Isolation from a pregnant woman of a serum protein responsible for inhibiting an in vitro cytotoxicity reaction

A non specific immunosupressive factor able to block an in vitro cytotoxicity reaction is demonstrated in the serum of pregnant women. A solution containing this blocking factor is obtained by gel filtration and precipitation of plasma by polyethylene glycol 4 000. Then after immunisation of rabbits the immune serum can be used for affinity chromatography. An alpha 2 glycoprotein has been separated which inhibits the in vitro cytotoxicity reaction and whose molecular weight determined by gel filtration and polyacrylamide gel is about 200 000 daltons.     

Prevalence of human papillomavirus infection,distribution of viral types and risk factors in cervical samples from human immunodeficiency virus-positive women attending three human immunodeficiency virus-acquired immune deficiency syndrome reference centres in northeastern Brazil

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients have a greater prevalence of coinfection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is of high oncogenic risk. Indeed, the presence of the virus favours intraepithelial squamous cell lesion progression and may induce cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of HPV infection, distribution of HPV types and risk factors among HIV-positive patients. Cervical samples from 450 HIV-positive patients were analysed with regard to oncotic cytology, colposcopy and HPV presence and type by means of polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. The results were analysed by comparing demographic data and data relating to HPV and HIV infection. The prevalence of HPV was 47.5%. Among the HPV-positive samples, 59% included viral types of high oncogenic risk. Multivariate analysis showed an association between HPV infection and the presence of cytological alterations (p = 0.003), age greater than or equal to 35 years (p = 0.002), number of partners greater than three (p = 0.002), CD4⁺ lymphocyte count < 200/mm³ (p = 0.041) and alcohol abuse (p = 0.004). Although high-risk HPV was present in the majority of the lesions studied, the low frequency of HPV 16 (3.3%), low occurrence of cervical lesions and preserved immunological state in most of the HIV-positive patients were factors that may explain the low occurrence of precancerous cervical lesions in this population.     

Kinetics of uranous iron and ferrous iron oxidation by thiobacillus ferrooxidans

Archives of Microbiology -     

Excretion in rat urine of substances derived from the basal glomerular membrane]

We have prepared in rabbits antibodies against rat GBM, with GBM prepared from isolated glomeruli issued from rat renal cortex. It is shown with immunodiffusion technique the excretion of basement membrane-like fragments into the normal rat urine. This result confirms the earlier works studying the human and rabbit urines. The origin and the nature of this patterns, the signification of this presence into the mammalian urines are discussed.