A quantitative dot immunobinding assay for coagulation factor XII in plasma

A dot immunobinding assay on nitrocellulose (NC) membranes has been developed for the quantification of human coagulation factor XII (F XII). Plasma samples were dotted on to NC filters and F XII was detected using a polyclonal antiserum followed by a radiolabelled antigen overlay. Dilutions of either pooled normal human plasma (NHP) or purified F XII in F XII deficient plasma were used as standards. Quantification was performed by measuring the radioactivity of bound 125I-F XII. Precise measurements of F XII antigen (F XII: Ag) were possible with a sensitivity down to 0.12 ng. Thus, dotting samples containing 0.5 microliter of plasma permitted detection of a F XII concentration corresponding to 1% of the level in NHP. The intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) was less than 5% and the interassay CV was less than 16%. F XII:Ag in plasma samples of 50 healthy adults ranged from 12 micrograms/ml to 47 micrograms/ml. A good correlation (r = 0.93) existed between F XII:Ag and F XII clot promoting activity (F XII:C) in these samples. NHP contained 24.1 micrograms/ml F XII:Ag confirming earlier results obtained by other methods. In 16 pregnant women levels of F XII:Ag as well as of F XII:C were elevated, but F XII:Ag was disproportionately higher compared with F XII:C. The immunobinding assay has the following advantages: (1) rapid quantification of large numbers of samples is possible, (2) the sensitivity down to 1% of NHP is better than that of several other methods, (3) only very small amounts of both test material and reagents are needed.     

Stimulation of β-adrenoceptors inhibits store-operated channel currents via a cAMP-dependent protein kinase mechanism in rabbit portal vein myocytes

Previously we have described the properties of store-operated channel currents (SOCs) in freshly dispersed rabbit portal vein smooth muscle cells. In addition to Ca²⁺ store depletion these SOCs could also be activated by α-adrenoceptor stimulation and diacylglycerol (DAG) via a protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent mechanism. In the present study we have investigated the effect of β-adrenoceptor stimulation on SOCs in rabbit portal vein myocytes. With whole-cell recording the selective β-adrenoceptor agonist isoprenaline reduced the current evoked by cyclopiazonic acid (CPA, sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum ATPase inhibitor) by over 85%. With cell-attached patch recording, bath application of isoprenaline produced a pronounced inhibition of SOC activity evoked by either CPA or the acetoxymethyl ester form of BAPTA (BAPTA-AM). SOC activity evoked by CPA, the DAG analogue, 1-oleoyl-acetyl- sn -glycerol (OAG) or the phorbol ester, phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) was also markedly inhibited by the adenylate cyclase activator, forskolin, and the cell-permeable non-hydrolysable analogue of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), 8-Br-cAMP. With inside-out patches, bath application of PDBu evoked channel currents with similar properties to SOCs which were inhibited by over 90% by a catalytic subunit of protein kinase A (PKA) and by 8-Br-cAMP. Moreover bath application of PKA inhibitors, H-89, KT5720 and an inhibitory peptide to quiescent cell-attached or inside-out patches, activated channel currents with similar properties to SOCs. These data suggest that in rabbit portal vein myocytes, stimulation of β-adrenoceptors inhibits SOC activity via a cAMP-dependent protein kinase signal transduction cascade. In addition it is concluded that constitutive PKA activity has a profound inhibitory effect on SOC activity in this vascular preparation.     

凌晨3:00皮下注射短效胰岛素治疗2型糖尿病黎明现象

目的:观察应用凌晨3:00皮下注射短效胰岛素治疗2型糖尿病黎明现象的疗效。方法:对40例有黎明现象的2型糖尿病患者,使用短效胰岛素凌晨3:00注射4~6U。抽取肘静脉血测定空腹血糖(FPG)及早餐后2h血糖(2hPG),免疫比浊法测定糖化血红蛋白(HbA1c),比较治疗前后上述指标变化。结果:本组患者FPG从治疗前(9.5±1.6)mmol/L下降至(6.0±0.4)mmol/L,治疗2个月后仍保持为(5.6±0.4)mmol/L;2hPG从治疗前(13.8±0.8)mmol/L下降至(7.4±0.4)mmol/L,在治疗2个月后保持为(7.9±0.3)mmol/L;FPG和2hPG与治疗前比较,均具有显著性差异(P<0.01)。治疗2个月后,HbA1c从治疗前(8.3±0.6)%下降至(6.5±0.3)%,与治疗前比较,有显著性差异(P<0.01)。结论:短效胰岛素强化治疗黎明现象具有快速稳定的降血糖和降糖化血红蛋白作用。