ABSTRACT
Objectives: To examine whether signs of an active human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection are present in affected joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Method: Polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNLs) were obtained from synovial fluid (SF) of 17 RA patients and were analysed for HCMV-pp65 and HCMV-immediate early (IE) proteins using the antigenemia assay. Peripheral blood (PB) and SF obtained from these 17 patients and from 17 additional RA patients (n = 34) were tested for HCMV-IE and pp150 DNA with Taqman polymerase chain reaction. Plasma samples from the patients were analysed for HCMV-immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and compared to 71 healthy gender-matched blood donors.Results: HCMV-pp65 protein was detected in 65% of synovial PMNL samples, but in only 18% of PMNLs from PB. In contrast, HCMV IE protein was not found in any of the analysed PMNL samples. On the DNA level, HCMV-IE and pp150 DNA was detected in SF of 13/32 (41%) and 14/23 (61%) of RA patients, respectively. HCMV-IE and pp150 DNA was also found in 24/33 (73%) and in 16/24 (67%) of PB samples obtained from RA patients, respectively. HCMV IgG seroprevalence was 76% in RA patients as well as in healthy controls, while only one RA patient was positive for specific IgM.Conclusions: HCMV pp65 antigen was found in PMNLs from SF of RA patients, indicating an active infection in the affected joint. Future studies are needed to determine whether HCMV infection can aggravate the inflammatory process in these patients.
Subject(s)
Arthritis, Rheumatoid/virology , Cytomegalovirus/isolation & purification , Neutrophils/virology , Female , Humans , Immunoglobulin G , Male , Synovial Membrane/virology , Viral Matrix ProteinsABSTRACT
Neutrophil-gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a biomarker of acute kidney injury. The aim of this study was to define a cut-off for NGAL in the early diagnosis of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients with normal kidney function. We enrolled 121 patients with normal serum creatinine who underwent coronary angiography. NGAL was measured in urine before the procedure and 12 and 24 h afterward. CIN was defined as a 0.3 mg/dl increase in serum creatinine within 48 h after the procedure. Seven of 121 patients had CIN (5.8%). The NGAL levels in the 12- and 24-h urine samples of these patients were 30 (5-45) and 20 (15-40) ng/ml, respectively, whereas those in patients without CIN were 15 (5-45) and 15 (10-51) ng/ml, respectively (P = 0.8). In patients with CIN, the sensitivity and specificity of NGAL with a cut-off of 22.5 ng/ml were 71.4% and 57.9% in 12-h urine samples, with the negative predictive values (NPV) and positive predictive values (PPV) of 97.1% and 9.4%, respectively. In conclusion, we suggest that urine NGAL with cut-off point of 22.5 ng/ml has acceptable sensitivity and specificity for early diagnosis of CIN in patients with normal serum creatinine, but regarding NPV and PPV the best performance of this value is to rule out the CIN in patients at risk who received contrast media.
ABSTRACT
The hypernetted chain and Percus-Yevick approximations are used to study the phase diagram of a simple hard-core Yukawa model of charge-stabilized colloidal particles in a two-dimensional system. We calculate the static structure factor and the pair distribution function over a wide range of parameters. Using static correlation functions, we present an estimate for the liquid-solid phase diagram for a wide range of parameters.
ABSTRACT
The hypernetted chain approximation is used to study the phase diagram of a simple hardcore Yukawa model of a charge-stabilized colloids. We calculate the static structure factor, the pair distribution function, and the collective mode energies over a wide range of parameters, and the results are used for studying the freezing transition of the system. The resulting phase diagram is in good agreement with the known estimates and the Monte Carlo simulations.
