BACKGROUND: Routine renal function tests are not sensitive enough to detect early renal complication of diabetes. To detect the complication as soon as possible, we measured urine N-Acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase(NAG) and evaluated in comparison with microalbumin and beta2-microglobulin(beta2-MG). METHODS: 87 patients with type II diabetes visited Catholic University Hospital of Taegu Hyosung during the period October 1995 to March 1996. We collected 24 hour urine samples and measured NAG, albumin excretion rate (AER), beta2-MG. urinalysis, BUN, creatinine(Cr) Cr clearance(CrCl), fasting and 2 hour postprandial blood sugar and hemoglobin A1c. RESULTS: The average age of the patients was 53+/-15 years old and their average disease duration was 5.8+/-5.0 years. Abnormal rates of each renal function tests were as follows : NAG/gCr 52.1%, AER 51.7%, CrCl 42.5%, BUN 18.4%, beta2-MG 13.8% and creatinine 6.9% in order. From 36 patients whose AER was within normal limit, 13 of them(36.1%) showed increased level of NAG/gCr. Of 38 patients with increased NAG/gCr results, the 31 patients (81.6%) recorded abnormal results of renal function tests. Among 87 patients studied 60 patients(68.5%) showed increased level of NAG/gCr or AER results. Compared with AER test alone. the combined tests with NAG/gCr increased 16.8% of detection rates of renal complication in type II diabetes. CONCLUSION: Urine NAG/gCr and AER tests were very useful for detecting the early renal complication of type n diabetes. As increase of NAG/gCr suggest the proximal tubule damage, it is necessary to have further evaluation about the proximal tubule damage of renal complication in type II diabetes.
Acetylglucosaminidase* ; Blood Glucose ; Creatinine ; Daegu ; Fasting ; Humans ; Urinalysis

BACKGROUND: Nasal polyps were developed from eosinophil infiltrations and activation by chronic inflammatory reactions. Eotaxin and RANTES have been postulated to be involved in the recruitment and activation of eosinophils to the inflamed tissues. The aim of this study is to estimate the mRNA expression of eotaxin and RNATES in the nasal polyps and it's effect on tissue eosinophils. METHODS: At first, we evaluated the linearity and precision of GeneAmp 5700R(PE Applied Biosystems, Foster, U.S.A) with M. tuberculosis DNA. We collected 17 allergic, 30 non-allergic nasal polyps and 15 normal inferior turbinates from the patients visiting Catholic University Hospital of Taegu Hyosung. We performed the quantitative polymerase chain reaction(PCR) for the eotaxin and RNATES, and the tissue immunohistochemical stain for the major basic protein. RESULTS: GeneAmp 5700R disclosed good linearity and precision. Compared with the normal inferior turbinates, eotaxin mRNA levels were increased in the allergic and non-allergic polyps, and showed significant correlation with eosinophils infiltration and activation. But the RANTES didn't revealed any significant differences among these groups, and no correlation with tissue eosinophils. The patients with allergic polyps showed increased eosinophils infiltration and activation in the tissue, while those with non allergic polyps disclosed increased eosinophils activation. CONCLUSIONS: Since eotaxin expression were increased in the tissue of the patients with nasal polyps and showed good correlation with eosinophils infiltration and activation in the tissue, it had been considered that eotaxin played an important role in the pathogenesis of allergic polyps and tissue eosinophilia.
Chemokine CCL5* ; Daegu ; DNA ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils ; Humans ; Nasal Polyps* ; Polyps ; RNA, Messenger* ; Tuberculosis ; Turbinates

Met protein is a transmembrane 190 kD heterodimer with tyrosine kinase activity, encoded by c-Met oncogene. It serves as a high affinity receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/scatter factor (SF), a cytokine which stimulates cell proliferation, motility, and invasion. In this study, we immunohistochemically evaluated the expression of Met/hepatocyte growth factor receptor in colorectal cancers. Met protein was expressed in 31 of 72 patients (43.1%). The staining pattern was cytoplasmic in nature, present throughout the tumor, and showed variable intensity from case to case. The relationship between the expression rate and intensity, and age and sex of patients, tumor size (p=0.645), tumor site (p=0.902) and tumor differentiation (p=0.844) was not statistically significant. The expression rate and intensity were significantly correlated with lymphovascular invasion (p=0.001), lymph node metastasis (p=0.010), depth of invasion (0.019), and stage (p=0.023). Cytoplasmic accumulation of Met protein was not associated with enhanced PCNA index of tumor cells (p=0.052). These results suggest that Met protein may play an important role in the invasion and metastasis of colorectal cancer cells.
Cell Proliferation ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Cytoplasm ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Oncogenes ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases

