DNA- and RNA-hydrolyzing antibodies from the blood of patients with various forms of viral hepatitis

Antibodies (Abs) hydrolyzing proteins, DNA, and RNA are detected in the blood of patients with various autoimmune diseases. In the present work, homogeneous preparations of IgG Abs from the blood of the healthy donors as well as patients with A, B, C, and delta types of viral hepatitis, influenza, pneumonia, tuberculosis, tonsillitis, duodenal ulcer, and some types of cancer were purified. For the first time, the fraction of IgG and its Fab fragments of patients with viral hepatitis were shown to have high DNA- and RNA-hydrolyzing activity. In case of Abs from the healthy donors and patients with other diseases, high activity of Abs was not detected. The data obtained by various methods indicate that the activity of hepatitis Abs is an intrinsic property of the immunoglobulins. The relative rates of hydrolysis of cCMP, poly(U), poly(A), poly(C), and tRNA(Phe) by hepatitis Abs were compared with those of RNase A and other RNases from human blood. Significant differences in activities of Abs and nucleases in hydrolysis of model substrates were demonstrated. Thus, catalytically active Abs can appear in the blood of patients not only with autoimmune disorders, but with viral diseases as well.     

Polymorphism of pericentromere heterochromatin of polytene chromosomes of ovarian trophocytes in natural populations of the malaria mosquito Anopheles messeae Fall

The HBsAg status and demographic data of 2480 pregnant women who attended antenatal clinics at Maternal and Child Health Centres in Hong Kong were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire over a 1-week period in July 1996, to explore the underlying reason of a higher than expected HBsAg prevalence. Local women constituted 49.2% of the sample, mainland Chinese 39.7% and others 11.1%. The overall HBsAg prevalence was 10.0%. When related to place of birth, those born in Hong Kong had a prevalence of 8.4% whereas the prevalence of those born in mainland China was 13.1% (P < 0.001). The overall HBsAg carriage rate is high because of a higher rate in immigrants in the community. It is apparent that the HBsAg prevalence of local people in Hong Kong has been decreasing in the past decade. Overall, the current HBsAg carriage rate in the local adult population is estimated to have declined to about 8%.     

Mullerian-inhibiting substance secretion is delayed in XX sex-reversed dog embryos

A mathematical multiple dosing model was designed so that human plasma concentration-versus-time curves of beta-lactams are reproduced in mouse plasma. The pharmacokinetic parameters of FK037, a new injective cephalosporin, in volunteers and in the mice model were 6,966 and 6,894 ml, respectively, for Vc, 2.592 and 2.698/h for alpha, 0.2875 and 0.3027/h for beta, and 0.9079 and 1.0506 for K21. Therefore, real pharmacokinetics of humans were reproduced in mice by this method. The 8-hour therapeutic efficacy (the decrease of the viable counts in the lung) against pneumonia with Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in mice was well correlated with the time above MIC value, but not with AUC, Cmax or AUC above MIC. These results indicate that this model was valuable to evaluate the beta-lactam antibiotics for predicting their clinical efficacy and that the time above MIC is an important factor in selecting beta-lactam agents and determining dosage in pulmonary infection.     

Transport of fatty acids in the bloodflow as the major function of lipoproteins

System of lipoproteins serves for the transport of fatty acids in the blood. Triacylglycerols are the transport form of saturated (mono-unsaturated and trans-forms) fatty acids forming crystal phase. Phospolipids and cholesterol ethers are transport forms of polyunsaturated acids in the polar and crystal phases, respectively. Even in the forms of complex lipids saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids are transported in the blood by various apoproteins. ApoB-48 transports saturated fatty acids to hepatocytes in the form of chilomicrons. ApoA-1 transports transports polyunsaturated fatty acids directly to cells including hepatocytes. ApoA-100 contains two lipid binding domains. It transports saturated fatty acids and their cholesterol ethers associated with the third and fifth domains, respectively. For the structural function polyunsaturated fatty acids are transported by ApoA-1 high density lipoproteins in the polar phase and they penetrate into cells via phospholipid re-esterification.     

Causes and prevention of sudden arrest of circulation in surgical treatment of rheumatic mitral defect

Lymphangiomas are benign tumors, their growth are slow, customarily without symptoms, their location more frequent are in head or neck and they're diagnosed before the two first life years frequently. Their etiology continues uncertain, being accepted the congenital origin. We report on three cases of abdominal lymphangioma beginning as an acute abdomen. The importance of these cases is based mainly in the low frequency of presentation of these tumors in this location (2-5% of the lymphangiomas) and in their initial symptomatology.