Antibodies to the hepatitis A virus in the healthy population of Moscow

Serum specimens collected from 1002 persons in Moscow were tested for the presence of antibodies to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV antibodies) by solid-phase enzyme immunoassay. The prevalence of these antibodies increased progressively with age from 10% in children aged 5-9 years to over 90% in the age groups of 40-49 years and over, the 50% immunity level being established at the age of 18 years. 79% of infants under 1 year were found to be immune, which was obviously due to the placental transfer of antibodies from mother to child. In a considerable part of seropositive persons over 30 years high or medium antibody titers were detected. These age groups showed a stable proportion of the low, medium and high level of anti-HAV antibodies. The prevalence of such antibodies was not related to sex. The presence of an ample amount of anti-HAV antibodies was determined in all of 18 tested lots of commercial serum immunoglobulin obtained from 3 different manufacturers.     

Vegetative fallows and potential value of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica) in the tropics

Research into the systems of agriculture based on vegetative fallows should begin from enquiries into the shrubs and trees most efficient in restoring soil productivity and providing firewood, timber, fodder and other products essential to meeting basic needs at the rural household and community level. Local processing of such products can give rise to the establishment of thriving village industries and thus generate employment and additional income. Neem tree,Azadirachta indica, of the semiarid regions is one outstanding example of a species which is not only an efficient soil ameliorant but can also provide a series of products highly competitive in price and quality with petroleum-based synthetics. Enough scientific evidence has been gathered from several hundred references on the subject to warrant the launching of a well coordinated multidisciplinary research and development programme leading to agricultural, industrial and commercial exploitation of this tree. Proposals for the implementation of several projects within the programme are briefly outlined in this paper.     

Membrane microheterogeneity: Förster resonance energy transfer characterization of lateral membrane domains

Lateral membrane heterogeneity, in the form of lipid rafts and microdomains, is currently implicated in cell processes including signal transduction, endocytosis, and cholesterol trafficking. Various biophysical techniques have been used to detect and characterize lateral membrane domains. Among these, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) has the crucial advantage of being sensitive to domain sizes smaller than 50-100 nm, below the resolution of optical microscopy but, apparently, similar to those of rafts in cell membranes. In the last decade, several formalisms for the analysis of FRET in heterogeneous membrane systems have been derived and applied to the study of microdomains. They are critically described and illustrated here.     

Effect of detergent on protein structure. Action of detergents on secondary and oligomeric structures of band 3 from bovine erythrocyte membranes

With special interest in the mode of action of zwitterionic detergents on proteins, a variety of detergents were examined for their ability to disrupt the secondary and quaternary structures of an anion transport protein, band 3, and its cytoplasmic 38 kDa fragment from bovine erythrocyte membranes and for their effect on the binding of an anion transport inhibitor to band 3. Nonionic detergents and Chaps also acted as a nondenaturant in these instances, as well accepted for other proteins. Though deoxycholate and cholate inhibited the binding of an anion transport inhibitor to band 3, these detergents did not show any effect on the native structure of band 3. Zwitterionic detergents (Zwittergent 3-10, Zwittergent 3-12 and N, N-dimethyl-N-dodecyl glycine) were suggested to denature the water-soluble 38 kDa fragment at concentrations above the critical micelle concentration, but to be weak in disrupting interacting forces between hydrophobic membrane-bound domains of band 3. The results indicated that these zwitterionic detergents are similar in the mode of denaturing action to dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide rather than sodium dodecyl sulfate.     

Analysis of the mode of antigen presentation required for triggering of T cell proliferation by using various azobenzenearsonate-tyrosine derivatives

Various azobenzenearsonate-tyrosine (ABA-Tyr) derivatives were synthesized by modifying amino and carboxyl groups at the alpha-carbon of tyrosine, with preservation of most of the ABA-Tyr moiety (ABA plus hydroxyphenyl portion of tyrosine). These derivatives were tested for the ability to stimulate ABA-L-Tyr specific T cell lines derived from B10.BR and B10.S mice. ABA-acetyltyramine, ABA-hydroxyphenylpropionic acid (ABA-PPr), and ABA-propylphenol, which lack either the carboxyl or amino group or both, could not induce T cell proliferation. The lack of stimulation by these derivatives was not due to their cytotoxic effects. A similar pattern of proliferation was obtained on stimulating lymph node T cells from B10.BR and B10.S mice primed with ABA-L-Tyr. Some differences were observed, however, between B10.BR and B10.S mice. ABA-L-Tyr-specific T cells from B10.BR mice could not respond well to ABA-D-Tyr in contrast to B10.S T cells. Furthermore, B10.BR mice primed with ABA-acetyltyramine or ABA-PPr in complete Freund's adjuvant could not induce ABA-L-Tyr-reactive T cells, whereas T cells from B10.S mice primed with these derivatives could proliferate in the presence of ABA-L-Tyr. The differences between B10.BR and B10.S mice were further investigated by using (B10.S X B10.BR)F1 mice. T cells from ABA-L-Tyr-immunized F1 mice responded poorly to ABA-D-Tyr when presented with B10.BR antigen-presenting cells (APC), but responded well when presented with B10.S APC. Similarly, T cells from ABA-PPr-primed F1 mice did not proliferate to ABA-L-Tyr in the presence of B10.BR APC, but could proliferate in the presence of B10.S APC. Our results clearly indicate that the presence of charged groups at the alpha-carbon of tyrosine plays a critical role in the triggering of ABA-L-Tyr-specific T cell proliferation. The significance of these results is discussed.     

