Serum Prokineticin-2 in Prepubertal and Adult Klinefelter Individuals

The prokineticin-2 (PROK2) is a small peptide belonging to the prokineticin family. In humans and rodents this chemokine is primarily involved in the control of central and peripheral reproductive processes. Klinefelter's syndrome (KS) is the first cause of male genetic infertility, due to an extra X chromosome, which may occur with a classical karyotype (47, XXY) or mosaic forms (46, XY/47, XXY). In affected subjects, pubertal maturation usually begins at an adequate chronological age, but when development is almost complete, they display a primary gonadal failure, with early spermatogenesis damage, and later onset of testosterone insufficiency. Thus, the main aim of the present study was to investigate the serum levels of PROK2 in prepubertal and adult KS patients, comparing them with healthy subjects. We showed for the first time the presence of PROK2 in the children serum but with significant changes in KS individuals. Indeed, compared to healthy subjects characterized by PROK2 serum elevation during the growth, KS individuals showed constant serum levels during the sexual maturation phase (higher during the prepubertal phase but lower during the adult age). In conclusion, these data indicate that in KS individuals PROK2 may be considered a biomarker for investigating the SK infertility process.

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Detection and Quantification of 7-Hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone Epimers in Three Body Fluids

Collection of Czechoslovak Chemical Communications ◽

10.1135/cccc20020010 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 67 (1) ◽

pp. 10-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard Hampl ◽

Martin Hill ◽

Luboslav Stárka

Keyword(s):

Healthy Subjects ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Body Fluids ◽

Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽

Specific Radioimmunoassay ◽

Order Of Magnitude ◽

Three Body ◽

First Time ◽

Nanomolar Range ◽

Detection And Quantification

3β,7α-Dihydroxyandrost-5-en-17-one (1) (7α-OH-DHEA) and its 7β-hydroxy epimer 2 (7β-OH-DHEA) - 7α- and 7β-hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone - were detected and quantified in three human body fluids: in blood serum, saliva and ejaculate. Specific radioimmunoassay and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry have been used. For the first time the data on changes of these dehydroepiandrosterone metabolites are reported for a representative group of healthy subjects of both sexes (172 females and 217 males) during the life span. The serum levels of both 7-hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone epimers in serum and also in semen were in the low nanomolar range, while concentrations by one order of magnitude lower were found in saliva, but still within the detection limit. The results will serve as a basis for comparative studies of 7-hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone levels under various pathophysiological conditions, with a particular respect to autoimmune disorders.

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Lipocalin 2 serum levels correlate with age and bone turnover biomarkers in healthy subjects but not in postmenopausal osteoporotic women

Bone Reports ◽

10.1016/j.bonr.2021.101059 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 101059

Author(s):

Antonio Maurizi ◽

Marco Ponzetti ◽

Kaare M. Gautvik ◽

Sjur Reppe ◽

Anna Teti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bone Turnover ◽

Healthy Subjects ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Lipocalin 2 ◽

Bone Turnover Biomarkers

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The Effect of Bilateral Nephrectomy on Renalase and Catecholamines in Hemodialysis Patients

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18126282 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (12) ◽

pp. 6282

Author(s):

Magda Wiśniewska ◽

Natalia Serwin ◽

Violetta Dziedziejko ◽

Małgorzata Marchelek-Myśliwiec ◽

Barbara Dołęgowska ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthy Subjects ◽

Plasma Concentrations ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Hemodialysis Patients ◽

