The activity of cathepsin D and alpha-1 antitrypsin in hip and knee osteoarthritis.

The progress of cartilage decay during joint degeneration is not well monitored with biochemical methods. The role of cathepsin D (CAT-D) in articular cartilage deterioration remains unclear. The aim of this study is to assess the activity of CAT-D and alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) in blood in patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis. The activity of CAT-D and AAT in blood serum of 40 women and 21 men with hip or knee osteoarthritis was determined before total joint replacement, on the tenth day after surgery, and once in 54 healthy patients. The preoperative activity of CAT-D in patients with osteoarthritis was lower by 53.6% (11.00 ± 4.54 10(-2) nM released tyrosine/mg protein/min, P < 0.001) and after surgery by 55.0% (10.67 ± 4.64 10(-2) nM released tyrosine/mg protein/min, P < 0.001) when compared to its activity in healthy patients. There was no significant statistical difference between CAT-D activity before the surgery and its activity on the tenth day after it in the analyzed group (P< 0.496). Simultaneously, the preoperative activity of AAT in the OA (osteoarthritis) patients was by 25.5% (0.93 ± 0.32 mg inhibited trypsin/ml blood serum, P < 0.001) and postoperative was by 44.9% higher (1.26 ± 0.36 mg inhibited trypsin/ml blood serum, P < 0.001) than in healthy patients. The low CAT-D activity in osteoarthritis of big joints is associated with a decrease of cartilage cells during the degenerative process. The higher activity of acute phase protein AAT in OA patients' blood serum confirms the inflammatory component in the osteoarthritis process.

The concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and paraoxonase activity in blood of patients with osteoarthrosis after endoprosthesis implantation.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) in erythrocytes and in blood plasma and the activity of blood paraoxonase (PON1) of patients with osteoarthrosis (OA) submitted to endoprosthesis implantation for evaluating oxidative stress. MATERIAL/METHODS: Study was conducted on 55 patients with OA and on 54 total movement-efficient volunteers. The material for the study was venous blood plasma, serum and erythrocytes. RESULTS: Increased concentration of MDAe before surgery was observed in the group of men and in patients with a degenerative process affecting hip joints. After an implantation of endoprosthesis, MDAe decreased to the level observed in the control groups. In the study group MDA concentration in plasma was slightly lower before surgery, and after an operation it reached the value of the parameter of the reference groups. Regardless of sex or age, paraoxonase activity was almost twice as high in almost all subgroups as in the reference group. A positive correlation between PON 1 activity and MDAe concentration was demonstrated both before and after surgery in the group of men. CONCLUSIONS: The increase of PON1 activity in patients' serum in relation to the control groups indicates a probable pathogenic role of the increased formation of reactive oxygen species in the course of OA and may suggest acute inflammation of the synovial joint. The high level of PON 1 activity after endoprosthesis implantation indicates that surgical treatment may additionally stimulate ROS generation. MDAe concentration indicate more intensive process of lipid peroxidation in the elderly.

B16 and cloudman S91 mouse melanoma cells susceptibility to apoptosis after dacarbazine treatment.

Considering the necessity of an individual choice of cytostatic drugs for patients with cancer disease and tumor cells' resistance to these compounds, their ability to induction of apoptosis should be investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of dacarbazine (DTIC) on morphology and kinetics of proliferation of B16 and Cloudman S91 cells. It is important to determine the kind of death induced by the DTIC and the effect of a specific concentration. The evaluation of apoptosis and necrosis in these two mouse melanoma cell lines in vitro was performed. Induction of apoptosis was estimated in annexin V binding assay by flow cytometry. DNA content and cell cycle phases were determined by propidium iodide staining. DTIC induced morphological changes typical for apoptosis and necrosis in both cell lines. DTIC caused cell cycle arrest in S and G2/M phase of both cell lines which showed hypertetraploidy. The highest induction of apoptosis was observed in DTIC concentration of 200 microg/mL for B16 cells (11%) and 100 microg/mL for apoptosis Cloudman S91 cells (22.2%). Higher doses of DTIC caused intensification of necrotic process. The B16 melanoma cells are more sensitive to DTIC than the Cloudman S91 cells, however more intensive apoptotic process was detected in Cloudman S91 cells already at lower concentration of DTIC.