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Uptake and metabolism of propionate in the liver isolated from sheep treated with glucagon.

The uptake and metabolism of propionate in the isolated perfused caudal lobe of the liver and in isolated hepatocytes were examined following treatment of sheep with glucagon or saline. Glucagon or sterile saline was infused at 9.8 micrograms/min for 3 h into the jugular vein and then the caudal lobe of the liver was removed surgically under anaesthesia. The caudal lobe was used either to prepare hepatocytes or in a non-recirculating perfusion experiment. Uptake and metabolism of propionate were studied using [2-14C]propionate. In studies using the non-recirculation perfusion of the caudal lobe of the sheep liver it was shown that the treatment of sheep with glucagon resulted in an increased rate of gluconeogenesis from propionate and in an increased net uptake of propionate by the caudal lobe. The uptake of propionate into the hepatocytes was saturable, concentrative and exhibited a K(m) for propionate of 0.24 (SE 0.07) mM and a maximal rate of uptake (Vmax) of 6.7 (SE 0.6) nmol/mg dry cells per min and was unaffected by glucagon treatment of sheep. After incubation of cells in medium containing 0.5 mM-[2-14C]propionate for 10 min, the rate of gluconeogenesis from propionate was 22% higher in the hepatocytes isolated from glucagon-treated sheep. Concentrations in the medium of 1.35 mM butyrate and 1 mM-caproate inhibited propionate uptake by about 50% and abolished the glucagon-induced stimulation of gluconeogenesis from propionate. The results are consistent with a regulatory role for glucagon in the gluconeogenesis from propionate in the sheep liver.

Animals↗

Simple method for the selection of the appropriate food simulant for the evaluation of a specific food/packaging interaction.

Knowledge of the extent of food/packaging interactions is essential to provide assurance of food quality and shelf life, especially in migration and sorption processes that commonly reach equilibrium during the lifetime of a commercial packaged foodstuff. The limits of sorption and migration must be measured in the presence of the specific food or an appropriate food simulant. The partition equilibrium of food aroma compounds between plastic films and foods or food simulants (K(A,P/L) has been characterized. Two polymers (LLDPE and PET), three organic compounds (ethyl caproate, hexanal and 2-phenylethanol), four food products with varying fat content (milk cream, mayonnaise, margarine and oil) and three simulants (ethanol 95%, n-heptane and isooctane) were selectedfor study. The results show the effect of the aroma compound volatility, and polarity, as well as its compatibility with the polymer and the food or food simulant. Equilibrium constants for the organic compound between the polymers and a gaseous phase (K(A,P/V)) as well as between the food (or food simulant) and a gaseous phase (K(A,L/V)) were also determined. An approach is presented to estimate K(A,P/V) from the binary equilibrium constants K(A,P/V) and K(A,L/V). Calculated results were shown to describe experimental data very well and indicated that compatibility between the aroma and the food or food simulant is the main contributing factor to the partition equilibrium describing the extent of food/packaging interactions. Therefore, the measurement of liquid/vapour equilibrium can be regarded as a powerful tool to compare the effectiveness of food simulants as substitutes of a particular food product and can be used as a guide for the selection of the appropriate simulant.

Absorption↗

First trimester endocrinology: consequences for diagnosis and treatment of pregnancy failure.

First-trimester endocrinology is determined on the one hand by corpus luteum progesterone and estradiol biosynthesis and secretion and on the other hand by the time of onset and extent of progesterone and estradiol secretion by the placenta. This dual interplay is dominated by the corpus luteum placental shift, where a relative progesterone and estradiol deficiency can develop and may lead to early as well as late abortion. Measurements of serum progesterone and estradiol are mandatory in order to reveal such deficiencies and to treat them effectively with 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate in combination with estradiol valerate or with progestins such as dydrogesterone.

17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone↗

The effects of vehicles on the human dermal irritation potentials of allyl esters.

