Identification of effector T cells responsible for enhanced antitumor immunity induced by tumor vaccine and pyran copolymer

Summary The combination of concanavalin A-bound, but not concanavalin A-free, L1210 murine leukemia vaccine and pyran copolymer produced an enhanced therapeutic response in L1210-bearing mice. Immunoprophylactic experiments showed that the effective combination produced enhanced antitumor immunity as determined by refractoriness to the inoculation of live L1210 cells. In vitro antiproliferation and intraperitoneal adoptive transfer tests showed that antitumor effector cells were detected in the spleen and peritoneal cavity of primed mice after, but not before, live L1210 cell inoculation. These effector cells were identified as T cells on the basis of their non-adherence to plastic flasks and sensitivity to treatment with anti-mouse brain-associated T cell antigen antisera and complement. Although non-T cell populations, including macrophages of mice primed with L1210 vaccine and pyran copolymer, inhibited the in vitro proliferation of L1210 cells, we obtained evidence suggesting that they were not the primary antitumor effector cell populations responsible for the in vivo elimination of the inoculated L1210 cells.     

Age‐ and Gender‐specific BMI in Terms of the Lowest Mortality in Japanese General Population

Objective: The primary purposes of our study were to establish age‐ and gender‐specific BMIs in terms of lowest mortality (risk nadir BMIs) for the Japanese population, and to then compare those to (i) BMIs for whites as determined by similar studies and to (ii) the official BMI guidelines. Methods and Procedures: A total of 32,060 men and 61,916 women aged 40–79 years underwent health check‐ups in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, in 1993 and were followed through 2003. To determine the age‐ and gender‐specific risk nadir BMIs, coefficients and the lowest point from a quadratic model with transformed BMI were calculated by a Cox proportional hazard model. This included the quadratic term of 1/BMI and adjusted values (age, alcohol intake, and smoking status). Results: For both age and both gender categories, the relationship between all‐cause mortality risk and BMI categories are illustrated as U‐shaped curves. The risk nadir BMIs for men in the age groups of 40–59 and 60–79 years were 23.4 and 25.3 kg/m², respectively. Similarly, in women, the risk nadir BMIs were 21.6 and 23.4 kg/m², respectively. Discussion: Among the general Japanese population, the risk nadir BMI for the age group of 60–79 years was higher compared to the age group of 40–59 years, which was similar to the study for whites, and the age‐dependent risk nadir BMI differed from the official guidelines criteria. Our findings underscore the importance of weight control following appropriate indicators of body weight according to age.     

Purification of two enolases from human brain using a chromatofocusing column

When a purified preparation of rat αγ enolase (2-phospho-D-glycerate hydrolyase, EC 4.2.1.11) was applied to a chromatofocusing column, the enolase was almost completely dissociated and recombined to form αα and γγ enolases, which were eluted at different fractions from the column. Using these phenomena, two homo-dimer forms (αα and γγ) of human brain enolase were purified from a crude preparation of the hybrid αγ enolase by the chromatofocusing, and subsequent chromatography on a QAE-Sephadex column (αα) or a DEAE-Sephadex column (γγ). Each purified preparation showed a single band on SDS-gel electrophoresis with a relative mobility corresponding to a molecular weight of about 50 000. Amino acid analysis, peptide mapping analysis with a limited proteolysis and immunochemical studies of the purified αα and γγ enolases revealed that the two subunits, α and γ, are distinct proteins. The antisera to human αα or γγ enolase cross-reacted with the respective form of rat enolase.     

Usefulness of circadian amplitude of blood pressure in predicting hypertensive cardiac involvement.

Twenty-four-hour blood pressure (BP) profiles of 56 patients diagnosed as 'hypertensive' by WHO criteria were analyzed by the fit of a 24-hour cosine curve according to the single cosinor method. A left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was also assessed by two-dimensional echocardiography on each patient as a gauge of target organ involvement. LVMI and the BP MESOR correlates positively for systolic, S (r = 0.324), mean arterial, MA (r = 0.334) and diastolic, D (r = 0.267) BP (P less than 0.05), yet no statistically significant linear correlation between LVMI and the circadian BP amplitude (one-half of predictable change) was found. When a second-degree polynomial regression was fitted to the circadian BP amplitudes, an association was found (SBP: R2 = 0.138, P = 0.02; MAP: R2 = 0.167, P = 0.01; DBP: R2 = 0.128, P less than 0.01). The corresponding curves were characterized by peaks in the circadian amplitudes of SBP, MAP and DBP around a value of LVMI between 110 and 120 g/m2. For further scrutiny, three subgroups had been formed on the basis of literature, a priori with respect to the LVMI (group 1: LVMI less than 100); group 2: 100 less than LVMI less than 130; group 3: 130 less than LVMI). For MESORs, there was no difference between groups 1 and 2, whereas the MESOR of group 3 were larger than the other two groups. The circadian BP amplitudes of group 2 were larger than those of the other two groups for SBP, MAP and DBP. An increasing LVMI precedes a definitive increase of BP MESOR and coincides with an increase in the circadian BP amplitude; thus an increase in extent of circadian changes can alert the self-monitoring population of a target organ involvement.