The effects in vivo of purified preparations of murine macrophage colony stimulating factor-1, recombinant murine granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor and natural and recombinant murine interleukin 3 without and with pretreatment of mice with purified iron-saturated human lactoferrin

The influence of purified natural colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1), purified recombinant granulocyte-macrophage (GM)-CSF, purified recombinant interleukin 3 (IL3) and natural IL3 were assessed in mice that were untreated or pretreated with purified iron-saturated human lactoferrin (LF) in order to first suppress myelopoiesis in the mice. S1/S1d mice responded to recombinant GM-CSF and recombinant IL3 in a manner similar to the response of their +/+ littermates. These 4 factors increased the cycling status of hematopoietic progenitors in vivo. The effects were more noticeable if myelopoiesis was first decreased by LF. The effects do not appear to be due to endotoxin contamination. It cannot be discerned from these studies whether the effects are direct ones on the progenitor cells or indirect ones mediated through growth-factor releasing accessory cells. It is possible that effects can be both direct and indirect.     

No evidence for a correlation between behaviour and the size of the Y chromosome

Y chromosome variation has been studied in three groups of Norwegian males: 35 boys from an adolescent psychiatric hospital; 45 men from a hospital for hard-to-manage or dangerous, psychotic men; and 26 boys from two ordinary school classes.
Y chromosomes with 1, 2, and 3 brightly fluorescing bands were found in all three groups. One boy carried a Y with no bands. The mean values of the Yf/Yq ratio were not significantly different in the three groups (Yf is the length of the distal, brightly fluorescing part of Yq). Two cases of XY/XYY mosaicism were found among the psychotic men.
The study shows that the human species is polymorphic with regard to the size of the Y chromosome, i. e. the number of fluorescent bands in the long arm. No phenotypical manifestation of this polymorphism, particuIarly as regards behaviour, was found.     

Comparison of low molecular weight heparin vs. unfractionated heparin in gynecological surgery

In a double-blind, randomized trial, the antithrombotic effect and haemorrhagic complications of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) (Heparin fragment 2165, KabiVitrum) and unfractionated heparin (UH) were compared. LMWH (5000 anti-XaU) was injected every 24 h, UH (5000 IU) every 12 h; both drugs by subcutaneous injection. During 1984-85, 215 patients were examined clinically and by plethysmography. Venography was performed whenever DVT was suspected. None of the patients proved to have DVT. Bleeding complications were found in 54% of the cases. The LMWH group had a statistically significant predominance of bleeding complications as reflected by wound haematomas (p = 0.02) and the number of blood transfusions (p = 0.02). The heparin concentration was higher in the LMWH group (mean 0.13 IU/ml) than in the UH group (mean 0.13 IU/ml) measured 2 h after the injection. In the doses administered, LMWH and UH seem effective in the prevention of thrombosis. The increased bleeding tendency in the LMWH group probably was a consequence of the to high dosage.     

Early detection of breast cancer based on gene-expression patterns in peripheral blood cells

Introduction

Existing methods to detect breast cancer in asymptomatic patients have limitations, and there is a need to develop more accurate and convenient methods. In this study, we investigated whether early detection of breast cancer is possible by analyzing gene-expression patterns in peripheral blood cells.

Methods

Using macroarrays and nearest-shrunken-centroid method, we analyzed the expression pattern of 1,368 genes in peripheral blood cells of 24 women with breast cancer and 32 women with no signs of this disease. The results were validated using a standard leave-one-out cross-validation approach.

Results

We identified a set of 37 genes that correctly predicted the diagnostic class in at least 82% of the samples. The majority of these genes had a decreased expression in samples from breast cancer patients, and predominantly encoded proteins implicated in ribosome production and translation control. In contrast, the expression of some defense-related genes was increased in samples from breast cancer patients.

Conclusion

The results show that a blood-based gene-expression test can be developed to detect breast cancer early in asymptomatic patients. Additional studies with a large sample size, from women both with and without the disease, are warranted to confirm or refute this finding.     

C-reactive protein: a new rapid assay for managing infectious disease in primary health care

Quantitative C-reactive protein (CRP) measurement has become increasingly valuable as a test for rapid diagnosis of infections in hospital medicine. CRP has not obtained the same importance in primary health care. This has, at least partly, been due to methodological difficulties, with no simple or rapid tests with quantitative results available. A new immunometric semi-quantitative assay, NycoCard CRP, has recently been developed. CRP was analysed at the local health centres by the new assay in 288 consultations where patients came because of infections. Parallel CRP values were obtained by an established reference method. The two procedures had an acceptable correlation (r = 0.85). The primary care doctors also registered the clinical information they obtained from each CRP result. CRP was helpful in indicating the presence, or absence of bacterial infection in more than half the consultations due to new infections. CRP was thought to yield more clinical information than the erythrocyte sedimentation rate in almost every case.     

