The relationship between T cell proliferative responses and plasma viremia during treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection with combination antiretroviral therapy.

The relationship between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 replication and CD4+ T cell function was examined. T lymphocyte proliferation in response to both HIV-1 antigens and recall antigens was measured in HIV-1-infected individuals before and after they received highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). No correlation was observed between baseline viral load or CD4+ T cell count and the T cell proliferative response to HIV-1 Gag. Suppression of viremia was not associated with an increase in T cell proliferative responses. Emergence of viral replication during short periods of intermittent therapy promoted generalized activation of T helper lymphocytes, manifested by increased T cell proliferative responses to HIV-1 Gag and recall antigens. Recovery of CD4+ T cell responses occurred in some individuals who initiated HAART years after infection and who were intermittently adherent to drug treatment. Thus, CD4+ T cell responses can sometimes be regenerated if viral load is suppressed to allow some immune recovery and if antigenic stimulation is later provided.

Isoenzyme(s) of glutathione transferase (class Mu) as a marker for the susceptibility to lung cancer: a follow up study.

Glutathione transferase are divided into three classes: Alpha, Mu and Pi. Isoenzyme(s) from one of these classes, class Mu, is dominantly inherited and can be determined by activity measurements directed towards the substrate trans-stilbene oxide. The frequency of this phenotype has been measured in patients with bronchial carcinoma and in control subjects matched for age and smoking history. After combining an earlier study from our laboratory (Carcinogenesis, 7, 751-753, 1986) with the additional material presented here (control smokers, n = 114, lung cancers, n = 125) non-cancer smokers had an increased number of subjects who expressed class Mu isoenzymes (58.3% of total n = 192) compared with lung cancer patients (36.6% of total n = 191; P less than 0.0001). The pathology of lung tumors related to the lack of class Mu isoenzymes which occurred most frequently in patients with adenocarcinomas. It is concluded that the gene expressing class Mu isoenzymes may be a host determinant of genetic susceptibility to lung cancer among smokers.

Mitogenic induction of ornithine decarboxylase in human mononuclear leukocytes: relationships with adenosine diphosphate ribosyltransferase.

1. Relationships between ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and adenosine diphosphate ribosyl transferase (ADPRT) in human mononuclear leukocytes (HML) were tested by statistical comparisons of their values in a group of 46 people, and by use of inhibitors of ADPRT. 2. ODC was assayed following exposure of HML, for 20 hr, to mitogens [phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and pokeweed mitogen]; ADPRT was measured following exposure of HML to H2O2 (100 microM) for 1 hr (activated ADPRT), and in parallel cultures without H2O2 (constitutive ADPRT). 3. Significant correlations were found between ODC and ADPRT values; the effects of smoking disturbed the correlations. PHA induction of ODC was negatively influenced by age (standardized beta coefficient = -2.95, P = 0.005), while age also influenced ADPRT values negatively in non-smokers (for H2O2 activated ADPRT, standardized beta coefficient = -2.74, P less than 0.008). 4. Inhibitors of ADPRT, nicotinamide, caffeine and benzamide inhibited the induction of ODC by PHA in a concentration-dependent manner, in the range (0.6-10 mM) known to inhibit ADPRT.

Oxidative stress, DNA repair, and cancer susceptibility.

For several years, our laboratory has been interested in evaluating if DNA repair capacity in peripheral human mononuclear leukocytes (HML) might be utilized as a marker of susceptibility to cancer. We have tested our hypothesis by using two different estimates of DNA repair, namely, unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) and ADP-ribosyl transferase (ADPRT) activity. Both UDS and ADPRT are sensitive to regulation by oxidative stress, and these parameters are suppressed in patients with cancer of the breast, colon, or lung, or with the genetic predisposition to develop it. Here we have considered interindividual variation in prooxidant-induced DNA repair in HML by analyzing ADPRT responses in regard to (1) constitutive ADPRT levels, (2) the levels of DNA damage induced by different prooxidant generating systems, (3) the type of oxygen radical generated, and (4) the role of antioxidant defenses. Only the constitutive level of ADPRT responses could explain the variation observed on 50 subjects. These data support a regulatory role for endogenous host factor variation in ADPRT and the likelihood of involvement of genetic factors.

