Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0042384 (vasculitis)
 20,525 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Morphological alterations in the lungs of pheasants after prolonged high-dosage administration of bleomycin sulfate were studied by light and electron microscopy. Nontreated birds acted as controls, and their lungs showed no abnormalities. Lungs of bleomycin-treated pheasants revealed collapse alternating with overexpansion, marked cuboidalization of atrial epithelium, and incipient interstitial fibrosis. There were neither lymphoplasmacytic or eosinophilic infiltrates, nor evidence of vasculitis. Ultrastructurally, type 1 alveolar epithelial cells were either reactive or conspicuously absent in the air capillaries. Type 2 alveolar epithelial cells appeared hyperplastic with numerous lamellar bodies, many of which extruded into air spaces. Immature fibroblasts were noted in the vicinity of collagen fibrils or amorphous material resembling elastin. No immune deposits were present in basement membranes. These findings are consistent with a direct toxic effect of bleomycin to the pheasant lung rather than a drug hypersensitivity reaction. Reproduction of the bleomycin lesion in a nonmammalian species corroborates even further the high propensity of the drug to affect the lung.
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PMID:Experimentally induced bleomycin sulfate pulmonary toxicity: histopathologic and ultrastructural study in the pheasant. 6 10

An animal model of environmental lung disease is described in which phytomitogen, antigen, or both, are administered in aerosol form to previously immunized or immunologically naive rabbits. Inhalation of concanavalin A alone induced an interstitial pneumonitis in nonimmunized rabbits. Inhalation of concanavalin A alone induced an interstitial pneumonitis in nonimmunized rabbits. Inhalation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) alone typically produced only focal eosinophilic granulomas in BSA-immunized animals, and no injury whatever in nonimmune animals. However, simultaneous administration of BSA-concanavalin A aerosol mixtures to BSA-immunized rabbits induced a severe interstitial pneumonitis and granulomatous vasculitis, together with areas of frank parenchymal necrosis. When repeated on a chronic basis over a 4- or 8-week interval, challenge with BSA-concanavalin A aerosols resulted in both acute necrotic lesions as well as areas of frank interstitial fibrosis. Necrotic foci in acutely injured lungs were associated with interstitial deposits of BSA, rabbit anti-BSA antibody, and complement. Electron microscopy revealed numerous neutrophils within the pulmonary interstitial spaces of these animals, often in association with collagen and elastin fibers. The pattern of injury in immune rabbits induced by antigen-concanavalin A aerosols, in its nonnecrotizing form, is consistent with that of an extrinsic allergic alveolitis. However, the severe, necrotizing form of acute injury closely resembles changes seen in Wegener's granulomatosis. Possible mechanisms of injury produced by antigen and phytomitogen inhalation are discussed.
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PMID:In vivo responses to inhaled proteins. II. Induction of interstitial pneumonitis and enhancement of immune complex-mediated alveolitis by inhaled concanavalin A. 42 30

The pathogenesis of monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension is not clear. Progressive pulmonary arteritis leading to vascular sclerosis, narrowing of the lumina, and thrombosis is the suspected sequence. To investigate this, we examined the effect of isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), prednisolone, indomethacin, and elastase in 100 SD male rats, 4 weeks after the injection of monocrotaline (MCT) by cardiac catheterization, right ventricle-to-left ventricle plus septum weight ratio (RV/LV + S), histology, and electron microscopy. ISDN, a vasodilator, reduced the elevation of right ventricular (RV) pressure, RV/LV + S, and also pulmonary vascular remodeling; the characteristic histological feature was dilatation of small pulmonary arteries. Both prednisolone and indomethacin reduced RV pressure, RV/LV + S, and pulmonary vasculitis. Elastase, a protease which controls the metabolism of elastin in the arterial wall, likewise reduced RV pressure, RV/LV + S, and pulmonary vascular remodeling, with a significant decrease in elastosis of the small pulmonary arteries histologically. We concluded that all of the pathological processes resulting from arteritis are important in the development of MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension. In all experimental groups, decreased histopathologic changes correlated with decrease in the pressure. Elastase, which reduces pulmonary arterial sclerosis, is suggested as a new agent to treat pulmonary hypertension.
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PMID:Comparative effects of isosorbide dinitrate, prednisolone, indomethacin, and elastase on the development of monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension. 249 22

