Inflammatory cells and mediators in bronchial lavage of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Cigarette smoking is the most important cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although the precise sequence of events that leads a smoker to experience airway obstruction is not completely clear, airway inflammation is a relevant factor. To investigate airway inflammation, 12 nonatopic smoking COPD patients with a forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1

Growth Arrest Specific Gene 6 Protein Concentration in Cerebrospinal Fluid Correlates with Relapse Severity in Multiple Sclerosis

Background. Growth arrest specific gene 6 (Gas6) protein enhances survival of oligodendrocytes and neurons, and it is involved in autoimmunity. Therefore, we aimed to verify whether cerebrospinal-fluid (CSF) Gas6 concentration may represent a biomarker of disease activity in multiple sclerosis. Methods. Sixty-five patients who underwent a spinal tap during relapse of relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS)(McDonald-criteria) were studied. Forty patients affected by noninflammatory/nonautoimmune neurological diseases served as controls. Relapse was defined according to Schumacher criteria. Symptoms were grouped according to Kurtzke-Functional System (FS). Clinical characteristics of the relapse, duration, Expanded-Disability-Status Scale (EDSS) change, number of FS involved, completeness of recovery, age, steroid therapy, were categorised. Patients were followed at 6-month intervals to assess relapse rate and EDSS progression. Gas6 was measured (CSF, plasma) by in-house-enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Results. Higher CSF Gas6 concentrations were observed in relapses lasting ≤60 days (8.7 ± 3.9 ng/mL) versus >60 days (6.5 ± 2.6) or controls (6.5 ± 2.4; P = 0.05), with ≤2 FS involved (8.5 ± 3.8) versus >2 FS (5.6 ± 2.5) (P < 0.05) and EDSS change ≤2.5 points (8.8 ± 3.7) versus >2.5 (6.5 ± 3.5) (P = 0.04). Conversely, CSF Gas6 was not predictive of the completeness of recovery. Plasma and CSF concentrations were not related (R (2) = 0.0003), and neither were predictive of relapse rate or EDSS progression after first relapse. Conclusions. CSF concentration of Gas6 is inversely correlated with the severity of relapse in RR-MS patients but does not predict the subsequent course of the disease

Applications of Life Cycle Assessment

El propósito de esta obra es llegar a profesionales veterinarios, estudiantes, investigadores científicos y productores pecuarios con una información focalizada en los principios científicos y técnicos que explican el funcionamiento de las vacunas tanto en su constitución, los mecanismos de respuesta del hospedador, la medición de esa respuesta y su uso apropiado.Academia Nacional de Agronomía y Veterinari

Development and validation of an ELISA method for detection of growth arrest specific 6 (GAS6) protein in human plasma

Gas6 protein is possibly involved in human diseases, but a validated plasma assay is lacking. So, we developed a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method using commercially available reagents. An appropriate plasma-based matrix was prepared to optimize the assay. The ELISA method showed inter- and intra-assay coefficients of variation lower than 15%. Recoveries all fell within 15% of expected values. Plasma Gas6 concentration in 61 healthy donors was 20.3+/-3.8 ng/mL. Our assay meets FDA requirements for precision and accuracy for the validation of bioanalytical methods and it is suitable for research or diagnostic purposes