Allyl esters, frequently used in the fragrance industry, often contain a certain percentage of free allyl alcohol. Allyl alcohol is known to have a potential for delayed skin irritation. Also present in the finished product are different solvent systems, or vehicles, which are used to deliver the fragrances based upon their intended application. This study was conducted to determine whether different vehicles affect the skin irritation potential of five different allyl esters. The allyl esters tested were allyl amyl glycolate, allyl caproate, allyl (cyclohexyloxy)acetate, allyl cyclohexylpropionate, and allyl phenoxyacetate in the vehicles diethyl phthalate, 3:1 diethyl phthalate:ethanol, and 1:3 diethyl phthalate:ethanol at concentrations of 0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0% (w/w). A modified cumulative irritation test was conducted in 129 human subjects. Test materials (0.3 ml) were applied under occlusion to skin sites on the back for 1 day (24 h) using Hill Top chambers. Irritation was assessed at 1, 2, 4, and 5 days following application of test materials. Cumulative irritation scores varied considerably among test materials. There were no delayed irritation observations. The highest irritation scores were observed at the 2.0% concentration for all test materials. The irritation scores for allyl amyl glycolate, allyl (cyclohexyloxy)acetate, and allyl phenoxyacetate were highest in 1:3 diethyl phthalate:ethanol, thus the resulting calculated no-observed-effect levels, 0.12%, 0.03%, and 0%, respectively, were much lower for this vehicle compared to the diethyl phthalate vehicle, 0.33%, 0.26%, 0.25%, respectively. These data showed a trend for lower concentration thresholds to induce irritation when higher levels of ethanol were used in the vehicle.

Esters↗

Fermentation of carbohydrates and yield of microbial protein in mixed cultures of rabbit caecal microorganisms.

Fermentation pattern and yields of microbial protein were investigated in cultures of the rabbit caecal contents supplied with glucose, xylose, starch, pectin and xylan. Rabbits at the age of 4 weeks (before weaning) and 3 months were slaughtered, their caecal contents added at 1.1% to growth media and incubated anaerobically at 39 degrees C for 18 h. Caecal microorganisms of 4-week-old rabbits produced no methane and caproate, less butyrate, but more propionate than microorganisms of 3-month-old rabbits. In both groups of rabbits, fermentation of xylose produced significantly more propionate and less butyrate than fermentation of glucose. More propionate and less acetate was formed from starch than from pectin. In caecal cultures from 4-week-old rabbits with pectin, the molar percentages of acetate was significantly higher and percentages of other short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) lower than in cultures with starch or xylan. In cultures from 3-month-old rabbits, fermentation of pectin and xylan produced similar SCFA profiles, different from SCFA molar composition in cultures with starch. Average production of microbial protein was 129 mg per 1 g of carbohydrate digested (range 110 to 141 mg/g). Protein yields were the same on glucose and xylose, but nonsignificantly higher on starch than on pectin and xylan. It can be concluded that the characteristics of substrate affected fermentation pattern in mixed cultures of rabbit caecal microorganisms. Substrate effects on protein yields were not statistically significant, due to high variation.

Age Factors↗

In vitro fermentation pattern of D-tagatose is affected by adaptation of the microbiota from the gastrointestinal tract of pigs.

Knowledge of the fermentation pattern of D-tagatose is important for the assessment of energy value and compliance of D-tagatose. In vitro fermentation experiments with pig intestinal contents and bacteria harvested from the gastrointestinal tract of pigs were used to investigate the degradation of D-tagatose and the formation of fermentation products. Two groups of eight pigs were fed either a control diet containing 150 g/kg sucrose or a diet which had 100 g/kg of the sucrose replaced by D-tagatose. After 18 d the pigs were killed and the gastrointestinal contents collected for in vitro studies. No microbial fermentation of D-tagatose occurred in the stomach or in the small intestine, whereas the sugar was fermented in the cecum and colon. Formate, acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate, caproate and some heptanoate were produced by the microbial fermentation of D-tagatose by gut microbiota. Hydrogen and methane were also produced. The population of D-tagatose-degrading bacteria in fecal samples and the capacity of bacteria from the hindgut to degrade D-tagatose were higher in the pigs adapted to D-tagatose compared with unadapted pigs. In unadapted pigs, the major fermentation product from D-tagatose was acetic acid. Much more butyric and valeric acids were produced from D-tagatose by bacterial slurries of tagatose-adapted pigs compared with unadapted pigs; this was especially the case for samples from the colon. We conclude that D-tagatose is not fermented in the upper gastrointestinal tract, and the ability of the large intestinal microbiota to ferment D-tagatose is dependent on adaptation.

Acetic Acid↗

The effects of short-chain fatty acids on human colon cancer cell phenotype are associated with histone hyperacetylation.

