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Biomedical subjects

D J McCarty

Publications and source records attributed to D J McCarty.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Preliminary criteria for the classification of the acute arthritis of primary gout.

The American Rheumatism Association sub-committe on classification criteria for gout analyzed data from more than 700 patients with gout, pseudogout, rheumatoid arthritis, or septic arthritis. Criteria for classifying a patient as having gout were a) the presence of characteristic urate crystals in the joint fluid, and/or b) a topus proved to contain urate crystals by chemical or polarized light microscopic means, and/or c) the presence of six of the twelve clinical, laboratory, and X-ray phenomena listed in Table 5.

Acute Disease↗

Release of platelet constituents by monosodium urate crystals.

The release of human platelet constituents by the etiologic agent of gout, the monosodium urate crystal, is described here. In suspensions of washed platelets, response to urate crystals proceeded in two phases: A secretory phase involved the rapid active release of serotonin, ATP, and ADP with little loss of lactic dehydrogenase or beta-glucuronidase. A lytic phase involved the slower loss of all platelet constituents. Both phases were inhibited by iodoacetate plus dinitrophenol, suggesting an energy requirement. In ultrastructural studies, lysis of washed platelets which appeared to contain crystals was seen. Urate crystals were also shown to induce serotonin release and platelet lysis in citrated platelet-rich plasma. Since urate crystals are deposited at a variety of sites, urate crystal-platelet interaction in vivo is a possibility. Such interactions, leading to release of platelet constituents, might contribute to gouty inflammation or to enhanced atherogenesis.

Blood Platelets↗

Protein binding to monosodium urate monohydrate, calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate, and silicon dioxide crystals. I. Physical characteristics.

The protein adsorptive properties of monosodium urate monohydrate (MSU), silica (Si), and calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals were studied by qualitative and quantitative techniques. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) was adsorbed preferentially by MSU crystals from normal human serum and demonstrated high-affinity binding isotherms when compared with several isolated proteins in solution. The physical characteristics of this reaction suggest principally an ionic mechanism, since adsorption was enhanced by decreasing pH or ionic strength. Weaker physical forces also were suggested by studies showing enhanced adsorption at lower temperatures. The following order of affinity for Si or MSU crystals was found when equal concentrations of proteins were compared: Cohn fraction II greater than lysozyme greater than beta lactoglobulin greater than bovine serum albumin greater than ovalbumin. IgG adsorption to the crystals studied may explain certain features of their biological activity. It is suggested that this phenomenon blocks the membranolytic properties of crystals and stimulates their phagocytosis through interaction with Fc receptors on the surface of the phagocytic cells.

Adsorption↗

The reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome. I. Clinical and histologic studies: evidence for bilaterality, response to corticosteroids and articular involvement.

Eleven consecutive patients fulfulling criteria for the reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSDS) were studied by quantitative clinical methods, providing measurements of swelling (ring size), tenderness (dolorimeter) and functional capacity (grip strength). The predominantly affected extremity was clearly identified by these technics and its serial progress determined in six patients. Corticosteroid therapy predictably resulted in improvement of all treated patients. Greater tenderness was found in the joints than in the interjoint areas, indicating a possible accentuation of the disease process in juxta-articular tissues. Synovial biopsy specimens in four patients were abnormal, and the histology was presented in detail for the first time. All patients showed bilateral involvement during the study, providing evidence for a central neural mechanism in the RSDS.

Adult↗

The reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome. II. Roentgenographic and scintigraphic evidence of bilaterality and of periarticular accentuation.

Patchy osteoporosis is the primary roentgenologic manifestation of the reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSDS). As recent clinical and histologic data suggested articular changes in RSDS, fine-detail roentgenograms were obtained in eight consecutive patients. Juxta-articular and soft-tissue swelling, osteoporosis and erosions of the subchondral bone were found. 99mTcO4 and 99mTc-EHDP scintigraphy showed localization of nuclide predominantly in the juxta-articular tissues. Serial roentgenographic, scintigraphic and quantitative bone densitometric measurements showed changes that reflected the clinical course of the disease.

Adult↗

The reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome. A comprehensive analysis using fine-detail radiography, photon absorptiometry, and bone and joint scintigraphy.

Nine patients with reflex sympathetic dystrophy were examined. Clinical manifestations suggesting arthropathy were supported by radiographic demonstration of juxta-articular and subchondral bone erosions and by radionuclide demonstration of increased activity localized in the joint regions. Aggressive demineralization was demonstrated by fine-detail radiography and consisted of endosteal and intracortical excavation and subperiosteal and trabecular bone resorption. A one-third reduction in bone mineral was confirmed by quantitative analyses. Newer modalities of study have aided in the documentation of arthropathy in reflex sympathetic dystrophy and have helped in defining the patterns of aggressive bone resorption.

Adult↗

Inorganic pyrophosphate pool size and turnover rate in arthritic joints.

