ABO blood groups,leprosy, and serum proteins

Summary In 683 leprosy patients from Chiang Mai, Thailand, the associations between ABO blood groups, type and clinical features of leprosy, and electrophoretically identifiable serumprotein fractions (albumins: ₁-, ₂-, - and -globulins) were examined. Besides, the blood group frequencies in 388 leprosy patients were compared with suitable controls. Blood groups A and AB turned out to be somewhat more frequent in patients than in controls. Combined analysis with 31 series from literature reports gave X=1.0776; ²=1)=12.232. In comparisons within our group of patients which contained almost exclusively lepromatous and dimorphous patients a certain tendency towards more severe involvement of blood group A was observed within the lepromatous group and a higher frequency of eye involvement in group A was (weakly) significant (²=1)=6.188).As to serum proteins ₁- and ₂-globulins were decreased (weakly) significantly in blood group A patients who were at least 40 years old. Furthermore, a number of relationships of serum protein fractions with age, sex, and state of the infection, most of which are known from the literature, could be confirmed.     

HLA antigens, blood groups and serum protein groups in patients with intermittent claudication

HLA (A and B) antigens, blood group systems (AB0, Rh, MNSs P, Kell, Lewis and Duffy) and serum group systems (Hp, Tf, Pi, C3 and C4) were studied in patients with intermittent claudication (IC) and controls. HLA antigen A 28 was significantly more common, and blood group 0 was significantly less common among the patients than among the controls. A comparison between patients with IC and those with abdominal aortic aneurysms showed a significant difference between these two groups concerning the MN blood groups.     

Phylogeny,natural groups and nemertean classification

Contemporary practice in the classification of nemerteans (phylum Nemertea) is critically discussed. It is argued that basing higher taxa on the existence of a unique combination of characters in a species (or genus) is unlikely to lead to monophyletic taxa, and that this approach should be abandoned in favour of a classification based on explicit hypotheses of phylogeny. These hypotheses should be based on all available characters and characters should not be excluded before the analysis. The classification should be based on a reconstruction of the phylogeny and reflect this phylogeny in an unambiquous way.     

Oxytocin analogues with amide groups substituted by tetrazole groups in position 4, 5 or 9

Eleven oxytocin analogues substituted in position 4, 5 or 9 by tetrazole analogues of amino acids were prepared using solid-phase peptide synthesis method and tested for rat uterotonic in vitro and pressor activities, as well as for their affinity to human oxytocin receptor. The tetrazolic group has been used as a bioisosteric substitution of carboxylic, ester or amide groups in structure-activity relationship studies of biologically active compounds. Replacement of the amide groups of Gln(4) and Asn(5) in oxytocin by tetrazole analogues of aspartic, glutamic and alpha-aminoadipic acids containing the tetrazole moiety in the side chains leads to analogues with decreased biological activities. Oxytocin analogues in which the glycine amide residue in position 9 was substituted by tetrazole analogues of glycine had diminished activities as well. The analysis of differences in rat uterotonic activity and in the affinity to human oxytocin receptors of analogues containing either an acidic 5-substituted tetrazolic group or a neutral 1,5- or 2,5-tetrazole nucleus makes it possible to draw some new conclusions concerning the role of the amide group of amino acids in positions 4, 5 and 9 of oxytocin for its activity. The data suggest that the interaction of the side chain of Gln(4) with the oxytocin receptor is influenced mainly by electronic effects and the hydrogen bonding capacity of the amide group. Steric effects of the side chain are minor. Substitution of Asn(5) by its tetrazole derivative gave an analogue of very low activity. The result suggests that in the interaction between the amide group of Asn(5) and the binding sites of oxytocic receptor hydrogen bonds are of less importance than the spatial requirements for this group.     

Transferrins,haptoglobins, and ceruloplasmins among tribal groups of Madagascar

Transferrin phenotypes of 403 Malagasy were determined by autoradiography after electrophoresis of plasma or serum. Three phenotypes, Tf C, Tf CD, and Tf D, were found. The frequency of Tf^D was 0.051 in the total sample, 0.041 in tribes of the Madagascar plateau, and 0.075 in tribes of the coastal and lowland regions. Haptoglobin phenotypes of 402 Malagasy were determined. The frequency of Hp¹ was 0.41 in the total sample, 0.38 in tribes of the plateau, and 0.49 in coastal-lowland tribes. There is a significant difference in the frequency of Hp¹ between the tribes of the plateau and those of the coastal and lowland regions. This confirms earlier observations of significant differences in frequencies of haptoglobins and hemoglobin S. Plasma or serum samples from 405 Malagasy were examined by electrophoresis to determine ceruloplasmin phenotypes. Seven distinct ceruloplasmin bands were observed. These were A, B, Galveston, Bridgeport, New Haven, Tananarive, and X, the last two described for the first time. Ten different phenotypes composed of one or two of the bands were observed. The frequency of the allele for ceruloplasmin B (CpB) was 0.78 in the total sample, 0.73 in tribes of the plateau, and 0.92 in coastal and lowland tribes. There is a significant difference in the frequency of this allele in the two major tribal groups, and this provides additional evidence of genetic differences between the peoples of the plateau and those of the coast and lowland regions of Madagascar.