Biomedical subjects

P Smethurst

Publications and source records attributed to P Smethurst.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1986

Effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and prostaglandins on the permeability of the human small intestine.

Intestinal permeability was estimated in healthy subjects after ingestion of aspirin (1.2+1.2 g), ibuprofen (400+400 mg) and indomethacin (75+50 mg) at midnight and an hour before starting a 51chromium labelled ethylenediaminetetraacetate absorption test. Intestinal permeability increased significantly from control levels following each drug and the effect was related to drug potency to inhibit cyclooxygenase. Intestinal permeability increased to a similar extent after oral and rectal administration of indomethacin showing that the effect is systemically mediated. Prostaglandin E2 decreased intestinal permeability significantly but failed to prevent the indomethacin induced increased intestinal permeability. These studies show that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs disrupt the intestinal barrier function in man and suggest that the morphological correlates of the damage may reside at the level of the intercellular junctions.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Serum bile acid composition in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Serum bile acid composition was examined in detail using capillary column gas chromatography and mass spectrometry in 10 children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and 4 healthy children. The mean total bile acid concentration in fasting serum of CF patients was 2.33 +/- 0.84 mumol/l, slightly lower than but not statistically significantly different from healthy controls (mean 2.86 +/- 0.98 mumol/l) and appeared to show no relationship to the degree of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. Analysis of individual serum bile acids in these children showed that cholic acid represented less than 10% of the total bile acids. Chenodeoxycholic acid was the predominant serum bile acid; the mean concentration in CF patients was 0.98 +/- 0.51 mumol/l, lower than for the healthy controls (1.69 +/- 0.84 mumol/l). Concentrations of lithocholic acid, 3 beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic, ursodeoxycholic and 3 beta, 7 alpha, 12 alpha-trihydroxy-5 beta-cholanoic acids in fasting serum samples of the CF patients were not significantly different from the healthy control sera but were higher than those normally found in adults. Measurements of fecal bile acid excretion indicated an increased loss of primary bile acids in patients with CF consistent with an impairment of the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Intestinal permeability to 51Cr-EDTA in rats with experimentally induced enteropathy.

Intestinal permeability has been investigated in the normal rat by measuring the five hour urine excretion of 51Cr-EDTA after intragastric administration. Twelve control animals excreted 2.06% +/- 0.22 (mean +/- SE) of the administered dose. Prolonged intestinal transit times with atropine had no significant effect on the apparent permeability with a urine excretion 2.31% +/- 0.36. The concomitant administration of a hypertonic, but rapidly absorbed glycerol solution, was accompanied by increased urinary excretion (3.05% +/- 0.33) while the administration of a poorly absorbed sugar, lactulose, significantly decreased the apparent permeability (urine excretion 0.61% +/- 0.14) showing that passive intestinal permeability estimations are affected by test dose composition. Enteropathy was induced by ethanol, cetrimide, or methotrexate and each was associated with increased permeability, with urine excretions of 4.19% +/- 0.47, 4.20% +/- 0.66 and 3.97% +/- 0.49 respectively. It is thus suggested that the normal rat mucosa is maximally resistant to the absorption of foreign compounds such as 51Cr-EDTA and intestinal damage will disrupt this barrier.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Subcellular fractionation of rectal biopsy homogenates from patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Rectal biopsy specimens from control subjects and from patients with Crohn's colitis, non-rectal Crohn's disease, and acute ulcerative colitis were homogenized in isotonic sucrose and subjected to analytical subcellular fractionation by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The gradient fractions and tissue homogenates were assayed for marker enzymes for the principal organelles: 5'nucleotidase (plasma membrane), malate dehydrogenase (mitochondria), catalase (peroxisomes), lactate dehydrogenase (cytosol), N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (lysosomes), and neutral-alpha-glucosidase (endoplasmic reticulum). In normal tissue there was a distinct plasma membrane peak at density 1.12 g/ml. In tissue from patients with Crohn's disease the activity was increased approximately twofold even when the rectum showed no evidence of histological involvement. A second plasma membrane component was noted in Crohn's disease at density 1.19 g/ml. The total activity of the mitochondrial enzyme was similar in the various patient groups, but there was evidence of mitochondrial damage. There were no significant alterations in activity and density gradient distributions of catalase or of neutral alpha-glucosidase in the various patient groups, although less membrane-bound lactate dehydrogenase was noted in the patients with inflammatory bowel disease. There was a reduction of both cytosolic and particulate N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase in ulcerative colitis and a selective reduction in particulate activity in non-rectal Crohn's disease, demonstrating lysosomal alterations in these disorders. These results indicate selective and specific alterations in the principal subcellular organelles, especially the plasma membrane, lysosomes, and mitochondria, in the inflammatory bowel disease.

