Incidence of ankylosing spondylitis and spondyloarthritis in 2000-2013: a nationwide Danish cohort study.

Objective: To describe the incidence of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and spondyloarthritis (SpA) in the Danish population in 2000-2013, at national and regional level, and to investigate any trends in incidence over time.Methods: From the Danish National Patient Registry (NPR), we identified patients diagnosed with AS (International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision: M45) or SpA (M46) from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2013. Patients without a relevant contact in NPR at 12-24 months after initial diagnosis were excluded. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated using the background population of men and women aged 18-45 years in 2000-2013 as a comparator. Variations in incidence between periods and the five Danish regions were evaluated.Results: In total, 3042 incident cases were identified (AS: 1849; SpA: 1193). AS incidence increased from 476 in 2000-2004 to 660 in 2010-2013; the IRR (95% confidence interval) increased from 1.49 (1.33-1.67) in 2005-2009 to 1.74 (1.53-1.97) in 2010-2013. SpA incidence increased from 156 in 2000-2004 to 707 in 2010-2013; the IRR increased from 2.45 (2.03-2.94) in 2005-2009 to 6.31 (5.27-7.55) in 2010-2013. The incidence of both AS and SpA increased in all five regions.Conclusion: The incidence of both AS and SpA in Denmark increased from 2000 to 2013. However, the proportion of patients diagnosed with SpA rather than AS was significantly higher in 2010-2013. This may be due to increased awareness of SpA and new treatment options, but possibly also misclassification of patients with SpA.

Skin virulence of attenuated pseudorabies virus (PRV) strains.

After intradermal inoculation of the attenuated pseudorabies virus (PRV) strains, Bartha, MK35 (gI+) and MK35-T-2 (gI-) to rabbits, they caused local inflammatory nodules with oedema reddiness and necrosis. The specifity of these reactions was confirmed by their inhibition with anti-PRV serum. The minimal dose that caused visible skin reaction was about 10(2) TCID50/ml for Bartha and MK35-T-2 (gI-) strains and over 10(4) TCID50/ml for the MK35 (gI+) strain. It is assumed that the established residual skin virulence can serve as an additional distinction marker for attenuated PRV strains.

Turnover of ribosomal proteins in regenerating rat liver after partial hepatectomy.

The rates of synthesis and degradation of ribosomal proteins, prelabelled with [14C]bicarbonate, were determined as an index of the rate of ribosome turnover in regenerating rat liver. The half-life of ribosomes is about 178 and 75 hr in regenerating and normal liver, respectively. The comparison of turnover rates of ribosomal proteins with the corrected values of rRNA, based on re-utilization of nucleotides, suggests that ribosomes are metabolized as a unit in vivo. There is at least 70% overestimation for ribosome half-life when orotate-labelled RNA is used for turnover determinations. The absolute rate of synthesis is estimated as 3925 and 1081 ribosomes/min per cell in 24 hr regenerating and normal rat liver, respectively.

Turnover of ribosomes in regenerating rat liver.

The turnover of ribosomes was studied in regenerating liver and the rates of ribosome degradation in the proliferative (1-5 days) and post-proliferative (6-12 days) phases after partial hepatectomy compared: Ribosome turnover during the first 3 days is slower, the half-life of ribosomes being approximately 300 hr. Ribosome synthesis is markedly activated--39% synthesis rate, which corresponds to 34% accumulation rate per day. The half-life of ribosomes during the second phase is about 107 hr. The rate of synthesis falls down to 19% the net gain of ribosomes being 3% per day.

[Influence of cyclophosphamide on the production of experimentale autoimmune encephalomyelitis (author's transl)]. / L'influence du cyclophosphamide sur le développement de l'encéphalomyélite autoimmune expérimentale.

