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Biomedical subjects

B Tait

Publications and source records attributed to B Tait.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Familial hairy cell leukemia.

A mother and son are reported who both developed hairy cell leukemia. The mother aged 74 presented with pancytopenia and responded well to splenectomy. Four years later her son aged 48 presented with pancytopenia; splenectomy was less effective but he improved after treatment with interferon-alpha. Histological examination of the splenic tissue in both cases showed changes characteristic of hairy cell leukemia. This is the third report of this rare disease occurring in family members.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Immunogenetic studies in habitual abortion.

Recent evidence suggests that immunological factors could play a role in the aetiology of habitual abortion. In this study, 71 couples with habitual abortion (i.e. more than 3 successive abortions) were investigated. Sharing of HLA-A, B, DR between partners was not found to be significantly increased. Anti-HLA antibodies in women against their partners' lymphocytes were found in 18.3%. After immunization with 10(7)-10(8) lymphocytes obtained from husband or unrelated donor, there was a seroconversion rate of 61% in those without antibodies initially. This was not dependent on the number of cells injected, source of cells, degree of sharing of HLA antigens or whether the couple were primary aborters (i.e. having had no advanced pregnancy), or secondary aborters. Seven pregnancies have resulted following the immunization procedure so far, 5 occurring in cross-match positive patients and 2 in cross-match negative. Growth retarded infants resulted from the pregnancy of 1 primary aborter and 2 secondary aborters.

Abortion, Habitual↗
PubMed1986

Collagen antibodies in rheumatoid arthritis. Significance of antibodies to denatured collagen and their association with HLA-DR4.

The frequency, specificity, and HLA associations of antibodies to collagen were examined in 54 patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in 67 control subjects, using native and denatured bovine type II collagen as reactants in a solid-phase radioimmunoassay. Reactivity to denatured collagen was significantly higher in the RA patients than in the controls (P = 0.004). Reactivity to native collagen was substantially lower than reactivity to denatured collagen and was similar in RA patients and controls. DR4 positive RA patients had significantly greater reactivity to denatured collagen compared with DR4 negative RA patients (P = 0.03), but levels of antibody to native collagen were similar among DR4 positive and DR4 negative patients. These data lend support to the idea that denatured collagen is an important secondary reactant in immune-mediated perpetuation of RA.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Seasonal variation of acute anterior uveitis: differences between HLA-B27 positive and HLA-B27 negative disease.

One hundred and seventy-five consecutive patients with acute anterior uveitis (AAU) were examined over a 24-month period. There was a significantly increased incidence of AAU during the months August to December (p less than 0.05). This increase was confined predominantly to the HLA-B27 negative group of patients (p less than 0.01). There was no significant monthly difference in incidence between males and females, between patients with first or recurrent attacks, or between patients with and without arthritis. These results suggest that seasonal environmental factors may play a role in the production of HLA-B27 negative AAU.

Australia↗
PubMed1984

A search for gram-negative enteric micro-organisms in acute anterior uveitis: association of klebsiella with recent onset of disease, HLA-B27, and B7 CREG.

Faecal samples obtained from patients with acute anterior uveitis (AAU) and healthy controls unconnected with hospitals were examined for the presence of Gram-negative micro-organisms reported to be associated with AAU. There was an increased recovery of Klebsiella spp. from AAU patients seen in the first and in the second week after onset of symptoms when compared with patients presenting three to four weeks after onset of symptoms (p less than 0.025 and p less than 0.05 respectively) or with healthy control subjects (p less than 0.005 and p less than 0.05 respectively). By the third to fourth week there was no difference in klebsiella recovery between AAU patients and controls. The increased faecal recovery of klebsiella in the first two weeks was predominantly in HLA-B27 positive patients or patients possessing antigens which cross-react with B27, namely, HLA-B7 CREG. The patients with faecal cultures positive for klebsiella had a higher mean ESR than patients with negative faecal cultures (p less than 0.05). Although there was an increase in recovery of faecal klebsiella from AAU patients with spondylarthritis when compared with AAU patients without arthritis, the difference was not statistically significant. These results suggest that some klebsiella micro-organisms may play a role in the aetiopathogenesis of AAU associated with HLA-B27 or HLA-B7 CREG.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1984

Serum immunoglobulins in acute anterior uveitis.

Serum levels of immunoglobulin A, G, and M were examined in 99 patients with acute anterior uveitis (AAU). The mean level of serum IgA was raised (p less than 0.001) in AAU patients when compared with healthy control subjects. The levels of serum IgG and IgM were not significantly different from those in the control group. The raised levels of serum IgA were found to occur predominantly in the HLA-B27 positive group of patients (p less than 0.001) and were highest in HLA-B27 positive patients with sacroiliitis or associated spondylarthritic diseases (p less than 0.001). The HLA-B27 negative group of AAU patients did not have a significantly raised mean serum IgA. The raised level of serum IgA in HLA-B27 positive AAU patients suggests that there has been a response to an environmental or infectious agent(s) acting across a mucosal tissue in these patients. This agent could be responsible for the initiation of the acute ocular inflammation.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1980

Possible genetic determinants in epidemic polyarthritis caused by Ross River virus infection.

