Myocardial imaging with gallium-67 citrate was used to detect myocarditis in 46 consecutive infants and children (31 boys and 15 girls, mean age 21 months) with Kawasaki disease. In all of them planar imaging (group A) was performed at 6 hours and at 48 or 72 hours after the intravenous administration of a mean (SD) dose of gallium-67 citrate (0.07 (0.02) mCi/kg). Thirty four patients (24 boys and 10 girls, mean age 21 months) also had single photon emission computed tomography imaging (group B) soon after planar imaging. The patients had been ill for from 5 days to 16 days (mean (SD) 10.5 (2.4) days in group A and 10.6 (3.0) days in group B). The colour images obtained at 48 or 72 hours were positive in 41% of group A and in 64% of group B. Among the patients with clinically suspected myocarditis, 63% in group A and 80% in group B had positive myocardial images. Single photon emission computed tomography imaging permitted the identification of tracer in the myocardium, the pericardium only, or in the heart chambers. Myocardial imaging with gallium-67 citrate, especially when used with single photon emission computed tomography imaging, is useful for the detection of myocarditis in the acute phase of Kawasaki disease.
A cDNA sequence coding for rat interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) has been isolated from a cDNA library that was prepared with mRNA derived from LPS-stimulated rat peritoneal macrophages by using human IL-1 alpha cDNA as a probe. The rat cDNA encodes a 270 amino acid residue protein which is homologous (65%) to human IL-1 alpha. The rat cDNA sequence under SV40 early promoter directed the synthesis of biologically active IL-1 in monkey COS-1 cells. Rat IL-1 alpha mRNA is not expressed in spleen, lung, liver or brain, and is also not expressed in these organs of LPS-treated rat except spleen. This suggests that IL-1 alpha is not produced constitutively in various tissues and LPS is not sufficient to induce IL-1 alpha in most tissues. Our data indicate that the IL-1 activities which have been reported to be produced in the brain are not of alpha type. We have constructed a plasmid expressing the carboxy terminal 156 amino acids in Escherichia coli. Recombinant rat IL-1 alpha produced in COS cells or E. coli has cytotoxic activity against the human melanoma cell line A375S1 (GIF activity), which has been reported to be sensitive to human IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta. This suggests that GIF activity is common to IL-1s derived from various sources.
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