Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The approach to testing for tuberculosis depends on whether the aim is to diagnose active disease or latent infection. if active disease is suspected, it is important to identify the site of disease. Analysis of sputum specimens for mycobacteria should precede other tests. An infection should never be diagnosed as latent until active disease...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate an interferon (IFN)-gamma release assay in diagnosing latent tuberculosis infection in pregnant adolescents and women at risk for exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. METHODS This was a prospective study of women and adolescents receiving health care at Bellevue Hospital Outpatient Clinics in New York City. Each patient was assessed for M tuberculosis risk factors, ha...

Current diagnostic tests for tuberculosis (TB) are not able to distinguish active disease from latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, nor are they able to quantify the risk of a latently infected person progressing to active TB. There is interest, however, in adapting antigen-specific gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) release assays (IGRAs) to predict disease outcome. In this study, we used th...

Human gamma interferon (HuIFN gamma) was evaluated for its effects on the release from human peripheral blood T lymphocytes (greater than 98% pure) stimulated by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) of activities that can stimulate granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) colonies and clusters, erythroid (BFU-E) bursts, and mixed (CFU-GEMM) colonies. T lymphocytes did not release these activities in the absence of ...

background: interactions of free radicals from ionizing radiation with dna can induce dna damage and lead to mutagenesis and carsinogenesis. with respect to radiation damage to human, it is important to protect humans from side effects induced by ionizing radiation. in the present study, the effects of arbutin were investigated by using the micronucleus test for anti-clastogenic activity, to ca...

In experimental membranous nephropathy, complement C5b-9-induced glomerular epithelial cell (GEC) injury leads to morphological changes in GEC and proteinuria, in association with phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) activation. The present study addresses the role of calcium-independent PLA(2) (iPLA(2)) in GEC injury. iPLA(2)beta short and iPLA(2)gamma were expressed in cultured rat GEC and normal rat ...