Effect of Disodium Cromoglycate on Various Types of Anaphylactic Reaction in the Guinea Pig

The development of allergic reactivity and the effect of disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) on that development were studied in groups of actively sensitized guinea pigs using both ocular sensitivity and antigen-induced histamine release from chopped lung, as test systems. DSCG reduced the allergic reactivity of animals actively sensitized for less than 12 days. At 12 days, DSCG was either inactive or it increased the reactivity of the animals. Antisera raised in animals co-immunized with &lt;i&gt;Bordetella pertussis&lt;/i&gt; organisms were found to have a mixture of both IgE-like and γ&lt;sub&gt;1&lt;/sub&gt;-like homocytotropic antibody properties. Passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) mediated by the IgE-like antibody was maximal at 48 h, was sensitive to heat and mercaptoethanol and was inhibited by DSCG. PCA mediated by γ&lt;sub&gt;1&lt;/sub&gt;-like antibody was maximal at 4 h, was heat-stable, insensitive to 2-mercaptoethanol and DSCG and was apparently inhibited by concurrent stimulation of the IgE-mediated pathway.</jats:p

Leucocyte Migration Inhibition to &lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma fermentans&lt;/i&gt; in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Leucocyte migration inhibition in the presence of &lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma fermentans&lt;/i&gt; membrane was found to correlate with severity of disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment with gold or chloroquine phosphate had no direct effect on the extent of the inhibition, nor was there any correlation with sheep cell agglutination test titre or IgG antiglobulin levels. The relationship of the active mycoplasma antigen to IgG is discussed.</jats:p

Leucocyte Migration Inhibition in Thyroid Disease

Leucocyte migration inhibition tests (LMT) were carried out in 49 patients with thyroid disease and 47 healthy controls using purified human thyroid microsomes and thyroglobulin as the antigens. Patients with autoimmune thyroiditis or thyrotoxicosis gave positive LMT with thyroid microsomes, while the leucocytes of healthy subjects and patients with non-toxic-colloid goitre were inactive. Control tests with liver microsomes gave negative results in all groups. In Hashimoto’s goitrous thyroiditis, it was further possible to show that the most intense cell-mediated hypersensitivity was present in patients who had the ‘hypercellular’ histological variant of the disease, which has a mild clinical course and is characterized serologically by low or absent thyroglobulin antibodies and moderate titres of thyroid microsomal antibodies. Slow regression of the goitre despite thyroxine treatment was associated with marked migration inhibition in the presence of thyroid microsomes. Thyroglobulin proved inactive in LMT in both patients and controls in concentrations varying from 50 to 5,000 &lt;i&gt;μ&lt;/i&gt;g/ml. The reason for this is not clear in view of positive results occasionally reported by other workers.</jats:p

Standardization of Radioallergosorbent Test (RAST) and Allergen Extracts in Terms of the WHO Standard for IgE

An &lt;sup&gt;131&lt;/sup&gt;I-labelled IgE myeloma, standardized against the WHO reference serum for IgE was bound in varying concentrations to discs bearing anti-human light chain. These were used to construct a calibration curve for the subsequent binding of &lt;sup&gt;125&lt;/sup&gt;I-labelled anti-IgE, thus relating &lt;sup&gt;125&lt;/sup&gt;I counts to WHO IgE units. The calibrated anti-IgE could then be used to measure the actual amount of specific IgE bound to an allergen disc in the radioallergosorbent test. Using this standardized system, soluble allergen extracts could then be assayed by their ability to inhibit the binding of a defined amount of specific IgE, thereby enabling their activity to be expressed in WHO IgE units.</jats:p