Hyperadrenergic syndrome in severe tetanus: extreme rise in catecholamines responsive to labetalol.

The hyperadrenergic syndrome that occurs in tetanus is characterised by hypertension, tachycardia, and increased systemic arteriolar resistance. A 74 year old man with tetanus was found to have very high catecholamine concentrations--as high as those in phaeochromocytoma--and the fluctuations in blood pressure and heart rate were measured to see whether they paralleled changes in the catecholamine values. A labetalol infusion of 0.25-1 mg/min gradually stabilised the cardiovascular disturbances and the patient recovered.     

Genetic and biochemical characterization of an exopolygalacturonase and a pectate lyase from Yersinia enterocolitica.

Yersinia enterocolitica, an invasive foodborne human pathogen, degrades polypectate by producing two depolymerizing enzymes, pectate lyase (PL) and polygalacturonase (PG). The gene encoding the PG activity, designated pehY, was located in a 3-kb genomic fragment of Y. enterocolitica ATCC 49397. The complete nucleotide sequence of this 3-kb fragment was determined and an open reading frame consisting of 1803 bp was predicted to encode a PG protein with an estimated M(r) of 66 kDa and pI of 6.3. The amino acid sequence of prePG showed 59 and 43% identity to that of the exopolygalacturonase (exoPG) of Erwinia chrysanthemi and Ralstonia solanacearum, respectively. The Y. enterocolitica PG overproduced in Escherichia coli was purified to near homogeneity using perfusion cation exchange chromatography. Analysis of the PG depolymerization products by high performance anion-exchange chromatography and pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) revealed the exolytic nature of this enzyme. The Y. enterocolitica PL overproduced in E. coli was also partially purified and the M(r) and pI were estimated to be 55 kDa and 5.2, respectively. HPAEC-PAD analysis of the PL depolymerization products indicated the endolytic nature of this enzyme. Southern hybridization analyses revealed that pehY and pel genes of Y. enterocolitica are possibly encoded in the chromosome rather than in the plasmid. Purified exopolygalacturonase (over 10 activity units) was unable to macerate plant tissues.     

Natural killer cell cytotoxic potential of patients with ovarian carcinoma and its modulation with virus-modified tumor cell extract

Summary We have demonstrated that cancer patients with ovarian carcinoma display deficient peripheral blood NK-cell cytotoxic potential against the K-562 target cell line. Furthermore, no NK-cell activity against the same tumor was detected in ascitic fluids of these patients. The inferior peripheral blood NK-cell cytotoxicity of ovarian carcinoma patients was significantly augmented after ID inoculation with virus-modified tumor cell extract. Similarly, NK-cell activity in the ascitic fluids was dramatically increased after IP in vivo therapy with the same tumor extract preparation. Interestingly, in some of the cancer patients the augmentation of NK-cell activity in ascitic fluids after IP injection of virus-modified tumor cells extract was associated with a clinical response of the patients, as demonstrated by regression of ascitic tumors. These studies indicate, first, that virus-modified tumor extract displays immunopotentiating activity, as reflected by its marked NK cell-augmenting potential, and secondly, that regional activation of NK cells could underlie the mechanism of regression of ascitic tumors.     

Osteodysplasia or the Melnick-Needles syndrome; (apropos of a new case)

Osteodysplasty (Melnick and Needles syndrome) without facial dysmorphy in a 26 1/2 years old woman, mother of a normal 5 months female infant. First male newborn was stillborn at 37 weeks of amenorrhea with Potter syndrome and severe malformations (microcephaly, cleft lip and palate, posterior scalp lesions, bilateral palmar transverse crease) just like 13 trisomy. Spine and limb X-ray anomalies pointed out a week before foetus expulsion are not proved subsequently because examinations deficiency.     

Natural killer cell-mediated antitumor reactivity of rhesus monkeys

We have analyzed natural killer (NK) cell-mediated antitumor activity or peripheral blood mononuclear cells of rhesus monkeys. All monkeys displayed significant NK cell cytolytic activity against the human tumor cell lines K-562, Daudi and CEM in a short-term (3 h) 51Cr-release assay. Similar to NK cells described in other species, the cytotoxic cells of monkeys were relatively nonadherent to nylon wool columns, exhibited low density after separation on discontinuous Percoll density gradients, and displayed large granular lymphocyte (LGL) morphology. Analysis of the mechanism of NK cell cytotoxicity of rhesus monkeys demonstrated that on the average, 7.1% (range: 3.1-13.2%) of lymphocytes bound to K-562 tumor, and that approximately 14.8% (range: 7.9-26.3%) of these tumor-binding cells (TBC) were cytolytically active. Examination of TBC on cytocentrifuge slides indicated that the majority of binders displayed LGL morphology. The cytotoxic reaction mediated by monkey NK cells exhibited Michaelis-Menten kinetics pattern; the maximum rate of lysis (Vmax) of K-562 was found to be 1-2 X 10(4) following 3 h of incubation. Using similar culture conditions, the recycling capacity of NK cells of this species was estimated at 2-6 times. Finally, it was observed that the NK cell activity of most monkeys could be potentiated following in vitro exposure to the biological response modifier, interleukin-2.     

Effects of Plant Contact, Inoculation Pattern, Leaf Wetness Regime, and Nitrogen Supply on Inoculum Efficiency in Rice Sheath Blight

An experimental design was developed which allowed the measurement of inoculum efficiency (IE) represented by lesions of a leaf-borne disease such as rice sheath blight. In this design. IE is measured as the ratio of newly established lesions on trap plants relative to the inoculum present in a canopy, i.e. lesions artificially established on source plants, IE of the rice sheath blight pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani , was studied under semi-controlled conditions in which the effects of the following factors were measured; contact frequency among host tissues, amount and location of inoculum in the canopy, leaf wetness regime, and nitrogen content of the host plant. The conduciveness of these factors to sheath blight infection was measured in terms of IE which was expressed as the ratio of the density of daughter lesions on trap rice hills to the density of mother lesions on the inoculated quadrat hills. IE generally declined with the three successive batches of trap hills used in the experiments. It was significantly higher at closer plant spacings and under interrupted leaf wetness regimes. IE was not affected by the amount, nor by the location, of inoculum (mother lesions) in the canopy, but was significantly lower in hills with high total nitrogen content.