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PubMed1998

Clinical correlates of the presence of the Asp816Val c-kit mutation in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with mastocytosis.

BACKGROUND: The Asp816Val mutation in the catalytic domain of the c-kit receptor has been identified in patients with systemic mastocytosis. METHODS: To determine whether this mutation is associated with identifiable clinical patterns of disease and prognosis, a total of 65 patients with mastocytosis were screened for the presence of the Asp816Val mutation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). RESULTS: By analysis of HinfI digestion products, the authors found that the overall prevalence of this mutation in the current patient series was 25%. The presence of the Asp816Val mutation in PBMCs was observed in 15 adults (of 16 Asp816Val mutation positive patients) and 1 infant, but not in any children with mastocytosis. Patients whose PBMCs were positive for this mutation (category II and a subset of category Ib mastocytosis patients) manifested a more severe disease pattern, with clinical features ranging in severity from early to advanced myelodysplastic or myeloproliferative syndromes. These patients more commonly had osteosclerotic bone involvement (a clinical feature primarily observed in mastocytosis patients with an associated hematologic disorder) as well as immunoglobulin dysregulation and peripheral blood abnormalities. Furthermore, pedigree analysis of three families provided evidence that the mutation was somatic. CONCLUSIONS: Twenty-five percent of all patients with mastocytosis had the Asp816Val mutation in PBMCs; 56% of these patients had evidence of a myelodysplastic or myeloproliferative syndrome, and 44% had been clinically placed in the indolent mastocytosis category, suggesting that the current classification scheme used to assign prognosis may be inadequate. Therefore, determination of the presence or absence of this mutation in PBMCs of mastocytosis patients offers a useful adjunct in determining the extent of workup and assigning prognosis in this complex and heterogeneous disease.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Regulation of interleukin-18 binding protein production by blood and synovial cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To study the regulation of interleukin-18 binding protein (IL-18BP) production by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or control peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and by RA synovial tissue cells, and to compare the levels of IL-18BP messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in whole blood from RA patients and controls. METHODS: Unstimulated or phytohemagglutinin and phorbol myristate acetate (PHA/PMA)-stimulated PBMCs from 10 RA patients and 12 healthy controls and unstimulated or PHA/PMA-stimulated synovial tissue cells from 8 RA patients were cultured with or without IL-12 (1 ng/ml) and IL-18 (5 ng/ml) alone or in combination. IL-18BP and interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) levels in supernatants were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Levels of IL-18BP and IFN gamma mRNA expression in whole blood samples from 22 RA patients and 12 healthy controls were determined by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: IL-12 decreased the basal levels of IL-18BP production by freshly isolated RA or control PBMCs, but increased those of synovial cells or PHA/PMA-stimulated PBMCs. IL-18 alone had no direct effect on IL-18BP production by PBMCs or RA synovial cells, with or without stimulation. Unstimulated whole blood samples from RA patients showed lower levels of IL-18BP mRNA expression than those from healthy controls. CONCLUSION: The production of IL-18BP in response to IL-12 and IL-18 was regulated differently in blood and synovial cells. The difference appears to be related to the level of cell activation.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cytoskeletal changes and the system of regulation of alkaline phosphatase activity in human periodontal ligament cells induced by mechanical stress.

