Plasma and urine amino acid pattern in preterm infants on enteral nutrition: impact of gestational age

Plasma and urine amino acids were determined by ion-exchange chromatography in 80 healthy preterm infants divided into three groups: (1) 23 0/7–28 0/7, (2) 28 1/7–32 0/7 and (3) 32 1/7–35 0/7 weeks of gestation. Samples were collected from days 5 to 57 of life, when infants were exclusively orally fed. Infants with evidence of underlying diseases were excluded. Concentrations of most plasma amino acids increased with gestational and maturational age; urinary excretion followed an opposite course. Few amino acids depended on postnatal age. Plasma amino acids did not correlate inversely to their counterparts in urine indicating that plasma amino acids do not simply reflect kidney function. Some amino acids in blood and urine were linked to nutrient intake and body weight. Our data clearly indicate the heterogeneity of the preterm cohort; therefore, gestational age-matched reference values have to be used for diagnostic purposes in preterm infants.     

Possible role of SIRT1 and SIRT3 in post-translational modifications in human breast milk during the neonatal period

Amino Acids - We measured free and proteinic concentrations of native and modified amino acids from post-translational modifications (PTMs) and correlated them with the activity of SIRT1 and SIRT3...     

Bm1-Bm5 classification of peripheral blood B cells reveals circulating germinal center founder cells in healthy individuals and disturbance in the B cell subpopulations in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome

Analyses of B cells in the bone marrow and secondary lymphoid tissues have revealed a broad range of cell surface markers defining B cell subpopulations, but only a few of these have been used to analyze B cell subpopulations in peripheral blood (PB). We report here the delineation of circulating PB B cell subpopulations by staining for CD19, CD38, and IgD in combination with CD10, CD44, CD77, CD95, CD23, IgM, and the B cell memory marker CD27. The utility of this approach is shown by the demonstration of disturbances of circulating B cell subpopulations in patients with autoimmune disease. Five mature B cell (Bm) subpopulations were identified in normal PB that were comparable with the tonsillar Bm1, Bm2, early Bm5, Bm5 subpopulations and, surprisingly, to the germinal center (GC) founder cell subpopulation (Bm2' and Bm3delta-4delta), suggesting that some GC founder cells are circulating. No PB B cells resembled the Bm3 and Bm4 GC cells. Remarkably, some cells with the CD38-IgD+ phenotype, previously known as naive Bm1 cells, expressed CD27. The CD38-IgD+ subpopulation therefore includes both naive Bm1 cells and IgD+ memory B cells. This new classification of B cell developmental stages reveals disturbances in the proportions of B cell subpopulations in primary Sj?gren's syndrome (pSS) patients compared with healthy donors and rheumatoid arthritis patients. Patients with pSS contained a significantly higher percentage of B cells in two activated stages, which might reflect a disturbance in B cell trafficking and/or alteration in B cell differentiation. These findings could be of diagnostic significance for pSS.     

Immune-Mediated Fever in the Dog. Occurrence of Antinuclear Antibodies, Rheumatoid Factor, Tumor Necrosis Factor and Interleukin-6 in Serum

Contents of antinuclear antibodies (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured in serum from 20 dogs with immune-mediated fever. Seven out of 20 patients were ANA positive, 1 out of 20 was positive to antibodies against extractable nuclear antigens (ENA), 1 out of 20 was positive to antibodies against deoxynucleoproteins (DNP), 2 out of 13 were RF positive and none out of 20 patients had antibodies against native DNA in the serum. TNF-α was not detected in any serum of 15 dogs with immune-mediated fever, while 10 out of 13 presented with elevated IL-6. The results varied between patients, but the IL-6 level was high in most of them. This indicate a role for IL-6 in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated fever in most cases.     

Antinuclear Antibodies (ANA) in Gordon Setters with Symmetrical Lupoid Onychodystrophy and Black Hair Follicular Dysplasia

Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) were demonstrated in 3 out of 10 Gordon setters with symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy and in 5 out of 13 Gordon setters with black hair follicular dysplasia. Two dogs showed both symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy and black hair follicular dysplasia, and one of these was ANA positive. The results suggest that symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy and black hair follicular dysplasia in the Gordon setter might be autoimmune diseases that are pathogenetically related, which might indicate a common genetic predisposition.