glycogen and Urinary-Tract-Infections

This paper reports on the specificity of the Lugol's iodine staining technique for the detection of vaginal epithelial cells on penile swabs. Air-dried swabs taken from the glans of the penis of 153 hospital patients and from 50 healthy volunteers, whose last sexual intercourse had taken place at least 5 days previously, were stained with Lugol's solution. Glycogenated cells were found in more than 50% of the cases studied, even in healthy volunteers without urethritis. In almost all of these cases the smear contained at least a few polygonal nucleated epithelial cells showing an unequivocal positive Lugol reaction. These cells cannot be distinguished from superficial or intermediate vaginal cells, by cytomorphology or staining. Urinary tract infections had no influence on the glycogen content of male squamous epithelial cells. On the basis of these results the Lugol's method can no longer be assumed to prove the presence of vaginal cells in penile swabs.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Bias; Coitus; Epithelium; Female; Forensic Medicine; Glycogen; Humans; Iodides; Male; Middle Aged; Penis; Sensitivity and Specificity; Staining and Labeling; Time Factors; Urinary Tract Infections; Vagina

The distal segment of the human male urethra, in particular the fossa navicularis, was studied with light- and electron microscopy as well as by means of histochemical and immunocytochemical methods. The fossa navicularis of the urethra contains a circumscribed zone of extremely thick, non-keratinized stratified squamous epithelium composed of cells containing a large amount of glycogen. These cells lack acid phosphatase activity and lysozyme-like immunoreactivity, both of which can be demonstrated to varying extents in the other zones of the distal male urethra. These glycogenrich cells are considered to be the substrate for an endogenous flora of lactobacteria, whereas the acid-phosphatase activity and the lysozyme-like immunoreactivity indicate the presence of macrophages and the secretion of bactericidal agents at the epithelial surface. These observations suggest that the different zones with heterogeneous properties in the distal male urethra probably represent a defense system against the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms. Moreover, the glycogen-rich zone, which resembles the glycogen-rich epithelium of the vagina, is estrogen-dependent. This is demonstrated in cases of sex reversal in which after long-lasting estrogen treatment the glycogen-rich zone becomes extremely extended by displacement of the neighbouring epithelium.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Epithelium; Estradiol; Glycogen; Histocytochemistry; Humans; Male; Microscopy, Electron; Middle Aged; Urethra; Urinary Tract Infections

The ultrastructure and histochemistry of the human urethral mucosa was studied. By scanning electronmicroscopy (SEM) the cover cell of the urethra was found to be polygonal and with a surface topography characterized by numerous microvilli and micro-ridges. By transmission electronmicroscopy (TEM) the cover cells were shown to be interconnected with tight junctions but to lack the asymmetric luminal membrane and the fusiform vacuoles that characterize urothelium above the bladder neck. Histochemical analyses showed the human urethral cells to harbour large amounts of glycogen, and the glycocalyx facing the urethral lumen displayed high affinity for alcian blue and colloidal iron, indicating the presence of acid mucopolysaccharides. The reactivity with alcian blue appeared at pH 2.5, but was abolished by pre-treatment with sialidase. Studies with TEM or using SEM with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) confirmed the high content of acid mucopolysaccharides in the luminal glycocalyx of the cover cells by demonstrating high binding capacity for ruthenium red. The quantitative binding of ruthenium red was not influenced by pH shifts between 4.5 and 7.5. Utilizing the SEM + EDX technique, small variations in quantity of negative charge (i.e. of bound ruthenium red) were detected within individual cover cells, but considerable variations were found between cells. The significance of these physicochemical properties of the human urethral lining is discussed with special reference to the previously demonstrated liability of this mucosal surface to interact with microorganisms such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Topics: Cell Membrane; Epithelium; Female; Glycogen; Glycosaminoglycans; Histocytochemistry; Humans; Male; Microscopy, Electron; Urethra; Urinary Tract Infections

The concentration of glycogen in vaginal fluid was measured in 37 samples from 6 volunteers without urinary infections and in 96 samples from 12 patients with recurrent urinary infections. The mean glycogen concentrations, 440 mug. per ml. from the controls and 564 mug. per ml. from the patients, were not statistically different (p more than 0.05). Although an introital pH more than or equal to 4.4 was associated with low concentrations of glycogen in vaginal fluid, a pH less than 4.4 was found with high and low glycogen concentration. Sodium concentration was statistically higher in vaginal fluid from patients compared to controls (p less than 0.01) while potassium concentration was the same in both groups.

Topics: Female; Glycogen; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Potassium; Recurrence; Sodium; Urinary Tract Infections; Vagina

Topics: Bacteriuria; Blood Glucose; Diabetic Nephropathies; Glomerular Filtration Rate; Glycogen; Glycosuria, Renal; Growth Hormone; Humans; Hypertension, Renal; Insulin; Kidney; Kidney Tubules; Proteinuria; Urinary Bladder, Neurogenic; Urinary Tract Infections; Urination Disorders