The periodontal ligament (PDL) is a specialized, mechanically responsive tissue that adapts via cellular responses to equilibrate the effects of mechanical stress on teeth. However, the mechanism of remodelling by which individual cells in periodontal tissue detect and respond to mechanical stress is not well understood. To identify the cellular mechanisms induced by mechanical stress in the periodontal ligament, we examined the effects of cyclic stretching on periodontal ligament fibroblast-like cells (PDL cells). Furthermore, we investigated the effects of 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1,25(OH)(2)D(3)), and interaction with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) on mechanically-simulated PDL cells. PDL cells were cultured on type I collagen-coated silicon membranes with 10% FBS alpha-MEM, and then subjected to cyclic mechanical stimulation (1 s stretching/1 s relaxation, 15% maximum elongation). Alkaline phosphatase activity was monitored by cytochemical and spectrophotometric methods. Morphologically, the cells assumed a spindle shape, and the cytoskeletal components, including microtubules and F-actin filaments, were aligned perpendicular to the strain force vector. Cyclic stretching decreased ALPase activity in PDL cells. The anabolic systemic hormone 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) increased ALPase activity, but this effect was suppressed by cyclic stretching. ALPase activities were reduced by co-culture with PBMCs, including lymphocytes and monocytes. This PBMC-induced ALPase reduction was synergistically reduced by cyclic stretching. ALPase activity was decreased by co-culture with PBMCs, and ALPase activity was reduced synergistically by treatment with PBMCs and cyclic stretching. We conclude that PDL cells changed their shape and alignment in response to cyclic stretching. Furthermore, local factors, such as mechanical stress and PBMCs, showed synergistic suppressive effects on ALPase activity.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗

PubMed2005

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells in acute and chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

Chronic evolution of acute hepatitis C (aHC) occurs in more than 80% of patients but can frequently be prevented by early treatment with interferon (IFN)-alpha. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are the major endogenous IFN-alpha producers, but their role in aHC is unknown. In this study, frequency, phenotype, and pDC function were analyzed in 13 patients with aHC and 32 patients with chronic hepatitis C (cHC) compared with 20 healthy controls, 33 sustained responders to antiviral treatment, 14 patients with acute hepatitis B (aHB), and 21 patients with nonviral inflammatory disease. In aHC, pDCs in the peripheral blood were significantly reduced compared with healthy controls (median, 0.1% vs. 0.36%, P < .0005) and were inversely correlated to alanine aminotransferase levels (r = -0.823; P < .005). Circulating pDCs in aHC were immature, as determined via reduced expression of HLA-DR and CCR7, and produced little amounts of IFN-alpha (median, 3.5 pg/50,000 peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMCs] vs. 498.4 pg/50,000 PBMCs in healthy controls; P < .0005). Less pronounced changes were present in cHC (median, 0.17%, 28.0 pg/50,000 PBMCs IFN-alpha, respectively). However, a significantly reduced frequency and IFN-alpha production was also found in self-limited aHB (median 0.1%, 8.6 pg/50,000 PBMCs) and in patients with nonviral inflammatory disease (median 0.19%, 7.5 pg/50,000 PBMCs). In conclusion, in aHC frequency and IFN-alpha-producing capacity of peripheral blood pDCs are dramatically reduced and inversely correlated with the degree of liver inflammation. In cHC there is incomplete recovery of pDC function, which, however, could be solely due to the chronic inflammatory state.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2005

Dendritic cell maturation by CD11c- T cells and Valpha24+ natural killer T-cell activation by alpha-galactosylceramide.

Human invariant Valpha24+ natural killer T (NKT) cells display potent antitumor activity upon stimulation. Activation of endogenous Valpha24+ NKT cells would be one strategy for the treatment of cancer patients. For example, dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with a glycolipid NKT cell ligand, alpha-galactosylceramide (alphaGalCer, KRN7000), are a possible tool for the activation and expansion of functional Valpha24+ NKT cells in vivo. In this report, we demonstrate that the levels of expansion and the ability to produce IFN-gamma of Valpha24+ NKT cells induced by alphaGalCer-loaded whole PBMCs cultured with IL-2 and GM-CSF (IL-2/GM-CSF-cultured PBMCs) were superior to those of cells induced by monocyte-derived CD11c+ DCs (moDCs) developed with IL-4 and GM-CSF. Interestingly, CD11c+ cells in the IL-2/GM-CSF-cultured PBMCs showed a mature phenotype without further stimulation and exerted potent stimulatory activity on Valpha24+ NKT cells to enable them to produce IFN-gamma preferentially at an extent equivalent to mature moDCs induced by stimulation with LPS or a cytokine cocktail. Cocultivation with CD11c- cells in the IL-2/GM-CSF-cultured PBMCs induced maturation of moDCs. In particular, CD11c-CD3+ T cells appeared to play important roles in DC maturation. In addition, TNF-alpha was preferentially produced by CD11c-CD3+ T cells in IL-2/GM-CSF-cultured PBMCs and was involved in the maturation of moDCs. Thus, the maturation of DCs induced by CD11c- T cells through TNF-alpha production appears to result in the efficient expansion and activation of Valpha24+ NKT cells to produce IFN-gamma preferentially.

