[Development of a rapid method for the detection of prostate-specific antigen by immunochromatography].

A single-step qualitative rapid test for the determination of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in samples of human blood serum by immunochromatography using a complex of colloidal gold with monoclonal antibodies to PSA as the detection agent was developed. The determination limit for PSA in serum blood samples is 10 ng/ml; the analysis time, 15-25 min; the sensitivity of the method, 100%; and its specificity, 92.5%.

[Markers of asbestos exposure in workers].

Examination covered 213 workers of asbestos technical ware plant. Standard X-ray examination no pulmonary and pleural changes were revealed. External respiration studies demonstrated moderate ventilation disorders in half of the examinees: in hardware workshop workers--restrictive type disorders, in autofriction components workshop workers--obstructive type ones with hyperventilation. Lower diffusing lung capacity in one-third of the workers in one of two autofriction components workshops proves most likely distributive disorders. Moderately increased serum alveolar mucin 3EG5 in 20% of the examinees could be a predictive criterion of slow formation of chisotyle pulmonary fibrosis.

[Leptin levels in patients with bronchial asthma and diabetes mellitus]. / Soderzhanie leptina u bol'nykh bronkhial'noi astmoi i sakharnym diabetom.

AIM: To estimate leptin production in long-term steroid therapy, insulin resistance and obesity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Leptin concentrations were measured with enzyme immunoassay in 101 patients with bronchial asthma and diabetes mellitus and 31 healthy controls with overweight. The mean age was 54.4 +/- 14.1 years in males and 56.8 +/- 12.1 years in females. The body mass index ranged from 18 to 47 kg/m2, while leptin varied from 0.1 to 105.8 ng/ml. RESULTS: Leptin was highest in patients with bronchial asthma and steroids-induced diabetes mellitus, lower in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 and obese controls while it was lowest in patients with atopic bronchial asthma. CONCLUSION: Steroids and insulin resistance participate in the regulation of leptin production. Steroids induce hyperleptinemia in vivo more intensively than insulin.

[Advantages of periodic medical examinations of asbestos plant workers at the Occupational Center]. / Preimushchestva provedeniia periodicheskogo meditsinskogo ostmotra rabochikh asbestovogo zavoda v usloviiakh proftsentra.

The article deals with results of periodic medical examination conducted in Regional Occupational Center MONICI for 90 subjects working in apparatus workshop of asbestos ware plant. Data presented are results of thorough evaluation of respiration biomechanics through electronic spirometry and body plethysmography, serum activity of interstitial alveolomucin 3EG5 and oncologic markers CA-125 and CA-15.3.

[Levels of mucin-antigen 3EG5 in the blood and bronchoalveolar swabs in patients with tuberculosis, sarcoidosis and fibrosing alveolitis]. / Soderzhanie mutsin-antigena 3EG5 v krovi i bronkhoal'veoliarnykh smyvakh u bol'nykh tuberkulezom, sarkoidozom i firbroziruiushchimi al'veolitami.

The levels of the antigen mucin 3EG5, a marker of the activity of interstitial lung diseases, were studied in the sera and bronchoalveolar swabs of patients with active tuberculosis, sarcoidosis of the respiratory organs, and idiopathic and exogenous allergic alveolitis. Its higher blood levels were detectable in patients with alveolitis (exogenous allergic ones to a greater extent) and absent in active tuberculosis and sarcoidosis. There was a correlation of the levels of the antigen mucin 3EG5 in the blood and bronchoalveolar swabs with the degree of lymphocytosis in the endopulmonal cytogram. The fact that there is a high variability of the blood levels of the antigen mucin 3EG5 in the range of nosological entities calls the differential diagnostic informative value of this parameter to question.

[Effectiveness of antiinflammatory therapy in patients with interstitial lung diseases using re-assay of biomarker mucin 3EG5]. / Otsenka éffektivnosti protivovospalitel'noi terapii u bol'nykh interstitsial'nymi zabolevaniiami legkikh pri pomoshchi povtornogo opredeleniia biomarkera mutsina 3EG5.

