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Biomedical subjects

A Lundin

Publications and source records attributed to A Lundin.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Increased in vivo secretory activity of neutrophil granulocytes in patients with psoriasis and palmoplantar pustulosis.

The relationship between psoriasis and palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) is uncertain, as is the role of the neutrophil granulocyte in these conditions. In a previous comparative study of the rate of polymorphonuclear leucocyte (PMN) phagocytosis of IgG- and IgG-C3b-coated particles, an increased uptake rate was found in both diseases. Further information on the in vivo activity of PMNs in these conditions may be obtainable by determining the level of lactoferrin (LF) in serum from such patients, since LF serves as a specific marker of the turnover and activity of the circulating pool of neutrophils. In this study on 19 patients with psoriasis and 20 patients with PPP, elevated levels of LF were found in both conditions. In contrast, the levels of lysozyme and beta 2-microglobulin, which are markers of monocyte-macrophage and lymphocyte activity, respectively, were normal. This suggests the selective activation of neutrophils in these disorders. LF was significantly correlated (P less than 0.05 and 0.001, respectively) to the rates of phagocytosis of IgG- and IgG-C3b-coated particles, but not to the chemotaxis of isolated PMNs. There was no correlation between the severity of the disease and the levels of serum LF. The data suggest the increased in vivo activity of neutrophils in psoriasis and PPP.

Adolescent↗

Enzymatic method for continuous monitoring of inorganic pyrophosphate synthesis.

A sensitive method for the analysis of inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) which utilizes the enzymes ATP sulfurylase and firefly luciferase is described. The assay is based on continuous monitoring of the ATP formed in the ATP sulfurylase reaction using purified firefly luciferase. The assay can be completed in less than 2 s and is not affected by inorganic phosphate. The method has been used for continuous monitoring of formation of PPi in Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores. The assay is extremely sensitive, the linear range of the assay being 1 X 10(-9) - 5 X 10(-7) M PPi. It is suitable for routine applications. It is also possible to use the method for determination of low amounts of adenosine 5'-phosphosulfate.

Bacterial Chromatophores↗

Circulating hyaluronate in psoriasis.

A radioassay method allowing measurements of low concentrations of circulating hyaluronate was used in a study of serum hyaluronate concentrations in 44 patients with psoriasis. Twenty-three of them had only skin lesions and 21 had both skin lesions and arthropathy. In both of these groups significantly elevated serum levels of hyaluronate were found. The highest values were observed in those with widespread and active skin disease and/or active arthritis. Serum hyaluronate positively correlated with the plasma concentrations of alpha 1-antitrypsin and haptoglobin and also with ESR, which may indicate a relationship between acute inflammation and increased production of hyaluronate. Seven patients with widespread atopic dermatitis included for comparison had normal hyaluronate values. In blister fluid from lesional skin in two patients with acute psoriasis, very high concentrations of hyaluronate were found, in comparison with the concentrations in blister fluid from non-involved skin. The increased concentration of serum hyaluronate in psoriasis indicates involvement of dermal and synovial tissue in psoriasis, in addition to the epidermal changes.

Adult↗

Hypercalcitoninaemia in a patient with urticaria pigmentosa. A possible cause of diarrhoea.

Mastocytosis gives rise to clinical symptoms such as flushing, itching and diarrhoea. We report a patient with urticaria pigmentosa without evidence of systemic involvement but with recurrent episodes of diarrhoea. The patient had elevated circulating levels of calcitonin, which might have been a mediator of her diarrhoea. We suggest that serum calcitonin level should be checked in patients with mast cell disease and diarrhoea.

Calcitonin↗

Studies on the phagocytic activity of the granulocytes in psoriasis and palmoplantar pustulosis.

A kinetic method was used to determine the rates of phagocytosis of IgG-coated and C3b-IgG-coated latex particles by neutrophil granulocytes from twenty patients with psoriasis and twenty with palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP). Patients with psoriasis showed a highly increased rate of uptake of IgG-coated particles. An increased rate was also observed in patients with PPP. These results indicate enhanced Fc-receptor function. In healthy controls the uptake rate of C3b-IgG-coated particles was at least 30% higher than that of particles coated with IgG alone. In nearly half of the patients in the psoriasis and PPP groups the uptake rate failed to increase in the normal way, indicating that C3b dysfunction is common in both psoriasis and PPP. In neither group was there any relationship between the rate of phagocytosis and the clinical severity of the disease.

Adolescent↗

Firefly luciferase ATP assay as a screening method for bacteriuria.

A rapid (15 min) test for bacteriuria based on firefly luciferase analysis of bacterial ATP has been evaluated in 2,018 clinical urine specimens. The test procedure involves removal of nonbacterial ATP by treatment of urine with Triton X-100 and apyrase, extraction of bacterial ATP by boiling, and bioluminescent analysis of bacterial ATP by firefly luciferase, using a luminometer. For comparison, the widely used nitrite test was included in the study as an example of an alternative rapid chemical test. The test was set up to distinguish between specimens yielding greater than 10(5) CFU/ml and specimens yielding less than 10(5) CFU/ml. A level of 13.5 nM ATP was chosen to define the limit between negative and positive results. At this discriminatory level, 92% of specimens yielding greater than 10(5) CFU/ml and 88% of specimens yielding less than 10(5) CFU/ml were correctly classified with the luciferase method, whereas corresponding figures for the nitrite test were 55 and 99%, respectively. Of the 12% false luciferase positives, 20% were shown to contain greater than 10(5) CFU/ml on prolonged incubation, thus reducing the false-positive rate to 10%. Of the 8% false luciferase negatives, 65% had low levels of CFU in the range of 10(5) to 10(6).

