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Biomedical subjects

P Maisi

Publications and source records attributed to P Maisi.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Gelatinolytic activity in tracheal epithelial lining fluid and in blood from horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether gelatinolytic activity in tracheal epithelial lining fluid (TELF), blood neutrophils, and blood lymphocytes from horses was metalloprotease activity, and to compare, for healthy horses and horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, gelatinolytic activity in neutrophils, lymphocytes, and serum with activity in TELF. ANIMALS: 7 horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 4 healthy control horses. PROCEDURE: Neutrophils and lymphocytes were obtained by means of Percoll separation. Zymography was used to detect gelatinolytic activity; EDTA inhibition and 4-aminophenyl mercuric acetate activation were used to verify that gelatinolytic activity was metalloprotease activity. RESULTS: Gelatinolytic activity was significantly higher in TELF from horses with COPD than in TELF from healthy horses. For all samples, EDTA inhibited and APMA activated gelatinolytic activity. Gelatinolytic activity of neutrophils, lymphocytes, and serum was not significantly different between healthy horses and horses with COPD. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggested that gelatinolytic activity in TELF from horses is metalloprotease activity. Gelatinolytic activity is increased in TELF from horses with COPD, but not in serum, neutrophils, or lymphocytes. Neutrophils and lymphocytes are possible sources of gelatinolytic activity in TELF. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Measurements of serum, blood neutrophil, or blood lymphocyte gelatinolytic activity were of little value in distinguishing horses with COPD from healthy horses.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Collagenolytic activity and its sensitivity to doxycycline inhibition in tracheal aspirates of horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The collagenolytic activity and its sensitivity to doxycycline inhibition in tracheal aspirates (TA) of horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was analyzed with SDS-PA gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), using Type 1 collagen as the substrate. Both autoactive and total collagenase activities were significantly higher in TAs of horses with symptomatic COPD than in TAs of healthy horses. Doxycycline inhibition studies suggest that most of the TA collagenase is of the neutrophil type (MMP-8), but some is derived from other cells such as fibroblasts and monocyte/macrophages (MMP-1) and bacteria (bacterial collagenases). Drugs inhibiting collagenases in the respiratory tract might be worth a trial in the treatment of COPD in horses.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Gelatinolytic activity in tracheal aspirates of horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The gelatinolytic activity in tracheal aspirates (TA) of horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was analyzed using SDS-PAGE-gelatin-gel electrophoresis (zymography) and compared to TAs from healthy controls. The 110-90 kD MMP-9 type gelatinase was high in symptomatic disease phases (permanent disease 0.46 +/- 0.15, p < 0.001; or intermittent disease 0.47 +/- 0.12, p < 0.001) compared to healthy controls (0.10 +/- 0.07). Similarly, the overall gelatinolytic activity, the activity in high-mw gelatinolytic bands (210-190 and 150 kD) and in proteolytically processed fragments in the 50-40 kD range were high, whereas the 75-65 kD MMP-2 was not altered. These findings suggest that MMP-9 type gelatinases, originating possibly from neutrophils or macrophages, and products thereof have a role in the pathogenesis of equine respiratory diseases, whereas MMP-2 type gelatinases represent house-keeping proteinases involved with normal tissue remodelling. The gelatinolytic activity in TAs correlated with the beta-glucuronidase activity, which indicates that they are simultaneously elevated in the respiratory secretions of horses suffering from COPD and might both be of same origin, or have a causal relationship.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Hyaluronate concentration in tracheal lavage fluid from clinically normal horses and horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVE: To establish concentration of hyaluronate (HA) in tracheal lavage fluid from healthy horses and horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ANIMALS AND SAMPLES: Tracheal lavage fluid samples (n = 42) from 18 horses, 11 with COPD, and 7 control horses. PROCEDURE: Clinical examination of the respiratory tract, tracheal lavage, and blood sample collection were performed on horses without clinical signs of respiratory tract disease and horses with clinical signs of COPD. In some horses, 1 to 5 repeated examinations were performed at 1-week intervals. Tracheal lavage fluid samples were analyzed for cell numbers, and urea concentration (made in parallel with serum samples to evaluate sample dilution effect); HA was determined by radiometric assay. RESULTS: Mean (+/-SEM) HA concentration in tracheal lavage fluid samples was significantly (P = 0.005) higher in horses with COPD (1,880 [+/-309] micrograms/L), compared with that in control horses (256 [+/-72] micrograms/L). The increase in HA concentration in tracheal lavage fluid of COPD-affected horses was verified by repeated sample collection and analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In horses with chronic respiratory tract inflammation such as COPD, tracheal lavage fluid HA concentration is about 7 times higher than reference values. High HA concentration in the tracheal or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid may reflect pathophysiologic changes in connective tissue around bronchi and bronchioli, leading to continuous increased production of HA in horses with advanced forms of COPD. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Determination of tracheal lavage fluid HA concentration may be used as a marker of chronic inflammatory changes in the COPD-affected lung.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Inhibition of the protease activity in tracheobronchial aspirates of horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVES: To clarify the role of proteolytic enzymes in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in horses, and to investigate new possibilities for treatment of this disease by interfering in the proteolytic process. DESIGN: Effect of antiproteolytic activity of selected protease inhibitors on tracheal aspirates was studied in vitro, and the inhibition profiles were compared with those of purified proteases. SAMPLE POPULATION: Respiratory tract secretions with antiproteolytic activity from 9 horses with COPD. PROCEDURE: Caseinolytic agar-diffusion assay. RESULTS: The protease-inhibition profile of tracheal aspirates differed from horse to horse. The profiles did not resemble that of any of the pure proteases. Acetylcysteine, pentamidine, and diminazene were most effective in inhibiting proteolytic activity in tracheal aspirates in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: A mixed type of proteolytic activity is present in the respiratory tract secretions of horses with COPD. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Acetylcysteine, pentamidine, and diminazene seem to have potential to be used in vivo to protect the lungs of horses with COPD from proteolytic damage.

