Faculty Bibliography

Fifteen cases of Sarcoidosis were investigated for the presence of complement dependent cytotoxicity against human lung cells grown in tissue culture. Significant levels were found in eleven cases. Absorption studies revealed that these antibodies associated with sarcoidosis could be absorbed by human lung fibroblasts but not by fibroblasts derived from human foreskin or kidney. Although we found a similar antibody frequently associated with extrinsic asthma we have only rarely found these antibodies in cases of tuberculosis, carcinoma of the lung, emphysema and intrinsic asthma

Onion and garlic oil were seen to shorten the cell-doubling time and stimulate the growth and proliferation of NIH-3T3 cells. Following treatment with either onion or garlic oil, an increase in the growth rate and almost a 2-fold increase in cell number over the control was observed within a 24-hour period. Phorbol myristate acetate when given simultaneously with either oil appeared to nullify both effects. Following exposure to low doses (less than 10 micrograms/ml) of either oil, an increase in cell survival, not seen with the oil control tricaprylin, was observed following a 5-day exposure period. At higher concentrations cell survival decreased proportionately in all cases. The appearance of multinucleated cells, which increased with dose and time, was also observed following treatment with both garlic and onion oil

Extracts of organic matter from samples of airborne particulate matter have been shown to possess components capable of transforming mammalian cells. This study was done to determine if Balbc/3T3 cells exposed to extracts of air samples could, unlike their normal counterparts, in the absence of a surface for attachment, divide on agar to form aggregates, and if these cells would demonstrate a dose-response phenomenon. Untreated and solvent treated control cells failed to form large aggregates and showed a decline in viable cell number over a 6-day period. Cells treated with either cyclohexane or acetone extracts of airborne particulate matter showed a dose-response increase in cell number along with the formation of progressively larger aggregates, findings similar to those seen with the positive, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), control. Furthermore, these findings are in direct agreement with those in the simultaneously performed standard cell transformation assay which required 21 days to perform. Results show that survival in aggregate form is a rapid in vitro test system capable of detecting potentially carcinogenic activity in complex environmental mixtures

In this preliminary study, the authors have found cytotoxic complement-dependent synovial antibodies in the serum of patients undergoing prosthesis implantation; these were particularly evident in those patients undergoing revision surgery. In order to demonstrate the synovial antibodies, it was necessary that the authors modify the method they had previously used in their studies of cytotoxic lung and kidney antibodies. While conventional trypsinization dispersion produced synovial target cells that would not react in the test system, mechanical dispersion successfully produced target cells sensitive to complement-dependent cytotoxic antibodies. In this study, synovial antibodies reacted similarly to cells derived from the synovium of different individuals, but they did not react to cells derived from tissues other than synovium. This tissue specificity was confirmed by absorption studies that indicated the synovial antibodies to be organ specific. Whether these cytotoxic synovial antibodies can be predictive of the impending loss of an artificial prosthesis, or somehow be directly involved in the failure mechanism of that prosthesis, will require additional studies