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Biomedical subjects

S C Suffin

Publications and source records attributed to S C Suffin.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Improvement of the glucose oxidase immunoenzyme technic. Use of a tetrazolium whose formazan is stable without heavey metal chelation.

Glucose oxidase immunoenzymatic localization provides a simple way to show antigens in mammalian tissues, with no need for the quenching of endogenous nonspecific staining. The method is useful for the demonstration of many antigens in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. Improvement of this technic by the use of p-nitro blue tetrazolium chloride (NBT) as the disclosing reagent provides a stable, finely grained localization not possible with the previously used thiazolyl blue (MTT). The described modification makes available an ideal immunoenzymatic stain for the study of tissues at the level of the light microscope. This stain is especially useful for the examination of tissues with hemorrhagic or inflammatory lesions, since there is no endogenous background staining. Slides are permanent, and the technic can be used with peroxidase-labeled antibody to localize two antigens in the same tissue.

Animals↗

Intramuscular inoculation of live respiratory syncytial virus induces immunity in cotton rats.

Intramuscular inoculation of infant or weanling cotton rats with 10(2.2) to 10(4) plaque-forming units of respiratory syncytial virus induced significant or complete resistance to infection in both the upper and lower portions of the respiratory tract. This resistance did not appear to be the result of in vitro neutralization of virus during homogenization of tissue. Virus was not recovered from the local site of inoculation after 5 min and was never detected in the respiratory tract of intramuscularly inoculated rats. Attempts to detect viral antigens at the site of inoculation by using indirect immunofluorescence were unsuccessful. However, inactivation of infectivity of three different strains of respiratory syncytial virus markedly reduced or completely ablated antigenicity and protective efficacy by the intramuscular route. This suggests that these viruses underwent limited replication, perhaps restricted to an abortive cycle, at the local site of inoculation. An immunosuppressive effect of passive maternally derived immunity was observed. Only 50% of weanling rats possessing passive maternal serum antibody were successfully immunized by intramuscular vaccination with live virus.

Animals↗

Respiratory syncytial virus infection in inbred mice.

Respiratory syncytial virus infected the nose and lungs of each of 20 strains of inbred mice, with viral titers varying 100-fold from least permissive to most permissive strains. Viral titers appeared to be under genetic control, but did not correlate with the H-2 haplotype.

Animals↗

Respiratory syncytial virus infection in owl monkeys: viral shedding, immunological response, and associated illness caused by wild-type virus and two temperature-sensitive mutants.

Intranasal inoculation of owl monkeys with wild-type respiratory syncytial virus induced upper respiratory tract disease in each of seven animals. The response of owl monkeys to two highly defective, temperature-sensitive, multiple-lesion mutants was then compared to the pattern seen with wild-type respiratory syncytial virus. These mutants, ts-1 NG-1 and ts-1 NG-16, were derived from the ts-1 mutant that had been remutagenized with nitrosoguanidine (NG). Previously the ts-1 NG-1 and ts-1 NG-16 mutants had been shown to be more temperature sensitive and more stable genetically than their ts-1 parent. Both ts-1 NG-1 and ts-1 NG-16 produced infection that was delayed in onsent compared to wild-type virus infection. However, the mutants were shed from the upper respiratory tract for the same period of time and at the same titer as wild-type virus. The serum neutralizing antibody response to infection with the mutants was nearly equivalent to that elicited by wild-type virus. However, the extent of disease induced by the mutants was significantly less than that seen with wild-type virus. These observations suggest that the mutants are potential vaccine condidates and should be subjected to additional in vivo testing in primates and, ultimately, humans.

Animals↗

Immunoprophylaxis of respiratory syncytial virus infection in the infant ferret.

Infant ferrets can be protected from respiratory syncytical virus challenge at 3 days of age by gestational infection of their mothers. Ferrets acquire their immunity to respiratory syncytial virus postpartum via immunizing products of lactation. The level of protection against viral replication correlates with the maternal serum neutralizing titer or a concomitant factor. Passive administration of adult ferret serum with a neutralizing titer of 1:1024 or greater, either i.p. or orally does not confer immunity. A nonantibody-mediated protective mechanism appears to play an important role in protecting the infant ferret from respiratory syncytial virus replication. Our findings allow the testing of the efficacy of future human vaccines before human clinical trial.