Acetylcysteine↗
PubMed1995

Effect of exercise on enzymatic activity in tracheal fluid and on intrapleural pressure difference in horses.

Seventeen trotters, eight healthy and nine with a mild respiratory disease, underwent a submaximal treadmill exercise. Heart rate, breathing frequency, intrapleural pressure difference (IP difference) as well as haematocrit and concentration of lactic acid in blood were monitored before exercise, during exercise and during recovery. The activities of beta-glucuronidase and plasmin, total proteolytic activity and trypsin inhibitory capacity were measured from the tracheal fluid before and after exercise. IP difference significantly increased during exercise and returned to normal values within 15 min in healthy horses. Differences in intrapleural pressure between healthy and diseased horses were not significant during exercise. Increase of the respiratory rate was monitored during recovery probably due to respiratory compensation of the lactic acidosis. Activities of beta-glucuronidase increased and activities of plasmin and trypsin inhibitory capacity decreased due to exercise. Most prominent changes were seen in the decrease of plasmin activity. The total proteolytic activity in the tracheal fluid before exercise correlated with the VLa4 values, indicating that a mild respiratory disease, which causes proteolysis in the respiratory tract, decreases performance capacity of the horse.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Beta-glucuronidase and trypsin inhibitor capacity of tracheal lavage fluid as indicators of seasonal airway irritation in the horse.

The health of the respiratory tracts of 19 horses was studied for 11 months. The horses were placed into 3 groups (healthy, periodically diseased and continuously diseased) based on the measurements of blood gases, intrapleural pressure and on neutrophil content of tracheal mucus. Lysosomal enzymes (N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase and beta-glucuronidase) and reflectors of the proteolytic system (plasmin, plasminogen, trypsin inhibitor capacity) were determined. beta-glucuronidase appeared to be a good indicator of the presence of disease of the respiratory system. High beta-glucuronidase values were seen in horses with elevated numbers of neutrophils, elevated arterial alveolar and intrapleural differences as well as in diseased horses during the stabling period. Trypsin inhibitor capacity seemed to be lower in the diseased respiratory system, probably due to the increased consumption of trypsin inhibitors.

Acetylglucosaminidase↗
PubMed1993

Accumulation of allantoin and uric acid in plasma of exercising trotters.

