more efficient tooth movement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different static magnetic fields of ND-Fe-B magnet on MC3T3-E1 cells by measuring the alkaline phosphatase activity and observing the amount of stained alkaline phosphatase. For measuring of alkaline phosphatase activity, MC3T3-E1 cells were seeded in first and third row of 12 well culture plate. And Nd-Fe-B magnets were positioned under the first column of first and third row to apply different static magnetic fields(first column:100mT ; second column:4.6mT ; third column:0.5mT ; forth column:0.0mT) to the cells for 7, 13, 19, and 25 days. For staining of alkaline phosphatase, MC3T3-E1 cells were seeded in 100mm culture plates. And Nd-Fe-B magnets were positioned under the corner of plates to apply different static magnetic fields(magnet side:100mT ; the opposite side:0.5mT) to the cells for 7, 13, 19 and 25 days. The results were as follows : 1. ALP activity was increased until day 19 in biochemical determination as well as in histochemical staining. 2. The application of higher magnetic field(100mT) suppressed ALP activity at day 13, 19, 25. On the contrary, the application of the lower magnetic field(4.6mT, 0.5mT) significantly enhanced the ALP activity. 3. Consistent with enzyme assay, histochemical staining of ALP also demonstrated that higher magnetic field(100mT) suppressed ALP activity, lower one(0.5mT) enhanced.
Alkaline Phosphatase* ; Enzyme Assays ; Magnetic Fields* ; Tooth Movement

Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) is a stress biomarker in human diseases, but there are no reports of sAA measurements in diseased dogs. This study measured the sAA and serum alpha-amylase (AA) levels in 16 healthy dogs and 31 diseased dogs using a kinetic enzyme assay to assess the stress status. The sAA and serum AA levels were significantly higher in the diseased dogs than in healthy dogs (p < 0.05), but there was no correlation between the 2 groups (r = 0.251, p = 0.089). This suggests that sAA can be useful as a stress biomarker in diseased dogs.
alpha-Amylases ; Animals ; Dogs ; Enzyme Assays ; Humans ; Saliva

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is the rare neurometabolic disease caused by the deficiency of the enzyme arylsulfatase A resulting in a deficiency of sulfatide degradation and the target gene is ARSA gene. We report a case of the late infantile form of MLD that was confirmed by means of enzyme assay and gene analysis with typical brain MRI and MR spectroscopy finding.
Brain ; Cerebroside-Sulfatase ; Enzyme Assays ; Leukodystrophy, Metachromatic ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Biology

A new serum marker of prostatic cancer, prostate specific antigen(PSA), has shown promising results in clinical trials. The concentration of PSA in serum was measured using a Tandem-Re radioimmunometric assay and prostate acid phosphatase(PAP), the reference serum marker, was measured using a enzymatic assay, in 149 patients including 23 patients with prostatic cancer, 94 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH), and 32 controls free of prostate disorders. The following results were obtained. 1. In normal control group, the mean(+/-SD) PSA value was 1.21+/-0.96ng/ml(range, 0.1 to 3.7), and the mean PAP value was 0.29+/-0.13ng/ml(range, 0.1 to 0.5). 2. The mean PSA levels were 63.07ng/ml and 6.27ng/ml in patients with prostatic cancer and BPH, respectively(p<0.01). 3. PSA was increased in 39.4 percent and PAP in 4.3 percent of patients with BPH. 4. The levels of PSA were elevated in 6.4 percent of the patients with stage A, 64.68 percent with stage C and 73.29 percent with stage D prostatic carcinoma whereas those of PAP were elevated in 30.4 percent of the patients above stage C. 5. The sensitivity and specificity for PSA were 91.3 percent and 60.6 percent, respectively. We conclude that PSA is more sensitive than PAP in the detection of prostatic cancer and will probably be more useful serum marker in monitoring therapy for prostatic carcinoma.
Biomarkers ; Enzyme Assays ; Humans ; Prostate* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen* ; Prostatic Diseases* ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Assay of serum acid phosphatase activity have become a routine and standard examination for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with prostatic carcinoma. However its value in these situation has become increasingly controversial. Herein we performed enzymatic assay and radioimmunoassay in 30 normal Korean males, 20 histologically diagnosed B. P. H patients and 15 patients with a histologic diagnosis of prostatic carcinoma. Bodansky method was used in enzymatic assay and its normal range was 0.1 U/dl. In radioimmunoassay the double-antibody method was used. The results of enzymatic assay in normal males were in within normal range. In radioimmunoassay the results were ranged 0.5-3.2ng/ml and the mean was 1. 65+/-0.62 ng/ml. The results of B. P. H. patients were in normal range by both methods. Three of 15 patients with prostatic carcinoma were in stage A or C and their values were within normal range by both methods. Among 12 patients with bony metastatic prostate carcinoma, the valus were elevated in 10 patients by enzymatic away, but were elevated in all patients by radioimmunoassay. There was no significant difference between two methods statistically (p >0.05). The elevated values were found in B. F. H. patients immediately following T. U. R. in 3 patients by radioimmunoassay In 4 patients with bony metastatic prostate carcinoma, the values were decreased following endocrine therapy. Assay of prostatic acid phosphatase are very important in differentiating the tumor stage and in follow-up. Considering a false-positive and false-negative rate, technical problem and cost-effectiveness, the radioimmunoassay is not better than enzymatic assay.
Acid Phosphatase* ; Diagnosis ; Enzyme Assays* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Prostate ; Radioimmunoassay* ; Reference Values

