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Biomedical subjects

K Lind

Publications and source records attributed to K Lind.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Covalently linked peptides for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

A general method is described, by which synthetic peptides are covalently linked via their carboxyl group to microtiter plates (CovaLink) for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Plates were prepared by this method with an angiotensin II peptide and with an HIV-2 peptide and attachment detected by rabbit anti-angiotensin serum and with a positive serum from an HIV-2-infected patient, respectively, using the common ELISA procedure in the last steps. The method is simple to perform, it constitutes an alternative to the common ELISA method, and eliminates the risk of inadvertent loss of peptide during the procedure. The method is highly reproducible and has a high sensitivity. It may be used for either antigen or antibody detection.

Angiotensin II↗

Evaluation of a commercial enzyme immunoassay for detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae specific immunoglobulin G antibodies.

A commercial enzyme immunoassay (Platelia Mycoplasma, Diagnostics Pasteur) for the diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae [corrected] infections was evaluated and found not to be suitable for the purpose. More than 80% of healthy persons and patients with non-Mycoplasma pneumoniae respiratory infection, all with a negative Mycoplasma pneumoniae complement fixation test, had a positive EIA. Paired sera did not show the positive correlation between a rise in complement fixation titre and the EIA ratio reported by the manufacturer.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗

Inhibitory effect of mycoplasma-released arginase. Activity in mixed-lymphocyte and tumour cell cultures.

Non-fermenting mycoplasma species deplete culture media for arginine through arginase activity linked to their arginine deiminase pathway, resulting in proliferation arrest and cell death in mycoplasma-contaminated cell cultures. The presence of only 2-3 Mycoplasma (M.) arginini-contaminated T cells in a one-way allogeneic mixed-lymphocyte culture (MLC) significantly inhibits development of cytotoxic T-cell activity. Likewise, strong degrees of inhibition are observed after addition of nanogram doses of M. arginini extracts (MAE) to MLC or cell proliferation cultures. M. arginini-induced cell inhibition can be reversed by addition of excess arginine to the culture medium. Antisera raised against non-fermenting, but not against fermenting, mycoplasma species block the inhibitory effect of MAE. SDS-PAGE separation of MAE disclosed a broad band at 60 kDa which contained arginase activity when assayed in MLC and cell proliferation culture. SDS-PAGE followed by western blotting and reaction with antisera raised against non-fermenting mycoplasma species demonstrated a band at 43 kDa common for these micro-organisms.

Animals↗

Detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in simulated clinical samples by polymerase chain reaction. Brief report.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect Mycoplasma (M) pneumoniae DNA in simulated clinical samples. Throat swabs were mixed with known amounts of broth-grown M. pneumoniae cells. An estimated detection limit of less than 40 colony forming units (cfu) was obtained without the need for time-consuming hybridization. The PCR is completed in one day and may be useful for the early detection of M. pneumoniae in clinical samples.

DNA, Bacterial↗

Changes in the epidemiological pattern of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections in Denmark. A 30 years survey.

A seroepidemiological survey has shown a remarkable shift in the previously reported regular cyclic pattern of Mycoplasma pneumoniae epidemics which culminated every 4.5 years during the period 1958-74. The last of four regular epidemics occurred in 1972. It was followed by 'premature' epidemics in 1975 and 1977/8 which inaugurated a change from an epidemic to an endemic pattern of the infection in Denmark. Over the following 9 years (1978-86) there has been an irregular but significant decrease in the annual number of seropositive samples with the usual high incidence during winter seasons. This endemic period terminated in the fourth trimester of 1987 with the development of a new epidemic. The hypothesis is advanced that a sixfold increase of children in day care may have influenced the change from an epidemic to an endemic situation which after 9 years led to a new epidemic of M. pneumoniae infection.

Agglutination Tests↗

Autoantibodies to the mitotic spindle apparatus in Mycoplasma pneumoniae disease.

Antibodies to the mitotic spindle apparatus (MS) have been detected in only a very few patient sera studied for antinuclear antibodies by routine screening (G. A. McCarty, D. W. Velencia, and M. J. Fritzler, J. Rheumatol. 11:213-218, 1984). We found anti-MS antibodies to be quite common in sera from patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae, especially in those who developed cold agglutinins (71%). Absorption experiments indicated that the formation of anti-MS antibodies is not triggered by epitopes on the M. pneumoniae surface. These antibodies were distinct from cold agglutinins, antibrain antibodies, and smooth-muscle antibodies. All patients previously reported to harbor anti-MS had clinical features compatible with a diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, or an evolving connective-tissue disorder. Such systemic disorders might develop in a small proportion of patients who have had M. pneumoniae illness.

Autoantibodies↗

A new in-built device for one-point stepless prosthetic alignment.

The authors have developed a new in-built device for alignment of below-knee prostheses. The device allows one-point, stepless adjustment of angle and slide, independently of each other and also after completed prosthetic manufacture. Principally, the device consists of a half-sphere for angle adjustment and a plate for both slide adjustment and socket application. If the socket has to be exchanged, the whole device can be re-used, apart from the plate, which forms part of the socket bottom. The device is light, compact, cosmetically easy to cover and cheap. The design incorporates a combination of the most important facilities for alignment as well as for exchange of socket, and by its simplicity seems to offer major advantages over other designs.

Artificial Limbs↗

Seroepidemiological study of Legionella infection in Denmark. A 28-month retrospective survey.

