Hyperthermic treatment of chromomycosis with disposable chemical pocket warmers

A case of chromomycosis in which hyperthermia proved effective is reported. The patient was a 56-year-old male bean curd maker who, without any previous history of minor trauma, developed on the extensor side of the left upper arm an eczematous lesion that underwent gradual radial expansion. The lesion showed a well-defined, 7×10 cm infiltrated erythematous plaque with the central area healed and, at the upper and lower borders, adherent scales and crusts on the surface. Histological examination revealed granulomatous changes in the dermis, as well as sclerotic cells within giant cells and microabscesses. On culturing,Fonsecaea pedrosoi was isolated. The patient was treated with disposable chemical pocket warmers, which were secured over the lesion with a rather tight elastic bandage, so that they kept the affected area warm for 24 hours a day. After a month of such hyperthermic treatment, the erythema and infiltration had decreased considerably, and microscopic examination and culture of the crusts both yielded negative results. Examination of biopsy specimens of the lesion after the third month showed that it had cicatrized. The treatment was stopped after 4 months, and no relapse occurred. We also summarize the published results of local hyperthermic treatment of chromomycosis in Japan.     

Formation of rosettes by nonspecific lymphoid cells which have adhered to antigen-antibody complexes

Rat lymph node-sheep red cell rosettes have been formed through the adherence of nonspecific small lymphocytes and larger cell types to antibody-sheep red cell complexes. Enough antibody to form a significant number of rosettes has been synthesized in cultures, containing draining lymph node cells of immunized rats, within 1 hr of incubation at 37 °C, or during overnight storage at 4 °C. This suggests that conditions which differentiate between specific and nonspecific rosette-forming cells are essential when immunocyto-adherence phenomena are utilized for the study of the specificity of the immune response.     

Identification of HLA-B44 subtypes associated with extended MHC haplotypes

The HLA class I antigen B44 is found in each of two different extended major histocompatibility haplotypes (allele combinations of HLA-B, HLA-DR, and complement genes BF, C2, C4A, and C4B in linkage disequilibrium). Using isoelectric focusing, two variants of HLA-B44 were identified. The basic variant was found in all cell lines with the extended haplotype HLA-B44, DR7, FC31, and the acidic variant in all cell lines with the extended haplotype HLA-B44, DR4, SC30. The occurrence of each antigen variant with a unique extended haplotype explains previous observations concerning the nonrandom association of B44 variants with DR antigens.     

Carboxylmethylation of Calmodulin in Cultured Pituitary Cells

We have used fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) and reverse-phase HPLC to rapidly resolve carboxylmethylated proteins in cultured pituitary GH3 cells. This procedure preserves labile carboxylmethyl esters, which are lost under the usual procedures employed for protein fractionation. GH3 cells were incubated with [methyl-3H]-methionine in culture and incorporation of label into the soluble fraction, total cell protein, and protein carboxylmethyl esters was determined; protein carboxylmethyl ester formation was shown to be resistant to cycloheximide. Fractionation of protein carboxylmethyl esters from GH3 cells by gel permeation FPLC, anion-exchange FPLC, and reverse-phase HPLC in the presence of calcium and in the presence of EGTA identified two proteins that are major substrates for protein carboxylmethyltransferase and indicated that one of these proteins is calmodulin. Similar results were obtained when a cytosolic fraction from GH3 cells was incubated with S-adenosyl-L-[methyl-3H]methionine. These results indicate that rapid chromatography at low temperature and low pH is useful for the analysis of eucaryotic carboxylmethylated proteins and that contrary to reports obtained in other systems, calmodulin is carboxylmethylated in intact pituitary cells.     

Atrial peptide inactivation by rabbit-kidney brush-border membranes

Atriopeptin (AP) 24, containing amino acids Ser103-Tyr126 of the carboxy-terminal portion of the atrial natriuretic peptide prohormone, was degraded rapidly by rabbit kidney brush border membranes. The rate of degradation of AP24 measured by the loss of vasorelaxant activity followed a similar time course to the decrease in peptide peak area measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Inactivation of AP24 produced peptide fragments which were separated by HPLC. The major products were purified individually and their peptide sequences determined. Results indicate that AP24 was proteolytically cleaved at three peptide bonds: Ser103-Ser104, Cys105-Phe106 and Ser123-Phe124. des-Ser103-AP24 had similar vasorelaxant activity to AP24, while AP24 cleaved at Cys105-Phe106 was inactive. Regarding the proteolytic cleavage at Ser123-Phe124, there was an accumulation of the C-terminal tripeptide, Phe-Arg-Tyr, only at the later time points of the incubation. Degradation experiments were repeated with an amino- and carboxy-terminal protected peptide, acetyl-AP24-amide. Peptide sequence analysis of the major degradation products of this peptide revealed that the critical peptide bond cleaved was Cys105-Phe106. We conclude that the Cys-Phe peptide bond renders atrial peptides highly susceptible to proteolysis by renal brush border membranes, resulting in inactivation.     

Chemotactic peptide, calcium and guanine nucleotide regulation of phospholipase C activity in membranes from DMSO-differentiated HL60 cells

Membranes prepared from DMSO-differentiated HL60 cells labeled with [3H]inositol hydrolyze polyphosphoinositides in a Ca2+-dependent manner, generating inositol 1,4-bisphosphate (IP2) and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3). Incubation of membranes with GTP or GTP gamma S reduces the concentration of Ca2+ required for activation. This nucleotide effect is potentiated by formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (FMLP). Pertussis toxin inhibits FMLP-induced augmentation, but not the induction of IP2/IP3 formation by GTP or GTP gamma S. These results suggest that differentiated HL60 cells contain a membrane-associated phospholipase C that degrades polyphosphoinositides and that activation of this enzyme is mediated by at least two guanine nucleotide binding proteins, one of which is linked to FMLP receptors and is pertussis toxin sensitive.