OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the infertile patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is related to dysregulation of peritoneal fluid and serum leptin concentration, and to investigate the relationship between the leptin and some endocrine hormones in PCOS. METHODS: Twenty subjects with PCOS and 20 control women were included in the study. Peritoneal fluid and serum concentration of leptin, insulin, insulin-antibody, testosterone (T), estrogen (E(2)), and progestogen (P) were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). RESULTS: Peritoneal fluid concentrations of leptin, insulin, T and insulin-antibody in PCOS patients were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in peritoneal fluid E(2) and P between PCOS and the control group (P>0.05). The serum concentrations of leptin and T in PCOS were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.05), but the levels of insulin, E(2), P and insulin-antibody were not significantly different between the 2 groups (P>0.05). With the BMI> or =23 kg/m(2) subgroup in PCOS patients, the peritoneal fluid and serum concentrations of leptin, insulin and T were significantly higher than those of BMI 23 kg/m(2) subgroup (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in E(2)and insulin-antibody between the 2 subgroups (P>0.05). Pearson correlation analysis indicated that peritoneal fluid and serum leptin levels were positively correlated with BMI, insulin, T and insulin-antibody, but negatively correlated with E(2), with no significant correlation with P. Multiple stepwise regression analysis indicated that the factors that influenced the peritoneal fluid and serum leptin levels were BMI, insulin, T and E(2) ordinally. CONCLUSION Peritoneal fluid and serum leptin concentration and insulin,T, Ins-antibody level are abnormal in PCOS patients. Leptin may play an important role in the pathogenesis of PCOS. BMI is the main factor to correlate with leptin.
Adult ; Ascitic Fluid ; metabolism ; Autoantibodies ; biosynthesis ; Estrogens ; biosynthesis ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin ; biosynthesis ; immunology ; Leptin ; biosynthesis ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; metabolism ; Progesterone ; biosynthesis ; Testosterone ; biosynthesis

Increased FcepsilonR1alpha expression with upregulated CD203c expression on peripheral basophils is seen in patients with chronic urticaria (CU). However, there has been no published report on the association between CD203c expression level and clinical disease activity in CU patients. To investigate whether the increase of basophil activation is associated with the disease activity of CU, we measured basophil CD203c expression using a tricolor flow cytometric method in 82 CU patients and 21 normal controls. The relationship between the percentage of CD203c-expressing basophils and clinical parameters was analyzed. The mean basophil CD203c expression was significantly higher in CU patients than in healthy controls (57.5% vs 11.6%, P < 0.001). The basophil CD203c expression in severe CU patients was significantly higher than in non-severe CU (66.5% +/- 23.3% vs 54.0% +/- 23.3%, P = 0.033). Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that both > or = 72% basophil CD203c expression and urticaria activity score (UAS)> or = 13 were significant predictors of severe CU (P = 0.005 and P = 0.032, respectively). These findings suggest that the quantification of basophil activation with CD203c at baseline may be used as a potential predictor of severe CU requiring another treatment option beyond antihistamines.
Adult ; Autoantibodies/blood ; Basophils/*immunology ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E/blood/immunology ; Male ; Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases/biosynthesis/*immunology ; Pyrophosphatases/biosynthesis/*immunology ; Receptors, IgE/biosynthesis ; Urticaria/*immunology

AIM AND METHODSThe effects of losartan (after operation 2 week to 10 week, 5 mg/kg d ig) on generation of AT1R-AA in sera were observed during development of hypertension in rats. The renovascular hypertension (RVH) model was established by two-kidney one-clip method, a synthetic peptide corresponding to amino acid sequence 165-191 of the second extracellular loop of the angiotensin II-1 receptor (AT1R) was used as antigen, SA-ELISA were used to examine sera AT1R autoantibody (AT1R-AA).

RESULTSThe frequencies and titres of AT1R-AA after operation one week rats were significantly increased (P < 0.05). The treatment with losartan not only inhibited structural and functional changes, but also the frequencies and titres of AT1R-AA was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than RVH group.

CONCLUSIONIt is suggested that the losartan significantly inhibits generation of the AT1R-AA.

Animals ; Autoantibodies ; biosynthesis ; blood ; Hypertension, Renovascular ; blood ; immunology ; Losartan ; pharmacology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptors, Angiotensin ; immunology

Platelet plays an important role in bleeding and thrombotic diseases. Humanized anti-platelet antibodies have great clinical effects in treatment of ITP and preventing thrombosis. The important role of platelet in bleeding and thrombotic diseases, the present status of development on study of humanized anti-platelet antibody and its application in treatment of bleeding and thrombotic diseases were summarized in this review.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; biosynthesis ; immunology ; therapeutic use ; Autoantibodies ; immunology ; Blood Platelets ; immunology ; Humans ; Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex ; biosynthesis ; immunology ; Platelet Glycoprotein GPIb-IX Complex ; immunology

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Autoantibodies ; biosynthesis ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; biosynthesis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancytopenia ; immunology ; pathology ; Receptors, Erythropoietin ; physiology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the role of IL-17 in the overproduction of autoantibodies and IL-6 overexpression by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of lupus nephritis (LN) patients.