Plasma concentrations of hypoxanthine, uric acid, and allantoin, which are breakdown products of adenine nucleotides, were measured in Standardbred and Finnhorse trotters during and after an exercise test on a high-speed treadmill, after an incremental exercise test performed on a racetrack, and after a racing competition. Fiber-type composition of the middle gluteal muscle and the muscle concentrations of adenine nucleotides and inosine monophosphate were measured after the racetrack test. Changes in the concentration of hypoxanthine were not observed in any of the tests. Peak concentration of uric acid was measured between 5 and 30 minutes after exercise, and it was three- to tenfold higher than the value at rest. The variability can be explained by intensity of the exercise test and variation among horses. The concentration of allantoin after exercise was 2 to 3 times as high as that at rest, depending on the intensity of the exercise, although the absolute increase was about 10 times as high as the increase in the concentration of uric acid. Peak values of allantoin for the treadmill and the racetrack tests were obtained 4 to 6 minutes after exercise and < 30 minutes after the races. Peak concentration of allantoin correlated positively with the percentage of type-II (IIA+IIB) fibers in the middle gluteal muscle. Significant correlations were not observed between plasma concentration of uric acid or allantoin and muscle concentrations of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) or inosine monophosphate. It can be concluded that in horses, breakdown of ATP during and after exercise continues until allantoin is produced.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1988

Use of California Mastitis Test, N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, and antitrypsin to diagnose caprine subclinical mastitis.

Analysis of 448 milk samples (11 herds) from caprine udder halves showed that microorganisms were isolated from 21.8% of the samples. California Mastitis Test (CMT) and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAGase) were superior to antitrypsin in detecting subclinical infections. Coagulase-negative staphylococci and micrococci were the main species isolated from halves showing no clinical disease. Coagulase-positive staphylococcal infections were associated with a significant increase of all inflammatory parameters. Significantly increased CMT and NAGase occurred when streptococci, other staphylococci or micrococci were present. Infection within one half was reflected as an increase in the inflammatory parameters in the milk of the infected half as well as a slight increase in the inflammation parameters in the adjoining half.

Acetylglucosaminidase↗
PubMed1984

Haem compounds as bacterial growth promoters in whey: a possible application to bovine mastitis.

The enhancing effect of haem compounds on the growth of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae in whey cultures was studied turbidometrically. Catalase, myoglobin and haemoglobin in concentrations 10(-5) to 10(-3) M enhanced bacterial growth. One explanation of this was the availability of iron by these haem compounds for the bacteria. However, evidence from experiments on free radical generating systems by t-BHP and hydrogen peroxide indicated that haem compounds scavenge activated oxygen products and so protect bacteria from oxygen toxicity.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Heme-iron and ecology of Escherichia coli within the porcine gut.

Growth of Escherichia coli was followed in sow whey by a turbidometric technique. Heme-iron clearly promoted bacterial growth, therefore free heme would be dangerous in small intestine by enhancing bacterial growth: duodenal brush border membrane (BBM) was seen to bind heme-iron, thus abolishing the growth promoting effect of this form of iron. Scatchard analysis of heme-binding onto BBM showed that heme became bound by a specific mechanism (KD approximately equal to 10(-7) M) as well as non-specifically. The absorption system for iron within the enterocytes should be considered an important antibacterial system within the gut.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pathogenicity of different species of staphylococci in caprine udder.

Aseptic foremilk samples were collected from Finnish landrace goats. Ten different species of staphylococci, causing subclinical infections were detected. Twelve goats with persistent subclinical staphylococcal infection were followed on a monthly basis and compared with foremilk samples of nine goats suffering from clinical mastitis. Parameters of inflammation based on the activity of the California Mastitis Test (CMT). N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAGase) and antitrypsin were determined from the milk. Staphylococci were further classified using the API STAPH system. On the basis of elevations of activities of CMT, NAGase and antitrypsin, Staphylococcus aureus was the most pathogenic in clinical and subclinical mastitis, S. hyicus showed only marginal pathogenicity. Subclinical infections were persistent and the infective organism was not always detected from milk by culture. The biochemical reactions of subclinical staphylococci seemed to vary within the same gland by time. Antitrypsin was most effective in differentiating between subclinical and clinical infection. A teat cistern puncture technique was found to be suitable for the goat.

Animals↗