Intracellular free amino acid patterns in duodenal and colonic mucosa.

We report for the first time the concentrations of free amino acids in human intestinal biopsies obtained by routinely performed endoscopy. We studied 15 medical patients with no changes of the mucosa and six HIV-infected persons with duodenitis. The mean (and SD) sum of all amino acids, taurine excepted, was 61.

A low-protein diet protects uremic rats against the negative sequelae of metabolic acidosis.

Metabolic acidosis is a common finding in uremia. The metabolic consequences, however, are poorly understood. Thus, the aim of our study was to assess the effect of chronic metabolic acidosis in 5/6-nephrectomized male Sprague-Dawley rats given a normal (18%; n = 19) and a low-protein diet (8%; n = 23).

The ultrastructure of dysplastic naevi: comparison with superficial spreading melanoma and common naevocellular naevi.

Eleven dysplastic melanocytic naevi with various degrees of dysplasia, as judged by light microscopy, were studied by transmission electron microscopy, and their intra-epidermal melanocytes compared with those of five superficial spreading melanomas and seven common benign naevocellular naevi. Intra-epidermal melanocytes in dysplastic naevi exhibited signs of cellular atypia, which were most pronounced in the dysplastic naevi with histological high-grade dysplasia. A correlation between the degree of dysplasia at the light microscopic level and the degree of cytological atypia at the ultrastructural level was noted, and melanocytes in dysplastic naevi with a high degree of dysplasia had ultrastructural features similar to the melanocytes in superficial spreading melanomas.

Multiple apocrine hidrocystomas on the eyelids.

A 31-year-old man with multiple cystic tumors symmetrically distributed on his eyelids is presented. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry suggest the diagnosis of apocrine hidrocystomas. Apocrine hidrocystomas occur frequently on the face, but multiple and symmetrical occurrence on the eyelids has not been reported up to now.

Protein-restricted diets in chronic renal failure: a four year follow-up shows limited indications.

Several retrospective and prospective studies confirmed the beneficial effect of dietary protein restriction (DPR) on the downhill course of renal function in chronic kidney disease. The long-term results of this therapeutic modality may be different than the short-term effects. In our nephrology outpatient department, a prospective randomized trial has been in progress since April, 1982.

Influence of molecular structure and plasma hydrolysis on the metabolism of glutamine-containing dipeptides in humans.

Glutamine-containing dipeptides may serve as a source of glutamine in parenteral nutrition solutions. To study the metabolism of glycyl-L-glutamine (gly-gln) and L-alanyl-L-glutamine (ala-gln) bolus injections of both dipeptides (0.1 mmol/kg within 40 seconds) were performed in five healthy male volunteers.

Metabolism of glutamine in lymphocytes.

Pathways of glutamine metabolism in resting and proliferating rat thymocytes and established human T- and B-lymphoblastoid cell lines were evaluated by in vitro incubations of freshly prepared or cultured cells for one to two hours with [U14C]glutamine. Complete recovery of glutamine carbons utilized in products allowed quantification of the pathways of glutamine metabolism under the experimental conditions. Partial oxidation of glutamine via 2-oxoglutarate in a truncated citric acid cycle to CO2 and oxaloacetate, which then was converted to aspartate, accounted for 76% and 69%, respectively, of the glutamine metabolized beyond the stage of glutamate by resting and proliferating thymocytes.

Infusion of dipeptides as nutritional substrates for glutamine, tyrosine, and branched-chain amino acids in patients with acute pancreatitis.

In this study we investigated the effect of a total parenteral nutrition supplemented with synthetic dipeptides on plasma and muscle amino acid metabolism in four patients with acute pancreatitis. We infused an amino acid solution containing alanylglutamine, glycylglutamine, glycylvaline, glycylisoleucine, glylcylleucine, and glycyltyrosine for a period of five days in daily dosages of 10.3, 22.

[Incorporation of 15N in VLDL and LDL: in vivo synthesis of apolipoprotein B in the post-absorptive and fasting state].

In vivo synthesis of apolipoprotein B 100 (ApoB) was recently determined in man using stable isotopes. With this procedure we analyzed (1) the effect of fasting on synthesis of ApoB from very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and (2) tracer enrichment in low density lipoprotein (LDL). After a 36-hour fasting period and in the post-absorptive state 4 healthy subjects were given a priming dose (8.

