In vitro responses of lymphocytes in juvenile arthritis: effects of time and concentration of PHA-P.

The effects of concentration of PHA-P and time in culture on cells from patients with systemic, polyarticular and pauciarticular juvenile arthritis have been studied. Responses to suboptimal concentrations are depressed at 3 days, particularly of systemic and polyarticular patients, but normal by 5 days and probably prolonged at 7 days. The responses approach normal with 5 micrograms/ml PHA-P. This delay also occurs in cells from children with cystic fibrosis and acute pneumonia and so is not disease specific. Kinetic studies show a slower recruitment of cells. The delay is corrected by 1 microgram/ml indomethacin. After 7 days, cultures from patients with juvenile arthritis have fewer E, heat-stable E, and EAC rosetting cells than do cultures from normal children or children with cystic fibrosis.

The immunologic and clinical associations of the split products of C3 in plasma in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

A qualitative counterimmunoelectrophoretic assay for the complement activation products C3c and C3d was used to study plasma from children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and other rheumatic diseases. Positive tests for C3c,d were found in all patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 7 of 10 patients with active systemic JRA, 16 of 29 with active polyarticular JRA, 7 of 20 with active pauciarticular JRA, and in only 2 of 20 with inactive joint disease. The incidence of positive assays for C3c,d in JRA was increased in the presence of positive latex fixation tests, antinuclear antibody tests, or elevated values for antiglobulins as determined by affinity chromatography, but these associations were not statistically significant. Three joint fluids from children with pauciarticular JRA were negative for C3c,d. These studies show that the subgroups of JRA defined by clinical criteria are heterogeneous by current laboratory parameters and that evidence implicating antigen-antibody complexes in the pathogenesis of JRA is lacking in many patients.

Differences in in vitro incorporation of tritiated deoxycytidine and tritiated thymidine into human lymphocytes.

Human lymphocytes stimulated in vitro by PHA or PWM incorporate 3H-CdR into DNA, but less well than 3H-TdR. More 3H-CdR is incorporated in populations enriched for T cells. No 3H-CdR is used by cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharides under circumstances in which 3H-TdR is incorporated. We conclude that human T cells and B cells differ in their ability to use 3H-CdR.

Differences in utilization of tritiated thymidine and tritiated deoxycytidine by rat lymph node cells.

Large lymphoid cells and plasma cells in antigenically stimulated rat lymph nodes retain less label after injection of 3H-CdR than after injection of 3H-TdR. There is no difference amongst small lymphocytes. The data are consistent with a defect in the utilization of 3H-CdR in the late stages of B cell maturation in the rat.

Alterations of lymphocytes and of antibody content of human milk after processing.

The effects of pasteurization, lyophilization, and freezing on immunoglobulin and lymphocytes in human milk was studied. We found a significant decrease in total lymphocyte count after all three processing methods. Pasteurization and lyophilization caused a significant decrease in immunoglobulin concentration and in specific antibody titer to Escherichi coli. Freezing specimens up to four weeks resulted in no significant alteration of IgA content or in E. coli antibody titer. Since a major advantage of human milk is the transference of passive local immunity, these quantitative changes may have clinical importance.

Antiglobulins in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

With initial hopes of establishing a diagnostic test for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), five types of immunoadsorbents were used to search for occult antiglobulins in sera from children. The immunoadsorbents included glutaraldehyde-aggregated globulin, heat- and glutaraldehyde-aggregated globulin, Affi-Gel-bound globulin, Sepharose-bound globulin, and bromozcetyl cellulose-bound globulin. The glutaraldehyde-aggregated immunoadsorbents retained nonspecific protein. The Affi-Gel, Sepharose, and bromoacetyl cellulose absorbents were effective and specific, but the Affi-Gel and bromoacetyl cellulose were impractical for routine use. Separose-bound globulin was selected for use in a survey of 52 patients with JRA and 8 normal children. Materials resembling occult antiglobulins, measured as acid elutable protein, were found in normal children as well as in children with JRA. Only a small proportion of children with JRA had statistically elevated levels of such occult anti-globulin consisted of IgM, IgG, and IgA, and had latex fixation activity in 2 of 5 tested sera from normal children and in 27 of 52 sera from children with JRA. Thus the presence of antiglobulins per se is not diagnostically helpful in distinguishing children with JRA.