Abnormalities of in vitro responses to polyclonal activation of peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with active sarcoidosis.

A variety of immunological abnormalities have been described in patients with sarcoïdosis. At the blood level, both hypo and hyper immune responsiveness seem to coexist and were related to abnormal T cell and macrophage functions by using allogenic cocultures and/or lymphocyte fractionation. We tested several components of cell mediated responses with two in vitro models: (a) the pokeweed mitogen activation of B cells which is T cells and macrophage dependent; (b) the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) activation of B cells which is T cell- and macrophage-independent.

Increase of virus yields and releases of Borna disease virus from persistently infected cells.

Borna disease virus grows to low titres in persistently infected cells with an infectious particle to cell ratio of 0.01 to 0.05.

[Invasive aspergillar pneumopathy during the treatment of microcellular bronchial cancer. Efficacy of early antifungal treatment].

The invasive aspergillus pneumonias have been described particularly in chemotherapy for patients with haematological disorders. In respiratory disorders such cases are exceptional. The authors report a case of invasive aspergillus pneumonia, occurring during treatment of a small cell cancer; the rapid commencement of anti-fungal treatment by Amphotericin "B" and Flucytosine enabled an apparent cure of the tumour by radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Bovine herpesvirus 1: differentiation of IBR- and IPV-viruses and identification and functional role of their major immunogenic components.

Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) and Infectious Pustular Vulvovaginitis (IPV) virus strains of Bovine Herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) can be differentiated by restriction endonuclease digestion of their DNAs. Antigens and polypeptide patterns of isolates of these different clinical entities are almost identical. Page analysis of immunoprecipitates revealed three major immunogenic components in BHV-1 infected cells.

[Cellular histamine liberation and mediators of anaphylaxis].

A study of the release of histamine from basophils and mast cells is clearly important to understand the mechanisms of activation of these cells and the anti-allergic mechanisms of the drugs in use. Important information has been gained through the study of highly purified rodent mast cells as well as human mast cells and basophils of low purity, in many fields: morphology, triggering mechanisms, degranulation and mediator release. Recent findings obtained with purified human mast cells and basophils could better identify the specific potential mediators of these two cells.

Plaque/focus immunoassay: a simple method for detecting antiviral monoclonal or other antibodies and viral antigens in cells.

A new, simple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is described which is performed directly on infected and fixed cell cultures in microtitre plates. It permits large scale screening of antiviral monoclonal antibodies and differentiation of specific antibodies from those usually responsible for high background reactions in other ELISA techniques. Time consuming purification of antigens is thus avoided.

Clinical and immunologic evaluation of tyrosine-adsorbed Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus extract: a double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

We evaluated the clinical efficacy and immunologic changes associated with the administration of tyrosine-adsorbed Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dpt) extract. The study was carried out in a double-blind, placebo-controlled fashion in 18 patients with Dpt-induced asthma during a trial period of at least 12 mo. Patients initially received six increasing doses once a week; the top dose of 400 Noon units was repeated at monthly intervals.

Transbronchial needle aspiration in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis.

A total of 258 patients with suspected sarcoidosis underwent transbronchial needle aspiration lymph node biopsies and forceps bronchial biopsies during rigid bronchoscopy. Transbronchial needle aspiration biopsies revealed noncaseating granulomas in 66.3 percent of patients.

[Recurrent sarcoidosis in skin scars disclosing repeated thoracic sarcoidosis].

Recurrence of thoracic sarcoidosis after spontaneous regression is extremely rare. Its existence is proven by two new cases associating sarcoidosis with L ofgren 's syndrome and sarcoid in skin scars, the latter facilitating the recognition of the presence of thoracic disease. Surveillance of the behaviour of scars forms part of routine examinations in the sarcoid patient.

[Clinical aspects of occupational asthma].

Although on the increase overall, the actual prevalence of occupational asthma is difficult to assess because of variations seen according to periods, countries, jobs, and the agents responsible. In the authors' experience, this prevalence is slightly less than 10%. Three principal mechanisms, sometimes present together, not always elucidated: immunological, reflex and irritative, are responsible for such asthma.

[Practical value of the assay of serum angiotensin converting enzyme activity in sarcoidosis].

