Experimental cytomorphological studies of the reaction of mononuclear phagocyte system in granulomatosis of mixed (silicotic and tuberculous) etiology.

Silicon dioxide in combination with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in BCG vaccine is characterized by a significantly higher granuloma-inducing activity than BCG or silicon dioxide alone. Cell "dissociation" from granulomas is not characteristic of granulomas induced by silicon dioxide or its combination with BCG (in contrast to BCG-induced granulomas). A steady increase in the counts and size, particularly on days 120-180, mainly at the expense of fibroblast accumulation and subtotal fibrosis, are intrinsic to these granulomas. Monocyte retention in the bone marrow is characteristic starting from day 56 until day 180 after injection of both granulomatous factors alone or in combination, particularly so in BCG granulomatosis.

Effect of preliminary load of macrophages with silicium dioxide on phagocytosis of BCG strain micobacteria by macrophages and antimicrobial activity.

We studied the effect of preliminary loading of peritoneal macrophages with silicium dioxide on in vitro viability, phagocytosis of BCG strain mycobacteria, and the capability to destroy the phagocytosed mycobacterium tuberculosis. It was shown that preliminary loading of macrophages with silicium dioxide did not reduce their viability and stimulated phagocytosis of BCG strain mycobacteria, but reduced their antibacterial activity.

[Immunological parameters in the diagnosis of silicotuberculosis]. / Pokazateli immuniteta v diagnostike silikotuberkuleza.

The study has defined criteria for the concomitant development of tuberculosis as secondary to silicosis. Factorial and discriminant analyses identified the most significant factors of immune homeostasis in silicotuberculosis. The major signs of possible development of tuberculosis in the presence of silicosis are the elevated levels of total IgE and IgG, fibronectin; the cells expressing CD4+ and CD20+ markers; and the decreased concentration of the mucinic antigen 3EG5. The findings were used to construct models of immunity in tuberculosis, silicosis, and silicotuberculosis. The use of a complex of immunological studies promoted the better early diagnosis of silicotuberculosis.

[Significance of immunoenzyme analysis in early diagnosis of dust bronchitis]. / Znachennia imunofermentnoho analizu dlia rann'oï diahnostyky pylovoho bronkhitu.

Measurement of levels of antibodies to a causative agent of tuberculosis with the aid of the enzyme immunoassay can serve as one of methods for early diagnosis of infectious- and dust diseases. Patients with clinically established diagnosis of dust bronchitis, latent silicotuberculosis and manifest silicotuberculosis demonstrated a significantly higher level of antituberculous antibodies in blood plasma as compared to controls. Establishment of the above fact permits regarding a major proportion of dust bronchitis as a silicotuberculous process.

[Immunological changes in dust-induced lung diseases]. / Immunologicheskie izmeneniia pri pylevoi patologii legkikh.

One hundred and forty five patients with different forms of dust-induced lung disease and 57 controls having no contacts with industrial aerosols were examined. It was ascertained that clinical and functional evidence cannot predict the course of the disease and the development of infectious complications (silicotuberculosis, mechanic bronchitis). Impaired humoral immunity and nonspecific resistance in dust-induced lung disease depend on the type of disease and predispose to infectious complications. Predisposition to occupational lung diseases (pneumoconioses, mechanical bronchitis) is associated with increases in the concentrations of plasma fibronectin and serum IgA and a decrease in serum mucin antigen levels. In chronic mechanical bronchitis, there were lower activities of lysozyme and complement and elevated serum IgM and IgG concentrations. Fibronectin, total IgE and the inflammatory marker the mucin antigen 3EG5 are involved in immunological inflammation in dust-induced lung disease. It is worth of determining the factors of humoral immunity and nonspecific resistance in workers contacting with high concentrations of industrial aerosols and in patients with dust-induced diseases to make a precise assessment of the time course of changes in a pathological process and to define a risk for infectious complications.

[Clinical and immunological aspects of pneumoconiosis]. / Kliniko-immunologicheskie aspekty pnevmokoniozov.

The article deals with data of clinical examination using up-to-date methods of immune assay and covering 96 patients with various pneumoconioses including silicosis, silicotic tuberculosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Results of the examination helped to identify clinical and immunologic features of various pneumoconioses induced by complex industrial aerosols.

[The clinical significance of red cell immune adherence function in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and silicotuberculosis].

In our study, we observed that (1) High RCIA were discovered in these two groups. (2) In the group of pulmonary tuberculosis, the C3b receptor activities remained no change after antituberculous therapy, but the amounts of immune complexes bearing on RBC decreased. In the patients with the high RCIA, CIC was discharged rapidly and the lesions of tissue produced by CIC were prevented. In the patients with silicotuberculosis, both silica and tuberculous bacilli may act as immune adjuvant and enhance the hypersensitivity. So the C3b receptor activities were higher in silicotuberculosis patients.

[The HLA antigen system in patients with pneumoconiosis]. / Sistema HLA-antigenov u bol'nykh pnevmokoniozom.

The antigenic HLA spectra, loci A, B and C, were explored in 102 patients suffering from pneumoconiosis of workers exposed to dust in machine building. Significant frequency differences were discovered in some antigens and their complexes (AI; A I B 8; Bw35 Cw4) between the patients and control group subjects (112 healthy persons). The patients with uncomplicated pneumoconiosis and coniotuberculosis manifested appreciable differences in the antigenic HLA spectra. The authors propose an algorithm of predicting risk at pneumoconiosis as well as risk at coniotuberculosis, resting on the results of the typing of the antigenic HLA spectra.

[The effect of silicon on the tuberculous infection and immune system].

Our study showed that silicon not only injured cell membrane, cytoplasm and nucleus membrane, but also inhibited the activity of succinic dehydrogenase in monocytes and lung tissue. In such condition, the tubercle bacilli became easier to grow. The tuberculous infection was worse in guinea-pigs infused with silicon. Guinea-pigs immunized by dead BCG or non-toxic tubercle bacillus H37 Ra strain were shown to have some effect against pulmonary tuberculosis.

[The morphological determination of immune reactivity in coniotuberculosis]. / Morfologicheskoe opredelenie immunnoi reaktivnosti pri koniotuberkuleze.

A study was performed on the immune reactivity of coniotuberculosis cases among iron-ore miners from initial to developed stages by means of a postmortem morphometric analysis of the pathologic changes. It was revealed that the disease was characterized by a marked decrease in immune reactivity which progressed along with the disease. It was established that the process was influenced by the age, the ferrum oxide (III) and cremnium dioxide content in the lungs, and the TB infection as such. Much influence was also caused by other sporadic environmental factors.

[Diagnosis of silicotuberculosis activity]. / Diagnostika aktivnosti silikotuberkuleza.

Possible determination of silicotuberculosis activity with various clinico-laboratory, roentgenological, biochemical and immunological procedures was analyzed by the materials on observation of patients with silicotuberculosis. The authors considered 117 observations relating to 88 male and 29 female patients aged 43 to 67 years. High informative capacity of the complex investigation including determination of gamma-globulin levels in blood serum, the albumin-globulin coefficient, the absolute count of lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes and lymphocyte migration inhibition in the test with tuberculin before and after the provocative tuberculin test was shown.