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The Fr/V and Oc/V sibling viruses of the Osaka-1 strain of the subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) virus were defective in cell-free virus production. By radioimmunoprecipitation assay, the matrix (M) protein was not detected in cells persistently infected with the Osaka-1 strain. This undetectable expression was consistent with the selective reduction of antibody response to the M protein in the patient from whom the Osaka-1 strain was isolated. The sequence of the M gene, however, predicted that the protein could be synthesized because the translational start and stop codons for the protein were not altered. Northern blot hybridization demonstrated the selective defect of the monocistronic mRNAs for the M protein and the phosphoprotein (P) together with the dominant presence of the P-M bicistronic mRNA. This absence of the M mRNA was further confirmed by primer extension analysis. Therefore, the undetectable expression of the M protein in the infected cells was proved to be caused by a transcriptional defect. The two sibling viruses, isolated from remote portions of an SSPE brain, were indistinguishable in their viral characters, including the M gene sequences, which indicates the possibility of clonal expansion of the strain in the brain.

A 2-year-old girl, who had prolonged thrush and spastic diplegia, was found to have a mother-to-child vertical transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV). A brain computed tomography scan revealed a symmetrical calcification on the bilateral basal ganglia and periventricular white matter. She had an acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) encephalopathy of pure dominant pyramidal tract disorder without an intellectual deficit. Helper cell lymphocyte count (CD4) increased with the beginning of zidovudine (ZDV, also known as AZT) monotherapy but began to decrease after the 4th week to reach the baseline at 20th week. Zidovudine plus didanosine combination therapy was started at the 68th week, but because of intolerance, the combination was changed to ZDV plus lamivudine at the 98th week. By the 80th week, neither severe opportunistic infection nor deterioration of the neurological status was recognized, but chronic diarrhea appeared. The diarrhea advanced to the wasting syndrome at the age of 4 years and cytomegalovirus genome was confirmed in a biopsied specimen of the colon. Ganciclovir treatment was effective in stopping the diarrhea and increasing her bodyweight, but after the age of 5, resumption of diarrhea was followed by progressive emaciation and weakness. This work may provide some clues in treating children's AIDS.

We investigated the relationship between the progress of afterdischarges (AD) and the development of facilitated entorhinal tetanic responses by amygdala kindling stimulations in conscious and pentobarbital (PB)-treated rats. The entorhinal responses consisted of deep negative components and the following shallow positive components. The negative potential (mean +/- SE) reflecting excitatory synaptic activation in the test response evoked by a single stimulation (600 microA) before kindling stimulations was greater in PB-treated rats (1.3 +/- 0.21 mV, n = 6) than in conscious rats (0.5 +/- 0.08 mV, n = 9). The positive potential reflecting inhibitory synaptic activation in the test response was also greater in PB-treated rats (0.6 +/- 0.14 mV, n = 6) than in conscious rats (0.2 +/- 0.04 mV, n = 9). The magnitude of the tetanic response was estimated as the area between the excitatory negative potential and the baseline in the averaged tetanic response during each kindling stimulation (10 Hz, 100 pulses). The magnitude of the tetanic response was significantly enhanced in association with the prolongation of AD duration in the conscious rats. In the PB-treated (50 mg/kg intraperitoneally, i.p.) rats, enhancement of tetanic response was very slight and the progress of AD duration was prevented. There was a linear correlation (r = 0.9) between the magnitude of tetanic response and AD duration. These findings indicate that PB suppresses kindling-induced enhancement of excitatory synaptic activation in tetanic responses and that this enhancement is intimately related to the development of AD.

In order to prevent vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV), yeast recombinant HB vaccine at a dose of either 5 mcg or 10 mcg was administered to 185 infants born to mothers who were positive for HBs antigen (HBsAg). All of them developed antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs) after three vaccinations. Generally, the cutaff index (COI) of anti-HBs by radioimmunoassay (RIA) was higher in the 10 mcg dosage group than in the 5 mcg dosage group. The geometric mean titer (GMT) of anti-HBs, as measured by quantitative RIA, in the former group was 2.4 times that in the latter one month after the third vaccination. The incidence of clinical reactions was only 4% in a total of 561 injections, and none of the reactiom were severe. It is conduded that recombinant HB vaccine is safe and has excellent immunogenicity for infants requiring prevention of HBV vertical transmission. It is also suggested that 10 mcg doses of the recombinant HB vaccine can provide more solid protection to high-risk infants without serious adverse reactions. (Acta Paediutr Jpn 1989; 31: 180–185)