Analysis of Bordetella pertussis isolates from an epidemic by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

We examined genetic variation among 78 clinical isolates of Bordetella pertussis, including 54 strains recovered during a 1986 pertussis epidemic. A total of 16 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiles, generated with each of three different enzymes (XbaI, SpeI, and DraI), were obtained from the epidemic and sporadic isolates included in the study. Indistinguishable profiles were seen among strains unrelated temporally or geographically, as well as among strains isolated sporadically from the same geographic areas. All isolates from the epidemic had indistinguishable PFGE profiles. The PFGE pattern of the epidemic strains was shared with only 1 of 25 strains isolated independently of the outbreak. This isolate was cultured from a specimen from a laboratory scientist who had been working with the epidemic strains, further implicating the usefulness of PFGE for the epidemiologic study of clinical strains of B. pertussis. Differences in PFGE profiles for single epidemic strains occurred occasionally upon repeated passage on agar medium, suggesting that subculturing of initial isolates should be minimized before pulsed-field analysis.     

Aspergillus terreus infective endocarditis on a porcine heterograft valve

We present the first reported case of Aspergillus endocarditis occurring on a porcine heterograft prosthesis and discuss the literature regarding both Aspergillus endocarditis and endocarditis on a porcine valve. A 65-year-old man underwent aortic valve replacement with a porcine heterograft. Several weeks later he exhibited signs of infection and then of valve failure. Upon removal, the porcine valve substance was found to be grossly infiltrated and destroyed by the Aspergillus organism. The porcine valve has an excellent reputation of being resistant to infection and relatively easy to sterilize by medical management alone. Several surveys attest to the low incidence of endocarditis. Because of our experience with the destruction caused by Aspergillus, however, and because antimicrobials generally fail to eradicate this organism, we urge prompt operation to remove the heterograft valve involved with infection by this organism. The valve diseased with Aspergillus should be replaced with a mechanical prosthesis. In the aortic position, extra-anatomic replacement should be considered to facilitate eradication of periannular infection postoperatively.     

Helium-neon laser radiation as an inducer of interferon formation

Helium-neon laser has first been shown to be an active interferon inducer. Marked induction was found at various radiation power (1, 6-7, 20 MW) and at various radiation exposures: from 1 sec to 1 min both for single (up to 512 units/ml) and repeated (up to 1024 units/ml) effects on leukocytes of the donor blood. The major part of interferon was shown to be acid-labile and a lesser part was acid-stable alpha- and gamma-interferons. The above data are of both practical and theoretical importance for the elucidation of the pathogenetic mechanisms of positive therapeutic effect of this light on living beings.     

Isolation and structure/activity features of halomon-related antitumor monoterpenes from the red alga Portieria hornemannii

Ten halogenated monoterpenes (2-6 and 8-12) related to the novel antitumor compound halomon (1) or to the carbocyclic analog 7 have been isolated from different geographic collections of the red alga, Portieria hornemannii. Structures were assigned to the basis of spectral analyses (primarily NMR and MS). The absolute configuration of isohalomon (2) was further established by X-ray crystallography. The compounds were comparatively evaluated alongside 1 and 7 in the U.S. National Cancer Institute's in vitro human tumor cell line screening panel. The results provide some interesting initial insights into the structure/activity relationships in this series.     

Mechanism of the hypercoagulation effect of hyperoxia

It was shown in man and rabbits that a 30-minute inhalation of a 100% O2 under normal atmospheric pressure was accompanied by an elevation of the blood coagulation capacity and a sharp reduction of the count of platelets with the change of their structure. The trigger mechanism of the described hypercoagulation effect is possibly the viscous metamorphosis of platelets developing under the effect of oxygen activation of Hageman's factor.     

