Mechanism of CD11b down-regulation from phorbol myristate acetate stimulated polymorphonuclear neutrophils.

Objective: To investigate the mechanism of CD11b down-regulation in phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) stimulated polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN).

Methods: Purified PMN were stimulated with PMA in the presence, or absence, of various enzyme inhibitors. Following stimulation, PMN CD11b expression was examined by flow cytometry and Western-blotting.

Serological diagnosis of celiac disease.

Celiac disease CD is an inflammatory disease of the small intestine brought about by exposure to gluten in genetically predisposed individuals. Celiac disease most often presents with non specific, or extra-intestinal, manifestations and, consequently, the disease remains under diagnosed. Untreated CD is associated with high morbidity and, therefore, early diagnosis is essential.

An acquired form of Bernard Soulier syndrome associated with acute myeloid leukemia.

Objective: To investigate glycoprotein-1b (GP-1b) expression on platelets from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Methods: Purified platelets, obtained from AML-patients and normal control subjects, were examined for surface membrane GP1b-expression by flow cytometry and GP1b-mediated aggregation responses by aggregometry. The level of elastase in plasma from patients and controls was measured by enzymed-linked immunosorbent assay.

The role of the clinical immunology laboratory in the diagnosis and monitoring of connective tissue diseases.

Connective tissue diseases (CTD) are a group of autoimmune systemic diseases that can affect any organ-system in the body. The initial clinical presentations of these diseases overlap, not only with each other, but also with a wide range of other rheumatological and non-rheumatological disorders. Due to these reasons, clinicians depend heavily on the use of the clinical immunology laboratory for the diagnosis of CTD.

Ineffectiveness of rat liver tissues in the screening of connective tissue disease.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of using rat liver tissues (RLT) for the screening of connective tissue disease (CTD).

Methods: Results of patient samples, submitted to the Clinical Immunology Laboratory, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham, United Kingdom for investigation of CTD between 2001 and 2002, were analyzed. Positive results for anti-double stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibodies and anti-extractable nuclear antigen (ENA) antibodies were correlated with the results of the corresponding anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), obtained by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) using RLT.

CD44 mediates polymorphonuclear leukocyte motility on hyaluronan.

Objective: To investigate the behavior of polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocytes on the extracellular matrix carbohydrate component, hyaluronan (HA), in the presence and absence of the chemokine, interleukin-8 (IL-8).

Methods: The present study was conducted at the Department of Hematology, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, between the period 2000 to 2001. Polymorphonuclear cells were isolated from whole venous blood using Mono-Poly-Resolving Medium.

Elucidation of the mechanisms of hairy-cell localization in tissues and the process of the bone marrow fibrosis in hairy-cell leukemia.

Hairy cell leukemia is a chronic B cell leukemia with a number of distinctive features including the unusual tissue distribution of the leukemic cells, hairy cells, and the bone marrow fibrosis. We have been working, for a number of years, on the potential mechanisms behind hairy-cell localization in tissues. In this review, it is summarized how our work has shed very important information regarding these mechanisms and led, eventually, to the full elucidation of the process of the bone marrow fibrosis in hairy cell leukemia.

The role of phospholipases A2 in the stimulation of neutrophil motility by cobra venoms.

Neutrophil (PMN) accumulation frequently occurs at the site of snakebite as part of the inflammatory response to envenoming. We demonstrate here that the venoms of the cobras, Naja naja and N. mossambica, and two purified venom phospholipase A(2)s (PLA(2)s) isolated from the latter venom, stimulate CD11b translocation from the PMN granule store to the plasma membrane and enhance neutrophil motility on collagen-coated surfaces.