Antigens, CD↗

PubMed1988

Activation of mononuclear cells to be used for hybrid monoclonal antibody-induced lysis of human ovarian carcinoma cells.

Recently we reported that cytotoxic T-cell clones can be retargeted to unrelated tumor cells by bispecific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), anti-CD3 and anti-ovarian carcinoma (alpha OC/TR) (Mezzanzanica et al., 1988). In the perspective of in vivo tumor immunotherapy, as an alternative to cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) from T-cell clones, since human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) without stimulation were quite ineffective, a suitable in vitro activation method was developed to render PBMCs lytic for relevant targets in the presence of the bispecific hybrid MAb alpha OC/TR. This activation protocol was applied to PBMCs from 9 healthy donors (HD) and 6 ovarian carcinoma patients (P) and to tumor-associated lymphocytes (TAL) from 4 ovarian carcinoma P. The method consisted of in vitro stimulation with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) for 2 days, followed by culture with a low dose of recombinant human interleukin-2 (rIL-2) for 6 to 10 days. The antibody-mediated lysis of CTL from HD PBMCs was found to be specifically directed against cells expressing the relevant ovarian tumor antigen when different tumor cell lines and short-term cultures of tumor and normal cells were tested. The antibody-mediated lysis of CTL from P PBMCs or TAL was efficient both on autologous and allogeneic ovarian tumor cells, whereas no reactivity with autologous normal cells was observed and LAK activity was only evident in 1 out of 4 cases. The hybrid antibody induced cytotoxic activity of CTL from P was, however, lower than that of CTL from HD.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMed1988

Assessment of human immunodeficiency virus expression in cocultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy seropositive subjects.

We have evaluated a number of methodological variables effecting the expression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 93 healthy anti-HIV-positive and 72 healthy seronegative subjects. For optimal HIV recovery, PBMCs had to be freshly separated from whole blood. Short-term freezing of purified PBMCs was practically advantageous and actually resulted in more rapid virus recovery. The minimal number of PBMCs necessary for virus expression was determined by dilutional cultures and varied from 10(2) to 10(6) cells. HIV expression was demonstrated initially at the cellular level by immunocytochemical detection of HIV core and envelope proteins using a mixture of monoclonal antibodies, subsequently confirmed by detection of viral antigens and reverse transcriptase (RT) in the culture supernatants. HIV recovery was not improved following induction with 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine (IUDR) and only marginally improved following depletion of the CD8+-suppressor cell population in the PBMC specimens. The overall frequency of HIV detection in cultures was 84% in healthy seropositive subjects, whereas none of the PBMCs from 72 seronegative persons yielded HIV expression.

Cells, Cultured↗

PubMed1995

Infectious virus titer, replicative and syncytium-inducing capacity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1.

The relationship was investigated between a viral infectious titer in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and plasma on the replicative and syncytium-inducing capacity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates. The replicative capacity was defined as the minimum time required for p24 antigen to become positive in PBMCs or plasma of HIV-1 infected individuals, cocultured with PBMCs of healthy donors. Syncytium induction was determined by the MT-2 cell assay and defined as the presence of giant multinucleated cells. The replicative capacity of HIV-1 in PBMCs of healthy donors correlated with the infectious viral titer in PBMCs, but not in the plasma of HIV-1 positive patients. Syncytia formation in MT-2 cells was not related to the infectious viral titer in PBMCs or plasma of HIV-1 positive patients. These findings suggest that syncytium formation, not replicative capacity, is an intrinsic HIV-1 phenotype.

Giant Cells↗

PubMed1995

Targeted integration of human herpesvirus 6 in the p arm of chromosome 17 of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vivo.