Detection of circulating antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) to the neutrophil serine proteinase, proteinase 3 (PR3), has proven valuable for the diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG). However, the importance of these autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of WG remains unknown. It was recently reported that anti-PR3 autoantibodies (PR3-ANCA) from some patients with WG inhibit the proteolytic activity of PR3 and interfere with the inactivation of PR3 by the physiologic inhibitor, alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor (alpha 1-PI). We have studied the effect of PR3-ANCA on the enzymatic activity of PR3 and its correlation with disease activity in patients with WG. We purified IgG from 21 PR3-ANCA positive sera obtained from 17 patients with WG, and determined its effect on the esterolytic and proteolytic activity of purified human PR3 using Boc-Ala-O-Nitrophenyl ester and fluoresceinated-elastin as enzyme substrates. Controls included seven sera containing anti-MPO autoantibodies (MPO-ANCA) from patients with systemic vasculitis and seven ANCA-negative sera obtained from healthy individuals. We found that PR3-ANCA from 9 of the 17 patients significantly inhibited the activity of PR3. There was no correlation between the titers of PR3-ANCA and their inhibitory activity. For one extensively characterized autoantibody, the inhibition reached 70 to 95% at 20-fold molar excess of IgG to enzyme, with an apparent Kiapp of 56.5 microM. This inhibition was non-competitive in nature, and was additive to that produced by alpha 1-PI. A review of the clinical histories of the patients revealed a strong association between active WG and inhibitory autoantibodies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Inhibition of proteinase 3 by ANCA and its correlation with disease activity in Wegener's granulomatosis. 764 21

Seven cases of inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysms (IAs) were studied by light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immunohistochemistry. Microscopically, atherosclerosis coexisted with adventitial fibrosis and inflammation. The inflammatory component showed a follicular and a diffuse pattern. Fibrous entrapment of fatty tissue, adventitial vasculitis, neuritis were also common findings. By TEM, sparse smooth muscle cells having dilated cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum, large bundles of collagen fibres and oedematous, amorphous fibrillary elastin were observed. By immunohistochemistry, the follicles mostly contained CD22+ B-cells. T4- (CD2+/CD4+/CD8-), T8-(CD2+/CD4-/CD8+) cells as well as macrophages (CD4+/CD11c+) and follicular dendritic reticulum cells (DRC1+) were also detected. The monoclonal antibody Ki-67 reacted with 2-48% of germinal center cells. In the fibrous extrafollicular adventitia, actively synthesizing plasma cells prevailed over T4-cells, and macrophages. Some of the macrophages were also activated (CD4+/CD11c+/CD25+/CD30-). IgM, IgG and C3c deposits were detected in the fibrous zone, in the germinal centers, within adventitial vessels and nerves. HLA-DR antigen was diffusely expressed in cells populating both the fibrous and the follicular zones as well as in endothelial and Schwann cells. These findings suggest that IAs could develop in some individuals affected by advanced atherosclerosis of the abdominal aorta through a pathogenic B-cell response to locally presented antigens.
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PMID:An immunohistochemical study of inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysms. 809 31

The elastin peptide level (EP) and elastase-type activity (EA) were investigated in 89 patients with different types of systemic vasculitis (polyarteritis nodosa-14, non-specific aortoarteritis-33, temporal arteritis-23 and thromboangiitis obliterans-18) and compared to the controls: 31 patients with leg atherosclerosis and 12 aged subjects with no evident vascular pathology. EP and EA levels in patients with thromboangiitis obliterans were significantly lower as compared to leg atherosclerosis and the aged control group (p < 0.02 for EA, p < 0.05 for EP). The increase of EP predominated in giant-cell arteritis as compared to the other vasculitic groups (18/56 vs. 5/32, p < 0.05); EA in these patients was the lowest. The activation of elastin degradation after corticosteroid treatment was demonstrated by an increase of EP in temporal arteritis (p < 0.05) and of EA in thromboangiitis obliterans (p < 0.03). We suggest that the determination of the above parameters of elastin degradation may be helpful in the search for differences in mechanisms of vascular damage between atherosclerosis and inflammatory vascular diseases.
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PMID:Elastin degradation in systemic vasculitis. 876 87

Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) of patients with active Wegener's granulomatosis and PMN activated in vitro express elastase on their surface as detected by autoantibodies derived from patients with ANCA-positive vasculitis or chronic staphylococcus infections. The PMN-associated elastase was enzymatically active. By affinity-purified autoantibodies to elastase, the enzymatic activity was further enhanced as measured either by a chromogenic peptide or by elastin as substrate. Antibodies to human elastase from mouse or from sheep also enhanced elastase activity, whereas unrelated immunoglobulins had no effect. Taken together, our data indicate that autoantibodies to elastase are not inhibitory but upregulate the elastase activity and thereby might contribute to tissue damage.
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PMID:Autoantibodies to polymorphonuclear neutrophil elastase do not inhibit but enhance elastase activity. 963 42

Recent data indicate that human T lymphocytes can adhere to elastin and respond to co-stimulatory signals of that protein. This reactivity is mediated by non-integrin receptor, elastin binding protein. In addition, another receptor belonging to integrin family may be also involved. T cell interactions with elastin (but not other extracellular matrix proteins) appear to be upregulated in healthy males and at least some patients with vasculitis. Interestingly, statins in pharmacological concentrations strongly and selectively block those interactions. Our data point to the potential role of T cell interactions with elastin in immunopathology of vasculitis and atherosclerosis.
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PMID:[Interaction of T lymphocytes with elastin and their significance in immunopathology]. 1198 88

Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) is a protein that prevents enzymes such as elastin from degrading normal host tissue. Individuals who are deficient in AAT (those with levels < 11 micromol/L) are at risk for developing such clinical manifestations as emphysema, cirrhosis, panniculitis, and anticytoplasmic neutrophilic antibody (C-ANCA)-positive vasculitis (Wegener's granulomatosis). Estimates suggest that 75 to 85% of those with severe deficiency of AAT will develop emphysema. Smoking appears to be the most important risk factor for the development of emphysema among AAT deficient persons. Severe deficiency of AAT also seems to be associated with a shorter lifespan. Among smokers, mild to moderate reductions in AAT levels may be associated with a more rapid decline in lung function. Diagnosis of AAT deficiency is made by measuring serum levels of AAT and, if reduced, an effort should then be made to identify the genetic abnormality responsible for the reduction. A recent evidence-based review has offered testing recommendations for AAT deficiency and includes the recommendation that all patients with COPD be tested for AAT deficiency. Augmentation with an intravenous form of purified pooled human plasma has been shown to increase the serum levels of AAT among deficient patients and its use appears to impact the rate of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV (1)) decline and overall survival; to date, no confirmatory, large, prospective, randomized trials are available.
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PMID:A review of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. 1608 34

Kawasaki disease is the most common cause of multisystem vasculitis in childhood. The resultant coronary artery lesions make Kawasaki disease the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in the developed world. TNF-alpha is a pleiotropic inflammatory cytokine elevated during the acute phase of Kawasaki disease. In this study, we report rapid production of TNF-alpha in the peripheral immune system after disease induction in a murine model of Kawasaki disease. This immune response becomes site directed, with migration to the coronary arteries dependent on TNF-alpha-mediated events. Production of TNF-alpha in the heart is coincident with the presence of inflammatory infiltrate at the coronary arteries, which persists during development of aneurysms. More importantly, inflammation and elastin breakdown in the coronary vessels are completely eliminated in the absence of TNF-alpha effector functions. Mice treated with the TNF-alpha-blocking agent etanercept, as well as TNFRI knockout mice, are resistant to development of both coronary arteritis and coronary aneurysm formation. Taken together, TNF-alpha is necessary for the development of coronary artery lesions in an animal model of Kawasaki disease. These findings have important implications for potential new therapeutic interventions in children with Kawasaki disease.
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PMID:TNF-alpha is necessary for induction of coronary artery inflammation and aneurysm formation in an animal model of Kawasaki disease. 1667 Mar 41


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