ABSTRACT
Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive plasma, obtained from blood donors, was used to prepare an antigen (HBcAg) from the inner core of the Dane particle, the larger of the two spherical particles found in the blood in hepatitis B infection. The antigen was prepared by a series of centrifugation procedures on caesium chloride and sucrose gradients. Dane particle-rich fractions obtained from these gradients and concentrated by centrifugation were treated with Tween 80 to remove the outer coats from the particles. The remaining Dane particle cores were recovered by velocity sedimentation on a sucrose gradient. Preparations containing the Dane cores were used as antigens in the immune electron microscopy and complement fixation tests to demonstrate the specificity of HBcAg and lack of fross relationship with HBsAg. HBcAg will be used for the study of hepatitis B infections in man.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis B Antigens/isolation & purification , Animals , Antibodies, Viral , Centrifugation, Density Gradient , Complement Fixation Tests , Cross Reactions , Hepatitis B Antigens/analysis , Humans , Immunoassay , Immunologic Techniques , Microscopy, Electron , Polysorbates , RabbitsABSTRACT
Pseudomonas infection developed at the suture line of an aortic graft in a patient 13 years after the operation. The site of the infection was localized by quantitative blood cultures taken with the aid of selective arterial catheterization. This technique may be of great help in localizing the source of endovascular infection in difficult cases.
