A practical assay of lipoate in biologic fluids and liver in health and disease.

A procedure for assaying lipoic acid concentration in biologic fluids and tissues was devised using a eukaryotic protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila. T.thermophila has a specific and sensitive (30 pg/ml) requirement for lipoic acid.

Antioxidant survey to assess antagonism to redox stress using a prokaryotic and an eukaryotic system.

Using a prokaryote (Escherichia coli) and a metazoa-resembling eukaryote (Ochromonas danica), we surveyed antioxidants which might overcome redox stress imposed by menadione sodium bisulphite (MD) and buthionine sulphoximine (BSO). BSO oxidant stress was evident only in O. danica; MD oxidant stress was evident in both organisms.

Hypovitaminosis C in patients treated with high-dose interleukin 2 and lymphokine-activated killer cells.

Patients (n = 15) with metastatic malignant melanoma, hypernephroma, and colon carcinoma received a three-phase adoptive immunotherapy protocol: phase 1, 10(5) units (high-dose) interleukin-2 (IL-2) iv every 8 h or 1 mg/m2 continuous intravenous infusion; phase 2, 6.5 d rest + leukapheresis; phase 3, 4 d of high-dose IL-2 plus three infusions of autologous lymphokine-activated killer cells. Toxicities of treatment included fever, chills, tachycardia, hypotension, vomiting, diarrhea, and fluid retention.

Role of 5'-deoxy-5'-methylthioadenosine in growth of several microbial B12 requirers.

5'-Deoxy-5'-Methylthioadenosine (MTA) figures in cellular methionine and polyamine syntheses. It replaces B12 for growth of the chrysomonad protozoan Poteriochromonas malhamensis at a ratio of MTA:B12 of approximatly 10,000,000:1 (by weight). MTA does not replace B12 for other B12-requirers, e.