Tissue-type plasminogen activator in plasma from breast cancer patients determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against t-PA was used to measure the concentration of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) in plasma from 34 healthy donors and 92 breast cancer patients with a varying extent of disease. The mean value of t-PA in plasma for the healthy donors was 2.4 +/- 2.1 ng ml-1 (s.d.). The mean value for the breast cancer patients was 5.3 +/- 4.3 ng ml-1. This increase was statistically significant at the 1% level. There was a positive correlation between the mean t-PA plasma concentration and the extent of disease in different groups of patients. Taking 5.0 ng ml-1 as cut-off point, about 40% of the patients were positive, and 6% of the normal controls were false positive. Twenty-five per cent of the patients in complete remission, 28% of the patients with minimal tumour burden, 60% of the patients with moderate tumour burden, and 90% of the patients with massive tumour burden were positive. It is possible that the patients with an elevated plasma t-PA represent a group with a particularly bad prognosis.

Elemental diet: a therapeutic approach in chronic inflammatory bowel disease.

The therapeutic effect of an elemental diet (Pepti 2000) and blended normal diet (placebo) was investigated in 43 out-patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); 24 with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 19 with Crohn's disease (CD), in a mild to moderate state of disease activity. A pilot study on healthy volunteers was executed to investigate palatability of the two diets. The patients were randomized in a double-blind study to the two diet regimes for 14 d. A simultaneous determination of laboratory data including plasma C3c split product and urinary excretion of 51Cr-EDTA was carried out together with a careful registration of the clinical symptoms and signs. No significant effect on the stage of clinical activity was seen in CD. A significant effect on clinical activity was obtained in both UC groups. The clinical improvement was primarily due to a decrease in number of bowel movements both in the elemental diet group and in the group of patients on the blended normal diet. The gross appearance of rectal mucosa did not improve during the study period in the Pepti 2000 or in the placebo group. The concentration of complement split products in plasma remained unchanged. 51Cr-EDTA excretion, as an expression of a leaky bowel mucosa, also remained unchanged. It was concluded that an effect on inflammation could not be demonstrated even if both diets seem to have a beneficial effect on the stage of clinical activity, especially diarrhoea, in patients with UC.

Sensitive and specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for urokinase-type plasminogen activator and its application to plasma from patients with breast cancer.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the measurement of human urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) in plasma and serum. Microtiter plates were coated with a monoclonal antibody and incubated with standard or sample. Bound u-PA was quantitated with polyclonal antibodies conjugated with biotin, followed by avidin-peroxidase. The assay was 10 times as sensitive as previously reported immunoassays, the detection limit being approximately 1 pg u-PA in a volume of 100 microliter, with a linear dose-response up to 15 pg u-PA. The assay detected active u-PA and its inactive proenzyme form equally well, and the recovery of both forms was higher than 90% in plasma. It also detected u-PA complexed with plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1. Various structurally related proteins, including t-PA, were tested, but no reaction was observed with proteins other than u-PA and its amino-terminal fragment. The intra-assay and interassay coefficients of variation for determination of u-PA in plasma were 7.6% and 8.4%, respectively. The ELISA was used to measure the concentration of u-PA in plasma from 34 healthy donors and 92 patients with breast cancer with a varying extent of disease. The mean value for the healthy donors was 1.1 +/- 0.3 ng/ml (SD) of u-PA in plasma. This value is substantially lower than those previously reported. The mean value for the patients with breast cancer was 1.3 +/- 0.4 ng/ml. This moderate increase was statistically significant at the 1% level. Approximately one quarter of the patients had plasma u-PA concentrations above the range observed for the healthy controls. There was a positive correlation between the mean u-PA plasma concentration and the extent of disease in different groups of patients.

Supernumerary ovary.

A case of supernumerary ovary is reported--the eleventh in the literature. The patient had two left-sided ovaries, associated with contralateral hemiuterus.