[The gonococcal antibody test (GAT) as a diagnostic aid. When can GAT be employed?].
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Adolescent↗
Biomedical subjects
K Reimann
Publications and source records attributed to K Reimann.
Observation of the resonant optical Stark effect in a semiconductor.
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Journal Article↗
Bone marrow necrosis in the dog.
Bone marrow necrosis in 4 dogs was characterized by refractory anemia with or without leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. Romanovsky-stained bone marrow had a diffuse blue discoloration, and marrow particles were elongated. Degenerating cells, cellular debris, and vacuolated macrophages also were seen. Examination of bone marrow sections revealed extensive replacement of normal stroma by necrotic debris and hemorrhage. The cause of the necrosis was not determined. Concomitant disorders included chronic ehrlichiosis, estrogen toxicosis, malignancy, endometrial cystic hyperplasia, and glomerulonephritis.
Anemia, Aplastic↗
Use of protein-to-creatinine ratio in a single urine specimen for quantitative estimation of canine proteinuria.
The daily excretion of urinary protein was evaluated in 8 conditioned research dogs and in 10 hospitalized, proteinuric dogs, using 24-hour urine collections. Concurrent with each 24-hour urine collection, a 5- to 10-ml urine specimen was obtained during midday. The ratio of urine protein to urine creatinine concentration was determined from the single urine specimen for each dog. Linear regression analysis was used to calculate the correlation between that ratio and the 24-hour urinary protein loss (mg/kg of body weight). The coefficient of determination was significant (r2 = 0.95, P less than 0.0001). Determination of the protein-to-creatinine ratio in a single urine specimen was found to be a sensitive, rapid, and dependable diagnostic technique for detection and quantitative estimation of proteinuria.
Animals↗
Gonococcal serology. A comparison of three different tests.
Three serological tests for the detection of gonococcal antibodies were compared: an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), an indirect haemagglutination reaction (IHA), and a gonococcal complement-fixation test (GCFT). The ELISA was performed with gonococcal pili of a Rotterdam strain (1443) as antigen, the IHA with pilus antigen of an American strain (2686, Buchanan), and the GCFT with whole gonococci of a single strain (46695, Oliver) as antigen. The tests were performed on sera from the same groups of Dutch patients; samples of sera were taken at the first examination and generally 11-22 days later. The ELISA and the IHA were more sensitive than the GCFT. The specificity of the tests was equal in low-risk groups, but the GCFT was slightly more specific in high-risk groups. The ELISA and the IHA did not differ in sensitivity and specificity. The agreement between the ELISA and IHA for patients with uncomplicated gonorrhoea was low (chi = 0.44), but the agreement between the GCFT and the two pilus assays was less (chi = 0.26 and 0.20). The sensitivities were highest for sera from patients with oropharyngeal gonorrhoea or with gonococcal complications; again the ELISA and the IHA were more sensitive than the GCFT.
Adult↗
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detecting gonococcal antibodies using two antigenically different gonococcal pili as antigen.
Antibodies to pilar antigens of two gonococcal strains isolated in Rotterdam (6650 and 1443) were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Paired sera (the first sample taken at the first examination (D1) and the second 11-22 days later (D2)) from women with and without gonorrhoea attending a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic were studied. The sensitivity of the ELISA using gonococcal pili 6650 as antigen (ELISA 6650) was significantly higher than that using gonococcal pili 1443 as antigen (ELISA 1443). The specificity of the two tests differed little. On D1 the sensitivity in women with uncomplicated gonorrhoea was 69% in the ELISA 6650 and 45% in the ELISA 1443; the corresponding values in asymptomatic infected women were 75% and 57% respectively. The agreement (both in positive and in negative results) between the two tests was less than might have been expected (kappa = 0.41).
Antibodies, Bacterial↗
Demonstration of antigenic heterogeneity of Neisseria gonorrhoeae pili antigens using human sera in the test system.