The short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) butyrate is produced via anaerobic bacterial fermentation within the colon and is thought to be protective in regard to colon carcinogenesis. Although butyrate (C4) is considered the most potent of the SCFA, a variety of other SCFA also exist in the colonic lumen. Butyrate is thought to exert its cellular effects through the induction of histone hyperacetylation. We sought to determine the effects of a variety of the SCFA on colon carcinoma cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. HT-29 or HCT-116 (wild-type and p21-deleted) cells were treated with physiologically relevant concentrations of various SCFA, and histone acetylation state was assayed by acid-urea-triton-X gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. Growth and apoptotic effects were studied by flow cytometry, and differentiation effects were assessed using transient transfections and Northern blotting. Propionate (C3) and valerate (C5) caused growth arrest and differentiation in human colon carcinoma cells. The magnitude of their effects was associated with a lesser degree of histone hyperacetylation compared with butyrate. Acetate (C2) and caproate (C6), in contrast, did not cause histone hyperacetylation and also had no appreciable effects on cell growth or differentiation. SCFA-induced transactivation of the differentiation marker gene, intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP), was blocked by histone deacetylase (HDAC), further supporting the critical link between SCFA and histones. Butyrate also significantly increased apoptosis, whereas the other SCFA studied did not. The growth arrest induced by the SCFA was characterized by an increase in the expression of the p21 cell-cycle inhibitor and down-regulation of cyclin B1 (CB1). In p21-deleted HCT-116 colon cancer cells, the SCFA did not alter the rate of proliferation. These data suggest that the antiproliferative, apoptotic and differentiating properties of the various SCFA are linked to the degree of induced histone hyperacetylation. Furthermore, SCFA-mediated growth arrest in colon carcinoma cells requires the p21 gene.

Acetylation↗

Pituitary down-regulation prior to in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer: a comparison between a single dose of Zoladex depot and multiple daily doses of Suprefact.

In order to further evaluate the endocrinological, embryological and clinical efficacy of a single injection of the gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue Zoladex (goserelin), 142 women underwent pituitary down-regulation prior to in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer: 71 with a single injection of Zoladex depot (group I) and 71 matched controls with multiple daily injections of Suprefact (buserelin; group II). Ovarian stimulation was performed with human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) and ovulation induction with human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG). HMG and hydroxyprogesterone caproate depot were given for luteal phase support. The mean (+/- SD) age (34.01 +/- 4.42 versus 34.81 +/- 4.00 years), mean total dosage of HMG (61.25 +/- 26.87 versus 56.17 +/- 25.18 ampoules), mean daily dosage of HMG (4.74 versus 4.94 ampoules), duration of HMG stimulation (12.91 +/- 3.68 versus 11.31 +/- 3.46 days) and oestradiol concentration on the day of HCG (10,082 +/- 8007 versus 9440 +/- 7840 pmol/l) were similar in both groups but the mean total number of injections (GnRH and HMG) (13.55 +/- 3.35 versus 55.37 +/- 31.92) was significantly lower in group I. Furthermore, the proportion of women down-regulated by 2 weeks and pregnancy rate per embryo transfer were significantly higher in the Zoladex group, while miscarriage rates were similar. We conclude that a single dose of Zoladex is quicker, more convenient and should be investigated as an equally effective alternative to multiple doses of Suprefact for pituitary down-regulation prior to assisted conception. Further studies are required to test the teratogenicity and effectiveness of Zoladex.

Adult↗

17 hydroxyprogesterone for the prevention of preterm delivery.

The recent publication of 2 large randomized trials of 17 alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17P) and progesterone suppositories, respectively, for the prevention of premature labor have renewed interest in the use of progesterone to prevent preterm birth. The results of these trials have reinforced the positive results of earlier smaller trials of 17P to prevent preterm delivery. A large body of evidence attests to the lack of teratogenic effects of 17P in pregnancy. Although progesterone is known to have many actions beneficial to the maintenance of pregnancy, the exact mode of action of 17P therapy in preventing preterm labor and delivery is not known. Current evidence supports the use of 17P treatment, begun early in the second trimester of gestation and continued weekly until 36 weeks, for women with a history of a previous spontaneous preterm delivery. At present no evidence exists for the use of 17P to prevent preterm delivery in women with multiple gestation, a short uterine cervix, or other high-risk conditions. The use of 17P or other progestins should not be encouraged for these indications outside of randomized trials. At present no evidence exists for the efficacy of any oral progesterone compound in preventing preterm labor. Four trials reporting the use of a progestational drug in patients with symptoms of preterm labor found no efficacy in prolonging pregnancy, and the use of 17P or other progestational drugs as tocolytic therapy should not be encouraged.

