OBJECTIVES: DNA polymerase (pol) of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) includes 3 different domains such as terminal protein (TP), reverse transcriptase (RT) and RNase H. Humoral immune responses to each of these proteins have not been well documented previously, although antibody to pol was detected in serum of patients with chronic hepatitis B. We have constructed TP (amino acids 1-182), RT (amino acids 346-685) and RNase H (amino acids 690-832). METHODS: By ELISA using each protein expressed in E. coli as antigens, the corresponding antibodies were tested in serum from 40 patients with type B viral chronic liver diseases. (20 HBeAg-positive and 20 HBeAg-negative). As negative controls, sera from 3 healthy young men were used. With the mean values of the OD, which were tested 4 times per each test sample and 3 times per each control sample, we considered to be positive if the mean OD of each test sample is 2-fold or higher than that of controls. RESULTS: Five of 40 sera (12.5%) contained one or two different antibodies detectable by this method: 4 of 20 HbeAg-positive sera (20%) and 1 of 20 HbeAg-negative sera (5%). Anti-TP, anti-RT and anti-RNase H antibodies were detected in 2.5% (1/40), 10% (4/40) and 7.5% (3/40), respectively. Among 4/20 HbeAg-positive ELISA-positive sera, anti-TP, anti-RT and anti-RNase H were positive in 5% (1/20), 20% (4/20) and 10% (2/20), respectively, while 1 HBeAg-negative ELISA-positive sera were positive only for anti-RNase H. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the corresponding antibody responses to individual recombinant peptides derived from 3 domains of DNA polymerase may tend to be detected more frequently in HBeAg-positive sera than in HBeAg-negative sera from various patients with type B viral chronic liver diseases.
Adult ; Antibodies, Antinuclear/analysis* ; Biological Markers/analysis ; DNA Polymerase II/immunology* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/analysis* ; Hepatitis B Virus/immunology* ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/immunology* ; Human ; Male ; Middle Age ; Odds Ratio ; Reference Values ; Substances: DNA Polymerase II ; Substances: Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Substances: Biological Markers ; Substances: Antibodies, Antinuclear

This article reviews newly available knowledge on multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), a chronic medical condition characterized by symptoms in multiple organ and caused by exposure to low levels of common chemicals. Although various pathophysiological models have been proposed (including toxicological, immunological or behavioral models), the causes and underlying mechanisms of MCS are still not fully understood. Most patients with MCS were women between the ages of 30 and 50 years. The most frequently reported trigger was a newly constructed home or job site. The common symptoms are vague, non-specific complaints: fatigue, difficulty concentrating, poor memory, sneezing/runny nose, headache, and muscle pain. There are no laboratory markers or specific investigative findings for MCS. The Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory (QEESI)(c) has been used as a screening questionnaire. Treatment focuses on assisting patients at the earliest possible opportunity to reduce their exposure to unique symptom triggers and known hazardous chemicals. Early comprehensive assessment, medical management, and social and financial support might avoid the deterioration of functions associated with prolonged illness.
Biological Markers ; Environmental Exposure ; Fatigue ; Female ; Financial Support ; Hazardous Substances ; Headache ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Memory ; Multiple Chemical Sensitivity ; Muscles ; Nose ; Questionnaires ; Workplace

Recent evidence suggests that gastric mucosal injury induces adaptive changes in DNA methylation. In this study, the methylation status of the key tissue-specific genes in normal gastric mucosa of healthy individuals and cancer patients was evaluated. The methylation-variable sites of 14 genes, including ulcer-healing genes (TFF1, TFF2, CDH1, and PPARG), were chosen from the CpG-island margins or non-island CpGs near the transcription start sites. The healthy individuals as well as the normal gastric mucosa of 23 ulcer, 21 non-invasive cancer, and 53 cancer patients were examined by semiquantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. The ulcer-healing genes were concurrently methylated with other genes depending on the presence or absence of CpG-islands in the normal mucosa of healthy individuals. Both the TFF2 and PPARG genes were frequently undermethylated in ulcer patients. The over- or intermediate-methylated TFF2 and undermethylated PPARG genes was more common in stage-1 cancer patients (71%) than in healthy individuals (10%; odds ratio [OR], 21.9) and non-invasive cancer patients (21%; OR, 8.9). The TFF2-PPARG methylation pattern of cancer patients was stronger in the older-age group (> or =55 yr; OR, 43.6). These results suggest that the combined methylation pattern of ulcer-healing genes serves as a sensitive marker for predicting cancer-prone gastric mucosa.
Biological Markers/metabolism ; Cadherins/genetics ; CpG Islands ; *DNA Methylation ; Female ; *Gastric Mucosa/pathology/physiology ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Growth Substances/genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; PPAR gamma/genetics ; Peptides/genetics ; *Stomach Neoplasms/genetics/pathology ; *Stomach Ulcer/genetics/pathology ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins/genetics ; Wound Healing/*genetics

Distraction osteogenesis is currently a standard method of bone lengthening. It is a viable method for the treatment of short extremities as well as extensive bone defects, because large amounts of bone can be regenerated in the distraction gap. echanical stimulation by distraction induces biological responses of skeletal regeneration that is accomplished by a cascade of biologic processes that may include differentiation of pluripotential tissue, angiogenesis, mineralization, and remodeling. There are complex interactions between bone-forming osteoblasts and other cells present within the bone microenvironment, particularly vascular endothelial cells that may be pivotal members of a complex interactive communication network in bone. Regenerate bone forms by three modes of ossification, which include intramembranous, enchondral, and transchondroid ossifications, although intramembraneous bone formation is the predominant mechanism of ossification. In this review we discussed the coupling between angiogenesis and mineralization, the biological and mechanical factors affecting them, the cellular and molecular events occurring during distraction osteogenesis, and the emerging modalities to accelerate regenerate bone healing and remodeling.
Animals ; Biological Markers ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 ; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Bone and Bones/radiography/ultrastructure ; Calcification, Physiologic/*physiology ; Collagen/metabolism ; Cytokines/metabolism ; Growth Substances/metabolism ; Humans ; Neovascularization, Physiologic/*physiology ; Osteoblasts/physiology ; *Osteogenesis, Distraction ; *Transforming Growth Factor beta