Pressure Regulation ◽

Serum Concentrations ◽

Monoamine Oxidase Activity ◽

Normal Kidney ◽

Bilateral Nephrectomy ◽

Arterial Blood

Background/Aims: Renalase is an enzyme with monoamine oxidase activity that metabolizes catecholamines; therefore, it has a significant influence on arterial blood pressure regulation and the development of cardiovascular diseases. Renalase is mainly produced in the kidneys. Nephrectomy and hemodialysis (HD) may alter the production and metabolism of renalase. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of bilateral nephrectomy on renalase levels in the serum and erythrocytes of hemodialysis patients. Methods: This study included 27 hemodialysis patients post-bilateral nephrectomy, 46 hemodialysis patients without nephrectomy but with chronic kidney disease and anuria and 30 healthy subjects with normal kidney function. Renalase levels in the serum and erythrocytes were measured using an ELISA kit. Results: Serum concentrations of renalase were significantly higher in post-bilateral nephrectomy patients when compared with those of control subjects (101.1 ± 65.5 vs. 19.6 ± 5.0; p < 0.01). Additionally, renalase concentrations, calculated per gram of hemoglobin, were significantly higher in patients after bilateral nephrectomy in comparison with those of healthy subjects (994.9 ± 345.5 vs. 697.6 ± 273.4, p = 0.015). There were no statistically significant differences in plasma concentrations of noradrenaline or adrenaline. In contrast, the concentration of dopamine was significantly lower in post-nephrectomy patients when compared with those of healthy subjects (116.8 ± 147.7 vs. 440.9 ± 343.2, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Increased serum levels of renalase in post-bilateral nephrectomy hemodialysis patients are likely related to production in extra-renal organs as a result of changes in the cardiovascular system and hypertension.

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Similar use of intonation structure in early implanted children and hearing children: The case of Italian

First Language ◽

10.1177/0142723720986052 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 014272372098605

Author(s):

Paola Zanchi ◽

Laura Zampini ◽

Luca Pancani ◽

Roberta Berici ◽

Mariapaola D’Imperio

Keyword(s):

Chronological Age ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Control Groups ◽

Generation Task ◽

Story Generation ◽

Italian Children ◽

Children's Stories ◽

Hearing Children ◽

First Time

This work presents an analysis of the intonation competence in a group of Italian children with cochlear implant (CI). Early cochlear implantation plays a crucial role in language development for children who were born deaf in that it favours the acquisition of complex aspects of language, such as the intonation structure. A story-generation task, the Narrative Competence Task, was used to elicit children’s stories. Narrations produced by 8 early implanted children and by 16 children with typically hearing (TH) (8 one-to-one matched considering the chronological age, TH-CA, and 8 considering the hearing age, TH-HA) were analysed considering intonation features (pitch accent distribution, edge tones and inner breaks). Results show that children with CI produce intonation patterns that are similar to those of both TH-CA and TH-HA control groups. Few significant differences were found only between children with CI and children matched for TH-HA in the use of rising edge tones. These results are discussed in light of the role of cognitive development in using prosody and intonation and the importance of early CI implantation. This study shows for the first time that intonation use of early implanted children is not different from that of typically developing children with the same chronological age.

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Methylphenidate reduces orienting bias in healthy individuals

Journal of Psychopharmacology ◽

10.1177/0269881121996884 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 026988112199688

Author(s):

Leehe Peled-Avron ◽

Hagar Gelbard Goren ◽

Noa Brande-Eilat ◽

Shirel Dorman-Ilan ◽

Aviv Segev ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthy Subjects ◽

Asymmetric Effect ◽

Healthy Individuals ◽

Double Blind ◽

Spatial Orienting ◽

Individual Trait ◽

Neurological Patients ◽

Dopamine Signaling ◽

First Time ◽

Neural Effect

Background: Healthy individuals show subtle orienting bias, a phenomenon known as pseudoneglect, reflected in a tendency to direct greater attention toward one hemispace. Accumulating evidence indicates that this bias is an individual trait, and attention is preferentially directed contralaterally to the hemisphere with higher dopamine signaling. Administration of methylphenidate (MPH), a dopamine transporter inhibitor, was shown to normalize aberrant spatial attention bias in psychiatric and neurological patients, suggesting that the reduced orienting bias following administration of MPH reflects an asymmetric effect of the drug, increasing extracellular dopamine in the hemisphere with lower dopamine signaling. Aim: We predicted that, similarly to its effect on patients with brain pathology, MPH will reduce the orienting bias in healthy subjects. Methods: To test this hypothesis, we examined the behavioral effects of a single dose (20 mg) of MPH on orienting bias in 36 healthy subjects (18 females) in a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled, within-subject design, using the greyscales task, which has been shown to detect subtle attentional biases in both patients and healthy individuals. Results/outcomes: Results demonstrate that healthy individuals vary in both direction and magnitude of spatial orienting bias and show reduced magnitude of orienting bias following MPH administration, regardless of the initial direction of asymmetry. Conclusions/interpretations: Our findings reveal, for the first time in healthy subjects, that MPH decreases spatial orienting bias in an asymmetric manner. Given the well-documented association between orienting bias and asymmetric dopamine signaling, these findings also suggest that MPH might exert a possible asymmetric neural effect in the healthy brain.

