Hairy leukaemic cell influx into the cerebrospinal fluid secondary to encephalomyelitis.

A case report of a 53 year old male with hairy cell leukaemia is presented in whom encephalomyelitis caused by toxoplasmosis resulted in an influx of hairy cells into the cerebrospinal fluid following disruption of the blood-brain barrier. These cells subsequently disappeared as the barrier reformed. It is suggested that the presence of hairy cells in the cerebrospinal fluid is a secondary self-limiting phenomenon.

Immunocytological diagnosis of primary cerebral non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Four men with primary cerebral non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosed by immunocytological analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) presented with cranial nerve palsies. All had CSF lymphocytoses and low CSF glucose. The cell phenotypes were two T cell tumours, one B cell, and one null. A review of 13 previously recorded cases of immunocytologically diagnosed CNS non-Hodgkin's lymphoma showed that there were 10 B cell, two T cell, and one null tumour. Overall (17 cases) the cell phenotype distribution was 65% B cell, 24% T cell, and 11% null. High CSF lymphocyte counts were found in 94%, proteinosis in 85%, and low CSF glucose in 87%. In contrast to the B cell tumours, all of the T cell tumours were diagnosed by CSF cytology before being visualised radiologically. It is suggested that all CSF lymphocytes (greater than 5 x 10(6)/ml) should be immunohistochemically typed to permit earlier diagnosis of CNS non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Ciprofloxacin therapy of urinary tract infections in paraplegic and tetraplegic patients: a bacteriological assessment.

The efficacy of a 250 mg dose of oral ciprofloxacin twice daily for five days was studied in the treatment of urinary tract infection in paraplegic and tetraplegic patients. Thirty-eight patients completed the study. By day 3 of therapy the infecting organisms had been eradicated from the urine in 97.2% of the patients. Follow-up, post-therapy samples on day 14 showed 66.7% positive culture results and by day 35, 92.0% were positive. The ciprofloxacin therapy proved efficacious in 97.2% of the patients; however, the factors that predisposed this group of patients to urinary tract infections still persisted and reinfection or superinfection occurred in 92.0%. There was one case of persistent infection caused by Enterococcus faecalis.

Immunoaffinity purification and biochemical characterization of plasma membrane arabino-galactan-rich glycoproteins of Nicotiana glutinosa.

Monoclonal antibody PN 16.4B4 reacts with an epitope present on the external face of the plasma membrane as shown by immunofluorescent staining of Nicotiana glutinosa L. protoplasts (Norman et al. 1986, Planta 167, 452-459). We show here that this epitope is present in a glycan moiety and defines a family of surface glycoproteins with molecular masses in the range 135-180 kilodalton (kDa). These glycoproteins are exclusively associated with the plasma membrane as demonstrated by immunostaining of highly purified plasma membrane vesicles obtained by aqueous two-phase partitioning of microsomal fractions. The bulk of these glycoproteins were not released by high-salt washing, sonication or hypotonie shock treatment of plasma membrane vesicles, demonstrating a tight association with the membrane. Triton X-114 partitioning of plasma membrane vesicles indicates that these antigens are hydrophilic, peripheral membrane glycoproteins. The glycoproteins were purified by immunoaffinity chromatography following solubilization in sodium dodecyl sulfate and shown to contain glycan moieties abundant in arabinose and galactose linked to a 50-kDa polypeptide rich in alanine, glycine, serine and threonine.

Cerebral nocardiosis in immunosuppressed patients: five cases.

Five cases of 'primary' cerebral nocardiosis are described. All occurred in patients already affected by factors carrying a poor prognosis for nocardial infections. These included primary immune dysfunction, immunosuppressive drug therapy including high-dose prednisolone and the presence of cerebral nocardial abscesses. Three of the five patients died, but only two had evidence of continued nocardial infection at necropsy. This compares with mortality of 90 per cent reported in other studies. Therefore aggressive surgical and antibiotic treatment of cerebral nocardial abscesses may reduce the mortality rate in the immunocompromised to the rate seen in immunocompetent patients. We suggest that investigations of non-specific pulmonary symptoms in the immunocompromised should include a search for nocardial colonization as this is indicative of infection. Diagnosis of nocardial infection at the pulmonary stage rather than when central nervous system abscesses are present would lead to an improvement in prognosis.

