Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0432222 (SEM)
 47,337 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Severely malnourished young children (n = 72) were treated with intravenous fibronectin to assess its efficacy as an adjunct treatment for kwashiorkor and/or marasmus. The protein was given in a double-blind study during the first 4 d of hospitalization together with standard nutrition and supportive therapy. Fibronectin concentrations as well as albumin, transferrin, prealbumin, and alpha-2-macroglobulin were monitored in samples taken before each dose of fibronectin and in samples taken five times thereafter. Sick individuals had significantly lower concentrations of all five proteins than did healthy control individuals of matching ages. Mean fibronectin concentrations were 98 +/- 7 mg/L (mean +/- SEM) for sick vs 303 +/- 21 mg/L for healthy individuals. Concentrations of all five proteins increased at a greater daily rate in patients treated with fibronectin than in patients who received placebos. Eighty-seven percent of the treated children survived to the end of the treatment and observation periods (mean hospitalization 14.7 d) whereas only 56% of the control subjects survived (P = 0.004). These data support the use of intravenous fibronectin as an adjunct in the treatment of severe malnutrition at a dosage of 7.5 mg.kg-1.d-1 over a 4-d period.
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PMID:Improvement in plasma protein concentrations with fibronectin treatment in severe malnutrition. 211 55

To examine the relationship between circulating levels of bioactive FSH (B-FSH) and immunoactive inhibin and oestradiol we studied five women during ovulatory cycles. Daily blood samples were collected from each subject during one menstrual cycle. B-FSH was measured using a modified, highly sensitive in-vitro rat granulosa cell bioassay. The inclusion of IGF-1 (10 micrograms/l) and transferrin (50 mg/l) in the assay system enhanced granulosa cell responsiveness to FSH and resulted in increased assay sensitivity. Inhibin was measured by a heterologous radioimmunoassay (RIA) using an antibody raised against 31 kDa bovine inhibin. Bioactive FSH (B-FSH) levels were closely correlated to those of immunoactive FSH (I-FSH, r = 0.79, P less than 0.001) throughout the cycle. Peak levels of B-FSH were observed during the early follicular phase (day -13, 44.7 +/- 9.6 IU/l, mean +/- SEM) and during the midcycle surge (35.2 +/- 6.2 IU/l); lowest levels occurring during the luteal phase (nadir 3.9 +/- 0.27 IU/l). Plasma oestradiol levels increased significantly during the follicular phase (P less than 0.001) to a peak on day -1 and were negatively correlated with B-FSH during the late follicular phase (day -8 to -1; r = -0.45, P less than 0.02). There was no change in the concentration of inhibin (range 55.3-72.3 U/l) during the follicular phase until day -2 after which an increase to a midcycle peak of 139 +/- 10.6 U/l was observed. No correlation was observed between inhibin and B-FSH during the follicular phase. A second increase in the concentration of inhibin was seen during the luteal phase; peak levels occurred by day 6 (311 +/- 25.8 U/l), remained elevated until day 12, and were negatively correlated with B-FSH (r = -0.53, P less than 0.001). No correlation was observed between oestradiol and inhibin or B-FSH during the luteal phase. We conclude that (1) oestradiol secretion from the growing follicle is primarily responsible for the negative feedback regulation of B-FSH resulting in a change from peak levels in the early follicular phase to basal levels in the late follicular phase; (2) significant and sustained increase in peripheral inhibin concentrations occur mostly during the luteal phase; and (3) regulation of FSH secretion by inhibin occurs primarily in the luteal phase. These results suggest a temporal relationship between oestradiol and inhibin in the negative feedback regulation of FSH in vivo.
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PMID:Circulating bioactive follicle stimulating hormone and immunoreactive inhibin levels during the normal human menstrual cycle. 212 99