PURPOSE: Patients show variable responses to chemoradiotherapy (CRT), which is generally administered before surgery for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). The aim of this study was to identify molecular markers predictive of CRT responses by analysis of low-mass ions (LMIs) in serum of LARC patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: LMIs (< 1,000 m/z) in serum obtained before CRT from 73 LARC (cT3-4) patients were profiled using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. LMIs with higher weighting factors in discriminating CRT responses were selected using principal components analysis and discriminant analysis. Selected LMIs were identified using the Human Metabolome Database. The concentrations of identified LMIs were determined by colorimetric enzyme assay, and compared according to post-CRT pathological stage (ypStage) or Dworak's tumor regression grade (TRG). RESULTS: The nine highest-ranking LMIs were selected. Among them, two LMIs with 137.08 and 169.04 m/z were identified as hypoxanthine (HX) and phosphoenolpyruvic acid (PEP), respectively. Higher HX concentration was observed in patients with ypStage 0-1 compared to ypStage 2-4 (p=0.034) or ypStage 3-4 (p=0.030); a similar difference was observed between TRG 4-3 and TRG 1 (p=0.035). HX > 16.0 muM showed significant association with ypStage 0-1 or TRG 4-3 than ypStage 3-4 (p=0.009) or TRG 1 (p=0.024), respectively. In contrast, a significantly lower concentration of PEP was observed in TRG 4-3 compared with TRG 2-1 (p=0.012). CONCLUSION: Findings of this study demonstrated that serum concentrations of HX and PEP, identified using LMI profiling, may be useful for predicting the CRT response of LARC patients before treatment.
Biological Markers* ; Chemoradiotherapy* ; Enzyme Assays ; Humans ; Hypoxanthine* ; Ions ; Mass Spectrometry ; Metabolome ; Phosphoenolpyruvate ; Rectal Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II or Hunter syndrome) is a rare lysosomal storage disorder caused by iduronate-2-sulfatase (IDS) deficiency. MPS II causes a wide phenotypic spectrum of symptoms ranging from mild to severe. IDS activity, which is measured in leukocyte pellets or fibroblasts, was reported to be related to clinical phenotype by Sukegawa-Hayasaka et al. Measurement of residual plasma IDS activity using a fluorometric assay is simpler than conventional measurements using skin fibroblasts or peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This is the first study to describe the relationship between plasma IDS activity and clinical phenotype of MPS II. METHODS: We hypothesized that residual plasma IDS activity is related to clinical phenotype. We classified 43 Hunter syndrome patients as having attenuated or severe disease types based on clinical characteristics, especially intellectual and cognitive status. There were 27 patients with the severe type and 16 with the attenuated type. Plasma IDS activity was measured by a fluorometric enzyme assay using 4-methylumbelliferyl-alpha-iduronate 2-sulphate. RESULTS: Plasma IDS activity in patients with the severe type was significantly lower than that in patients with the attenuated type (P=0.006). The optimal cut-off value of plasma IDS activity for distinguishing the severe type from the attenuated type was 0.63 nmol.4 hr-1.mL-1. This value had 88.2% sensitivity, 65.4% specificity, and an area under receiver-operator characteristics (ROC) curve of 0.768 (ROC curve analysis; P=0.003). CONCLUSION: These results show that the mild phenotype may be related to residual lysosomal enzyme activity.
Enzyme Assays ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; Iduronate Sulfatase ; Leukocytes ; Mucopolysaccharidoses ; Mucopolysaccharidosis II ; Phenotype ; Plasma ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Skin

