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M de Waele

Publications and source records attributed to M de Waele.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Monitoring nasal allergic inflammation by measuring the concentration of eosinophil cationic protein and eosinophils in nasal secretions.

Quantitative measurement of the eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) concentration and the percentage of eosinophils in nasal secretions has greatly improved our understanding of the inflammatory process after natural allergen exposure. ECP and eosinophils were measured in the nasal secretions of 40 symptomatic patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis during the pollen season. Results showed a significant relationship between a high concentration of ECP (median: 410 ng/g, range: 6-2380 ng/g) and a high percentage of eosinophils (median: 13.5%, range: 1-85%). This quantitative study again demonstrated that infiltration by eosinophils and release of ECP play a key role in allergic rhinitis. It also suggests that the combined measurement of the percentage of eosinophils together with the ECP concentration in nasal secretions seems to be a very useful model in monitoring and assessing the condition of chronic nasal inflammation in patients with allergic rhinitis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

VS38: a new monoclonal antibody for detecting plasma cell differentiation in routine sections.

AIMS: To characterise a new mouse monoclonal antibody, VS38, which recognises an intracytoplasmic antigen of 64 kilodaltons present in normal and neoplastic plasma cells; and to establish its value as a diagnostic reagent for routine pathological practice. METHODS: A range of normal and neoplastic tissue sections, both frozen and routinely fixed, were immunostained, using the microwave method of antigen retrieval for routinely fixed specimens. The antibody was also tested on blood and bone marrow specimens and a range of human cell lines. The molecular weight of the antigen recognised by the antibody was obtained by western blot analysis. FACS analysis was used to demonstrate the cellular location of the antigen and its presence on tonsil cell suspensions and myeloma cases. RESULTS: VS38 recognised normal and neoplastic plasma cells in all of the tissues, including all routinely fixed plasma cell neoplasms tested. The antibody also weakly stained epithelial elements within the tissue but was absent from haemopoietic cells of other lineages. CONCLUSION: Antibody VS38 is of potential value in identifying myeloma or plasmacytoma in bone marrow or other tissues. It differentiates lymphoplasmacytoid lymphoma from lymphocytic and follicular lymphoma. It also subdivides large cell lymphomas into two groups which may be a more reliable method of separating these tumours than morphology alone.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

ZB51: a monoclonal antibody reactive with human plasma cells.

Several monoclonal antibodies have been raised in the past which react with human plasma cells but they have all shown additional reactions with other cell types. In this paper we describe a new monoclonal antibody, ZB51, which recognizes an intracellular antigen in normal plasma cells in cryostat tissue sections and cell smears, and which also reacts with neoplastic cells in most cases of myeloma and with plasma cell lines. The antibody shows minimal reactivity with a few eosinophils and myelocytes in bone marrow and stains a myeloid cell line. Whilst normal epithelium is not labelled, antibody ZB51 stains two carcinoma cell lines. Although it was not possible to characterize the target antigen in terms of molecular weight, the reactivity of antibody ZB51 with normal and neoplastic plasma cells makes it a useful new immunocytochemical reagent.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1991

Southern blot analysis in a case of Richter's syndrome. Evidence for a postrearrangement heavy chain gene deletion associated with the altered phenotype.

Richter's syndrome (RS) can be defined as the emergence of an aggressive lymphoma in patients suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The authors performed immunophenotypic and Southern blot analysis of the peripheral blood and tissue specimen of a patient with RS. Using immunoperoxidase and immunogold-silver staining techniques and a panel of monoclonal antibodies, the authors found that the large cells characteristic of RS showed an altered immunophenotype as compared with the CLL cells and did not express mu heavy chain. Southern blot analysis revealed identical kappa light chain rearrangements in both tumoral cell populations consistent with a common clonal origin. Using the JH probe and several restriction enzymes, the authors also found evidence for a postrearrangement deletion of the heavy chain mu gene. These findings suggest that in this case of RS, a deletion of the heavy chain mu gene resulted in loss of mu expression by the larger cells that were characteristic of RS and was associated with their altered phenotype.

Blotting, Southern↗
PubMed1990

Prenatal diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis.

Prenatal diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis was attempted in 50 pregnant women at risk for giving birth to an affected child. Fifteen of these patients seroconverted during pregnancy and 35 had a high initial antibody level in their first serum sample. Prenatal diagnosis consisted of a combination of ultrasound screening, amniocentesis, and funipuncture at about 20 weeks' gestation. Diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis was based on a positive toxoplasma culture of amniotic fluid or fetal blood and on the presence of specific immunoglobulin M antibodies in fetal blood. In addition, alterations in fetal hematology, cellular immunology, and fetal liver tests were indicative of infection. Fetal infection was detected in six fetuses; two died in utero as a consequence of the infection and four were born after 37 weeks' gestation. Despite antibiotic treatment with pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine, one child has internal hydrocephalus and chorioretinitis and another has unilateral chorioretinitis. In the two other children, the disease is still subclinical. Of the 44 children born after a negative prenatal diagnosis, 35 have reached the age of 1 year; toxoplasma antibodies have disappeared in all of them. Investigation of the remaining nine children showed a decrease in toxoplasma antibodies, suggesting that none of them are affected. Prenatal diagnosis was never associated with fetal loss, and premature delivery occurred in only two cases. We conclude that prenatal diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis is safe and reliable.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1981

Autoimmune thyroiditis: a condition related to a decrease in T-suppressor cells.

Monoclonal antibodies recognizing specific antigenic determinants of peripheral T-lymphocytes (OKT3PAN), helper T-cells (OKT4IND) and suppressor T-cells (OKT8SUP) were used to study the immune regulation in autoimmune thyroiditis. An indirect immunofluorescence microscopy method was employed to quantify the number of different subtypes. In addition, B-lymphocytes were also studied using a fluorescent surface Ig detection technique. Patients with autoimmune thyroiditis--independent of their clinical status--show a decrease in the number of suppressor T-lymphocytes. This finding, in agreement with other functional tests, indicates that the autoimmune phenomenon is linked to a decreased T-suppressor activity.

Adult↗