ENZYMATICALLY PRODUCED SUBUNITS OF PROTEINS FORMED BY PLASMA CELLS IN MICE : II. β2A-MYELOMA PROTEIN AND BENCE JONES PROTEIN

The relationship of Bence Jones protein (mol wt = 45,000) to a β2A-myeloma protein (mol wt = 160,000) formed by the same mouse plasma cell tumor (MPC-2) was investigated. The β2A-myeloma protein was split by treatment with papain and cysteine into fragments (S20,w = 3.7S), similar in size to the Bence Jones protein (S20,w = 3.6S). Two types of fragments with distinct antigenic groupings designated S and F, were present in the MPC-2 myeloma protein digest. These were partially separated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. The Bence Jones protein was found to share antigenic determinants with S fragments from the MPC-2 β2A-myeloma protein and with S fragments from γ-globulins. Physicochemical observations indicated, however, that the Bence Jones protein was not identical to the globulin fragments produced by treatment with papain and cysteine. Comparison of the S and F fragments from β2A- and γ-globulins revealed that the antigenic features shared by the various globulins derived from plasma cells (γ- and β2A-myeloma proteins, the range of normal γ-globulins) are largely properties of the S fragments, whereas the distinctive antigenic differences between the γ- and β2A-myeloma proteins were properties which appeared in the F fragments of the molecules

PERSISTENCE OF IMMUNOGENICITY OF ANTIGEN AFTER UPTAKE BY MACROPHAGES

Peritoneal macrophages were cultured for several hours after uptake of 131I-hemocyanin. The cells degraded most of the 131I-labeled protein within 2–5 hr. Their ability to prime lymphocytes of syngeneic mice for a secondary immune challenge remained unchanged for long periods of time despite the loss of more than 90% of the original content of antigen. The persistence of immunogenicity was associated with a small percentage of antigen retained by the cell in a form which was protected from rapid breakdown and elimination

Detoxication in psychiatric disorders.

It has been thought since the early days of medical practice that the liver and gastro-intestinal tract play a very important role in the pathogenesis of mental disorders. References to this belief may be found in the literature of the classical ages. Indeed, one of the principle symptoms of mental disorder, melancholia, derives its name from the Greek word ,”melagkholia”, which means “black” (melas) “bile” (khole). In the fourth century B.C. Hippocrates expressed the belief that bile was the cause of madness. A sudden flux of bile to the brain was thought to bring on unpleasant dreams and feelings of anxiety; a superabundance of black bile caused melancholia. Aristotle (384 - 322 B.C.) formulated a similar hypothesis. He believed that the soul was unable to function without warmth. Black bile was merely the carrier of heat and cold; moderate coldness led to vertigo, apprehensiveness, or a state of being stunned. Coldness led to cowardice and stupidity, warmth caused gaiety and free joy, while great heat was associated with amorous desires and cleverness. [...