Mechanisms of immune lysis of red blood cells in vitro. I. Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria cells. (9/19)

The effect of five different reactions which activate complement (antibody activation, reduction in ionic strength, acidification, cobra venom factor (CoF) activation, and inulin activation) upon normal and PNH cells was investigated, using normal serum and serum devoid of the fourth component of complement (C4) activity from patients with hereditary angioneurotic edema (HANE) as a source of complement. Both normal and HANE serum lysed paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) cells when complement was activated by acidification, CoF and inulin, indicating that the terminal steps of complement were activated in the absence of C4, presumably by the alternate or properdin pathway. Normal but not HANE serum lysed cells coated with anti-I, indicating that complement was activated by the C1-dependent classic pathway. HANE serum partially supported lysis by serum at reduced ionic strength, indicating that the activation of terminal complement components had occurred through both of the pathways of activation. The amount of the third component of human complement (C3) which was bound to the membrane of lysed and unlysed cells by these procedures was determined by anti-C3 absorption and was found to differ for each method of complement activation. In general, more C3 was bound to lysed cells than to unlysed cells. For given conditions, more was bound to PNH cells than to normal cells. However, very much less bound C3 was required for lysis of the PNH cells than for lysis of normal cells. These two phenomena, especially the latter, account for the marked lysis of PNH cells when complement is activated. Normal cells treated with AET (aminoethylisothiouronium bromide) did not bind more C3 than untreated cells and the lysed cells had less bound C3 than lysed PNH cells.  (+info)

Thermosensitization by sulfhydryl compounds of exponentially growing Chinese hamster cells. (10/19)

The effect of various sulfhydryl compounds on the survival of exponentially growing monolayer cultures of Chinese hamster cells (HA1) heated to temperatures of 37-43 degrees was examined. Concentrations of cysteamine which were nontoxic or minimally toxic at room temperature or 37 degrees became increasingly toxic at elevated temperatures, greatly potentiating the killing produced by heat alone in the absence of cysteamine. This enhancement of hyperthermia-induced cell killing increased with increasing cysteamine concentration, increasing duration of cysteamine exposure, and increasing temperature. Studies with synchronized Chinese hamster cells heated at 43 degrees for 1 hr in the presence of 16 mM cysteamine demonstrated that the potentiation of heat killing occurred in all phases of the cell cycle. Similarly, enhancement of hyperthermia-induced cell killing was seen for asynchronous cells exposed to 2-amino-ethylisothiourium bromides and cysteine, but the magnitude of the effect differed for the various sulfhydryl compounds.  (+info)

Effects of reducing and oxidizing agents on the action of bleomycin. (11/19)

The effects of reducing agents, such as 2-mercaptoethanol, dithiothreitol, L-ascorbic acid, or sodium borohydride, and oxidizing agents, such as hydrogen peroxide or dehydroascorbic acid, on the in vitro action of bleomycin were investigated. After the incubation of DNA with a low concentration of bleomycin and a reducing or oxidizing agent, single strand breaks were mainly caused in the DNA molecules. The degradation of DNA was largely prevented by the removal of oxygen, or by the addition of divalent cations or of S-(2-aminoethyl)isothiuronium bromide hydrobromide, a radical scavenger, to the incubation mixture. Preincubation of bleomycin with these reducing or oxidizing agents reduced the DNA-degrading activity of the antibiotic. However, this reduction in activity was observed even in the absence of oxygen, or in preincubation mixture supplemented with radical scavenger.  (+info)

Electron microscope study of PNH red cells and AET-treated normal red cells (PNH-like cells). (12/19)

The morphology of red cells damaged by 2-aminoethylisothiouronium bromide (AET) has been compared to that of PNH cells by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The main features of the effect of AET as demonstrated by the scanning electron microscope were spherical and deformed cells, with surface craters and relatively large pits. The transmission electron microscope revealed loss of surface structure, an unusual amount of irregularly shaped electrondense material and fine pits in the cell membranes. The paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria cells showed, by transmission electron microscope, electron-dense material scattered over the cell and fine pitting; by scanning electron microscope, larger craters were seen and swellings protruded from the cell surface. Although the AET changes were not identical with the natural abnormality of paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria, the two types of cells were sufficiently similar to each other to support the proposition that AET cells have many of the characteristics of paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria.  (+info)

AET-treated platelets: their usefulness for platelet antibody detection and an examination of their altered sensitivity to immune lysis. (13/19)