Out of 64 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), 55 cases of Hodgkin's disease (HD) and 31 cases of multiple sclerosis (MS), 2 NHL, 7 HD and 1 MS cases were found positive by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of HHV-6 sequences in pathologic lymph nodes of the lymphomas and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of MS. A further analysis of the PBMCs of the PCR positive cases by standard Southern blot technique revealed only 2 NHL, 3 HD and 1 MS cases as positive, indicating that these six patients have an unusually high viral copy number in the PBMCs. Restriction analysis, carried out using probes representative of different regions of the virus, showed that three cases retain only a deleted portion of the viral genome. In the remaining three cases a complete viral genome was present, containing the right end sequences in which the rep-like gene, possibly crucial to the viral and cellular life cycle, is located. The analysis by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of the total DNA of the PBMCs obtained directly, without culture from PBMCs of these last three cases (1 NHL, 1 HD, and 1 MS), using the same probes, showed the absence of free viral molecules and the association of viral sequences with high molecular weight DNA. These results are consistent with in vivo integration of the entire virus in the cellular genome. A further study of the same patients with chromosome fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) showed in all the three cases the presence of a specific hybridization site, located at the telomeric extremity of the short arm of chromosome 17 (17p13), suggesting that this location is at least a preferred site of an infrequent, but possibly biologically important, integration phenomenon.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

In vitro and in vivo analysis of human herpesvirus-6 U90 protein expression.

In order to establish a reliable method for the detection of human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) B antigens in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected from HHV-6 infected patients, we created a polyclonal antibody against the HHV-6 B U90 protein (IEA/ex3) and used it to examine the expression of this protein in virus-infected cells and patients' PBMCs. This antibody reacted with 170 and 195 kDa proteins in HHV-6 B-infected cord blood mononuclear cells. The IEA/ex3 antigen was detected in cord blood mononuclear cells at 6 hr post-infection, and the number of infected cells reached its maximum at 48 hr post-infection. The antigen stained in a punctate pattern and partially localized to the promyelocytic leukemia (PML) protein body. We also examined 60 PBMC samples from 60 febrile children (3-19 months old) and detected IEA/ex3 antigen in the PBMCs by laser-scanning microscopy. HHV-6 was isolated from 31 of the 60 samples. The sensitivity and specificity of the antigen detection were 84% (26/31) and 97% (28/29), respectively, in the samples with virus detected. The mean number of antigen-positive PBMCs was 409/10(6) cells in 20 samples with viral isolation. A significant correlation (r = 0.566; P = 0.008) was observed between the viral load and number of antigen-positive cells. Although IEA/ex3 antigen was detected by laser-scanning microscopy in PBMCs (without cultivation) collected from six patients with isolated virus, it was detected in only one sample by conventional fluorescence microscopy. Increasing the intensity by cultivation (24 hr) resulted in a higher detection rate (5/6) even by conventional fluorescence microscopy, which is available in most hospital laboratories.

Antibodies, Viral↗

PubMed1993

Selective MR imaging of labeled human peripheral blood mononuclear cells by liposome mediated incorporation of dextran-magnetite particles.

Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were incubated with large unilamellar vesicles (LUV) containing encapsulated dextran-magnetite particles (DMP). This resulted in an efficient incorporation of DMP. Electron microscopy revealed the presence of DMP in cells mainly in phagosomes and secondary lysosomes. DMP-labeled PBMCs showed a strong increase of the transverse relaxation rate (up to 16.6 s-1 for 5 x 10(7) cells/ml) and, accordingly, a great loss of signal intensity in MR imaging. The fraction of DMP containing PBMCs could be enriched by magnetic cell separation. The major population of the DMP containing cells proved to be monocytes. When PBMCs depleted of monocytes were used for labeling, DMP uptake was observed also in the peripheral blood lymphocytes. The labeling of PBMCs presented here may be used in future studies of selective MR imaging of in vivo cell migration in a variety of immunologically compromised tissue states, e.g., tumors, transplantations, and abscesses.

Contrast Media↗

PubMed2002

Effect of interleukin-2 on peripheral blood mononuclear cell cytokine production and the hepatic acute phase protein response.

