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Biomedical subjects

R D Guttmann

Publications and source records attributed to R D Guttmann.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Attitudes of healthcare professionals and the public towards the sale of kidneys for transplantation.

We conducted a survey of attitudes towards the sale of kidneys for transplantation within and without the medical community. Half of those polled received a case of a young man in India whose only chance for survival was to purchase a kidney, the other half a case of a Canadian man who was suffering side-effects from dialysis and had been on the transplant waiting list for three years. We found the percentage of responses allowing the patients to purchase a kidney was similar for the two cases (40 per cent in the Canadian case and 49 per cent in the Indian case). The medical groups had much lower rates of approval of this practice than the public. In all groups those allowing the practice showed similar concerns about regulation. This survey indicates public opinion to be contrary to public policy.

Adult↗

Identification of natural suppressor cells in long-term renal allograft recipients.

We have previously reported an abnormal expansion of CD3+Leu7+ (CD57+) large granular lymphocytes in long-term renal allograft recipients. These cells lacked NK activity, T-helper activity and did not respond to T cell mitogens. The following studies were done in order to further define the functional characteristics of these cells. We sorted CD3+Leu7+ T cells from the peripheral blood of 45 recipients (all with good renal allograft function), and found that these cells suppress mixed lymphocyte culture responses and pokeweed mitogen-induced IgG secretion in a non-genetically restricted manner. PWM-induced IgG secretion assays are suppressed by 60-100%, and MLC responses are suppressed by 20-85% at a ratio of 1:10 CD3+Leu7+ cells to responder/effector cells. Supernatants from CD3+Leu7+ cell cultures are also suppressive. On the other hand, unsorted cells and non-CD3+Leu7+ sorted cells either enhance responses or produce less than 10% suppression under the same conditions. Patients who were tested more than once showed a relatively stable percentage and suppressive effect of their CD3+Leu7+ cells over an interval of 6-12 months. These nonspecifically suppressive CD3+Leu7+ large granular lymphocytes are similar in many ways to the natural suppressor cells that have been identified in hematopoietic tissues, in graft-vs.-host disease, and in the lymphoid organs of neonates.

Adult↗

Polygenic nature of spontaneous diabetes in the rat. Permissive MHC haplotype and presence of the lymphopenic trait of the BB rat are not sufficient to produce susceptibility.

We describe the phenotypic characteristics of animals in the fifth backcross-intercross generation of a breeding program in which the RT1 u haplotype and the phenotypic trait responsible for the T-lymphopenia of BB rats have been transferred to the ACI background. In this generation of animals, 24% were lymphopenic with decreased numbers of PBL expressing CD5, TCR alpha, and RT6. The PBL of the lymphopenic animals had a decreased mitogenic response to ConA. All of the nonlymphopenic animals were homozygous for RT6.2. Phenotypic analysis of intestinal IEL revealed that this was also the case for the lymphopenic animals. Moreover, IEL of the lymphopenic animals exhibited a pattern of staining (increased numbers of TCR alpha beta+CD4+CD8+ and decreased numbers of TCR alpha beta+CD4-CD8+) similar to that of BB DP animals. The ACI.1U(BB)-lymphopenic animals, although having two of the genetic traits associated with the expression of spontaneous diabetes mellitus, uniformly fail to develop diabetes. Breeding studies in which these animals were crossed with BB and hBB rats suggest that other genes are necessary for development of overt diabetes.

Animals↗

Phenotypic expression of bronchoalveolar lavage cells in lung rejection and infection.

The differentiation of episodes of lung allograft rejection from infection continues to be a problem. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) has recently gained some success in the diagnosis and management of interstitial lung disease. To assess the usefulness of BAL in differentiating between lung allograft rejection and infection, we examined the differences in cellular subsets of BAL and peripheral blood (PBL) samples in a controlled canine model of rejection or pneumonia. Single-lung allotransplants were allowed to undergo rejection by withdrawing immunosuppressive agents (n = 6). In another group of dogs (n = 5), pneumonia was induced by transbronchial injection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and melted agar followed by bronchial fulguration. Cells obtained from bronchoscopic BAL and PBL samples were labeled with functionally characterized cross-reactive murine monoclonal antibodies. Transthoracic needle biopsies and transbronchial biopsies were done to assess their adequacy in examining the rejecting or infected lungs and were compared with open lung biopsies. We found the following: (1) the percentage of DT2-labeled cells was significantly higher (p less than 0.05) in BAL samples from rejecting lungs compared with infected lungs; (2) the PBL/BAL ratio of DT2-labeled cell percentages was significantly higher in pneumonia (1.7 +/- 0.3) than rejection (0.5 +/- 0.2) (p less than 0.004); (3) the percentage of E11-labeled cells in PBL samples was significantly higher (p less than 0.02) in rejection than in infection; and (4) the ratio of WIG4 to DT2 cellular subset percentages in BAL samples from rejection (26.8 +/- 9.9) was significantly lower than from infection (61.0 +/- 22.9) (p less than 0.03). Transthoracic and transbronchial biopsies did not always yield representative specimens.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Multiple patterns of MHC class II antigen expression on cellular constituents of rat heart grafts. Lack of correlation with graft survival, but strong correlation with vasculitis.