2-Aminoethylisothiouronium bromide (AET) increases the sensitivity of blood cells to complement-mediated immune lysis. We compared the sensitivities of untreated or AET-treated platelets to immune lysis induced by different types of platelet antibody in the 51Cr platelet lysis test. AET platelets were 8-16 times more sensitive to autoantibody and alloantibody, but 8-16 times less sensitive to drug-dependent antibody. AET-platelets bound similar amounts of alloantibody but less drug-dependent antibody, and they lysed at higher complement dilutions than did untreated platelets. AET-platelets detected 10 of 25 autoantibodies, 9 of 9 alloantibodies, and 5 of 8 drug-dependent antibodies. Untreated platelets detected 1 of 25, 6 of 9, and 7 of 8 of these respective platelet antibodies. The use of AET-platelets in the 51Cr platelet lysis test increases its sensitivity for detecting non-drug-dependent platelet antibodies. AET-platelets resemble paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) platelets in their enhanced sensitivity to complement-mediated lysis. They differ from PNH platelets in their insensitivity to immune lysis induced by drug-dependent antibodies and, in this respect, are similar to Bernard-Soulier syndrome platelets.  (+info)

H1-receptor dependence of histamine-induced enhancement of human eosinophil C3b rosettes. (14/19)

The pharmacological specificity of histamine-induced enhancement of human eosinophil C3b rosettes was studied using H1- and H2-receptor agonists and antagonists. The H1 agonist, 2-(2-aminoethyl) thiazole (2-2-AET), enhanced eosinophil C3b rosettes in a comparable fashion to that of histamine, whereas the H2 agonists, 4-methylhistamine and Dimaprit, were without effect. Similarly, rosette enhancement by histamine was inhibited by the H1 antagonists, chlorpheniramine and mepyramine, but not by the H2 antagonists, burimamide and metiamide. These experiments indicate that enhancement of eosinophil C3b rosettes by histamine, a mechanism which might be of importance in the amplification of complement-dependent killing of helminthic larvae, is predominantly H1-receptor-dependent.  (+info)

Protection of normal tissues with 2-aminoethylisothiouronium during local pelvic radiation in monkeys. (15/19)

Intestinal and bladder injury are the main limiting factors to radiation therapy in patients with pelvic neoplasms. 2-Amino-ethylisothiouronium (AET) is a radiation-protective agent when given systemically but absorbs poorly from the intestines. Accordingly, it was explored for the local protection of the bowel and bladder during radiation to the pelvis. Radiation localized to the pelvis in various high fractionated doses and various schedules was applied to pairs of stumptailed monkeys (Macaca arctoides): one was always a control; and the other was treated with AET. AET was applied to the bladder through a catheter and to the rectum with a cotton tampon during the time of radiation. After radiation, AET was removed by repeated washings. Control animals developed hemorrhage, diarrhea, and emaciation and died at various times after completion of the radiation course; biopsy of rectal mucosa showed severe radiation damage. AET-treated animals had only occult blood in the stools and suffered slight weight loss; rectal biopsies showed normal tissues 2 weeks after radiation.  (+info)

Calcium-loaded erythrocytes have a defect in complement regulation distinct from that resulting from exposure to 2-aminoethylisothiouronium bromide. (16/19)

Calcium-loaded red blood cells (RBCs) previously have been shown to have an increased sensitivity to complement-mediated hemolysis and particularly to lysis mediated by the C5b-9 membrane attack complex (MAC) of complement. Because RBCs exposed to 2-aminoethylisothiouronium bromide (AET) also have been shown to be particularly sensitive to the MAC, a direct comparison of calcium-loaded and AET-treated RBCs was performed. Calcium-loaded and AET-treated RBCs shared a marked increase in sensitivity to lysis by the MAC in two different assays. However, measurements of C5b-7 and C9 binding suggested that different mechanisms were responsible. AET-treated RBCs showed an increase in C9 binding and an increased C9/C7 ratio consistent with functional loss of CD59/membrane inhibitor of reactive lysis (MIRL). In contrast, calcium-loaded RBCs had minimally increased C9 binding that resulted in C9/C7 ratios that were less than those for untreated RBCs, suggesting that CD59/MIRL inactivation had not occurred. When RBCs were incubated in acidified serum, AET-treated cells demonstrated a marked increase in C3b binding and hemolysis that was observed in neither control nor calcium-loaded RBCs. These results suggest that the underlying lesions responsible for an increase in susceptibility to complement-mediated hemolysis are different for calcium-loaded and AET-treated RBCs.  (+info)