Cytotoxicity of cholesterol oxidase to cells of hypercholesterolemic guinea pigs

1. A high cholesterol diet caused guinea pig erythrocytes to become sensitive to lysis by cholesterol oxidase (CO), a protein not hemolytic to normal cells. 2. Lysis was associated with conversion of membrane cholesterol to its oxidation product (delta-4-cholesten-3-one). 3. Intravenous injection of CO to hypercholesterolemic guinea pigs produced a reduction in serum cholesterol, but was not lethal as it was in rabbits. 4. Homogenized spleen, liver and kidney from the hyperlipidemic animals were sensitive to in vitro cholesterol oxidation while tissues from non-lipemic animals were resistant to modification.     

Potentiation by naltrexone of d-amphetamine-induced behavioral suppression and its reversal by clonidine

Rats were trained to perform a fixed ratio-15 operant for food reinforcement during a 30 minute daily session. Naltrexone, in doses up to 45 mg/kg administered 15 min before the behavioral session, failed to disrupt responding. However, 0.3 and 1.0 mg naltrexone/kg produced a dose related potentiation of the operant behavioral suppression induced by 1.0 mg d-amphetamine/kg injected immediately before the session. The naltrexone/d-amphetamine combination also produced excessive salivation and postural abnormalities not seen when either drug was administered alone. [A subsequent study indicated that the salivation induced by naltrexone in combination with d-amphetamine may require previous exposure to naltrexone and/or d-amphetamine.] Blockade of dopamine receptors with pimozide did not modify the interaction. Functional noradrenergic blockade with a low dose of clonidine significantly reversed the potentiated suppression, of operant behavior, as well as the excessive salivation and abnormal posture. These data suggest that there is an important noradrenergic component to the interaction of naltrexone with d-amphetamine. The impressive interaction of behaviorally inactive doses of naltrexone with a moderate dose of d-amphetamine reported here for rats may have clinical implications for detoxified opiate addicts maintained on naltrexone in antagonist therapy programs.     

Frequency of Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolation from stool specimens

During a 6-month period, 7252 faeces specimens were examined for Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7. Forty-nine specimens (0.7%) from 19 patients yielded this organism. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was the third most frequently isolated bacterial pathogen, following Campylobacter jejuni and (or) Salmonella sp. Although regional variation between laboratories determined whether Campylobacter jejuni or Salmonella was the primary bacterial pathogen isolated, E. coli O157:H7 was consistently isolated more frequently than either Shigella or Yersinia enterocolitica.     

Effect of butaclamol enantiomers on hypothalamic tyrosine hydroxylase in the rat brain

The authors demonstrate stereospecificity of the action of butaclamol enantiomers on substrate inhibition of hypothalamic tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and regulation of the tyrosine hydroxylase response by the presynaptic membrane (presynaptic receptors) of rat hypothalamus synaptosomes under membrane activation with dopamine. The effect of (+)-butaclamol on the substrate inhibition of TH was noticeable at a concentration of 10(-8)M, reaching a maximum at 10(-5)M. (-)-Butaclamol administered at the same concentrations did not influence the substrate inhibition of the enzyme. (+)-Butaclamol added to the incubation medium containing hypothalamic synaptosomes concurrently with dopamine (10(-5)M) completely blocked the regulatory action of the latter on TH, with this action mediated via presynaptic receptors. (-)-Butaclamol (10(-5)M) antagonized the action of dopamine under the same conditions. The data obtained indicate high stereo-specificity of butaclamol enantiomers as regards their effect on presynaptic regulation of TH, suggesting that elimination of the substrate inhibition of hypothalamic TH is a stereoselective effect of neuroleptics and can be a prognostically important criterion in the appraisal of compounds with potential neuroleptic activity.