Cell Membrane↗

PubMed1984

Reversible male infertility due to sulphasalazine: studies in man and rat.

Sulphasalazine treatment for inflammatory bowel disease in man causes oligospermia, reduced sperm motility and an increased proportion of abnormal forms. On withdrawal of sulphasalazine these effects are found to be reversible and 15 pregnancies occurred at a median of 2.5 months after stopping sulphasalazine therapy. Seminal plasma concentrations of acid phosphatase fructose and PGE2 as well as the hormone profiles of patients on sulphasalazine for three months were found to be within normal limits. Sulphasalazine fed to male Sprague Dawley rats caused a dose dependent and reversible infertility with a significant reduction in litter size. Rats fed the metabolite sulphapyridine also had a reduced litter size when mated, while those fed the metabolite 5'aminosalicylic acid and a polymer of 5'aminosalicylic acid did not. It seems likely that the sulphapyridine moiety of sulphasalazine is responsible for the infertility seen, the effect being mediated at a late stage in sperm maturation.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Organelle pathology in ulcerative and Crohn's colitis with special reference to the lysosomal alterations.

Rectal biopsy specimens from control subjects, patients with either active or quiescent ulcerative colitis, and patients with Crohn's colitis were examined histologically and assayed for marker enzymes associated with tissue organelles. They were catalase (peroxisome); neutral alpha-glucosidase (endoplasmic reticulum); alkaline phosphatase (plasma membrane); malate dehydrogenase (mitochondria); lactate dehydrogenase (cytosol). There was no significant change in these enzyme activities in patient samples compared with controls. Activities of three acid hydrolases (lysosomal enzymes), beta-glucuronidase, acid phosphatase, and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, were also assayed in the biopsy samples. Decreased activities of all three enzymes were noted in ulcerative colitis, particularly in active disease. Normal values were obtained in Crohn's colitis. Measurement of lysosomal integrity by assays of latent N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase activity revealed similar results in control and colitic subjects. It is suggested that the lysosomal changes reflect a specific tissue release of enzyme and may be implicated in the pathogenesis of the tissue damage.

Colitis, Ulcerative↗

PubMed1983

Biochemical analysis of enzymic markers of inflammation in rectal biopsies from patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Rectal biopsies were collected from control subjects, patients with ulcerative colitis both active and quiescent, and from patients with Crohn's disease, both with and without rectal involvement, as judged by histological assessment. Tissue homogenates were assayed for neutrophil (vitamin B12 binding protein, myeloperoxidase, lysozyme) and lymphocyte (5' nucleotidase) selective markers. Patients with acute but not those with quiescent colitis had striking increases of the neutrophil markers. Neither patient group with ulcerative colitis showed a change in the lymphocyte marker enzyme activity. Patients with Crohn's disease involving the rectum showed significant, but less marked, increases in the activity of the neutrophil markers that were found in active ulcerative colitis. Patients with Crohn's disease, not involving the rectum, showed normal or reduced levels of neutrophil markers. Patients with Crohn's disease, both those with and without rectal involvement, had increased activities of the lymphocyte selective marker. This distinguishes this inflammatory response from that of ulcerative colitis and provides further biochemical evidence of abnormalities in apparently uninvolved mucosa from Crohn's patients.

5'-Nucleotidase↗

PubMed1980

Radioimmunoassay of thyroxine-binding globulin: evaluation of a kit and diagnostic application.

Serum thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) was measured by using a radioimmunoassay method. The within-batch coefficient of variation (CV) of the assay was 5% or less at different TBG concentrations with a between-batch variation of less than 10%. The mean TBG concentration in hypothyroidism (28.5 +/- 6.7 mg/l) was significantly higher, and that in hyperthyroidism (22.3 +/- 3.5 mg/l) was significantly lower, than the euthyroid mean (25.4 +/- 6.9 mg/l). Acutely ill patients suffering from various non-thyroidal illnesses were found to have significantly low mean TBG (13.8 +/- 4.3 mg/l). A group of women in late pregnancy had a higher mean value, as expected. Serum TBG level, however, was ineffective as a thyroid function test because of overlapping concentrations between groups. The derived index T4:TBG ratio was found to be superior to free thyroxine index (FTI) in many cases of acutely ill patients, pregnancy, and hereditary TBG abnormality. The 95% confidence limit for the ratio in euthyroids was 2.3 to 7.1. Serum TBG level with T4:TBG ratio is recommended as a replacement for the T3-uptake test and FTI.

Acute Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

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3-O-Methylglucose↗