Sensitivity and specificity of different staining methods to monitor apoptosis induced by oxidative stress in adherent cells.

Objective: To study the sensitivity and specificity of different staining methods to monitor apoptosis induced by oxidative stress in adherent cells.

Methods: Sensitivity and specificity of several common methods for apoptosis determination were evaluated (Apo2.7-expression, Annexin V-binding, TUNEL-reaction, poly-(ADP-ribose)-polymerase-(PARP) cleavage and single-stranded-DNA (ssDNA) staining).

Evaluation of two modified cardiac troponin I enzyme immunoassays.

One of the major challenges for manufacturers of troponin immunoassays is to optimize the low-end of the assays because diagnostic and therapeutic interventions are based on decreasing cutpoints. Recently published consensus documents of the European Society of Cardiology and the American College of Cardiology recommended the 99th percentile of a reference control group as cut-off for increased troponin I levels and suggested that imprecision at the 99th percentile for each assay should be < or = 10%. In this study, we have evaluated two newly modified cardiac troponin I (cTnI) enzyme immunoassays (Dimension cTnI assay, Dade Behring, Germany and AIA-PACK cTnI 2nd-Gen, Eurogenetics Tosoh, Belgium).

The immunosuppressive drug mycophenolic acid reduces endothelin-1 synthesis in endothelial cells and renal epithelial cells.

Several studies have demonstrated that endothelin-1 (ET-1) plays an important pathophysiological role in ischaemic renal failure and drug-induced renal injury, such as cyclosporine A (CsA)- and tacrolimus-associated nephrotoxicity. This study aimed to investigate whether the new immunosuppressive drug mycophenolic acid (MPA), which in contrast with CsA and tacrolimus lacks nephrotoxic side effects, modulates ET-1 synthesis in endothelial cells and renal epithelial cells. ET-1 release by cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), human renal artery endothelial cells (RAEC) and rabbit proximal tubule cells was measured with a specific ELISA.