Browsing by Author "Popadić, Dušan (6602255798)"

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) have both been used for testing of antibodies to desmogleins 1 and 3 (anti-Dsg1 and anti-Dsg3) and for the serologic diagnosis of pemphigus. IIF values and antibody concentrations and profile do not always correlate with a specific clinical phenotype and with the disease activity. The purpose of the present study was to correlate the clinical phenotype of patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and the disease activity with anti-Dsg1 and anti-Dsg3 antibodies and IIF titers. A total of 72 patients with PV underwent ELISA serum testing for the presence and titers of anti-Dsg1 and anti-Dsg3 and IIF which were correlated with the severity of the disease (evaluated using the Pemphigus Disease Area Index, PDAI), clinical phenotype, and clinical course. In 79.2% patients there was a perfect correlation between the clinical phenotype and antibody profiles; in 20.8% patients, clinical features and antigenic findings were discordant. A statistically significant correlation was found between disease activity and a) anti-Dsg3 and anti-Dsg1 concentrations (Rho=0.679, P<0.001 and Rho=0.363, P=0.02, respectively) and b) IIF titers (Rho=0.426, P<0.01), as well between IIF titers and anti-Dsg3 and anti-Dsg1 antibodies (Rho=0.742, P<0.01 and Rho=0.372, P=0.02, respectively). This study supports the previous observations that the disease severity in most patients with pemphigus correlates with IIF titers, which in turn is determined by the quantities of Dsg1 and Dsg3 antibodies, as well as the previous observation that the clinical phenotype and antibody profile are not always in correlation. © 2017, Croatian Dermatovenerological Society. All rights reserved.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α has been considered the prototypic cytopathogenic cytokine in multiple sclerosis (MS), but recently this cytokine has been shown to possess significant anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in demyelinating diseases. It has been reported that the TNFα-308 polymorphism influences levels of TNFα production, and that the rare allele, TNF2, is associated with high TNFα production. We investigated the TNFα-308 polymorphism in 143 unrelated Serbian patients with MS and 123 ethnically matched, healthy individuals using the allele-specific restriction fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction technique. The frequency of the TNF2 allele was significantly decreased in MS patients (14%) in comparison with controls (24%; p = 0.044). The TNF2 allele had no influence on disease behavior, since it was not associated with the course and severity of MS in this group of patients. The result suggests that in the Serbian population polymorphism at position -308 of TNFα or at an adjacent locus might have a role in MS susceptibility. Copyright © 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α has been considered the prototypic cytopathogenic cytokine in multiple sclerosis (MS), but recently this cytokine has been shown to possess significant anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in demyelinating diseases. It has been reported that the TNFα-308 polymorphism influences levels of TNFα production, and that the rare allele, TNF2, is associated with high TNFα production. We investigated the TNFα-308 polymorphism in 143 unrelated Serbian patients with MS and 123 ethnically matched, healthy individuals using the allele-specific restriction fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction technique. The frequency of the TNF2 allele was significantly decreased in MS patients (14%) in comparison with controls (24%; p = 0.044). The TNF2 allele had no influence on disease behavior, since it was not associated with the course and severity of MS in this group of patients. The result suggests that in the Serbian population polymorphism at position -308 of TNFα or at an adjacent locus might have a role in MS susceptibility. Copyright © 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Background: There is an apparently increased tendency toward infections in patients with Gaucher disease, possibly due to defective neutrophil function rather than a decreased neutrophil count. Since macrophages are the main cell type affected in Gaucher disease, our aim was to determine the contribution of these cells to the susceptibility of Gaucher patients to infection by studying the respiratory burst capacity of peripheral blood monocytes. Methods: The study was performed in eleven Gaucher type 1 patients and eleven sex and age matched control subjects by measuring peripheral blood monocytes' respiratory burst capacity using flow cytometry. The respiratory burst capacity was measured as dihydrorhodamine-123 median fluorescence in patients and respective controls. Results: There was no statistical difference in the median fluorescence among the patients and respective controls (p>0.05) after phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate stimulation. Also, statistical difference was not reached among patients treated with enzyme replacement therapy at the time and those untreated. Conclusions: Flow cytometry might represent a more accurate and more reliable measure of respiratory burst compared to the methods of other researchers. Respiratory burst disturbance in monocytes does not seem to contribute to increased susceptibility to infection in Gaucher patients.

