Transmission of Donor-Derived Trypanosoma cruzi and Subsequent Development of Chagas Disease in a Lung Transplant Recipient.

Donor infection status should be considered when accepting an organ for transplant. Here we present a case of Chagas disease developing after a lung transplant where the donor was known to be Trypanosoma cruzi antibody positive. The recipient developed acute Trypanosoma cruzi infection with reactivation after treatment. Chagas disease-positive donors are likely to be encountered in the United States; donor targeted screening is needed to guide decisions regarding organ transplant and posttransplant monitoring.

Neurolymphomatosis in three horses with multicentric T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma.

Neurolymphomatosis is a rare manifestation of lymphoma and is characterized by neoplastic infiltration of the peripheral nervous system. The present report describes neoplastic infiltration of peripheral nerves in three horses with multicentric lymphoma. Immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of CD79a(+) lymphoblastic cells and well-differentiated CD3(+) T cells, characteristic of T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma in all cases. Nerve infiltration by lymphoma is rare, but should be considered as a differential diagnosis for peripheral neuropathy in horses with lymphoma.

Multiple cross mapping (MCM) markedly improves the localization of a QTL for ethanol-induced activation.

This study examines the use of multiple cross mapping (MCM) to reduce the interval for an ethanol response QTL on mouse chromosome 1. The phenotype is the acute locomotor response to a 1.5-g/kg i.p. dose of ethanol. The MCM panel consisted of the six unique intercrosses that can be obtained from the C57BL/6J (B6), DBA/2J (D2), BALB/cJ (C) and LP/J (LP) inbred mouse strains (N > or = 600/cross). Ethanol response QTL were detected only with the B6xD2 and B6xC intercrosses. For both crosses, the D2 and C alleles were dominant and decreased ethanol response. The QTL information was used to develop an algorithm for sorting and editing the chromosome 1 Mit microsatellite marker set (http://www.jax.org). This process yielded a cluster of markers between 82 and 85cM (MGI). Evidence that the QTL was localized in or near this interval was obtained by the analysis of a sample (n = 550) of advanced cross heterogenous stock animals. In addition, it was observed that one of the BXD recombinant inbred strains (BXD-32) had a recombination in the interval of interest which produced the expected change in behavior. Overall, the data obtained suggest that the information available within existing genetic maps coupled with MCM data can be used to reduce the QTL interval. In addition, the MCM data set can be used to interrogate gene expression data to estimate which polymorphisms within the interval of interest are relevant to the QTL.

Modifications and additions to the ISO-DALT system for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.

Modifications of ISO-DALT devices that further enhance the efficiency and reproducibility of two-dimensional mapping of proteins are described. The principal changes in ISO system devices include the introduction of a gel casting trough with a removable panel to permit the removal of excess gel without introducing air into the electrofocusing gels and the introduction of an upper electrode compartment with a separate watertight septum for each electrofocusing tube to permit tube removal for cleaning and replacement. The principal changes in DALT system devices include the use of modified powder funnels to introduce acrylamide solutions into the slab gel gradient former without aeration; the introduction of a flexible outlet system for the gradient former to facilitate the removal of air bubbles; the introduction of an inexpensive two-part mixing chamber to permit disassembly for cleaning; the use of split gel holders to eliminate deformation and breakage of electrofocusing gels during loading onto slab gels; the introduction of an inexpensive integrated slab gel casting/rotating apparatus; and the introduction of a simple, water-cooled slab gel electrophoresis apparatus to reduce the volume of running buffer used in electrophoresis.

A general method for the isolation of haptoglobin 1-1, 2-1, and 2-2 from human plasma.

A general method for the isolation of haptoglobin 1-1, 2-1, and 2-2 human plasma is described. Plasma is fractionated by affinity chromatography on chicken hemoglobin-Sepharose using the full capacity of the column; then after washing the column thoroughly, haptoglobin is eluted with 8 M urea and the eluate is collected in fractions to separate active and denatured haptoglobin. The urea-free, active fractions of haptoglobin are fractionated by affinity chromatography on Affi-Gel Con A to remove nonglycoproteins, principally apolipoprotein A-I, and the haptoglobin is eluted with 0.5 M glucose. Then the haptoglobin-containing fractions are fractionated by negative immunoadsorption chromatography on anti-chicken hemoglobin-protein A-Sepharose to remove chicken hemoglobin-human haptoglobin complexes. Haptoglobin prepared by this three-step procedure is biologically active and nearly homogeneous. The recovery is approximately 70%, irrespective of phenotype. The procedure can be completed in 3 days. A partial purification of apolipoprotein A-I is obtained simultaneously by this method.

Isolation of undegraded free and membrane-bound polysomal mRNA from rat brain.

A new procedure is described for the isolation of undegraded free and membrane-bound polysomal mRNA from rat brain in which polysomes are simultaneously separated from soluble components of the cell and slowly sedimenting ribosome species and concentrated by rate-zonal centrifugation on short linear sucrose gradients. This avoids the problem encountered in conventional procedures of pelleting polysomes along with membranous materials that are not solubilized by detergents and that appear to contain traces of nucleases. It also permits a more thorough analysis of the mRNA populations actively engaged in protein synthesis, since both polyadenylated and nonpolyadenylated mRNAs are isolated together. Moreover, the likelihood of sedimenting nonpolysomal mRNP particles along with polysomes is reduced by using rate-zonal rather than pelleting centrifugation. The translational activity in vitro of free and membrane-bound polysomal RNA prepared in this way is high and is about 1.5 times that of RNA prepared by a conventional pelleting technique. The difference is attributable to better preservation of large mRNAs, as inferred from two-dimensional gel electrophoretic analysis of translation product abundance. The recovery of both classes of polysomal RNA is about 90%. The method is simple, efficient, and adapted for isolation of small amounts of polysomal RNA.