Clinical and laboratorial evaluation of urinary schistosomiasis in Brazilians after staying in Mozambique

We examined 87 Brazilian individuals of a group of 132 that, on July and November 1994, participated in a peace mission in Mozambique. They served in an endemic area for haematobic schistosomiasis, where they swum in Licungo river during leisure time. Their arithmetic mean age was 31 year and all of them were male. Their urine test showed that 30 (34.5%) eliminated S. haematobium eggs and 55 (63.2%) presented positive serology by the enzime-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot test with purified microsomal antigen of S. haematobium adult worms. Eosinophilia was found in 30 (34.5%), haematuria in 26 (29.9%), dysuria in 32 (36.8%) and lombar pain in 36 (41.4%). All of those that eliminated eggs through urine had positive serology. Among the 25 patients with positive serology and without S. haematobium eggs in the urine test, 13 were symptomatic and 12 assymptomatic. The treatment with praziquantel for the 30 patients, with urine positive to S. haematobium eggs, presented 70% of parasitological cure.

Immunoglobulin GM and KM Allotypes and Prevalence of Anti-LKM1 Autoantibodies in Patients with Hepatitis C Virus Infection

ABSTRACT GM and KM allotypes—genetic markers of immunoglobulin (Ig) γ and κ chains, respectively—are associated with humoral immunity to several infection- and autoimmunity-related epitopes. We hypothesized that GM and KM allotypes contribute to the generation of autoantibodies to liver/kidney microsomal antigen 1 (LKM1) in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected persons. To test this hypothesis, we characterized 129 persons with persistent HCV infection for several GM and KM markers and for anti-LKM1 antibodies. The heterozygous GM 1,3,17 23 5,13,21 phenotype was significantly associated with the prevalence of anti-LKM1 antibodies (odds ratio, 5.13; P = 0.002), suggesting its involvement in this autoimmune phenomenon in HCV infection.

Antithyroid immunity in children with endemic goiter

Thyroid immunity is assessed in 246 children aged 6 to 16 living in a region with moderate iodine deficit (the Khvalynsk region of the Saratov district). A total of 203 children with endemic goiter of the first-third degree and 43 children with normal-sized thyroid were examined using the ultrasonic method, measurements of the blood levels of T3, T4, and TTH, estimation of the [(T3+T4)/TTH] index, and assessment of the urinary excretion of inorganic iodine. Serum autoantibodies to the microsomal antigen (MAg) and thyroglobulin (TG) were assayed by ELISA. Autoantibodies to MAg and/or TG were detected in 10.8%) of children with endemic goiter and 2.3%o of those without enlargement of the thyroid. The rate of detection of autoantibodies increases with age (p<0.05) and is parallel with increase in the size of the thyroid (up to 21.1%o in third- degree goiter, p<0.02). Autoantibodies were detected much more often in children with various echographically detected dijfuse changes in the thyroid structure (from 17.8 to 42.9%o vs. 8.6% in cases with the intact structure of the organ). Serum TTH level was reliably increased and the thyroid index decreased in “seropositive” children (p<0.01). The findings confirm the relationship between inadequate consumption of iodine and immunological reactivity of children and demonstrate certain regularities in the development of autoimmune disorders in children with endemic goiter.

Some characteristics of the thyroid status in children and adolescents living in one of the Kaluga regions contaminated with radionuclides

Thyroid status was examined in 9294 children living in the Ulyanov district of the Kaluga region contaminated with radionuclides. Thyroid size and structure were assessed using ultrasonic examination, its function was characterized based on thyrotropin and free thyroxin measurements. Specific autoimmunity was evaluated from assays of antibodies to microsomal antigen and thyroglobulin. The resultant values were assessed with due consideration for the individual dose of 131I absorbed by the thyroid. Thyroid enlargement was detected in 29.2 %, nodular goiter in 0.79 % of the examinees. A reliable positive correlation was found between the degree of thyroid enlargement and 131I absorbed dose. Functional parameters (thyrotropin and free thyroxin) were within the normal range, no correlation was detected between hormonal parameters, thyroid size, and 94 absorbed dose. Antibodies to microsomal antigen were detected in 4.3 %, to thyroglobulin in 7.2 %, to both in 2.8 % of the examinees, this being within the normal range in the population; but a relationship was detected between antibody production and absorbed dose of 131I. Hence, though no noticeable changes in the thyroid status were detected 5 years after the accident in the population examined, the revealed correlations between thyroid enlargement, presence of antithyroid antibodies, and 131I dose may be indicative of a possible growth of thyroid morbidity.

Effects of deglycosylation of human thyroperoxidase on its enzymatic activity and immunoreactivity

ABSTRACT Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) is a glycoprotein enzyme which catalyses the iodination of thyroglobulin and the coupling of iodinated tyrosines. Human TPO (hTPO) is the microsomal antigen recognized by the autoantibodies in the serum of patients with autoimmune thyroid disease. An active detergent-solubilized immunoaffinitypurified hTPO was deglycosylated, either by peptide N-glycosidase F (PNGase F) or by endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase H (endo H), and the enzymatic activity and immunoreactivity of the native and degylcosylated forms were compared. Electrophoretic controls and affinoblotting with concanavalin A showed that deglycosylation was not total and that it was more pronounced with endo H than with PNGase F. The enzymatic activity of hTPO was inhibited by endo H deglycosylation, but not by PNGase F deglycosylation; this inhibition was not due to aggregation and/or insolubilization of the molecule subsequent to deglycosylation. Immunoreactivity was monitored by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) with 13 mouse monoclonal antibodies, rabbit polyclonal antibodies and antibodies from serum of patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. In contrast with enzymatic activity, immunoreactivity was not modified or was slightly enhanced (with four monoclonal antibodies) by deglycosylation. The results indicate that strong, if not total, deglycosylation induces a modification of the tertiary structure of hTPO, which affects the enzymatic site but does not modify markedly the epitopes implicated in the recognition of the molecule by the antibodies tested. Journal of Endocrinology (1992) 132, 317-323