Mast cell glycosaminoglycans

Mast cells contain granules packed with a mixture of proteins that are released on degranulation. The proteoglycan serglycin carries an array of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) side chains, sometimes heparin, sometimes chondroitin or dermatan sulphate. Tight packing of granule proteins is dependent on the presence of serglycin carrying these GAGs. The GAGs of mast cells were most intensively studied in the 1970s and 1980s, and though something is known about the fine structure of chondroitin sulphate and dermatan sulphate in mast cells, little is understood about the composition of the heparin/heparan sulphate chains. Recent emphasis on the analysis of mast cell heparin from different species and tissues, arising from the use of this GAG in medicine, lead to the question of whether variations within heparin structures between mast cell populations are as significant as variations in the mix of chondroitins and heparins

Profiles of Volatile Biomarkers Detect Tuberculosis from Skin

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that threatens >10 million people annually. Despite advances in TB diagnostics, patients continue to receive an insufficient diagnosis as TB symptoms are not specific. Many existing biodiagnostic tests are slow, have low clinical performance, and can be unsuitable for resource-limited settings. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a rapid, sputum-free, and cost-effective triage test for real-time detection of TB is urgently needed. This article reports on a new diagnostic pathway enabling a noninvasive, fast, and highly accurate way of detecting TB. The approach relies on TB-specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are detected and quantified from the skin headspace. A specifically designed nanomaterial-based sensors array translates these findings into a point-of-care diagnosis by discriminating between active pulmonary TB patients and controls with sensitivity above 90%. This fulfills the WHO's triage test requirements and poses the potential to become a TB triage test

Labeling of chlorodiazepoxide with I-131 and biodistribution studies on rats

WOS: 000174193800012Chlordiazepoxide (CDZ) was labeled with I-131 and investigated its radiopharmaceutical potential as a benzodiazepine receptor agent. Iodogen was used as iodination agent. Labeling yields were determined by radio-ITLC (instant thin layer chromatography) and paper electrophoresis. Labeling yield was approximately 90%. Purification was performed by Sep-Pak C-18 plus. Biodistribution studies were carried out by albino Wistar rats. I-131 labeled chlordiazepoxide which is the 62.2 GBq/mmol specific activity was administered by tail vein into the rats. Rats were sacrificed by ether narcotization at certain time intervals and the organs were removed. The brains were dissected into their components. Their activities were counted by a gamma-counter. The activity per gram tissue was calculated and time-activity curves were generated