In order to investigate the mechanism of late asthmatic response (LAR), inhibitory effects of various drugs for LAR were examined in two wheat flour sensitive asthmatics who showed immediate and late responses in the allergen provocation test and skin test. Antihistamines did not inhibition the LAR but totally or partially inhibited the immediate response. By contrast, corticosteroids inhibited the LAR but not the immediate response. Disodium cromoglycate inhibited both responses. Dietyl carbamazine citrate, an inhibitor of release of SRS-A, seemed to shorten the duration of the LAR, although it has no effect on the immediate response and or on the severity of the LAR. Indomethacin and acetyl salicylate, which inhibit prostaglandin synthesis, had no significant effects on either the immediate or the LAR.

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It may be assumed, and has been shown by certain methods of separation, that lymphocyte subpopulations may be selectively lost during separation procedures. This would cause artificial changes of the proportion of subpopulations. The recovery of the lymphocytes obtained by density gradient sedimentation (Ficoll-Conray) was excellent when the blood was diluted with more than 2 volume of saline in advance. Percentage of Erosette forming lymphocytes was lower when the yield of lymphocytes was less than 60 per cent. Time lag from venipuncture to separation lowered the yield of the lymphocytes and such preparation was contaminated with more granulocytes.

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Several basic evaluations were performed about the property and the preparation method of "transfer factor". The water-dialysed transfer factor (TF_D) and the DNase-treated leucocyte lysates (TF_F) were applied on the Sephadex G-25 column and the similar chromatographic configuration were obtained excepting the first peak in TF_F. In the all four TF specimens, Fr.2 showed the highest OD 260/280, especially in TF_F, and the most potent transferability of skin reaction against PPD. While the carbohydrate content of the Fr.2 was not detected by Anthron analysis, the carbohydrate and peptides content of the other fractions were around 10-21.3μg/ml, respectively. On the in vitro assay of TF activity by the ^3H-TdR incorporation tests, almost all fractions of TF_F inhibited the incorporation of ^3H-TdR into leucocytes stimulated with PHA-A or PPD by 16-97%. Finally, it was discussed about the contamination of inhibitory factor by the preparation procedure of TF.

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The ASO activities of human blood leucocytes were evaluated by Rantz and Randall's method as modified in our laboratory. Cell ASO activities are heat-stable. They were demonstrated in both the supernatants and precipitates after heating at 56℃ and centrifugating. Supernatant ASO activities show the characters of cytophilic antibodies. ASO activities of precipitates are assumed to be lymphocyte-mediated ones but undetermined immunologically. ASO activities of lymphnode, intracapsular exudate and intrapleural exudate, cells were evaluated.

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Twenty-seven patients, in whom a diagnosis of Sjogren's syndrome had been made based on our criteria reported previously, were investigated on the clinical differences between Sjogren's syndrome with rheumatoid arthritis (SScRA) and without rheumatoid arthritis (SSsRA), in comparison with ten patients with definite or classical RA without SS according to the criteria of the American Rheumatism Association. Of these twenty-seven patients with SS, 25 patients (92.6%) were female and 15 (55.6%) were patients with SScRA. Arthritis was recognized without radiological changes of joints, such as bone erosions (Stage III) or ankylosis (Stage IV), in 58.0% of patients with SSsRA, of whose presumptive age of the onset was significantly younger than patients with SScRA and showed two peaks of the incidence in their teens and fourties. Either marked mononuclear cell infiltrations and epimyoepithelial islands in salivary gland tissues, or cavitary and globular patterns on sialograms were demonstrated more frequently in patients with SSsRA than one with SScRA, although the same incidence of sialectasis on sialogram was observed between these two groups. Both of the salivary gland enlargements and antinuclear factors were more frequently observed in patients with SSsRA than one with SScRA, whose clinical figures resembled very closely with one of RA, as regards presumptive age of the onset, radiological changes of joints and so on. In conparison with patients with RA, however, Higher incidences of xerostomia, xerophthalmia, fever, hepatomegaly, struma, Raynaud's phenomenon and antinuclear factor were demonstrated in patients with SScRA.

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Lymphocyte membrane receptors for sheep erythrocytes (E) and sheep erythrocytes sensitized with antibody and complement (EAC) were used as markers for human T and B cells, respectively. Combining the method of rosette formation with E and EAC with radioautography of cultures to which ^3H-thymidine was added, in vitro studies were performed to establish the proportion of responsive cells with receptors for E or EAC after stimulation with phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A) and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). The stimulation with PHA and Con A led to most of blasts made up of E rosette-forming cells. The effect of 2 day- and 3 day-stimulation with PWM on the proportion of blasts presenting these receptors was similar to that of PHA and Con A, and an increase in the proportion of EAC rosette-forming cells was evident in the blast population obtained after 4 days of incubation in the cultures containing PWM. We conclude our results confirm the hypothesis based on animal studies that PHA and Con A stimulaters T lymphocytes and PWM, T and B cells. The effects of ultraviolet radiation (uv) on T and B lymphocytes were also studied. These studies showed that T cells were more sensitive to uv than B cells as assessed by trypan-blue exclusion. Thus, In addition to surface markers, scanning electron microscope characteristics, electrophoretic mobility and bovine serum albumin density gradient behavior, other differences between T and B lymphocytes have been detected.

