1,721,028 research outputs found
Metabolomics of autism spectrum disorders: early insights regarding mammalian-microbial cometabolites
No full textIntroduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders consisting of delayed or impaired language development and difficulties in social interactions. The very high degree of phenotypic heterogeneity in ASD originates from the interaction between environmental risk factors and susceptible genetic loci, leading to epigenetic DNA methylation. Advances in system biology are becoming strategic for implementing knowledge on the ASD aetiology and for the early diagnosis of the disease after birth. Areas covered: We overhauled the value of either targeted or untargeted metabolomics studies in autism for identifying the most relevant metabolic pathways and key metabolites implicated in the disease, with special emphasis to mammalian-microbial metabolites. The most discriminant metabolites in ASD belong to amino acid metabolism, antioxidant status, nicotinic acid metabolism, and mitochondrial metabolism. Expert commentary: Most published studies point out the role of metabolites derived from the gut microbiota: they can modulate the behavioral phenotype of the autistic children, greatly influencing host metabolic pathways and the immune system, shaping the individual susceptibility to the disease. Pitfalls and caveats in metabolomics results across studies have been additionally recognized and discussed leading to the conclusion that metabolomics studies in ASD are far to be definitive and univocal
Is 1H NMR metabolomics becoming the promising early biomarker for neonatal sepsis and for monitoring the antibiotic toxicity?
No full textMetabolomics, the latest of omics disciplines, has been successfully used in various fields of basic
research such as pharmacology and toxicology. Recently, this new science has gained an important role in
the translational research of diagnostics. In this regard, the challenge for neonatologists and medical
laboratories is to diagnose neonatal sepsis, a disease with high mortality and morbidity due to the difficulty
in diagnosing it. Metabolomics, through its ability to identify perturbations caused by this condition, aims at
recognizing metabolites that characterize neonatal sepsis with high specificity and sensitivity. The purpose
of this review is to highlight the ability of metabolomics to find early biomarkers for this condition, as well as
to predict the toxic effects caused by antibiotics
Learned lessons, changing practice and cutting-edge research: how to reduce scientific uncertainty in neonatology pursuing the triple aim
No full textEvaluation of a new capillary zone electrophoresis system for the identification and typing of Bence Jones Protein
No full textObjectives: Capillary electrophoresis has recently emerged as a new sensitive technique for the separation of urinary proteins. We evaluated a new method for Bence Jones Protein (BJP) detection and characterization on native urine samples by the Paragon CZE (TM) 2000 system. To avoid interference in electrophoretic separation, urine samples were preliminarily treated for the selective removal of interfering salt particles.
Design and methods: The evaluation was done on a total of 350 fresh 24-h urine samples. The salt particle removal consisted of a manual chromatographic separation, optimized in the course of our evaluation. Capillary zone urinary protein electrophoresis (CZ-UPE) was compared with conventional high-resolution electrophoresis on an agarose gel, while capillary immunosubtraction (CZU-IFE) was compared with agarose gel immunofixation.
Results: After finding a consistent protein loss in eluates, the preanalytical treatment was optimized by changing sample dilution and eluate collection. The within- and between-run imprecision values for monoclonal peaks corresponding to BJP ranged from 0.4-12.2% to 3.3-6.3%, respectively. The detection limit for BJP, defined as the lowest measurable monoclonal peak on CZ-UPE, was 0.0012 g/L for kappa BJP and 0.0007 g/L for lambda BJP. CZ-UPE and CZU-IFE sensitivities were significantly lower in urine samples with a total protein level 100 mg/L (92% and 94%, respectively). Comparison between BJP measurements obtained from densitometric scanning with those from absorbance tracing showed a correlation coefficient of 0.994 and a bias of 29.8 mg/L.
