Luminol chemiluminescence in rat macrophages and granulocytes: the role of NO, O2-/H2O2, and HOCl

Luminol chemiluminescence was increased up to five-fold by L-arginine and markedly inhibited by NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) in phorbol ester (PMA) or opsonized zymosan-activated rat Kupffer cells, and in PMA-activated rat peritoneal and alveolar macrophages. While in Kupffer cells these effects did occur without pretreatment with lipopolysaccharides (LPS), LPS pretreatment was a requirement in peritoneal and alveolar macrophages. Azide (0.05 mM) had no effect on luminol chemiluminescence in the macrophages. The changes in luminol chemiluminescence were accompanied by parallel changes in nitric oxide (NO) formation. Macrophage superoxide anion radical (O2-) production was not significantly changed by addition of L-arginine and L-NNA nor by pretreatment with LPS. No hypochlorous acid (HOCl) formation was detectable in the macrophages. In contrast, in rat granulocytes activated by a variety of stimuli including PMA, zymosan, the chemotactic peptide formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine and the calcium ionophore A23187 with or without pretreatment with LPS, L-arginine and L-NNA had no effect on luminol chemiluminescence. Luminol chemiluminescence, however, was largely inhibited by 0.05 mM azide. The activated granulocytes released significant amounts of HOCl but did not generate NO. These results demonstrate that NO may largely contribute to luminol chemiluminescence in rat macrophages, in which HOCl formation does not occur. On the other hand, HOCl is the reactive oxygen species responsible for luminol chemiluminescence in rat granulocytes, where NO is formed only in minor quantities, if at all.     

Reliability of the Part II board certification examination in psychiatry: examination stability

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the reliability (examination stability) of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) Part II (oral) examination in psychiatry. METHOD: The authors analyzed the consistency (agreement between grades given by two independent examiners) for a 1-year examination cycle using a weighted kappa statistic and compared different parts of the examination (live patient and videotape), different examination sites, different days, and different times of the day. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in agreement between examiners by different parts of the examination, examination site, day of the week, or time of day. CONCLUSIONS: The stability of the Part II ABPN examination in psychiatry is not influenced significantly by the format or site of administration. Candidate performance is the predominant factor in the determination of passing or failing grades.     

Metabolic responses to preexercise meals containing various carbohydrates and fat

Renal function was examined after unilateral release, bilateral release or unilateral release and contralateral nephrectomy in three groups of rats following 24 h of bilateral ureteral obstruction (BUO). Excretion of water, sodium and urea was significantly greater in rats with unilateral release of BUO than in a single kidney of rats with bilateral release of BUO, in spite of similar levels of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal plasma flow. Rats with unilateral release of obstruction and contralateral nephrectomy had a significantly lower GFR than the other two groups. These rats also responded with greater increases in fractional sodium and water excretion to the administration of exogenous atrial peptide. The results demonstrate a marked compensatory increase in sodium and water excretion in rats with unilateral release of the obstruction which serves to maintain homeostasis of fluid and salt. They also suggest a possible influence of the continuously obstructed kidney on the function of the postreleased kidney. The results also provide experimental support for a greater recovery of renal excretory function after bilateral release of obstruction.     

Long-term survival of an AIDS patient with a tuberculous cerebral abscess

Unlike other forms of tuberculosis, tuberculous cerebral abscess is a rare complication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and usually presents at a late stage of the disease. This article describes a case of tuberculous cerebral abscess in an HIV-infected patient that was effectively treated with surgery and chemotherapy. The patient has survived more than 5 1/2 years since being diagnosed and remains in good health.     

