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Francis Klotz

Publications and source records attributed to Francis Klotz.

3 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

[Ascites due to constrictive pericarditis].

INTRODUCTION: We report a case in which ascites revealed chronic constrictive pericarditis (CCP) of tuberculous origin. OBSERVATION: A 65 year-old man had developed ascites the past over few weeks and oedema of the lower limbs. Treatment was surgical and consisted in pericardiectomy. DISCUSSION: Chronic constrictive pericarditis has become rare in industrialised countries with the reduction in the incidence of tuberculosis. Currently, its principle aetiologies identified are previous cardiac surgery and radiotherapy. Treatment is usually surgical and gives excellent results. This clinical case clearly illustrates the interest of systematic biological analysis of ascites, since it may reveal a curable disease.

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PubMed2004

Systemic cytokine response in murine anthrax.

Systemic pro-inflammatory cytokine release has been previously implicated as a major death-causing factor in anthrax, however, direct data have been absent. We determined the levels of IL-1 beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha in serum of mice challenged with virulent (Ames) or attenuated (Sterne) strains of Bacillus anthracis. More than 10-fold increase in the IL-1beta levels was detected in Ames-challenged Balb/c mice, in contrast to more susceptible C57BL/6 mice, which showed no IL-1beta response. Balb/c mice have also responded with higher levels of IL-6. The A/J mice demonstrated IL-1beta and IL-6 systemic response to either Ames or Sterne strain of B. anthracis, whereas no increase in TNF-alpha was detected in any murine strain. We used RT-PCR for gene expression analyses in the liver which often is a major source of cytokines and one of the main targets in infectious diseases. A/J mice challenged with B. anthracis (Sterne) showed increased gene expression for Fas, FasL, Bax, IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, TGF-beta, MIP-1alpha, KC and RANTES. These data favour the hypothesis that apoptotic cell death during anthrax infection causes chemokine-induced transmigration of inflammatory cells to vitally important organs such as liver. Administration of caspase inhibitors z-VAD-fmk and ac-YVAD-cmk improved survival in Sterne-challenged mice indicating a pathogenic role of apoptosis in anthrax.

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