Human class I major histocompatibility complex allele HLA-B27 is associated with a group of human diseases called "spondyloarthropathies." Studies on transgenic rats expressing HLA-B27 and human beta 2-microglobulin have confirmed the role of HLA-B27 in disease pathogenesis. Here we report spontaneous inflammatory arthritis in HLA-B27 transgenic mice lacking beta 2-microglobulin (B27+ beta 2m-/...

AIM To determine the presence and nature of amyloid in prostatic corpora amylacea using immunohistological studies. METHODS Prostatic tissue from 18 transurethral and two open resection specimens was studied. Paraffin wax embedded tissue sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin and the alkaline Congo red method with and without previous treatment with potassium permanganate. Sections...

Three patients receiving long term haemodialysis treatment for chronic renal failure due to non-amyloid nephropathy developed the carpal tunnel syndrome requiring decompression surgery. The excised material contained amyloid, which by immunocytochemical techniques was shown to contain beta 2 microglobulin. This is, therefore, a new chemical form of amyloid whose deposition is likely to be the c...

The study investigated the association between disease activity and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)-D3), B cell activation of the tumor necrosis factor family (BAFF), or β2 microglobulin in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome (SS). Sixty-nine primary SS patients and 22 sicca control patients were included in the study. Disease activity was measured with EULAR Sjogren's syndrome disease ...

INTRODUCTION Little is known about systemic B-cell activation in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We therefore evaluated the serum levels of markers of B-cell activation in patients included in the ESPOIR early arthritis cohort. METHODS In the ESPOIR early arthritis cohort (at least 2 swollen joints for more than 6 weeks but less than 6 months), 710 patients were assessed at 1 year and either...

It has previously been shown that granite workers with heavy exposure to silica had glomerular and proximal tubular dysfunction evidenced by increased urinary excretions of albumin, alpha-1-microglobulin (AMG), and beta-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase (NAG). The investigation was replicated in another group of granite workers to further elucidate the exposure effect relation. The urinary excretion of ...

Prognosis of DLCL patients is variable and associated with well-defined risk factors. In the past decade several pretreatment variables have been incorporated into prognostic models to predict the death risk of individual patients. The International Prognostic Index (IPI), developed in an international consensus study, has been one of the most widely accepted of these models. In our study we ap...

The aim of this study is to evaluate serum beta 2-microglobulin and neopterin levels in children with febrile illness and to clarify their relation to influenza and febrile seizures (FS). We studied 34 patients with febrile illness whose age was between 1 and 6 years. Influenza A antigen in the throat swab was positive in 17 patients (Flu group) and was negative in 17 (control group). Serum lev...