Recent studies have shown elevated inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) levels in most knee joint fluid supernates from patients with pseudogout (PG) or osteoarthritis (OA) and more modestly elevated levels in some supernates from patients with gout or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) relative to PPi levels found in the venous blood plasma of normal or arthritic subjects. We measured the intraarticular PPi pool and its rate of turnover to better understand the significance of the joint fluid-plasma PPi gradient. Preliminary studies in rabbits showed that (32-P)PPi passed from joint space to blood and vice versa without detectable hydrolysis. Incubation of natural or synthetic calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) microcrystals with synovial fluid in vitro in the presence of (32P)PPi tracer showed no change in PPi specific activity in the supernate over a 19-h period so that exchange of PPi in solution with that in CPPD microcrystals could be ignored. Clearance rates of (32P)PPi and of (33P)Pi, as determined by serially sampling the catheterized knee joints of volunteers with various types of arthritis over a 3-h period, were nearly identical. The (32P)PPi/(32P)Pi was determined in each sample. A mixture of a large excess of cold PPi did not influence the clearance rate of either nuclide. The quantity of PPi turned over per hous was calculated from the pool size as determined by isotope dilution and the turnover rate. The residual joint fluid nuclide was shown to be (32P)PPi. The PPi pool was generally smaller and the rate of turnover was greater in clinically inflamed joints. The mean plus or minus SEM pool size (mu-moles) and turnover rate (percent/hour) in PG knees was 0.23 plus or minus 0.07 and 117 plus or minus 11.9, hydrolysis rate (%/h) to Pi was 27.7 plus or minus 13.2; in OA knees: 0.45 plus or minus 0.26 and 72 plus or minus 9.2, hydrolysis 6.9 plus or minus 0.9; in gouty knees: 0.8 plus or minus 0.41 and 50 plus or minus 11.6, hydrolysis 9.8 plus or minus 2.8; and in RA knees: 0.14 plus or minus 0.14 and 114 plus or minus 35.8, hydrolysis 236 plus or minus 116. PPi turnover (mumoles/hour) correlated with the degree of OA change present in the joint as graded by radiologic criteria irrespective of the clinical diagnosis. Mean PPi turnover in joints with advanced OA was greater than in those with mild or moderate changes (P smaller than 0.001), but the mild and moderate groups showed no significant difference. We conclude that synovial PPi turnover and elevated PPi fluid concentrations are not specific for PG patients, and that these factors alone cannot be the only determinants of CPPD crystal deposition.

Adult↗

Factors affecting the solubility of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals.

The solubility of triclinic calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) crystals was measured under varying conditions using 45Ca-labeled crystals, expressing solubility as micromoles per liter of 45Ca in solution. In a 0.1-M Tris-HC1 buffer pH 7.4, the solubility of accurately sized CPPD crystals (37-20mum) was 60muM with maximal solubility being attained after about 8 h incubation at 37degreeC. Reduction in crystal size, decrease in pH, increase in ionic strength, Mg++, citrate, and albumin all increased solubility. The most marked effects on solubility occurred when changing the calcium concentration or by enzymatic hydrolysis of inoganic pyrophosphate to orthophosphate. It was found that decreasing the ionized calcium level below 5 mg/100 ml resulted in a progressive enhancement of solubility. The observed solubility-enhancing effects of albumin could be explained solely on its calcium-binding ability and thereby, altered ionized calcium level. Diffusible calcium in synovial fluid was only 40% of the total calcium concentration, which means most joint fluids are normally near the critical concentration of 5 mg/100 ml of ionized calcium, below which solubility is enhanced. During surgery, especially parathyroidectomy, calcium levels fall, favoring dissolution of CPPD crystals. We speculate that the slight decrease in crystal size during dissolution frees them from their cartilaginous mold, resulting in a dose-dependent inflammatory reaction as they are "shed" into the joint space. Crystal shedding may be reinforced by the modest fall in joint fluid pH accompanying the inflammatory response.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗

Identification of inorganic pyrophosphate in human platelets and its release on stimulation with thrombin.

Serum inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) levels were consistently two- to threefold higher than plasma PPi prepared from the same blood. PPi was found in platelets in amounts ranging from 1.4 to 3 nmol/10(8) cells, using three different techniques for quantification. These levels are approximately 800 times higher than the mean PPi concentration in normal plasma and approximate the levels of ADP found in platelets by other workers. About 50% of platelet PPi was specifically released extracellularly after stimulation with thrombin. Timed release experiments showed a pattern of release that resembled that described for ADP and ATP. This pattern was clearly different from that shown by platelet calcium, serotonin, or beta-glucuronidase. Platelet inorganic pyrophosphatase was not released into the supernate in detectable amounts. Platelets from patients with nucleotide storage pool deficiency showed greatly reduced levels of PPi as compared with control. There was no detectable release of PPi into extracellular medium after thrombin addition to a suspension of these platelets.

Blood Platelets↗

Measurement of inorganic pyrophosphate in biological fluids. Elevated levels in some patients with osteoarthritis, pseudogout, acromegaly, and uremia.

A rapid and relatively simple method for measurement of inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) in biological samples has been described. The mean +/-SEM of plasma samples from 94 normal subjects was 1.8+/-0.06 muM, giving a normal range (99% confidence limits) of 0.16 - 3.40 mumol/liter. Analysis of 17 plasma samples in duplicate showed a standard deviation of 0.18, giving a 99% probability that a single determination of plasma PPi would be +/-0.68 muM of the true value. The mean PPi levels in plasma from subjects with osteoarthritis, pseudogout, acromegaly, and uremia were significantly greater than the normal mean (P < 0.01). Samples from rheumatoid arthritis showed PPi levels distributed about a mean identical to the normal mean. Plasma inorganic orthophosphate levels correlated positively with PPi levels in samples from normal subjects and in samples from patients with osteoarthritis, pseudogout, and uremia, but not with acromegaly. This correlation was statistically significant only in the normal samples and in those from patients with osteoarthritis.

Acromegaly↗