Correlation between skin tests, inhalation tests and specific IgE in a study of 120 subjects allergic to house dust and Dermatophagoïdes pteronyssinus.

The radioallergosorbent test was compared with currently accepted allergy diagnostic techniques in seventy-four controls and 120 patients with a clinical history of allergy to house dust and Dermatophagoïdes pteronyssinus. The results obtained with D. pteronyssinus allergen extract show a close correlation between the size of the cutaneous reactions and the serum level of allegen-specific IgE. On the other hand, highly positive skin tests to house dust were not always correlated with a positive RAST response for house dust. Similar results were found with inhalation tests. When a purified D. pteronyssinus extract was used, a stronger relationship was observed between RAST, cutaneous and inhalation tests. It can be assumed that RAST for house dust is not of value in patients with house dust and mite allergy. Our findings indicate that the correlations between RAST results and other in vivo test results depend on the purity of the allergen extracts and the selection of patients.

Enhancement of immunity against murine syngeneic tumors by a fraction extracted from non-pathogenic mycobacteria.

The data reported here demonstrate that a preparation extracted from nonpathogenic mycobacteria such as Mycobacterium smegmatis and hereafter referred to as interphase material protected mice against Ehrlich ascitic carcinoma, L-1210 leukemia, and another syngeneic lymphoid leukemia. Furthermore, mice treated by this preparation were much less susceptible to endotoxins than when stimulated by BCG (bacillus Calmette-Guerin) or M. smegmatis cells. Moreover, guinea pigs treated by interphase material administered in Freund's incomplete adjuvant showed an increased immune response, yet their sensitivity to tuberculin was much weaker than that of controls sensitized with Freund's complete adjuvant. Finally, resistance to Columbia SK virus infection could be demonstrated when interphase material was administered to mice prior to virus challenge.

Preparation and biological properties of water-soluble adjuvant fractions from delipidated cells of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Nocardia opaca.

Digestion by lysozyme of delipidated cells of Mycobacterium smegmatis liberates a water-soluble immunoadjuvant fraction which is chemically very similar to the water-soluble adjuvant (WSA) obtained previously from purified cell walls, but which contains somewhat more non-peptidoglycan amino acids. The yield of peptidoglycan-arabinogalactan complex is about 10 times greater starting from whole cells than from cell walls. The main biological properties of this "neo-WSA" are described: it increases circulating antibodies to ovalbumin in guinea pigs, it does not produce polyarthritis in rats or induce hypersensitivity to tuberculin, it does not increase susceptibility to histamine or hyperreactivity to endotoxin, and does not produce spleen and liver hypertrophy. Analogous immunostimulant fractions have also been obtained from delipidated cells of Nocardia opaca by lysozyme treatment.

In vitro attachment of radioactive endotoxins to lysosomes.

The experiments reported here demonstrate that under certain conditions endotoxin can interact with lysosomes in vitro. After incubation of large granular fraction with (51)Cr-labeled antigen under the conditions required for acid hydrolytic activity, radioactivity was associated with the pellet after centrifugation. This effect can be inhibited by preincubation of the large granular fraction with unlabeled homologous or heterologous endotoxins. High resolution autoradiography showed that (14)C-labeled endotoxin was predominantly attached to the lysosomes contained in the large granular fraction. The mechanism of this interaction and its relationship to the toxic effect of endotoxins on lysosomes are discussed.