INTRODUCTIONTo prevent long-term unfavourable consequences to the articular cartilage of weight-bearing joints, serum biomarkers can be used to identify optimum loading of activities. This study aimed to investigate the circulation pattern of serum cartilage biomarkers in healthy adults in response to an uphill walk.

METHODSThis study recruited 58 healthy participants for the experimental group and 24 matched participants for the control group. Participants in the experimental group walked continuously for 14 km on a pathway with a 5.97° incline, while participants from the control group walked on a horizontal pathway. Serum was collected from both groups preactivity (i.e. T1), immediately after activity (i.e. T2) and 24 hours after T1 (i.e. T3). The serum cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), chondroitin sulfate-WF6 (WF6) and hyaluronic acid (HA) levels at each time point were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and the results analysed.

RESULTSBoth groups shared similar demographic characteristics and activity duration. At T2, the serum COMP level of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group, but the serum HA level of the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group. No significant difference between the serum WF6 levels of the experimental and control groups was observed at T2.

CONCLUSIONIncreasing levels of serum COMP demonstrate articular cartilage susceptibility to the increasing load. An unsustainable, high serum COMP level and an undetectable change in WF6 level were considered to be a reversible physiological change of the cartilage. A change in ser um HA level could be related to intensive physical activity and dynamic clearance rather than a change in cartilage structure.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein ; blood ; Cartilage, Articular ; metabolism ; Chondroitin Sulfates ; blood ; Female ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid ; blood ; Male ; Time Factors ; Walking ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between the pulse pressure (PP) and functional outcome in acute middle cerebral arterial (MCA) ischemic stroke. METHOD: We reviewed the medical records of 52 first-ever hemiplegic MCA ischemic stroke patients (age 61.5+/-9.7 years; 35 men, 17 women). Functional outcomes were evaluated with Korean-modified Barthel index (K-MBI), functional independence measure (FIM), Korean-national institutes of health stroke scale (K-NIHSS), and Korean-mini mental state examination (K-MMSE) on 3 days and 3 months after the onset of stroke in all the subjects. The PP was measured six times within initial 24 hours after stroke onset and then the highest PP was selected for the analysis. RESULTS: The degree of PP elevation revealed the significant correlations with male gender, over the age of 55 years, diabetes mellitus, and current smoking history, respectively (p<0.05). In TOAST (Trial Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment) classification, the large artery atherosclerosis group showed significantly the higher PP rather than the other groups (p<0.05). There were inverse correlations between the PP and each of FIM and K-MBI scores on 3 months after stroke onset (p=0.000, 0.009; r=- 0.479, -0.358). There was an inverse correlation between the PP and the change of FIM (p=0.000, r=-0.532). CONCLUSION: The PP within initial 24 hours after stroke onset revealed significant correlation with functional outcome. The management for the proper PP gives the favorable effect on the functional outcome in acute MCA territory ischemic stroke.
Academies and Institutes ; Arteries ; Atherosclerosis ; Blood Pressure ; Chondroitin Sulfates ; Dermatan Sulfate ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Hemiplegia ; Heparitin Sulfate ; Humans ; Male ; Medical Records ; Middle Cerebral Artery ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stroke

Hip dysplasia (HD) is one of the most important bone and joint diseases in dogs. Making the radiographic diagnosis is sometime possible when the disease has markedly progressed. Chondroitin sulfate (CS) and hyaluronan (HA) are the most important cartilage biomolecules that are elevated in the serum taken from dogs with osteoarthritis. The serum CS and HA can be detected by an ELISA technique, with using monoclonal antibodies against CS epitope 3B3 and WF6 and the HA chain as the primary antibodies. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of serum CS (both epitopes) and HA in non-HD and HD dogs. All 123 dogs were categorized into 2 groups. The non-HD group was composed of 98 healthy dogs, while the HD group was comprised of 25 HD dogs. Blood samples were collected for analyzing the serum CS and HA levels with using the ELISA technique. The results showed that the average serum level of the CS epitope WF6 in the HD group (2,594 +/- 3,036.10 ng/ml) was significantly higher than that in the non-HD group (465 +/- 208.97 ng/ml) (p < 0.01) while the epitope 3B3 in the HD group (105 +/- 100.05 ng/ml) was significantly lower than that in the non-HD group (136 +/- 142.03 ng/ml) (p < 0.05). The amount of serum HA in the HD group (134.74 +/- 59.71 ng/ml) was lower than that in the non HD group (245.45 +/- 97.84 ng/ml) (p < 0.05). The results indicate that the serum CS and HA levels might be used as biomarkers for osteoarthritis in HD dogs.
Animals ; Biological Markers/*blood ; Body Weight ; Chondroitin Sulfates/*blood ; Dog Diseases/*blood ; Dogs ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Hip Dysplasia, Canine/*blood/epidemiology ; Hyaluronic Acid/*blood ; Male ; Osteoarthritis/blood/*veterinary ; Prevalence ; Sex Characteristics

