Topographic aspects of prostacyclin-like and fibrinolytic activity and of biogenic amines in the arterial system of the mini-pig.

Although arteriosclerosis is a systemic disease, it nevertheless exhibits noticeable topographical preference and particularities. The reason for this could be lie with certain biochemical features of the arterial wall. We therefore examined prostacyclin-like and fibrinolytic activity in mini-pigs, as well as the concentration of various biogenic amines in the thoracic and abdominal aorta, in coronary arteries and in the carotid and femoral artery. There was a similar behaviour between PG I2-like release and biogenic amines in the different arteries, whereas fibrinolytic activity behaved differently in some cases. In the femoral artery particularly low fibrinolytic activity was confronted by a particularly high level of PG I2-like activity and biogenic amines, while the reverse was the case in the abdominal aorta. In older animals PG I2-like activity considerably decreased.

Anergy to dinitrochlorobenzene and depression of T-lymphocytes in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Skin reactivity to dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) and levels of circulating T-lymphocytes were measured in 15 patients with ulcerative colitis, 15 patients with Crohn's disease, and 12 normal control subjects. Diminished reactivity to DNCB was demonstrated in 87% of patients with Crohn's disease (P less than 0-001) and in 53% with ulcerative colitis (P less than 0-02), as compared with only 8-5% of controls; anergy was more frequent in Crohn's disease than in ulcerative colitis (P less than 0-05). Levels of circulating T-lymphoctes were also depressed in both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (P less than 0-001) as compared with controls, with the values lower in Crohn's disease than in ulcerative colitis (P less than 0-02). There were no correlations of DNCB response with extent, duration, or severity of disease nor with T-cell levels within any patient group. These data provide further support for the concept that there is impairment of cell-mediated immunity among many patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease, including both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.