Comparison of central corneal thickness measurements obtained by OrbscanIIz® and ultrasound pachymetry: A concordance study in the usual clinical practice.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to assess the concordance between the values obtained in measuring central corneal thickness using the OrbscanIIz® and the contact ultrasonic pachymeter available in our public ophthalmology service. METHODS: Measurements were taken from 88 eyes of 44 patients using the two instruments. The data obtained were statistically analyzed using version 22 of the IBM SPSS® program. RESULTS: The mean of central corneal thickness measurements obtained from OrbscanIIz® was significantly higher than that obtained from ultrasound pachymetry. However, the mean of differences between both instruments was only 7.22 µ, which could be considered a clinically insignificant result when considering the good concordance obtained between both systems. CONCLUSION: OrbscanIIz® and ultrasound pachymetry can be interchangeable in the usual public clinical practice when measuring central corneal thickness. This is the first research found in the literature that uses a concordance study to compare the data resulting from central corneal thickness measurements obtained by an OrbscanIIz® and an OcuScan® pachymeter in our environment.

Treatment with anti-CD137 mAbs causes intense accumulations of liver T cells without selective antitumor immunotherapeutic effects in this organ.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Cancer therapy with agonist anti-CD137 mAbs has been shown to induce immune-mediated tumor rejections in mice, and equivalent agents of this kind are currently being tested in cancer patients. Previous reports indicated that CD137 stimulation induced polyclonal infiltrates of T lymphocytes in the liver. This study characterizes the liver infiltrates and the target dependency of the phenomena and addresses the question of whether tumors nested in the liver are a more favorable target for CD137-based immunotherapy. METHODS: Liver infiltrates were studied with conventional histology and multiple color flow cytometry of total liver leukocytes. CD137(-/-) mice, mice with a single rearrangement of the TCR (OT-1 mice) and Rag(-/-) mice were used to clarify molecular requirements. Mice implanted with MC38 colon carcinomas either subcutaneously or inside the liver were used for comparative studies under treatment with agonist anti-CD137 mAbs. RESULTS: CD137 treatment caused mononuclear inflammation in the portal spaces of the liver, which gave rise to moderate increases in transaminases without signs of cholestasis. Marked increases in the numbers of CD8+ T cells were observed, including CD8+ T lymphocytes co-expressing CD11c. Infiltrates were absent in CD137(-/-) mice and mitigated in mice harboring a single transgenic TCR on their CD8 T cells. Despite the tumor-independent accumulation of T cells in the liver, immunotherapeutic effects were not more prominent against tumors located in this organ. CONCLUSIONS: Target-dependent effects of CD137 stimulation lead to liver infiltration with T cells, but lymphocyte enrichment in this organ does not privilege this site for immunotherapeutic effects against transplanted tumors.

Apoptosis in lymphoid tissues of calves inoculated with non-cytopathic bovine viral diarrhea virus genotype 1: activation of effector caspase-3 and role of macrophages.

The mechanisms responsible for lymphocyte apoptosis in bovine viral diarrhoea have not yet been clarified. Previous work suggests that bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is only directly responsible for the destruction of a small number of lymphocytes. The aim of this study was to clarify, in vivo, the role of macrophages in lymphocyte destruction through indirect mechanisms linked to the biosynthetic activation of these immunocompetent cells on ileal Peyer's patches, as well as the distribution and quantification of apoptosis. Eight colostrum-deprived calves were inoculated intranasally with a non-cytopathic strain of BVDV genotype 1 and killed in batches of two at 3, 6, 9 and 14 days post-inoculation (p.i.). The progressive depletion of Peyer's patches was found to be due to massive lymphocyte apoptosis, with an increase in cleaved caspase-3 and TUNEL-positive cells. Lymphoid depletion was accompanied, from 3 days p.i., by a significant rise in macrophage numbers both in lymphoid follicles and in interfollicular areas. Some macrophages showed signs of viral infection, together with subcellular changes indicative of phagocyte activation and, in some cases, of secretory activity. However, the number of macrophages that showed positive immunostaining for tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1alpha, cytokines with a proven ability to induce apoptosis, remained low throughout the experiment in lymphoid follicles, where most apoptotic cells were found. These results thus appear to rule out a major involvement of macrophages and macrophage-secreted chemical mediators in the apoptosis of follicular B lymphocytes during BVDV infection.

Serum concentrations of C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, and haptoglobin in pigs inoculated with African swine fever or classical swine fever viruses.

OBJECTIVE: To determine serum concentrations of the selected acute-phase proteins (APPs) haptoglobin, serum amyloid A (SAA), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in pigs experimentally inoculated with classical swine fever (CSF) and African swine fever (ASF) viruses. ANIMALS: 8 crossbred (Large White x Landrace) 10-week-old pigs. PROCEDURES: Pigs were allocated to 2 groups (4 pigs/group). One group was inoculated with the CSF virus Alfort 187 strain, whereas the other groupwas inoculated with the ASF virus Spain 70 isolate. Blood samples were collected at various time points. At the end of the study, pigs were euthanized and a complete necropsy was performed, including histologic and immunohistochemical analyses. RESULTS: Serum concentrations of APPs increased in pigs inoculated with CSF and ASF viruses, which suggested an acute-phase response in the course of both diseases. The most noticeable increase in concentration was recorded for SAA in both groups (up to a 300-fold increase for CSF virus and an approx 40-fold increase for ASF virus), followed by CRP and then haptoglobin, which each had only 3- to 4-fold increases. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Serum concentrations of APPs increased significantly in pigs inoculated with CSF and ASF viruses. However, differences were evident in serum concentrations of the proteins evaluated in this study.