Adenoid cystic carcinoma is malignant tumor in salivary gland, and its behavior is very invasive. Of all malignant tumor adenoid cystic carcinoma is occured in frequency of 4.4% in major salivary gland, and 1.29% in minor salivary gland. Histopathologically, adenoid cystic carcinoma is characterized by a cribriform appearance, and tubular form and solid nest type tumor can be seen. The tumor cell structure composed of modified myoepithelial cell, and basaloid cell. Extracellular matrix of this tumor cell contains variable ground substance with basement membrane component. Basement membrane matrix composed of collagen fibers, glycoproteins, proteoglycans, and its function is well known that it participate in differentiation, proliferation, and growth of tumor cell. Basement membrane molecule is essential for invasion of peripheral nerve, blood vessel, skeletal muscle in tumor cell of adenoid cystic carcinoma. In many studies, the tumor cell of adenoid cystic carcinoma containing modified myoepithelial cell participate in synthesis of proteoglycan. In this study, tissue sample of adenoid cystic carcinoma of human salivary gland were obtained from 15 surgical specimen, and all specimen were routinely fixed in 10% formalin and embedded. Serial 4-micrometer thick sections were cut from paraffin blocks. the histopathologic evaluation was done with light microscopy. And, the immunohistochemical staining, characteristics of glycosaminoglycan were observed. For biochemical analysis of glycosaminoglycan, isolation of crude glycosaminoglycan from tumor tissue and Western bolt analysis were carried out. With transmission electomicroscopy, tumor cell were observed. Biologic behavior of adenoid cystic carcinoma was observed with distribution and expression of basement membrane of glycosaminoglycan in tumor cells, The results obtained were as follows: 1. In immunohistochemical study, chondroitin sulfate is postively stained in tumor cell and interstitial space, dermatan sulfate is weakly stained in ductal cell. But keratan sulfate is negatively stained. 2. In immunohistochemical study, heparan sulfate is strong positive stained in tumor cell and basement membrane, especially in invasion area to peripheral nerve tissue. 3. In transmission electromicroscpic view, the tumor cells are composed modifed myoepithelial cells, and contains many microvilli and rough endoplasmic reticulum. 4. In Western blot analysis, the expression of glycosaminoglycan is expressed mostly in heparan sulfate. From the results obtained in this study, tumor cell of adenoid cystic carcinoma is composed modified myoepithelial cell, and glycosaminoglycan of basement membrane molecule of heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate mostly participate in the development and invasiveness of adenoid cystic carcinoma by immunohistochemical study and western blot analysis.
Adenoids* ; Basement Membrane ; Blood Vessels ; Blotting, Western ; Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic* ; Chondroitin Sulfates ; Collagen ; Dermatan Sulfate ; Endoplasmic Reticulum, Rough ; Extracellular Matrix ; Formaldehyde ; Glycoproteins ; Heparitin Sulfate ; Humans ; Keratan Sulfate ; Microscopy ; Microvilli ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Paraffin ; Peripheral Nerves ; Proteoglycans ; Salivary Glands ; Salivary Glands, Minor

Thirty-one dogs with patellar luxation (grades 2 and 3) were categorized into three groups. Group 1 (G.1; n = 12) had sodium hyaluronate (SHA) intra-articularly injected into the stifle joint that received surgery. Group 2 (G.2; n = 10) received SHA twice: first after surgery and then 1 week later. Group 3 (G.3; n = 9) served as a control, without injection. Blood was collected before injection and then once a week for 4 weeks after injection for evaluation of chondroitin sulfate (CS-WF6) and hyaluronan (HA). The results revealed significantly (p < 0.05) improved clinical scores by the end of week 4 in G.1 and G.2 relative to G.3; however, there was no significant difference between G.1 and G.2. There was a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in serum CS-WF6 levels beginning at week 2 in G.1 and G.2. At weeks 3 and 4, serum HA in G.1 and G.2 differed from that in G.3 (p < 0.05). No significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed in serum biomarkers between G.1 and G.2. In conclusion, intra-articular injection with SHA after joint surgery may improve homeostasis of the joint, retarding the process of OA.
Animals ; Blood Chemical Analysis/veterinary ; Chondroitin Sulfates/metabolism ; *Dogs ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary ; Female ; Hyaluronic Acid/*administration & dosage/metabolism ; Injections, Intra-Articular/veterinary ; Male ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/drug therapy/prevention & control/*veterinary ; Stifle/*surgery ; Viscosupplements/*administration & dosage

Mucosal mast cell-derived chondroitin sulphates (sulphated proteoglycans) were assayed in gut washings and homogenate of FcRgamma-knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice challenged with Strongyloides venezuelensis in order to assess their possible role in secondary immunity against enteric nematodes. Groups of immune KO and WT mice were challenged by oral gavage with 300 infective larvae (L3). Establishment of infection was assessed by daily faecal analysis to determine the number of eggs per gram of faeces (EPG) and by adult worm recovery on days 5 and 13 post challenge. Mucosal mast cell (MMC) counts were done on days 5 and 13 post challenge while MMC-derived chondroitin sulphates in gut washings (days 1 and 5) and homogenate (day 8) were assayed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results showed that patent infection occurred in challenged KO but not WT mice despite significantly higher mastocytosis in jejunal sections of KO than WT mice (p<0.001). Similarly but against prediction, significantly higher concentration of MMC-derived chondroitin sulphates was observed in gut homogenate of KO than WT mice (p<0.05). In contrast, significantly higher concentration of chondroitin sulphates was observed in gut washings of WT than KO mice (p<0.05). These results suggest that MMC in KO mice failed to release sufficient amount of sulphated proteoglycans into the gut lumen as did the WT mice, which may have been part of the hostile environment that prevented the establishment in and eventual expulsion of adult S. venezuelensis from the gut of WT mice following challenge.
Animals ; Cell Count/veterinary ; Chondroitin Sulfates/*immunology/metabolism ; Chymases ; Feces/parasitology ; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/immunology/*veterinary ; Intestinal Mucosa/cytology/immunology/parasitology ; Jejunum/cytology/immunology/parasitology ; Male ; Mast Cells/immunology/metabolism/*parasitology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Knockout ; Parasite Egg Count/veterinary ; Receptors, IgG/*immunology ; Serine Endopeptidases/blood/immunology ; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms ; Strongyloides/*immunology ; Strongyloidiasis/immunology/parasitology/*veterinary