METHODSFifteen consecutively hospitalized LN patients were selected as subjects and 15 healthy adults as normal controls. PBMC were obtained by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation. IgG, anti-dsDNA antibody and IL-6 protein levels were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) on the supernatant of cultured PBMC of LN patients or normal controls. IL-6 mRNA levels in PBMC were measured using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

RESULTSIn medium culture, IgG, anti-dsDNA and IL-6 protein levels of the supernatant of PBMC from LN patients were significantly higher than those from normal controls (1492.1 +/- 73.2 ng/ml vs 636.7 +/- 51.9 ng/ml for IgG, 306.6 +/- 53.7 IU/ml vs 95.8 +/- 11.6 IU/ml for anti-dsDNA and 50.92 +/- 15.92 ng/ml vs 1.77 +/- 0.73 ng/ml for IL-6, all P < 0.001). In LN patients, IgG, anti-dsDNA and IL-6 protein levels were higher in the supernatants of PBMC in the IL-17-stimulated culture than the medium culture, but in normal controls, only the IL-6 protein levels were significantly higher. The increase in IgG, anti-dsDNA and IL-6 protein levels induced by IL-17 was dose-dependent and could be completely blocked by IL-17 monoclonal antibody mIgG(28) and partially blocked by dexamethasone. Similarly, IL-6 mRNA overexpression of PBMC in LN patients or normal controls induced by IL-17 was both dose- and time-dependent. During medium culture, IL-6 mRNA levels in LN patients were significantly higher than those in normal controls (1.80 +/- 0.11 vs 0.36 +/- 0.07). During stimulation with IL-17, IL-6 mRNA levels in LN patients were higher than those in normal controls (3.21 +/- 0.24 vs 1.30 +/- 0.14, P < 0.05) and also significantly higher when comparing the stimulated culture with the medium culture either in LN patients or normal control.

CONCLUSIONSIL-17 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of LN through the induction of IgG, anti-dsDNA overproduction and IL-6 overexpression of PBMC in LN patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Antibodies, Antinuclear ; biosynthesis ; Autoantibodies ; biosynthesis ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; biosynthesis ; Interleukin-17 ; pharmacology ; Interleukin-6 ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; metabolism ; Lupus Nephritis ; immunology ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis

Toxemia of pregnancy is a common complication of gestation, usually occurring in late pregnancy. Whether toxemia represents an exaggeration of changes incident to pregnancy or depends upon some wholly new factor is a moot point. Indeed, the cause of the toxemia of pregnancy, despite decades of intensive research, remains the great enigma of obstetrics and constitutes one of an important unsolved problems in the field of human reproduction. Glomerulonephritis can be induced in various animal species by numerous serums and tissue extracts. Its production by duck immune serum was first described in the rabbit by Masugi(1934). By using a potent standardized nephrotoxic duck serum or its gamma globulin, nephritis has be reproduced in a regular manner by Seegal, et al., (1936). The experiments recorded here show the results of injecting rabbit antidog-placenta serum into both pregnant and non-pregnant dogs as described by Seegal at al., (1955). The course of the resulting nephritis is compared with that following the injection of rabbit antidog-kidney serum. The large size of the animal permitted frequent bleeding and the gestation period allowed for observation of nephritis during pregnancy. The findings support the conclusion that rabbit antidog-placenta serum injected in the dog produced an acute nephritis which usually progressed to a chronic state comparable to that which follows the injection of anti-kidney serum. Pregnancy has not been terminated by this antiserum. Beveans et al.(1955) describe the lesions produced in these pregnant and non-pregnant dogs following injection of either rabbit anti-placenta or rabbit anti-kidney serum. Acute and chronic phases of the nephritis have been studied over a period of 10 months. The intravenous injection of rabbit antidog-placenta or antidog-kidney serum produced immediate evidence of glomerulonephritis in dogs and rabbits. The glomerulonephritis so induced may terminate in death within 8 days, may progress to a chronic form or may heal. Recently, Irino et al.(1967) induced renal 1esions in rats by placental extracts. These changes were observed with the electron microscope and the ranal glomerular alterations in rats with a clinical syndrome resembling toxemia of pregnancy showed the characteristic changes consisting of swelling with decreased density of tile basement membrane, a dense granular deposition within tile along capillary basement membranes, and marked swelling and slight proliferation of glomerular epithelium. The glomerular lesions, designated endothelial glomerulitis are apparently a result of an antigen-antibody reaction and present further evidence that human toxemia of pregnancy has an immune mechanism as a basis for its production. Kim(1969) attempted to establish the pathologic changes induced by sensitizing the rat against homologous placental tissue and to compare them with the lesions of the kidney in human toxemia. He found that renal lesions were closely related to that of human toxemia of pregnancy. The present investigation is aimed to study the lesions in the glomerulus of the pregnant rat kidneys induced by repeated injection of homologous placental tissue as observed with the light, the fluorescent and the electron microscope and adds further evidence for the view that the syndrome, as induced experimentally, constitutes an analog of toxemia of pregnancy as it affects the human.s
Animal ; Antigen-Antibody Reactions ; Autoantibodies/biosynthesis* ; Female ; Kidney Glomerulus/pathology* ; Microscopy ; Microscopy, Electron ; Microscopy, Fluorescence ; Nephritis/pathology* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Toxemias/immunology* ; Rats