17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone↗

Assignment of Clostridium bryantii to Syntrophospora bryantii gen. nov., comb. nov. on the basis of a 16S rRNA sequence analysis of its crotonate-grown pure culture.

The Clostridium bryantii-Methanospirillum hungatei syntrophic coculture, grown on caproate, was adapted to grow on crotonate. Then, C. bryantii was isolated in pure culture from crotonate bottle plates. A 16S rRNA sequence analysis of the pure subculture revealed that, as a member of the gram-positive phylum, it was not closely related to any of the Clostridium species with which it was compared or to any of the other clusters in the gram-positive phylum with which it was compared. However, it was closely related to another syntrophic fatty acid-degrading bacterium, Syntrophomonas wolfei. On the basis of its phylogeny, physiology, and cell wall ultrastructure, we propose assignment of C. bryantii to Syntrophospora bryantii gen. nov., nov. comb.

Bacteriological Techniques↗

Comamonas nitrativorans sp. nov., a novel denitrifier isolated from a denitrifying reactor treating landfill leachate.

A group of Gram-negative denitrifying bacteria has been isolated from a denitrifying reactor treating landfill leachate. The new isolates produced both oxidase and catalase and showed growth on acetate, butyrate, n-caproate, i-butyrate, i-valerate, propionate, n-valerate, lactate, alanine, benzoate, phenylalanine and ethanol. No growth was observed on sugars. The bacteria could perform anoxic reduction of nitrate, nitrite and nitrous oxide to nitrogen, coupled to the oxidation of the same substrates as those used under aerobic conditions, except for aromatic compounds. They were very efficient denitrifiers, as estimated from the specific rate of N2 gas production. All the strains showed the same 16S rDNA restriction profile and one of them, designated 23310T, was selected for phylogenetic analysis. The organism clustered within the family Comamonadaceae, being related to Comamonas terrigena (95.8% sequence similarity). On the basis of the phylogenetic analysis, physiological characterization and the ability to efficiently reduce nitrate to N2, it is proposed that the bacterium be assigned to a new species, Comamonas nitrativorans. The type strain is 23310T (= DSM 13191T = NCCB 100007T = CCT 7062T).

Anaerobiosis↗

Control of periplasmic nitrate reductase gene expression (napEDABC) from Paracoccus pantotrophus in response to oxygen and carbon substrates.

The napEDABC operon of Paracoccus pantotrophus encodes a periplasmic nitrate reductase (NAP), together with electron-transfer components and proteins required for the synthesis of a fully functional enzyme. Previously, it had been shown that high NAP activity was observed when P. pantotrophus was grown aerobically on highly reduced carbon sources such as butyrate or caproate, but not when cultured on more oxidized substrates such as succinate or malate. The enzyme is not present to any extent when the organism is grown anaerobically under denitrifying conditions, regardless of the carbon source. Transcriptional analyses of the nap operon have now identified two initiation sites which were differentially regulated in response to the carbon source, with expression being maximal when cells were grown aerobically with butyrate. Analysis of a P. pantotrophus mutant (M6) deregulated for NAP activity identified a single C-->A transversion in a heptameric inverted-repeat sequence that partially overlapped the proximal promoter. Transcription analysis of this mutant revealed that expression of nap was completely derepressed under all growth conditions examined. Taken together, these findings indicate that nap transcription is negatively regulated during anaerobiosis, such that expression is restricted to aerobic growth, but only when the carbon source is highly reduced.

Anaerobiosis↗

Effect of lactulose on short-chain fatty acids and lactate production and on the growth of faecal flora, with special reference to Clostridium difficile.