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The holding temperature of blood during a delay to processing can affect serum and plasma protein measurements

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-85052-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Milton Ashworth ◽

Benjamin Small ◽

Lucy Oldfield ◽

Anthony Evans ◽

William Greenhalf ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthy Subjects ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Data Interpretation ◽

Blood Samples ◽

Specific Manner ◽

Associated Proteins ◽

Holding Temperature ◽

Pai 1 ◽

Meaningful Data

AbstractAccurate blood-borne biomarkers are sought for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment stratification. Consistent handling of blood is essential for meaningful data interpretation, however, delays during processing are occasionally unavoidable. We investigated the effects of immediately placing blood samples on ice versus room temperature for 1 h (reference protocol), and holding samples on ice versus room temperature during a 3 h delay to processing. Using Luminex multi-plex assays to assess cytokines (n = 29) and diabetes-associated proteins (n = 15) in healthy subjects, we observed that placing blood samples immediately on ice decreased the serum levels of several cytokines, including PAI-1, MIP1-β, IL-9, RANTES and IL-8. During a delay to processing, some analytes, e.g. leptin and insulin, showed little change in serum or plasma values. However, for approximately half of the analytes studied, a delay, regardless of the holding temperature, altered the measured levels compared to the reference protocol. Effects differed between serum and plasma and for some analytes the direction of change in level varied across individuals. The optimal holding temperature for samples during a delay was analyte-specific. In conclusion, deviations from protocol can lead to significant changes in blood analyte levels. Where possible, protocols for blood handling should be pre-determined in an analyte-specific manner.

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Trace elements in patients with aortic valve sclerosis

Therapeutic Advances in Cardiovascular Disease ◽

10.1177/1753944720985985 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

pp. 175394472098598

Author(s):

Hataw Al-Taesh ◽

Abuzer Çelekli ◽

Murat Sucu ◽

Seyithan Taysi

Keyword(s):

Trace Elements ◽

Aortic Valve ◽

Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽

Healthy Subjects ◽

Serum Zinc ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Control Group ◽

Aortic Valve Sclerosis ◽

Inductively Coupled ◽

Significant Difference

Background: Aortic valve sclerosis (AVSc) is defined as the thickening and calcification of aortic valve cusps, in the absence of obstruction of ventricular outflow. AVSc is linked with a clear imbalance in some trace elements. Aims: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between AVSc and serum levels of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), and copper (Cu). Additionally, this research aimed to explore the clinical significance of human serum zinc, selenium, copper, and iron concentrations as a potential new biomarker for AVSc patients and to clarify the pathophysiological role in individuals at risk of developing AVSc. Patients and methods: The study included 40 subjects with AVSc (25% male and 75% female) who were compared with a healthy control group with the same gender ratio. AVSc was based on comprehensive echocardiographic assessments. Blood samples were taken and Zn and Cu concentrations were determined through the use of atomic absorption spectroscopy. Se was measured using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry device and Fe was measured using a Beckman Coulter instrument. Results: There was a significant difference in the prevalence of diabetes, blood pressure levels, and body mass index between the patients and the healthy subjects ( p < 0.05). The differences between the serum Fe, Se, and Cu levels of the AVSc patients and the healthy subjects ( p > 0.05) were recorded. The serum Zn of AVSc patients when compared was significantly lower compared with that of the control group ( p < 0.01). Conclusion: Patients with AVSc had an imbalance in some of the trace elements in their blood. The patient group’s valves had higher serum Cu levels and lower serum Se, Zn, and Fe concentrations compared with the healthy group’s valves. In the valve patients as compared, AVSc had a high prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.

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Could KL-6 levels in COVID-19 help to predict lung disease?

Respiratory Research ◽

10.1186/s12931-020-01560-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

AN Frix ◽

L. Schoneveld ◽

A. Ladang ◽

M. Henket ◽

B. Duysinx ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lung Disease ◽

Healthy Subjects ◽

Lung Diseases ◽

Therapeutic Response ◽

Healing Process ◽

Response Prediction ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Interstitial Lung Diseases ◽

