Comparison of the effect of oral sulphasalazine, sulphapyridine and 5-amino-salicylic acid on the in vivo antibody response to oral and systemic antigen.

1. Mice, whose drinking water contained sulphasalazine, sulphapyridine or 5-amino-salicylic acid, received an antigenic challenge by cholera toxin administered either orally or systemically. 2. Sulphasalazine treated mice made less specific antibody of IgA class provided the antigen also was administered orally (P = 0.009 for days 7-28). When the antigen was administered systemically, there was a vigorous anti-cholera toxin antibody response of IgG class, and a lesser IgM but only a weak IgA response. The effect of sulphasalazine in this case was confined to the IgG response, which was significantly suppressed on day 28 (P = 0.008). 3. Sulphapyridine and 5-amino salicylic acid had no significant effect on the anti-cholera toxin (CT) responses of all three classes. 4. It therefore appears that in this model, only sulphasalazine is capable of influencing the humoral immune system, the antibody class affected depending on the route of entry of antigen. This may have implications for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and chronic inflammatory bowel disease, for which sulphasalazine has been found useful.

Effect of sulphasalazine on antibody response to oral antigen.

Cholera toxin was orally administered to mice concurrently receiving sulphasalazine (SASP) dissolved in L-lysine, or a control substance (L-lysine alone). Circulating antibodies to cholera toxin of IgM, IgG and IgA class were determined by direct ELISA at day 7, 14, 21 and 28. Although both groups made a significant antibody response to the antigen, mice receiving SASP tended to produce lower levels. These were significant for IgA on day 21 (P = 0.013), and for days 7-28 (P = 0.009), and 14-28 (P = 0.007). Overall, considering all antibody classes together from day 7 to 28, there was a significant effect in the SASP treated group (P = < 0.04). It appears that SASP exerts a mild immunomodulatory effect on the mucosal immune system. Further work is obviously required to substantiate these findings. The effect on the gut mucosal immune system of a drug known to ameliorate rheumatoid arthritis may offer an insight into the aetiopathogenesis of this disease.

Transmission of human T-lymphotropic virus type I by blood components from a donor lacking anti-p24: a case report. The Transfusion Safety Study Group.

The present criteria for confirmation of human T-lymphotrophic virus types I and II (HTLV-I/II) infection in blood donors are based on seroreactivity to p24 (gag) and gp46 and/or gp61 (env) on Western blot (WB) and radioimmunoprecipitation assays (WB/RIPA). Any single band and other combinations are classified as indeterminate. This case report documents infection in a donor with a repeatedly indeterminate pattern. The blood donor was anti-HTLV-I/II positive on enzyme-linked immunoassay, and two sera taken 5 years apart were WB/RIPA-indeterminate (p19 and gp68 only). His donations in the interval were associated with transmission of HTLV-I to four of the six recipients available for study. Other recipients of blood from donors whose WB/RIPA results were indeterminate by present criteria should be examined to determine if additional patterns are at least occasionally associated with transmission. The likelihood that such donors are infected is important to those who are counseling them and making decisions concerning recipients of their bloody.

Lymphocyte proliferative responses to bacterial antigens in B27-associated arthropathies.

Lymphocyte transformation tests to Yersinia enterocolitica 0:3 and 0:6, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus faecalis antigens have been carried out in ankylosing spondylitis, reactive arthritis/Reiter's disease and controls. Ankylosing spondylitis cases gave significantly lower responses than reactive arthritis/Reiter's to Yersinia enterocolitica 0:6 (p = 0.003) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (p = 0.008), and less than controls to S. faecalis (p = 0.008). It appears, therefore, that within the B27 arthritis population there is heterogeneity of cell-mediated response to certain enteric bacteria, with the hyporesponders manifesting ankylosing spondylitis and the hyper-responders reactive arthritis/Reiter's disease.

A note on the survival of bacteria in cryoprotectant medium at temperatures above 0 degrees C.

Many bacteria can survive for days or weeks at temperatures of 4 degrees or 22 degrees C in medium containing 15% (v/v) glycerol as a cryoprotectant. This observation suggests that breakdown of refrigeration for a short time may not be a serious danger to survival of cultures stored frozen in such media.

Yersinia arthritis in the Midlands: clinical and immunological features in ten cases during 1980-1983.

Ten cases of Yersinia arthritis, nine of whom were known to be B27 positive were seen in the Midlands between 1980 and 1983. Diagnostic difficulty arose in four cases owing to unusual form of presentation or course. Two of the cases studied during the acute phase showed a marked degree of lymphocyte transformation in the presence of Y. enterocolitica 0:3 in a dose-related form. This does not lend support to the concept of molecular mimicry between the bacterial antigen and the B27 gene product since this would be more likely to result in a diminished response.

Cytogenetical aspects of morsitans tsetse flies with particular reference to Glossina pallidipes (Diptera, Glossinidae).

The basic diploid chromosome of Glossina pallidipes is 2n = 6 and includes a pair of large sub-metacentric autosomes (L1), a shorter pair of metacentric autosomes (L2), and an X and Y which constitute a heteromorphic pair. The male meiotic sequence, although similar to that of other tsetse species, is characterized by asynapsis between X and Y chromosomes, and only tenuous association between the autosomes. Giemsa C-banding characteristics are described for the chromosomes of five species/sub-species and by means of this technique a whole range of hitherto unsuspected polymorphisms have been discovered. Polytene chromosome maps of G. pallidipes have been prepared and a description of all principal cytological markers is provided. A detailed comparison between these chromosomes and those of G. austeni has been conducted, and the conclusion is that although they must share a common ancestor, extensive band differences and structural change have occurred during phylogeny.

Micro-organisms in the midgut of tsetse fly larvae.

Two types of micro-organisms were found in the midgut of Glossina morsitans larvae, a large Gram-negative bacterial rod and a small Gram-negative rickettsia-like micro-organism, although the occurrence of the rickettsial type is restricted. The location of these micro-organisms in a small area of the proventriculus of all three larval instars is discussed. The large micro-organisms resemble milk-gland bacteria, and further evidence is presented in support of a milk transmission hypothesis for these micro-organisms.

Sumbionts in the female tsetse fly Glossina morsitans morsitans.

A rickettsia-like symbiont, located in the ovaries of G. m. morsitans is maternally transmitted to the offspring via the egg. It is suggested that they may be essential for normal ovarian development.