PURPOSE: Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II or Hunter syndrome) is a rare lysosomal storage disorder caused by iduronate-2-sulfatase (IDS) deficiency. MPS II causes a wide phenotypic spectrum of symptoms ranging from mild to severe. IDS activity, which is measured in leukocyte pellets or fibroblasts, was reported to be related to clinical phenotype by Sukegawa-Hayasaka et al. Measurement of residual plasma IDS activity using a fluorometric assay is simpler than conventional measurements using skin fibroblasts or peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This is the first study to describe the relationship between plasma IDS activity and clinical phenotype of MPS II. METHODS: We hypothesized that residual plasma IDS activity is related to clinical phenotype. We classified 43 Hunter syndrome patients as having attenuated or severe disease types based on clinical characteristics, especially intellectual and cognitive status. There were 27 patients with the severe type and 16 with the attenuated type. Plasma IDS activity was measured by a fluorometric enzyme assay using 4-methylumbelliferyl-alpha-iduronate 2-sulphate. RESULTS: Plasma IDS activity in patients with the severe type was significantly lower than that in patients with the attenuated type (P=0.006). The optimal cut-off value of plasma IDS activity for distinguishing the severe type from the attenuated type was 0.63 nmol.4 hr-1.mL-1. This value had 88.2% sensitivity, 65.4% specificity, and an area under receiver-operator characteristics (ROC) curve of 0.768 (ROC curve analysis; P=0.003). CONCLUSION: These results show that the mild phenotype may be related to residual lysosomal enzyme activity.
Enzyme Assays ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; Iduronate Sulfatase ; Leukocytes ; Mucopolysaccharidoses ; Mucopolysaccharidosis II ; Phenotype ; Plasma ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Skin

Enzymes play such a pivotal role in cellular metabolism that enzyme assays are important for bio-engineering, disease diagnoses and drug discovery. Among the reported methods, fluoremetry has attracted more and more attention due to its high sensitivity and possibility of continuous dynamic monitoring. The recent progresses and applications in enzyme assays using fluorescent probes were reviewed. Different methods were classified into direct fluorescence detection and indirect fluorescence detection according to their labeled substrates and detection mechanisms. Our writing purpose is to provide the readers with a flavor of the kinds of tools and strategies available in enzyme assays with fluorescent probes. Also, the research situation and prospects were disucssed
Animals ; Enzyme Assays ; methods ; trends ; Fluorescent Dyes ; Fluorometry ; methods ; Humans ; Microscopy, Fluorescence

We have developed a rapid and high throughput lipase-ANS (8-Anilino-l-naphthalenesulfonic acid) assay to evaluate the thermo-stability of lipases based on the ANS fluorescence signal's increasing and shifting when this small fluorescence probes binds to lipase. The testing lipase samples were incubated at a temperature range of 25 degrees C to 65 degrees C for 30 min before mixed with ANS solution (0.20 mg/mL lipase and 0.05 mmol/L ANS in the buffer of 20 mmol/L Tris-HCl, 100 mmol/L NaCl, pH 7.2) in a cuvette or microplate. Fluorescence signals of the samples were measured at EX 378 nm, EM 465 nm with a fluorescence photometer or a plate reader, and Tm was calculated with the software of GraphPad Prism5.0. The Tm values of several mutants of Penicillium expansum lipase (PEL) were measured with this ANS assay and conventional method simultaneously and the results show that Tm values are comparative and consistent between these methods, suggesting that the lipase-ANS assay is a reliable, rapid and high throughput method for lipase thermo-stability measurement.
Anilino Naphthalenesulfonates ; chemistry ; Enzyme Stability ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; methods ; Hot Temperature ; Lipase ; metabolism ; Spectrometry, Fluorescence