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- Landin-Wilhelmsen, Kerstin, 1952, et al.
(author)
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Spontaneous pregnancies in a Turner syndrome woman with Y-chromosome mosaicism.
- 2004
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In: Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics. - 1058-0468. ; 21:6, s. 229-30
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSE: To present a case involving pregnancies in a Turner woman with Y-chromosome mosaicism. METHOD: A descriptive case report of a single patient. RESULTS: A 39-year-old woman was admitted to the endocrine clinic due to fatigue and premature menopause. She had tried in-vitro fertilization and oocyte donation twice without pregnancies but became spontaneously pregnant at age 36 and 37 and delivered two girls. During the seventh month of the second pregnancy, a dissecting aortic aneurysm, a coarctation, and subsequently a pheochromocytoma were detected and repaired. Hypothyroidism developed. Turner syndrome was diagnosed. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis of lymphocytes revealed 31% XY cells and 4% XYY cells, while 66% of buccal cells had an XY constitution. Oophorectomy revealed no malignancy. FISH revealed 54% XY cells in the left gonad and 38% XY cells in the right. CONCLUSION: Turner syndrome should be suspected in women with aortic dissection, in general, but especially in those with additional features such as horseshoe kidney, coarctation, and infertility.
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- Bjersing, Jan, 1966, et al.
(author)
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Loss of ileal IgA+ plasma cells and of CD4+ lymphocytes in ileal Peyer's patches of vitamin A deficient rats.
- 2002
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In: Clinical and experimental immunology. - 0009-9104. ; 130:3, s. 404-8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Child mortality in diarrhoeal disease is increased significantly by vitamin A deficiency in poor countries. The pathological mechanisms are not known in detail. However, in this paper we report that vitamin A-deficient Wistar rats had much reduced IgA+ plasma cells in the ileal lamina propria (eightfold reduction from 470 cells/mm(2), P = 0.009), as well as a prominent reduction of CD4+ cells in the parafollicular regions of ileal Peyer's patches (reduction from 7200 to 105 cells/mm(2), P = 0.009). IL-2Ralpha-chain (CD25) positive lymphocytes in the ileal Peyer's patches were also reduced significantly in vitamin A deficiency (from 1400 to 300 cells/mm(2), P = 0.009). The density of CD8 cells tended to be increased relative to the control animals (from 5100 to 6000 cells/mm(2), not statistically significant). In conclusion, the marked decrease of lamina propria IgA+ plasma cells may be one cause of the high diarrhoeal mortality in vitamin A deficiency. This, in turn, appears to be related to reduced numbers of activated or regulatory CD4+ T cells in Peyer's patches.
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3. |
- Friman, Vanda, 1952, et al.
(author)
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Aberrant IgG2 antibody response to Neisseria meningitidis polysaccharide A after vaccination in frequently infected compared to healthy IgA-deficient individuals.
- 2004
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In: Scandinavian journal of immunology. - : Wiley. - 0300-9475 .- 1365-3083. ; 60:3, s. 292-8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In search for a possible explanation of the phenotypic heterogeneity in selective immunoglobulin (Ig)A deficiency, we studied the IgG2 antibody response to meningococcal polysaccharide A (PSA) in IgA-deficient (IgAd) individuals after vaccination with meningococcal A + C polysaccharide vaccine. Two groups of IgAd individuals, one frequently infected and one clinically apparently healthy, as well as healthy controls, were studied. In response to meningococcal A + C polysaccharide vaccine, a significant titre increase of specific IgG2 anti-PSA was found in 71% of the control individuals, in 50% of the healthy and in 42% of the infection-prone IgAd individuals. The specific IgG2 response against meningococcal PSA was significantly lower in the infection-prone IgAd individuals compared to the controls (P < 0.05). Among the IgAd individuals who responded with a significant IgG2 antibody increase, the IgG2 antibody response was significantly lower in the infection-prone than in the healthy IgAd individuals (P < 0.05). Thus, a limited capacity to mount a specific IgG2 response may suggest a more profound antibody maturation defect in infection-prone IgAd patients compared to healthy IgAd individuals.
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4. |
- Hahn-Zoric, Mirjana, 1949, et al.
