Handling stress does not affect the expression of hepatic heat shock protein 70 and conjugation enzymes in rainbow trout treated with beta-naphthoflavone.

A response in heat shock protein 70 (hsp 70) expression in the beta-naphthoflavone (BNF) treated rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) corresponded to altered metabolic status of the liver as evidenced by the lower phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), lactate dehydrogenase and 3-hydroxyacylcoA dehydrogenase activities. The BNF-induced increase in hsp70 levels and conjugation enzyme activities (phase I and phase II) were not modified by handling stress. Indeed handling stress did not affect either hsp 70 levels or conjugation enzyme activities in trout liver. The decrease in hepatic PEPCK activity in the BNF group may be responsible for the attenuation of the increase in liver glucose concentration after a 3 min handling stress in this species, suggesting that BNF affects liver gluconeogenic capacity in this species. Handling stress elicited a plasma cortisol and glucose response in both the sham and BNF group, however, the cortisol response with BNF was erratic compared with the sham, implying alterations in the cortisol dynamics post-stress. These results show for the first time that BNF affects cellular metabolic responses to stress and suggests the possibility of using hsp 70 as a biomarker for toxic effects in trout.

Epstein-Barr virus shedding in breast milk.

One hundred healthy women already donating to the Children's Hospital Breast Milk bank consented to provide a sample of breast milk for this study. Using a DNA-DNA hybridization dot-blot assay Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome (Bam HIW region) was detected in cells shed into breast milk of 46 out of 100 women studied and in 60 out of 132 (46%) of samples donated overall. The prevalence of EBV shedding increased postnatally to a peak of 74% (26/35 positive samples) between 3 and 12 weeks postdelivery. Women delivering prematurely had an initially lower prevalence of shedding with only six out of 30 (20%) positive samples in the first week after delivery, compared to 16 out of 35 (46%) for women delivering at term. Of the 18 women donating more than one sample, 13 showed consistently positive (n = 8) or negative (n = 5) results, and the remaining five had intermittent shedding detected. Only seven out of 42 (17%) breast milk samples studied were EBV-IgG antibody positive, and none showed IgM or IgA-EBV antibodies. Further studies and prospective followup of infants are needed to confirm that breast milk is a significant source for early EBV infection of infants, as indicated by serologic studies.

A study of auto-anti-idiotypes to BSA.

In order to study the idiotypic relationships between the antibody populations produced in different species during normal immune responses to ordinary protein Ag, we raised immune sera in mice and chickens by using three protein Ag: BSA, keyhole limpet hemocyanin, and diphtheria toxoid. An avidin-biotin ELISA was used to measure idiotypic binding between antibody populations from these sera. We found that the chicken sera contained auto-anti-idiotypes (AAI) against Ag-specific antibodies that were present in the same serum and that co-purified with those antibodies on Ag-Sepharose columns. These AAI were present in secondary response chicken anti-BSA serum at levels comparable with those of the anti-BSA antibody. The chicken AAI also react specifically with Id in mouse anti-BSA serum. The mouse anti-BSA serum completely inhibits the binding between the chicken Id and AAI. This similarity between the Id of whole populations of antibodies produced in two distantly related species, in the absence of any manipulation with idiotypic or anti-idiotypic reagents, suggests that the AAI detected in this way are internal image antibodies. It indicates there is positive selection for such AAI to be internal images.