Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Schulze.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
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OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the activity of cartilage-degrading enzymes in the synovial fluid (SF) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other joint diseases is correlated with the concentration of cytokines in the SF. METHODS: Cytokines and cartilage-degrading enzymes were determined in the SF of 97 patients with various disorders involving the knee joints (rheumatoid arthritis (RA) n 44; osteoarthritis (OA) n 35; meniscal trauma (Men) n 10; reactive arthritides (ReA) n 8). In these samples we measured the concentrations of interleukin-1 alpha and beta, IL-1-receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha; all by ELISA), collagenase-activity and caseinase-activity (by substrate assays). RESULTS: With the exception of IL-1 alpha and IL-6, cytokine-concentrations were significantly higher in RA than in OA SF-samples (p < 0.05; ANOVA on ranks). IL-1ra, IL-6, and IL-1 beta were correlated best with the collagenase-activity in the SF (r = 0.63; 0.57; 0.55; Spearman's rank correlation), while IL-1 beta (r = 0.53) and IL-1ra (r = 0.52) were best correlated with the caseinase-activity in the samples. The SF-concentration of IL-1ra was well correlated with the levels of IL-6, IL-1 beta, II-8, and TNF alpha (r from 0.73 to 0.66; all p < 0.005), but not with IL1 alpha. The molar ratio of IL-1 to IL-1ra in the SF was neither correlated with the activity of collagenase nor caseinase. IL-1 beta and IL-1ra in the SF were positively correlated with the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). CONCLUSIONS: The determination of IL-1 beta and IL-1ra in the SF of patients with joint disorders as examined in this study seems to allow to a certain extent a prediction of the collagenase- and caseinase-activity contained in the diseased joint. We would favor.
The enzymatic properties of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase D (EC 3.1.4.50) were characterized using a 6,000-fold purified enzyme. This was obtained in 100 microg amounts from human serum with a recovery of 35%. Pure alkaline phosphatase containing one anchor moiety per molecule was used as substrate. The enzyme is stimulated by n-butanol, but in contrast to other phospholipases this activation is not produced by a transphosphatidylation reaction. The previously reported non-linearity of the specific activity with respect to phospholipase concentration in the test was no longer observed upon purification, indicating inhibitor removal. The serum inhibitor(s) co-chromatograph with serum proteins and lipoproteins. The main part of the inhibitory activity was found in the lipid fraction after protein denaturation and can be subfractionated into acid phospholipids, cholesteryl esters and triacylglycerides. Added phosphatidyl-serine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylglycerol, gangliosides, cholesteryl esters, and sphingomyelins turned out to be strong inhibitors, as well as phosphatidic acid. Phosphatidylethanolamine and various monoacylglycerols were found to be activators. The low glycosylphosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase activity found in native serum did not increase significantly upon 90% removal of phospholipids by n-butanol. High serum concentrations of strongly inhibiting compounds, complex kinetic interactions among aggregates of these substances, and compartmentalization effects are discussed as possible reasons for the observed inactivity.
BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis is a major parasitic disease, increasingly imported into temperate climates by immigrants from and travelers to endemic areas. METHOD: To generate valid data on imported infectious diseases to Europe and to recognize trends over time, the European Network on Imported Infectious Diseases Surveillance (TropNetEurop) was founded in 1999. Three hundred and thirty-three reports of schistosomiasis were analyzed for epidemiologic and clinical features. RESULTS: Male patients accounted for 64% of all cases. The average age of all patients was 29.5 years. The majority of patients were of European origin (53%). Europeans traveled predominantly for tourism (52%). Main reasons for travel for people from endemic areas were immigration and refuge (51%) and visits to relatives and friends (28%). The majority of infections were acquired in Africa; 92 infections were clearly attributable to Schistosoma haematobium, 130 to Schistosoma mansoni, and 4 to Schistosoma intercalatum. Praziquantel was the only treatment used. No deaths were recorded. CONCLUSION: TropNetEurop sentinel provides valuable epidemiologic and clinical data on imported schistosomiasis to Europe.
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There is currently great excitement and expectation concerning the differential potential of adult stem cells or adult cells with capacity of differentiation. As the body of work concerning transdifferentiation of somatic stem cells and bone marrow derived stem cells grows, the number of critics increases steadily questioning the reliability of reported findings. So scientists are now challenged more and more to prove that resulting differentiated somatic cells originated from somatic adult stem cell through a transdifferentiation process. Phenomenons such as fusion of cells have to be ruled out and the origin of the differentiated cell has to be determined by specific techniques i.e. in situ hybridisation. Cellular mimicry through uptake of specific factors out of the medium is questioned to be the reason for cells staining positive for Insulin. Some multipotent adult stem cells can cross lineage boundaries and differentiate into somatic cells of other lineages after being relocated. Bone marrow cells have been described to have the greatest plasticity among adult stem cells regenerating damaged liver or myocardium. It has been proposed that the differentiation of bone marrow derived adult stem cells occurs naturally even in healthy organs as a physiologic process of tissue-regeneration. Others believe that organ damage is essential to induce transdifferentiation by release of organ specific microenvironmental factors. We here try to constitute necessary data which should be demonstrated to give substantial evidence for transdifferentiation of newly characterized cells including exclusion of fusion, phagocytosis or DNA uptake, description of the outset cell, differentiation into all three germ layers and functional parameters.
OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the inflammatory activity in patients on chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD) and patients on chronic hemodialysis (HD) in comparison to patients with chronic renal insufficiency without dialysis treatment and healthy volunteers. DESIGN: Open, nonrandomized prospective study. SETTING: Nephrology Department, including HD and PD therapy in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty-four patients on chronic PD,21 patients on chronic HD therapy using a cuprophan dialyzer,16 patients with chronic renal insufficiency without dialysis treatment, and 33 healthy volunteers; 8 additional patients before and after initiation of chronic HD therapy. All patients and controls were without infection or immunosuppressive therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: As a marker of the inflammatory activity in the different patient groups, C-reactive protein (CRP) was measured serially using a sensitive, enzyme-linked, immunosorbent assay in order to detect values below the detection limit of standard assays. RESULTS: Patient groups had CRP levels higher than the normal controls (p < 0.01). Patients on HD had CRP levels significantly higher than PD patients (p < 0.01) whose levels were comparable to patients without dialysis therapy. Accordingly, longitudinal measurements before and after initiation of chronic HD showed a significant increase in CRP levels after the beginning of HD treatment (p < 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that induction of the inflammatory activity is lower during PD compared to HD, since stimulation by the dialyzer membrane, dialysate buffer, or bacterial fragments in the dialysate is avoided. This observation might indicate a possible lower risk of long-term complications in patients with PD.