Airway constriction in normal humans produced by inhalation of leukotriene D. Potency, time course, and effect of aspirin therapy.

Five normal human subjects inhaled aerosols generated from solutions of leukotriene D (LTD) to determine the bronchoconstrictor potency and the time course of airway obstruction produced by this constituent of slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis. The dose-effect and time-effect curves were compared with curves similarly generated for the well-characterized airway constrictor histamine. Leukotriene D was, on average, 5,900 times more potent than histamine on a molar basis in producing an identical decrement in maximal expiratory flow rate at 30% of control vital capacity above residual volume.

[Immunocoagulopathies as a possible cause of acquired hemorrhagic diathesis].

Spontaneous factor VIII inhibitors may be responsible for severe life-threatening haemorrhages. It is reported on two patients with inhibitors directed against factor VIII: C. In one female patient a rheumatoid arthritis could be made evident as basic disease.

Stereoselectivity of the epoxidation of 7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene by prostaglandin H synthase and cytochrome P-450 determined by the identification of polyguanylic acid adducts.

The stereoselectivity of the oxidation of 7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene (H2BP) to 9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (H4BP-epoxide) by prostaglandin H (PGH) synthase and cytochrome P-450 has been studied using microsomal preparations from ram seminal vesicles and rat liver. Incubations were performed in the presence of polyguanylic acid and the adducts formed between H4BP-epoxide and guanosine were isolated following the recovery and hydrolysis of the poly(G). When (+/-)-H4BP-epoxide was reacted with poly(G), four diastereomeric adducts were formed by the cis and trans addition of the exocyclic amino group of guanine to the benzylic carbon of the epoxide enantiomers.

Human eosinophil arylsulfatase B. Structure and activity of the purified tetrameric lysosomal hydrolase.

Arylsulfatase B from human eosinophils was purified free of contaminating proteins by gel filtration and sequential affinity chromatography on Affi-Gel Blue and zinc chelate Sepharose. 50 micrograms of the purified enzyme presented as a single stained band on alkaline disc gel electrophoresis. In both goats and rabbits, the purified enzyme elicited monospecific antisera that yielded single precipitation arcs on Ouchterlony analysis with a human eosinophil extract and the purified enzyme; the immunoprecipitation lines fused in a pattern of identity, providing immunochemical evidence for the homogeneity of the purified enzyme.

Endemic filariasis on a Pacific island. I. Clinical, epidemiologic, and parasitologic aspects.

The clinical and parasitologic aspects of filariasis were investigated in 459 inhabitants of a South Pacific island endemic for subperiodic Wuchereria bancrofti filariasis. Episodes of filarial fevers, usually with concomitant lymphangitis and/or lymphadenitis, were experienced by 26%. Lymphobstructive lesions, manifest in the later decades of life, were present in 12 with elephantiasis and 24 with hydroceles.

Endemic filariasis on a Pacific Island. II. Immunologic aspects: immunoglobulin, complement, and specific antifilarial IgG, IgM, and IgE antibodies.

Sixty-eight individuals from a Pacific island hyperendemic for subperiodic bancroftian filariasis were selected from a larger study population to include the entire clinical spectrum of filarial infection in that region and also an "endemic control" group without clinical or parasitologic evidence of filarial infection. Analysis of their blood leukocyte and humoral immune responses yielded the following major findings: 1) levels of specific antifilarial antibodies of three different immunoglobulin class (IgG and IgM measured by ELISA and IgE determined by radioimmunoassay) were significantly greater in the "endemic control" population than in the patients with filariasis, an observation true for both children and adults; 2) the endemic controls also had significantly higher levels of serum IgM and C3 than did the filariasis patients 3) while individuals with "filarial fevers" and "chronic (lymphatic) pathology" did have significantly lower IgG antibody responses to filarial antigen than the controls, the lowest antibody levels were found in the patients with microfilaremia; 4) symptomatic patients (i.e.

Bronchoconstrictor effects of leukotriene C in humans.

Maximum expiratory flow rate at 30 percent of vital capacity above residual volume served as an index of airway obstruction in comparing the effects of leukotriene C and histamine administered by aerosol to five normal persons. Leukotriene C was 600 to 9500 times more potent than histamine on a molar basis in producing an equivalent decrement in the residual volume. The leukotriene C response was slow in onset and prolonged, reminiscent of the effects of aerosol allergen challenge in asthmatic allergic subjects.