Serum levels of angiotensin conversion enzyme (A.C.E.

The functional activity of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids from healthy human smokers and non-smokers.

Cigarette smoking is an important risk factor for pulmonary emphysema. In vitro experiments document cigarette smoke-induced inactivation of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor, a protein which is thought to protect the lung interstitium against the deleterious action of neutrophil elastase. To assess the relevance of this in in vitro findings, we have measured the functional activity of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor collected by bronchoalveolar lavage from twenty healthy volunteers (10 heavy smokers and 10 non-smokers).

[5-year survival of resected bronchial cancer. Multifactorial analysis of its prognosis].

Prognosis in patients having undergone surgery for a bronchial carcinoma (oat cell. carcinoma excluded) was studied by comparing, with two statistical methods, a group of 178 patients surviving five years and more (group I) and a group of 178 patients who died within five years (group II). The two groups had undergone treatment during the same period.

HLA antigens and primary bronchial carcinoma.

A comparative study of HLA, A, and B antigens frequency was undertaken on patients with primary bronchial carcinoma. A prospective study was carried out on 103 patients admitted for the first time to the hospital, and a retrospective study was done on 53 patients who survived at least five years. Forty-seven patients died early while on the prospective study.

[Physiopathological mechanisms in asthma. I. Bronchial hyperreactivity].

Asthma, a disease characterized by bronchial hyperreactivity to various physical, chemical, nd pharmacological stimuli, has been extensively studied, and many pathogenic hypotheses have been evoked. Theories attempting to explain the development of the asthmatic syndrome are still fragmentary: the parasympathetic system appears to be the predominant factor involved in changes in nervous system regulatory alterations, this hypothesis being suggested to explain the bronchial hyperreactivity occurring after viral infections or exposure to certain oxidizing agents. The results of morphological and ultrastructural studies of human bronchial muscle suggest the involvement of modifications in a non-adrenergic relaxant system, analogous to the purinergic system in the digestive tract, but supply marked evidence of changes in sympathetic innervation.

Local and serum IgE in vasomotor rhinitis.

Total and specific IgE in serum and nasal secretions were measured in twenty five subjects with vasomotor rhinitis without asthma (21 perennial vasomotor allergic rhinitis and 4 seasonal vasomotor allergic rhinitis) after Carbacholine nasal challenge-test. The level of total and specific IgE was lower in the pure, non diluted nasal secretions than in the serum. The diagnostic usefullness of these measurements and the concept of "localized allergy" are discussed.

The structure of the Rous sarcoma virus glycoprotein complex: in vitro phenotypic mixing of rous sarcoma virus.

Gp 85 the major envelope glycoprotein of Rous sarcoma virus can be released from intact by virus treatment with 2-mercaptoethanol. Attempts were made to reassociate released gp 85 to 2-mercaptoethanol treated virus. In order to study the biological activity and to analyse the reaction product with biochemical methods gp 85 from a subgroup different from the recipient virus was used.

[Proteases, antiproteases and pulmonary emphysema].

A deficiency of alpha 1 antiproteases is associated with severe and early emphysema. This emphysema can be experimentally produced in animals by endotracheal instillation of elastolytic proteases. Thus it would seem that emphysema is linked to an imbalance between proteases and antiproteases at the pulmonary level.

Inhibition of antigen-induced histamine release from rat mast cells by a cyclic GMP-phosphodiesterase inhibitor and sodium nitrite.

Antianaphylactic properties have been attributed to cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitors through increase of cyclic AMP levels, according to the concept that increases in cyclic AMP reduce release and increases in cyclic GMP enhance release. However, Coulson et al. [3] showed that the inhibition of histamine release from human lung is correlated to the inhibition of cyclic GMP hydrolysis.

Suppression of melanoma development and regression of melanoma in xiphophorine fish after treatment with immune RNA.

In xiphophorine fish suffering from a genetically caused melanoma, both suppression of melanoma development and regression of the existing melanoma were observed after treatment of the fish with an "anti-melanoma immune RNA." This RNA was extracted from the lymphoid organs of guinea pigs immunized with fish melanoma. RNA from guinea pigs immunized with fish skin or liver and RNA from nonimmunized guinea pigs were ineffective.