Lactulose exerts a beneficial effect on hepatic encephalopathy by decreasing toxic short-chain (iC4-nC6) fatty acid (isobutyrate, butyrate, isovalerate, valerate, isocaproate and caproate) production. However, the precise mechanism by which lactulose exerts this effect remains uncertain. This study investigated the effect of lactulose on faecal flora, particularly Clostridium difficile, which produces mostly iC4-nC6 fatty acids. An in-vitro faecal incubation system was used to estimate how lactulose influences production of short-chain (C2-nC6) fatty acids and lactate. Faecal specimens were collected from patients with liver cirrhosis, who carried C. difficile in the colon. Supplementation of lactulose along with blood in faecal specimens decreased iC4-nC6 fatty acids production and increased acetate and lactate production, resulting in increased faecal acidity. These changes were statistically significant when compared with supplementation by blood alone. Quantitative faecal culture demonstrated that lactulose supplementation suppressed the growth of C. difficile and Bacteroides spp. (B. fragilis group), iC4-nC6 fatty acids-producing organisms. These results suggest that decreased faecal levels of iC4-nC6 fatty acids after lactulose supplementation may be related to suppression of iC4-nC6 fatty acids-producing faecal organisms, especially C. difficile.

Aged↗

A survey of the prevalence of penicillin-specific IgG, IgM and IgE antibodies detected by ELISA and defined by hapten inhibition, in patients with suspected penicillin allergy and in healthy volunteers.

1. IgG, IgM and IgE anti-benzylpenicilloyl (BPO) antibody activities were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in sera from 100 patients who claimed to be allergic to penicillin, and from 50 healthy volunteers. Continuous frequency distributions for all three classes of anti-BPO antibody, defined as differential binding (delta OD) to BPO-human serum albumin (HSA) and HSA, were obtained for both groups. 2. For IgM and IgE classes the anti-BPO activities were slightly but statistically significantly higher in the patient group compared with the volunteer group. 3. Hapten inhibition ELISAs were performed to confirm specificity for the BPO determinant. On the basis of antibody activities (delta OD values) greater than or equal to 0.3 and 50% inhibition of binding in the presence of 100 micrograms ml-1 BPO-caproate, BPO-specific IgG antibody was identified in 4/100 of the patients' sera and in 1/50 of the volunteers' sera; BPO-specific IgM was identified in 7/100 patients' sera and 1/50 volunteers' sera; and BPO-specific IgE in 5/100 patients' sera and 1/50 volunteers' sera. 4. Not all sera with differential antibody binding to BPO-HSA/HSA were inhibited by the BPO hapten. Hence, hapten inhibition assays are essential for the unambiguous demonstration of drug specific antibodies.

Adult↗

Fermentation pattern of methanogenic degradation of rice straw in anoxic paddy soil.

The anaerobic degradation of different fractions of rice straw in anoxic paddy soil was investigated. Rice straw was divided up into stem, leaf sheath and leaf blade. The different straw fractions were mixed with paddy soil and incubated under anoxic conditions. Fermentation of straw components started immediately and resulted in transient accumulation of acetate, propionate, butyrate, isobutyrate, valerate, isovalerate and caproate with much higher concentrations in the presence than in the absence of straw. Also some unidentified compounds with UV absorption could be detected. The maximum concentrations of these compounds were different when using different straw fractions, suggesting differences in the degradation pathway of these straw fractions during the early phase of incubation, i.e. with Fe(III) and sulfate serving as oxidants. When concentrations of the intermediates decreased to background values, CH(4) production started. Rates of CH(4)unamended soil. During the methanogenic phase, the percentage contribution of fermentation products to CH(4) production was determined by inhibition with 2-bromoethanesulfonate (BES). Acetate (48-83%) and propionate (18-28%) were found to be the main intermediates of the carbon flow to CH(4), irrespective of the fraction of the rice straw or its absence. Mass balance calculations showed that 84-89% of CH(4) was formed via acetate in the various incubations. Radiotracer experiments showed that 11-27% of CH(4) was formed from H(2)/CO(2), thus confirming that acetate contributed 73-89% to methanogenesis. Our results show that the addition of rice straw and the fraction of the straw affected the fermentation pattern only in the early phase of degradation, but had no effect on the degradation pathway during the later methanogenic phase.

Journal Article↗

Effect of soil aggregate size on methanogenesis and archaeal community structure in anoxic rice field soil.