AIM: To investigate a potential of a new marker of activity of interstitial pulmonary diseases (IPD)--mucin 3EG5--in monitoring of effectiveness of the antiinflammatory therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum mucin antigen 3EG5 (glycolyl-sialylated glycoprotein) was assessed with sandwich immunoassay constructed using a monoclonal antibody 3E1.2 (Medical Innovations, Australia) and affinity-purified polyclonal antibody G5 (Xema, Russia) against total mucin antigen family. The level of serum 3EG5 was studied in 16 IPD patients (9 had idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and 7--chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis) before and after 6 months of immunosuppressive therapy. By changes in pulmonary function tests during 6 months of steroid treatment all the patients were divided into two groups: responders (a 15% increase in FVC, 20% increase in DLCO and reduction in the PA-aO2 of 5 mm Hg) and nonresponders (worsening or insignificant changes in these indices). RESULTS: In responders (n = 7) after treatment serum levels of 3EG5 fell from 230 +/- 97 to 88 +/- 40 units/ml (p < 0.01). In nonresponders serum 3EG5 was not different before and after therapy: 249 +/- 153 and 247 +/- 170 units/m, although in this group two patients with unchanged lung function showed a significant decrease in 3EG5, so the accuracy of changes in serum 3EG5 to reflect response to therapy was 88%. There was a significant difference between the posttreatment levels of 3EG5 of the two groups of patients (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Successive measurements of serum mucin 3EG5 may be used for monitoring of the response to immunosuppressive therapy in IPD patients.

[Pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with disseminated processes in the lungs]. / Legochnyi aspergillez u bol'nykh s disseminirovannymi protsessami v legkikh.

Sera of 30 patients with disseminated processes in the lungs of various etiology were examined for the presence of specific IgG to antigens of Aspergillus fumigatus (A.f.) and Candida albicans (C.a.) using solid phase enzyme immunoassay. Elevated concentrations of IgG to A. f. and C. a. were found in 6 and 12 patients, respectively. Serodiagnosis was confirmed by a direct detection of the fungi in the bronchi (cytology of the lavage, culturing). It is highly probable that opportunistic fungi may be involved in pulmonary dissemination. Therefore, patients with disseminated pulmonary diseases should be examined for opportunistic fungi.

[Development and use of a method of determination of specific immunoglobulin G based on immunoenzyme analysis in the diagnosis of pulmonary aspergillosis]. / Razrabotka i primenenie metoda opredeleniia spetsificheskogo immunoglobulina G na osnove immunofermentnogo analiza dlia diagnostiki aspergilleza legkikh.

Enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) was employed for determination of specific immunoglobulin G to Aspergillus fumigatus (A.f.). Culture filtrate of A.f. was used as antigen. Optimal conditions of ELISA were found. Serum of 138 asthmatic patients with total IgE level more than 500 PRU/ml were analysed for determining the limits of IgG to A.f. concentrations.

[Immunoglobulin E in ankylosing spondylarthritis]. / Immunoglobulin E pri ankiloziruiushchem spondiloartrite.

Ankylosing spondylarthritis (AS) patients (n-95) were examined for IgE concentrations using radioimmunoassay (commercial kits "Pharmacia"). Elevated IgE concentrations (greater than 100 Ku/l) were recorded in 16% out of 45 patients with central AS and in 40% out of 50 patients with peripheral AS (p less than 0.05). High IgE levels showed frequent association with a CIC rise and extraarticular manifestations (uveitis, focal nephritis). It is suggested that AS extraarticular signs arise in response to vascular affection due to IgE overproduction and formation of IgE-containing immune complexes.

[A new Soviet allergen made from bee venom for the specific diagnosis of allergic reactions to bee stings]. / Novyi otechestvennyi allergen iz iada pchel dlia spetsificheskoi diagnostiki allergicheskikh reaktsii na uzhaleniia pchelami.