Calcium-free dialyzate: development and applications.

A calcium-free, bicarbonate-containing concentrate was prepared for hemodialysis, which, after dilution, gave analyzed concentrations of sodium of 146 mmol/l, Cl 110 mmol/l, HCO3 of 35 mmol/l and pH of 8.3. When compared with standard bicarbonate dialysis, no important differences in blood chemistries, symptoms or signs were seen.

Nitrogen absorption in pancreatectomized patients: protein versus protein hydrolysate as substrate.

To investigate nitrogen absorption in the absence of the pancreas, six patients with total pancreatectomy, all in stable nutritional and metabolic condition, underwent two periods of enteral nutrition identical in all respects except for the nitrogen source. Nitrogen source was either lactalbumin or its hydrolysate. The quantity and quality of calories infused simulated the patient's usual diet, which was a high-protein diet (2.

Leflunomide (HWA 486) inhibits experimental autoimmune tubulointerstitial nephritis in rats.

Experimental tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN), induced in Brown Norway rats, is an autoimmune disorder in which afflicted animals display high levels of serum autoantibodies directed against antigens present on the tubular basement membrane (TBM). Serious functional damage, due to lesions of the kidney cortex, is evident 10 days after disease initiation. In an earlier study, we could show that cyclosporin A (CsA), an immunosuppressive drug, effectively prevented the onset of this illness, although it did not inhibit the formation of TBM autoantibodies.

[Clinical pathology of the glomerulus--from phenomenon to entity. The membranous lesion].

Characteristics of the membranous lesion are usually the capillary wall thickening in morphology and the clinical manifestation of a nephrotic syndrome. As entities of such a lesion the following types of glomerulonephritis (GN) could be considered: (peri-) membranous GN, garland type of postinfectious GN, and membranoproliferative (MP) GN. The morphological, especially the electronmicroscopical observations relative to separate immune deposit locations in the capillary wall--subendothelial, intramembranous, subepithelial--are the basis to differentiate the diseases as entities.

[Acrodermatitis chronic atrophicans and sclerodermiform skin changes in Borrelia infection].

A female patient with acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans and widespread sclerodermiform skin lesions with a high IgG antibody titer against Borrelia burgdorferi is presented. The rapid improvement after high-dose penicillin G therapy and the course of the Borrelia antibody titer suggest a persistence of the causative organism.

Influence of two glutamine-containing dipeptides on growth of mammalian cells.

The instability of the amino acid glutamine prompted us to investigate substitute compounds appropriate for culture conditions. The effect of two glutamine-containing dipeptides, alanylglutamine (Ala-Gln) and glycylglutamine (Gly-Gln), on the growth behavior of a hematopoietic cell line in culture (K562) was investigated. Growth rates and [3H]thymidine incorporation rates of cells cultivated in sterile-filtrated media, containing glutamine (Gln) or Ala-Gln or Gly-Gln, were not statistically different.

Substitution therapy of hypogonadal men with transdermal testosterone over one year.

Current testosterone substitution therapy either by injectable or oral testosterone esters suffers from markedly fluctuating serum testosterone levels often far above or below the physiological range. Recently, a transdermal therapeutic system (TTS) for the delivery of testosterone was developed which, when applied to the scrotum, provides smooth serum testosterone levels. Here we report results from seven hypogonadal men treated with the TTS for 14 months by applying a new patch every day.

Augmentation of IgE receptor expression and IgE receptor-mediated phagocytosis of rat bone marrow-derived macrophages by murine interferons.

Receptors for IgE (Fc epsilon R) on rat bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM phi) were demonstrated by a rosette assay employing trinitrophenyl-coated ox erythrocytes (EoTNP) sensitized with mouse IgE anti-dinitrophenyl monoclonal antibody (EoTNP-IgE). Virtually all BMDM phi emerging from bone marrow cells cultured for 1 week in the presence of mouse L929 cell supernatant, with partially purified murine CSF-1 or recombinant murine GM-CSF, formed IgE rosettes. To study the effect of interferons (IFNs) on Fc epsilon R expression, 1-week-old rat BMDM phi were incubated with murine recombinant IFN-gamma, purified IFN-alpha or IFN-beta, and were tested for their capacity to bind and ingest EoTNP sensitized suboptimally with IgE.