Immunological properties of two fetus-specific globulins of rat in experimentally induced hepatic lesions

Two fetus-specific globulins, al and a2·fetoglobulins, were detected in rat fetal serum, and the former was detected in amniotic fluid, using respective monospecific rabbit immune sera. Immunochemical distinction of these two proteins was demonstrated. By polyacrylamide gel disc electrophoresis, al-fetoglobulin was further resolved into fast and slow migrating subcomponents having a similar reactivity against the specific immune serum. The concentrations of these globulins in the serum of adult rat with experimentally induced hepatic lesions were determined by quantitative immunoprecipitin method or the Ouchterlony test using the specific antisera.</p

Purification and immunochemical characterization of alpha-fetoprotein from rat fetal serum and liver

Two alpha1-globulin bands of fetal serum with relative mobilities against bromophenol blue of 0.55 and 0.58 on 7% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis reacted with a monospecific rabbit antiserum to alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). The former globulin band was clearly detected in the fetal liver supernatant. AFP was immunochemically purified from both the fetal serum and liver, and their electrophoretic and immunochemical properties were compared. Liver AFP purified by immunoadsorbent column yielded electrophoretic mobilities and relative amounts of the two electrophoretically distinct components identical with the purified serum AFP. The immunological reactivity of the two components of the purified preparations from serum and liver against the monospecific anti-AFP serum was also indistinguishable. After the removal of the sialic acid residues from purified serum and liver AFP by treatment with neuraminidase for 6 to 12 hr, disc electrophoretic patterns on 5% polyacrylamide gel and immunoelectrophoretic patterns of the treated AFP were found to be closely similar in both preparations. It may be possible to conclude that serum and liver AFP are structurally indistinguishable and probably identical.</p

Effectiveness of surgery and hyperbaric oxygen for antiresorptive agent-related osteonecrosis of the jaw: A subgroup analysis by disease stage

Antiresorptive agent-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (ARONJ) is an adverse event induced by antiresorptive agents (ARAs). The purpose of this study was to evaluate variables, mainly surgery and hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy, associated with treatment outcomes in patients with a diagnosis of ARONJ at a single center. We enrolled consecutive patients who presented to our hospital for the management of stage 2 or 3 ARONJ between January 2003 and December 2019. The relationship between potentially predictive factors and outcome variables was examined using statistical analyses, along with a subgroup analysis based on disease stage. Of 252 patients included in this study, 206 had stage 2 ARONJ and 46 had stage 3 ARONJ. There were 119 patients with osteoporosis and 133 with malignant disease. In total, 139 patients were healed, and the healing rate of patients with stage 3 ARONJ was lower than that of patients with stage 2 ARONJ. With regard to the combination of surgery and HBO therapy, most patients underwent HBO before and after surgery. In the univariable analysis, surgery showed a therapeutic effect in both stage 2 and 3 ARONJ, whereas HBO showed a therapeutic effect in stage 2 ARONJ. In the multivariable analysis for stage 2 ARONJ, extensive surgery showed a stronger association with healing than conservative surgery, whereas ≥46 sessions of HBO therapy was less associated with healing than was non-HBO therapy. Our findings suggest that extensive surgery is highly effective against ARONJ regardless of disease stage if there is a sequestrum separation and systemic tolerance, whereas HBO therapy before and after surgical approach can be effective. Further studies are needed to identify treatment strategies for patients with treatment-refractory ARONJ who may be forced to undergo long-term HBO therapy with the expectation of sequestrum separation

Microheterogeneity of rat α_1-fetoprotein, immunochemical properties

A purified and homogeneous preparation of rat α?-fetoprotein ( α?-FP), as judged by both electrophoresis on Cellogel and immuno-electrophoresis, were separated into two components, namely a α?a and α?b-FP, by disc electrophoresis on 7% polyacrylamide gel. These two components had definite differences in electrostatic net charge and gave only a single band on SDS-disc electrophoresis. Immunological reactivity or electrophoretic separation or mobility thereof could be altered by treatment with either sulfhydryl inhibi-tors or reducting agents but not by treatment with protein denat-urants. Electrophoresis of neuraminidase-treated α?-FP on 5% polyacrylamide gel yielded clearly separable, slower moving com-ponents, first four to six and finally two components depending on the time of incubation with neuraminidase. The time-dependent conversion of faster into slower migrating components of both α?a-FP (RBPB 0.88→0.85→0.83) and α?b-FP (RBPB 0.85→0.80→0.78→0.76) upon neuraminidase treatment was confirmed by re-electrophoresis of separated and similarly treated α?a and α?b-FP. Both α?a and 1b-FP treated with and without neuraminidase gave a single fused precipitin line against the antiserum in Ouchterlony double-diffusion analysis. On the basis of the changes in electrophoretic mobilities of these intermediates, α?a and α?b-FP were estimated to have at least 2.5 and 4.5 molecules of sialic acid per molecule, respectively. The nature of additional negative charges required for α?a-FP to move faster than α?b-FP at an alkaline pH is discussed

Microheterogeneity of rat alpha-fetoprotein.

A purified and homogeneous preparation of rat alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was separated into two components, AFPa and AFPb, by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These two components had a definite difference in electrostatic net charge and gave only a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-electrophoresis. Neuraminidase-treated AFP gave clearly separable, slower moving four to six and finally two components depending on the time of incubation with neuraminidase. The time-dependent conversion of each AFPa and AFPb into slower migrating components upon neuraminidase treatment was confirmed by re-electrophoresis of separated and similarly treated AFPa and AFPb.</p

Effect of nicomol on HDL cholesterol level.

In cardiovascular diseases with potential atherosclerosis, the serum concentration of HDL cholesterol as determined by a precipitation method with dextran sulfate and Mg++ was lower while that of total cholesterol was normal or elevated. Treatment with a daily dose of 1,200 mg of Nicomol, a derivative of nicotinic acid, for 1 to 3 months increased the mean HDL cholesterol level by 3 to 5 mg/dl and reduced the total cholesterol level by 14 to 15 mg/dl and total/HDL cholesterol ratio by 0.8 (3 months) to 0.9 (1 month, p less than 0.05). Similar decreases in HDL cholesterol concentration were also found in parenchymal and obstructive liver diseases with normal total cholesterol values except in fulminant hepatitis and intrahepatic cholestasis.</p

Complete in vitro replication of SV40 DNA and chromatin in saponin-treated permeable cells.

Effect of nicomol on high density lipoprotein (HDL) subfractions, HDL2e and HDL3e, separated by electrophoresis.</p