Observations on clinical efficacy of albendazole emulsion in 264 cases of hepatic cystic echinococcosis

Two regimens of albendazole emulsion (AbzE), a novel formulation, were used in the treatment of 264 cases of hepatic cystic echinococcosis. AbzE 10 mg/kg per day (calculated by albendazole base) was administered orally to 71 cases for 6 months to over 1 year. Imaging evaluation at the end of courses showed overall efficacy in 97.2%, (cure rate 60.6%, and inefficacy rate 2.8%); The follow-up study on 62 cases 3-4 years post therapeutic courses showed overall efficacy in 92.0% (cure rate 83.9%, ineffective rate 1.5% and recurrence rate 6.5%); Abz 12.5 mg/kg per day was administered orally to 193 cases for 3 months to over 1 year, resulting in an overall efficacy of 97.9%, (cure rate 75.1% and inefficacy rate 2.1%). The follow-up study in 139 cases 2-4 years post treatment demonstrated efficacy in 89.2%, (cure rate 84.2% and recurrence rate 10.8%); Mild reversible adverse reactions were observed in 14.4% of the patients. Retreatment of recurrent hydatidosis patients with AbzE provided promising results. AbzE is considered to be superior to the albendazole tablet or capsule formulations currently used in treatment of liver cystic hydatid disease.     

Inheritance of amylases in blood serum of cattle

Serum amylase variants are demonstrated by means of starch gel and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Phenotypes, allele frequencies, and segregation data for Am₁ and Am₂ in the cattle breed Deutsche Schwarzbunte are given. Demonstration of Am₂ amylases was better in polyacrylamide gels and more isoenzymes were identified than in starch gels. The variants of Am₁ amylases found in STAGE could not be reproduced in PAGE by means of the described methods. Both enzyme systems seem to be profoundly different in their molecular constitution and action. For the animals, these differences could be of advantage in the adaption to external influences.     

Influence of liposome charge and composition on their interaction with human blood serum proteins

The roles of sulfhydryl and disulfide groups in the specific binding of synthetic cannabinoid CP-55,940 to the cannabinoid receptor in membrane preparations from the rat cerebral cortex have been examined. Various sulfhydryl blocking reagents including p-chloromercuribenzoic acid (p-CMB), N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), o-iodosobenzoic acid (o-ISB), and methyl methanethiosulfonate (MMTS) inhibited the specific binding of [³H]CP-55,940 to the cannabinoid receptor in a dose-dependent manner. About 80–95% inhibition was obtained at a 0.1 mM concentration of these reagents. Scatchard analysis of saturation experiments indicates that most of these sulfhydryl modifying reagents reduce both the binding affinity (K_d) and capacity (B_max). On the other hand, DL-dithiothreitol (DTT), a disulfide reducing agent, also irreversibly inhibited the specific binding of [³H]CP-55,940 to the receptor and about 50% inhibition was obtained at a 5 mM concentration. Furthermore, 5mM DTT was abelt to dissociate 50% of the bound ligand from the ligand-receptor complex. The marked inhibition of [³H]CP-55,940 binding by sulfhydryl reagents suggests that at least one free sulfhydryl group is essential to the binding of the ligand to the receptor. In addition, the inhibition of the binding by DTT implies that besides free sulfhydryl group(s), the integrity of a disulfide bridge is also important for [³H]CP-55,940 binding to the cannabinoid receptor.     

Low-molecular-weight glycoprotein from cattle blood serum: structure and properties

Amino acid composition, structure, and physicochemical properties of a low-molecular-weight glycoprotein from cattle blood serum (SGP) were studied. The content of carbohydrates (represented by mannose-rich oligosaccharides) amounted to 45-50 wt %. The value of specific partial heat of SGP, measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), equaled 1.8 J/g.K, which is characteristic of unfolded proteins. Circular dichroic (CD) spectra of SGP led us to conclude that it is not highly structured and that it occurs in the shape of a statistical globule. The protein was deglycated using anhydrous trifluoromethane sulfonate (TFMS), after which its amino acid composition and the sequence of a fragment were determined. The results indicate that SGP is a protein not studied previously.     

Collagen immunotyping of the hepatic fibrosis in human alveolar echinococcosis

An extremely dense fibrosis is responsible for the main complications of alveolar echinococcosis (AE), a severe parasitic disease due to the development in the liver of a larval form of the cestode Echinococcus multilocularis. Immunotyping of collagens present in fibrous, granulomatous, and normal areas of the liver was performed in nine patients with AE. Immunofluorescent labelling of collagen types showed that dense fibrosis was entirely composed of thick bundles of type I and type III collagens, surrounding old parasitic vesicles with an autofluorescent laminated layer. In granulomatous areas, collagens were labelled as clusters consisting mainly of type III procollagen and collagen. Concentric bundles of type III collagen surrounded active parasitic vesicles. An enhancement of the normal labelling in portal spaces of the intact liver was present in all the patients. These results suggest that irreversible acellular keloid scar-like fibrosis observed in AE is the ultimate result of cytotoxic and fibrogenetic events related to the immune response of the host which are taking place initially in the granulomatous area surrounding the young parasite larvae.     

Embryogenetic features of the serum protein composition of chicken blood

Protein composition of the blood serum in chick embryos of two breeds and in their hybrids has been investigated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Significant changes in the proportion of protein components of pre-albumin, albumin and post-albumin zones during prenatal development of chicks were observed. These changes are alleviated in hybrid embryos. The decrease in protein content of post-albumin zone, which contains foetoproteins, takes place to the end of incubation. This decrease is less significant in hybrid chicks as compared to that in the original hen breeds.     

Antibodies to egg yolk in blood serum of rabbits and cattle and cervical mucus of cattle inseminated artificially.

Serum titers to egg yolk were induced in 6 rabbits by intravaginal deposition of an egg-yolk citrate extender used for artificial insemination of cattle. There was no effect of the low serum titers to egg yolk on fertility of the inseminated rabbits. Titers to egg-yolk semen extender were found in 3% of 59 cows of normal fertility compared to 29% of 14 repeat breeder cows of low fertility, all previously inseminated with semen diluted with egg yolk-citrate extender. Four of 6 cervical mucus samples (67%) from the repeat breeder cows had high titers to egg yolk, but only one also had a positive titer in blood serum.