This study investigated the ability of recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2) to modulate the ability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to stimulate an acute phase protein response in isolated human hepatocytes. The effect of IL-2 on the production of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) by PBMCs isolated from patients with gastrointestinal cancer, multiple organ failure, and healthy controls was also studied. The ability of supernatants from IL-2-treated PBMCs to elicit an acute phase response in hepatocytes was then investigated. IL-2 had no effect on IL-6 or TNF production by PBMCs isolated from any group in the presence or absence of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Despite this, preincubation of PBMCs with IL-2 significantly reduced the potential of LPS-stimulated PBMC supernatants to stimulate production of alpha1 antichymotrypsin, alpha1-acid glycoprotein, and C-reactive protein by hepatocytes. These observations were not due to a direct effect of IL-2 on hepatocyte acute phase protein production. These findings suggest that in this model IL-2 may modulate PBMC-induced acute phase protein production through an IL-6 and TNF-independent pathway.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗

PubMed2000

Production of IL-10 and IL-12 in CD40 and interleukin 4-activated mononuclear cells from patients with Graves' disease.

We investigated the effect of T cell-dependent B cell activation on the production of IL-10 and IL-12 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from patients with Graves' disease vs Hashimoto's thyroiditis, type 1 diabetes or normal controls. Incubation of PBMCs, from each of the subject groups, with a combination of anti-CD40 monoclonal antibodies and interleukin 4 (IL-4)-activated B cells, as shown by an increased level of soluble CD23. There was also a notable increase in the number of CD23(+)cells in PBMCs from patients with Graves' disease as compared to the other subject groups. This combination of B cell stimulants increased production of IL-10 in PBMCs obtained from patients with Graves' disease relative to those patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, type 1 diabetes, or the control subjects. The production of IL-12 showed wide variation that depended on the basal IL-12 level. In subjects with a low basal IL-12 level there was a positive correlation between the production of IL-12 and that of IL-10 from PBMCs stimulated with anti-CD40 antibodies plus IL-4. On the contrary, in the patients with a high basal IL-12 level, no change or a decrease of IL-12 production was observed after the stimulation. Thus, T cell-dependent B cell activation via a CD40 pathway triggers the overproduction of IL-10 and overcome the effect of IL-12 to shift the Th(1)/Th(2)balance to Th(2)dominance in patients with Graves' disease but not in Hashimoto's thyroiditis or type 1 diabetes.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Interleukin-13 induces thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (CCL17) in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

BACKGROUND: In allergic inflammation involving allergic rhinitis, the predominance of Th(2) lymphocytes is one of the primary causal agents in promotion of the allergic condition. Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17) is a recently identified chemokine that induces the development of Th(2) lymphocytes. One of the sources of TARC has been reported to be peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). OBJECTIVE: We investigated TARC production from PBMCs by the stimulation of specific antigens and Th(2) type cytokines. METHOD: PBMCs were isolated from both allergic rhinitis patients and healthy volunteers. PBMCs were incubated with cytokine. TARC mRNA expression was examined by real time PCR methods and the amount of TARC production was examined by ELISA. RESULTS: IL-13 was found to be the most potent inducer for TARC mRNA expression and protein production in PBMCs. Furthermore, tumour necrosis factor alpha and IL-13 synergistically induce TARC. The amount of TARC from allergic rhinitis patients was significantly larger than that from healthy volunteers. Moreover, TARC was induced by a specific antigen, and was 35% inhibited by an anti-IL-13 neutralizing antibody. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that IL-13 is important in TARC mediated Th(2) lymphocytes infiltration in the nasal mucosa.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Lymphocyte activators elicit bovine leukemia virus expression differently as asymptomatic infection progresses.