Differences in protein patterns of gill epithelial cells of the fish Gillichthys mirabilis after osmotic and thermal acclimation

Different protein patterns in gill epithelium of a euryhaline and eurythermal teleost fish (Gillichthys mirabilis, Family Gobiidae) in response to long-term (2 months) osmotic and thermal acclimation were found for the first time. Gill epithelial cells were isolated to remove extracellular proteins and quantify specialized cell types. Chloride cells were identified on the basis of size (> 10 microns) and bright appearance after [2-(p-dimethylaminostyryl)-1-methyl-pyridinium-iodine] staining. Small mitochondria-rich cells were < 5 microns in diameter and showed intermediate fluorescence. Abundance of chloride cells and small mitochondria-rich cells was significantly influenced by osmotic but not thermal acclimation (dilute seawater/25 degrees C: 1.4 +/- 0.2% chloride cells, 11.9 +/- 4.6% small mitochondria-rich cells; seawater/25 degrees C: 2.4 +/- 0.6% chloride cells, 2.2 +/- 1.3% small mitochondria-rich cells; seawater/10 degrees C: 2.9 +/- 0.3% chloride cells, 1.2 +/- 0.7% small mitochondria-rich cells). Pavement cells, identified by low fluorescence and intermediate size (5-10 microns), largely predominated under all conditions (> 85% of cells). Thus, they represented the major protein source in gill epithelium. Differences in protein patterns were detectable using two-dimensional but not one-dimensional electrophoresis. Of 602 proteins identified by charge and molecular weight properties, only two were induced by high temperature (25 degrees C) and three in response to cold acclimation (10 degrees C). Nine proteins were induced in diluted seawater-acclimated fish, whereas no seawater-induced proteins were found. We hypothesize that proteins induced under dilute seawater conditions are important for the function of pavement cells in gills of hyper-osmoregulating G. mirabilis.     

Emboli from an extraluminal blood flow hollow fiber oxygenator with and without an arterial filter during cardiopulmonary bypass in a pig model

The effect of an arterial filter on visceral emboli was quantified with autologous indium-111 labeled platelets (INPLT) during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in Yorkshire pigs. Biodistribution of INPLT was determined in 12 control pigs (30-35 kg, unoperated control [n = 6] and sham operated control [n = 6]). CPB was carried out with (n = 6) and without (n = 6) an arterial filter in 12 pigs at a flow rate of 2.5-3.5 L/min. Platelets labeled with In-111 tropolone (650-780 microCi) were injected intravenously 24 hr before CPB. All pigs were systemically heparinized (activated coagulation time > 400 sec); CPB was instituted with a roller pump, an extraluminal blood flow oxygenator (Bentley Univox, 1.8 m2), and an arterial filter (0.25 m2) and continued for 3 hr. Platelet kinetics, pooling, and counts were monitored by a Geiger probe and a Coulter counter. The thrombi in the oxygenator and arterial filter and emboli in viscera and brain were imaged with a gamma camera and measured with an ion chamber and gamma counter. Percentage of INPLT (mean +/- SD) in organs, tissues, and components of the circuit in four groups of pigs was calculated. Flow cytometry with antibodies to CD61 (GPIIIa) and CD62P (GMP-140: control) of porcine platelets was carried out with blood samples taken before, during, and after CPB for estimation of circulating platelet aggregates and platelet microparticles. Pulmonary, renal, cardiac, and cerebral emboli in pigs undergoing CPB with and without a filter were similar (p < 0.1). The amount of filter adherent thrombi was small (0.04 +/- 0.01%); oxygenator adherent thrombus in both groups was similar (p < 0.1). Emboli were found in the cerebral medulla, hippocampus, and posterior cerebral cortex in both groups. During CPB, the arterial filter functioned minimally as a trap for platelet thrombi detached from the oxygenator and circulating emboli. Flow cytometry of blood demonstrated the shift of equilibria from single platelets to platelet aggregates and microparticles during CPB and their gradual reversal to single platelets after CPB; the loosely adherent emboli disaggregated and further shifted these equilibria to single platelets and smaller aggregates, probably through the action of endogenous nitric oxide and prostacyclin. The emboli were trapped in organs and tissues and microparticles were sequestered by the reticuloendothelial system.