Plasma col1 leukemia with motility-related morphological behavior is rarely studied. The plasma cells have variable degrees of cytoplasmic morphologies as dairy Projections, long extensions and pseudopods. These morphological evidences show the papa bility of wide spread and dissemination of disease itself. We present a case of a 38 year old woman who had back pain for 4 months and was diagnosed as a solitary plasmacytoma of the third lumbar vertebra. In spite of resection of the tumor and chemotherapy, the plasmacytoma was disseminated into both breasts and ovaries within less than a year. On her blood examination, we counted 34% of plasma cells in peripheral blood and 91.6% of plasma cells in bone marrow aspiration. Most of them resealed hairy projections and pseudopods of the cytoplasm.
Adult ; Back Pain ; Bone Marrow ; Breast ; Cytoplasm ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia ; Leukemia, Plasma Cell* ; Ovary ; Plasma Cells* ; Plasma* ; Plasmacytoma ; Spine

No abstract available.
Granuloma, Lethal Midline*

BACKGROUND: T lymphocytes that bear CD3 but lack CD4 and CD8 (Double negative T cells, DN T cells) are normally present early in ontogeny in the fetal thymus, but constitute only a small proportion of adult thymocytes and peripheral blood. Since DN T TCR alpha beta+ cells have been found to accumulate in the lymphoid organs of lpr and gld mice and to be expanded in patients with autoimmune diseases, their functional properties are now of considerable interest. METHOD: Sixty four rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and 24 healthy volunteers were studied from Jan 1997 to Feb 1998. The whole blood from the patients and controls were analyzed by flow cytometry (Elite ESP, Coulter, USA) and XL-II software after the cells were stained with trifluorochrome monoclonal antibodies (anti-CD4-FITC/anti-CD8-PE/anti-CD3-PE-Cy5, anti-CD3-FITC/anti-CD19-PE/anti-CD45-PE-Cy5, anti-CD3-FITC/ CD16+56-PE) (Immunotech, Coulter, USA). We reviewed patient records to find out the inflammatory parameters and Ritchie index. RESULTS: We confirmed the presence of DN T cells in peripheral blood of healthy volunteers and RA patients. DN T cells were lower in RA patients (mean+/-SD; 6.44%+/-4.46), when compared to healthy volunteers (mean+/-SD; 9.97%+/-4.50) (p=0.001). There was no clinical correlations between DN T cells and inflammatory parameters. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that the DN T cells in normal control were about 10% of CD3 positive T cells and the cells were significantly lower in RA patients. Although we did not identify whether these cells have either TCR alpha beta or TCR gamma delta, we could conclude that these cells are not expanded in RA patients. We would like to continue this study further 1) to identify TCR the DN T cells have and 2) to monitor the changes after treatment.
Adult ; Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Flow Cytometry ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Mice ; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta ; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta ; T-Lymphocytes* ; Thymocytes ; Thymus Gland

BACKGROUND: Cellular fibronectin (cFN) is derived from the cell surface and extracellular matrix. It is fragmented by proteolytic enzymes, which is released from invasive and malignant tumor cells. It is circulated in blood and body fluids, and finally excreted in urine. This study was undertaken to determine the usefulness of plasma and urine cFN as a tumor marker of gastrointestinal tract cancers. METHODS: We measured the concentration of cFN in plasma and urine samples by Fibronectin EIA kit (Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd., Shiga, Japan). Subjects were 20 healthy adults, 20 patients with benign diseases, 51 patients with stomach cancer and 22 patients with colorectal cancer. We evaluated the clinical records to compare the concentrations of cFN with stage and degree of cancer metastasis. RESULTS: At the recommend cut-off values of 21 microgram/mL in plasma and 157 ng/mgCr in urine, the sensitivity of plasma and urine cFN was 41.2% and 43.1% in gastric cancers; 40.9% and 50.0% in colorectal cancers, respectively. The specificity of urine cFN was 92.5% as compared to 67.1% for plasma cFN. The cFNs in plasma and urine were significantly elevated in cancer group and the concentrations were increased further with peritoneal seeding and distant metastasis. The sensitivity of urine cFN was 73.3% in stomach cancers and 100% in colorectal cancers with distant metastasis. CONCLUSION: The urine cFN is specific and the concentrations increase further with metastasis, and may be useful in diagnosis and monitoring of gastrointestinal tract cancers. Further detailed studies must be made in a large number of patients.
Adult ; Body Fluids ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Diagnosis ; Extracellular Matrix ; Fibronectins* ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms* ; Gastrointestinal Tract* ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Peptide Hydrolases ; Plasma* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stomach Neoplasms

