Change of serum transferrin receptor due to malarial infection, an experiment in Plasmodium gallinaceum infected chicken model.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: The serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) concentration in an individual reflects the extent of erythropoietic activity and is considered as an useful marker of iron deficiency independent of concurrent inflammation or infection. However, data on the impact of malaria on this parameter are ambiguous. METHODS: Here we performed an animal experiment to study the chronological change of serum transferrin receptor due to infection of Plasmodium gallinaceum. In this pilot study, we performed control experimental infection of P. gallinaceum to four newborn chicken from the same batch. We collected the venous blood samples from all chicken on Day 7 and 14. All samples were analysed for sTfR level by the immunoturbidimetric assay. RESULTS: The average level of sTfR level of the control chicken was 1.24 +/- 1.58 mg/L (range 0.18 to 3.52 mg/L). The average level of sTfR level of the experimental chicken on Day 7 was 5.42 +/- 2.19 mg/L (range 3.22 to13.94 mg/L). CONCLUSION: Although the trend of increase was observed but no significance was observed (p > 0.05). The results from this pilot study can be a good basic data for the further study in this area.

Expected value of serum soluble transferrin receptor, erythropoietin and ferritin and their correlation among healthy non-anemic Thai children.

Transferrin receptor (TfR) is a glycoprotein which mediates the entry of ferric transferrin from the extracellular compartment into the cells. The measurement of sTfR has become a widely used tool in assessing erythropoiesis but its use has mainly been restricted to research laboratory settings. In Thailand, there are only a few reports concerning the sTfR. The authors studied the expected value of sTFR as well as other basic parameters for monitoring of erythropoiesis as erythropoietin (EPO) and ferritin among a sample of non-anemic healthy Thai children. In addition, correlation was done between each pair of studied parameters. Expected range for sTfR level for the healthy controls in this study was 1.761 to 2.034 mg/L. Expected range for serum EPO level for the healthy controls in this study was 19.445 to 34.176 mU/ml. Expected range for serum ferritin level for the healthy control from this study was 67.895 to 96.692 ng/ml. Of interest, poor correlation among the three studied parameters, sTfR, serum EPO and serum ferritin was observed in this study.

Evaluation of the Sysmex UF-100 automated urinalysis analyzer and comparative study with JCCLS reference method.

Microscopic urine sediment analysis has been accepted as the mainstay test for examining urine cells and particles. Although it provides essential information for clinicians about disease states in the patients, it is a high-volume and laborious procedure. Therefore, an automated analyzer was developed recently and has just been introduced to Thailand. In this study, the authors evaluated the analytical performance of this new automated urine analyze. Also a comparative study was performed between the UF-100 test results and those of JCCLS reference method. In evaluation of the Sysmex UF-100 automated urinalysis analyzer, both precision and linearity studies were performed. Between-run CVs for RBCs (mean = 182.46/microl), WBCs (mean = 193.37/microl), ECs (mean = 70.05/microl) and casts (mean = 12.21/microl) were 7.74 per cent, 5.52 per cent, 21.32 per cent and 7.69 per cent, respectively. Concerning the within-run CVs for the RBC analysis, the CV ranged from 16.28 per cent for low numbers of RBCs (35.67/microl) to 2.93 per cent at RBC concentrations (712.13/microl). Concerning within-run precision for the WBC analysis, the CV ranged from 22.31 per cent for low numbers of WBCs (WBCs 12.53/microl) to 2.07 per cent at a WBC count of 211.01/microl. Within-run precision ranged from 11.36 per cent at 24.99 ECs/microl to 6.18 per cent at 53.08 ECs/microl. Within-run precision for casts varied from 35 per cent for samples with 1.33 casts/microl to 12.38 per cent for samples with 4927.35 casts/microl. From the comparative study, good agreements (p < 0.05) were obtained between UF-100 and JCCLS reference method for RBCs counts (p = 0.000, r = 0.974) and WBCs counts (p = 0.000, r = 0.913). However, fair agreement (p > 0.05) was obtained between UF-100 and JCCLS reference method for ECs counts (p = 0.017, r = 0.212) and casts counts (p = 0.624, r = 0.044). In conclusion, the UF-100 analyzer is a new useful analyzer although it cannot be a substitute for microscopic sediment examination.