bromochloroacetic-acid and Communicable-Diseases

The formation of Cholesteatoma is often accompanied by infection, and is very likely to be influenced by inflammatory mediators. Endotoxin, a strong inflammatory mediator, may play an important role in cholesteatoma pathogenesis. It has been demonstrated in middle ear effusions, and it causes marked reactions in middle ear epithelium and epidermis, both in vivo and in vitro. The effect of endotoxin on a simulation of the advancing front of cholesteatoma was investigated in this study. We developed a co-culture model composed of a simultaneous culture of rat middle ear mucosa and rat meatal epidermis in one culture dish, to which endotoxin was added. During the culture period the addition of endotoxin to the co-culture delayed take-over of the meatal epidermis by the middle ear mucosa, in comparison with control cultures. Morphological changes included the clustering of microvilli in co-cultures exposed to endotoxin. Although these results are preliminary, they suggest that endotoxin disturbs the normal healing process of the middle ear cavity.

Topics: Animals; Antibodies, Monoclonal; Cells, Cultured; Cholesteatoma; Communicable Diseases; Culture Techniques; Desmosomes; Ear, Middle; Endotoxins; Epidermis; Keratins; Microscopy, Electron; Microvilli; Rats

Serum levels of cytokeratin subunit 19 (CYFRA 21-1) were measured in 42 healthy volunteers, 104 cases of malignant diseases, 30 patients with chronic renal failure and 13 patients with nonmalignant and infectious diseases. The reliability of the method was demonstrated after dilution of serum samples and intra- and inter-assay reproducibility. Serum CYFRA-21-1 concentrations were less than 2.00 ng/ml in all healthy controls and 86% of the malignant cases had high serum CYFRA 21-1 levels. However slightly elevated values of CYFRA 21-1 were observed in most chronic renal failure patients. High correlation was observed between serum CYFRA 21-1 and Tissue Polypeptide Antigen (TPA) values (r = 0.90, n = 10) but not with serum alpha-feto protein (AFP) concentrations. Furthermore, cross binding tests with the CYFRA 21-1 tracer/CYFRA 21-1 antibody-coated beads and CYFRA 21-1 tracer/TPA antibody-coated beads also gave an almost linear graph. These results indicate that CYFRA 21-1 and TPA share similar type of antigens.

Topics: Biomarkers, Tumor; Communicable Diseases; Cross Reactions; Female; Humans; Immunoradiometric Assay; Keratins; Kidney Failure, Chronic; Macromolecular Substances; Metabolic Diseases; Neoplasms; Reference Values; Reproducibility of Results