Background: There is an apparently increased tendency toward infections in patients with Gaucher disease, possibly due to defective neutrophil function rather than a decreased neutrophil count. Since macrophages are the main cell type affected in Gaucher disease, our aim was to determine the contribution of these cells to the susceptibility of Gaucher patients to infection by studying the respiratory burst capacity of peripheral blood monocytes. Methods: The study was performed in eleven Gaucher type 1 patients and eleven sex and age matched control subjects by measuring peripheral blood monocytes' respiratory burst capacity using flow cytometry. The respiratory burst capacity was measured as dihydrorhodamine-123 median fluorescence in patients and respective controls. Results: There was no statistical difference in the median fluorescence among the patients and respective controls (p>0.05) after phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate stimulation. Also, statistical difference was not reached among patients treated with enzyme replacement therapy at the time and those untreated. Conclusions: Flow cytometry might represent a more accurate and more reliable measure of respiratory burst compared to the methods of other researchers. Respiratory burst disturbance in monocytes does not seem to contribute to increased susceptibility to infection in Gaucher patients.

Helicobacter pylori eradication is characterized by decreasing successful eradication rates. Although treatment failure is primarily associated with resistance to antibiotics, other unknown factors may influence the eradication outcome. This study aimed to assess the presence of the antibiotics resistance genes in H. pylori and the presence of Candida spp., which are proposed to be endosymbiotic hosts of H. pylori, in gastric biopsies of H. pylori-positive patients while simultaneously assessing their relationship. The detection and identification of Candida yeasts and the detection of mutations specific for clarithromycin and fluoroquinolones were performed by using the real-time PCR (RT-PCR) method on DNA extracted from 110 gastric biopsy samples of H. pylori-positive participants. Resistance rate to clarithromycin and fluoroquinolone was 52% and 47%, respectively. Antibiotic resistance was associated with more eradication attempts (p < 0.05). Candida species were detected in nine (8.18%) patients. Candida presence was associated with older age (p < 0.05). A high rate of antibiotic resistance was observed, while Candida presence was scarce, suggesting that endosymbiosis between H. pylori and Candida may not be a major contributing factor to the eradication failure. However, the older age favored Candida gastric mucosa colonization, which could contribute to gastric pathologies and microbiome dysbiosis. © 2023 by the authors.

Helicobacter pylori eradication is characterized by decreasing successful eradication rates. Although treatment failure is primarily associated with resistance to antibiotics, other unknown factors may influence the eradication outcome. This study aimed to assess the presence of the antibiotics resistance genes in H. pylori and the presence of Candida spp., which are proposed to be endosymbiotic hosts of H. pylori, in gastric biopsies of H. pylori-positive patients while simultaneously assessing their relationship. The detection and identification of Candida yeasts and the detection of mutations specific for clarithromycin and fluoroquinolones were performed by using the real-time PCR (RT-PCR) method on DNA extracted from 110 gastric biopsy samples of H. pylori-positive participants. Resistance rate to clarithromycin and fluoroquinolone was 52% and 47%, respectively. Antibiotic resistance was associated with more eradication attempts (p < 0.05). Candida species were detected in nine (8.18%) patients. Candida presence was associated with older age (p < 0.05). A high rate of antibiotic resistance was observed, while Candida presence was scarce, suggesting that endosymbiosis between H. pylori and Candida may not be a major contributing factor to the eradication failure. However, the older age favored Candida gastric mucosa colonization, which could contribute to gastric pathologies and microbiome dysbiosis. © 2023 by the authors.