Serum levels of psoriasin (S100A7) and koebnerisin (S100A15) as potential markers of atherosclerosis in patients with psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasin (S100A7) and koebnerisin (S100A15) are proinflammatory proteins upregulated in psoriasis, but their relation to atherosclerosis remains unclear. AIM: To evaluate the role of serum psoriasin and koebnerisin as possible markers for subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with psoriasis. METHODS: Serum levels of psoriasin and koebnerisin were measured by ELISA in 45 patients with psoriasis and in 45 healthy controls (HCs). Intima-media thickness (IMT) of the right and left common carotid arteries was measured to detect the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis. Clinical severity of psoriasis was estimated using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). RESULTS: Compared with HCs, patients with psoriasis had significantly higher levels of psoriasin (26.61 ± 22.45 ng/mL vs. 6.31 ± 1.68 ng/mL, P < 0.001) and koebnerisin (21.2 ± 13.12 ng/mL vs. 12.2 ± 4.67 ng/mL, P = 0.001), and significantly higher IMT values (1.07 ± 0.4 mm vs. 0.61 ± 0.1 mm, P < 0.001). A positive correlation was observed between IMT and PASI (r = 0.78, P < 0.001), serum psoriasin (r = 0.48, P > 0.01) and serum koebnerisin (r = 0.48, P < 0.01). Patients with psoriasis with subclinical atherosclerosis had higher serum levels of koebnerisin compared with patients without subclinical atherosclerosis (P = 0.04), which was not observed for psoriasin (P = 0.94). CONCLUSION: Serum psoriasin and koebnerisin correlate with IMT, underlining their value as a potential link between psoriasis and atherosclerosis. In particular, koebnerisin seems to be a useful marker of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with psoriasis.

Histological alterations in Leydig cells and macrophages in azoospermic men.

The study aimed to compare the histological features of Leydig cells and macrophages in the testicular interstitium of obstructive versus nonobstructive azoospermia. Thirty-nine azoospermic men undergoing testicular sperm extraction during intracytoplasmic sperm injection were allocated into obstructive azoospermia group (GI) and nonobstructive azoospermia group (GII) which was subdivided into Sertoli cell-only syndrome (GIIA), germ cell arrest (GIIB) and hypospermatogenesis (GIIC) subgroups. Serum LH, FSH and testosterone levels were measured. Ultrastructural changes and the mean number of CD68-positive cells were estimated in the different groups. In GIIA, Leydig cells' processes came in contact with macrophages and showed smooth endoplasmic reticulum dilatation. In GIIB, Leydig cells showed apoptotic changes. Macrophages were commonly encountered in their vicinity demonstrating large number of lysosomes. In GIIC, Leydig cells showed euchromatic nuclei. Macrophages showed expulsion of their lysosomal contents in the interstitium surrounded by apoptotic bodies. The mean count of total CD68-positive macrophages was higher in cases of obstructive azoospermia with nonsignificant differences compared to nonobstructive azoospermia groups. Significant increase in FSH level was detected in GIIA compared to GI. It is concluded that structural interactions might take place between Leydig cells and macrophages in the interstitial tissue of azoospermic men.

Erectile dysfunction in chronic renal failure patients undergoing hemodialysis in Egypt.

In clinical practice, the attention given to sexual problems in patients with end-stage renal disease is low. In order to evaluate the erectile function in chronic renal failure patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) as a renal replacement therapy in upper Egypt, we used the abridged version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5). In all, 75 HD patients were subjected to clinical and laboratory investigations. The controls were 948 healthy males representing the general Egyptian population. The prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) among the HD patients was 82.5% compared to 30% among controls. The prevalence of ED in HD group was significantly higher than in controls. The prevalence of ED in HD patients <50 y was 80% and it was 88% in those > or =50 y, while the prevalence of ED among controls was 28 and 69.8%, respectively. The prevalence of severe degree of ED was significantly higher in both groups compared to controls, while moderate degree of ED showed a statistical significance compared to controls in age groups <50 y and mild degree of ED showed a statistical significance compared to controls in age groups > or =50 y. [corrected] Age (r=-0.3368, P<0.01), serum urea (r=-0.5974, P<0.001), and creatinine level (r=-0.5804, P<0.001) have a significant negative correlation with the presence of ED among HD patients, while serum hemoglobin (r=0.3396, P<0.001) and years of HD age (r=0.3147, P<0.01) have a significant positive correlation with the presence of ED among the HD patients. In view of the observed high prevalence of ED among the HD patients, we believe that a complete health evaluation of male HD patients should include a discussion about erectile function in the standard clinical care program of patients with renal disease.