The patterns of induced major histocompatibility antigen expression on indigenous cellular elements of heterotopic rat cardiac grafts were determined by immunohistologic methods in a variety of donor-recipient combinations. Heart grafts were studied in combined full-MHC- and non-MHC-disparate combinations, isolated intra-MHC-disparate combinations, and non-MHC-disparate combinations. The pattern of class II expression on cellular constituents of the grafts was highly variable and critically dependent upon the nature of the specific unidirectional donor-recipient combination. No uniform pattern of class II expression emerged that was clearly predictive of rapidity of rejection or of protracted survival. However, vasculitis was confined to grafts in combinations in which induced class II expression on graft large vessel endothelium was present. Sites of vasculitis were never encountered in the absence of induced class II expression on overlying endothelium. Vasculitis and associated induced class II expression on large vessel endothelium were present in rapidly rejecting grafts and in grafts with indefinite survival. In the latter, vasculitis was shown to progress to a late phase of occlusive intimal thickening. Induced class I expression on graft cardiac myofibers was present in all the genetically disparate donor-recipient combinations examined in this study, irrespective of the length of graft survival. This investigation has shown that no uniform stereotyped pattern of MHC antigen expression on cellular constituents correlates with the length of graft survival. However, induced class II expression on graft large vessel endothelium is closely associated with vasculitis, which can directly progress to occlusive intimal thickening in grafts with prolonged survival.

Animals↗

Strain-related differences in airway smooth muscle and airway responsiveness in the rat.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possible role of the quantity of airway smooth muscle (AWSM) as a determinant of differences in responsiveness between inbred rat strains. To do this, we studied several batches of 8- to 10-wk-old Lewis and Fisher 344 rats. Animals were anesthetized intraperitoneally with pentobarbital (30 mg/kg) and xylazine (7 mg/kg). The peak value of pulmonary resistance (RL) was measured after progressively doubling concentrations of inhaled aerosolized methacholine (MCh). The MCh concentration required to double RL (EC200RL) was calculated as an index of airway responsiveness. Fisher rats were significantly more responsive than Lewis, and the interstrain variability in responsiveness was significantly greater than the intrastrain variability. Additional animals from the less responsive Lewis strain (n = 8) and the more responsive F344 strain (n = 11) were killed immediately after measurement of responsiveness, and AWSM was quantitated as a fraction of total lung tissue using a point-counting technique. F344 rats were again significantly more responsive than Lewis rats (EC200RL geometric mean: 0.72 versus 2.16 mg/ml, p less than 0.005). F344 rats also had significantly more AWSM than did Lewis rats (3.22 +/- 0.176 versus 2.48 +/- 0.185%, mean +/- SE, p less than 0.001). We conclude that highly inbred Fisher rat strains characteristically exhibit a degree of airways responsiveness greater than that of the Lewis strain and that the quantity of AWSM may be an important determinant of interstrain differences.

Airway Resistance↗

The effects of genetics and age on expression of MHC class II and CD4 antigens on rat cardiac interstitial dendritic cells.

Interstitial dendritic cells (IDC) in normal hearts of inbred rat strains and congenic and congenic recombinant lines were identified and quantitated by immunohistologic methods, on the basis of cellular reactivity with MRC-OX6, a monoclonal antibody (MAb) directed against MHC class II determinants, and with W3/25, a MAb directed against a CD4 epitope. In all strains and lines examined, the W3/25+ IDC frequency was uniformly high with little interstrain variation. In contrast, all rat strains and lines examined showed either high or low OX6+ IDC frequency. Double staining by two color immunofluorescence indicated that strains with a low OX6+ IDC frequency were characterized by a high frequency of W3/25+ OX6- IDC and a low frequency of W3/25+ OX6+ IDC. In strains with high OX6+ IDC frequency, the majority of IDC coexpressed both markers. Comparative analysis of (i) MHC identical background disparate strains and lines, (ii) MHC disparate background identical strains and lines, and (iii) F2 segregation analysis of intercrosses and backcrosses derived from an original cross between high and low frequency OX6+ IDC strains, all indicated that OX6+ IDC frequency is dependent upon both MHC- and non-MHC-linked genetic factors. It is suggested that rat cardiac OX6+ IDC frequency is influenced by a minimum of two autosomal genes, one of which is MHC linked. The frequencies of both W3/25+ IDC frequency reached adult levels by 10 days of age; adult levels of OX6+ IDC were not attained until Day 21. It is postulated that in the rat heart, W3/25+ OX6- IDC are potential precursors of W3/25+ OX6+ IDC, and that the cellular frequency of coexpression in the adult is under genetic influence. Whether these genetic factors modify constitutive or physiologic levels of class II-inducing lymphokine activity, or influence cellular susceptibility of IDC to induced class II expression is unclear.

Age Factors↗

A single dose of the MHC-linked susceptibility determinant associated with the RT1u haplotype is permissive for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in the BB rat.

Syndromes of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) have been described in the mouse, in the rat and in man. In all three species, the presence of one or more specific alleles of the major histocompatibility complex is a prerequisite for the appearance of the disease. In the BB rat, diabetes is associated with the RT1u haplotype. We have performed a series of intercrosses of diabetic BB rats with normal Lewis and Buffalo rats and examined the offspring of all litters producing at least one diabetic animal. Forty-five of the 250 rats that developed diabetes were heterozygous for the RT1u haplotype by serotyping. Furthermore, the diabetic rats heterozygous by serotyping at the RT1A class I loci were also heterozygous at the RT1B and RT1D loci of the class II region and did not show evidence of a recombinant haplotype when examined by Southern blot analyses using molecular probes for class I and class II genes. Diabetic rats heterozygous or homozygous for RT1u were phenotypically indistinguishable with respect to age of onset and severity of disease. Therefore, in the rat, as in the human, a single dose of the high-risk allele at the major histocompatibility complex is sufficient for the development of IDDM if other susceptibility factors and the appropriate environmental factors are in place.

Animals↗