Reduction of preeclampsia in multiple pregnancies by a dedicated monitoring protocol.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a dedicated monitoring protocol on the incidence of pregnancy-induced hypertension disorders (preeclampsia, HELLP [hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets] syndrome, gestational hypertension) during a 5-year period in 417 women with multiple gestations.

Methods: At the Department of Obstetrics and Fetomaternal Medicine, Vienna University, an outpatient care protocol for women with multiple pregnancies was established. Between March 1997 and February 2002, 379 twins and 38 triplets were followed up.

Elevated serum concentrations of the angiogenesis inhibitor endostatin in preeclamptic women.

Objective: Changes in serum levels of angiogenic factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor or placental growth factor were associated with preeclampsia. The aim of our study was to investigate the concentrations of endostatin, a potent endogenous inhibitor of angiogenesis and endothelial or tumor cell growth, in preeclamptic patients.

Methods: Levels of soluble endostatin were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis in sera of nonpregnant women, healthy pregnant women, and patients with different forms of preeclampsia.

Influences of stroma-derived growth factors on the cytokine expression pattern of human breast cancer cell lines.

Tumor growth and local invasion are greatly dependent on the malignant potential of a tumor cell, but are also significantly modulated by a variety of local factors. These factors comprise cytokines, growth factors and extracellular matrix proteins (ECM), which act through a complex system of auto-, para- and juxtacrine interactions. Some factors are produced by the malignant cell itself, others are expressed by adjacent tumor stroma, migrated inflammatory cells, or resident macrophages.

MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in breast cancer-derived human fibroblasts is differentially regulated by stromal-epithelial interactions.

Tissue remodeling is a key element in the local invasion and metastasis of malignant breast tumors. The degradation of extracellular matrix that is associated with this process is thought to be mediated by a number of Zn2+-dependent matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). In most cases these enzymes are not produced by the malignant epithelium itself but by adjacent breast stroma, suggesting an important role for cell-cell interactions.

Genetic engineering of a hypoallergenic trimer of the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1.

An estimated 100 million individuals suffer from birch pollen allergy. Specific immunotherapy, the only curative allergy treatment, can cause life-threatening anaphylactic side effects. Here, we report the genetic engineering of a recombinant trimer consisting of three covalently linked copies of the major birch pollen allergen, Bet v 1.