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Biomedical subjects

F Kohen

Publications and source records attributed to F Kohen.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Luminescent immunoassay (LIA) for progesterone in a heterogeneous system.

An immunoassay procedure for determination of progesterone in human plasma is described which utilizes chemiluminescence as the endpoint. The assay utilized progesterone-11-hemisuccinate-aminobutyl-ethyl-isoluminol (P-11-HS-ABEI) as the chemiluminescent marker conjugate and dextran coated charcoal for the separation of bound and free fractions of the ligand. An assay procedure for progesterone was established and validated in terms of sensitivity and precision, and assay results were compared with radioimmunoassay, using tritiated progesterone as the tracer. The two methods agreed well (n=35, r=0.96). The most important advantage of this assay is the elimination of problems inherent in the use of radioactive materials.

Azides↗

Development of a solid-phase chemiluminescence immunoassay for plasma progesterone.

A solid-phase immunoassay procedure for the determination of progesterone in human plasma is described, which utilizes chemiluminescence as the end-point. A progesterone-isoluminol conjugate serves as the chemiluminescent marker. An IgG fraction of antiserum to progesterone-11 alpha-hemisuccinate bovine serum albumin is passively adsorbed to the walls of Lumacuvettes P polystyrene test tubes. After the binding reaction, the cuvettes are washed. The light yield of the bound conjugate upon oxidation with a H2O2-microperoxidase system at pH 13 decreased with increasing free progesterone concentration in a log-linear manner over the range 15-1000 pg/tube. The chemiluminescence immunoassay is comparable to radioimmunoassay with regard to sensitivity, specificity, precision and accuracy. The assay offers the advantages of speed and ease of automation. In addition, this method does not involve the use of radioisotopes or of a centrifugation step.

Animals↗

Use of monoclonal antibodies to pregnanediol-3 alpha-glucuronide for the development of a solid phase chemiluminescence immunoassay.

Monoclonal antibodies to pregnanediol-3 alpha-glucuronide were produced by hybridomas between P3-X63-Ag8 variants and spleen cell of mice immunized with a bovine serum albumin conjugate of the homologous hapten. The ascites fluid collected from mice inoculated with the cloned hybridoma cells contained antibodies with high specificity and affinity to pregnanediol-3 alpha-glucuronide. A sensitive solid-phase chemiluminescence immunoassay for urinary pregnanediol-3 alpha-glucuronide was established utilizing these antibodies. The assay was validated in terms of specificity, accuracy, sensitivity and precision. When urine samples were assayed for pregnanediol-3 alpha-glucuronide, the results obtained by the solid-phase chemiluminescence immunoassay method and the conventional gas liquid chromatographic method agreed well (n = 30, r = 0.96). The method may be of value for monitoring luteal function since it is fast, sensitive and does not require the use of radioisotopes or purification of the biological sample. Monoclonal antibody preparations facilitate rigorous standardization of the assay.

Animals↗

An assay for urinary estriol-16 alpha-glucuronide based on antibody-enhanced chemiluminescence.

An immunoassay for estriol-16 alpha-glucuronide in pregnancy urine is described that utilizes antibody-enhanced chemiluminescence. The steroid glucuronide was covalently conjugated with the chemiluminescent marker aminobutyl-ethyl-isoluminol. The light yield of this conjugate upon oxidation was augmented by specific antibody, and this effect was inhibited by addition of the homologous steroid glucuronide (10-100 pg) in a dose-dependent manner. The assay does not require separation of bound and free ligand and proved satisfactory with respect to sensitivity, precision and accuracy. Assay results obtained by radioimmunoassay and chemiluminescence immunoassay were in good agreement (r = 0.98; n = 25).

Antibody Specificity↗

An immunoassay for plasma cortisol based on chemiluminescence.

An immunoassay procedure for the determination of cortisol in human plasma is described, which utilizes chemiluminescence as the end point. A cortisol-isoluminol conjugate serves as the chemiluminescent marker. The light emission by this conjugate upon oxidation is delayed by prior incubation with anti-cortisol IgG, but not by unrelated gamma-globulin. This delayed light emission was inhibited by cortisol in a dose-dependent manner, with a linear range of 20-1000 pg steroid/assay tube. A competitive protein binding assay based on this procedure was applied to methylene chloride extracts of cortisol from normal and pathological human plasma (2-40 micrograms/100 ml). Cortisol values obtained by this procedure agreed well with those obtained by radioimmunoassay, using the same antiserum with tritiated cortisol as the label (r = 0.98). The chemiluminescence immunoassay is comparable to radioimmunoassay with regard to sensitivity, specificity, precision and accuracy. The advantage of the new assay procedure is that it obviates the need for counting radioactivity and for separation of bound and free ligand.

