Kimura’s disease is a chronic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. Although eosinophilia is one of the characteristic features in this disease, little is known about the mechanism of eosinophilia. In the present study it was demonstrated that interleukin-5 (IL-5) was produced and released from the site of a granuloma and lymph nodes after stimulation with Candida antigen. It was also shown that peripheral blood eosinophils from patients with Kimura’s disease contained a large proportion of hypodense eosinophils and that their viability was prolonged. These results strongly suggest that locally produced IL-5 induced by Candida antigen contributes to the eosinophilia in this disease.
The examination of congenital malaria was performed by Giemsa staining and polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) methodology. We randomly selected 298 neonates who had been admitted to Muhimbili Medical Center (MMC) at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. One baby among all the enrolled neonates was recognized as having a congenital malaria infection, which gave a prevalence of 0.33%. The present result was 5-fold the clinically recognized prevalence of congenital infection with malaria in the ward. The PCR method identified two cases, one of which was negative as determined by the Giemsa-staining method. Therefore, the PCR method was useful for the detection of scant amounts of malarial parasites in numerous blood samples. The screening of malaria by a sensitive PCR method contributes to reduce the mortality of asymptotic neonates in particular.
Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) upregulates eosinophil effector functions and prolongs the in vitro survival of eosinophils. We examined the possible capacity of IFN-γ to stimulate eosinophils to produce eosinophil-activating cytokines. Eosinophils purified from mild atopic volunteers were cultured with 100 U/ml IFN-γ. Viability of eosinophils was counted and supernatants were tested for the presence of cytokines by neutralization of eosinophil viability-enhancing activity with specific antibodies to IFN-γ, interleukin-5 (IL-5), IL-3, or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). IFN-γ-enhanced eosinophil viability was up to 95% on the 4th day of culture. Pretreatment with anti-IL3 antibody partially blocked the IFN-γ-enhanced eosinophil survival. IFN-γ-stimulated eosinophil supernatants had eosinophil survival. IFN-γ-stimulated eosinophil supernatants had eosinophil viability-enhancing activity that was blocked by pretreatment not only with anti-IFN-γ but also with anti-IL-3. Antibodies to IL-5 or GM-CSF did not have the blocking effect. To further confirm the production of IL-3 by eosinophils, we performed reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for IL-3 messenger RNA (mRNA) in IFN-γ-stimulated eosinophils. Significant IL-3 mRNA expression in eosinophils was observed at 6 h of incubation with IFN-γ. These results suggest that IFN-γ stimulates the autocrine function of eosinophils and may play an important role in allergic inflammation.
There is a discrepancy in the reported incidence of childhood immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) between Europe (2.9-5.3 per 100 000 persons) and Japan (1.91). Ise district is a suitable area in which to conduct epidemiological study because there is little fluctuation in the sociodemographic factors. We performed a retrospective population-based study to clarify the incidence of primary childhood ITP. We calculated person-years for children aged <15 years based on the Ise district demographics between 2002 and 2012. The calculated person-years were 298 533. The number of hospitalized patients in Ise district was 25 (M/F, 14/11) during the study period. The calculated incidence was therefore 8.4 per 100 000 person-years. It is possible that the difference in incidence between the present calculation and that of the European studies is due to variation in accuracy and/or registration criteria between the studies.
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