An indirect immunofluorescence (IF) test for Legionella antibodies has been used since 1978 at Statens Seruminstitut, Copenhagen. An increasing annual number of blood specimens from all parts of the country has been tested by IF and the number of Legionella antigens in the test was increased from 4 over 10 to 13, resulting in an ever growing number of seropositive patients over the years. We investigated the occurrence of serologically diagnosed Legionella infections from November 1982 through February 1985, a period of 28 months during which the same 13 Legionella antigens were applied in the IF test. We used CDC's criteria for the serological diagnosis of a current Legionella infection: a greater than or equal to 4-fold rise in antibody titre to greater than or equal to 128 in the IF test. In a test of more than 5,000 blood specimens from 3,374 patients, 69 were found to have diagnostic titre rises. When analysed according to serological reactions with three groups of antigens, seroconversion to a L. pneumophila antigen was found to be more frequent in patients 30-59 years old than seroconversion to a non-L. pneumophila Legionella antigen, while in the age group 60-69 this relation was reversed. Thirteen of the 69 patients had acquired their infection abroad. Twelve of these were below the age of 60, and they had all seroconverted to a L. pneumophila antigen. Clinical data were in accordance with the assumption that Legionella may have been the aetiological agent of the disease in our patients selected by serological criteria.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

The E. coli immunosorbent as used in serodiagnosis of Legionella infections studied by crossed immunoelectrophoresis.

In this study we investigated an immunosorbent, E. coli blocking fluid (BF), proposed for use in the Legionella Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test (IFA). With crossed immunoelectrophoresis (CIE) of clinically relevant Legionella species, only one heat-stable antigen (no. 1) cross-reacted with the BF preparation. Patients' sera with elevated Legionella IFA titres did not react with this antigen in CIE. Out of 23 IFA positive patients' sera, six had titres lowered significantly to negative, when BF was applied as serum diluent for the titration (IFA BF negative sera). All six sera were negative in the micro agglutination test (MA). None of the IFA BF negative sera contained any Legionella precipitins in CIE, whereas nine out of the remaining 17 IFA BF positive sera unchanged by BF contained one or more precipitins. CIE results could not explain the effect of BF in Legionella IFA, and further studies are needed to sufficiently define the use of immunosorbents in diagnostic Legionella serology.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗

Significance of antibodies to Mycoplasma genitalium in salpingitis.

Indirect haemagglutination and indirect immunofluorescence tests of sera from 95 patients with acute salpingitis failed to confirm the report of other investigators regarding serological evidence implicating Mycoplasma genitalium in pelvic inflammatory disease. The pathological role of Mycoplasma genitalium in salpingitis, non-gonococcal urethritis, and other diseases has not been proven.

Acute Disease↗

Aortic valve endocarditis associated with Legionella infection after Mycoplasma pneumonia.

A 38 year old woman with diabetes mellitus and bronchial asthma was admitted to hospital with pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae; she recovered promptly on erythromycin treatment. Six weeks later she presented with aortic valve endocarditis without concurrent lung disease. A concurrent increase in titres of antibody to Legionella bozemanii, L longbeachae, and L jordanis indicated a Legionella infection. Legionella infection should be considered, even in the absence of pneumonia, in cases of endocarditis where no other cause can be detected.

Adult↗

Cloning of Mycoplasma pneumoniae DNA and expression of P1-epitopes in Escherichia coli.

A genomic library of Mycoplasma pneumoniae was constructed by cloning partial Sau3A-digested genomic DNA into the expression plasmids pEX1 to pEX3. The recombinant clones were screened for production of M. pneumoniae P1-antigen by an in situ colony enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) blot method with a monospecific rabbit antiserum raised against the surface protein P1. The length of the translated P1-sequence and the size of the inserted DNA were determined. By comparison it was shown that six clones contained DNA fragments coding for an internal part of the P1-protein and eight clones code for the C-terminal part of terminated P1-protein. In reactions against sera from patients suffering from M. pneumoniae infection and sera from healthy persons, one of the internal clones and five of the C-terminal clones reacted with one or two of the patient sera, but only one clone reacted with all patient sera.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗

Prevalence of Legionnaires' disease in pneumonia patients admitted to a Danish department of infectious diseases.

During a 14-month study period, 92 patients admitted to the University Clinic for Infectious Diseases with pneumonia were investigated to determine the prevalence and severity of Legionnaires' disease (LD). The diagnosis of LD was based on positive serology. Antibodies to 10 different legionella antigens--Legionella pneumophila serogroups 1-6, Fluoribacter (Legionella) bozemanae, F. dumoffii, F. gormanii, and Tatlockia (Legionella) micdadei--were measured by the microagglutination (MA) and indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) techniques. LD was diagnosed in 22 patients showing a 4-fold or greater rise of MA titers. 10 patients showed a 4-fold or greater rise of IFA titer, 2 had standing high titer. One patient died. Legionella infection was the second most common cause of pneumonia. However, in half of the cases legionella infection occurred concomitantly with Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia psittaci, or viral infections. All 22 LD cases were sporadic. LD had been contracted abroad by 6 patients. Two of the legionella pneumonias were hospital-acquired. Half of the LD patients were older than 60 years. The majority of cases occurred during the winter months. Neither clinical chemistry parameters nor clinical features could distinguish LD from other types of pneumonia.

Adolescent↗