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Thirty three patients with Behcet's disease, 24 with various anterior uveitis, including 14 idiopathic uveitis, and 95 healthy individuals in Kinki district of Japan, were tissue typed for 16 HLA antigens to determine if there were any associations between particular HLA antigen and the diseases. Incidences of HLA-B5 (60.6%, X^2=6.76, p<0.01, for 34.7% in healthy controls) and HLA-B27 (9.1%, X^2=8.84, p<0.005, for 0% in healthy controls) were found to be elevated significantly in the population with Behcet's disease as a whole. However, divided the disease into 2 groups, according to positive or negative for acute and chronic anterior uveites, the increased frequencies of HLA-B5 (59.1%, X^2=4.44, p<0.05) and HLA-B27 (13.6%, X^2=13.3, p<0.0005) were only found significantly in the former group. No particular HLA antigens were demonstrated to be different in their frequencies from those of control population in the latter. No diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis and sacroilitis has been made roentgenologically on any HLA-B27 positive patients in present study. In the population with idiopathic anterior uveitis, high frequencies of HLA-A10 (37.5%, not significant for 16.8% in healthy controls) and HLA-B12 (28.6%, X^2=5.06, p<0.05, but not significant by corrected p, for 8.4% in healthy controls) were found. Referred to our previous observations that HLA-A10, HLA-B12 and HLA-BW40 were occured more often among the 160 Japanese patients with various autoimmune disorders, the present findings might be providing a clue to etiological considerations in these patients with idiopathic uveitis.

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An attempt was made to demonstrate antibodies to nuclear antigens (ANF) and glomerular basement membrane (GBM) from autopsy kidneys of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). ANF was tested by indirect immunofluorescent technique (FAT). Antibody to native DNA (n-DNA) and denatured DNA (d-DNA) was determined by radioimmunoassay using tritiated Actinomycin D-DNA. Farr's technique was employed for n-DNA assay and 8.5% polyethylene glycol method for d-DNA. Antibodies to saline-extractable nuclear antigens (ENA) were determined by hemagglutination technique (PHA) and an identity study was done by double diffusion and counter immunoelectrophoresis. Antibodies to GBM and cytoplasmic ribosomal antigens were determined by PHA using purified GBM antigen from normal human kidneys and cytoplasmic ribosomes from rat livers. The elution procedure, we employed, was a modification of that previously reported: Glomerular suspension from 6 autopsy kidneys were sonicated and then treated with three different ways; 1) Glycin-HCL-buffer (0.02 M, pH 2.3), 2) DNase I (Worthington Bioch. Co.) in phosphate buffer (0.01 M, pH 7.0) including MgCl_2, 3) Phosphate buffered saline (PBS, 0.02 M, pH 7.2, 0.14 M NaCl). These preparations were lyophylized and disolved in PBS for use, and their protein concentratio were adjusted to 10 mg/ml. ANF was detected by FAT in 3 of the 6 Glycin-HCl treated eluates (acid eluates), 3 of the 6 DNase treated eluates (DNase eluates) and none of two PBS treated eluates (PBS eluates). An abnormal n-DNA binding activity was demonstrated in 3 of the 6 DNase eluates, though significantly high (38.0%) in only one eluate. All of the acid eluates showed an abnormal n-DNA binding but none of them was significantly high. N-DNA binding activities of the PBS eluates were less than 10%. A slightly elevated d-DNA binding was found in 2 of the 6 DNase eluates and one of the acid eluates. One of the acid eluates showed by PHA to have a high titer of antibody to ENA, the identity study indicated that this eluate had two precipitines against ENA and one was identical to anti Sm antibody while the other to anti RNP antibody from a patient with so-called mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). Reference sera containing antibody to Sm and RNP were kindly given by Dr E.M. Tan. Antibody to cytoplasmic ribosomes was detected in 4 of the 6 acid eluates. Sera from these 4 patients were also tested for this antibody and found to be negative. None of the eluates was found to be positive for anti GBM antibody by PHA. One of the important findings in our observations was that antibody to Sm antigen was eluted from diseased kidney. It may also be interesting that anti-RNP antibody identical to that of MCTD was demonstrated in the acid eluates, in spite of the previous reports of its protective effect on lupus nephritis. Present data suggest that not only DNA-anti DNA antibody system but also other systems such as antibodies to Sm, RNP and cytoplasmic ribosomes may have some pathogenetic roles on lupus nephritis.

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