Tspan33 is Expressed in Transitional and Memory B Cells, but is not Responsible for High ADAM10 Expression.

Tetraspanins are a family of transmembrane proteins that form membrane microdomains. They play important roles in migration, adhesion and other cellular processes. TspanC8, a subfamily of tetraspanins, was found to associate and promote ADAM10 trafficking and cell surface localization. One of its members, Tspan33, is expressed in activated B cells. Using RT-PCR and flow cytometry, we analysed the pattern of expression of Tspan33 in B cells from healthy donors. We found Tspan33 expression in early and late stages of B cell development. However, Tspan33 expression did not correlate with ADAM10 surface expression. We also found expression of Tspan33 early in the activation process. Given its predominant expression in activated B cells and in several lymphomas, but not in naive B cells, we hypothesize that Tspan33 could be a potential target for therapeutic purposes.

Temperature-jump studies on hemoglobin. Kinetic evidence for a non-quaternary isomerization process in deoxy- and carbonmonoxyhemoglobin.

Temperature jumps on mixtures of hemoglobin and pH indicators give rise to relaxation signals in the microsecond range. The pH and concentration dependences of the reciprocal relaxation time, 1/tau, may be rationalized on the basis of a reaction scheme in which a slow isomerization process in the protein moiety is coupled to a rapid co-operative ionization of two protons. At 11 degrees C the rate constants of the isomerization are kr = 4.2(+/- 1.8) x 10(4) s-1 and kf = 1.3(+/- 0.1) x 10(4) s-1 in deoxyhemoglobin; in carbonmonoxyhemoglobin they are kr = 3.9(+/- 1.3) x 10(4) s-1 and kf = 5.3(+/- 1.8) x 10(3) s-1. The pKa values of the coupled ionizing groups are 5.3 in deoxy- and 6.0 in carbonmonoxyhemoglobin. Modification of the CysF9(93) beta sulfhydryl group with iodoacetamide abolishes the pH dependence of 1/tau, suggesting that this sulfhydryl is involved in the isomerization process. Consideration of the X-ray structure of oxyhemoglobin allows a structural interpretation of the results. It is concluded that the isomerization may be important for the physiological function of hemoglobin, but that it is not identical with the quaternary structure transition.

Rapid genotyping of the Chlamydia trachomatis major outer membrane protein by the polymerase chain reaction.

Twenty one Chlamydia trachomatis reference strains and 40 clinical isolates belonging to the lymphogranuloma venerum (LGV) and trachoma biovars were genotyped by differential restriction mapping of the major-outer-membrane-protein gene (MOMP) obtained by the polymerase-chain reaction (PCR). AluI digestion of the PCR product distinguishes eight MOMP-genotypes corresponding to 8 serovars. Six additional enzymes (NlaIII, CfoI, EcoRI, HinfI, DdeI and FokI) further permit the discrimination of 10 MOMP-genotypes corresponding to the 10 remaining serovars of the species. AluI alone allows direct typing of 78% of the clinical isolates. AluI digestion patterns of mouse C. trachomatis biovar, a C. pneumoniae and two C. psittaci strains, studied for comparison, were clearly distinguishable from one another and from the C. trachomatis LGV and trachoma strains. These results indicate that MOMP genotyping by PCR is a valuable molecular tool for studying C. trachomatis epidemiology.

The prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in women with genitourinary symptoms.

Two studies were conducted to determine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in the urine and cervical exudates of women with genitourinary symptoms. In the first study, 873 women attending the World Health Organization-Sexually Transmitted Disease Center of the Alfred Fournier Institute, in Paris, were examined. In 7% of these women, culture results were positive for the presence of C trachomatis. Women with C trachomatis in the urethra had more polymorphonuclear cells in the urine than did those with C trachomatis in the cervix (P less than 0.001). The second study at the same center involved 180 women with vaginal or urethral signs and symptoms. Positive cultures for C trachomatis were found in 12% of the 140 women reporting vaginal problems and in 22% of the 40 women reporting urinary symptoms. Cell cultures from both the cervix and urethra were positive for C trachomatis in 1.4% of the women with vaginal signs and symptoms and in 2.5% of the women with urinary symptoms. These data support the value of urethral cultures for detecting C trachomatis in women with genitourinary symptoms.