Haematological indices and parameters of iron status were obtained from 29 normal male subjects and from 32 male blood donors. Percentage saturation of transferrin with iron and the usual erythrocyte parameters of iron status were similar in both group of subjects. The mean ferritin concentration was 64.75 ng/ml +/- 4.6 (SEM) in normal males and 49.19 ng/ml +/- 5.1 (SEM) in the male donors. This difference was statistically significant (p less than .05). Serum ferritin concentration thus appears to be a sensitive index of iron stores. The results also indicate that some blood donors may be pre-latent or latent iron deficient at the time of donation and may manifest as iron deficient after blood donation. Based on these findings, it is suggested that blood donors be given iron supplementation and those who do not meet the minimum screening haemoglobin concentration be further investigated and treated.
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PMID:Iron stores of Nigerian blood donors as assessed by serum ferritin concentration. 227 85

The effect of ascorbic acid on iron retention from a diet with predicted low iron bioavailability (containing minimal meat and ascorbic acid) was investigated in iron-depleted premenopausal women. Eleven women were depleted of storage iron (indicated by serum ferritin) through a combination of diet (5.0 mg Fe/2000 kcal for 67-88 d) and phlebotomy. They then consumed a diet containing 13.7 mg Fe/2000 kcal, supplemented with placebo or ascorbic acid three times daily (1500 mg total) with meals for 5.5 wk. Ascorbic acid improved apparent iron absorption (balance method) [38 +/- 2% (means +/- SEM) vs 27 +/- 2%]. Ascorbic acid also improved hemoglobin, erythrocyte protoporphyrins, and serum iron but not hematocrit, serum ferritin, iron-binding capacity, or transferrin saturation. In iron-depleted women consuming a diet with predicted poor iron availability, ascorbic acid supplementation enhanced body iron retention for 5.5 wk.
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PMID:Ascorbic acid: effect on ongoing iron absorption and status in iron-depleted young women. 232 71

Pepsinogen A (PGA) and pepsinogen C (PGC) are negatively charged, low molecular weight (LMW) proteins with a striking difference in renal handling: PGA (molecular weight 43,500 daltons) shows a high fractional excretion while the fractional excretion of PGC (molecular weight 40,500 daltons) is low, presumably due to tubular reabsorption. As these data suggest a high glomerular sieving of pepsinogens, we assessed the glomerular sieving coefficient (GSC) of PGA, PGC and several other proteins from their renal extractions. For this purpose blood samples were obtained simultaneously from the aorta (A) and right renal vein (V) in nine patients undergoing an elective heart catheterization. After correction of A-V differences for diuresis with the A-V difference of transferrin, GSCs (+/- SEM) for PGA and PGC were 0.90 +/- 0.14 and 0.85 +/- 0.17, respectively, GSC of beta 2-microglobulin being 0.90 +/- 0.12. For albumin and IgG, known to have a low GSC, low values were found. It is concluded that the GSC of a LMW protein in man can be calculated from both its A-V difference over the kidney and the A-V difference of an inert marker with a GSC of 1, provided they are corrected by the A-V difference of an inert marker with a GSC of 0. Our results demonstrate that PGA and PGC are almost freely filtered through the glomerular basement membrane despite their size and negative net molecular charge.
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PMID:The glomerular sieving of pepsinogen A and C in man. 247 70

The insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) plasma concentration was evaluated as a nutritional parameter in 18 patients affected with chronic malnutrition secondary to biliopancreatic bypass and compared with albumin, transferrin, and with body composition parameters: total body water (TBW), total body sodium (TBNa), total body potassium (TBK). Subjects were studied in malnutritional conditions and after 20 to 30 days of parenteral and enteral refeeding treatment. Immunoreactive IGF-I concentration was 0.35 U/ml +/- 0.07 (mean +/- SEM), significantly lower (p less than 0.01) than in age-matched controls (1.14 +/- 0.07 U/ml, n = 29) and rose significantly (0.84 +/- 0.12 U/ml; p less than 0.01) in parallel with the improvement of nutritional status. The ratios TBNa/TBW, TBNa/TBK, and TBK/TBW were then considered as reference parameters for definition of malnutritional state, and compared with IGF-I as well as with the most commonly used parameters, albumin and transferrin. Before treatment, IGF-I evidenced higher specificity (true negative ratios 0.63, 0.43, and 0.40 with regard to TBNa/TBW, TBNa/TBK, and TBK/TBW, respectively) than albumin (0.13, 0.14, and 0.10) and transferrin (0 in all cases), and slightly less sensitivity (true positive ratios for IGF-I 0.80, 0.67, and 0.67; always one for albumin and transferrin). Moreover, IGF-I resulted definitely more sensitive in assessing the effectiveness of the refeeding treatment and, on the basis of the likelihood ratio, it appeared a good discriminator of the nutritional status. The data indicate that different nutritional factors regulate IGF-I, albumin, and transferrin, and suggest that IGF-I can be used as a reliable and specific nutritional parameter, complementary to the others currently used.
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PMID:Insulin-like growth factor-I in human malnutrition: relationship with some body composition and nutritional parameters. 250 76

The aim of this study was to assess the performance of the transferrin (Tf) index in screening heavy drinkers and to compare its performance to that of gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT). Tf index, GGT, and transaminase activities were determined in a group of 173 subjects (49% males) recruited in a family doctor's practice (age: 54 +/- 1.5 yr; daily alcohol intake: 32 +/- 3.5 g; mean +/- SEM). Tf subfractions were quantified by isoelectric focusing and immunofixation on polyacrylamide gel. The Tf pl 5.7 to 5.4 ratio, or Tf index, was used as a marker of excessive drinking, with a cut-off point at 7%. Alcohol consumption was assessed through a face-to-face interview. Excessive drinkers were defined as those with a daily alcohol intake greater than 80 g over at least 2 years; 20 were classified as excessive drinkers (alcohol consumption: 92-232 g/day). All but four had normal transaminase activities indicating the low prevalence of hepatic impairments in this sample. The Tf index was found to have a sensitivity of 45%, specificity 89%, positive predictive value 35%, negative predictive value 92%. The corresponding results for GGT were 52%, 80%, 27%, and 92%, respectively. Concordance between the Tf index and GGT was assessed by the kappa coefficient (kappa) which was 0.22 indicating poor agreement between the two markers in selecting excessive drinkers (perfect association: kappa = 1, no association: kappa = 0).
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PMID:Assessment of the transferrin index in screening heavy drinkers from a general practice. 257 80

A simple and efficient method for the analysis of the affinity and number of functional transferrin receptors (TFR) on human tumor cells is described. The technique is designed to utilize microtitration equipment; and is suitable for easy comparison of up to 8 different cell preparations per assay. Using this technique, 5 established cell lines were evaluated for functional TFR expression. The control erythroleukemic cell line K562 possessed 3.28 X 10(5) functional TFR per cell (+/- 3.69 X 10(4), SEM) Kd = 9.0 X 10(-9) X M-1. Trypsin and heat-pretreated cells were compared to control erythroleukemic K562 cells from the same culture to determine both the effects of receptor removal and cell viability on the assay. Trypsin and heat pretreatment of these K562 cells severely decreased receptor function as indicated by Scatchard analysis as well as by time course and cold competition analysis respectively. Whereas the affinity of trypsin-treated receptors on cells was similar to control values, heat-killed cells displayed an altered cellular affinity for 125I-transferrin underscoring the importance of utilizing cells of high viability in receptor assays.
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PMID:A rapid and efficient microtechnique for the analysis of functional transferrin receptors on tumor cells. 298 58

