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Biomedical subjects

A Beckmann

Publications and source records attributed to A Beckmann.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Activation of chemotactic factors in serum and wound fluid by dextranomer.

Dextranomer (Debrisan), a frequently used wound-cleansing agent, was shown to cause activation of chemotactic factors in human serum and wound fluid. These factors attracted both polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) and mononuclear leukocytes (MNs) in an agarose migration assay. When Debrisan-activated sera were used as the chemotactic stimulus, migration scores for PMNs and MNs were respectively 50% and 70% of the values obtained with zymosan-activated sera. Differential chelation studies demonstrated that Debrisan causes activation of the alternate complement pathway, and the factors produced cause receptor-mediated leukotaxis of both PMNs and MNs. Formation of chemotactic factors at the wound surface is a mechanism whereby Debrisan could conceivably augment wound healing and the inflammatory response to infection.

Chemotactic Factors↗
PubMed1980

Production of acute pulmonary injury by leukocytes and activated complement.

The adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) frequently occurs after sepsis and major trauma. Since both sepsis and trauma may cause activation of the complement system, we have infused rabbits with complement-activated plasma (AP) and have studied the effects on leukocyte counts, respiratory rate, PaO2, and lung morphology. Sustained AP infusion caused: (1) early granulocytopenia, (2) progressive hypoxemia and tachypnea, and (3) pulmonary vascular plugging by aggregates of degenerating granulocytes with interstital edema and endothelial injury. These changes were not observed in control animals infused with unactivated plasma or in animals rendered leukopenic with nitrogen mustard. Complement activation in patients with sepsis and trauma may be an etiologic factor in the development of ARDS.

Agranulocytosis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Expression analyses of epidermal growth factor receptor and HER-2/neu: no advantage of prediction of recurrence or survival in breast cancer patients.

The overexpression of two members of the erbB oncogene family-the epidermal growth factor receptor protein (EGF-R) and the HER-2/neu protein-in breast cancer has been investigated by numerous authors. Their exact role in breast cancer is still not defined. The simultaneous investigation of EGF-R and HER-2/neu in the same study population has only rarely been performed in breast cancer. Therefore, we analyzed the EGF-R and the HER-2/neu protein expression in 142 breast cancer specimens and 12 benign breast samples by immunohistochemistry. Results of the different expression analyses were compared with established clinicopathological parameters including estrogen and progesterone receptor status. In our study group EGF-R expression correlated with advanced tumor stage, axillary lymph node status and histological grade. HER-2/neu expression correlated with larger tumor size. Neither the evaluation of a single parameter of the erbB family nor the combination of both parameters showed a significant correlation with the disease-free and the overall survival of the individual patient with breast cancer. Only the expression of the progesterone receptor correlated with a better overall survival. Steroid hormone receptor expression and the expression of EGF-R and HER-2/ neu seem to be two independent phenomena in our samples of breast cancer. The simultaneous evaluation of EGF-R and HER-2/neu expression did not lead to new information of prognostic relevance.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Blood-borne cancer cells--quo vadis?

The detection of blood-borne cancer cells may help in clinical staging and further understanding of cancer metastasis. We developed a cytokeratin-based immunomagnetic method to isolate epithelium-derived cells from the circulating blood of patients. The number of cell clusters positive for cytokeratin/prostate-specific antigen (PSA) from the peripheral blood of prostate cancer patients and cytokeratin/p185c-erbB-2 from the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients has been related to stage of the disease. Breast cancer patients who presented cytokeratin/p185c-erbB-2-positive cell clusters showed a decrease in such cells under adriamycin adjuvant therapy with Further molecular characterization by a highly sensitive microsatellite multiplex-PCR enabled reproducible detection of microsatellite alterations. The impact of these individually targeted results may contribute to an individual diagnostic and therapeutic strategy.

Biomarkers↗