Confirmation of the 1–20 amino acid sequence of human adrenocorticotrophin

The tryptic fragments of natural human adrenocorticotrophin, were separated by countercurrent distribution and a correction in positions 25, 26, 27 and 30 was made by Riniker et al. (1972) in a study of the fragment containing residues 22-39. We have purified the remaining tryptic fragments, namely residues 1-8, 9-15, 16-21 and 17-21, by using ion-exchange chromatography on CM-cellulose and have carried out sequence determination by using the subtractive Edman degradation procedure and digestion with aminopeptidase M and carboxypeptidase B. These results have confirmed the proposed sequence for human adrenocorticotrophin in regions 6-7, 10-14 and 17-20, which had previously been arrived at only by analogy with the invariant sequence found in the three other mammalian adrenocorticotrophin species that had been investigated.     

Outbreak of Food-poisoning Caused by Salmonella Virchow in Spit-roasted Chicken

Salmonella virchow food-poisoning acquired from eating chicken caused illness in at least 50 people who attended a tennis club function in Liverpool, and in many other people in the Merseyside area. In some cases the illness was severe, with positive blood cultures, and 35 people were admitted to hospital.The source of infection was a retail shop which received deep-frozen chickens already contaminated with S. virchow from a packing-station in Cheshire. These chickens were spit-roasted after inadequate thawing and subsequently handled under unhygienic conditions. The result was a massive build-up of salmonella contamination in the shop and in the chicken portions sold.S. virchow was isolated from over 160 patients and contacts in the Merseyside area during the outbreak and many continued to excrete the organism in the faeces after four months. Antibiotic treatment was not recomended because there was no evidence that it shortened the duration of excretion.A high rate of contamination of chickens from a packing-station by a salmonella type capable of causing serious disease in man is clearly a public health problem which cannot be ignored.The use of rotary spits for roasting chickens requires thorough investigation and appraisal, because as operated at present they evidently constitute a public health hazard.     

Analysis of peptide hormones of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis using 'two-site' immunoradiometric assays

The 'two-site' immunoradiometric assay has been used in a variety of situations to measure and characterize peptides of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis. It has been found that this assay is more sensitive, specific and robust than classical radioimmunoassays and can provide additional evidence of the molecular forms of peptides without resorting to chromatography. The technique can also be used to measure peptides in plasma when a binding protein is present.