A monoclonal antibody (RP-3) that depletes rat neutrophils selectively in vivo was developed by hybridization of mouse myeloma cells (P3-X63.Ag8.653) and spleen cells of BALB/c mice sensitized with peritoneal neutrophils of WKA/Hok rats. RP-3 reacted with rat neutrophils but not with lymphocytes, macrophages, natural killer cells, basophils, eosinophils, or tissues of various organs. The mitogenic responsiveness to concanavalin A (ConA), phytohemagglutinin (PHA), and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of rats given RP-3 was not significantly different from that of normal rats. Administration of RP-3 into the peritoneal cavity of rats that had been kept under specific pathogen-free (SPF) or clean conditions induced selective depletion of circulating neutrophils to under 100/mm3 (0.5% WBC). The numbers of monocytes, lymphocytes, and platelets were not changed. Administration of 2 ml of RP-3 reduced blood neutrophils to under 100/mm3 for approximately 24 h, and administration of 1 ml caused depletion for approximately 12 h.

We analyzed anti-Cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgG and IgM antibody (EIA) and anti-Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) viral capsid antigen (VCA) IgG and IgM antibody (FA) in adults during 1994-1999. We examined these IgM sero-positive patient's medical records, and diagnosed CMV mononucleosis and EBV mononucleosis. Anti-CMV antibody positive rates decreased from 87.6% in 1994 to 77.8% in 1999. Especially in twenties, anti-CMV antibody positive rates decreased from 65.2% in 1994 to 53.3% in 1999. On the other hand, anti-EBV VCA antibody positive rates were not changed (91-94%). Number of cases of CMV mononucleosis increased from 2 cases in 1994 to 16 cases in 1999, but EBV mononucleosis was not changed. These results suggested that increasing cases of CMV mononucleosis was influenced by decreasing anti-CMV antibody positive rate.

We investigated the role of neutrophils in increased vascular permeability by a selective reduction of neutrophils using a monoclonal antibody, RP-3. An intraperitoneal injection of RP-3 not only selectively depleted peripheral blood neutrophils, but prevented the neutrophil infiltration to the tissues. Proteose peptone, zymosan, and BCG induced three different types of inflammatory edema, showing the early phase only, early plus late phase, and the late phase only, respectively. Only the late phase response of zymosan and BCG was inhibited by a depletion of neutrophils by RP-3, though the early phase response induced by proteose peptone and zymosan was not affected. Reconstitution of neutrophil-depleted rats by in situ injection of these cells restored the inflammatory edema induced by BCG, depending upon the number of neutrophils injected.

[Case report] A 65-year-old male war admitted to a local hospital because of fever. He was treated with piperacillin and clindamycin without noticeable effect. He began to complain of loss of vision on the third hospital day and culture of the blood specimen yielded Klebsiella pneumoniae. He was diagnosed as endophthalmitis and referred to our hospital for further examination. The hematological laboratory test showed leukocytosis (12,700/microliter) and increased CRP (20.4 mg/dl). A computed tomographic (CT) scan of the thorax revealed multiple lung abscesses. An abdominal ultrasonographic scan and a CT scan of the abdomen revealed multiple liver abscesses. We drained the abscess in the liver and Klebsiella pneumoniae was detected from the sample of aspirated fluid and his sputum. Meropenem was administered intravenously. Fever started to improve on the tenth hospital day and the size of both liver and lung abscesses were reduced. He has lost vision of his right eye. He was discharged after sixty days. He did not have any immunosuppressive underlying disease including HIV infection and diabetes mellitus which cause these lesions.

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We report a 32-year-old female with eating disorder whose body weight was only 20 kg. She was admitted to the hospital with severe low nutrition, low proteinemia, liver dysfunction, hypokalemia and hypoglycemia. On the third hospital day, she had a high fever and Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus (C. fetus) was isolated from the blood. After treatment with meropenem (1 g/day) intravenous drip injection, her condition improved. C. fetus sepsis is not common disease in Japan. A review of 37 cases of this disease in Japan revealed that the age range of adult patients was 20 to 60 years old. The male-to-female ratio was 4.6 to 1.0. Seventy-eight percent of the patients had underlying diseases which were composed of 11 patients with liver disease, 6 patients with blood dyscrasia and some with diabetes mellitus, heart disease, other malignant tumor and collagen disease. There was no case with eating disorder. All apparent sources of infection in Japan originate from eating raw food. Gastrointestinal symptoms were observed in only 16% of the patients. Recent recommendations for the treatment of C. fetus sepsis are to use gentamicin, imipenem and meropenem. Some strains of C. fetus have resistance to erythromycin, ciprofloxacin. The mortality of this infection is 14% in Japan.

We experienced two cases of infectious mononucleosis-like syndrome associated with human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6). One of the patients had been under medication for depression and the other one for schizophrenia. Both of them were taking carbamazepine for more than a week along with the other drugs. The manifestation of the symptoms of those two were almost same, such as high fever, generalized eruption, liver dysfunction, lymph-adenopathy, and existence of atypical lymphocytes. Serological tests for EB virus, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus showed no significant change while the tests for HHV-6 showed increased titers of IgG antibody during the courses. We also examined HHV-6 DNA by real time quantitative PCR tests for HHV-6, and they appeared significantly high in the peripheral blood samples.