The aim of the so carried out experiments is to establish whether the created disbalance between T- and B-lymphocyte populations influences the final stages of a cell-mediated reaction in vivo. The chosen model was one of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Guinea pigs were given a single challenge (intradermally in the hind foot-pads) of 70 microgram myelin basic protein (MBP)--isolated from bovine spinal cord--in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Another group of animals was treated intraperitoneally with 200 mg/kg cyclophosphamide (CY) 3 days before the MBP-CFA challenge. The control group received only CY. At different times after the administration of MBP, CY or CY-MBP, the popliteal lymph nodes have been examined and the morphological changes together with the number of anti-MBP antibody synthesizing cells (ASC) were recorded. In the guinea-pigs treated with the CY 3 days before the antigen challenge the disease develops earlier and shows a degree of severity with a threefold greater mean score. The number of ASC is increasing up till the 10th day and slightly decreases toward the 20th day when there are clinical and histological signs of EAE. If MBP is administered after a 3-day action of CY, the number of these cells till the 7th day after the antigen challenge is strongly reduced, then surpasses the normal value about the 10th day and comes back to it towards the 20th day. The results so obtained confirm the concept of the T-lymphocyte mediation of EAE and give us grounds for discussing the CY action on the lymphocyte subpopulation.

Phosphorylation of ribosomal proteins from eukaryotes in homologous and heterogous cell-free systems.

The phosphorylation of ribosomal proteins from eukaryotes in homologous and heterologous cell-free systems has been studied. The ribosomes and protein kinases from yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, strain Bu), wheat (Triticum vulgare) and rabbit (Orystolagus cuniculus) have been used. It has been found that five ribosomal proteins incorporate gamma-32P from ATP during the incubation of wheat ribosomes with wheat protein kinase. When the phosphorylation of isolated wheat ribosomal proteins was examined more phosphoproteins were detected. These data confirm the suggestion that the ribosomal structure affects the phosphorylation. Probably some ribosomal proteins remain hidden for the action of protein kinase. The results from the crossed experiments show that there is no barrier for phosphorylation of yeast ribosomes with liver protein kinase, of wheat ribosomes with yeast and liver protein kinases and of liver ribosomes with yeast and plant protein kinases. The wheat protein kinase does not phosphorylate the yeast ribosomes under these experimental conditions. Some differences in the set of phosphoproteins obtained with various protein kinases have been detected. These data suggest that the ribosomal protein phosphorylation is not highly species specific although it is not universal.

[Changes in the chemical composition and physico-chemical characteristics of chromatin from spleens of mice during immunogenesis]. / Izmenenie khimicheskogo sostava i ustoichivosti k denaturatsii khromatina iz selezenki myshei v protsesse immunogeneza

Comparative studies have been carried out for the chemical composition and physico-chemical characteristics of chromatin isolated from spleens of non-immunized and immunized mice. It is found that the chromatin from spleens of immunized mice contains significantly more non-histone proteins and RNA, while the quantity of histone proteins is unaltered. The melting temperatures of chromatin from spleens of non-immunized and immunized mice in 2.5-10(-4) M EDTA (pH 8.0) are 76.8+/-1.50 degrees and 74.4+/-1.10 degrees, respectively. DNA isolated from chromatin melts at 40 degrees. The melting of chromatin was followed in 5 mM sodium-cacodylate buffer (pH 7.0)+1.5-10(-4) M EDTA containing increasing concentrations of urea. The results show that during immunogenesis the changes of the chemical composition of the chromatin are accompanied by certain destabilisation of DNP complex.

[The Breddin test in various forms of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura]. / Der Breddin-Test bei verschiedenen Formen der idiopathischen thrombozytopenischen Purpura

In 100 healthy persons and 38 patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) the morphology of thrombocytes was examined according to BREDDIN. The survival time of the marked thrombocytes and their place of sequestration was determined in the patients and in 17 voluntary persons. A correlation was found to exist between the morphology of thrombocytes and those four forms of ITP which could be limited by means of radiometric methods. Moreover, a certain degree of dependence was found between the thrombocyte sequestration place and the presence of antibodies.