Antigenic heterogeneity of gonococcal pili using human sera in the test system was demonstrated by means of indirect haemagglutination (IHA) inhibition studies. The reactivities of sera from 104 females with current gonococcal infection were compared by the IHA test using different pili preparations as antigens. Sera and gonococcal strains were collected from 365 patients. Pili were purified from strains infecting patients who met the following three requirements: 1) no history of previous gonococcal infection(s), 2) an infection that had lasted a week or more, 3) a seronegative result when tested by the IHA test using pili from Buchanan's strain 2686 as antigen. Each patient's serum was tested against pili produced by the gonococcal strain infecting this particular patient. A seropositive reaction obtained by using pili antigen from the strain infecting the seronegative (strain 2686) patient indicates an antigenically heterogeneous pili preparation. Two such strains, antigenically different from one another and from strain 2686, were found among 22 pili preparations investigated.
Animals↗
An indirect haemagglutination test for demonstration of gonococcal antibodies using gonococcal pili as antigen. II. Serological investigation of patients attending a dermato-venereological outpatients clinic in Copenhagen.
A total of 1223 serum specimens were obtained from 649 consecutive patients attending a dermatovenereological out-patient clinic in Copenhagen with a request for venereal disease control. The sera were examined for gonococcal antibodies by both a gonococcal complement fixation test (GCF) and an indirect haemagglutination test using gonococcal pili as antigens (IHA). The diagnosis of current gonococcal infection in 28 per cent of the patients was based on positive culture for Neisseria gonorrhoeae from one or more of the following sites: urethra, rectum and fauces in all patients, and/or cervix in female patients. The specificity, sensitivity and predictive values of positive and negative test results were calculated for the various groups of patients on the assumption that all positive results, both in patients without gonorrhoea but with a previous gonococcal infection and in patients without known current or previous infection, were false positives. The following values were found: Sensitivity: IHA 45-100%, GCF 6-29%. Specificity: IHA 65-89%, GCF 97-100%. Predictive value of positive test result: IHA 43-74%, GCF 69-100%. Predictive value of negative test result: IHA 78-100%, GCF 61-85%.
Adolescent↗
An indirect haemagglutination test for demonstration of gonococcal antibodies using gonococcal pili as antigen. I. Methodology and preliminary results.
An indirect haemagglutination (IHA) test for detection of gonococcal antibodies in human sera was established using purified pili as antigen. The majority of sera (44/51), positive in the gonococcal complement fixation test, were also positive in the IHA test with titres within the range 320-10,000. The results obtained for the following three groups of sera indicate a comparatively high speicificity of the IHA test; 1) 52 sera from children below 12 years of age were all negative, 2) 98% (184/188) of sera from blood donors were negative, 3) only sera from three adults out of 21 patients with meningococcal infections gave a positive reaction.
Adult↗
[Reproducibility and comparability of apex cardiograms in patents with coronarographically secured coronary disease].
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Coronary Disease↗
The emergence of penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains carrying the 4.9 kb (Toronto) plasmid in Denmark and of a novel large plasmid in two nonpenicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains.
This study comprised plasmid analysis and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of 712 out of a total of 730 penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG) and 744 random non-PPNG strains isolated in Denmark between 1985 and 1990. The rate of patients with PPNG infections rose from 1% to 2% during 1985-1987 to 6.9% in 1989, and then decreased to 4.8% in 1990. A decrease in cases of gonorrhea from 9,798 to 1,990 was seen during the same period. Strains harboring the 4.9 kb (Toronto) plasmid first appeared in 1987; in 1988-1990, 65% to 78% of strains from patients with PPNG infections acquired in Denmark contained this plasmid. The majority of these strains seemed to belong to a single clone. Tetracycline-resistant PPNG strains (MIC greater than 32 mg/L) first appeared in Denmark in 1989, and tetracycline-resistant non-PPNG strains carrying a 40 kb plasmid (tetM?) first appeared in 1990. A novel 41-42 kb plasmid appeared in one strain in 1987 and another in 1988. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of tetracycline for these two strains was 4 mg/l. The significance of this plasmid is yet unknown.
Ceftriaxone↗
The epidemiology of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates in Greenland 1979-1990: the emergence, spread and disappearance of non-PPNG strains carrying the conjugative 38.9 kb plasmid.
