Search results for " secretion"
showing 10 items of 490 documents
Serum concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the inhabitants of a Sicilian city.
2012
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides are common environmental contaminants that have been associated with human health problems. OBJECTIVES: To assess serum concentrations of several organochlorine contaminants in general population living in a city with an ancient agricultural tradition and to identify possible exposure sources in Sicily. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 101 individuals. Each participant answered a face-to-face questionnaire submitted by well-trained personnel and provided a serum sample which was analyzed for the concentrations of PCBs, HCB, HCHs and DDTs by using gas-chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. RESULTS: HCB, p…
Cellular Immunity in Adolescents and Adults following Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Administration
2007
ABSTRACT Cell-mediated immune (CMI) responses to an acellular pertussis vaccine administered to 49 subjects, a subset of participants in the National Institutes of Health-funded adult acellular pertussis vaccine efficacy trial, were evaluated and compared with antibody responses to vaccine antigens. Levels of proliferation of and cytokine secretion from lymphocytes cultured in the presence of pertussis toxin, filamentous hemagglutinin, or pertactin were measured before vaccination and 1 month and 1 year after vaccination. Statistically significant increases in lymphocyte stimulation indices and cytokine secretion were noted at both 1 month and 1 year after vaccination. Brisk pertussis antig…
Molecular characterisation and expression analysis of SEREX-defined antigen NUCB2 in gastric epithelium, gastritis and gastric cancer.
2009
NUCB2 is an EF-hand Ca2+ binding protein that has been implicated in various physiological processes like calcium homeostasis, hypothalamic regulation of feeding and TNF receptor shedding. In our previous study we identified NUCB2 as a potential tumour antigen eliciting autoantibody responses in 5.4% of gastric cancer patients but not in the healthy individuals.The current study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying NUCB2 immunogenicity and to gain an insight into the physiological functions of NUCB2 in the stomach. mRNA expression analysis demonstrated that NUCB2 is ubiquitously expressed in normal tissues, including lymphoid tissues, and downregulated in gastric tumours wh…
Glutathione and glutathione peroxidase in sputum samples of adult patients with cystic fibrosis
2004
AbstractBackground: Reduced glutathione (GSH) is a major antioxidant in the lung. In cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, extracellular GSH levels of lower airways, obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), were reported to be lower than non-CF individuals. Methods: Upper airway secretions of stable adult CF patients (29 spontaneous and 13 induced sputum) and non-CF individuals (14 healthy and 12 asthmatics; all induced sputum) were analyzed for total glutathione (i.e. the sum of reduced, GSH, and oxidized, GSSG, forms), GSH and GSSG levels by enzymatic kinetic assay. Results: In CF, both spontaneous and induced sputum samples were comparable in total glutathione levels which were surprisingly hi…
A retrospective study of the prevalence and characteristics of dens invaginatus in a sample of the Turkish population.
2012
Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of dens invaginatus and to classify the types of dens invaginatus in a sample of the Turkish population.. Study Design: A retrospective study was performed using periapical and panoramic radiographs of 5355 patients who presented to the Department of Oral Diagnosis and Radiology at the Ondokuz Mayıs University Dentistry Faculty between January 2009 and December 2010. Maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth were evaluated for the presence and characteristics of dens invaginatus. Statistical evaluation of the presence of dens invaginatus related to gender was performed by the Pearson chi-squared test. Results: Dens invaginatus …
Serum VEGF and b-FGF profiles after tension-free or conventional hernioplasty.
2005
Angiogenesis is strongly influenced by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF), whose production is also regulated by interferon (IFN)-gamma and interleukin (IL)-10. The aim of this study was to evaluate the modifications of serum VEGF, b-FGF, IFN-gamma and IL-10 levels in patients with inguinal hernia undergoing hernioplasty with the Lichtenstein technique (LH) using polypropylene mesh or with Bassini open conventional inguinal hernia repair (BH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Randomly, 16 patients underwent BH, and 16 were treated with the LH technique using polypropylene mesh. Blood samples were collected 24 h prior to surgery and then 6, 24, 48 and …
Predominance of Th1-type T cells in synovial fluid of patients with Yersinia-induced reactive arthritis
1992
The pathogenetic mechanisms underlying the development of reactive arthritis and the functional capacities of synovial T cells specific for Yersinia enterocolitica are still unclear. In this study we have determined the cytokine secretion patterns of 24 CD4+ synovial fluid (SF)-derived T cell clones from 2 patients with Yersinia-induced reactive arthritis, 16 clones specific for different Yersinia antigens and 8 clones as controls. The clones specific for Yersinia antigens predominantly belong to the T helper cell 1 (Th1) subset with production of interferon (IFN)-gamma and interleukin (IL)-2, but no IL-4, whereas SF T cells not reactive with Yersinia antigens produce IL-2, IL-4 and IFN-gam…
Study of pituitary secretion in relation to retinopathy in patients with juvenile diabetes mellitus.
1981
Fifteen juvenile diabetic patients with normal eye fundus, 6 with non proliferative retinopathy, 5 with proliferative retinopathy and 5 healthy control subjects were studied in order to investigate pituitary function in relation to diabetic retinopathy. ACTH values at 08(00) and 18(00), hPRL and TSh secretion in response to 200 microgram TRH i.v., and GH secretion in response to 500 mg oral L-dopa were evaluated. In all diabetic subjects, 08(00) ACTH levels were lower than in controls. Basal hPRL, TSH and GH values of the diabetics did not differ from those of the controls. No significant differences were found in hPRL levels in response to TRH, whereas significantly lower TSH responses wer…
The neuroendocrinological profile of roxindole, a dopamine autoreceptor agonist, in schizophrenic patients
1995
Roxindole is a potent autoreceptor-selective dopamine agonist with additional properties as a serotonin reuptake inhibitor and 5-HT1A agonist. In order to get more insight into its mode of action in various psychiatric populations, we evaluated the effects of subchronic roxindole treatment on pituitary and adrenal hormone secretion, i.e. release of prolactin, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), growth hormone (GH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and cortisol. Fifteen schizophrenic patients with positive and negative symptomatology, respectively, were treated with roxindole for 28 days. Both basal and thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) -induced prolactin secretion diminished significantly to 26.4…
Gonadotropin and Testosterone Secretion in Normal Human Males After Stimulation With Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (Gnrh) or Potent Gnrh Analogs Usi…
1978
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and some potent long-acting GnRH analogs, applied by different routes of administration, were tested in six healthy human males. The effects on gonadotropin secretion were compared with the one after intravenous (i.v.) bolus injection of 25 microgram of GnRH. The net increase of luteinizing hormone (deltaLH) in serum produced by 25 microgram of GnRH i.v. was matched by subcutaneous (s.c.) injection of 100 microgram of GnRH, dissolved in 20% gelatin or without gelatin; 5 microgram of D-Ser (TBU)6-des-Gly10-GnRH-ethylamide i.v.; 5 microgram of D-Leu6-des-Gly10-GnRH-ethylamide i.v.; and 50 microgram of D-Trp6-des Gly10-GnRH-ethylamide given pernasally (p.n…