Hepatocyte growth factor is elevated in amniotic fluid from obese women and regulates placental glucose and fatty acid metabolism.

Introduction: To evaluate the impact of the pro-inflammatory cytokine hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) on the regulation of glucose and lipid placental metabolism.

Methods: HGF levels were quantified in amniotic fluid and placenta from control and obese women. 2-deoxy-glucose (2-DOG) uptake, glycolysis, fatty acid oxidation (FAO), fatty acid esterification, de novo fatty acid synthesis, triglyceride levels and carnitine palmitoyltransferase activities (CPT) were measured in placental explants upon addition of pathophysiological HGF levels.

Evaluation of a fully automated method for the determination of sirolimus.

Background: Sirolimus (SRL) is a macrocyclic lactone, indicated for prevention of organ rejection after kidney transplantation. Therapeutic drug monitoring of this agent constitutes an important part to immunosuppressive treatment because of its narrow window of therapeutic efficacy. Routine methods include manual pretreatment of samples.