Characterization of monoclonal antibodies to protoplast membranes of Nicotiana tabacum identified by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Murine monoclonal antibodies to protoplast membrne antigens were generated using mouse myelomas and spleen cells from mice immunized with Nicotiana tabacum L. leaf protoplasts. For selecting antibody-secreting clones, a sensitive and rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for monoclonal antibody binding to immobilized cellular membrane preparations or immobilized protoplasts was developed. With intact protoplasts as immobilized antigen, the ELISA is selective for antibodies that bind to plasma-membrane epitopes present on the external surface of protoplasts. Using the membrane ELISA, a total of 24 hybridoma lines were identified that secreted antibodies to plant membrane epitopes. The protoplast ELISA and subsequent immunofluorescence studies identified four hybridoma lines as secreting antibodies which bound to the external surface of protoplasts and cells. The corresponding antigens were not species- or tissue-specific, were periodatesensitive, and were located in membranes which equilibrated broadly throughout a linear sucrose gradient. When protein blots of electrophoretically separated membrane proteins were probed with these antibodies, a band of Mr 14 kilodaltons (kDa) and a smear of bands of Mr 45-120 kDa were labeled. An additional set of three antibodies appeared by immunofluorescence to bind to the plasma membrane of broken but not intact protoplasts and labeled membranes equilibrating at a density of approx. 1.12 kg·l(-1) in a linear sucrose density gradient. These classes of monoclonal antibodies enlarge the library of monoclonal antibodies (Norman et al. 1986, Planta 167, 452-459) available for the study of plant plasma-membrane structure and function.

Identification of somatic hybrids in plant protoplast fusions with monoclonal antibodies to plasma-membrane antigens.

Monoclonal antibodies generated by immunization with a plasma-membrane preparation from suspension-cultured cells of Nicotiana glutinosa L. were used in combination with fluoresceinor rhodamine-labeled goat anti-mouse immunoglobulins to identify heterokaryons in protoplast fusion procedures. Antibody labeling did not inhibit callus formation nor plantlet regeneration. The antibodies are non-invasive and surface labeling provides clear optical discrimination of true heterokaryons from unfused aggregates as well as from parental protoplasts and homokaryons. Labeling is stable throughout fusion and hence by pre-labeling parental protoplast populations the strategy is both versatile and of general applicability.

Monoclonal antibodies to plant plasma-membrane antigens.

Murine monoclonal antibodies to membrane antigens were generated by immunization with a crude cellular membrane preparation from suspension-cultured cells of Nicotiana glutinosa L. From a panel of thirteen monoclonal antibodies, seven were found to be directed against antigens present on the plasma-membrane by immunofluorescence visualization of antibody binding to the surface of isolated protoplasts. The corresponding set of plasma-membrane antigen(s) were present in root, shoot and leaf tissue and some but not all of these antigens were of wide species distribution, being found in Nicotiana tabacum L., N. plumbaginifolia L., Glycine max L., Phaseolus vulgaris L. and Triticum aestivum L. Topologically specific labeling of intact protoplasts with a monoclonal antibody reactive with an epitope present on the plasma-membrane specifically labeled a membrane fraction which equilibrated at a density of 1.14 kg/l following centrifugation in a sucrose gradient. In addition to use as biochemical markers for fractionation and molecular characterization of plasma-membranes, these monoclonal antibodies provide the basis for new selection tools in plant cell and gene manipulations.

The use of intraventricular vancomycin in the treatment of CSF shunt-associated ventriculitis.

Ten cases of shunt-associated ventriculitis treated with intraventricular vancomycin are described. Eight were cured of their infection, one of these without shunt removal, though this failed in another instance. There were no toxic or untoward effects except in one case, where intravenous administration of vancomycin produced a histamine-like reaction. Intraventricular vancomycin, preferably combined with oral rifampicin, should be considered in cases of intractable or problematic shunt-associated ventriculitis due to Gram-positive organisms.

Silver deposition in arteriolar basal laminae in the cerebral cortex of argyric rats.

Electron microscopy of the parietal cortex and subcortical white matter of argyric rat brain revealed extremely fine 10--15 nm deposits of silver within the basal laminae of some arterioles. Stab-wound injury to argyric rats resulted in increased silver deposits in arteriolar basal laminae but not in any deposition of silver in the brain parenchyma.