BACKGROUND: In 1990, Greenland was one of the few areas in the world in which endemic occurrence of PPNG had not been reported. However, between 1982 and 1988 an increase in the prevalence of strains with chromosomally mediated resistance to penicillin had been noticed. The standard treatment regimen was changed early in 1983. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of the 38.9 kb plasmid in gonococcal strains isolated in Greenland 1979-1990. DESIGN: Retrospective (1979-1984) and prospective (1985-1990) studies of antimicrobial susceptibility and plasmid profile of consecutive N. gonorrhoeae isolates from patients attending the STD clinic in Nuuk, Greenland; selected strains from 1982-1984 were subjected to serotyping and auxotyping. RESULTS: Before 1982, N. gonorrhoeae strains harboring the 38.9 kb conjugative plasmid were rare; in 1982, a sudden increase in the prevalence of these strains was strongly associated with the emergence of streptomycin-resistant strains with high-level chromosomally mediated resistance to penicillin, 70% of which carried the 38.9 kb plasmid. Determination of antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, auxotype and serovar supported the assumption of an epidemic spread of a single clone. The predominance of this clone was transient, but the 38.9 kb plasmid spread to penicillin-susceptible as well as to other clones of penicillin-resistant strains. CONCLUSION: The emergence of the 38.9 kb plasmid in 1982 was linked to a single clone of strains, but the subsequent spread of the plasmid was independent of the presence of other plasmids, and its disappearance was not associated with a change in standard treatment regimen.
Conjugation, Genetic↗
Effect of transforming growth factor-beta1 on oestrogen metabolism in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines.
Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) has been shown to inhibit the growth of mammary epithelial cells and may play a protective role in mammary carcinogenesis. In contrast, oestrogens promote the development of breast cancer. Oestrone sulphate (E1S) is a huge reservoir of active oestrogens in the breast being converted to the weak oestrogen, oestrone (E1), by oestrone sulphatase. E1 is reversibly converted by oestradiol-17beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase to the potent oestrogen, oestradiol (E2). The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the TGF-beta1 isoform on growth and oestrogen metabolism in the hormone-dependent MCF-7 and hormone-independent MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell lines. The results showed that TGF-beta1 significantly inhibited cell growth and stimulated the conversion of E1S to E1 and E1 to E2 in the MCF-7 cell line. In the MDA-MB-231 cell line TGF-beta1 significantly stimulated cell growth and inhibited the interconversions between E1 and E2. In conclusion, the growth inhibitory effect of TGF-beta1 on the MCF-7 cell line would appear to confer a protective effect in breast cancer. However, its ability to increase the amount of E2 would increase the risk of breast cancer. Which of these effects predominates in vivo remains to be explored. The growth stimulatory effect of TGF-beta1 on the MDA-MB-231 cell line probably acts through a mechanism independent of the effect of TGF-beta1 on oestrogen concentrations since this cell line is hormone unresponsive.
Breast Neoplasms↗
Inhibition of oestrone sulphatase activity in the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line by breast cyst fluid from Malaysian women.
Oestrone sulphate is a major source of active oestrogens in the breast. It is converted to oestrone by oestrone sulphatase. Breast cyst fluid (BCF) is a rich source of sex hormones and growth factors. BCF obtained from British women has been shown to inhibit oestrone sulphatase activity in the MCF-7 oestrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer cell line. The aim of the present study was to assess whether BCF obtained from Malaysian women inhibited oestrone sulphatase activity in the MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines. The cell lines were grown in supplemented Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium for 3 days, following which a 3-day incubation with sterilised BCF was carried out. At the end of the treatment period the cell monolayers were assayed for oestrone sulphatase activity and the number of cell nuclei counted on a Coulter Counter. BCF was also fractionated on a Bio-Sil SEC 125-5 column by HPLC and the effects of the fractions collected on oestrone sulphatase activity in the MDA-MB-231 cell line were assessed. All 18 samples of BCF tested inhibited cell growth in the MDA-MB-231 cell line while 8 out of 10 samples inhibited MCF-7 cell growth; 15 out of 18 BCF samples inhibited oestrone sulphatase activity in the MDA-MB-231 cell line whereas 5 out of 10 samples stimulated oestrone sulphatase activity in the MCF-7 cell line. HPLC fractions corresponding to molecular weights of > 158 kDa and 28 kDa were found to inhibit oestrone sulphatase activity in the MDA-MB-231 cell line. Further work is required to fully characterise these substances as they may have roles to play in the prevention of breast cancer.
Breast Neoplasms↗