Effects of cocaine and other drugs of abuse on immune function.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J K Nicholson.
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Significant proliferative responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to crude Plasmodium falciparum schizont antigen (M.Ag) or purified recombinant 31.1 Ag (part of gp 195) were observed only in 46 and 39%, respectively, of 50 healthy subjects 5 to 63 years old living in Gabon, a malaria-endemic area. High responses to pokeweed mitogen were observed in all the subjects except one. Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production paralleled the proliferative response, but in some subjects proliferation without a IFN-gamma response was observed. The proportion of subjects responding to M.Ag and 31.1 Ag increased with age. By cytofluorometric analysis performed with PBMC from 27 subjects, a substantial proportion of CD3+ T cells was found to bear the activation marker HLA-DR. However, the CD3+ cells expressed very low levels of CD25 (p55 chain of IL-2 receptor). The expression of CD25 on T cells and their capacity to respond to M.Ag were significantly correlated. In four subjects an increase in the percentage of CD3+ cells bearing the very late activation marker VLA-1 was observed.
Preliminary studies have been undertaken to evaluate the potential of immobilized phenylboronic acid (PBA) for the solid-phase extraction (SPE) of glucuronide metabolites from urine. These studies have demonstrated that immobilized PBA can be used to specifically extract phenolphthalein glucuronide (5 mM) from urine. Urine samples were loaded onto the PBA SPE column in glycine buffer (pH 8.5) and were eluted using methanol-1% HCl (90:10, v/v). The overall recoveries of the phenolphthalein glucuronide for this procedure were high (99%), which compared well with similar studies carried out concomitantly on C18 bonded columns (93%).
Major laboratory manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) include altered levels of circulating CD4+ lymphocytes and decreased in vitro T-cell mitogenic responses. Since T-cell proliferation is regulated by monocytes (M phi), studies were undertaken to determine whether defective M phi function contributes to these poor mitogenic responses. M phi were isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of normal donors by adherence to plastic. After 5 days in culture, the adherent cells were inoculated with the HIV-1 M phi-tropic strain, Ba-L. Under these conditions HIV infection in M phi can be detected 5-7 days after inoculation. Ten to fourteen days postinoculation, the adherent cells were harvested with lidocaine and cocultured with fresh autologous T cells and T-cell mitogens in a 3-day assay. We found decreased proliferative anti-CD3 responses to Leu4 and OKT3 and variable responses to concanavalin A (Con A) by T cells cultured with HIV-infected monocytes compared with T cells cultured with uninfected M phi. Supernatants from HIV-infected M phi cultures decreased proliferative responses of normal PBMC to anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies. Heat-activated supernatants had the same effect. Inhibitors of HIV binding did not restore proliferative responses of HIV-infected cultures to normal levels. These results indicate that HIV infection of M phi causes the release of soluble factor(s) that suppress anti-CD3-induced T-cell proliferative responses.
We evaluated a cytofluorometric method for determining the number of antigens expressed on the cell surface of human lymphocytes. Using beads that have a known number of binding sites for mouse immunoglobulin and monoclonal antibodies specific for various antigens on human lymphocytes, we found that this system is quite reproducible, reliable and technically easy to perform. The greatest source of variation in expression of cell surface antigens is interdonor variability.
A computer-based pattern recognition (PR) approach has been applied to the classification and interrogation of 1H NMR-generated urinalysis data, in a variety of experimental toxicity states in the rat. 1H NMR signal intensities for each endogenous urinary metabolite were regarded as coordinates in multidimensional space and analyzed using PR methods, through which the dimensionality was reduced for display and categorization purposes. The changes in the NMR spectral patterns were characterized by 17 metabolic dimensions, which were then analyzed by employing the unsupervised learning methods of hierarchical cluster analysis, two-dimensional nonlinear map (NLM) analysis, and two- or three-dimensional principal components analysis (PCA). Different types of toxin (hepatotoxins and cortical and papillary nephrotoxins) were classified according to NMR-detectable biochemical effects. PCA provided consistently better results than NLMs in terms of discrimination of toxicity type, and maps based on correlation matrices also gave improved discrimination over those based on raw data. Various refinements in the data analysis were investigated, including taking NMR urinalysis data at three time points after exposure of the rats to six different nephrotoxins, as well as employing a dual-scoring system (time and magnitude of change). The maps generated from the time-course information produced the best discrimination between nephrotoxins from different classes. The robustness of the classification methods (in particular NLMs and PCA based on correlation matrices) and the influence of the addition of new scored biochemical data, reflecting dose-response situations, nutritional effects on toxicity, sex differences in biochemical response to toxins, the addition of a new toxin class (cadmium chloride, a testicular toxin and renal carbonic anhydrase inhibitor), and an additional metabolite descriptor (creatine), to the PR analysis were also evaluated. Initial training set maps were fundamentally stable to the addition of new data, and both NLM and PCA methods correctly "predicted" the toxicological effects from NMR data for test compounds, suggesting that the approach using PR and 1H NMR urinalysis for the generation and classification of acute toxicological data has wide applicability.