Microbiologic study of chronic inflammation associated with tubal factor infertility: role of Chlamydia trachomatis.

One hundred sixty-one women undergoing laparoscopy for infertility of obstructive origin (fallopian tube stenosis or obstruction and periadnexal adhesions) had thorough bacteriologic studies, including Chlamydia trachomatis cultures, of their lower and upper genital tracts. Peritoneal or tubal fluid cytologic features and biopsies of fallopian tubes or adhesions were also studied after each laparoscopy. The serum of each woman was titrated for evidence of C. trachomatis infection. The sera of a control group of 51 women with ovarian infertility but normal fallopian tubes according to laparoscopy and hysterosalpingogram were titrated in an identical manner. The current study confirms previous studies that showed a strong correlation between infertility due to fallopian tube factors and positive C. trachomatis cultures or serologic studies. The current study suggests that C. trachomatis infection does not correlate with a past history of salpingitis or pelvic pain, but that current C. trachomatis infection, as assessed by positive culture, does correlate with gross and histologic evidence of chronic inflammation.

Chlamydia trachomatis associated with chronic inflammation in abdominal specimens from women selected for tuboplasty.

Chronic inflammation is a frequent cause of tuboplasty failure. Therefore, it would be useful for one to know the microbiologic agent of infection and to treat it before the tuboplasty. By laparoscopy, a search for Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, and other microbiologic agents was carried out in the peritoneum and tubes of 118 women divided into 3 groups. Sixty-nine had a checkup before tuboplasty, of which 30 were found to have a chronic inflammatory condition discovered during laparoscopy (group 1) and 39 to have no sign of inflammation (group 2). Forty-nine women with a completely normal pelvis, being followed for possible sterility, were used as a control group. Cultures and serodiagnosis show a significant difference for C. trachomatis between the pathologic groups and the control group. They show no noticeable difference for U. urealyticum. These findings, compared with those by other authors, indicate that C. trachomatis could be an important microbiologic agent in tubal sterility, strongly connected with a low-grade chronic inflammatory condition, and their presence at the time of tuboplasty is to be considered.

Genital human papillomavirus infections: correlation of cytological, colposcopic and histological features with viral types in women and their male partners.

To determine the incidence of anogenital papillomavirus infections and to assess the value of available diagnostic methods, we compared the cytological, colposcopic and histological features of anogenital papillomavirus-related lesions with their associated human papillomavirus types (HPV) in 300 women and in their male partners. HPV-type deoxyribonucleic acid was detected by blot hybridization in 398 out of 624 subclinical and clinically defined anogenital lesions. Whatever the site of the lesion, condylomas and low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (IEN) were found in 84% of lesions associated with HPV 6-11, compared with 32% of lesions containing HPV 16-18 (P < 0.001). Among the HPV 16-18 associated lesions, high-grade cervical, vaginal, vulvar and anal intraepithelial neoplasias represented 45% (P < 0.001) of the lesions. In 65% of 23 cases of squamous anogenital cancer, HPV 16-18 and mixed types were present (P < 0.001). In 54% (161/300) of cases, the lesions were multicentric (161/300). On cytological examination, 27% of the samples gave false negative results. In cervical lesions, there was a good correlation between virological and colposcopic findings, but this was not true for extracervical mucous epithelia in the vagina or on the vulva. With peniscopy in the male partners 220 out of 410 had penile condylomatous lesions and more than half of the 350 male specimens examined by molecular hybridization contained HPV DNA. A correlation was found between the virus types in penile lesions or in cells of the distal urethra and in the cervical lesions of the sexual partner.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Contribution of recent methods to the diagnosis of Chlamydia infections]. / Apport des méthodes récentes au diagnostic des chlamydioses.

