Biomedical subjects

R M Silver

Publications and source records attributed to R M Silver.

128 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Immunofluorescence in skin specimens from three different biopsy sites in patients with scleroderma.

Immunofluorescence (IF) data from three different biopsy sites (nailfold, forearm, buttock) were studied in 18 patients with scleroderma (SD, systemic sclerosis) and the results compared with those obtained from 10 normal controls (NC) and 7 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Immunoglobulin (Ig) deposits were detected by direct IF technique at the dermo-epidermal junction (DEJ) in 8/14 nailfolds, 6/15 forearms and in none of the buttock specimens of SD patients. Epidermal nuclear staining was present in 6/14 nailfolds, and in 6/15 forearms and buttocks. The most prominent finding was the observation of multiple Ig deposits in the cuticle of 9/14 patients with SD. NC group was negative in all sites for epidermal nuclear staining and the only DEJ deposit occurred in the forearm of one subject. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that Ig deposits in SD, both at the DEJ and in the epidermal nuclei, occur more often than previously reported and are especially frequent in the nailfold & cuticle area.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ceramide stimulates prostaglandin production by human amnion and decidual cells.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether ceramide regulates prostaglandin (PG) production by cultured human amnion cells and decidual cells independently of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta). METHODS: Cells were grown in monolayer culture and then incubated with varying concentrations of ceramide, IL-1 beta, ceramide in the presence and absence of IL-1, and control media. Production of PGE2 was determined using a specific radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: Ceramide induced a significant concentration-dependent increase in PGE2 production by amnion cells and decidual cells. However, PGE2 production induced by IL-1 beta was significantly more than with ceramide alone, and there was no potentiation of PGE2 production with coincubation of ceramide and IL-1 beta. CONCLUSION: We suggest that term human amnion cells and decidual cells are responsive to ceramide independent of IL-1 beta and that generation of these substances in response to an infection in the uterus may lead to increased PG production by human gestational tissues, indicating that there are several mechanisms leading to PG production by these cells.

Amnion↗