Humans↗

Aggregation of luteinizing hormone receptors in granulosa cells: a possible mechanism of desensitization to the hormone.

The temporal relationship between redistribution of receptors to lutropin (luteinizing hormone)/human chorionic gonadotropin in cultured rat ovarian granulosa cells and the cellular response to hormonal challenge were studied. Visualization of receptor-bound human chorionic gonadotropin by indirect immunofluorescence, with hormone-specific antibodies after fixation with 2% formaldehyde, revealed the existence of small clusters around the entire cell circumference 5--20 min after exposure to the hormone at 37 degrees C. Such small receptor aggregates were also evident if hormone incubation was at 4 degrees C or if cells were fixed with 2% formaldehyde before incubation. Larger clusters were evident after prolonged incubation with the hormone (2--4 hr) at 37 degrees C. The later change coincided with diminished cyclic AMP accumulation in respose to challenge with fresh hormone. When the fixation step was omitted and antibodies to human chorionic gonadotropin were applied after hormonal binding, acceleration of both receptor clustering and the desensitization process was observed. This maneuver also induced capping of the hormone receptors. In contrast, monovalent Fab' fragments of the antibodies were without effect. Internalization of the bound hormone in lysosomes, and subsequent degradation, was evident 8 hr after hormonal application and was not accelerated by the antibodies. It is suggested that clustering of the luteinizing hormone receptors may play a role in cellular responsiveness to the hormone. Massive aggregation of the receptors may desensitize the cell by interferring with coupling to adenylate cyclase.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Significance of prostaglandins in the regulation of cyclic events in the ovary and uterus.

We examined the role of prostaglandins in three pivotal events of the female reproductive cycle: ovulation, luteolysis, and menstruation. Four general approaches were adopted, using in vivo and in vitro models: use of inhibitors of cyclooxygenase and of PG action; immunoneutralization of individual prostaglandins; administration of exogenous prostaglandins; and attempts to correlate PG levels in tissues and body fluids to physiologic events. It can be concluded that prostaglandins or related metabolites of arachidonic acid are essential in laboratory rodents for follicular rupture and the release of a fertilizable oocyte, but not for other LH actions on the follicle that are mimicked by PG or for the neuroendocrine triggering of ovulation. PGs control the cyclic regression of the corpus luteum and appear also to be implicated in the decidual reaction and in the menstrual shedding of the endometrium in primates. Some aspects of the control of follicular PG formation and of PG action were analyzed. Gonadotropins stimulate follicular PG synthesis by a steroid-independent cyclic nucleotide-mediated induction of cyclooxygenase. Both the thecal and granulosa cell compartments show this response. An effect of the phytolectin conconalavin A on ovarian PG synthesis is described. The response of follicular cells to prostaglandin E2 exhibits the phenomenon of desensitization and is influenced by agents modifying the structure and function of cytoskeletal elements. Evidence is put forward for the view that abrogation by PGF2 alpha of the stimulatory action of LH on luteal adenylate cyclase is the biochemical basis of the luteolytic action of this prostaglandin. While the precise mechanism of PG action on the endometrium remains to be defined, PG-synthetase inhibitors have already found useful applications in the management of menstrual disorders, such as functional dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia. The role in ovarian and uterine physiology of the more recently discovered labile arachidonate metabolites, such as the endoperoxides, prostacyclin, and thromboxanes, has not yet been adequately explored.

Animals↗

Effect of flufenamic acid on uterine contractions and plasma levels of 15-keto-13,14-dihydroprostaglandin F2alpha in preterm labor.

Flufenamic acid (FA), an inhibitor of the synthesis and action of prostaglandins, was administered to 18 women with preterm labor during the 28th to 36th week of gestation. In 15 patients delivery postponed, the mean admission/delivery interval being 21.5 days. 2 patients with cervical dilatation of 4 cm delivered within 48 h despite medication. The peripheral plasma levels of 15-keto-13,14-dihydroprostaglandin F2alpha (KH2 PG2alpha) was high on admission (216 +/- i4 pg/ml, mean +/- SEM), declined by 50% within 2 h of instituting treatment and remained near the normal level seen in 13 controlled women after the 24th hour.

Adult↗