Overall 46 patients with allergic reactions to bee stings were examined. As a result of making skin prick, scarification and intracutaneous tests with an allergen from bee venom, allergy to bee stings was revealed in all the 46 patients, whereas only 37 patients responded to an allergen from the bee body. Specific IgE-antibodies using RAST were detected in 29 out of 31 patients. All the 29 patients had positive skin tests with an allergen from bee venom and only 22 with an allergen from the bee body. Specific histamine release was detected in all 13 patients examined by means of the indicated test. 100% coincidence was recorded with the results of intracutaneous tests with an allergen from bee venom. Only 11 out of the 13 patients had positive intracutaneous tests with an allergen from the bee body. Thus, the new Soviet allergen obtained from bee venom is effective in the diagnosis of allergy in response to bee stings.

[The use of monoclonal antibodies with human IgE for determining the level of allergen-specific IgE]. / Ispol'zovanie monoklonal'nykh antitel k IgE cheloveka dlia opredeleniia urovnia allergenspetsificheskogo IgE.

The possibility of using monoclonal antibodies to human IgE, obtained in our laboratory, with the aim to determine allergen-specific IgE in the radioallergosorbent test (RAST), the enzyme immunoassay and the radioimmunoassay has been studied. The results obtained with the use of the standard RAST system (manufactured by Pharmacia, Sweden) and different variants of assay based on the use of our antibodies, labeled with 125I or conjugated with peroxidase, and timothy pollen allergen (obtained from the Stavropol Research Institute for Vaccines and Sera) have been compared. The best results have been obtained with anti-IgE antibodies 11-2, but for working out our assay systems it is necessary to develop our own standards and control limits.

[The treatment of infectious-allergic bronchial asthma by the extracorporeal connection of a donor spleen]. / Lechenie infektsionno-allergicheskoi bronkhial'noi astmy metodom ékstrakorporal'nogo podkliucheniia donorskoi selezenki.

A total of 25 patients suffering from infective allergic bronchial asthma underwent extracorporeal connection of the donor's spleen (ECCDS). Before ECCDS was made the health status was unstable in all the patients, with asphyxia attacks occurring fairly often, namely up to 12 times a day. Nine patients received the maintenance therapy with steroid hormones. After ECCDS 23 persons (92%) manifested complete disappearance of asphyxia attacks or considerable abatement of their severity and rate. In all the steroid-dependent patients, the daily dosage of steroids could be lowered, while in 3 patients, hormonal drugs were afterwards discontinued. Examination of external respiratory function demonstrated the improvement of bronchial patency at the level of large, medium-size and small bronchi. There was a decrease of the concentration of the circulating immune complexes and IgE in the blood plasma. During 2 years of the follow up, 16 patients did not show any disease relapses, whereas the remainder demonstrated less gravity of attacks as compared to the period preceding the use of ECCDS. It is concluded that the use of ECCDS is desirable in the multimodality treatment of infective allergic bronchial asthma.

[The clinical use of immunosorption: problems and perspectives]. / Klinicheskoe primenenie immunosorbtsii: problemy i perspektivy.

The data concerning clinical use of extracorporeal immunoadsorption are summarized. At present, broad use of this therapeutic approach is hampered by several technological and medical problems such as incomplete biocompatibility of carrier, pyrogenic reactions, ligand "leakage" and rebound phenomena. However, the technology of ex vivo removal is much more developed, than the fundamental knowledge of relevant target substance to be removed in specific clinical situation. The appropriate denomination of such "targets" should provide this method with a wide application field in clinical medicine.

[Clinical immunosorbents on a basis of polymeric matrices]. / Klinicheskie immunosorbenty na osnove polimernykh matrits.

Immobilization of anti-IgE on space-network polymers containing aliphatic amino- and hydrazido groups as a way of producing clinical immunosorbents has been studied. Influence of active group concentration on the specific activity of the immobilized antibodies and sorption dynamics of IgE from plasma of patents are investigated. Immunosorbents can be sterilized by gamma-irradiation without any loss of capacity. It is shown that the immunosorbents can be reused after regeneration. Basing on the results obtained, acrylonitrile- divinylbenzene copolymer with hydrazido groups is considered as the most perspective for production of clinical immunosorbents.