A continuous cell line of chimpanzee lymphocytes producing an antibody specifically associated with non-A, non-B hepatitis (NANB) was established. Peripheral blood lymphocytes of a chimpanzee convalescent from experimental infection with NANB hepatitis were transformed in vitro by Epstein-Barr virus infection into lymphoblastoid cell lines.Supernatants of the cell cultures were screened by immunofluorescence for antibody activity against the liver tissue of a chimpanzee with NANB hepatitis. Nineteen of the 1402 cultures were found to be positive for the activity. Ten of these 19 gave cytoplasmic reactions and the remaining 9 gave nuclear reactions in hepatocytes. One culture (48-1) stably producing the antibody was further characterized. The antibody produced in 48-1 was IgM and gave granular cytoplasmic reactions in hepatocytes. Cloning of 48-1 was performed by the soft agar method and cloned cell lines stably producing the antibody were obtained. The 48-1 antibody reacted with liver biopsy specimens from 12 chimpanzees obtained during the acute or chronic phase of hepatitis caused by five different NANB strains, but not with biopsy specimens from chimpanzees with hepatitis A or B or from normal chimpanzees. In addition, examinations of serial liver biopsy specimens obtained from 2 chimpanzees experimentally infected with NANB hepatitis demonstrated that the antibody reacted with the biopsies obtained during the preacute, acute, and chronic hepatitis, but not with those obtained before inoculation, early incubation period, or during convalescence. The present results indicate the specific association of the antibody with NANB hepatitis. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed that the antibody reacted with the microtubular aggregates identical to those previously described in a patient and chimpanzees with NANB hepatitis.

A sequential study was performed to investigate the occurrence and localization of duck hepatitis B virus in the liver of domestic ducks utilizing the indirect immunoperoxidase method and electron microscopy. Seventeen ducklings were injected intravenously with duck hepatitis B virus-positive serum within 24 hr after hatching and were subsequently sacrificed on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 27th and 44th day after injection. Nine ducklings were not injected and were used as a negative control. Duck hepatitis B virus DNA by spot hybridization using a [3P]-labeled probe occurred in trace amounts on the 2nd day and in large amounts on the 4th day after inoculation. Immunoreactivity for DHBV was seen in the hepatocytes, sporadically on the 2nd day and diffusely on the 4th day, and also in the biliary epithelial cells on the 27th day. Both kinds of cells revealed staining in the cytoplasm but not in the nucleus. Virus particles were recognized by electron microscopy in the hepatocytes beginning on the 4th day. The hepatocytes had many incomplete virus particles, 40 to 61 nm in diameter, and a few complete virus particles, 40 nm in diameter, in the cisternae of the rough and smooth endoplasmic reticula. Such particles and the endoplasmic reticulum showed reaction products for duck hepatitis B virus by immunoelectron microscopy. There were clusters of core particles, 27 nm in diameter, in the hyaloplasm around peroxisomes where an assembly of cores appeared to occur. No conspicuous virus particles were recognized in the biliary epithelial cells. The similarities and differences in virus localization between duck hepatitis B virus and hepatitis B virus are discussed.

Although the three-dimensional structure of human glutathione transferase (GST) P1-1 crystallized with a GSH analogue has been reported, its structure in the non-complexed form has not been determined. Four monoclonal antibodies to GST P1-1 were produced to facilitate structural analysis. Of these, one, clone d-1 of IgG #a isotype, dose-dependently inhibited the activity of GST P1-1 but did not affect the activities of either GST A1-1 or M1-1. On immunoblotting, the antibody reacted strongly with GST P1-1 and weakly with rat GST-P and mouse GST-II, indicating cross-reactivity with Pi-class forms but preferential reactivity with GST P1-1. When GST P1-1 and the antibody were incubated in the presence of 60 µM GSH, no inhibition of activity was found, whereas 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene had no effect at concentrations up to 10 µM. The binding of GST P1-1

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