Radiolabelling of platelets with technetium-99m

A method for labelling of platelets with technetium-99m (Tc-99m) is presented. In principle, aminobenzoic acid and tartaric acid are used as reagents, allowing Tc-99m complexes of intermediate chemical stability to be formed. These complexes react rapidly with proteins, such as platelet proteins, when added. We have examined the isolation procedure for the platelets and the labelling procedure using residual aggregational ability and residual content of beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG) as indicators of damage to the platelets. In its final version the method allowed a 32.6 +/- 2.7% (mean +/- SD) incorporation of Tc-99m into platelets which again showed a 66 +/- 15% residual aggregational ability, tested by 50 mumol/l of ADP, and a 79 +/- 17% residual content of beta-TG releasable by 10 IU/ml of thrombin. In a pilot clinical study involving 28 patients we found labelled autologous platelets useful in detecting lung embolism and deep vein thrombosis.     

Common bile duct stones are mainly brown and associated with duodenal diverticula.

This study investigated the composition of common duct gall stones from 61 patients, aged 49-94. The stones were collected endoscopically with a dormia basket after endoscopic papillotomy. The cholesterol content was measured both by infrared spectroscopy (mean 29%, range 0-99%) and enzymatically (mean 23%, range 0-96%). The results of the two measurements showed good correlation (r2 = 0.92), indicating that cholesterol can be adequately measured enzymatically. Most of the stones were pigment stones. When examined by infrared spectroscopy, 44 stones (72%) contained less than 50% cholesterol (mean 4%, range 0-23%). The bilirubinate content in these stones was 56%, range 12-100%. Forty two of these stones were brown stones, and only two were black stones. Pigment stones were associated with juxtapapillary diverticula (p < 0.01). It was found that brown pigment stones were the commonest symptomatic bile duct calculi in the patients studied, who are representative of a Western population.     

Effects of long-term exercise and diet intervention on plasma adipokine concentrations

BACKGROUND: In a randomized, controlled, 2 x 2 factorial trial on the effect of long-term changes in diet and exercise, a significant reduction in body weight and fat mass was observed. Alterations in leptin and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 concentrations were previously reported from this study. OBJECTIVE: We examined the separate and combined effects of a 1-y exercise and diet intervention on several adipokines; adiponectin, interleukin-6 and -8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, hepatocyte growth factor, nerve growth factor, C-reactive protein, and resistin. DESIGN: One hundred eighty-eight men with several risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease were randomly allocated to 4 groups: diet, exercise, combined diet and exercise, and control. RESULTS: Plasma adiponectin concentrations remained unchanged, whereas body mass index and fat mass decreased after dietary changes and an increase in physical activity. In the control group, adiponectin concentrations were reduced. Analyzed according to the factorial design, only diet intervention had a significant (P = 0.03) positive effect on plasma adiponectin relative to control, and this effect was largely explained by changes in fat mass. After adjustment for change in percentage body fat, there were significant positive effects on tumor necrosis factor-alpha in all 3 intervention groups (P = 0.01 for the diet group, 0.03 for the exercise group, and 0.05 for the combined diet and exercise group). Minor changes were observed for the other adipokines. Neither baseline concentrations of nor changes in adiponectin and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 were significantly correlated to the other adipokines, whereas concentrations of and changes in the other adipokines were significantly correlated. CONCLUSION: Diet intervention had a significant positive effect on adiponectin concentrations, which is largely explained by a reduction in fat mass.     

A granulocyte reactive monoclonal antibody, 1G10, identifies the Gal beta 1-4 (Fuc alpha 1-3)GlcNAc (X determinant) expressed in HL-60 cells on both glycolipid and glycoprotein molecules

1G10, a monoclonal IgM antibody that identifies a differentiation antigen on human granulocytes and a subpopulation of monocytes, was found to react specifically with glycosphingolipids bearing the Gal beta 1-4(Fuc alpha 1-3)GlcNAc hapten (X determinant). This carbohydrate determinant was found on both glycolipid and glycoprotein molecules isolated from HL-60 cells (a promyelocytic leukemia cell line). Thus, this highly conserved carbohydrate-defined determinant previously described on mouse embryonic and mouse and human carcinoma cells is also expressed as a tissue-specific differentiation antigen on normal human granulocytes.