Significance of IgM anti-hepatitis D virus (HDV) in chronic HDV infection

Intrahepatic hepatitis D virus (HDV) antigen (HDAg) and serum HDV RNA are excellent markers of active HDV replication but the relation of IgM anti-HDV to HDV replication and histological activity is less certain. To further elucidate the significance of serum IgM anti-HDV, 90 paired sera and liver biopsies from 64 patients seropositive for total antibody to HDV were analysed for IgM anti-HDV, intrahepatic HDAg expression, and histological inflammatory activity. IgM anti-HDV was strongly associated with intrahepatic HDAg expression with a sensitivity of 94.1% but the assay lacked specificity since 14 out of 22 cases negative for intrahepatic HDAg were also positive for IgM anti-HDV. In 20 patients in whom follow-up biopsies and paired sera were available, two patients lost intrahepatic HDAg but paired serum remained IgM anti-HDV positive. Although the presence of serum IgM anti-HDV correlated significantly with a higher histological inflammatory activity (P = 0.001), there was a considerable overlap with the group seronegative for IgM anti-HDV, again indicating a poor specificity. This lack of specificity of IgM anti-HDV for both HDV replication and histological activity indicates that this assay provides no additional information over and above assay for total antibody to HDV.     

Effects of histamine agonists and antagonists on rat peritoneal mast cells

Inflammation Research -     

Impaired release of a T-cell specific suppressor factor in rheumatoid arthritis.

Peripheral blood T cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and scleroderma (PSS) were assessed for their ability to release T-cell-specific suppressor activity (TRSA) upon incubation with a suppressor activating factor (SAF) derived from a human lymphoblastoid cell line (CEM). T cells from 11/20 (55%) RA patients exhibited impaired TRSA release in contrast to 1/12 (8%) of PSS patients. RA patients demonstrating impaired TRSA release exhibited more active arthritis than patients demonstrating normal TRSA release.     

Clara cell protein 16 (CC16) gene polymorphism influences the degree of airway responsiveness in asthmatic children

BACKGROUND: Several studies have indicated linkage of chromosome 11q12-13 to asthma and associated traits. Among other candidate genes, the Clara cell protein 16 (CC16) gene maps to this region. CC16 is expressed in the bronchial epithelium and exhibits potent anti-inflammatory properties. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the CC16 gene (A38G) was previously associated with asthma. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the role of the CC16 SNP in pediatric asthma and asthma severity in 2 German study populations. METHODS: The German Multicenter Allergy Study (MAS) cohort (n = 872, 94 asthmatic patients) and 112 allergic asthmatic children recruited in Freiburg, Germany, were included in the present study. Histamine provocations were performed at the age of 7 years in the MAS cohort to determine bronchial hyperreactivity; in the Freiburg study population a standardized exercise-induced decrease in FEV1 was evaluated. For genotyping, melting-curve analysis and restriction enzyme digestion were applied. RESULTS: No association of the CC16*38A allele with asthma could be observed in either study population. However, in asthmatic subjects (MAS cohort) PC(20)FEV(1) values were significantly lower in individuals homozygous or heterozygous for the CC16*38A allele compared with those in subjects with the CC16*38GG genotype (P <.05 and P <.03, respectively). Similarly, allergic asthmatic patients in the Freiburg cohort showed a significantly greater decrease in FEV1 after exercise when homozygous for the CC16*38A allele compared with that seen in asthmatic patients with the *38AG or *38GG genotype (P <.04 and P =.006, respectively). CONCLUSION: We conclude that the CC16*A38G SNP influences bronchial hyperreactivity and might be a genetic determinant of asthma severity in German children.     

Comparison of different PCR approaches for characterization of Burkholderia (Pseudomonas) cepacia isolates.

In this study, we evaluated three PCR methods for epidemiological typing of Burkholderia (Pseudomonas) cepacia--PCR-ribotyping, arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR) and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequence PCR (ERIC-PCR)--and compared them with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The analysis was performed with 31 isolates of B. cepacia, comprising 23 epidemiologically unrelated isolates and 8 isolates collected from the same patient during two episodes of bacteremia. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, ERIC-PCR, and AP-PCR identified 23 distinct types among the 23 unrelated isolates, while PCR-ribotyping only identified 12 strain types, even after AluI digestion of the amplification products. Among the eight isolates collected from the same patient, all typing techniques revealed two clones of strains. The day-to-day reproducibilities of PCR-ribotyping and ERIC-PCR were good, while greater day-to-day variations were noted in the fingerprints obtained by AP-PCR. We conclude that all three PCR techniques are useful for rapid epidemiological typing of B. cepacia, but ERIC-PCR seems to be more reproducible and discriminative.     

Effects of acrivastine,azelastine, cetirizine and noberastine on rat peritoneal mast cells

Inflammation Research -     

Intracellular T lymphocyte cytokine profiles in the aqueous humour of patients with uveitis and correlation with clinical phenotype

This study aimed to investigate whether T cells in aqueous humour are different in different types of uveitis and correlate with clinical phenotype. Patients with clinically different types of uveitis, but all displaying active anterior uveitis, were phenotyped and samples of aqueous humour (AH) and peripheral blood (PB) collected. Cells from AH and PB were separated by centrifugation and by density gradient centrifugation (to obtain mononuclear cells PBMC), respectively. Cells were activated with PMA and ionomycin in the presence of Brefeldin A, stained for surface markers and intracellular cytokines, and analysed by flow cytometry. The cytokine profile was correlated with the clinical phenotype. Increased percentages of interleukin (IL)-10+-, but not interferon (IFN)-gamma+ T lymphocytes were found in AH compared with PB in patients with acute anterior uveitis (AAU), FHC or chronic panuveitis (PU). There was a trend towards elevated levels of IL-10+ T cells in AH from patients with FHC compared with AH from acute uveitis and panuveitis patients. Increased levels of IL-10+ T cells in AH compared with PB were also found in samples from patients with isolated uveitis, but not those with associated systemic disease. Levels of cytokine-positive T cells were not associated with the use of topical steroids or to the severity of the anterior uveitis. While type I cytokine-producing T lymphocytes are present in AH during AU, the presence of increased proportions of IL-10+ T lymphocytes in AH from patients with uveitis may be indicative of an anti-inflammatory mechanism that may influence the type and course of ocular inflammation in these patients.