Microflora of the upper respiratory tract in young children under normal conditions and in respiratory tract diseases. Microbial count of the upper respiratory tract in healthy children and in children with pneumonia

The results of the inoculation of material taken from the anterior section of the nasal cavity and from the pharyngeal mucosa of 50 healthy young children and 298 acute pneumonia patients were analyzed. 23 microbial species were isolated. In the samples taken from the anterior section of the nasal cavity, monocultures were detected in 86 samples and 54 variants of associations including 2-4 species, in 139 samples. In the samples taken from the pharynx, monocultures were detected in 59 samples and 180 variants of associations including 2-6 species, in 282 samples. Differences in the contamination of the nasal cavity and the pharynx in healthy children and in pneumonia patients were revealed. These differences were manifested in the structure of the microflora (monocultures, associations, their composition), the assortment of microbial species and their concentration. In young children with pneumonia the microflora of the upper respiratory tract was found to reflect the severity of acute pneumonia and the intensity of the pathological process in the lungs (uncomplicated, pyodestructive pneumonia, pyodestructive pneumonia with fatal termination, acute purulent pleurisy).     

Changes in trace reactions of sensorimotor cortex and putamen neurons as affected by haloperidol

Experiments on conscious rabbits were made to elaborate motor conditioned reflexes through pairing stimuli with electrocutaneous reinforcement applied every 30 s. Neuronal activity in the sensorimotor cortex and putamen was recorded during formation and reproduction of the conditioned reflexes before and after haloperidol injection (0.2 mg/kg i. v.). In the putamen, haloperidol increased the number of neurons exhibiting trace conditioned activity and made the intensity and duration of these processes rise. The changes seen in the sensorimotor cortex were opposite in nature. Inhibition of trace conditioned activity in the sensorimotor cortex depended mainly on the decreased amplitude of the reaction conditioned component. The role of the dopaminergic system in the interaction of the neostriatum and sensorimotor cortex and in formation and reproduction of trace conditioned activity of both the structures is discussed.     

Spontaneous fibrinolysis in whole human plasma. Identification of tissue activator-related protein as the major plasminogen activator causing spontaneous activity in vitro

Spontaneous fibrinolysis of plasma clots was studied by following the lysis of the clots formed in 125I-fibrinogen-supplemented citrated plasma. Lysis of the clots invariably follows sigmoidal kinetics with S50 (the time required for 50% clot lysis) ranging from 3.5 to 4.7 days in 8 samples of pooled blood bank plasma and in the majority of apparently healthy donor plasmas. The spontaneous lysis of factor XII-deficient and prekallikrein-deficient plasmas was found to be similar to that of normal plasma. Addition of ellagic acid or antibodies against kallikrein or urokinase to normal pooled plasma did not alter significantly its rate of spontaneous lysis. On the other hand the addition of antibody against tissue activator (t-PA) inhibited over 80% of the spontaneous fibrinolysis in a 7-day incubation period at 37 degrees C, and the clot visually persisted for more than a month. Therefore, the factor XII-dependent components and prourokinase/urokinase system do not contribute significantly in whole plasma fibrinolysis in vitro, while the t-PA-related protein appears to be the major plasminogen activator responsible for initiating spontaneous fibrinolysis in whole plasma. Exogenous addition of increasing amounts of purified HeLa cell t-PA to normal pooled plasma in the ng/ml range cause progressively faster clot lysis. By extrapolation, normal pooled plasma is found to contain endogenous tissue activator in an amount functionally equivalent to 2 ng/ml of purified 60-kDa t-PA. The molecular nature of the t-PA-related proteins in plasma was studied by zymographic and immunological methods. The major t-PA-related protein in plasma was found to have a molecular mass of 100 kDa as determined by zymography. By incubating purified HeLa 60-kDa t-PA with a t-PA-depleted plasma, the 100-kDa component can be generated in plasma, suggesting that the latter is formed as a result of the binding of 60-kDa t-PA to a binding protein in plasma.     

Changes in the properties of adenylate cyclase from guinea pig lungs in tuberculosis

Changes in the properties of adenylate cyclase from the lungs of tuberculotic guinea pigs were revealed. The number of beta-adrenergic receptors in the lungs was found to be reduced by 30% at the second and by 70% at the third stage of the disease. The degree and the value of Ka for adenylate cyclase activation by isoproterenol remained thereby unchanged. The basal activity of adenylate cyclase was increased by 20% against the control level at the second stage and decreased by 20% at the third stage of the disease. At these periods, the stimulating effects of guanylyl imidodiphosphate, NaF and forskolin on lung adenylate cyclase were diminished. The experimental results point to the significant role of the enzymes of cAMP metabolism and reflect the course of the tuberculosis process in experimental animals.     

