Effect of natural "micronized" progesterone on the chorionic gonadotropin concentrations in cyst fluids of women with gross cystic breast disease.

Gross cystic breast disease (GCBD) is common in women, especially in the age range between 35 and the menopausal years. The present study examined the possible role of progesterone (Pg) in the chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) concentration in GCBD. The breast cyst fluids (BCFs) were drawn by fine needle aspiration between the sixth and the eighth day of the menstrual cycle and twenty days later. On the day of the first aspiration the patient began to take 100 mg of natural micronized Pg orally until the second aspiration. At both times blood samples were also taken. Determinations were done of both BCFs and blood sample using two fully automated chemiluminiscent enzyme immunometric assays. Pg has been demonstrated to induce a significant increment in hCG + free ss-hCG (median, range): 0.27 ng/ml, 0.12-6.24 vs. 1.92 ng/ml, 0.12-423.5; free ss-hCG: 0.11 ng/ml, 0.02-2.40 vs. 0.91 ng/ml, 0.02-58.40 in the BCFs, with no change in the circulating concentrations of the hormone. None of the sera studied presented levels of hCG + free ss-hCG or free ss-hCG above 0.5 ng/ml or 0.1 ng/ml, respectively. The occurrence of hCG or a derivative polypeptide in BCFs, when they are present in high concentrations suggests that this glycoprotein could be synthesized in situ and possibly involved in the pathogenesis of GCBD by the degree of differentiation of breast epithelial cells induced by the hormone.

An essential role in liver development for transcription factor XBP-1.

XBP-1 is a CREB/ATF family transcription factor highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinomas. Here we report that XBP-1 is essential for liver growth. Mice lacking XBP-1 displayed hypoplastic fetal livers, whose reduced hematopoiesis resulted in death from anemia. Nevertheless, XBP-1-deficient hematopoietic progenitors had no cell-autonomous defect in differentiation. Rather, hepatocyte development itself was severely impaired by two measures: diminished growth rate and prominent apoptosis. Specific target genes of XBP-1 in the liver were identified as alphaFP, which may be a regulator of hepatocyte growth, and three acute phase protein family members. Therefore, XBP-1 is a transcription factor essential for hepatocyte growth.

Lipoprotein alterations, abdominal fat distribution and breast cancer.

Plasma lipid profile and abdominal obesity have been associated with breast cancer risk, however published results have been inconsistent. To clarify these associations we studied lipid and lipoprotein alterations, obesity degree and body fat distribution, in 30 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients without treatment and 30 controls matched by age and menopausal status. Both pre and postmenopausal breast cancer patients presented higher body mass index, waist/hip ratio and insulin levels than their matched controls. An increase in triglycerides and a decrease in HDL-cholesterol, especially in the HDL2 subfraction, were observed in patients with breast cancer. Besides, HDL particle from these patients showed increased apo A1/HDL-cholesterol ratio. These alterations were correlated with waist/hip ratio. The association between lipoprotein alterations and abdominal obesity independent of menopausal status, in untreated newly diagnosed breast cancer patients is reported for the first time in this study.

[Inhibition of immune cytotoxic lymphocyte induction by antilymphocyte autoantibodies from the blood serum of patients with preleukemia and leukemia]. / Podavlenie induktsii immunnykh tsitotoksicheskikh limfotsitov antilimfotsitarnymi autoantitelami syvorotki krovi bol'nykh predleikozami i leikozami.

The influence of the presence of antilymphocyte IgG autoantibodies (ALA) from sera of haematologic patients and human retrovirus-infected ones was studied by determination of the cytotoxic lymphocyte (CTL) activity in mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC). Suppressive effects of ALA were shown at different levels. For initial 48 h of MLC in the presence of ALA the inhibition of antigen presentation by monocytes was identified and such ALA activity was adsorbed by stimulated lymphocytes. Moreover ALA induced production of soluble nondializable suppressive factors as well. The latest effects were linked to IL2-dependent lymphocyte proliferation as a result of the presence of anti-IL2R autoantibodies in the spectrum of ALA. No differences between effects of ALA from serum specimens of the used groups of patients and subjects have been detected.

Detection and analysis of antibodies against retrovirus determinants in the sera of haematologic patients.

A panel of 11 retroviruses including animal retroviruses types B, C, D and human retroviruses HTLV-I and HTLV-III was used as antigen for detection of antibodies in 265 sera of patients suffering from haematologic and autoimmune diseases and in 98 control sera. In contrast to the control sera, the 39 patients sera contained antibodies against internal proteins of animal retroviruses types B and C. No antibodies against human retroviruses proteins or type D retrovirus core proteins were detected. The antibodies from positive sera immunoprecipitated the RNA from polyribosomal fraction of R-MuLV infected spleen cells which also showed positive hybridization with a specific cDNA probe. The antibodies in patients' sera were directed mainly against RNA-binding proteins p15 of type C or p14 type B virus. The retrovirus antigenic determinants were expressed also in human embryo haemopoietic cells. The possible interpretation of antibody formation against the determinants of animal retroviruses in humans is discussed.

[Characteristics of lymphocyte autoantigens]. / Kharakteristika autoantigenov limfotsitov.

