Of Man's Heart Valves and Strep's Cell Walls
Authors: ANGELO TARANTA
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1967)

Editorial Notes1 June 1967Of Man's Heart Valves and Strep's Cell WallsANGELO TARANTA, M.D.ANGELO TARANTA, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-66-6-1287 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptThe latent period between streptococcal infections and rheumatic fever, the sterility of the joint exudate, and the vague family resemblance between serum sickness and rheumatic fever all contributed in the early years of this century to the formulation of the hypothesis that rheumatic fever is the result of a self-damaging immune process (1). Sixty years and many thousands of papers later, convincing proof of this hypothesis is still wanting, but we have learned some interesting facts.Autoantibodies to heart muscle (as well as to voluntary muscles) have been found in the serum of patients with active rheumatic fever (2), more...References1. STOLLERMAN GH: A scarlatinal "Nachkrankheit" of Schick: rheumatic fever, 50 years later. Int. Arch. Allerg. 12: 287, 1958. CrossrefGoogle Scholar2. KAPLAN MH: The concept of autoantibodies in rheumatic fever and in the postcommissurotomy state. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 86: 974, 1960. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. HESSFINKTARANTAZIFF EVCWAM: Heart muscle antibodies in rheumatic fever and other diseases. J. Clin. Invest. 43: 886, 1964. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. KAPLANBOLANDERAKITABLAIR MHRLJ: Presence of bound immunoglobulins and complement in the myocardium in acute rheumatic fever. Association with cardiac failure. New Eng. J. Med. 271: 637, 1964. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. SANDERSRITTS VRE: Ventricular localization of bound gamma-globulin in idiopathic disease of the myocardium. JAMA 194: 59, 1965. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. WEIR DM: A complement-fixation reaction with serum and tissue extracts after the injection of carbon tetrachloride into rats. Lancet 1: 1147, 1961. CrossrefGoogle Scholar7. KAPLANMEYESERIAN MHM: An immunological cross-reaction between group-A streptococcal cells and human heart tissue. Lancet 1: 706, 1962. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. KAPLANSUCHY MHML: Immunologic relation of streptococcal and tissue antigens. II. Cross-reaction of antisera to mammalian heart tissue with a cell wall constituent of certain strains of group A streptococci. J. Exp. Med. 119: 643, 1964. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. ZABRISKIEFREIMER JBEH: An immunological relationship between the group A streptococcus and mammalian muscle. J. Exp. Med. 124: 661, 1966. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. HALPERNGOLDSTEINROBERT BIL: Nouvelles données sur la pathogénie immunologique du rhumatisme articulaire aigu. Presse Med. 75: 28, 1967. Google Scholar11. GOLDSTEINHALPERNROBERT IBL: Immunological relationship between streptococcus polysaccharide and the structural glycoproteins of heart valve. Nature (London) 213: 44, 1967. CrossrefGoogle Scholar12. JENKIN CR: Heterophile antigens and their significance in the host-parasite relationship. Advances Immun. 3: 351, 1963. CrossrefGoogle Scholar13. SPRINGERWILLIAMSONBRANDES GFPWC: Blood group activity of gram-negative bacteria. J. Exp. Med. 113: 1077, 1961. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar14. BEESONGOEBEL PBWE: The immunological relationship of the capsular polysaccharide of type XIV pneumococcus to the blood group A specific substance. J. Exp. Med. 70: 239, 1939. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited ByPathogenesis of “rheumatic” heart disease: Critique and theory 1 June 1967Volume 66, Issue 6Page: 1287-1288KeywordsAutoantibodiesCell wallsHeartImmune serumInfertilityMusclesMyocardiumRheumatic feverStreptococcal infections Issue Published: 1 June 1967 PDF DownloadLoading ...