Human eosinophil lysophospholipase: the sole protein component of Charcot-Leyden crystals.

Charcot-Leyden crystals (CLC), formed in vitro from human eosinophils, were recently shown to contain a protein identical in physicochemical characteristics to human eosinophil lysophospholipase. Monospecific antisera, prepared against homogeneous, chromatographically purified eosinophil lysophospholipase and against CLC formed in vitro, yielded precipitin lines fusing in a pattern of immunochemical identity on Ouchterlony analysis with disrupted eosinophils, purified lysophospholipase, and solubilized CLC protein. With antisera to the purified lysophospholipase, CLC present in vivo in human feces were demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence to contain eosinophil lysophospholipase.

[Epidemiology and genetics of hemophilia].

From own examinations a survey of data concerning morbidity and genealogy of haemophilia is presented. Their comparison with data from literature shows that the total number of haemophiliacs referred to the population (1 : 11,000 males) and the relation of haemophilia A : B (4.5 : 1) vastly corresponds in the middle and north European area.

[Emergency endoscopy in patients with hereditary hemophilia].

Haemorrhages from the upper gastrointestinal tract are a particularly threatening complication for patients with hereditary haemorrhagic diathesis. Though in the individual case under conservative therapy a temporizing attitude is possible, the source of the haemorrhage should be localized. When the peculiarities of this group of patients are taken into consideration the emergency endoscopy does not evoke a new danger of bleeding, on the contrary it is a decisive prerequisite for the individual therapy according to indication.

Familial predisposition to filarial infection--not linked to HLA-A or-B locus specificities.

Two hundred and twenty-five Polynesians were selected from a larger study population for the evaluation of potential genetic influences on the susceptibility to bancroftian filariasis. Analysis showed that there was significantly familial clustering of patients with filariasis and that this clustering was most compatible with genetic transmission of disease susceptibility. The data best fit a model in which the hypothetical gene for filariasis was recessive with a frequency of 0.

Identification of human eosinophil lysophospholipase as the constituent of Charcot-Leyden crystals.

Since the initial descriptions of Charcot-Leyden crystals more than 100 years ago, the presence of these slender, dipyramidal crystals in human tissues and biologic fluids has become a hallmark of eosinophilic leukocyte infiltration, especially in association with allergic and helminthic diseases. The formation of these crystals in vitro after disruption of human eosinophils, but not of other cell types, in hypotonic saline or detergent established the eosinophil as the unique cellular source of the crystalline protein. Charcot-Leyden crystals have now been found to express lysophospholipase activity (lysolecithin acylhydrolase, EC 3.

Immediate and delayed hypersensitivity skin test responses to the Dirofilaria immitis filarial skin test (Sawada) antigen in Wuchereria bancrofti filariasis.

In order to assess the immunodiagnostic utility of FST skin test antigen purified from Dirofilaria immitis, skin test responses were analyzed in 177 inhabitants of a South Pacific island hyperendemic for Wuchereria bancrofti filariasis. Although the distribution of immediate hypersensitivity skin test responses was similar to those found in other filarial endemic populations, individual immediate skin test reactions lacked the sensitivity and specificity to identify those with microfilaremia or those with any clinical or parasitologic evidence of filarial disease. Delayed hypersensitivity type skin test reactions were elicited by the antigen in 60% of people but again these delayed cutaneous reactions did not correlate with the presence or absence of stigmata of filariasis.

Short-term effects of chest physiotherapy on pulmonary function in children with cystic fibrosis.

In a short-term controlled study of 20 patients with cystic fibrosis and chronic sputum production, chest physiotherapy resulted in a significantly improved peak flow over a whole day, with no significant difference in other forced expiratory flows, when compared to a control day. This suggests that physiotherapy may be effective in enhancing clearance of sputum from central large airways, but it has little obvious effect on more peripheral airways. A bronchodilator given before physiotherapy had no added effects.

Hypercholesterolaemia and hypertriglyceridaemia in patients with analgesic nephropathy.

Patients with analgesic nephropathy are reported to have a higher risk of atherosclerosis. One possible reason for this is a high incidence of hyperlipaemia in patients with analgesic nephropathy. In a retrospective study, serum cholesterol and serum triglyceride concentrations of patients with analgesic nephropathy and moderately restricted renal function were significantly higher compared to a control group with other renal diseases of similar age and degree of renal insufficiency.