Specificity of autoantibodies against lymphocyte antigens was assayed in sera of patients with autoimmune hematologic diseases, leukemias, secondary immunodeficiencies as well as in sera of persons seropositive to antibodies against retroviruses HTLV-I and HTLV-III. Autoantigens of the lysates of stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes and Hut-102 cells were characterized with the aid of immune blotting and radioimmunoprecipitation. No differences were found in autoantigen spectra identified by sera from patients belonging to different groups. Autoantigens 75 cd, 60 cd, 50 cd and 12 cd occurring in both cell types were demonstrable at a greater frequency. Some of the sera also demonstrated the total antigens 34 cd and 29 cd. The role of autoantigens in the pathology development is discussed.

Heterogeneity of the ARV-2 strain and natural isolates of the human immunodeficiency virus.

To study heterogeneity of HIV isolates ARV-2 and strains isolated from lymphocytes of asymptomatic carriers were cloned using limiting dilutions of virus and infected CEM cells. All viral stocks turned out to be biologically heterogeneous giving clones with cytotoxic and noncytotoxic type of infection. Coinfection of CEM cells with cytotoxic and noncytotoxic variants resulted in interference of their biological effects. This interference ended with distinct cytotoxicity. No correlation between the production of virus and the amount of HIV DNA was found pointing out that nonfunctional DNA copies exist.

[Qualitative and quantitative analysis of autoantibodies to the membrane antigens of erythrokaryocytes]. / Kachestvennyi i kolichestvennyi analiz autoantitel k antigenam membrany éritrokariotsitov.

The study of the specificity, composition and concentration of autoantibodies (AB) active against erythrokaryocytes (EK) has been made by means of the enzyme immunoassay with sera obtained from patients. The specificity of AB embraces interspecific determinants of human, rabbit and mouse EK; determinants expressed on the EK of human and rabbit marrow; determinants expressed on human embryo EK. AB are mainly represented either by IgG or by IgM. Their quantitative evaluation permits the subdivision of sera into groups according to AB concentration. This phenomenon is due to the existence of the threshold value which, in most cases, sets the upper limit to the AB level detectable in the assay.

[Quantitative determination of the soluble O antigen of Salmonella serogroup B and of specific antibodies in different classes by using immunoenzyme analysis]. / Kolichestvennoe opredelenie rastvorimogo O-antigena sal'monell serogruppy B i spetsificheskikh antitel razlichnykh klassov s pomoshch'iu immunofermentnogo analiza.

The results of measurements of S. typhimurium O-antigen and specific IgA-, IgG- and IgM-antibodies in 115 serum samples from patients with salmonellosis induced by group B salmonellae are analyzed. As determined in this study, the concentrations of IgA-antibodies ranged 0-15 micrograms/ml, the minimal diagnostically significant value being 3.6 micrograms/ml; the concentrations of IgG-antibodies ranged 0-13 micrograms/ml, the minimal diagnostically significant value being 1.3 micrograms/ml; and the concentrations of IgM-antibodies ranged 0-50 microgram/ml, the minimal diagnostically significant value being 5.0 micrograms/ml. The minimal diagnostically significant concentration of O-antigen, determined in selected serum samples obtained from healthy donors, was 0.1 microgram/ml. There is a significant correlation between the concentrations of IgA-, IgG- and IgM-antibodies, but the concentrations of these antibodies do not correlate with the concentration of soluble O-antigen. The study showed that the simultaneous determination of S. typhimurium O-antigen and specific antibodies in the material under test significantly enhances the effectiveness of the serodiagnosis of the disease.

[Human acute lymphoblastic leukemia associated with HTLV-I virus and its infection in healthy populations from various regions of the USSR]. / Ostryi limfoblastnyi leikoz cheloveka, assotsiirovannyi s virusom HTLV-I, i infitsirovannost' im zdorovogo naseleniia nekotorykh regionov SSSR.

Patients with various forms of hemoblastoses (328) and clinically healthy persons (530) were examined for antibodies to HTLV-I. The presence of antibodies was detected in 3 out of 40 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and only in 1 of 70 patients with lymphosarcoma. These data indicate that sporadic cases of T-cell leukemia associated with HTLV-I were detected in the USSR. Out of 530 healthy persons only 4 contained antibodies to HTLV-I antigens.

[Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and generalized lymphadenopathy in persons seropositive for the HIV virus]. / Sindrom priobretennogo immunodefitsita i generalizovannaia limfoadenopatiia u lits, seropozitivnykh k virusu HIV.

Of 20 examined Africans who were seropositive to HIV in the Western Blot technique, the syndrome of acquired immunodeficiency was found in 2, generalized lymphoadenopathy in 17; in one patient infection was asymptomatic. A decrease in the T-helper/T-suppressor ratio was noted in all the examinees, in 88% of the patients the Ig level was elevated. Each case was described.

[Antilymphocytic humoral autoimmune response of mice with developing Rauscher leukemia directed against group-specific retrovirus antigens]. / Antilimfotsitarnye gumoral'nye autoimmunnye reaktsii myshei s razvivaiushchimsia leikozom Raushera, napravlennye protiv gruppospetsificheskikh antigenov retrovirusov.

The methods of indirect membrane immunofluorescence, immunoenzyme analysis, complement-dependent cytotoxicity and sorption tests were used to demonstrate two types of humoral antilymphocytic autoimmune reactions at the early stage of the Rauscher leukemia in mice of BALB/c, BDF1 and C57B1/6 strains. The first one is directed against group-specific oncoviral antigens (p30, p15) expressed on the lymphocyte membrane of both intact mice and of those with leukemia, the second one is virus-independent and possesses strain specificity.