ABSTRACT
Natural killer (NK) cytotoxic activity was simultaneously investigated in bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC) and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from nine Hodgkin's disease (HD) and 15 non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) untreated patients. Twenty-five PBL samples and seven bone marrow specimens from healthy individuals were also included as control group (C). NK cell activity was evaluated in basal condition and post-stimulation with human recombinant IL-2 (rIL-2). Data were expressed in K values (number of BMMC or PBL needed to lyse 50% of the target cells). In basal condition, both HD and NHL patients showed a NK cell activity comparable to the C group, both in BMMC (HD, K = 2.48 +/- 1.3; NHL, K = 3.8 +/- 2.0; C, K = 3.2 +/- 0.7) and PBL (HD, K = 2.0 +/- 1.0; NHL, K = 2.3 +/- 1.0; C, K = 2.2 +/- 0.2). Stimulation with rIL-2 induced a significant and comparable enhancement of the NK activity in PBL from HD, NHL and C while the response to rIL-2 of the BMMC in most of the HD and NHL patients was significantly greater than the C group. Responder cells were characterized by negative selection with specific MoAb plus complement as a CD3-, CD16+, CD56+ cytotoxic cell and further confirmed by flow cytometry. We postulate that IL-2 activation of bone marrow NK cell precursors, in addition to enhancing the activity of circulating NK, may be of value for the therapeutic rationale of IL-2 in patients with lymphoma.
Subject(s)
Bone Marrow/immunology , Interleukin-2/pharmacology , Killer Cells, Natural/immunology , Lymphoma/immunology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Antigens, CD/physiology , Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte/physiology , CD3 Complex , CD56 Antigen , Child , Cytotoxicity, Immunologic , Humans , Killer Cells, Natural/drug effects , Middle Aged , Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/physiology , Recombinant Proteins/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Five hundred serum samples from volunteers blood donors were investigated in order to determine the presence of anti-HCV antibodies by an enzyme-linked immunoassay recently developed worldwide. Prevalence of true-positive samples was 1.2% (6/500), 2 fold higher than the reported prevalence in most of the industrialized countries. From these 6 sera, one (16.6%) showed simultaneous reactivity for HBV anticore antibody. Three sera (25%) from 12 patients with diagnosis of Non-A Non-B hepatitis were reactive for anti-HCV antibodies while in a group of 32 sera with negative HAV and HBV screening, 4 (12.5%) showed anti-HCV antibodies. Two samples out of 16 sera persistently positive for anticore demonstrated the presence of anti-HCV antibodies. The anti-HCV antibodies were undetectable in two cases of autoimmune chronic hepatitis. Our results indicate that in Venezuela, HCV represents a significant problem of public health coexisting in certain cases with HBV infection.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis C/epidemiology , Antibodies, Viral/isolation & purification , Blood Donors , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Hepacivirus/immunology , Hepatitis C/blood , Hepatitis C/immunology , Humans , Prevalence , Venezuela/epidemiologyABSTRACT
En el presente estudio se evaluó la SP y MO de 21 pacientes, no tratados con diagnóstico de linfoma y provenientes de la Unidad de Linfomas del Hospital Universitario de Caracas. El protocolo de investigación incluyó parámetros clínicos e histológicos. En los grupos estudiados se evaluó el porcentaje de células killer naturales (NK) mediante el uso de anticuerpos monoclonales, así como la actividad NK basal postestimulación in vitro con 500/ml de IL 2. Los resultados muestran que los porcentajes de células en SP y MO son similares en pacientes con EH y LNH en relación al grupo de control
Subject(s)
Child , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Humans , Male , Female , Antibodies, Monoclonal/immunology , Killer Cells, Natural/immunology , Lymphoma/diagnosisABSTRACT
The serum of a patient with a clinically and immunologically identified multiple myeloma of the IgE class was found to contain both IgE-albumin and IgG-albumin complexes. These complexes were partially purified and some of their properties studied by biochemical and immunochemical methods. The IgG-albumin interaction was dissociated by 5.0 M guanidine hydrochloride, while the IgE-albumin interaction was dissociated upon reduction by mercaptoethanol, suggesting that the proteins were linked by intermolecular disulfide bonds. Complex formation between pathological or normal immunoglobulins with albumin have been reported for IgG, IgM and IgA but not for IgD or IgE. The present observation seems to be the first in which an IgE myeloma protein was involved.