Aging↗

Ontogeny of the ferret humoral immune response.

Infant ferrets are born with nearly undetectable immunoglobulin levels, but by 9 days of age the infant ferret serum contains 77, 29, and 13% of adult mean serum levels of IgG, IgA, and IgM. Transmucosal uptake of IgG by the infant ferret occurred for the first 30 days of life. The specific anti-respiratory syncytial virus neutralizing titer of whole milk was 5.5 times higher than maternal serum despite a lower concentration of immunoglobulins in the milk.

Animals↗

Inhalation anthrax in a home craftsman.

Inhalation anthrax with complicating subarachnoid hemorrhage due to simultaneous infection with two capsular biotypes of Bacillus anthracis of different virulence for the mouse is reported. The patient, a home craftsman, acquired his infection from imported animal-origin yarn.

Adult↗

Comparison of the classification by microscopic level (stage) of malignant melanoma by three independent groups of pathologists.

The ability of groups of pathologists to classify and stage malignant melanoma varies with their familiarity with the new nomenclature proposed for that process. Primary lesions of malignant melanoma from 79 patients were independently examined and classified by community pathologists, university pathologists, and a referee pathologist all without access to each others diagnoses. The diagnoses of these groups were compared for agreement in variety of melanoma as well as depth of dermal penetration (stage or level). Greatest success (agreement with the referee) of both the community pathologists and the university pathologists was achieved when assessment of level of invasion (+/- 1) of the referee was compared (community pathologists = 94% +/- 12% agreement, university pathologists = 99% +/- 2% agreement). Our survey demonstrates that only a relatively small number of community pathologists (23%) employ the new nomenclature, but they do so with a facility equal to that of the university pathologists. Based upon this study and our continuing experiences, we recommend the review of all primary lesions of malignant melanoma by a pathologist or group experienced in the diagnosis and microscopic staging of the disease.

Diagnostic Errors↗

Isolation of Aleutian disease virus of mink in cell culture.

Aleutian disease virus, the causative agent of a persistent infection in mink, was isolated in a continuous line of feline renal cells when the cultures were maintained at reduced temperature (31.8 degrees). After serial in vitro passage of the virus at this temperature it had an optimum replication temperature of 37 degrees. An immunofluorescence focus assay was found to be suitable for virus quantitation. The cultured virus reproduced Aleutian disease in mink, and the virus could be reisolated from the mink 10--180 days after inoculation. The properties of the virus suggest that it is a member of the parvovirus group.

Aleutian Mink Disease Virus↗

Feasibility of computer evaluation of the histopathologic findings in human skeletal muscle disease.

Optical Fourier methods of image processing coupled with mutual information analysis were applied to the separation of human muscle specimens into four diagnostic classes. This process allowed rapid, relatively inexpensive data acquisition, reduction, and classification. The accuracy of the method when compared to that of experienced surgical pathologists is acceptable. Difficulties arise when material outside of the previous experience of the computer is presented.

Computers↗

Post-transfusion chronic liver disease.

To document the sequelae of acute hepatitis among recipients of commercial and volunteer blood and to assess factors influencing the development of chronic hepatitis (CH), 47 patients with post-transfusion hepatitis were followed prospectively from the time they received their transfusions. Twenty-nine had prolongation of at least 2-fold serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (T) elevations for more than 20 weeks, and were classified as CH. When the patients with CH were compared to those with only acute hepatitis (abnormal T for less that 20 weeks), no difference was found with respect to age, sex, number of units transfused, incubation period, presence or absence of symptoms, occurrence of jaundice, maximum T, receipt or development of hepatitis B surface antigen or antibody, underlying illness, or area of the hospital where the patient was treated. Liver biopsies in 15 of the 29 revealed chronic-active hepatitis in 9, chronic persistent hepatitis in 2, unresolved hepatitis in 4. Five of the 9 patients with chronic active hepatitis were without symptoms. None of these died or have developed cirrhosis. Because chronic liver disease frequently developed after acute post-transfusion hepatitis among multiply transfused hepatitis B surface antigen negative blood recipients, close follow-up, including liver biopsy, is warranted in such patients with prolonged transaminase elevations.

Acute Disease↗