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)

To examine the clinical significance of neutrophil gelatinase in rheumatic diseases, plasma and synovial fluid (SF) gelatinase levels were determined in 62 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 12 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), 18 patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and 17 healthy controls. The gelatinase level was measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). The assay had a sensitivity of 1 ng/ml and a working range of 5-25 ng/ml. Gelatinase levels were significantly higher in the plasma of patients with RA and of patients with RA complicated by amyloidosis or vasculitis as compared to those of healthy controls. Moreover, the mean value of gelatinase in the plasma of patients with RA complicated by vasculitis was found to be significantly higher than that of RA patients without vasculitis. A significant increase in gelatinase concentration was also observed in the plasma of AS patients but not in the plasma of patients with OA. The concentration of gelatinase in the RA SF samples was much higher (18-fold) than the level of the enzyme in the plasma of RA patients. There was also a higher concentration of gelatinase (four-fold) in OA SF compared with OA plasma. The results suggested that circulating gelatinase may reflect some degree of neutrophil activation in patients with inflammatory arthritis, especially in those with RA complicated by vasculitis. However, the results did not allow a differentiation between chronic and acute inflammation.
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PMID:Neutrophil gelatinase levels in plasma and synovial fluid of patients with rheumatic diseases. 765 65

Macrophages represent a critical component in the inflammatory lesions of giant cell arteritis. By combining immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, we have analyzed the functional heterogeneity of tissue-infiltrating macrophages in patients with untreated vasculitis. 20% of macrophages in temporal artery tissue synthesized IL-6-specific mRNA and produced IL-6 and IL-1 beta proteins. IL-6 and IL-1 beta production was not limited to CD68+ cells in the lymphoid aggregates but was a feature of CD68+ cells dispersed throughout the tissue. 50% of tissue-infiltrating CD68+ cells synthesized 72-kD type IV collagenase. Only a small subset of CD68+ cells produced cytokines as well as collagenase, indicating functional specialization or distinct differentiation stages of CD68+ cells in the inflamed tissue. Activation of CD68+ cells was not restricted to tissue-infiltrating cells. Expression of IL-6 and IL-1 beta was found in 60-80% of circulating monocytes of patients with untreated giant cell arteritis, whereas collagenase production was restricted to tissue macrophages. IL-6 and IL-1 beta production by the majority of circulating monocytes was a shared feature of patients with giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica but was not found in rheumatoid arthritis. These data suggest that giant cell arteritis has two components of disease, an inflammatory reaction in vessel walls and a systemic activation of monocytes. Systemic monocyte activation can manifest independently without vasculitis as exemplified in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica.
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PMID:Functional profile of tissue-infiltrating and circulating CD68+ cells in giant cell arteritis. Evidence for two components of the disease. 808 54