Hydrogen peroxide induced adenosine diphosphate ribosyl transferase (ADPRT) response in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

The sample population in this initial case control study of the adenosine diphosphate ribosyl transferase (ADPRT) response of inflammatory bowel disease patients included: 23 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC)-active and inactive, 13 patients with Crohn's disease (CD)-active and inactive, 14 first degree relatives of UC and CD patients, and 19 age-matched controls. Adenosine diphosphate ribosyl transferase activity was determined after one hour incubation with 1% plasma (the constitutive value) or with 1% plasma and 100 microM H2O2 (the activated value) with the resulting difference designated as the induced value. Statistically significant decrease in ADPRT activity was found for the constitutive, activated and induced values in human mononuclear leucocytes of UC and CD patients, compared with controls. The values in the first degree relatives of UC and CD patients were not significantly different from either the control or disease populations, indicating an intermediate ADPRT response. These results may be related to the nature of the immunological response of IBD patients and comparable with similar findings in other diseases with known DNA repair deficiencies--for example, colon cancer.

Effects of cumene hydroperoxide on adenosine diphosphate ribosyl transferase in mononuclear leukocytes of patients with adenomatous polyps in the colon.

We have studied the effects of plasma and of cumene hydroperoxide (CUM) on adenosine diphosphate ribosyl transferase (ADPRT) from mononuclear leukocytes (HML) of patients with colonic adenomatous polyps (n = 22), with colonic hyperplastic polyps (n = 5) and with neither type of polyp (controls) (n = 6). ADPRT was measured after incubation of HML with plasma alone (termed the plasma value), and with plasma plus CUM (50 microM) (the activated value); the difference elicited by CUM was termed the induced value. There was no significant difference in values between the control and hyperplastic polyp groups: these were combined for further analysis. The plasma (P = 0.038), activated (P = 0.009) and induced (P = 0.0024) values of the combined group all differed significantly from those of the adenoma group. At low exposures, CUM stimulated both ADPRT and unscheduled DNA synthesis and, at higher exposures, inactivated both. Pretreatment of HML with vitamin E protected against these effects of CUM, while pretreatment with diamide (which depletes GSH) accentuated the effects. This study demonstrates a differential reaction of ADPRT in patients harboring colonic adenomas and suggests that the origin of this difference may lie in cellular responses to oxidative stress.

Unscheduled DNA synthesis in mononuclear leukocytes from patients with colorectal polyps.

The mononuclear leukocytes from peripheral blood samples of individuals with (n = 30) and without (n = 48) colonic polyps were examined for their abilities to carry out unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) induced by N-acetoxy-N-2-fluorenylacetamide (N-AcO-2-FAA). Individuals with polyps had significantly reduced UDS values compared to the nonpolyp group (P less than 0.01). Furthermore, in a more comprehensive study, patients with hyperplastic polyps had N-AcO-2-FAA-induced UDS values not significantly different from control individuals who were asymptomatic and free from colonic disease as judged by complete colonoscopy. However, patients who had had adenomatous polyps in their large bowel had significantly reduced levels of N-AcO-2-FAA-induced UDS in their mononuclear leukocytes (P less than 0.005). When N-AcO-2-FAA binding to DNA determinations were made in parallel and DNA repair proficiency indices were calculated (i.e., N-AcO-2-FAA-induced UDS/N-AcO-2-FAA binding to DNA), the patients with adenomatous polyps were still shown to be deficient in carrying out DNA repair synthesis. Since adenomatous polyps of the large bowel are considered the premalignant lesion for colorectal cancer, we postulate that reduced UDS may be a genetically sensitive marker that is useful in studying the mechanisms of genetic predisposition to colorectal cancer.