Transfusion-induced immunomodulation and its possible role in cancer recurrence and perioperative bacterial infection

Over the last decade, it has become evident that homologous transfusions carry immunologic consequences beyond the well-understood ones of alloimmunization to blood cell antigens. Transfusions constitute temporary transplants of large amounts of allogeneic antigen given intravenously and cause down-regulation of many cellular immune functions. These changes may explain in part the association of transfusion with such clinically important events as (1) improved survival of renal allografts, (2) decreased recurrence rates for autoimmune disease, (3) increased frequency and earlier recurrences of solid tumors, (4) increased frequency of post-operative bacterial infection, and (5) increased severity of viral infection. Preliminary data suggest that, in animal models and clinical settings, syngeneic or autologous transfusions are not associated with such events. This finding supports the hypothesis that these associations are cause and effect and involve immunologic mechanisms.     

Development of long-term post-tetanic potentiation and changes in S-100 protein contents in hippocampal slices of rats in different functional states]

Male rats of the strains with low (LE) high excitability (HE) of the nervous system have been used in this study. Half of the animals of each strain were neurotized in accordance with the Hecht's scheme. In the hippocampal slices of the non-neurotized LE rats there was a significant increase of the populational spike amplitude during development of LTP as compared with the opposite group of the animals. The LTP formation in the LE strain of rats caused a decrease in the S-100 protein content in the water-soluble, and an increase in the membrane-bound fraction of the protein. Similar results we have observed with the non-inbred Wistar rats but not with the HE strain of the animals. The levels of the water-soluble S-100 protein fraction were also higher in the hippocampuses and entorenal cortices, but not in the cerebellae of the LE strain, as compared with the HE strain of the rats. No differences have been found in the membrane-bound fraction of S-100 protein.     

Psychiatrically hospitalized children: a critical review

The high cost of inpatient hospitalization and the rise in the number of private psychiatric beds for children and adolescents prompt several questions about who is using these services. To examine these issues, a review focusing on the use of psychiatric inpatient services by children was undertaken. The history of inpatient care of children is briefly outlined, recent public policies contributing to the rise in the number of psychiatric beds are considered, and findings from available studies are reviewed. We conclude that the data base is inadequate to draw many conclusions about who is using child psychiatric inpatient services. There appear, however, to be important differences in use of inpatient services according to age and perhaps by institutional type and geographic region. Suggestions for future research and some of the social policy implications are discussed as well.     

Basement membrane collagen-degrading activity from a malignant tumor is inhibited by anthracycline antibiotics

Type IV collagenase activity was previously identified and purified to 7500-fold in homogenates from murine Walker 256 carcinoma, using acetylated [3H]-type IV collagen as a substrate. Anthracycline antibiotics daunorubicin, doxorubicin and epirubicin exhibited a non-competitive, reversible inhibition with Ki 92, 49 and 40 microM, respectively. This inhibitory effect, at therapeutically attainable concentrations of the forementioned antineoplastic drugs, may contribute, at least in part, to their antimetastatic properties. The anthracycline derivatives: 4-demethoxydaunorubicin, 4'-iododoxorubicin and 4-demethoxy-3'-deamino-3'-hydroxyepirubicin were without inhibitory effects at comparable concentrations. Other antineoplastic agents, such as belomycin, carmustine, cisplatine, etoposide, methotrexate, mitotane and teniposide did not exhibit any inhibitory effect at concentrations up to 1.0 mM.     

Repetitive DNA (TGGA)n 5' to the human myelin basic protein gene: a new form of oligonucleotide repetitive sequence showing length polymorphism.

DNA 5' to the human myelin basic protein (MBP) gene, mapped to 18q22----qter, is known to manifest multiallelic DNA length variation with heterozygosity of at least 45%. Isolation of genomic DNA containing the MBP gene first exon and its 5' flanking region reveals that this polymorphism arises from a 994-bp region of the diverged tandem repeat (TGGA)249. This sequence is located from 1082 to 2075 bp upstream of the MBP initiator methionine. The repetitive sequence is 18% diverged from (TGGA)249 and from analysis of higher order subsequence reiterations appears to have undergone extensive recombination. The pattern of higher order repetition suggests that multiple crossover and gene conversion events have occurred within a 1.0-kb region. Molecular clones of this sequence represent essentially the longest allelic form of this region seen in Southern transfer analysis. This repetitive DNA is similar to a sequence 5' to the human myoglobin gene.