II (DR and DQ) MHC antigens in jejunal epithelium of children with coeliac disease.

Thin frozen sections of 11 jejunal biopsies from 10 children at different stages of coeliac disease were stained by immunofluorescence technique using a panel of anti-HLA class I (A, B, C) and anti-HLA class II (DR and DQ) monoclonal antibodies. On the epithelium of flattened mucosa, in contrast with control sections, the intensity of the labeling on the basolateral membranes with both anti-class I and class II DR antibodies decreased strongly from the bottom to the upper part of the crypts, and no bright patchy staining was observed on the apical part of enterocytes with anti-HLA DR antibodies. Numerous cells with large granules expressing class I and class II DR antigens were found in the epithelium of the small intestine.

Modifications of the thymus and splenic thymic dependent zones after in utero exposure to phenytoin: qualitative and quantitative analysis in C3H mice.

Pregnant female mice were randomly distributed in two groups and received twice a day by gavage either 25 mg/kg Dilantin in 0.2 ml distilled water or 0.2 ml distilled water till full term.

[Clinical and biological evaluation of the preventive role of anti-cytomegalovirus specific immunoglobulins in bone marrow grafts. Randomized study of 60 patients].

The effects of i.v. cytomegalovirus (CMV) immunoglobulin given for prophylaxis of CMV infections in recipients of allogeneic and autologous marrow transplants were evaluated in a randomized trial: 60 patients were randomly assigned to receive (30 patients) or not to receive (30 patients) CMV immunoglobulin for a period of 90 days after transplantation.

Transmembrane signalling via the T11-dependent pathway of human T cell activation. Evidence for the involvement of 1,2-diacylglycerol and inositol phosphates.

It has previously been shown that some anti-T11 monoclonal antibodies, when used in combination, can activate the human T cell line Jurkat to produce interleukin 2. In this study, we investigate the mechanism by which perturbation of different epitopes of T11 molecules induces activation in Jurkat cells. We show that this activation is initiated by a T11-mediated increase in the concentration of free cytoplasmic calcium ions ([Ca2+]i).

Signal transducing mechanisms involved in human T cell activation via surface T44 molecules. Comparison with signals transduced via the T cell receptor complex.

Antibodies against the T44 surface molecule have been shown to activate human T cells to produce interleukin 2. The role of Ca2+ in the triggering of the interleukin 2-producing Jurkat T cell line by anti-T44 monoclonal antibody has been investigated. We show that activation is initiated by an increase in the concentration of free cytoplasmic calcium ions [Ca2+]i.

Different human B cell subsets respond to interleukin 2 and to a high molecular weight B cell growth factor (BCGF).

After activation by anti-mu antibody human B cells acquire the ability to proliferate in the presence of recombinant interleukin 2 (IL 2), a 20-kDa mol. mass B cell growth factor (BCGF) and a high mol. mass BCGF (50-kDa BCGF).

Prevention of graft failure by an anti-HLFA-1 monoclonal antibody in HLA-mismatched bone-marrow transplantation.

Seven patients with immunodeficiencies (Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, combined immunodeficiency, and osteopetrosis) were given a mouse monoclonal antibody against the alpha subunit of human leucocyte functional antigen (HLFA-1; CD18) to facilitate the engraftment of mismatched haploidentical related-donor bone marrow. Other conditioning included busulphan, cyclophosphamide, and antilymphocyte globulin. To prevent graft-versus-host disease the bone-marrow T cells were depleted with sheep erythrocyte rosetting and cyclosporin therapy was given.

Modulation of surface T11 molecules induced by monoclonal antibodies: analysis of the functional relationship between antigen-dependent and antigen-independent pathways of human T cell activation.

Previous data indicated that T lymphocyte activation can be achieved by using a combination of anti-T11 monoclonal antibodies (mAb) directed to the "T11(2)" and the "T11(3)" epitopes, respectively. Unlike the T cell activation induced by antibodies directed to the T3-T cell receptor (Ti) complex or to T44 molecules, the anti-T11 mAb-induced cell activation was not accompanied by surface modulation of the T11 antigen. In the present study we show that appropriate stimulatory combinations of anti-T11 mAb are able to induce T11 antigen modulation in a variety of T cells including polyclonal peripheral blood populations, normal as well as leukemic (JA3) T cell clones.

[Arterial hypertension caused by extrinsic compression of the renal artery of tumor origin in a child].

Stenosis of the renal artery secondary to an extrinsic acquired compression of the renal artery because of a tumor is rare. We report two cases. The first case is a boy of 14 months with a large neurogenic tumor from the right renal plexus with compression of the right renal artery.