In anoxically incubated slurries of Italian rice field soil, CH(4) production is initiated after a lag phase during which ferric iron and sulfate are reduced. The production of CH(4) was affected by the size of soil aggregates used for the preparation of the soil slurry. Rates of CH(4) production were lowest with small aggregates (<50 and 50-100 µm), were highest with aggregates of 200-2000 µm size and were intermediate with aggregates of 2000-15000 µm size. The different amounts of CH(4) accumulated were positively correlated to the concentrations of acetate, propionate and caproate that transiently accumulated in the slurries prepared from different aggregate sizes and also to the organic carbon content. The addition of organic debris that was collected from large-size aggregates to the aggregate size fractions <200 and <50 µm resulted in an increase of CH(4) production to amounts that were comparable to those measured in unamended aggregates of 200-2000 µm size, indicating that CH(4) production in the different aggregate size fractions was limited by substrate. The distribution of archaeal small-subunit rRNA genes in the different soil aggregate fractions was analyzed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism which allowed seven different archaeal ribotypes to be distinguished. Ribotype-182 (consisting of members of the Methanosarcinaceae and rice cluster VI), ribotype-389 (rice cluster I and II) and ribotype-820 (undigested DNA, rice cluster IV and members of the Methanosarcinaceae) accounted for >20, >30 and >10% of the total, respectively. The other ribotypes accounted for <10% of the total. The relative quantity of the individual ribotypes changed only slightly with incubation time and was almost the same among the different soil aggregate fractions. Ribotype-389, for example, slightly decreased with time, whereas ribotype-182 slightly increased. At the end of incubation, the relative quantity of ribotype-182 seemed to be slightly higher in soil fractions with larger than with smaller aggregates, whereas it was the opposite with ribotype-80 (Methanomicrobiaceae) and ribotype-88 (Methanobacteriaceae). Ribotype-280 (Methanosaetaceae and rice cluster V), ribotype-375 (rice cluster III), ribotype-389 and ribotype-820, on the other hand, were not much different among the different soil aggregate size fractions. However, the differences were not significant relative to the errors encountered during the extraction of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplifiable DNA from soil. In conclusion, soil aggregate size and incubation time showed a strong effect on the function but only a small effect on the structure of the methanogenic microbial community.

Journal Article↗

Butyrate- and propionate-degrading syntrophs from permanently cold marine sediments in Skan Bay, Alaska, and description of Algorimarina butyrica gen. nov., sp. nov.

Two anaerobic, psychrotolerant, syntrophic strains were enriched from permanently cold, shallow anoxic marine sediments in Skan Bay, Alaska. One strain, AK-B(T), oxidized butyrate syntrophically and was isolated in defined coculture with a H(2)-using methanogen or in a dixenic coculture that also contained an acetate-scavenging methanogen. The other enrichment culture syntrophically oxidized propionate. The growth of these syntrophic cultures was very slow: approximately 1 year for cocultures of strain AK-B(T) to form colonies and >1 year for the propionate-oxidizing enrichment to form colonies. Neither culture grew axenically when supplied with the catabolic substrates crotonate, pyruvate, malate, or sulfate plus butyrate or propionate. Strain AK-B(T) catabolized iso-butyrate in syntrophic coculture but did not catabolize valerate or caproate. Phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA gene sequence suggested that strain AK-B(T) was only distantly related to cultivated sulfate-reducing bacteria, and that this strain represented a new genus. We propose Algorimarina butyrica, with strain AK-B(T) (=OCM 842(T)), as the type strain. This report is the first description of psychrotolerant as well as marine butyrate--and propionate-oxidizing syntrophic organisms.

Alaska↗

Influence of progestogen therapy on T lymphocyte subsets.

The distribution of T lymphocyte subsets was determined in 22 patients with endometrial carcinoma stage 1. Following surgery and postoperative radiotherapy the patients had been "randomized" into two groups: group A patients received no further treatment, whereas group B patients were treated with 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate for one year. T cells and T cell subsets were estimated by an indirect immunofluorescence technique using the monoclonal antibodies UCHT3 (mature T cells), OKT4 (T helper cells), and OKT8 (T suppressor/cytotoxic cells). When examined 3-12 months after randomization the two groups had similar numbers of UCHT3+ cells and OKT4+ cells. Group B patients, however, had a significantly lower proportion of OKT8+ cells and hence a significantly higher OKT4/OKT8 ratio than group A patients. It is concluded that progestogen therapy has some immunomodulating effects.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