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of FasL in rat cryptorchidism and its significance.

METHODSTwenty-four male SD rats (22-day old) were randomly divided into two groups: unilateral cryptorchid group (n = 12) and pseudo-operation group (n = 12). When the rats were 110-day old, blood samples were taken and the rats were killed for analysis. Immunohistochemical method (SP) was used to detect FasL expression in testes and ELISA method to detect serum antisperm antibody (AsAb).

RESULTSThe positive FasL expression rates in cryptorchid and contralateral testes were significantly higher than those in pseudo-operation group (P < 0.001). The serum AsAb positive rates in the cryptorchid group and the pseudo-operation group were 41.7% and 0, respectively, with significant difference(P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSFasL expression upregulating in both testes of the unilateral cryptorchid rat may be a protective response of the testis to autoimmunity.

Animals ; Autoantibodies ; blood ; Cryptorchidism ; immunology ; metabolism ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fas Ligand Protein ; biosynthesis ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spermatozoa ; immunology ; Testis ; metabolism ; Up-Regulation

OBJECTIVETo investigate effects of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies on growth of tumor in vitro and in vivo.

METHODSBALB/c mice were inoculated with inactivated tumor cells and challenged s.c. with SP 2/0 and Wehi 164 tumor cells four weeks after the last inoculation. The naïve mice were inoculated with SP 2/0 tumor cells immediately after incubating with sera derived from the immunized mice at week 6. Then the tumor size was examined. In vitro, the cytotoxicity of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies to tumor cells was analysed. Furthermore, apoptosis of SP 2/0 and Wehi 164 tumor cells induced by anti-dsDNA autoantibodies was examined by FACS.

RESULTSIn vivo study showed that the growth of SP 2/0 and Wehi 164 tumors were inhibited in mice with anti-dsDNA autoantibodies, but not in mice lack of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies. In vitro, apoptosis of SP 2/0 and Wehi 164 tumor cells was induced when the tumor cells were incubated with the sera containing anti-dsDNA autoantibodies. Statistical analysis showed that the ability of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies to induce apoptosis of SP 2/0 and Wehi 164 tumor cells was significantly correlated with affinity (r = 0.990, P < 0.01 and r = 0.901, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAnti-dsDNA autoantibodies have inhibitory effect on tumor cells via inducing apoptosis.

Animals ; Antibodies, Neoplasm ; biosynthesis ; immunology ; Apoptosis ; Autoantibodies ; biosynthesis ; immunology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; DNA ; immunology ; Fibrosarcoma ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Immune Sera ; immunology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Inbred DBA ; Multiple Myeloma ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Neoplasm Transplantation

We constructed the expression vector by inserting 21.5 KDa MBP human brain full-length cDNA coding sequence digested with restriction enzyme EcoR I and Sal I into downstream of pGEX-5T expression vector. The recombinant vector p5TMP was transformed into E. coli and the positive clonies were selected and incubated in LB medium induced by IPTG (isopropyl- -D-thiogalactoside). A new polypeptide band with apparent molecular weight 42 KDa was detected in transformed cell lysates by SDS-PAGE. Western blotting analysis confirmed that this fusion protein reacted specifically with antibodies to MBP, the expression level of MBP was about 414.6 mg/L medium estimated by immuno-dot blot, ELISA and absorbance scanning. Newzealand rabbits were immunized by subcutaneous injection of the purified recombinant MBP. The titer was obtained at 1:16 after 5 injections. The specificity of the antibody to MBP was confirmed by immuno-blot and Western blotting.
Animals ; Antibody Formation ; Autoantibodies ; Brain ; immunology ; metabolism ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Myelin Basic Protein ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; immunology ; Rabbits ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis ; immunology