HLA D locus-related (DR) antigens and Gm phenotypes were determined in 30 patients with epidemic polyarthritis following Ross River virus (RRV) infection and contrasted with those in comparison series of 119 (DR) and 1220 (Gm) normal subjects. HLA DR7 (46.7% cf. 21.0%) and the heterozygous Gm phenotype a+x+b+ (33.3% cf. 15.3%) were significantly increased in the patients, with relative risks of 3.3 and 2.8 respectively. The occurrence of Gm a+x+b+ was independent of DR7, and conferred a relative risk of 4.3 in DR7-negative patients. Differences found in clinical features, specific lymphocyte proliferative responses and antibody titres did not reach significant levels. The association with DR7 was inversely related to age in residents of an area of moderate endemic risk, and to levels of natural cell-mediated immunity (natural killer cell activity). These correlations point to possible mechanisms by which genetic traits might influence the occurrence or consequence of RRV infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Palatal process movement in the rat as demonstrated in frozen sections.

During mammalian secondary palate development, movement of the lateral palatine processes from the vertical plane to the horizontal plane involves a complex interaction of the palatine processes and the tongue within a dynamic growing oronasal cavity environment. This study of pre-fixation facial profile photographs and frozen sections was undertaken to evaluate external and internal changes in the oronasal complex during secondary palate elevation without the shrinkage known to be present with routinhistological preparation of embryonic tissues. Frozen sections of Sprague-Dawley rat embryos between 15 and 17 days of (conceptual) age were prepared by hexane quenching and cryostat cutting. The results showed that, during the stages of palate development prior to shelf elevation, the tongue and mandible became positioned beneath the primary palate, and the vertical dimension of the oronasal cavity increased by the lifting of the nasomaxillary complex. The tongue and mandible maintained contact with the primary palate, whereas a space developed above the tongue in the middle and posterior palate regions. As the vertical dimension increased the volume of the palatomaxillary processes increased rapidly, the tongue became squeezed, and the palatine processes bulged medially above the level of the tongue. After shelf elevation extensive contact between the palatine processes was present, and the tongue became flattened. The results of this study support the observations of Lazzaro (1940) that rapid increase in shelf volume owing to increased intercellular volume contributes to movement of the processes above the tongue. But, rapid increase in shelf volume occurred contemporaneously with the time when the tongue and mandible outgrew the oronasal cavity and became positioned beneath the primary palate. Therefore, it would appear that the simultaneous occurrence of a lower and more forward tongue position, and an increased palatomaxillary process volume without change in maxillary width, contributed to the medial movement of the processes above the tongue.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Genetic control of immune responsiveness in man.

Interest in immunogenetics originated from two streams: (a) histocompatibility in mouse and man, and (b) inheritance of specific immune responses in the guinea pig and mouse. In the mouse, there are genes associated with the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) which (i) code for antigens determining allograft responses and mixed lymphocyte reactions, (ii) control responses to certain antigens (Ir genes), and (iii) code for cell-surface antigens which elicit specific antisera (anti-Ia). In man, there is genetic control, in part X-linked, over levels of immunoglobulins and immunoglobulin classes. Evidence for MHC-linked genetic control is derived from immune responses to (i) micro-organisms, (ii) pollen antigens, (iii) food antigens, (iv) vaccines, (v) inocuous test antigens, and (vi) autoantigens. Some evidence exists for allotype-linked genetic control. Practical aspects concern influences of the MHC on susceptibility to disease, within individuals and populations.

Antibody Formation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mannan mucin-1 peptide immunization: influence of cyclophosphamide and the route of injection.

The mucin MUC1 is greatly increased in breast cancer and is a potential target for immunotherapy. In mice, MUCI conjugated to oxidized mannan (MUC1-mannan fusion protein [M-FP]) targets the mannose receptor and induces a high frequency of cytotoxic T lymphocytes and anti-tumor responses. On this basis, three phase I trials were performed in patients with adenocarcinoma to evaluate the toxicity and the immunologic responses to mannan MUCI. Forty-one patients with metastatic or locally advanced carcinoma of the breast (trial 1), colon (trial 2), and various adenocarcinomas (trial 3) received increasing doses of M-FP (1 to 300 microg). The immunizations were given at weekly intervals (weeks 1 to 3) and repeated in weeks 7 to 9. Cyclophosphamide (to increase cellular immunity) was given on weeks 1 and 4. M-FP was given intramuscularly in trial 1 and intraperitoneally in trial 2. No toxic effects occurred, and delayed-type hypersensitivity responses were present only as a microscopic lymphocytic infiltration. Overall, approximately 60% of the patients had high-titer MUC1 immunoglobulin G1 antibody responses, with the intraperitoneal route yielding approximately 10-fold higher responses. Cellular responses (proliferation, cytotoxic T cells, or CD8 T cells secreting tumor necrosis factor-alpha alphand interferon-gamma in response to MUC1 stimulation in vitro) were found in 28% of the patients, which was similar to that seen without cyclophosphamide. In most patients, disease progressed, but in five it remained stable. In addition, there were no objective responses. M-FP is not toxic and induces immune responses that were amplified by the intraperitoneal route of immunization. Cyclophosphamide was of no benefit.

Adenocarcinoma↗