Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S Kunkel.
In 24 high-risk pregnancies correlation between maternal level of HPL in serum and the weight of the newborn is examinated. Retarded fetal growth was assumed of the weight of the newborn was found below the 5. percentil. Results of statistical sensitivity and specificity of radiommunoassay of HPL are given for this question.
Concentrations of immunoreactive insulin activity (IRI) and proinsulin activity (IRP), blood glucose, free fatty acids (FFA), glycerol, cholesterol, triglycerides were analyzed in 140 subjects suspect of protodiabetes and 50 healthy persons before, during and after a glucose infusion test (GIT). The protodiabetic subjects were classified into normweight, overweight, obese, hyperlipemic groups with diet or with Regadrin therapy and each of them subdivided into such with normal and such with pathological carbohydrate tolerance. Norm- and overweight subjects with asymptomatic diabetes were characterized by a significant reduction of insulin secretion during both phases. Obese patients with or without hyperlipoproteinemia demonstrated an increased IRI reaction during the late phase of secretion. Carbohydrate intolerance was associated with an enhancement of basal triglyceride levels and a reduced depression of glycerol and FFA during the GIT. There were no differences in fasting or reactive IRP concentrations between healthy and protodiabetic subjects with normal carbohydrate tolerance. In asymptomatic diabetes the IRP levels were increased during the late secretion phase, but the percentage of IRP in total IRI was normal or--in existing high response--significantly reduced in comparison to norm response. The results do not support an enhanced IRP secretion as the cause of carbohydrate intolerance.
A rapid and reproducible double antibody radioimmunoassay for plasma human chorionic somatomammotropin is described. The assay can routinely be performed by incubation for three hours (37 degrees C). The different steps of this method and precision of test modifications were evaluated. Levels of HCS of 222 normal pregnant women between the 24th and 40th week of pregnancy were investigated in order to determine the normal range of HCS levels during pregnancy.
TBC-index and total serum thyroxine were measured in 100 healthy nonpregnant and in 163 pregnant women during the 8. and 41. weeks of gestation. The free thyroxine index was calculated. The TBC-index was found to be elevated in pregnant women and rose continously with duration of pregnancy. The amount of total serum thyroxine was greater in pregnant women (p less than 0,01) without difference between early and late pregnancy. The free thyroxine index decreased continously during pregnancy (p less than 0,01). Serum TSH level were elevated during the first two trimesters of pregnancy. At the third trimester the TSH level were found within the normal range. In patients with hydatidiform mole TSH, total thyroxine, FT4-index, ETR-index as well as TSH levels were increased.
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Cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage are important targets of HIV infection. We report here that the phenotypic differentiation of monocyte cell lines induced by phorbol esters or tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) is associated with expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B). In parallel with such differentiation, HIV transcription, monitored using an HIV long terminal repeat reporter gene construct, is activated in such cells under the influence of enhanced NF-kappa B expression. Also, in a promonocyte cell line chronically infected with HIV, NF-kappa B expression and HIV transcription were enhanced on stimulation with phorbol ester or TNF alpha. Thus, stimulation of monocyte cell lines by phorbol esters or TNF alpha induces cell differentiation and activates HIV transcription. Such a process may have fundamental implications in AIDS pathogenesis in vivo and may be important in disease progression induced by opportunistic infections directly or indirectly involving macrophages.
Wound healing is a complex process resulting from an interplay of processes including coagulation, inflammation, angiogenesis, and epithelialization. The chemokine family has been shown to contain members that are potent regulators of many of these pathways. Because we have previously shown that chemokines "pool" in biologic wound dressings, we studied the levels of CXC and CC chemokines, along with key inflammatory mediators, serially from a group of patients undergoing therapy for chronic venous leg ulcers. After 8 weeks, all patients had marked clinical healing of their ulcers (median 63.3% reduction in size) with two of 10 completely healed. Wound fluids extracted from dressings showed high levels of platelet factor-4 and interferon-gamma-inducible protein, with a trend toward increases in the ratio of the sums of the angiogenic versus angiostatic CXC chemokines (p = 0.082) in the tissues collected from the center of the ulcers during wound closure. Neutrophil-activating peptide-2 and interleukin-8 accounted for the most changes in wound fluid angiogenic chemokines, with significant differences both as compared with baseline levels and with patients' plasma level noted at various time points between weeks 0 and 8. The level of angiostatic chemokines, interferon-y inducible protein 10 and platelet-activating-4, fell most significantly between weeks 0 and 3 as compared with plasma levels. The observed shift toward angiogenic CXC chemokines suggests that effective healing in chronic venous insufficiency ulcers appears to "move" the ulcer bed toward a state more conducive to epithelialization,characteristic of the proliferative phase of wound healing. CC chemokines were also elevated at baseline in the wound fluid samples as compared with the patients' plasma levels. Macrophage inflammatory protein-1 (3 and regulated on activation, normal T expressed and secreted (RANTES) levels decreased with healing, whereas there were significant increases in the tissue levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and macrophage inflammatory protein-1 a over the first 4 weeks of therapy (p< or = 0.05 for both). Coincident with these changes was a steady increase in the ratio of interleukin-1 R/interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein in the ulcer center tissues, which also correlated with healing (p < 0 .05) as compared with a decreasing ratio at the ulcer edge, and a biphasic response in the wound fluids. These findings suggest that advanced wound care techniques help move the ulcer from a chronic inflammatory state into one more characteristic of the late inflammatory/early proliferative phase of wound healing. Chemokines may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of chronic venous ulcers through their effects on angiogenesis and/or the progression of inflammatory reactions at the site of injury.
