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Twenty-seven per cent of atopic patients initially presenting with infantile eczema or hay fever were defective for yeast opsonization and 18% had low levels of C2; these deficiencies were mutually exclusive, suggesting that they are primary. Both defects were associated with each of four different atopic syndromes, some of which were related to certain HLA haplotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One hundred and fifteen overlapping synthetic peptides spanning the entire sequence of the isoallergen clonel A of Lol p I from rye grass Lolium perenne were synthesized by the multi-pin technique. The peptides were overlapping 12mers, offset by two residues and overlapping by 10 residues. Sets of six adjacent overlapping peptides (except pool-1,15,20) were pooled and were used in vitro and in vivo to map the T cell epitopes on Lol p I. Six atopics who were skin test and RAST positive to rye grass showed T cell responses to L. perenne extract (LPE) and its major fraction (Lol p I). Five out of six showed T cell responses in vitro to peptide pool-17, while five non-atopics did not respond to any of the peptide pools. By testing the individual peptides of pool-17, we have located the T cell epitope on Lol p I. Interestingly, when we tested pool-17 and its single peptides in vivo by intradermal skin testing we found in one patient a typical DTH after 24-48 h to pool-17 and its peptides (peptides 3 and 4) which exactly matched the in vitro responses. By defining the T cell epitopes in this way a greater understanding of the allergic response to pollen will be obtained, and a more effective and less dangerous vaccine may be possible for treating patients with hay fever. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circulating concentrations of leucocyte elastase and free radical activity were measured in 11 adults undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass. In all patients the bypass procedure was associated with pronounced changes in plasma elastase concentrations, and peak enzyme concentrations correlated closely with the duration of bypass (r=0.91, p<0.001). Serial measurement of octadeca-9, 11-dienoic acid, a non-peroxide marker of free radical activity, showed significant changes only in the plasma free fatty acid fraction, suggesting a direct relation to the action of heparin rather than to the bypass procedure as such. These studies support the hypothesis that neutrophil activation plays a central role in the organ dysfunction that may complicate cardiopulmonary bypass and suggest that elastase release rather than free radical generation may be the appropriate marker of the event. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Soluble aggregates of IgG inhibit the migration of leucocytes from patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Migration inhibition was not related to disease activity or to SCAT titre. In patients with raised IgG antiglobulins there was a correlation with LMT raising the possibility that inhibition could be due to cytophilic antibody on the leucocytes; this does not seem to be the case in patients with normal antiglobulin levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty-seven per cent of patients with Crohn's disease showed migration inhibition of their leucocytes in the presence of Kveim antigen. The incidence of positive tests bore no relationship to the severity of the disease or to corticosteroid therapy. Similar tests were consistently negative in twenty-four patients with idiopathic proctocolitis. The significance and diagnostic implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leucocyte migration inhibition tests (LMT) with rat and human liver mitochondria are reported in forty-nine thyroid patients and forty-seven healthy controls. Whereas normal subjects and colloid goitre cases were inactive in this test, patients with autoimmune thyroiditis and thyrotoxicosis gave positive mitochondrial reactions which paralleled the organ-specific thyroid microsomal LMT obtained in the same patients and were not species dependent. The active antigen may be in the inner membranes of the particles. As with thyroid microsomes, intense inhibition with mitochondria was seen in the hypercellular variant of Hashimoto goitre characterized serologically by low or absent thyroglobulin antibodies, and the lowest LMT values occurred in the rare cases showing poor response to thyroxine therapy. An inverse correlation was found between mitochondrial LMT and thyroglobulin antibody titres. Surprisingly, weak LMT was also found in four thyroid patients who happened to have mitochondrial antibodies in the serum in addition to the usual thyroidspecific reactivities. The mitochondrial LMT appears to be of widespread occurrence in autoimmune diseases and also develops following tissue injury. Its possible significance in relation to cellular immunity, cell destruction and the inflammatory response is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a response by Glenis K. Scadding to a letter to the editor about their article "Low Dose Sublingual Therapy in Patients With Allergic Rhinitis due to House Dust Mite," in a 1986 issue of "Clinical Allergy."

We have investigated the ability of an antisense oligonucleotide (ASE- 1) to specifically inhibit IgE synthesis by a human myeloma cell line, U266. ASE- 1 inhibited IgE production in a concentration- dependent manner, as assessed by isotype-specific ELISA measurement of immunoglobulin in myeloma cell supernatants. Inhibition of IgE production was specific and not due to cytotoxicity since IgG1 and IgM production by human myeloma cell lines ARH-77 and RPMI-1788 respectively, was not significantly affected by up to 20 μM ASE-1 whereas IgE production was inhibited by approximately 70% at this concentration. These results indicate that antisense oligonucleotides represent a potential therapeutic approach to the treatment of IgE-mediated allergic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a higher proportion of agalactosyl IgG than healthy individuals. Glycosylation status was examined in 26 RA patients who fasted for 7–10 days and afterwards followed a vegetarian diet for 3.5 months. The decrease in the proportion of agalactosyl IgG correlated significantly with the clinical improvement after the fasting period, but not after the vegetarian diet period. Although the glycosylation status of IgG may have played a role in the improvement of disease during the fasting period, it did not seem to be associated with, and therefore responsible for, the clinical improvement observed after the vegetarian diet. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the standardization of radioallergosorbent test (RAST) and allergen extracts in terms of World Health Organization standards for immunoglobulin E (IgE). Allergen extracts have been reported to vary considerably with respect to their potency as reflected by their ability to react in human skin. At the present time, there are no potency standards for such extracts and commercial preparations are listed in terms of either protein nitrogen per volume or as weight percent of allergen extracted. The development of the RAST for the detection of specific IgE antibodies in the sera of atopic patients has led to its adaptation for the measurement of allergens.