Chronic diazinon exposure: pathologies of spleen, thymus, blood cells, and lymph nodes are modulated by dietary protein or lipid in the mouse.

Little is known about the immunotoxicity of the organophosphate pesticide, diazinon. This study aims at detailing the pathologies in the thymus, spleen, blood cells, and lymph nodes (brachial, mesenteric, and hind quarter gluteal nodes) during chronic oral exposure (300 mg diazinonkg-1 food for 45 days), and explore the combined toxicity with excess dietary protein (40%) or lipid (20% corn oil). Animals were allowed to recover on normal food for 2 weeks. All experimental treatments caused organ pathologies, including necrotic degeneration of the trabeculae (spleen and thymus), hyperplasia of the cortex and medulla (thymus and lymph nodes), hyperplasia of white and red pulp (spleen), and sometimes haemorrhage (all tissues). Blood smears often showed crenated/hypochromic red cells and vacuolated white cells with abnormal nuclei. The severity of lesions during exposure was generally in the following order: lipid

Quality control of reactive oxygen species measurement by luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay.

A total of 28 donor semen samples were used to evaluate the characteristics of laboratory variability in measuring reactive oxygen species (ROS). The objectives of this study were to assess the interassay (same sample observed on different days by the same observers) variability; interdonor, intraobserver (replications of the same sample on the same day) variability; and interobserver (multiple observers on the same day with the same sample) variability of the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay and to establish an optimal semen age and sperm concentration. Semen samples were collected from 6 healthy donors for 108 measures of ROS. ROS levels were measured by the assay using luminol as the probe. An additional assessment measured the effect of time (age of the sample) on ROS production in 12 donor samples at 60, 120, 180, and 240 minutes after the specimen was produced. Last, to evaluate the effect of sperm concentration on ROS production, ROS levels were measured in 10 donor sample aliquots with sperm concentrations ranging from 1 to 120 x 10(6)/mL. In the controls, the mean ROS level was 0.218 x 10(6) counted photons per minute; the interassay variability standard deviation (SD) was 0.077. The interobserver SD was 0.002 for an interobserver reliability of 97.5% (coefficient of variation [CV] = 0.9%). The intraobserver (between replication) SD was 0.001 for an intraobserver reliability of 98.7% (CV = 0.5%). The interassay SD was 0.005 for an interassay reliability of 93.8% (CV = 2.0%). There was no statistically significant interobserver, intraobserver, or interassay variation (P > .80). ROS levels decreased significantly with time; a dramatic decline in ROS production was seen in the specimens that were more than 60 minutes old (P < .001). ROS values decreased by 31% at 120 minutes and 62% at 180 minutes compared with the 60-minute-old specimens. A linear relationship was seen between the ROS levels and sperm concentration in 8 of the 10 samples analyzed (R2 = .99). Our results demonstrate that the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay for ROS measurement is both accurate and reliable when the sperm concentration is greater than 1 x 10(5)/mL and the samples are analyzed within the first hour after specimen collection.

Characteristics of cryopreserved semen from men with lymphoma.

PURPOSE: This study compared the pretreatment semen quality in patients with Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with a group of healthy donors. We also examined the differences in prefreeze and postthaw semen quality among the different stages of Hodgkin's disease. METHODS: The study included 89 patients with Hodgkin's disease, 18 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and 50 healthy sperm donors. RESULTS: In patients with Hodgkin's disease, the prefreeze and postthaw semen characteristics were significantly lower than those of the healthy donors. Similar results also were seen in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. No significant differences in the prefreeze semen quality were seen in patients with different stages of cancer. CONCLUSION: Patients with Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in our study had poor semen quality when compared with healthy donors both before and after cryopreservation. As cancer therapy significantly impairs reproductive potential, sperm banking should be offered to these men before the start of their therapy.