Since neutrophils may be important in endotoxin-induced acute lung injury, we sought to determine whether injury produced by endotoxin in vivo would be modified by pentoxifylline, which decreases neutrophil adherence and lessens neutrophil activation in vitro. Anesthetized dogs received 4 micrograms/kg Salmonella enteriditis endotoxin intravenously after pretreatment with either saline or pentoxifylline 20 mg/kg intravenously administered followed by a continuous 0.1 mg/kg/min infusion. Two hours after endotoxin, pulmonary vascular permeability to protein was assessed as the lung extravascular accumulation of intravenously administered 113mIn-transferrin. Results expressed as the ratio of extra- to intravascular protein activities showed a clear increase over control values in dogs treated with endotoxin [0.064 +/- 0.003 (mean +/- SEM) and 0.31 +/- 0.14 respectively, p less than 0.05]. This increase with endotoxin was reversed by pentoxifylline to levels similar to control values (0.063 +/- 0.044, p less than 0.05). To determine whether pentoxifylline influenced neutrophil sequestration, thin sections of lung tissue were analyzed for neutrophil density using an intercept counting technique. Neutrophil density was doubled in dogs treated with endotoxin over that seen in controls (0.078 +/- 0.008 versus 0.042 +/- 0.006 neutrophils per alveolar septa, respectively, p less than 0.05) and this increase was significantly reduced by pentoxifylline treatment (0.048 +/- 0.009, p less than 0.05). Endotoxin increased lung retention of radiolabeled neutrophils and this was also prevented by pretreatment of the neutrophils with pentoxifylline. In summary, pentoxifylline decreases neutrophil accumulation and prevents the increase in pulmonary vascular permeability to protein induced by endotoxin. These data support the premise that pentoxifylline is protective against endotoxin-induced lung injury in vivo.
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PMID:Pentoxifylline decreases endotoxin-induced pulmonary neutrophil sequestration and extravascular protein accumulation in the dog. 305 89

Inhibin levels in the serum-free media of primary Sertoli cell-enriched (SCE) cultures were studied as a function of time and hormonal treatment. SCE cultures were established from 20-day-old rats and maintained in SF media supplemented with insulin, transferrin, epidermal growth factor (EGF), and bacitracin. Radioimmunoassayable inhibin was measured using an antibody directed against a synthetic porcine inhibin-alpha (pI alpha) and measured using this same synthetic peptide as well as a highly purified ovine inhibin standard. Results of these determinations are expressed in terms of a synthetic peptide as femtomoles of pI alpha-(1-26)-G-Y-per ml/10(6) cells. Inhibin levels (+/- SEM) that accumulated at this rate in media from control cultures were 184.9 +/- 6.1 and 167.4 +/- 5.2 on days 0-4 and 4-8, respectively. When FSH (oFSH 17; 1-1000 ng/ml) was added, a dose-dependent increase in inhibin levels was significant at all time points beyond the initial 24 h. The simultaneous addition of 2 x 10(-7) M testosterone (T) with low doses of FSH addition of 2 x 10(-7) m testosterone (T) with low doses of FSH suppressed the inhibin response to FSH, but when T was combined with 300 ng/ml FSH, there was no effect of T on inhibin levels compared to FSH alone, regardless of time in culture. In spite of the modest effect of T, androstenedione (A; 2 x 10(-13) to x 10(-5) M) produced a dose-dependent suppression of inhibin levels. This inhibition was also observed at all doses of FSH. The action of A was not due to its conversion to estrogens, as 17 beta-estradiol had no effect on inhibin production by SCE cultures in either the presence or absence of FSH. The effect of EGF, a component of the basal serum-free medium, was next examined; it produced a 1.5-fold higher level of inhibin (188.7 +/- 9.5) compared to cultures without EGF (135.6 +/- 5.0). When SCE cultures were plated with FSH plus EGF, the stimulation of inhibin levels was additive. We conclude that in Sertoli cell cultures established from immature rats (1) the accumulation of inhibin in medium declines from 90 fmol/10(6) cells.day (initial 24 h) to 40-50 fmol/10(6) cells.day (over the first 48 h) and continues to accumulate in the medium for 8 days of culture; (2) FSH regulates the production of inhibin by Sertoli cells; the best dose response is observed over a 3-day period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Inhibin production by primary Sertoli cell-enriched cultures: regulation by follicle-stimulating hormone, androgens, and epidermal growth factor. 312 3


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