The differentiation of immature B cell line established from peripheral blood lymphocytes transformed by EB-virus has been investigated using anti-SRBC hemolytic antibody production. B cell line was cultured with or without T-enriched cells for 7 days. The assay for detection of plaque forming cells (PFC) was performed by Cunningham direct plaque forming cell assay.
The results were as follows;
1) Immature B cell line contained 86% C 3 receptor positive cells, 47% IgG-Fc receptor positive cells, 2% surface immunoglobulin positive cells and no cytoplasmic immunoglobulin positive cell. It has been producing no anti-SRBC IgM hemolytic antibody.
2) When B cell line was cultured with autochtonous T cells and PWM for 7 days, 191 ±130 PFC were detected by Cunningham's direct method.
3) In this system, the differentiation of immature B cell line was dependent on autochtonous T cells and PWM.
It seems that this system is a good model to analyse the process of B cell differentiation.

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The detection of anti-platelet antibody by ADCC method was performed on ten patients with ITP, 19 patients with SLE, 7 patients with AML and 6 patients with the aplastic anemia. The anti-platelet antibody was positive in 100% of ITP patients, 58% of SLE patients, 14% of AML patients and 50% of aplastic anemia patients. The ADCC was inhibited by the addition of 3μg of aggregated IgG, suggesting the high sensitivity of the detection of anti-platelet antibody. The ADCC detected not only anti-platelet autoantibody but also anti-platelet isoantibody. K cells were not decreased in ITP patients, but the decrease of K cell functions was demonstrated in SLE patients. The decrease of K cell functions in SLE lymphocytes was restored by the thorough washing and the culture of SLE lymphocytes. The decrease of K cell functions of SLE lymphocytes is probably caused by the in vivo binding of immune complexes to Fc receptors of K cells. There have been many cases, which shows no decrease of platelet counts in spite of the presence of anti-platelet antibody, in SLE. This might be probably caused by the decrease of K cell functions due to binding of immune complexes to Fc receptors of K cells. The scanning electronmicroscopic examinations demonstrated many microvilli on K cells. The Fc receptors were not present on these microvilli. They were present deep on the cell membranes.

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Bacto-phytohemagglutinin P (PHA-P) possesses at least five biological activities including hemagglutinating activity (HA), leukoagglutinating activity (LA), precipitating activity (PA), mitogenic activity (MA) and cytotoxic activity (CA). Hitherto, it is discouraging that the interrelation of these activities appeared rather controversial in the literatures. In the present study commercially purchased PHA-P was fractionated through various ion exchange chromatographies and its modification with thermal denaturation (85°C and 95°C), reduction/alkylation and absorption with chicken erythrocytes was performed in an attempt to clarify the correlation of these activities and further qualify the MICC activity. From the studies it was appreciated that MICC activity of PHA was a unique character independent of the other factors in that it was thermostable even under 95°C boiling. Another fact revealed that LA may possess a minority of cytotoxic activity since complete avoidance of LA led to more or less diminish in CA. There were also certain evidences in our study to suggest that CA or MA merely reflected the discrete functional facets of the same moiety or subunit of PHA-P molecule. In other words, MICC was assayed in short duration during which the MA was insufficient to express. Once the incubation was long enough the same moiety would exhibit potent lymphocyte-stimulating activity in addition to the cytotoxic activity. The two activities fluctuated and correlated in parallel.

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Microslide leukocyte adherence inhibition (LAI) assay has been developed in our laboratory. It has much advantage, especially in reproducibility as compared to other LAI methods such as hemocytometer, tube and microplate techniques. That is, microslide LAI assay was demonstrated to be completely reproducible in triplicated studies and moreover, when mononuclear cell samples from same donors were tested twice within one week interval, similar results were obtained.
It was also manifested that no specificity was found among different histological types of lung cancer, in the sense that mononuclear cells from patients with adenocarcinoma responded to the tissue extract of epidermoid or adenoid cystic carcinoma as well as to that of adenocarcinoma of the lung, though lung cancer extract (lung cancer-associated antigen) specifically responded to mononuclear cells from lung cancer patients in the LAI assy.
When purified protein derivative (PPD) was utilized as antigen, LAI response correlated to skin reaction in 7 of 8 normal indivisuals, suggesting that T lymphocyte may be involved in LAI phenomenon.

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Gold-induced interstitial pneumonia in a fourty-six years old female patient with rheumatoid arthritis was reported.
After she had recieved the last injection of gold sodium thiomalate (cumulative dose; 140mg), she complained non-productive cough and excertional dyspnea in addition to ulcerative stomatitis and generalized dermatitis. Diffuse reticular shadow on bilateral middle and lower lung fields was demonstrated by radiological examination. Pulmonary function revealed restrictive change, impaired diffusing capacity, and hypoxemia. Eosinophilia (7%) was detected, but serum IgE was within normal range. Both immediate and delayed type skin reactions against serially diluted gold salt were negative. Lymphocyte blastoid formation against gold salt increased significantly in the patient as compared with that in healthy person. Gold salt was discontinued and then the treatment with prednisolone (PSL; 30mg/day) was started. Improvement in the chest X-ray film and the pulmonary function test occurred eight months after the beginning of PSL.
Gold-induced interstitial pneumonia was highly suspected in this patient because of the mode of onset, the coexistence of stomatitis and dermatitis, and the excellent response to steroid therapy.

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