ABSTRACT
Antibodies to whole pigeon serum (PS) and pigeon dropping extract (PDE) were investigated in pigeon breeders and controls by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The optimal antigen concentration was in the range of 3-30 microgram protein/ml for both PS and PDE. PDE antibody titres greater than or equal to 10240 were found in three (75%) of four patients with pigeon breeders' disease (PBD) and in 19 (13.6%) of 140 other pigeon breeders (P = 0.011). PS antibody titres greater than or equal to 10240 occurred in all four (100%) PBD patients and in only seven (5.0%) of 140 other breeders (P = 0.0002). In 85 blood donors antibodies in low titres against PS and PDE occurred in 4.7% and 7.1%, respectively. By immunodiffusion three or more precipitin lines were found more often in PBD patients than in other breeders (P = 0.0006), and the highest ELISA antibody titres occurred in patients with precipitating antibodies. No correlation between P blood group phenotypes or anti-P1 antibodies and respiratory symptoms or antibodies to pigeon antigens could be demonstrated.
Subject(s)
Alveolitis, Extrinsic Allergic/immunology , Antibodies/analysis , Bird Fancier's Lung/immunology , Columbidae/immunology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Animals , Antigen-Antibody Reactions , Breeding , Cough/immunology , Dyspnea/immunology , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , P Blood-Group System/immunologyABSTRACT
The activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was measured in pleural fluid (PACE) and serum (SACE) from 25 patients with pleural effusion due to cancer or non-malignant diseases. In all patients SACE was within normal limits. One patient with a rheumatic pleuritis had a PACE/SACE ratio greater than 3.0, but among the remaining 24 patients PACE was 12.1 +/- 6.5 U/ml (mean +/- 1 SD), and SACE was 21.9 +/- 6.4 U/ml (P less than 0.005), with a PACE/SACE ratio of 0.58 +/- 0.31. SACE and PACE were positively correlated in patients with exudative pleuritis (P less than 0.01). In hydrothorax due to congestive heart failure a very low PACE/SACE ratio was found. Enzyme activity or ratio was correlated to protein content (P less than 0.02) but not to aetiology of pleural effusion, presence of malignant cells, leucocyte- pr erythrocyte content. In general, measureable CE activity can be detected in pleural fluid, but this finding seems at present to have no clinical significance in these conditions.
Subject(s)
Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/metabolism , Pleural Effusion/enzymology , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/blood , Pleurisy/bloodABSTRACT
Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (SACE) was studied in a group of 29 sarcoidosis patients (among whom five had uveitis) and in 22 patients with non-sarcoid uveitis. SACE was normal in all non-sarcoid patients and elevated in 62 per cent of the patients with sarcoidosis. Thus an elevated SACE is closely linked to sarcoidosis and may be a valuable tool in evaluating patients with uveitis in search of a sarcoid origin.
