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Monospecific polyclonal antisera and immunological techniques were utilized to localize and quantify the Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii R39 strain in inoculated leguminous and nonleguminous plants. The antisera pab 200/I and pab 200/II were utilized for the detection of the bacterium due to their high affinity to the antigen and absence of cross-reactions with other bacteria in enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay. Furthermore, analysis of root colonizations indicated the ability of Rhizobium sp. to efficiently colonize the roots of leguminous and nonleguminous plants.

A major function of the cell-to-cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin is the maintenance of cell adhesion and tissue integrity. E-cadherin deficiency in tumours leads to changes in cell morphology and motility, so that E-cadherin is considered to be a suppressor of invasion. In this study we investigated the functional consequences of three tumour-associated gene mutations that affect the extracellular portion of E-cadherin: in-frame deletions of exons 8 or 9 and a point mutation in exon 8, as they were found in human gastric carcinomas. Human MDA-MB-435S breast carcinoma cells and mouse L fibroblasts were stably transfected with the wild-type and mutant cDNAs, and the resulting changes in localization of E-cadherin, cell morphology, strength of calcium-dependent aggregation as well as cell motility and actin cytoskeleton organization were studied. We found that cells transfected with wild-type E-cadherin showed an epitheloid morphology, while all cell lines expressing mutant E-cadherin exhibited more irregular cell shapes. Cells expressing E-cadherin mutated in exon 8 showed the most scattered appearance, whereas cells with deletion of exon 9 had an intermediate state. Mutant E-cadherins were localized to the lateral regions of cell-to-cell contact sites. Additionally, both exon 8-mutated E-cadherins showed apical and perinuclear localization, and actin filaments were drastically reduced. MDA-MB-435S cells with initial calcium-dependent cell aggregation exhibited decreased aggregation and, remarkably, increased cell motility, when mutant E-cadherin was expressed. Therefore, we conclude that these E-cadherin mutations may not simply affect cell adhesion but may act in a trans-dominant-active manner, i.e. lead to increased cell motility. Our study suggests that E-cadherin mutations affecting exons 8 or 9 are the cause of multiple morphological and functional disorders and could induce the scattered morphology and the invasive behaviour of diffuse type-gastric carcinomas.

A method was developed for nonisotopic postembedding in situ hybridization (ISH) on ultrathin sections of frozen and of LR White resin-embedded material at the electron microscopic level. The method was successfully applied to detect Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in the P3HR1 human Burkitt's lymphoma cell line. Each of the steps in the procedure had to be optimized for successful ISH on the frozen and LR White sections. The most important conditions are described. Predigestion with proteinase K was only necessary with the resin sections. Sections were treated with sodium hydroxide to denature target DNA and were hybridized with a biotinylated probe. The probe was best detected with a primary antibody to biotin followed by a gold-conjugated secondary antibody. EBV DNA was detected in the nucleus and/or cytoplasm in 10% to 20% of P3HR1 cells. A similar percentage of cells in thin L-sectioned material prepared by routine methods showed virus particles at different stages of maturation.

Neural therapy is the diagnostic-therapeutic application of local anaesthetics, in order to be able to treat functional, painful, reversible diseases, disturbed regulations including inflammations. The results of the cure are to be explained by complex neurophysiologic, electrophysiologic, molecularbiologic, immunologic, humoral and thus cybernetic courses of reaction. Neural therapy is to be used under two complexes. Firstly, symptomatically in the segment as weal, in trigger points, on and in joint structures, in vessels, muscular and tendon attachments, sympathetic-parasympathetic ganglia in order to cause a regulating effect, for instance by interruption of nociceptive afferences, blocking of sympathetic efferent reflexes in the sense of the sympathetic reflex dystrophy. Secondly, causally at the focus of disturbance or in the peripheral irritation centre, which may be a scar, the nasopharyngeal space, the abdomen, the spine and other things, in order to eliminate the cause of the disturbance. From the variety of the effects of the local anaesthetics, like membrane stabilizing, antihistaminic, catecholamine-decreasing, choline receptor inhibiting, antiarrhythmic at the cardiac muscle results their multifarious use, also in internal medicine. The neural therapy is effective, economic, poor in side effects, closes therapeutic gaps and is well to be combined with other successful medical treatments, especially of reflex-therapeutic kind. Exact clinical diagnostics, good knowledge in anatomy, technical ability of the therapeutist as well as theoretical basic knowledge are prerequisite for the use of the neural therapy.

A brief characterisation is made of the working principles underlying neural therapy under local anaesthesia or accupuncture. Common approaches to therapy are offered by disorders of autonomous regulation, including inflammatory processes, and by purely functional disorders.--There are many applications in gynaecology and obstetrics. A brief statistical information on lumbosacral pain is quoted as an example. Optimum performance can be expected from them, when used in combination with proven therapeutic methods. They provide a low-cost approach to reducing both the consumption of antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals as well as time of morbidity.