Obtaining monoclonal antibodies to Bordetella pertussis antigens

The immunization of mice with the protein fraction of B. pertussis strain 305 has made it possible to obtain hybridomas producing monoclonal antibodies to B. pertussis antigens. Ascitic fluids containing monoclonal antibodies react in the ELISA in high titers and actively agglutinate B. pertussis strains 305 and 475.     

Immunological characterization of the cytochrome o terminal oxidase from Escherichia coli

The cytochrome o terminal oxidase from Escherichia coli was immunochemically purified and monospecific antiserum toward cytochrome o was obtained. This antiserum is able to precipitate 100% of the ubiquinol-1 oxidase activity in Triton X-100 extracts of membranes from an E. coli strain in which cytochrome o is the only terminal oxidase. Cytochrome o was analyzed and quantitated using crossed immunoelectrophoresis, rocket immunoelectrophoresis, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows that cytochrome o is composed of four subunits of approximate equimolar stoichiometry with molecular weights of 51,000, 28,500, 18,000, and 12,700. The low temperature (77 K) reduced - oxidized spectrum of the immunoprecipitate shows two peaks at 555 and 562 nm, indicating b-type cytochromes. With the anti-cytochrome o and antiserum toward the cytochrome d terminal oxidase complex which was previously obtained, it is possible to immunochemically assay for all the cytochromes in the cytoplasmic membrane of aerobically grown E. coli. Preliminary results indicate that the biosynthesis of cytochrome o is repressed when cytochrome d is induced by lowering the dissolved oxygen concentration during cell growth.     

Capillary growth and diffusion distances in muscle

1. Tissue capillarity in muscle was modelled as square-ordered arrays with capillary-to-fiber ratios (C/F) from 0.5 to 'infinity'. 2. C/F up to two had marked effects on diffusion distances, but C/F above had only slight effects on average distances and almost no effect on maximal distances. 3. Capillary growth during normal maturation results in C/F around two. Thus, capillary growth in adult muscle may not be an adaptive mechanism for reducing diffusion distances.     

Dissociation of inductive from differentiative signals transmitted by C8-substituted guanine ribonucleosides to B cells from SJL mice

A hitherto unknown defect in the immune responsiveness of B lymphocytes from SJL mice has enabled us to distinguish two qualitatively distinct classes of signal delivered to B cells by C8-substituted guanine ribonucleosides. This defect renders B cells from SJL mice unresponsive to the inductive (early acting) signal of 8-mercaptoguanosine (8MGuo) that culminates in mitogenesis and nonspecific secretion of immunoglobulin. Unresponsiveness is not attributable to a shift in either the dose-response or kinetic profiles, nor can the presence of suppressor cells be demonstrated. In striking contrast, however, SJL B cells exhibit normal responsiveness to the differentiative (T cell-like, or late acting) signal provided by the substituted nucleoside. This signal enables SJL B cells, depleted of T cells, to respond to T cell-dependent antigens, and synergizes with T cell-derived lymphokines. These data suggest 1) that nonspecific secretion of immunoglobulin is dependent on both inductive and differentiative signals, 2) that antigen alone can supply an effective inductive signal for antigen-specific responses, and 3) that the SJL mouse will provide a useful model for selective study of inductive vs differentiative events.     

Anti-My-26: a monoclonal antibody inhibiting human phagocyte chemiluminescence

Anti-My-26, a mouse monoclonal IgG1 antibody, was raised against human granulocytes and has been shown to inhibit luminol-enhanced, glucose-independent chemiluminescence (CL) of human granulocytes (or monocytes) responding to the soluble secretagogues A23187 or ionomycin (calcium ionophores) and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). Anti-My-26 inhibition of CL was reversible and was dependent on both secretatogue and monoclonal antibody concentration. This inhibition appeared to be directed at the component of granulocyte CL that is independent of NAD(P)H-oxidase-catalyzed formation of superoxide anion, because neither opsonized zymosan-stimulated CL nor the PMA-induced decrease in NAD (P)H-associated autofluorescence was affected by anti-My-26. In addition, ionomycin, over a wide concentration range, failed to generate any decrease in granulocyte autofluorescence. The A23187-induced CL inhibited by anti-My-26 was correlated with its depression of oxygen consumption. Furthermore, anti-My-26 was not cytotoxic and did not itself induce oxidative metabolism when used as a stimulant. Binding of anti-My-26 to phagocytic cells was not decreased by pre-exposure of cells to either A23187 or PMA. Evidence is presented to suggest that the binding of anti-My-26 to the granulocyte surface inhibits the oxidative response to calcium ionophore and PMA by blocking a common pathway(s) stimulated by these different secretagogues.