Complement proteins are elevated in blood serum but not CSF in clinical high-risk and antipsychotic-naïve first-episode psychosis.

Alterations in the complement system have been reported in some people with psychotic disorder, including in pre-psychotic individuals, suggesting that complement pathway dysregulation may be a feature of the early psychosis phenotype. Measurement of complement protein expression in psychosis has been largely restricted to the blood from patients with established illness who were taking antipsychotic medication. The present study examined a range of complement proteins in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) derived from individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis (CHR), antipsychotic-naïve first-episode psychosis (FEP) and healthy controls. A panel of complement proteins (C1q, C3, C3b/iC3b, C4, factor B and factor H) were quantified in serum and matched CSF in 72 participants [n = 23 individuals at CHR, n = 24 antipsychotic-naïve FEP, n = 25 healthy controls] using a multiplex immunoassay. Analysis of covariance was used to assess between-group differences in complement protein levels in serum and CSF. Pearson's correlation was used to assess the relationship between serum and CSF proteins, and between complement proteins and symptom severity. In serum, all proteins, except for C3, were significantly higher in FEP and CHR. While a trend was observed, protein levels in CSF did not statistically differ between groups and appeared to be impacted by BMI and sample storage time. Across the whole sample, serum and CSF protein levels were not correlated. In FEP, higher levels of serum classical and alternative grouped pathway components were correlated with symptom severity. Our exploratory study provides evidence for increased activity of the peripheral complement system in the psychosis spectrum, with such elevations varying with clinical severity. Further study of complement in CSF is warranted. Longitudinal investigations are required to elucidate whether complement proteins change peripherally and/or centrally with progression of psychotic illness.

Systemic scleroderma patients have improved skin perfusion after the transdermal application of PGE1 ethyl ester.

BACKGROUND: Patients with systemic scleroderma exhibit a noticeable slowing of blood cell velocities or even stasis in the capillaries of the skin. In this study the effects of transdermally applied prostaglandin PGE1 ethyl ester on nutritive cutaneous perfusion and on Raynaud's symptoms were investigated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 24 patients with systemic scleroderma were treated transdermally over a period of 14 days with prostaglandin E1 ethyl ester patches. The response of blood cell velocity in the nailfold capillaries to cold exposure was tested in 20 patients, and all of the patients recorded the number of Raynaud's episodes in a journal over a period of two weeks. RESULTS: After the transdermal application of prostaglandin E1 ethyl ester there was an increase in blood cell velocity in the nutritive capillaries of systemic scleroderma patients (increase from 0.35 +/- 0.14 mm/s to 0.47 +/- 0.11 mm/s, (p < 0.05)). At the same time there was a decrease in the number of Raynaud's episodes (2.9 +/- 2.4 per day to 2.6 +/- 2.0 per day (p < 0.05)). CONCLUSION: The transdermal application of prostaglandin E1 ethyl ester was shown to have a favourable effect on nutritive blood flow in the capillaries of the skin in systemic scleroderma patients.

Isolation and sequence analysis of a chalcone synthase cDNA of Matthiola incana R. Br. (Brassicaceae).

A cDNA clone (pcM12) of the chalcone synthase (CHS) of Matthiola incana R. Br. (Brassicaceae) was isolated from a cDNA library, sequenced and analysed. It comprises the complete coding sequence for the CHS and 5' and 3' untranslated regions. The deduced amino acid sequence shows that the Matthiola incana CHS consists of 394 amino acid residues. Comparison with CHS amino acid sequences of other plants indicates more than 82% homology.

Transdermal application of prostaglandin E1 ethyl ester for the treatment of trophic acral skin lesions in a patient with systemic scleroderma.

