Ascertainment of variations in the biological half-lives of bromide and sodium ions in the rat by in vivo gamma-ray measurement of Br and Na radionuclides

With the aid of in vivo whole-body counting of the rats (administered simultaneously with the radionuclides ⁸²Br and ²⁴Na) by high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry, we extended the applicability of our experimentally proved hypothesis that the biological half-life of bromide depends on the magnitude of sodium intake rather than on the intake of chloride, as was generally assumed. Variations in the biological half-life of bromide, as a substitute for sodium, were investigated in animals situated in very different physiological states, as regards their metabolic activity.     

Hyaluronic acid levels may have predictive value for the progression of knee osteoarthritis

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To study prognostic value of different biochemical markers for morphological progression of early knee osteoarthritis. DESIGN: A total of 89 patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) were enroled into the study. The follow-up period was 2 years. Radiological OA progression was evaluated by measuring joint space width. Pentosidine was detected using the HPLC method described earlier, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) using the method published by our team. MMP-9, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP), YKL-40 and hyaluronic acid were detected using commercially available kits. RESULTS: In the group of patients suffering from knee OA, higher serum levels of pentosidine (P=0.04), MMP-9 (P=0.02), TIMP (P=0.04) and COMP (P=0.05) were detected compared with healthy control subjects. Using a correlation analysis method, it has been found that the patients with higher basic serum levels of hyaluronic acid had a faster radiological progression (r=0.56, P<0.005), as well as the patients with higher basic serum pentosidine levels (r=0.30, P<0.005). Other biochemical markers had no statistically significant prognostic value. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, serum levels of hyaluronic acid and pentosidine had a predictive value for further development of knee OA in that further joint space narrowing was detected in the patients with knee OA in the next 2 years.     

Monoclonal antibodies to human cartilage oligomeric matrix protein: epitope mapping and characterization of sandwich ELISA

BACKGROUND: Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein/thrombospondin 5 (COMP/TSP 5) is one of the most promising serologic markers with regard to an ability to prognose development of osteoarthritis (OA). Our aim was to map the epitopes of three monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to COMP and to develop and characterize a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for measuring COMP levels in human body fluids. METHODS: COMP was digested with trypsin and the NH(2)-terminal sequence of the fragments recognized by each of the mAbs was determined. Steric competition among the mAbs was tested with an antibody capture assay. A sandwich ELISA was developed using unlabeled mAb 16-F12 as a capture antibody, and mAb 17-C10 labeled with biotin as the second antibody. RESULTS: Epitopes of the three mAbs were mapped to three different domains within the COMP subunit (16-F12, NH(2)-terminal domain; 17-C10, EGF-like domain; 12-C4, COOH-terminal domain). These epitopes did not overlap. mAbs 17-C10 and 12-C4 yielded similar serum COMP results when used as the secondary antibodies. Serum COMP levels measured with the new sandwich ELISA using mAbs 16-F12 and 17-C10 correlated strongly with results based on an inhibition ELISA with mAb 17-C10 alone (r(2) = 0.836; P < 0.0001). We characterized the new sandwich ELISA with regards to inter- and intra-assay variability, the range of COMP levels that can be expected in human synovial fluids (SF) and sera (controls and OA and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients), and the day-to-day and diurnal variability of COMP levels in sera. CONCLUSIONS: We have developed and characterized a sandwich ELISA for COMP that is sensitive and yields highly reproducible COMP results upon analysis of human sera and synovial fluids.     

Tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme borreliosis: comparison of habitat risk assessments using satellite data (an experience from the Central Bohemian region of the Czech Republic)

The vegetation types have been used as the indicators of an ecosystem suitable for high incidence of Ixodes ricinus ticks and their hosts, for the circulation of tick-borne diseases pathogens and, accordingly, for the existence of natural foci of these infections, namely tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lyme borreliosis (LB). The method of remote sensing offers a suitable solution to this problem. We attempted to prepare the habitat risk assessment maps on the territory (11,500 km2) of Central Bohemia (Czech Republic) using Landsat 5 TM imagery. Nine forest classes have been recognized in the satellite data and further identified in a field checking botanical survey. Beside the conclusions dealing with the importance of different plant types for I. ricinus occurrence, also the epidemiological TBE and LB maps based on human cases contracted in the territory under study were exploited for the evaluation of particular forest classes significance, and for the comparison of results achieved. Apart from a general pattern of risk gradation from coniferous to deciduous wood types, both TBE and LB data suggest a specific position of the heterogeneous deciduous wood class (including mainly young deciduous stands and stand ecotones with highly heterogeneous structure). Epidemiological significance of the other particular forest classes was assessed by the degrees of positive class-to-risk associations (see Table 1 and 2).     

Four patients with myelodysplastic syndrome with translocation (1;7)(p11;p11) including one patient with independent clones del(7)q22) [corrected] and t(1;7)(q21;q11)

A translocation involving the short arm of chromosome #1 and the short arm of chromosome #7, [t(1;7)(p11;p11)] was present in four patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Two of these patients had prior lymphoproliferative disorders and developed MDS following prolonged therapy with alkylating agents. One of the patients with prior therapy history has two additional independent abnormal clones: one with a partial deletion of the long arm of #7 and the other with t(1;7)(q21;q11). A third patient had a family history of leukemia in both the father and a brother, both of whom developed acute nonlymphocytic leukemia following an MDS phase. The last patient was an elderly woman with no predisposing features.     

Biochemischer und mikromorphologischer Nachweis von Lipiden in der Dünndarmschleimhaut von Patienten mit Diabetes mellitus

Zusammenfassung Hyperlipidämien sind ein häufiger Befund bei Diabetes mellitus. Da neben der Leber auch die Dünndarmmukosa endogene Lipoproteine synthetisiert, war es von Interesse, bei 11 Erwachsenen mit juvenilem Diabetes und bei 7 Patienten mit Altersdiabetes den Lipidgehalt der Dünndarmmukosa zu bestimmen. Als Kontrolle dienten 11 nicht diabetische Patienten. Nach einer Nüchternperiode von 12–14 h erfolgte zunächst eine Blutabnahme zur Bestimmung von Nüchternblutzucker, Serumlipiden und glykosyliertem Hämoglobin A_I, daraufhin wurden mittels einer hydraulischen Biopsiesonde oder endoskopisch mehrere Dünndarmbiopsien entnommen und zur biochemischen, histochemischen und elektronenoptischen Auswertung entsprechend aufgearbeitet.Biochemisch unterschieden sich die Patienten mit juvenilem und mit Altersdiabetes weder hinsichtlich der Serumlipidwerte noch der intestinalen Lipidkonzentrationen von den Kontrollpersonen. Auffallend war allerdings, daß Patienten mit Altersdiabetes eine signifikant höhere intestinale Triglyzeridkonzentration aufwiesen, als Patienten mit juvenilem Diabetes (p<0,005). Nüchternblutzucker und Hämoglobin A_I waren bei beiden Patientengruppen mäßig erhöht. Histochemisch waren sowohl bei den Patienten als auch bei den Kontrollpersonen Lipidpartikel in der Mukosa nachweisbar, allerdings mit großen individuellen Unterschieden. Elektronenoptisch unterschieden sich die Patienten mit Altersdiabetes nicht von den Kontrollen. Nur einer der Patienten mit juvenilem Diabetes zeigte gehäufte Lipidpartikel in den Zisternen des Golgi-Apparates.Somit konnte weder biochemisch, histochemisch, noch elektronenoptisch eine abnorme Lipidakkumulation in der Dünndarmschleimhaut von Patienten mit gut kontrolliertem Diabetes mellitus festgestellt werden.