Circulating hyaluronic acid signature in CAP and ARDS - the role of pneumolysin in hyaluronic acid shedding.

Shedding of hyaluronan (HA), the component of endothelial cell (EC) glycocalyx, has been associated with acute lung injury. HA degradation allows plasma proteins and fluid to penetrate across the vascular wall leading to lung edema formation and leukocyte recruitment. Here, we analyzed sHA levels and size in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), correlated them to disease severity, and evaluated the impact of pneumolysin (PLY), the Streptococcus pneumoniae (S.

Monocyte-derived extracellular trap (MET) formation induces aggregation and affects motility of human spermatozoa .

The presence of bacteria and/or leukocytes can alter semen quality resulting in low sperm quality and infertility. Inflammation or infection increases the numbers of PMN or macrophages/monocytes in male genital tract. Release of extracellular traps (ETs) by leukocytes has been recognized as a novel mechanism of early host innate immunity, in response to invasive pathogens.

[Endoscopic findings in Whipple's disease (author's transl)].

In a patient with massive ascites, bouts of fever of unknown aetiology and cachexia, duodenoscopy and laparoscopy revealed white-yellow, partly confluent, nodules and plaques on the duodenal mucosa, and the surface of the liver and the peritoneum of the upper right abdominal quadrant, leading to the diagnosis of Whipple's disease. Histological examinations of these deposits revealed an accumulation of PAS-positive macrophages (SPC cells = sickle-form particle containing cells) and lysosomal bacterial inclusions under the electron-microscope. This raises the possibility of a simple endoscopic method for diagnosing Whipple's disease.