In a previous study (see Ref.7), the molecular weight distribution of inhibin activity in fractionated human follicular fluid (hFF) and human male and female plasma/serum was determined by in vitro bioassay using ovine pituitary cells in culture and various specific inhibin A and inhibin alpha-subunit-directed immunoassays. It was shown, however, that the ovine in vitro bioassay detected inhibi...

OBJECTIVE The etiology and pathogenesis of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) are unclear. Chronic inflammation is considered the main pathology of IC/BPS. This study measured the serum c-reactive protein (CRP), nerve growth factor (NGF) and pro-inflammatory cytokine/chemokine interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-8 expression in patients with IC/BPS...

Cell biology methods have greatly influenced the elucidation of the biosynthetic pathways of apolipoproteins. In vitro and tissue culture systems allow the study, to a large extent, of the process of synthesis, intracellular processing, secretion, and extracellular processing of the major high density lipoprotein apoproteins apoA-I and A-II and also of a minor component, apoA-IV. Whereas the la...

Oxidative stress affects clinical outcome in patients with ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (STE-ACS). Although high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles are generally considered protective, deleterious properties of HDL have been observed in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Here, we analysed the association between pro-oxidant HDL and all-cause mortality in STE-ACS patients. We de...

We recently characterized a novel heart-specific hormone from salmon (salmon cardiac peptide, sCP). We have now prepared a recombinant plasmid expressing the NH(2)-terminal fragment of pro-sCP (NT-pro-sCP) and used it to set up a specific RIA for the peptide. Because of the sensitivity of the assay and the high circulating levels, NT-pro-sCP can be measured from as little as 2 microl of serum. ...

Purpose . Conduct extended analysis of cytokine status and its role in inflammatory processes uveal melanoma based on multiplex blood serum. Patients methods Immunological studies serum lacrimal fluid were performed 80 patients with 38 healthy donors (control group). The average age the surveyed was 53.7 ± 12.2 years. Group 1 included 32 small-sized choroidal (T1NoMo), group 2 consisted 26 medi...

To the Editor: Whether serum or plasma is the best specimen for determination of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) is a matter of debate, as are the influences of sample collection and processing on MMP concentrations (1–3). MMP-2 concentrations do not differ significantly in plasma and serum, whereas MMP-9 concentrations are significantly higher in serum than in plasma, and in plasma differentl...