Haematopathology of 'Sjögren-mice': histopathological changes in spleens after semiallogeneic cell transfer.

Haematopoietic transplantation chimeras may be readily produced in adult mice, using F1-hybrids of selected inbred strains as recipients and mice from one of the parental strains as donors. We transplanted spleen cells from BALB/c donors into nonirradiateded F1-hybrids of BALB/c and CBA/H-T6. Both female and male recipients developed a primary Sjögren's syndrome-like exocrinopathy without signs of kidney disease. At long-term follow-up, 7(1/2) months after cell transfer, lymph nodes were enlarged, and spleens were diminished and irregular in shape. In general, changes in haematopoietic organs were more prominent in males. The results verify that although hybrid mice of either sex develop glandular manifestations comparable with primary Sjögren's syndrome, when the immune system is stimulated by semiallogeneic immunocytes, the evoked reactions in haematopoietic tissues show gender difference.

Staphylococcus aureus carriage and infections among patients in four haemo- and peritoneal-dialysis centres in Denmark. The Danish Study Group of Peritonitis in Dialysis (DASPID).

A three-month prospective surveillance study was undertaken in four dialysis centres to establish the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus carriage in a Danish population of patients on haemodialysis (HD) or on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). General data such as sex, age, diagnosis, number of months in dialysis, hospital and ward were registered on a precoded form. Standardized nose and four skin swabs (axillae, groins, perineum) were performed on the first day of the survey. After one and two months, nose swabs were collected. Infections were registered and cultures were sent for phage-typing together with the S. aureus strains isolated from the swabs; 59.5% of HD patients and 51.2% of CAPD patients carried S. aureus. Permanent carriage was most frequent (P < 0.00009), primarily in the nose (44.0 and 34.9%, respectively in HD and CAPD). Skin carriage alone was rare (2.4 and 4.7%). Approximately one third (36.6 and 40.7%) of infections were caused by S. aureus. Although diabetics were not significantly more frequent carriers (60.5%) than non-diabetics (55.0%), the incidence of infection was much higher (26.3% vs. 10.3%, P = 0.004). In CAPD, peritonitis and tunnel/exit-site infections predominated (81.4%), often caused by S. aureus (34.8%). More than two thirds of the infections in HD patients were related to intravascular catheterization. The most serious infection was septicaemia, in all cases due to S. aureus. S aureus infections occurred significantly more frequently among carriers (P = 0.005), and more than half the patients were infected by the same or possibly the same strain as they carried in the nose or on skin. Different regimens for the elimination of S. aureus carriage in dialysis patients are discussed. A policy for risk assessment of patients should be developed, and the elimination of S. aureus carriage before dialysis should be encouraged. Controlled trials comparing the cost-effectiveness of recommended regimens to eliminate carriage in HD/CAPD patients are needed. Nose swabs are reliable indicators of carriage in dialysis patients.

HLA and hydatidiform mole. I. HLA and ABO antigen frequencies in couples with androgenetic and diandric conceptuses.

HLA and ABO antigen frequencies and mating rates were studied in couples with hydatidiform mole with known genomic origin. HLA-A,B antigen frequencies among 60 patients and 59 spouses were not different from those found in the background population, neither in the subgroups regarded alone nor in the entire series. Although not significant, an excess of HLA-DRw6 found in patients with androgenetic conceptions may be related to the anucleate ovi observed with androgenesis. The distribution of ABO blood groups was in accordance with that observed in the background population; however, an overall excess of A x O matings was found.

Human monocyte chemotaxis in vitro. Influence of in vitro variables in the filter assay.

Using a modified Boyden chamber technique, variables in the cell environment were investigated and found to have a profound influence on the monocyte chemotactic responsiveness. The concentration of monocytes, pH of cell suspension, the presence of protein, the concentration and pH of cytotaxins, time allowed for migration and the temperature were all found to be critical factors for the migration response. Optimal concentrations of casein, zymosan-activated serum and N-f-methionyl-leucyl phenylalanine had equal cytotactic potency. The addition of gentamycin decreased the monocyte chemotactic responsiveness, while penicillin had no effect. Under standardized conditions the technical variability was moderate and the intra-individual variability in healthy donors was continuously less than twenty per cent.

Chemotaxis of resident, elicited and immunologically activated murine peritoneal macrophages.

The in vitro chemotactic response of peritoneal macrophages fourteen days after immunization with BCG was greater than that of macrophages from control mice. Peritoneal macrophages from mice treated with other agents which enhance bactericidal activity, and macrophages induced with proteose-peptone were less responsive to chemotactic stimuli than resident macrophages. The addition of PPD or PHA lymphokines to the peritoneal cells from BCG injected mice depressed the chemotactic response, but increased unstimulated migration. PPD had no effect on the migration of resident macrophages, but PHA lymphokines depressed the chemotactic activity of these cells.

HLA antigens in nickel sensitive females: based on a twin and a patient population.

HLA typing was performed in three groups of nickel sensitive persons: a) 27 pairs of female monozygous twins, b) 34 pairs of female dizygous twins, c) 51 unrelated females. Persons who had developed hand eczema were considered separately. In none of these groups did the frequencies of HLA antigens differ significantly from those found among the controls. Thus, no confirmation of the earlier results indicating an association between HLA and nickel sensitivity was established.