| 1. |
- Agardh, Daniel, et al.
(author)
-
Coeliac disease-specific tissue transglutaminase autoantibodies are associated with osteoporosis and related fractures in middle-aged women
- 2009
-
In: Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1502-7708 .- 0036-5521. ; 44:5, s. 571-578
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective. To investigate whether the serological marker for coeliac disease, tissue transglutaminase autoantibody (tTGAb), is associated with decreased bone mass density (BMD) and increased frequency of fractures in middle-aged women screened for osteoporosis. Material and methods. The study comprised 6480 women (mean age 56 years, range 50-64) who answered a number of questionnaires and who underwent dual X-ray absorptiometry of the wrist bone. Serum samples were analysed for tTGAb using radioligand binding assays. A tTGAb level of 4 U/ml was used to determine a positive value and a level of 17 U/ml was used as an alternative discrimination of high levels. Results. A tTGAb level 4 U/ml was found among 90/6480 (1.4%) women and correlated with lower BMD (multiple linear regression coefficient -382.1; 95% CI = - 673.6-90.7, p=0.011) and with fracture frequency (r=0.18, p=0.023). The 59 women with tTGAb levels 17 U/ml had a lower BMD (0.410.08 g/cm2 versus 0.440.08 g/cm2, p=0.001) and a lower T-score (-1.401.28 versus -0.901.40, p=0.003) as well as a higher prevalence of osteoporosis (13.4% versus 6.5%, p=0.008) compared with the remaining 6421 women with tTGAb levels 17 U/ml. Furthermore, fracture frequency was more pronounced in women with tTGAb levels 17 U/ml, among whom 19/59 (32.2%) had fractures during the study period compared with 1204/6421 (18.8%) among women with tTGAb levels 17 U/ml (p=0.009). Conclusions. High levels of tTGAb indicating coeliac disease are associated with lower BMD and higher fracture frequency in women between 50 and 64 years of age. Osteometry is therefore warranted in middle-aged women detected with tTGAb.
|
|
| 2. |
- Gredmark-Russ, Sara, et al.
(author)
-
Active cytomegalovirus infection in aortic smooth muscle cells from patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm
- 2009
-
In: Journal of Molecular Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0946-2716 .- 1432-1440. ; 87:4, s. 347-356
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is associated with atherosclerosis and transplant vascular sclerosis. The aim of this study was to explore the hypothesis that active CMV infection in the vessel wall could be associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). We examined the prevalence of CMV in AAA specimens from 22 patients undergoing surgery and, in five cases, characterized the function of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) from the aneurysm in vitro. Twenty-one (95%) of the 22 AAA specimens were CMV positive by a polymerase chain reaction assay, in situ hybridization, or a highly sensitive immunohistochemical staining technique. No positive cells were found in aortas from three CMV-seronegative organ donor cadavers. CMV immediate-early and late antigens were expressed in SMCs in the lesions and were associated with 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) expression. CMV-positive intimal SMCs migrated 6.6 +/- 1.5 times more efficiently than CMV-negative medial SMCs (p < 0.05). In vitro CMV infection of medial SMCs resulted in a 3.2 +/- 1.2 times increase in migration (p < 0.05). The intimal migration was significantly inhibited by antibodies against basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF; p < 0.05) in a dose-dependent fashion. Antibodies against platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-AB, insulin-like growth factor 1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), RANTES, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha, or interleukin-1beta did not significantly affect intimal SMC migration. However, intimal and medial SMCs secreted similar amounts of bFGF, MCP-1, MIP-1alpha, RANTES, PDGF-AB, PDGF-BB, epidermal growth factor, and VEGF. CMV infection in vitro of intimal and medial cells did not result in significant changes of bFGF or MCP-1 secretion. Since CMV infection can affect several functional parameters in SMCs, including several key factors in infected SMCs, our findings provide support for the hypothesis that CMV contributes to the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm.
|
|