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common cause of non- and/or post-gonococcal urethritis in men. The infection is often silent in women, but may be complicated by salpingitis followed by tubal sterility. The direct diagnosis: Since the availability of monoclonal antibodies, the microscopic examination of a smear of the sample is once again a current technique. By using an immuno-fluorescent technique, it is possible to demonstrate the elementary corpuscules in the form of free extracellular particles. This methods is rapid and easy to perform. Culture: Nevertheless, culture remains the reference technique despite the fact that it only reveals "inclusions": clumps of reticulated particles. The technique is simplified by using microculture in flat bottomed microtitration plates, which enables a large number of isolations to be performed in one step. The visualisation by means of monoclonal antibodies is in perfect agreement with classical staining techniques. The serological diagnosis: Micro-immuno-fluorescence (MIF) is still the reference technique. ELISA occasionally fails to correlate with MIF. These discordances can be explained by the different antigens used: protein extracts bound to a support, in the case of ELISA, and whole live particles, in the case of MIF.

[Statement: The evaluation of the Serodia-HIV and Serodia-ATLA FUJIREBIO-MILES kits]. / Communiqué: étude des trousses Sérodia-HIV et Sérodia-ATLA FUJIREBIO-MILES.

A new test, based on agglutination of gelatin particles (PA), sensitized with viral antigens of HIV, was applied on detection of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV 1) antibody. Sensitivity compared to the ELISA tests (Organon, Dupond de Nemours and/or Elavia 2) was the same during the screening test (97.7 p. cent). Specificity was also acceptable when compared to the same tests (94 p. cent). This specificity remains acceptable with African sera (96 p. cent). During screening, 11.8 p. cent of tested sera were declared falsely positive by the Elisa classical techniques, against only 1.96 p. cent with the PA assay. The six sera remained positive with ELISA (false positives), whereas this positivity was not confirmed with the PA assay. Moreover, all the positive sera were confirmed with the Western blot HIV 1 assay (55.84 p. cent), HIV 1 + 2 (31.17 p. cent) or HIV 2 (13.0 p. cent). Amongst the five false positives pointed out in the european sera, all of them have shown in the Western blot the presence of one or two bands of the GAG protein. In this case, the assay whose easy use is attractive, can be adopted in screening serology and could be useful in African regions, as no further equipment is needed.

[Results of detection and early treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in pregnancy]. / Résultats du dépistage et traitement précoce des infections à Chlamydia trachomatis au cours de la grossesse.

The authors report and comment on the results of a prospective study of the usefulness of early treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in pregnant women. The diagnosis is based on a serological examination carried out in the first trimester of pregnancy. 60 women were treated by antibiotics and they were compared with 51 women who were not treated. The two groups were statistically comparable. There was a significant drop in perinatal complications due to Chlamydia trachomatis. The difference was particularly significant as far as low birth weight and the incidence of conjunctivitis in the newborn was concerned. These results show how useful it is to carry out serological screening and early treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in pregnancy.

[A microbiological study of swabs taken laparoscopically in cases of salpingitis and tubal sterility. Research for Chlamydia trachomatis and for mycoplasmas (author's transl)]. / Etude microbiologique des prélèvements coelioscopiques dans les annexites et les stérilités tubaires. Recherche de Chlamydia trachomatis et de mycoplasmes.

Research was made for chlamydia trachomatis and ureaplasma urealyticum in the peritoneum and the tubes of 99 women divided into 4 groups: 17 of them were being investigated because of acute salpingitis (Group A), 17 were being investigated for tubal sterility with chronic inflammation diagnosed laparoscopically (Group B), 29 were being investigated for tubal sterility without any laparoscopic evidence of inflammation (Group C) and 36 women had absolutely normal pelves and were being investigated for sterility. These were the control group (D). Swabs were also taken from the lower genital tracts as well as serological tests for chlamydia trachomatis and cytological samplings of the fluid from the Pouch of Douglas and the histology of the tubes. In the 17 women who had acute salpingitis the swabs 4 cases of C.T. and 4 of U.U. In the 46 women who had tubal sterility the laparoscopic swabs showed cases of C.T. and 7 of U.U. The swabs were most often positive in Group B. This group is characterised by a special appearence of the inflammation, with fluid present and viscous adhesions as well as peritoneal inflammatory cysts. These altogether help to make a presumptive diagnosis of C.T. infection on laparoscopy. In the control group of 36 cases there was no sign of C.T. in any case, although 2 swabs from the peritoneum showed U.U. So there is a statistically significant difference between the groups that were suspicious and the control group whether the results were obtained by cultures or by serological diagnosis. On the other hand there is no definitive difference as far as U.U. is concerned. These observations, which are similar to those published by other authors, lead us to think that micro-organisms and especially chlamydia trachomatis could be the bacteriological agent responsible for chronic inflammatory states found so frequently in women with tubal sterility.