Conclusions: Paragon CZE (TM) 2000 can be introduced in routine for screening and typing of BJP; in urine samples with a total protein level > 100 mg/L, the performance is consistent with results from published validation studies on CZE applied to serum samples. (c) 2005 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. All rights reserved
C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A protein in neonatal infections
No full textIn this study, we examine C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid protein A (SAA). Although the former is the best known and most commonly used indicator of inflammation, certain considerations underline the inadequacy of CRP determination alone for the early diagnosis of infection. In fact symptoms often precede the CRP elevation. SAA protein comprises a family of polymorphic apolipoproteins produced mainly by the liver. and several studies have stressed its importance in the diagnosis and monitoring of various diseases. Pathological SAA values are often detected in association with normal CRP concentrations. SAA rises earlier and more sharply than CRP. Finally, contrary to CRP, SAA presents the same trend in viral as well as bacterial infections. Although the data available on SAA in neonates are currently very limited, it is possible to postulate a role of primary importance for SAA in the management of neonatal infections
Quantitative automated particle-enhanced immunonephelometric assay for the routinary measurement of human cystatin C.
No full textHuman cystatin C is a low molecular mass protein of 13359 Dalton recently proposed as a new very sensitive marker of changes in glomerular filtration rate. Serum cystatin C concentration correlates negatively with glomerular filtration rate as well as or better than creatinine. We evaluated a recently introduced automated nephelometric immunoassay for cystatin C in serum or EDTA-plasma samples on the Behring Nephelometer System. The assay consists of incubating the 100-fold diluted sample for 6 minutes with latex particles covalently coated with anti-human cystatin C antibodies, and then quantifying the change of light-scatter produced. Method reproducibility is satisfactory, the intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation ranging from 1.58% to 3.77% and from 5.6% to 11.47% respectively. Rheumatoid factor (< or = 1116 IU/ml), bilirubin (< or = 418 micrommol/l), triglycerides (10.47 mmol/), and haemoglobin (12 g/l) do not significantly interfere in the assay. No significant difference was found in cystatin C concentration between serum and EDTA-plasma samples. Cystatin C is stable in serum samples stored under different conditions up to one month. This method correlates well (mean difference=-0.536+/-0.307 mg/l) with another commercially available particle-enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay. Cystatin C offers better clinical sensitivity than creatinine for discriminating patients with normal renal function and those with mild-to-moderate reduction in renal function. This method is suitable for routine cystatin C measurement, including emergencies
Urinary epidermal growth factor in different renal conditions in children
No full textSeveral studies have demonstrated the important role of growth factors; particularly epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha), in cellular growth after renal damage. EGF is mainly synthesized by the kidney. Many studies indicate that urinary EGF concentration significantly decreases in patients with acute and chronic renal failure. In this study we determined urinary EGF concentrations in children with renal and/or urological pathologies. We investigated 38 patients, 17 males and 21 females, of 3.34 +/- 2.96 years (mean +/- standard deviation), who were followed in the Nephrologic Unit of the Pediatric Department of the University of Verona for recurrent urinary tract infections: seven of these had vesicoureteric reflux and 4 had hypodysplasia. The results were compared with those from a healthy age-matched group of 44 children. In all patients, we assessed renal function including an examination of the urine with a microbiological evaluation. Moreover, a renal ultrasound: and a voiding cystourethrogram were performed. Urinary EGF was measured by a radioimmunoassay, using polyclonal goat antibodies. In all patients, laboratory parameters were within the normal range. In 34 patients the renal ultrasound was negative and in 4 cases structural alterations of the renal parenchyma were found. Voiding cystourethrography detected 7 instances of vesicoureteric reflux. In controls 10 degrees, 50 degrees, 90 degrees percentile uEGF values were 7.3, 19 and 40.4 mug/L, respectively. Mean urinary EGF values were 22.22 +/- 16 mug/L. Urinary EGF values were 54 +/- 35.2 mug/L in patients with recurrent urinary tract infections and without urinary malformations, 81 +/- 29.37 mug/L in patients with vesicoureteric reflux and 22.30 +/- 22.90 mug/L in patients with hypodysplasia, respectively: There was a statistical significant difference between controls and groups A (p < 0.001) and B (p < 0.001) respectively, while the difference between group C and controls wasn't significant (p = 0.044). Results are reported in Figure 1. We believe that our results could be helpful for further studies on pathophysiology of growth factors in different renal conditions of children
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