Alu elements of the primate major histocompatibility complex

The chromosomal region constituting the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) has undergone complex evolution that is often difficult to decipher. An important aid in the elucidation of the MHC evolution is the presence of Alu elements (repeats) which serve as markers for tracing chromosomal rearrangements. As the first step toward the establishment of sets of evolutionary markers for the MHC, Alu elements present in selected MHC haplotypes of the human species, the gorilla, and the chimpanzee were identified. Restriction fragments of cosmid clones from the libraries of the three species were hybridized with Alu-specific probes, Alu elements were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction, and the amplification products were sequenced. In some cases, sequences of the regions flanking the Alu elements were also obtained. Altogether, 31 new Alu elements were identified, representing six Alu subfamilies. The average density of Alu elements in the MHC is one element per four kilobases (kb) of sequence. Alu elements have apparently been inserted steadily into the MHC over the last 65 million years (my). On average, one Alu element is inserted into the primate MHC every 4 my. Analysis of the human DR3 haplotype supports its origin by duplication from an ancestral haplotype consisting of DRB1 and DRB2 genes. The sharing of an old Alu element by the DRB1 and DRB2 genes, in turn, supports their divergence from a common ancestor more than 55 my ago.     

Analysis of the in vitro cytokine production by liver-infiltrating T cells of patients with autoimmune hepatitis

The pathogenic mechanisms underlying the development of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) are still unclear. Since AIH is associated with the presence of various autoantibodies and certain HLA subtypes, it is likely that T and B cells play a major role in this disease. In this study we have determined the functional capacities of in vivo preactivated liver-infiltrating T cells (LTC) from patients with AIH. As controls we used LTC from patients with non-autoimmune hepatitis (non-AIH). Our results show that preactivated LTC from patients with AIH predominantly (190/255 clones) reside in the CD4+ population, whereas LTC in non-AIH are dominated by the CD8+ phenotype (148/254 clones). In view of this finding we have investigated the cytokine secretion patterns of 102 randomly chosen CD4+ T cell clones from six patients with AIH. As controls we have used 58 CD4+ LTC from 11 patients with non-AIH. All clones were stimulated by lectin and irradiated accessory cells and subsequent cytokine production was evaluated. LTC from patients with AIH have a lower interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)/IL-4 ratio compared with LTC from non-AIH. Although clones from some patients with AIH produced very high amounts of IL-4 in vitro, this was not a constant finding. These results show that in vivo preactivated LTC from patients with AIH are mostly CD4+ T cells that produce more IL-4 than IFN-gamma. In contrast, LTC from patients with non-AIH are dominated by CD8+ and CD4+ T cells that produce significantly less IL-4 than IFN-gamma. Thus, liver-infiltrating T cells from patients with AIH and non-AIH belong to different functional T cell subsets. This may have implications for the regulation of humoral and cellular immune responses in inflammatory liver disease.     

Untersuchungen zum SwRK-Verhalten des unlegierten Stahles Ck 45 in chloridionenhaltigen wäßrigen Medien

Corrosion fatigue behaviour of steel Ck 45 in aqueous solutions containing chloride ions The fatigue behaviour of carbon steel Ck 45 (comparable to AISI 1045x) is investigated for cyclic tension and rotating bending load with a frequency of 25 Hz. The fatigue limits under cyclic tension load in air are 410 N/mm² for smooth specimens and 290 N/mm² for notched specimens. For rotating bending load a value of 200 N/mm² is found for smooth specimen. The fatigue limits for N = 10⁷ in two different environments (0.3% and 3% NaCl-solution) reach only 37–57% of the according values in air. Cathodic protection of smooth specimens causes an improvement to 95% of the air fatigue limit. The evaluation of the free corrosion potential for all corrosion fatigue tests and the appearence of fracture show typical attributes of corrosion fatigue in the active state.     

Hyperprolactinemia associated with acute intermittent porphyria

Galactorrhea as the result of hyperprolactinemia has been described in very rare cases associated to acute outbreaks of intermittent acute porphyria (IAP). In our country, any of such cases have been published or analytically documented. We present the case of a patient admitted in our hospital for the study of abdominal pain and galactorrhea, with latter diagnosis of IAP, supported by the assessment of the activity of the enzyme showing a deficit in the red blood cells.