Peripheral nerve damage in leprosy would be related to the local cell-mediated immune response to mycobacterial antigens and, presumedly, metabolic and biochemical changes of Schwann cell or circulating demyelinating factors and otherwise, autoimmune process would be involved. The neuralipid composing of cholesterol, ethanolamine glycerophosphatide, sphingomyelin, galactocerebroside(GalC), ethanolamine plasmalogen, serine and choline glycerophophatide, sulfatide are abundant in the myelin and have immunogenicity. Especially, GalC and sulfatide are known to play an important role in myelin function and its stability. The study was undertaken to detect the titers of anti-GalC and anti-sulfatide antibodies for the neural destruction mechanism of leprosy. Subjects tested were 53 leprosy patients with polar type consisting of 25 in tuberculoid leprosy(TT) and 28 in lepromatous leprosy(LL). The titeration of the antibody was done in the sera of patients and controls by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). The results obtained were as follows ; 1. The detection rate of anti-GalC antibody was in 13(24.5%) of the 53 leprosy patients compared with 3(13.0%) of the 23 normal controls. Among the leprosy patients, there was 8(32.0%) in TT and 5(17.9%) in LL. 2. The detection rate of anti-sulfatide antibody was in 24(45.3%) of leprosy patients compared with 7(26.1%) of normal controls. Both types showed almost same rate of 46.4% and 44.0%, respectively. 3. Mean titer of anti-GalC antibody was 18.9+/-17.0EU/ml in leprosy patients and 12.8+/-8.8EU/ml in normal controls, with statistically insignificant level(p>0.05, one-way ANOVA). Among the leprosy patients, mean titer was 24.7+/-20.9EU/ml in TT and 13.8+/-10.5EU/ml in LL, with significance in TT(p<0.05). 4. Mean titer of anti-sulfatide antibody was 25.3+/-14.5EU/ml in leprosy patients and 18.9+/-13.8EU/ml in normal controls(p>0.05). Among the leprosy patients, mean titer was 26.0+/-15.4EU/ml in TT and 24.7+/-14.0EU/ml in LL, which was nearly same quantities in both types. 5. Examinations using Pearson correlation analysis revealed that the association between anti-GalC and anti-sulfatide antibodies was non-specific in LL(r=0.09) and TT(r=0.04). The analysis between duration of illness and anti-GalC antibody was decreasing correlation(r=-0.89, p<0.05) in LL, but slightly increasing correlation in TT(r=0.44, p>0.05). In comparison with anti-sulfatide antibody and duration, LL was higher in 41-50 years, while being higher in 31-40 years in TT, but correlation in both types could not be found(r=0.08, -0.06) In conclusion, the anti-GalC and anti-sulfatide antibodies seemed to be related with nerve damage. Hereafter we think that more study for other neural lipid should be investigated
Antibodies* ; Cholesterol ; Choline ; Ethanolamine ; Humans ; Leprosy* ; Myelin Sheath ; Peripheral Nerves ; Serine

The aim of this investigation was to determine the incidence of sperm antibodies in serum using indirect immunobead test (IBT) in 113 patients of scrotal disease. The results of this survey showed that 17.7% of 113 men had antisperm antibodies of IgG and/or IgA class bound to the surface of at least 20% of motile spermatozoa of normal donor. There were positive immunobead test in 16 of 36(44.4% ) vasovasostomy patients, 1 of 18 testicular trauma, 1 of 15 primary infertility, 1 of 4 obstructive infertility, 1 of 7 hydrocele. There were no statistical differences in sperm count, sperm morphology between the groups of patients with positive or negative IBT results. As for the immunoglobulins, the most frequent class was IgG, and in terms of morphological sites, tail binding was most frequent. The results of this investigation therefore suggest that the IBT is an excellent test for sperm antibodies in scrotal disease.
Antibodies* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulins ; Incidence ; Infertility ; Male ; Sperm Count ; Spermatozoa ; Tissue Donors ; Vasovasostomy

Leprosy is a granulomatous disease primarily affecting the peripheral nerves. The pathogenesis would be related to the cell-mediated response to mycobacterial antigens, metabolic and biochemical change of Schwann cell, circulating demyelinating factors and other autoimmune process. A specific nerve tissue protein, S-100 protein, has been demonstrated in normal nerves and nerve complexes. The stains of S-100 protein in dermal nerves of leprosy patients have been suggested in assessing the presence of nerve damage. We have estimated the concentration of S-100 protein in the sera of 64 leprosy patients(38 lepromatous leprosy, 26 tuberculoid leprosy) and that of 20 normal controls without neurologic disorders by ELISA. The results obtained were as follows: 1. The mean S-100 protein concentration was 0.0042ng/ml in a total of 64 leprosy patients, with 0.0062ng/ml in lepromatous type and 0.018ng/ml in tuberculoid type. The controls showed 0.0017ng/ml. 2. The analysis of age and serum S-100 protein concentration in both types showed lower value in the fifties of tuberculoid type(p<0.05). With the increase of age, mean S-100 protein concentration in both types tended to increase, but there was no significant correlation(p>0.05). 3. The analysis of duration of illness and serum S-100 protein concentration in both types showed higher value in the forties and fifties in lepromatous type(p<0.05). With the increase of duration of illness, mean S-100 protein concentration tended to increase in lepromatous type and slightly decreased in tuberculoid type, but there was no significant correlation(p>0.05). 4. The mean S-100 protein concentration of patients with neurologic symptoms was 0.0577ng/ml, in contrast with 0.0016ng/ml in patients without neurologic symptoms (p<0.05). In conclusion, the measurement of serum S-100 protein would play a potential role of a useful marker of assessing nerve damage in leprosy patients, esp, with neurologic symptoms.
Coloring Agents ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Leprosy* ; Leprosy, Lepromatous ; Nerve Tissue ; Nervous System Diseases ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Peripheral Nerves ; S100 Proteins*