Degradative activities in a recombinant chinese hamster ovary cell culture.

Two degradative activities were found in a recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cell culture. These activities became more dominant under high cell density and extended running time, as achieved in a semi-continous perfusion culture. The first, insulin degradative activity caused a growth upset in the 3rd cycle of the perfusion culture and shortened the length of the bioreactor process. The second activity, derived from the neutral pH stable sialidase, was found to affect the integrity of the carbohydrate structure of the recombinant protein, causing increase in heterogeneity in molecular weight and pI of the glycoforms. The most efficient way to overcome these problems may be the use of genetically altered 'designer cells' as the production cell line.

Adhesion of peripheral blood lymphocytes of children with arthritis to human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

To determine whether adhesion of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) may be enhanced, adhesion of PBL of children with JRA, children with seronegative spondyloarthropathies (SSA), age-appropriate and adult controls, to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) was assessed in vitro. B and CD4 T lymphocytes in initial, adherent, and non-adherent cell fraction were identified by flow cytometry. B lymphocytes of all the younger subjects combined had a higher adherence to activated HUVEC compared with B lymphocytes of the adult donors. Except for greater adherence of HLA-DR+ CD4 T cells, lymphocytes of children with JRA showed no enhanced adhesion to either unactivated or activated HUVEC. The percentage of B cells adherent to activated HUVEC in each of the subject groups was 1.5-3.6-fold higher than adherent CD4 T lymphocytes. Surface analyses indicated higher percentages of CD49d (alpha 4)+ and CD29 (beta 1)+ CD4 T lymphocytes in adherent cells, but less of a differential in CD49 (alpha 4)+ and no difference in CD29 (beta 1)+ B lymphocytes. There were fewer Leu-8 (L-selectin)+ B and Leu-8+ CD4 T cells among adherent cells. The data suggest a greater adhesive capacity of B lymphocytes compared with CD4 T lymphocytes which is unrelated to disease, and the possibility that B lymphocytes may utilize adhesion molecules distinct from those of CD4 T lymphocytes. Only a small subset of T cells of patients with JRA may have an enhanced capacity for adhesion to endothelium.

Interleukin 6 and autoantibodies in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether interleukin 6 (IL-6) may influence autoantibody production, the correlation of rheumatoid factors (RF) and antitype II collagen antibodies with IL-6 was determined in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). METHODS: IL-6 was measured by proliferation of the B-9 cell line or by ELISA: IgG, IgA, and IgM RF were measured by ELISA: RESULTS: Plasma IL-6 levels were higher in patients with polyarticular JRA than controls. In serial studies, the presence of a greater number of RF isotypes and IgG antinative type II collagen antibodies correlated with higher IL-6 levels [1650 x divided by 3.4 vs 831 x divided by 4.4, p < 0.01 (geometric mean x divided by SD); and 1828 x divided by 5.9 vs 646 x divided by 4.1, p < 0.005, respectively]. The change in RF isotype expression most often involved IgG or IgA RF. In vitro IgG RF production increased in one and became detectable in another 2 cases upon the addition of IL-6 to B cell cultures. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that IL-6 may promote the production of IgG and IgA RF and IgG antinative type II collagen antibodies.

Trichinella spiralis: dose dependence and kinetics of the mucosal immune response in mice.

The role of the mucosal immune response in helminth infections is not clear. In this study, the dose dependence and kinetics of the mucosal immune response to Trichinella spiralis were determined in experimentally infected Swiss Webster and BALB/c mice. The primary mucosal isotype was sIgA, although IgG was also detected, and primary infections with 10 and 150 larvae produced an anamnestic response on challenge. The mucosal and systemic immunoglobulin responses were dose dependent in both primary and challenge infections. The fecundity and length of worms and the rate of expulsion from the gut were determined on Day 6 postchallenge in Swiss Webster mice. Adult worm recovery and fecundity were reduced by greater than 50% and worm length by 28% in mice infected and challenged with 10 larvae and by 90, 85, and 35%, respectively, in mice infected and challenged with 150 larvae. The rate of expulsion was correlated with the size of both primary and challenge doses and a reduction in fecundity was correlated with the size of the primary dose only. The reduction in worm length did not differ significantly between the infection doses, but the trend was similar to that for expulsion. In BALB/c mice the expulsion response was dissociated from a reduction in fecundity and worm length, the latter two being positively correlated with sIgA levels, supporting a role for sIgA and/or IgG in these effects. However, expulsion does not appear to be dependent on the mucosal immunoglobulin response.