Human immunodeficiency virus infection of fibroblasts of dental pulp in seropositive patients.

Presence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) within noninflamed human dental pulps was documented by polymerase chain reaction assays in 11 of 12 pulps from HIV-seropositive patients. The purpose of the present study was to determine the cellular location of HIV in vivo within these tissues by means of in situ hybridization. Results of the in situ hybridization indicated HIV within fibroblasts of the pulp. These results are especially relevant because fibroblasts lack the CD4 receptor thought necessary for in vivo infection with HIV. These results suggest the fibroblast as a possible reservoir for HIV in the body.

The clinical and histologic appearance of HIV-associated gingivitis.

Human immunodeficiency virus-associated gingivitis (HIV-G) has been described recently as a clinical entity in HIV-infected patients. However, little is known about the etiology and pathogenesis of this condition. We report a case of HIV-G in a 32-year-old man with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The histology of the clinically involved gingiva revealed the absence of an inflammatory cell infiltrate. This report provides an initial description of the histologic changes occurring in HIV-G.

Detection of HIV in the dental pulp of a patient with AIDS.

Dental pulp tissue from a patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was examined to determine the presence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The results found a high concentration of proviral HIV DNA.

The occurrence of a fibro-osseous lesion and multiple dental anomalies in a patient with the Greig cephalopolysyndactyly syndrome.

The Greig cephalopolysyndactyly syndrome is an uncommon dysmorphic syndrome characterized by preaxial and postaxial polysyndactyly and minor craniofacial anomalies. It has an autosomal dominant inheritance. A review of the literature has failed to show documentation of any dental or oral abnormalities. Therefore, we report on a patient with Greig syndrome who had a maxillary fibro-osseous lesion and multiple dental and oral abnormalities.

Induction of neovascularization by mitogen-activated spleen cells and their supernatants.

The first objective of the experiment was to demonstrate that murine spleen cells treated with the T cell mitogen phytohemagglutinin induced neovascularization when adoptively transferred to the chorioallantoic membrane of chicken eggs. The second objective was to show that neovascularization could be induced by the supernatants from these cultures. The assay for neovascularization was based on the well established observation that angiogenesis can be induced on the chorioallantoic membrane by tumors and other substances. The supernatants were incorporated into a slow release polymer of hydroxyethylmethacrylate so as to produce a sustained release of the angiogenic material. The results showed that phytohemagglutinin activated spleen cells and their culture supernatants induced neovascularization on the chorioallantoic membrane. The significance of these observations are discussed as they relate to the hypothesis of lymphoid-induced neovascularization during tumor growth and other types of immunological inflammatory reactions.

Are tumor-associated transplantation antigens of chemically induced sarcomas related to alien histocompatibility antigens?

The hypothesis tested was that tumor-specific transplantation antigens of chemically induced tumors cross-react with allogeneic histocompatibility antigens. This hypothesis makes several predictions that can be tested experimentally. First, tumors should grow better and be less immunogenic in certain F1 hybrids than in their syngeneic parents, owing to the hypothecated cross-reactivity of the tumor-specific transplantation antigens with F1 antigens. This is in contrast to the more common observation that parental strain tumors grow worse in the F1 hybrids than they do in the parent. Also certain allogeneic skin grafts might immunize the parental strain mice against their syngeneic tumors, and, finally, immunizing parental mice with syngeneic tumor might cause accelerated rejection of certain skin allografts. The results show that certain tumors grew better in the F1 mice than they did in the parents but that the tumors were not less immunogenic in the F1 hybrids. Mice immunized against alloantigens showed a dose-dependent enhancement of syngeneic tumor growth. Finally, mice immunized with syngeneic tumors demonstrated an apparent prolongation of certain skin allografts. The discussion considers possible alternatives explaining these results.

Depression of host versus graft immunity and stimulation of tumor growth following partial hepatectomy.

Tumor growth was measured in inbred (C3H and C3Hf) and hybrid (C3H X C57BL/6F1 and BALB/c X C3HF1) mice after partial hepatectomy, sham hepatectomy, and hind limb amputation. Epithelial tumors (mammary carcinoma) and mesenchymal tumors (methylcholanthrene-induced and spontaneous tissue culture) were used in order to determine the tissue specificity of the tumor growth stimulation. Immunological parameters were defined by: (a) utilization of tumors that were either antigenic or nonantigenic, and (b) measurement of the host versus graft response in partially hepatectomized mice. Partial hepatectomy and the control operations were done on the same day as the tumor cell inoculation. All tumors, regardless of their tissue type or antigenicity, grew significantly better in partially hepatectomized mice as compared with the control mice. There was a significant positive correlation between the magnitude of tumor growth stimulation and the degree of antigenicity of the tumor. Last, skin allograft survival was significantly prolonged in the hepatectomized mice. The results suggest that : (a) the stimulation of tumor growth in hepatectomized mice is not tissue specific as previously reported; and (b) the antigenicity of a tumor is not necessary for growth stimulation after partial hepatectomy.

Metastatic melanoma of the maxilla presenting as a gingival swelling.

Malignant melanoma metastatic to the gingiva has been reported only once. We present a case in which the occurrence of melanoma in the gingiva followed extraction of a periapically "abscessed" tooth. Since the initial periapical mass may well have been a metastatic tumor, particularly in a patient undergoing therapy for disseminated malignant disease, the need for biopsy of such lesions is emphasized.