Search results for "Assay"
showing 10 items of 2241 documents
Cellular and humoral immunity to the 60-kD heat shock protein in inflammatory bowel disease.
1997
Background: Mycobacteria have been considered a possible etiological agent in Crohn’s disease. Since cross-reactivity between epitopes of mycobacterial and self-heat shock protein might represent a potential disease mechanism, we determined the cellular and humoral immune responses to the mycobacterial and the human 60-kD heat shock protein, as well as various control antigens. Methods: We studied samples from 19 patients with Crohn’s disease, 12 patients with ulcerative colitis, and from 19 healthy individuals. T cell responses were studied using a standard proliferation assays to purified recombinant mycobacterial and human 60-kD heat shock protein. Antibody levels were measured by establ…
Involvement of caspase-3 and GD3 ganglioside in ceramide-induced apoptosis in Farber disease.
2000
Farber's disease (FD) is a rare genetic disorder caused by ceramidase deficiency, which results in ceramide accumulation in lung, liver, colon, skeletal muscle, cartilage, and bone. Although this disease has been symptomatically characterized, little is known about its molecular pathogenetic process. Because recent studies reported that ceramide accumulation induces GD3 ganglioside formation and apoptosis, we investigated, in tissue obtained via colonoscopy from seriously involved patients, the possible involvement of ceramide in FD colonocyte destruction. Histochemical and TUNEL analyses of paraffin-embedded sections revealed that 45 ± 4.3% of FD colonocytes showed morphological signs of …
CD40 activation in human pancreatic islets and ductal cells.
2008
Aims/hypothesis: CD40 expression on non-haematopoietic cells is linked to inflammation. We previously reported that CD40 is expressed on isolated human and non-human primate islets and its activation results in secretion of IL-8, macrophage inflammatory protein 1-beta (MIP-1β) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) through nuclear factor-κB and extracellularly regulated kinases 1/2 pathways. The objective of this study was to identify the pattern of gene expression, and to study viability and functionality affected by CD40-CD40 ligand (CD40L) interaction in human islets. Furthermore, we have studied the CD40-mediated cytokine/chemokine profile in pancreatic ductal cells, as they are…
Diagnostic accuracy and potential clinical value of the LightCycler SeptiFast assay in the management of bloodstream infections occurring in neutrope…
2011
Summary Objectives The objectives of this study were to compare the performance of the LightCycler SeptiFast Test MGRADE and conventional blood culture in the etiological diagnosis of febrile episodes occurring in neutropenic and critically ill patients (in the intensive care unit; ICU), and to assess the potential clinical value of the SeptiFast test in patient management. Methods A total of 86 febrile episodes occurring in 33 neutropenic patients and 53 ICU patients were analyzed. Blood samples for blood culture and SeptiFast testing were obtained at the onset of fever, before the implementation of empirical antimicrobial therapy. Results The overall microorganism-to-isolate agreement bet…
Changes in cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone in women victims of physical and psychological intimate partner violence
2003
Background Although intimate partner violence (IPV) has a great impact on women's health, few studies have assessed the consequences on physiologic responses. Methods Women abused by their intimate male partners either physically (n = 70) or psychologically (n = 46) were compared with nonabused control women (n = 46). Information about sociodemographic characteristics, smoking, pharmacologic treatment, lifetime history of victimization (childhood and adulthood), and mental health status (depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD) was obtained through structured interviews. Saliva samples were collected at 8 am and 8 pm for 4 consecutive days to determine morning and eveni…
CXCL10 and IL-6 induce chemotaxis in human trophoblast cell lines.
2008
The investigation of trophoblast chemoattractive molecules in humans is of high interest for the reproductive field. Current evidence in ruminants demonstrates that CXCL10, formerly the interferon-gamma-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), is a potent chemotactic molecule implicated in the migration of trophoblast cells during early gestation. The aim of this work was to explore the existence of CXCL10/CXCR3 in the human model. Furthermore, chemotaxis assays were performed to demonstrate CXCL10 chemotactic activity in the human trophoblast cell lines JEG-3 and AC-1M88. Surprisingly, the conditioned media from epithelial endometrial cells (EEC) induced the highest trophoblast migration rate. Cytoki…
Activity of the antiestrogenic cajanin stilbene acid towards breast cancer
2014
Antiestrogenic therapy is a mainstay for estrogen receptor (ERα)-positive breast cancer. Due to the development of resistance to established antihormones such as tamoxifen, novel compounds are required. The low abundant cajanin stilbene acid (CSA) recently isolated by us from Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan) has structural similarities with estrogen. We analyzed the cytotoxic and anticancer activity of CSA in ERα-positive and -negative human breast cancer cells in vitro, in vivo and in silico. CSA exerts anticancer and antiestrogenic activities towards ERα-positive breast cancer, and it showed cytotoxicity towards tamoxifen-resistant MCF-7 cells, implying that CSA may be active against tamoxifen-…
DNA methylation patterns in newborns exposed to tobacco in utero
2015
[Background] Maternal smoking during pregnancy is a major risk factor for adverse health outcomes. The main objective of the study was to assess the impact of in utero tobacco exposure on DNA methylation in children born at term with appropriate weight at birth.
Zymographic analysis of circulating and tissue forms of colon carcinoma gelatinase A (MMP-2) and B (MMP-9) separated by mono- and two-dimensional ele…
2001
Gelatinase A (MMP-2) and gelatinase B (MMP-9) play a key role in the proteolytic cascade leading to ECM degradation during invasion and metastasis. The enzyme activity is regulated both at the intra- and extra-cellular level. Extracellular regulation is achieved mainly through the balance between proenzyme activation and inhibition, which appears to be altered in cancer patients. One of the mechanisms of MMP inhibition is the binding of the enzymes to appropriate tissue inhibitors (TIMP). In the recent literature, it has been suggested that MMP-2 and/or MMP-9 are indeed over-produced in many carcinomas, while the identity of the various enzymatic forms (latent, activated and enzyme/inhibito…
Serology in adults with celiac disease: limited accuracy in patients with mild histological lesions.
2010
Celiac disease (CD) is a gluten-triggered enteropathy, presenting with insidious clinical patterns. It can occasionally be diagnosed in asymptomatic subjects. Our aim was to define the relationship among symptoms at diagnosis, serological markers [tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTGA), anti-endomysium antibodies (EMA) anti-actin antibodies (AAA)] and degree of mucosal damage. A total of 68 consecutive adult patients with CD were enrolled. Intestinal biopsies were scored according to the Marsh classification modified by Oberhuber: I–II minimal lesions or absent villous atrophy; IIIA partial villous atrophy; IIIB–C total villous atrophy (TVA). HLA-typing was done for all patients. No asso…