Publications

Ig and T cell antigen receptor genes in their germ line form are separated DNA segments that are joined by recombinations during lymphocyte development. The analysis of Ig and T cell receptor gene arrangements has been of value in the study of lymphoid neoplasms. The identification of T cell receptor gene rearrangements taken in conjunction with studies of Ig gene rearrangements aids in the elucidation of the lineage (T cell or B cell) and the clonality of lymphoid populations of all series. The application of this molecular genetic approach has great potential for complementing conventional marker analysis, cytogenetics, and histopathology, thus broadening the scientific basis for the classification, diagnosis, and monitoring of the therapy of lymphoid neoplasia. IL 2 is a lymphokine synthesized by some T cells following activation. Resting T cells do not express IL 2 receptors, but receptors are rapidly expressed on T cells following the interaction of antigens, mitogens, or monoclonal antibodies with the antigen-specific T cell receptor complex. Normal resting T cells and most leukemic T cell populations do not express IL 2 receptors; however, the leukemic cells of all patients with HTLV-I-associated adult T cell leukemia examined expressed the Tac antigen. The constant display of large numbers of IL 2 receptors that may be aberrant may play a role in the uncontrolled growth of these leukemic T cells. Patients with the Tac antigen positive adult T cell leukemia are being treated with the anti-Tac monoclonal antibody directed toward this growth factor receptor.

Purified macrophage interleukin 1 (IL 1) induced a concentration-dependent inhibition of the proliferation of two commonly used tumor cell target lines, the human myeloid K562 and the murine T lymphoma Eb. In contrast, mastocytoma-derived P815 cells were not inhibited. The cytostatic action of IL 1 was not associated with direct cytotoxicity and was only partially reversible. PGE or interferon did not appear to mediate these effects. IL 1 treatment of the multipotential K562 cells revealed no morphologic evidence for the induction of specific differentiation. FACS analysis of IL 1-treated K562 cells showed a rapid decrease in transferrin receptor density, and a more delayed, but highly significant, increase in HLA-A,B,C antigen density. These findings provide one explanation for the frequently reported macrophage cytostatic actions against tumor cells, and indicate as well that IL 1, like interferon, may enhance the expression of Class I MHC antigens. These observations further extend the range of IL 1 actions and underscore the fundamental and direct role of this monokine in macrophage antitumor activity.

We undertook a study to determine the acute effects of routine firefighting on lung function and the relationship between these acute effects and nonspecific airway responsiveness. For 29 firefighters from a single fire station, we calculated the concentration of methacholine aerosol that caused a 100% increase in specific airway resistance (Pc100). Over an 8-week period we than measured FEV1 and FVC in each firefighter before and after each 24-hr workshift and after every fire. From 199 individual workshifts without fires, we calculated the mean +/- 2 SD across-workshift change in FEV1 and FVC for each firefighter. Eighteen of 76 measurements obtained within 2 hr after a fire (24%) showed a greater than 2 SD fall in FEV1 and/or FVC compared to two of 199 obtained after routine workshifts without fires (1%; p less than .001). On 13 of 18 occasions when spirometry decreased significantly, we obtained repeat spirometry (postshift) 3-18.5 hr after fires, and on four of these occasions FEV1 and/or FVC were still more than 2 SD below baseline. Decrements in spirometry occurred as often in firefighters with high Pc100s as in those with low Pc100s. In two firefighters in whom FEV1 and FVC fell by more than 10% after fires, we repeated measurements of methacholine sensitivity, and it was increased over the prestudy baseline. These findings suggest that routine firefighting is associated with a high incidence of acute decrements in lung function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)