muramidase and Hepatitis

Intrahepatic infiltrate from 18 patients who died of fulminant hepatitis, was analyzed by an immunohistochemical method using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded liver sections and monoclonal antibodies. Inflammatory cells were characteristically located in the portal and periportal areas adjoining resting hepatocytes, but were infrequently found in the perivenular areas where hemorrhagic hepatocyte necrosis predominated. In the inflammatory infiltrate, T cells were the most predominant cell type, composing about two-thirds of the total hepatic infiltrate, followed by lysozyme-positive macrophages which composed about one-third of the total hepatic infiltrate, irrespective of the etiology of the fulminant hepatitis. On the other hand, B cells made up less than 2% in all cases, and plasma cells were also few, less than 2% in 12 of 18 cases. Furthermore, an enhanced display of beta 2-microglobulin on hepatocyte membranes was demonstrated in all cases with remaining hepatocytes, indicating an increased expression of class I MHC antigens on these cells. These results suggest that T cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of the portal and periportal lesions of fulminant hepatitis, probably with a help of MHC class I antigens on hepatocytes, while hemorrhagic necrosis of hepatocytes around the central veins may be caused by a different mechanism, most likely a circulatory disturbance secondary to cell-mediated immune reactions in the periportal areas.

Topics: Acute Disease; Adult; Aged; Antibodies, Monoclonal; Child, Preschool; Female; Hepatitis; Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; Humans; Macrophages; Male; Middle Aged; Muramidase; T-Lymphocytes

Topics: Adolescent; Bile; Child; Chronic Disease; Female; Hepatitis; Hepatitis, Chronic; Humans; Male; Muramidase; Saliva

Serum lysozyme activities and semiquantitative analysis of tissue lysozyme distribution were studied in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), chronic hepatitis (CH), miscellaneous liver diseases, and normal subjects. Serum lysozyme was significantly raised in PBC and CH. Portal venous blood has similar lysozyme activities to peripheral venous blood in a group of various liver diseases. Lysozyme-containing intralobular cells were decreased in all liver diseases studied but portal tract lysozyme was increased only in PBC and CH. Thus the increase in serum lysozyme in PBC and CH appears to originate from the portal inflammatory infiltrate, seen in these diseases.

Topics: Chronic Disease; Hepatitis; Humans; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Liver; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary; Liver Diseases; Muramidase

Topics: Animals; Cathepsins; Clinical Enzyme Tests; Hepatitis; Hepatitis, Animal; Humans; Muramidase; Rats; Subcellular Fractions

Topics: Chronic Disease; Hepatitis; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis; Middle Aged; Muramidase

The muramidase content of reactive cells in the lesions of human foreign body reactions, lepromatous and tuberculoid leprosy, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, and granulomatous hepatitis, was assessed using specific anti-human muramidase antiserum and a peroxidase-anti-peroxidase marker system. Epithelioid and giant cells in sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, granulomatous hepatitis, and tuberculoid leprosy all showed the presence of muramidase in their cytoplasm. The muramidase content of macrophages in foreign body reactions and lepromatous leprosy varied and most multinucleate cells in these lesions gave a negative reaction. Possibly varying rates of muramidase secretion may account for these differences.

Topics: Cytoplasm; Foreign-Body Reaction; Hepatitis; Humans; Leprosy; Lung; Lymph Nodes; Muramidase; Sarcoidosis; Tuberculosis

Plasma lysozyme levels have been reported to reflect the functional status of the reticuloendothelial system (RES). We measured plasma lysozyme levels in 22 patients with acute hepatitis and 21 patients with cirrhosis and a mesocaval shunt. In 17 of these patients RES function was assessed by measuring the disappearance rate (t/2) of radio-labelled sulphur colloid. In acute hepatitis plasma lysozyme levels and colloid t/2 were significantly lower than in health controls and cirrhotics. In the acute hepatitis patients, the plasma lysozyme levels rose significantly two weeks after admission as the hepatitis improved. The colloid t/2 of the 17 patients with liver disease was significantly correlated with the plasma lysozyme level (r = +0.66, p = 0.005). These results suggest that in human liver disease, in comparison with animal experiments, plasma lysozyme is dependent on RES functional status in the sense that a more active RES will result in a lower lysozyme level.

Topics: Acute Disease; Adult; Aged; Female; Hepatitis; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis; Male; Middle Aged; Mononuclear Phagocyte System; Muramidase; Sulfur; Technetium; Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid

Topics: Child; Child, Preschool; Cholangitis; Cholecystitis; Chronic Disease; Hepatitis; Humans; Muramidase; Oropharynx; Saliva

Topics: Bile; Biliary Tract Diseases; Child; Cholecystitis; Hepatitis; Humans; Muramidase

No microbial growth in platings of the gastric juice of patients with gastric ulcer and chronic anacidic gastritis was observed. It means that the absence of hydrochloric acid in the gastric juice does not deprive it of any antimicrobial action. The possible role of lysozyme in providing sterility of the proximal part of the gastro-intestinal tract was studied. Eighty patients with chronic diseases of the digestive organs were observed. It was noted that the levels of lysozyme in the gastric juice was high and markedly exceeded the maximum concentrations required for lysis of organisms most resistant to it. The maximum concentration was determined at pH of the gastric juice equal to 7.0-7.5 (265 gamma/ml+/-28). No lysozyme in the content of the duodenum and jejunal juice was found in most cases. Its presence in the above parts of the gastro-intestinal tract was mainly associated with microbial growth. The maximum concentration of lysozyme (40 gamma/ml) in the jejunal juice was observed in a female patient with chronic enterocolitis and significant microbial proliferation in the thin colon (more than 10(4) microbial bodies per 1 ml of the juice). Such parallelism between the presence of lysozyme in the gastric juice and microbial proliferation in it may be considered as a protective-adoptive reaction of the host.

Topics: Chronic Disease; Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous; Gastric Juice; Gastritis; Hepatitis; Humans; Intestinal Secretions; Intestine, Small; Muramidase; Pancreatitis; Postgastrectomy Syndromes; Sterilization; Stomach Ulcer

A regimen of intravenous cyclophosphamide, cytarabine and vincristine, given over a four-day period and repeated every two to three weeks, was used to treat 33 patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia. Of the 30 evaluable patients 9/18 previously untreated patients achieved complete remission and two others marked improvement, and 4/12 previously treated patients achieved complete remission. Twelve of 16 patients under the median age of 38 responded while only 3/14 patients over this age responded. There was no difference in response between those with elevated muramidase levels and those with normal levels. Three patients developed a previously unrecognized syndorme of fever, malaise, rash and orbital suffusion. Cytarabine was probably responsible.At least four courses of treatment are required before abandoning this regimen of therapy. Patients who achieve a complete remission and live for more than 150 days spend about 25% of their total survival time from diagnosis in hospital.

Topics: Adult; Age Factors; Cyclophosphamide; Cytarabine; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Female; Hepatitis; Hepatitis B Antigens; Hospitalization; Humans; Injections, Intravenous; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Male; Muramidase; Remission, Spontaneous; Vincristine

Topics: Autoantibodies; Bone Marrow; Complement System Proteins; Fatty Liver; Hepatitis; Humans; Immunoglobulins; Liver; Liver Cirrhosis; Monocytes; Muramidase; Skin

Topics: Adult; Aged; Congo Red; Female; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Hepatitis; Hormones; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Muramidase; Parotid Gland

Topics: Hepatitis; Humans; Muramidase; Spectrophotometry