An early dinical symptom in scleroderma patients is Raynaud's phenomenon. Later cutaneous manifestations of the disease include oedematous swelling in the extremities and in more extreme cases often very painful, refractory acral necroses. We report on a 56-year-old female patient who participated in a prospective, double-blind, multicentre comparative pilot study because of her severe Raynaud symptoms, with dystrophic skin lesions on both hands. The goal of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of prostaglandin E1 ethyl ester in a transdermal drug delivery system compared with placebo in patients with secondary Raynaud's phenomenon associated with systemic scleroderma or mixed connective tissue disease. After 2 weeks of verum treatment the patient experienced a marked improvement of Raynaud's attacks, with increased capillary flow velocity, reduced blood stasis and dinical healing of the acral trophic lesions. For this patient the transdermal application of prostaglandin E1 ethyl ester in the form of a medicated patch proved to be a simple and effective therapy for the acral trophic skin lesions associated with systemic scleroderma.

Normalized quantification by real-time PCR of Epstein-Barr virus load in patients at risk for posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders.

The load of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of transplant recipients represents a predictive parameter for posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD). The aim of our work was to develop a rapid and reliable PCR protocol for the quantification of cell-associated EBV DNA in transplant recipients. In contrast to previous studies, a protocol that facilitated quantification independent of photometric nucleic acid analysis was established. We took advantage of the real-time PCR technology which allows for single-tube coamplification of EBV and genomic C-reactive protein (CRP) DNA. EBV copy numbers were normalized by division by the amount of CRP DNA, with the quotient representing the actual amount of amplifiable genomic DNA per reaction. Coamplification of CRP DNA did not result in a diminished detection limit for EBV. By using the protocol without normalization, EBV copy numbers in 4 out of 10 PTLD patients were within the normal range determined with data for 114 transplant recipients that served as controls. After normalization, however, all of the PTLD patients had a higher viral load than the control population, indicating an increased sensitivity of the assay. Moreover, EBV copy numbers obtained for one patient by conventional quantification and suggestive of relapsing PTLD were within normal range after normalization. We conclude that normalization of PCR signals to coamplified genomic DNA allows a more accurate quantification of cell-bound EBV.

Studies on the chalcone synthase gene of two higher plants: petroselinum hortense and matthiola incana.

Two higher plant systems are presented which allow to study coordinated gene expression of the light-induced metabolic pathway of flavonoid biosynthesis: tissue culture cells of Petroselinum hortense (Apiaceae) and different developmental stages of various genotypes of Matthiola incana (Brassicaceae). The gene structure of the chalcone synthase is mainly studied. A cDNA clone (pLF56) of parsley has been constructed and characterized conferring the chalcone synthase gene sequence. Strong cross hybridization between the parsley cDNA and Matthiola DNA allowed to identify a HindIII fragment (6000 bp) identical in size for parsley and different Matthiola wild type lines and a mutant line.

Molecular adsorption bond lengths at metal oxide surfaces: failure of current theoretical methods.

New experimental structure determinations for molecular adsorbates on NiO(100) reveal much shorter Ni-C and Ni-N bond lengths for adsorbed CO and NH3 as well as NO (2.07, 1.88, 2.07 A) than previously computed theoretical values, with discrepancies up to 0.79 A, highlighting a major weakness of current theoretical descriptions of oxide-molecule bonding. Comparisons with experimentally determined bond lengths of the same species adsorbed atop Ni on metallic Ni(111) show values on the oxide surface that are consistently larger (0.1-0.3 A) than on the metal, indicating somewhat weaker bonding.

Bond lengths and bond strengths in weak and strong chemisorption: N2, CO, and CO/H on nickel surfaces.

New chemical-state-specific scanned-energy mode photoelectron diffraction experiments and density functional theory calculations, applied to CO, CO/H, and N2 adsorption on Ni(100), show that chemisorption bond length changes associated with large changes in bond strength are small, but those associated with changes in bond order are much larger, and are similar to those found in molecular systems. Specifically, halving the bond strength of atop CO to Ni increases the Ni-C distance by 0.06 A, but halving the bond order (atop to bridge site) at fixed bond strength causes an increase of 0.16 A.