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Optimized bioluminescence assay of creatine kinase and creatine kinase B-subunit activity.

Spectrophotometry of CK-B subunit activity based on immunoinhibition is rapid and convenient. However, the low sensitivity limits clinical applications to serum samples with CK-B activities considerably above normal. A sensitive, but not optimized, bioluminescent assay of CK-B, also based on immunoinhibition, has been described. We improved this method by the use of an ADP concentration saturating the CK reaction and by the combined use of AMP and diadenosine pentaphosphate for inhibition of adenylate kinase. The optimized bioluminescent method is similar to the corresponding spectrophotometric method (reaction conditions, analytical procedure, numerical results, etc.) and results by the two methods correlate well. However, the measuring time is shorter and, more important, the sensitivity of the bioluminescent method allows accurate determinations of CK-B, even in serum from healthy individuals (CV approximately 3%). Kits and instrumentation (manual and automatic) for determination of CK and CK-B are now commercially available.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Sensitive assay of creatine kinase isoenzymes in human serum using M subunit inhibiting antibody and firefly luciferase.

A sensitive method for the assay of B subunit and total creatine kinase activity is described. The ATP formation in the creatine kinase reaction is continuously monitored by measuring the bioluminescence obtained with a purified firefly luciferase reagent. The B subunit activity is determined using an M subunit inhibiting antibody resulting in greater than 99.5% and approximately 50% inhibition of MM and MB isoenzymes, respectively. The bioluminescent method correlated well with a similar spectrophotometric method in the assay of B subunit as well as total creatine kinase activity (r greater than or equal to 0.98). However, the bioluminescent assay is considerably more sensitive, allowing the assay of B subunit activity in serum from healthy individuals. This is due to the inherent sensitivity of the bioluminescent assay of ATP, a reduced analytical interference from adenylate kinase and a reduced reagent blank. The within-series precision at 1 U/liter and greater than 52 U/liter corresponded to a C.V. of 14% and 3%, respectively. The method is as rapid and suitable for routine work as spectrophotometric methods. From a clinical point of view the new method is of particular interest in the early diagnosis of small acute myocardial infarctions.

Adenylate Kinase↗

Long-term effect of previous swimtraining in girls. A 10-year follow-up of the "girl swimmers".

Thirty girls, studied in 1961 after 2.5 years of intensive swimtraining, were the subject of a follow-up for ten years. When last examined, seven and ten years after the original study, all the girls had given up swimtraining. The increased values for vital capacity observed in 1961 remained unchanged, but residual volume, functional residual capacity and total lung capacity showed small increases even after corrections for body growth. Such increases are, however, normal in these years. Heart volume which was high originally, was found to be lower ten years later, although mean values were still higher than normal. The decreases seen from 1961 to 1971 could mainly be ascirbed to a decrease in the subjects with the larges hearts originally. Both total hemoglobin and blood volume decreased to normal values in relation to body size. Maximal oxygen uptake, though, fell from 2.80 l/min (51. 4 ml/kg X min) to 2.18 l/min (36.4 ml/kg X min) ten years later. It is suggested that the functional capacity of the cardiovascular system declined more markedly than its dimensions.

Adolescent↗

Treatment of malignant metastatic pancreatic insulinoma with streptozotocin. Review of 21 cases described in detail in the literature and report of complete remission of a new case.

The possibilities of treating different types of pancreatic islet cell cancer with the active drug streptozotocin have been studied in reports of 21 patients published during the last 8 years. The unusual features of the symptomatology, dosage and injection methods, side-effects after different infusion schedules and complications of streptozotocin therapy, are compared. A new case with pancreatic carcinoma and liver metastases was treated with a total dose of 14 g streptozotocin, divided into 7 injections with an increasing interval between them. This patient underwent a marked amelioration of the disease, without serious side-effects of the streptozotocin treatment. She has been apparently well for the 22 months which have now elapsed since the beginning of treatment. This seems to be one of the longest remission periods yet published in the insulinoma literature.

Adenoma, Islet Cell↗

In-vitro effects of Candida albicans of amphotericin B combined with other antibiotics. Preliminary observations.

The effect of amphotericin B combined with rifampicin or doxycycline on growth, oxygen consumption and ATP levels in cultures of Candida albicans, was studied. Alone, neither rifampicin nor doxycycline--even at high concentrations--affected the growth of the test organism. However, when combined with a concentration of amphotericin B which alone did not affect the growth of C. albicans, a pronounced fungistatic effect was obtained with therapeutically attainable concentrations of the drugs.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Comparison of methods for extraction of bacterial adenine nucleotides determined by firefly assay.

Adenine nucleotides in Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were extracted using 10 different methods. Extracts were assayed for adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP), adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP), and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) by the firefly method using an improved procedure. Analytical interference by bacterial enzymes not inactivated during the extraction was found to be a major problem. However, these enzymes were inactivated to a considerable extent by the inclusion of ethylenediaminetetraacetate in the extraction reagent. The 10 extraction methods were compared with respect to yield of adenine nucleotides, interference with the enzymic assay, reproducibility of the method, and stability of the extracts. Results indicated that extraction with trichloroacetic acid was the method most closely reflecting actual levels of ATP, ADP and AMP in intact bacterial cells. However, for the extraction of ATP in some bacterial strains several other methods may be used and may be advantageous from a practical point of view.

Adenine Nucleotides↗