CD14 expression on monocytes and soluble CD14 plasma levels in correlation to the promotor polymorphism of the endotoxin receptor CD14 gene in patients with inactive Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The association of the single nucleotide polymorphism in the promotor of the lipopolysaccharide receptor CD14 gene (T/C at position -159) with Crohn's disease has recently been demonstrated. This CD14 polymorphism is a potential predisposition factor responsible for inter-individual differing inflammatory reactions involving the CD14 receptor. We studied the correlation between the CD14 genotype (CC, CT, TT) and the membrane-bound CD14 monocyte expression and soluble CD14 in patients with inactive Crohn's disease. METHODOLOGY: In 23 patients and 29 healthy volunteers the membrane-bound CD14 density on unstimulated monocytes and soluble CD14 plasma levels were examined using quantitative flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: In normal controls membrane-bound CD14 monocyte density did not differ significantly between the genotypes CC, CT, or TT. In contrast, patients with inactive Crohn's disease and genotype TT showed a significantly lower membrane-bound CD14 density on monocytes compared to patients with genotype CC. Soluble CD14 plasma levels were significantly higher in patients with inactive Crohn's disease compared to the same genotype of healthy controls, but there was no significant difference between the genotypes CC, CT, and TT. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that the membrane-bound CD14 monocyte expression and the soluble CD14 plasma levels in patients with inactive Crohn's disease completely differ from that in healthy individuals. In order to develop individualized therapy strategies further studies should be carried out to evaluate whether the TT genotype is associated with differences in the clinical course of Crohn's disease and in the response to antibacterial treatment.

Linezolid penetration into bone and joint tissues infected with methicillin-resistant staphylococci.

Penetration of linezolid into bone and joint tissues was studied by high-performance liquid chromatography in 13 patients suffering from implant-associated infections with methicillin-resistant staphylococci. Mean concentrations of linezolid in infected tissues were greater than 10 mg/liter in a sampling time range of 35 to 124 min after administration of the preoperative dose, except in bone specimens, where they reached 3.9 +/- 2.0 mg/liter.