Fixation and preservation of cells with 1% paraformaldehyde is a common practice in laboratories performing flow cytometric analysis of cells from persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Previous studies indicated that 1% paraformaldehyde effectively inactivates cell-free HIV. In this study, we tested the inactivation capacity of 1% paraformaldehyde on a cell line chronically infected with HIV and human peripheral blood lymphocytes acutely infected with the virus. We found a significant decrease in the infectious titer of the cells after treatment with 1% paraformaldehyde. However, we did not find total inactivation of the specimens treated for up to 18 h.
A computer-based pattern recognition (PR) approach has been applied to the interpretation of 1H NMR generated urinalysis data in a variety of experimental toxicity states in the rat. 1H NMR signal intensities for each endogenous metabolite in urine were regarded as coordinates in multi-dimensional space and analysed using computer pattern recognition methods through which the dimensionality was reduced for display and categorization purposes. Initially 17 metabolic dimensions were used which were defined by the scored relative concentrations of a variety of urinary metabolites detected in 1H NMR spectra. By employing the unsupervised learning methods of 2- and 3-dimensional nonlinear mapping (NLM) different types of toxin (hepatotoxins, cortical and papillary nephrotoxins) could be classified according to NMR-detectable biochemical effects in the urine. The robustness of the classification methods, and the influence of the addition of new scored biochemical data reflecting dose response situations, nutritional effects on toxicity, sex differences in biochemical response to toxins and addition of a new toxin class (testicular toxin) to the pattern recognition analysis were also evaluated. We find that the initial training set maps are fundamentally stable to the addition of all data types and that the PR methods correctly 'predicted' the toxicological effects of the test compounds. These results confirm the power and wide applicability of linked PR and 1H NMR urinalysis as an approach to the generation and classification of acute toxicological data.
The effects of a glutathione depletor, buthionine sulphoximine (BSO) and biliary cannulation on the nephrotoxicity of p-aminophenol (PAP) have been investigated in the F344 rat. Pretreatment with BSO completely protected against the nephrotoxicity of a 50 mg/kg dose of PAP, assessed by clinical chemistry, renal histopathology, and 1H-NMR urinalysis. Biliary cannulation partially protects against nephrotoxicity induced by 100 mg/kg PAP. These data suggest that the nephrotoxicity of PAP may be due in part to the formation of a proximate toxic metabolite in the liver which is excreted in the bile, subsequently reabsorbed and transported via the systemic circulation to the kidney where the toxic effects occur.
The urinary excretion of taurine by rats after dosing with various hepatotoxins has been investigated by 1H NMR spectroscopy. After single hepatotoxic doses of hydrazine, carbon tetrachloride, 1-naphthylisothiocyanate, or thioacetamide there was biochemical and histopathological evidence of hepatic damage. Proton NMR spectroscopy of the urine collected for 24 h after dosing from these animals revealed a marked elevation in taurine (control 11.9 mumole/h/kg) after dosing with thioacetamide (42.2 mumole/h/kg), carbon tetrachloride (52.5 mumole/h/kg), 1-naphthyl-isothiocyanate (80.4 mumole/h/kg) and hydrazine (52.9 mumole/h/kg). After allyl alcohol administration there was no increase in taurine excretion (7.5 mumol/h/kg). The excretion of taurine after hydrazine administration was dose related. High resolution proton NMR spectroscopic analysis of urine also revealed resonances from several metabolites of hydrazine, an N-acetylcysteine conjugate of allyl alcohol, and acetamide as a metabolite of thioacetamide after dosing with the respective compounds. Changes in endogenous substances that may be related to the pathological events were also detected, such as a decrease in the excretion of 2-oxoglutarate and citrate after both hydrazine and carbon tetrachloride administration. The results confirm that proton NMR spectroscopic analysis of urine is a powerful analytical tool for the evaluation and study of toxic substances. Furthermore, measurement of urinary taurine may provide a non-invasive indicator of acute hepatic damage with certain classes of hepatotoxins.
A single dose of cadmium chloride (3.23 mumol Cd2+/kg) causing acute testicular damage in male rats also caused significant creatinuria and creatinaemia at 48 h after dosing. Doses of cadmium which did not cause testicular necrosis did not cause creatinuria or creatinaemia. Surgical ligation of the pampiniform plexus also caused ischaemic necrosis of the testis and this was followed by significant creatinuria and creatinaemia. However, neither orchidectomy followed by a toxic dose of cadmium, orchidectomy alone nor sham operation caused significant creatinuria or creatinaemia. Cadmium dosing induced a temporary loss of body weight which was less than that caused by food restriction. Food restriction did not cause significant creatinuria but did cause significant creatinaemia. These data suggest that the creatine is derived from the damaged testis and that measurement of urinary creatine may be a useful non-invasive means of detecting acute testicular damage caused by exposure to chemicals or mechanical impairment of blood flow.
Strategies for the use of 1H and 19F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy as an aid to the study of the metabolic fate of fluorinated drugs are discussed with reference to the application of these methods to flurbiprofen metabolism in man. 1H and 19F NMR analysis of untreated urine enabled the detection of two major and eight minor metabolites of the drug. The two major metabolites were identified using a combination of NMR spectroscopy, solid-phase extraction chromatography with 19F and 1H NMR detection and chemical hydrolysis to a flurbiprofen glucuronide and the glucuronide of the 4-hydroxy metabolite. 1H-19F 2D shift correlated spectroscopy and spin-echo difference experiments are discussed in relation to their use in the structural identification of drug metabolites.
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