Many pitching injuries occur during deceleration of the upper extremity when the muscles of the shoulder and arm are acting eccentrically. Published information regarding eccentric muscular strength in baseball pitchers is nonexistent. The purpose of this study was to assess bilateral isokinetic eccentric and concentric muscular strength of the shoulder's external and internal rotator muscles and the elbow's flexor and extensor muscles in a group of collegiate baseball pitchers (N = 25). Isokinetic strength was assessed at 1.6, 3.7, and 5.2 rad/sec. Our findings indicate that the internal rotator muscles were always stronger than the external rotator muscles and that the concentric and eccentric external-to-internal strength ratios ranged from 62% to 81%. The eccentric strength of the shoulder rotator muscles averaged 114% that of concentric strength. The concentric and eccentric elbow extension-to-flexion strength ratios ranged from 71% to 110%; eccentric strength averaged 33% higher than concentric strength. No differences were noted between dominant and nondominant limbs for any of the strength measures or ratios. Clinically, the findings of this study can serve as a reference during the evaluation, rehabilitation, and conditioning of throwing athletes.
BACKGROUND: To study the storage of sialic acid in newborns reference concentrations for sialic acid were measured in maternal, retroplacental and cord blood and compared with the concentration of human placental lactogen (hPL) and estriol (E3). High serum concentrations of hPL and E3 in retroplacental blood indicate the synthesis of these products in the fetoplacental unit. The comparison of the serum concentrations give first informations for a possible role of the placenta as a place of production and storage of the investigated products. METHODS: The concentrations of sialic acid, hPL and unconjugated E3 were determined in maternal and retroplacental blood samples of 126 pregnant women (16-42 years old) between 28 and 42 weeks of gestation. 84 of these pregnant women had uncomplicated pregnancy with birth after 37 gestational weeks. Measurements of E3 and hPL were performed by solid phase radioimmunoassays. Concentrations of sialic acid were determined by HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography). RESULTS: Means and medians of the three parameters for both groups differentiate hardly. The retroplacental serum concentrations of hPL and E3 are increased significantly compared with maternal blood. The same trend was found for sialic acid without significance. The highest concentrations of E3 were found in the cord blood (298.2 +/- 138.0 ng/ml) (p < 0.01). On the other hand the lowest concentrations of sialic acid (36.1 +/- 19.6 mg/l) (p < 0.01) were estimated in cord blood samples. It was estimated a significant correlation between fetal and retroplacental concentrations of E3. Significant correlations (p < 0.01) were found for sialic acid between maternal and retroplacental blood on the one side and maternal and the cord blood on the other side. Significant increased mean sialic acid concentrations in retroplacental blood (x = 102.67 mg/l) were found in female newborns in comparison with male newborns (x = 80.58 mg/l). There were not significant differences between prematurity and term delivery. CONCLUSION: Increased sialic acid concentrations in retroplacental blood samples are a sign of sialic acid accumulation in the fetomaternal area aiming to induce the tolerance of fetal allotransplantat. There are no evidence for a take up of free sialic acid by fetus.
Cytotrophoblast cells were isolated from human term placenta after cesarean section by fragmentation of villous tissue with trypsin and DNAse I. Trophoblast cells fuse in vitro to syncytiotrophoblast cells and progesteron is released. Placental Protein 14 (PP14) was incubated (300 micrograms/ml PP14 in 6 ml solution (6 x 10(6) cells) with the cytotrophoblast cells. Production of Progesteron is increased in PP14-trophoblast cell cultures compared to untreated trophoblast cells.