Type Ii Pneumocytes ◽

Epithelial Lesions

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease COVID-19 has become a public health emergency of international concern. Together with the quest for an effective treatment, the question of the post-infectious evolution of affected patients in healing process remains uncertain. Krebs von den Lungen 6 (KL-6) is a high molecular weight mucin-like glycoprotein produced by type II pneumocytes and bronchial epithelial cells. Its production is raised during epithelial lesions and cellular regeneration. In COVID-19 infection, KL-6 serum levels could therefore be of interest for diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic response evaluation. Materials and methods Our study retrospectively compared KL-6 levels between a cohort of 83 COVID-19 infected patients and two other groups: healthy subjects (n = 70) on one hand, and a heterogenous group of patients suffering from interstitial lung diseases (n = 31; composed of 16 IPF, 4 sarcoidosis, 11 others) on the other hand. Demographical, clinical and laboratory indexes were collected. Our study aims to compare KL-6 levels between a COVID-19 population and healthy subjects or patients suffering from interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). Ultimately, we ought to determine whether KL-6 could be a marker of disease severity and bad prognosis. Results Our results showed that serum KL-6 levels in COVID-19 patients were increased compared to healthy subjects, but to a lesser extent than in patients suffering from ILD. Increased levels of KL-6 in COVID-19 patients were associated with a more severe lung disease. Discussion and conclusion Our results suggest that KL-6 could be a good biomarker to assess ILD severity in COVID-19 infection. Concerning the therapeutic response prediction, more studies are necessary.

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Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) D Allele as a Risk Factor for Increase Serum Interleukin-6 and Interleukin-8 in Psoriasis Patients

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.3889/oamjms.2018.188 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (5) ◽

pp. 772-776 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ahmed I. Abd Elneam ◽

Mohammed Saleh Al-Dhubaibi ◽

Ali Ismaiel Ali Abd Alrheam

Keyword(s):

Risk Factor ◽

Healthy Subjects ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Converting Enzyme ◽

Inflammatory Skin Disease ◽

Ace Polymorphism ◽

Ace Gene ◽

Ace Gene Polymorphism ◽

The Relationship

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory skin disease. It is characterised by autoimmune, environmental factors and complex genetic disorder.AIM: To explore the role of IL-6, IL-8, and ACE I/D polymorphism in the pathogenesis of Psoriasis and investigation of the relationship between ACE polymorphism and occurrence of psoriasis.PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this study, we took 73 psoriasis patients and 47 healthy patients as a control. These two groups subjected to analysis for ACE gene I/D polymorphism by PCR and biochemical methods.RESULTS: The serum levels of ACE, IL-8 and IL-6 were statistically significantly higher in psoriasis patients compared to healthy subjects (P < 0.001). ID and DD polymorphism were more common in psoriasis patients than healthy subjects. Also, D allele was significantly over-represented in patients compared to controls (52.7% Vs 35.1%).CONCLUSION: ACE gene polymorphism might grant susceptibility to develop psoriasis.

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Effect of trans-chalcone on hepatic IL-8 through the regulation of miR-451 in male rats

Endocrine Regulations ◽

10.2478/enr-2018-0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 52 (1) ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Elham Karimi-Sales ◽

Sajad Jeddi ◽

Arshad Ghaffari-Nasab ◽

Mina Salimi ◽

Mohammad Reza Alipour

Keyword(s):

Serum Level ◽

Proinflammatory Cytokines ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Male Rats ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Qrt Pcr ◽

Group Control ◽

First Time ◽

Hepatic Level

Abstract Objective. Trans-chalcone is a chalcone with hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the mechanism of these positive effects, especially on miR-451 as an inflammatory regulator, is poorly understood. In this regard, this microRNA (miRNA) acts by inhibition of hepatic interleukin-8 (IL-8) production in the liver which is one of the main proinflammatory cytokines. Th is study for the first time examined the effect of trans-chalcone on miR-451/IL-8 pathway. Methods. In present study, 21 male rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=7 per each group): control which received solvent (NS), groups 2 (N2T) and 3 (N6T), which received transchalcone for 2 and 6 weeks, respectively. Hepatic level of miR-451 was measured by qRT-PCR. Serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) as well as hepatic level of IL-8 protein were measured. Results. Trans-chalcone decreased hepatic level of IL-8 protein and serum level of ALT aft er 2 weeks of treatment without significant change in hepatic miR-451. Moreover, it increased hepatic level of miR-451 and reduced hepatic IL-8 as well as AST and ALT aft er 6 weeks. Conclusion. Based on the results of present study, miR-451/IL-8 pathway is a possible mechanism for hepatoprotective action of trans-chalcone in long-term.

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