[Bacteria isolated in 1994-1995 in female upper genitalia infections and in male urethritis. Distribution and sensitivity to antibiotics]. / Bactéries isolées en 1994-1995 au cours des infections gynécologiques hautes et des uréthrites masculines. Distribution et sensibilité aux antibiotiques.

OBJECTIVE: Classify antibiotics according to their individual activity so as to identify those suitable for empiric therapy. METHODS: We studied bacterial strains isolated from patients with urethritis (n = 189) and upper genital tract infections (n = 163) between June 1994 and February 1995 in 3 hospital and 4 community laboratories. Upper genital tract infections were divided into two groups: proven infection on laparoscopy specimen (n = 79) and suspected infection with isolation of pathogen in cervical samples (n = 84). Pathogens isolated were: Chlamydia trachomatis in 36/12/15 cases respectively, Mycoplasma hominis in 12/20/13, Ureaplasma urealyticum in 55/30/15, Neisseria gonorrhoeae in 40/2/0, Haemophilus spp in 20/2/1, group B streptococci in 7/1/8, E. coli in 8/1/17 and miscellaneous in 11/8/15. The minimal inhibitory concentrations for all strains were determined in 4 laboratories for ofloxacin, erythromycin and doxycyclin against C. trachomatis, M. hominis and U. urealyticum, and for ofloxacin, erythromycin, doxycyclin, amoxicillin+clavulanate, cefotaxime and gentamicin against the other strains. The activity score (% susceptibility to each antibiotic weighted by the frequencies of each isolate in urethritis and upper genital tract infection based on recent French epidemiologic data) was calculated for each antibiotic. CONCLUSION: The antibiotics with the best empiric activity scores in urethritis were, in decreasing order: doxycyclin (90.4%), ofloxacin (88.1%), and erythromycin (50.2%). The most active combinations in upper genital tract infections were ofloxacin+amoxicillin (100%), doxycyclin+cefotaxime+metronidazole (95.9%) and doxycyclin+amoxicillin (95.3%).

[Male genital lesions caused by papillomaviruses. Importance of colposcopy]. / Lésions génitales masculines à papillomavirus. Intérêt de la colposcopie.

Ten years after the description of cervical flat condyloma, it is now admitted that Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs) type 6 and 11 are responsible for condylomata acuminata and typical flat condyloma of the uterine cervix. HPV DNA type 16 and, less frequently, 18, 33 and other as yet uncharacterized HPV types (G. Orth, personal communication), are found in the majority of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN), Vulvar Intraepithelial Neoplasia (VIN) and cervical and vulvar invasive cancers. Since HPVs are sexually transmissible, recent interest has focused on the "male factor". Clinically detectable lesions of male genitalia are condylomata acuminata, bowenoid papulosis and flat condyloma-like papules. The aim of our study was the colposcopical screening, recently suggested, of different groups of male patients in order to detect HPV-related lesions and the description of the colposcopical features of subclinical HPV-related lesions, since most of them have never been reported, to our knowledge, in the literature. A total of 114 men were examined. Among them, 18 presented clinically detected recalcitrant condylomata acuminata, 28 had been treated for the same pathology 1 to 5 days earlier and were clinically free of lesions, 46 were sexual partners of women with cervical atypia (flat condyloma and/or CIN) and 22 had a clinical diagnosis of genital infection without HPV-related lesions. A careful examination of external genitalia was performed. Then all patients underwent penile colposcopy before and after application of 5 p. 100 acetic acid. Selected biopsies were performed in all lesions which were clinically and colposcopically different from classic warts. Colpophotographs were taken in all cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)