Anti-CD2 (sheep red blood cell receptor) monoclonal antibodies and T cell activation. I. Pairs of anti-T11.1 and T11.2 (CD2 subgroups) are strongly mitogenic for T cells in presence of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate.

A large collection of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) directed against sheep red blood cell (SRBC) receptor (cluster of differentiation 2: CD2) were classified according to three criteria: their inhibitory effect on T cell-SRBC rosette formation; the epitopic cluster recognized on the CD2 molecule; their reactivity with resting or activated T cells. All mAb were then tested in a two by two checkerboard fashion for possible T cell mitogenicity, in presence or absence of a submitogenic dose of 12-O-tetra-decanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), an agent known to be comitogenic for T cells, presumably in delivering a second signal, usually accessory cell dependent. The combined data demonstrate that in the absence of TPA only few pairs of mAb directed at distinct epitopes of the CD2 molecule were mitogenic for T cells (in approximately 30% of the population tested), and in the presence of a submitogenic dose of TPA the majority of T11.

Expression of Tac antigen in B cell lymphomas.

In a series of 55 cases of B cell derived non-Hodgkin's lymphoma the reactivity of two distinct anti-Tac monoclonal antibodies was examined using a sensitive immunoperoxidase technique on cryostat sections. Eighteen out of the thirty-five cases of B cell lymphomas of low or intermediate grade of malignancy were found to be reactive while six out of 20 cases of high-grade malignancy lymphomas showed a positive immunostaining. No correlation was found between anti-Tac reactivity and surface immunoglobulin phenotype, T65 antigen, or calla expression.

Megatrends in medical education.

Several major financial trends affecting medical education are delineated and their implications described. To channel these new economic forces in a productive manner, the curriculum of undergraduate and, especially, graduate medical education need to be reevaluated to ensure that medical training is accomplished in an efficient manner and reflects career opportunities of graduates in an era of excess physician supply.

Anti-interleukin 2 receptor monoclonal antibodies. Respective role of epitope mapping and monoclonal antibody-receptor interactions in their antagonist effects on interleukin 2-dependent T cell growth.

Functional studies, using mainly interleukin 2 (IL2)-dependent growth of human T cell lines or clones but also mixed lymphocyte cultures and mitogen T cell activation, allowed a collection of locally produced anti-IL2 receptor monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to be classified. They fell into two groups: one with strong to moderate inhibition of IL2, the other without any detectable functional activity in in vitro assays. Direct and sequential immunoprecipitation as well as peptide mapping confirm that all the mAb recognize the same surface molecule.

Pulmonary sequestrations of the upper lobe in children: three presentations.

Pulmonary sequestrations are congenital abnormalities where nonfunctioning lung tissue receives its vascular supply from the systemic circulation (thoracic or abdominal aorta). It is necessary to establish the diagnosis in childhood when the lesions are uncomplicated. The authors present three cases of sequestration of the apex (2 extralobar and 1 atypical) with the main clinical and radiological features.

Reevaluation of hysterosalpingography in infertility investigation.

The hysterosalpingogram has been extensively used in infertility investigations to assess tubal patency, however, the diagnostic reliability of this technique is not known. Two hundred thirty-one consecutive hysterosalpingograms were retrospectively evaluated. Sixty-two percent (143) of the patients subsequently underwent laparoscopy.

[Peritoneal metastasis of a pineoblastoma in a patient with a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt].

A 12 years old child had an increase of intra cranial pressure secondary to a large pinealoblastoma. A ventriculo peritoneal shunt procedure was performed followed several days later by a partial resection of the pinealoblastoma. One year later, ultrasound and computed tomography examinations discovered a solid mass in the pelvis.

[Pleural involvement caused by contiguity or metastases in primary malignant bone tumors in children].

Pleural location of primary osseous malignant tumors of children are infrequent. They may be secondary from a distant primary osteosarcoma. It is necessary to investigate them via conventional chest X-ray followed by a CT of the thorax.

Analysis of sequential treatment protocols for endometriosis-associated infertility.

The evaluation of comparative pregnancy data in clinical studies is subject to a variety of biases. One such bias, when treated patients are retrospectively compared with untreated control subjects, results from the fact that treated patients must remain infertile from time of diagnosis to time of treatment while no such requirements is maintained for untreated control subjects. This bias is also apparent when patients undergo sequential treatments and transfer from one comparison group to another.

Endometriosis: pathogenetic implications of the anatomic distribution.

The authors have reassessed the anatomic distribution of ectopic endometrium by the laparoscopic study of the location of implants, adhesions, and uterine position in 182 consecutive patients with infertility and endometriosis. The ovary was the most common site of implants with 54.9% having either unilateral or bilateral involvement.