Since bovine leukemia virus (BLV) replicates in B-lymphocytes, viral expression and production should respond to agents activating these cells. We asked whether synthesis of BLV capsid (CA) protein and production of infectious virus would increase when peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from infected sheep were stimulated in short-term culture with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a polyclonal activator of B-cells, and compared its effects with those of phytohemagglutinin (PHA), a lymphocyte activator known to increase BLV expression. LPS treatment of PBMCs from asymptomatic sheep that had been infected for 1-4 years increased the number of cells synthesizing CA protein, the amount of CA protein per cell, and the number of PBMCs acting as infectious centers. LPS derived from several different microbes was effective. During the ensuing 4 years of asymptomatic infection, the number of PBMCs expressing virus under minimal stimulation increased for each animal. The ability of LPS to recruit additional cells to express CA protein remained constant or decreased in magnitude, yet at the same time, lower concentrations of LPS were required to elicit a maximal effect. This suggests that the cellular pathways affected by LPS are endogenously more activated as infection progresses. PHA initially stimulated fewer cells to synthesize BLV CA protein than LPS did although the amount of CA protein synthesized per cell was greater with PHA. As infection progressed, PHA surpassed LPS in the numbers of PBMCs induced to express CA protein. This suggests that the cellular pathways affected by PHA become more responsive to its effects as infection progresses. LPS increased CA expression early and transiently during culture whereas the PHA-mediated increase continued to develop for several days. Thus, LPS increases BLV expression but does so differently than PHA. Moreover, these longitudinal results show that the activation state of BLV-infected cells changes as asymptomatic infection progresses.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Bovine herpesvirus 1-induced apoptosis occurs at the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle.

We have previously shown that bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1), even when inactivated, induces apoptotic cell death in mitogen-stimulated bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) (Hanon et al., 1996, J. Virol. 70, 4116-4120). In order to gain insight into this process, we have investigated the cell cycle phase at which BHV-1 induces apoptosis in PBMCs. Our results show that the percentage of cells that progress through the S phase was always lower in BHV-1-infected PBMCs than in control cells. This effect was not due to a defective activation of mitogen-stimulated PBMCs since BHV-1 only slightly affected the percentage of cells expressing BoCD25, a well-known lymphocyte activation marker. Furthermore, mimosine and cyclosporine A, two chemicals that inhibit entry into the S phase of the cell cycle by different pathways, did not affect the ability of BHV-1 to induce apoptosis. BHV-1-induced apoptosis also occurred in unstimulated PBMCs and interestingly, this was associated with the expression of c-myc and BoCD25 proteins both of which are related to cell cycle progression. All together, these data provide evidence demonstrating that BHV-1-induced apoptosis occurs at the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Detection of hepatitis B virus DNA and determination of surface antigen expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with AIDS.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to analyze the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 20 patients with AIDS with and without conventional HBV serological markers. DNA sequences of HBV were detected in PBMCs from 13 patients, nine of whom were positive for anti-HBc only and four of whom were also positive for anti-HBs. When PBMCs from patients were activated in culture with phytohemagglutinin, the presence of HBsAg could be detected in the culture supernatants from four of 13 patients with HBV DNA in their PBMCs; for two of the four, HBV DNA could also be detected in the culture supernatant after DNA amplification. It was observed that HBV DNA sequences found in PBMCs can be reactivated by mitogen stimulation in some HIV-1 infected patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed1992

Lymphocyte responses to food antigens in food sensitive patients with allergic tension-fatigue syndrome.

Scores of radioallergosorbent test (RAST) for cow's milk or buckwheat flour and proliferative responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to bovine serum albumin and beta-lactoglobulin or buckwheat flour were measured in cow's milk or buckwheat flour sensitive patients with allergic tension-fatigue syndrome. In all 3 cow's milk sensitive patients with allergic tension-fatigue syndrome, RAST scores for cow's milk were negative or slightly positive, but PBMCs well responded to bovine serum albumin and beta-lactoglobulin, but not to ovalbumin. In a buckwheat flour sensitive patient with allergic tension-fatigue syndrome, RAST scores for buckwheat flour were negative, but PBMCs well responded to buckwheat flour, but not to ovalbumin, bovine serum albumin and beta-lactoglobulin. Conversely, in cow's milk or buckwheat flour sensitive patients with immediate allergic symptoms, RAST scores for offending foods were positive although PBMCs did not respond to offending food antigens. These results suggest that proliferative responses of PBMCs to food antigens are very useful for detection of offending foods in allergic tension-fatigue syndrome.

Adolescent↗