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Biomedical subjects

I Matous-Malbohan

Publications and source records attributed to I Matous-Malbohan.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

[PAPP-A in the first trimester of pregnancy].

OBJECTIVE: Pregnancy-associated plasma protein A has been reported to be low in Down syndrome affected pregnancies during the first trimester of pregnancy. The aim of this study was to determine preliminary the medians of pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) in the first trimester of pregnancy and to compare PAPP-A with other biochemical markers used for biochemical prenatal screening. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: First Institute of Medical Chemistry and Biochemistry and Institute for Clinical Biochemistry, First Medical Faculty, Charles University. Institute for Care of Mother and Child, Prague. PATIENTS: One hundred forty one pregnant women, who undergo biochemical prenatal screening for chromosomal disorders between 7th and 13th week were studied. In addition six women in the second trimester and five women with twin pregnancies, two cases of trisomy 21 and one case of trisomy 18 in second trimester were available for study. METHODS: Maternal serum levels of PAPP-A, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and alfa-1-feto-protein (AFP) were measured using ELISA methods. A single radial immunodiffusion was used to determine trophoblast-specific-beta-1-glycoprotein (SP1). RESULTS: PAPP-A levels increased throughout the first trimester with median 1.8 mg/l in the 7th week to 23.0 mg/l in the 13th week of pregnancy. PAPP-A serum levels from 3 women with twin pregnancies were higher than in women with singleton pregnancies. Serum levels of PAPP A in two women with fetus affected by chromosomal disorders did not differ from normal pregnancies. Correlation coefficients between PAPP-A and AFP and between PAPP-A and SP1 were statistically significant (r = 0.42, P < 0.001, respectively r = 0.54, P < 0.001). The levels of PAPP-A and HCG did not correlate significantly (r = 0.019, P = 0.82). CONCLUSION: We established first trimester medians for PAPP-A, which are necessary for evaluation of the pathological values. We found statistically significant correlation between PAPP-A and SP1 and PAPP-A and AFP.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed2000

Prevalence of various antiphospholipid antibodies in pregnant women.

Antiphospholipid antibodies (APAs) are characterized as a heterogeneous population of autoantibodies directed against different target antigens, predominantly anionic phospholipids or phospholipid-containing structures. The presence of APAs has been strongly associated with a variety of clinical disorders including adverse pregnancy complications such as spontaneous abortions, pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia and intrauterine growth retardation. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of anticardiolipin antibodies (ACAs), which are routinely examined, with APAs directed against phosphatidylserine (APS), phosphatidylinositol (API), phosphatidylethanolamine (APE) and phosphatidylcholine (APC) in the sera of pregnant women. We examined 410 serum samples of pregnant women hospitalized in the department for pathological pregnancies. They underwent prenatal biochemical screening of fetal congenital abnormalities in the first and the second trimester of gravidity. Anticardiolipin IgG and IgM were measured using commercial ELISA kits (ImmuLisa Anti-Cardiolipin Antibody), whereas APS, APE, API and APC were determined by our modified ELISA kit. Among 410 pregnant women we found 21 patients (5.1%) positive for ACA IgG (>20 GPL) and 30 patients (7.3%) positive for ACA IgM (>10 MPL). It was found that 7.8% of pregnant women had at least one high-titer APA IgG and 9.8% high-titer APA IgM. One third of ACA IgG or IgM positive sera contained polyspecific autoantibodies reactive to at least two various phospholipids. In the group of IgG ACA positive women, 28.6% patients were positive for APS, 28.6% were positive or moderately positive for API, 23.8% for APC and 19% for APE. In the group of IgM ACA positive women, 33.3% were also positive for APS, 26.7% for APE, 26.7% for API and 23.3% for APC were present. IgG and IgM ACA negative patients exhibited a significantly lower incidence of other APA than the group of ACA positive pregnant women. It still remains to clarify if the routine examination of APA reacting with other anionic and zwitterionic antigens other than cardiolipin would improve the probability of identifying women liable to adverse pregnancy complications.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Attempts to induce melanosome degradation in vivo.

Contradiction between repeatedly reported electron microscopic and histochemical observation of melanosome disintegration in the presence of lysosomal enzymes in vivo and failing attempts to induce such degradation by biochemical means in vitro with the aim to explain chemical mechanism(s) of this process belongs to chronically challenging problems in biochemistry of melanin structures. Attempts have been made to bring about melanosome disintegration in vivo by inoculating melanosomes isolated from dog hair into the tissue of amelanotic Bomirski melanoma and into peritoneal cavities of DBA/2 and C57BL/6J mice, and by repeated injection of melanosomes isolated from Bomirski pigmented melanoma into Syrian hamster foot pads. Both histological and electron microscopic observations demonstrated that melanosomes were phagocytized by macrophages and sporadically by fibroblasts. In peritoneal cavities the injected foreign melanosomes remained mostly extracellularly, were surrounded by foreign body multinuclear cells and formed granulomas. There were no convincing signs of degradation of the hair melanosomes, which behaved like inert foreign bodies. Only some phagocytized Bomirski hamster melanoma melanosomes tended to lose their integrity. Our data suggest that melanosomes devoid of their limiting membranes are not necessarily prone to extensive disintegration in vivo. The earlier reported association of lysosomal enzymes with disintegrating melanosomes does not constitute an evidence for their participation in melanosome degradation. Considering the structure of melanins, redox mechanisms (analogous with the metabolism of polycyclic hydrocarbons (DePierre and Ernster, 1978)) seem to be more probably involved in pigment degradation than hydrolytic reactions.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.-- The effect of dexamethasone on growth and proliferation in the draining lymph node.

Dexamethasone, when administered from day 0 to day 9 following the sensitizing injection of encephalitogenic protein in complete Freund's adjuvant, suppressed both the characteristic enlargement of the paracortical area of the draining lymph node and the development of clinical and histopathological signs of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. Division of cells within the node was not inhibited and therefore the effect of dexamethasone appeared to be a consequence of reduced migration of lymphocytes into the node.

Animals↗