Cathétérisme intracardiaque en clinique

Summary Cardiac catheterization, initially conducted byForssmann in 1929, has become a qualified clinical method. A fine rubber catheter is introduced into the antecubital vein and mechanically reaches the right heart chambers; auricular and ventricular, as well as the pulmonary artery. In some exceptional cases the left auricle and ventricle likewise lend themselves to exploration.     

Immunization of hu-PBL-SCID mice and the rescue of human monoclonal Fab fragments through combinatorial libraries.

Antibodies are usually prepared from recently boosted animals and reflect ongoing immune responses. In humans, this is restrictive as ethical constraints generally prevent antigen-boosting. Therefore the rich memory compartment of human antibody responses remains largely untapped. Severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) mice populated with human cells allow the stimulation of human antibody memory without the usual constraints. Here we show how peripheral blood lymphocytes can be stimulated by antigen to produce large secondary responses after transfer to SCID mice. Specific monoclonal human Fab fragments can then be isolated from the mice by repertoire cloning even when the human donor's last contact with antigen was more than 17 years ago.