Urinary N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) in lupus nephritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Increased activity of urinary N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) can be used as an early indicator of damage to the tubular epithelium. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune rheumatic disease. Nephritis is known as the most serious complication of SLE and the strongest predictor of poor outcome.

Increased excretions of glycosaminoglycans and heparan sulfate in lupus nephritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Urinary glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and heparan sulfate (HS) are considered to be markers of early renal involvement. This study was undertaken to demonstrate their excretion patterns in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with and without arthritis. Serum creatinine and urinary GAG, HS, microalbumin, and creatinine measurements were made in 51 biopsy-proven lupus nephritis (LN) cases, 12 RA patients, and 21 healthy controls.

Effect of carbon monoxide on dopamine and glutamate uptake and cGMP levels in rat brain.

After the recognition of nitric oxide (NO) as a messenger molecule in the nervous system, carbon monoxide (CO) has received attention with similar properties. The present study aims to elucidate the effects of CO on synaptosomal dopamine ((3)H-DA) and glutamate ((3)H-Glu) uptake and on cGMP levels; possible interaction between NO and CO systems was also evaluated. Our results provide evidence for the inhibition of DA and Glu uptake by CO in a time-, dose-, and temperature-dependent manner in rat striatum and hippocampus, respectively; the inhibition observed was sexually dimorphic with more pronounced effects in females.