Significant increases in monocyte counts and serum creatine kinase in acute myocardial infarction versus general infections.

Background: Biomarkers specificity is an important factor for their reliable utilization. Known markers for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), including creatine kinase (CK), C-reactive protein (CRP), and blood cell counts are thought to be altered in other pathologic conditions, such as infections. Aim: To compare the level of these biomarkers in AMI patients and infected controls with respect to normal subjects. Materials and Methods: We recruited 15 AMI patients, 15 patients with bacterial infections (infected control group) and 35 normal subjects. Peripheral blood samples were obtained for blood cell counts and biochemical analyses. Results: Only monocytes were significantly increased in AMI patients (0.793 × 10 9 /L) than normal controls (0.497 × 10 9 /L). Infected controls showed a significant increase in total white blood cell (11.50 × 10 9 /L versus 6.149 × 10 9 /L) and neutrophil (9.360 versus 3.223 × 10 9 /L) counts and a significant decrease in red blood cell (3.750 versus 5.105 × 10 12 /L) counts as compared with normal controls. Serum CK was significantly increased in AMI patients (313.20 ± 94.84 U/L) and decreased in infected controls (48.40 ± 10.35 U/L) as compared with normal controls (100.82 ± 8.86 U/L). The levels of CRP were significantly higher in infected controls (136.93 ± 34.83 mg/L) and nonsignificantly higher in AMI patients (38.53 ± 12.76 mg/L) than normal controls (3.48 ± 0.59 mg/L). Monocytes were significantly correlated with both CK and CRP; however, there was no correlation between CK and CRP. Conclusion: Differential trends of monocytes and CK in AMI and infective controls point toward their possible application in prognosis of AMI patients.

Experimental murine schistosomiasis mansoni: hyperplasia of the mono-macrophage cell lineage and stimulation of myeloid proliferation by peripheral macrophages

1. Normal and schistosome-infected mice were similar in terms of the total number of bone marrow myeloide cell precursors and their proliferative capacity in vitro when stimulated with supernatants ofL-929 cells containing M-CSF. 2. Delayed differentiation of bone marrow m=neutrophil granulocytes and blood monocytosis of infected animals were consistent with a modification in the differentiation of bone marrow myeloid precursors, favoring the production of a mono-macrophage cell lineage. 3. Macrophages isolated from periovular franulomas secreted a considerable stimulatory activity for the proliferation of the mono-macrophagic cell lineage, whereas peritoneal macrophages from the same animals had only a very low stimulatory activity. 4. We conclude that systemic hyperplasia of mono-macrophagic cells in schistomiasis may be relatted to their increased release from the bone marrow and to their peripheral amplification in inflammatory tissue infiltrate as consequence of the local production of stimulatory activity for their proliferation