(author)
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Antibody response to the Haemophilus influenzae type b-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine in healthy and infection-prone individuals with IgG3 subclass deficiency.
- 2004
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In: Journal of clinical immunology. - 0271-9142. ; 24:5, s. 561-70
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Searching for a possible explanation for the phenotypic heterogeneity in IgG3 deficiency, we studied the antibody response to a polysaccharide and a protein antigen in IgG3-deficient (IgG3d) adults after vaccination with Haemophilus influenzae type b capsular polysaccharide (Hib CP) conjugated to tetanus toxoid. Distribution of isotypes, idiotypes, clonotypes, and Gm allotypes were compared. All the vaccinated individuals, irrespective of the level of IgG3 and proneness to infections, developed protective levels of anti-Hib CP. Significantly lower prevaccination levels of IgG2 (p < 0.05) and IgG4 anti-Hib CP (p < 0.04 and p < 0.03) were noted among the infection-prone compared to the healthy IgG3d individuals and/or controls. Seventy percent of the IgG3d patients and none of the controls had the low responding Gm(ga-n/ga-n) genotype, while the majority of the controls had the alternative Gm(bfn/bfn) genotype. The conjugate ACT-HIB vaccine efficiently overcomes the IgG3 subclass deficiency state and the genetic predisposition for lower responsiveness, providing protection against Hib and tetanus infections. The proneness to infection in some IgG3d individuals may relate to their low prevaccination antibody levels.
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7. |
- Hanson, Lars Åke, 1934
(author)
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Protective effects of breastfeeding against urinary tract infection
- 2004
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In: Acta paediatrica. - 0803-5253. ; 93:2, s. 154-6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Protective factors in human milk act on mucosal membranes in the upper and lower respiratory tract and in the gastrointestinal tract. The way in which breastfeeding may reduce the risk of infections in a more remote site such as the urinary tract will be elucidated. CONCLUSION: The protective effect of breastfeeding on the urinary tract illustrates the complexity of the immune defence mechanisms responsible for such an action.
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8. |
- Hessle, Christina, 1965, et al.
(author)
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Interleukin-10 produced by the innate immune system masks in vitro evidence of acquired T-cell immunity to E. coli.
- 2000
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In: Scandinavian journal of immunology. - 0300-9475. ; 52:1, s. 13-20
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Bacteria trigger stimulation of antigen-specific, as well as innate, immune responses. Cytokines and other products of cells belonging to the innate immune system may interfere with the detection of acquired immunity to whole bacteria in vitro. Proliferation and cytokine production by human blood mononuclear cells in response to a whole UV-killed Escherichia coli was compared with the response to commonly used antigen preparations: purified protein derivative (PPD), Candida albicans and influenza proteins. E. coli induced a weaker proliferative response with later onset than did the other antigens, and production of interferon (IFN)-gamma comparable with that in response to C. albicans and influenza vaccine, but lower than that induced by PPD. Both proliferation and IFN-gamma production were abolished by removal of CD4 cells or blocking of HLA-D, but not CD1 antigen-presenting molecules. Purified lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced neither proliferation nor IFN-gamma production. None of the antigen preparations stimulated interleukin (IL)-4 production but, in contrast to the other antigens, whole E. coli, as well as purified O6 LPS, induced large quantities of IL-10. IL-10 production was independent of CD4 cells or HLA-D molecules. Blocking of IL-10 by neutralizing antibodies increased both E. coli-induced proliferation and IFN-gamma production markedly. Conversely, the addition of whole E. coli or LPS to cultures stimulated with other antigens (C. albicans or Staphylococcus aureus) down-regulated proliferative and IFN-gamma responses, an effect which was at least partly IL-10 dependent. The results indicate a substantial T-cell memory to commensal E. coli, but suggest that the evidence of such memory, e.g. proliferation and IFN-gamma production, is effectively prevented by IL-10 and perhaps other factors produced by monocytes in response to bacteria. Thus, the innate immune responses must be taken into account when acquired immune responses to microbes are measured.
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9. |
- Hytönen, Ann-Marie, et al.
(author)
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Haplotypes of the interleukin-4 receptor alpha chain gene associate with susceptibility to and severity of atopic asthma
- 2004
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In: Clin Exp Allergy. ; 34:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Summary Background Development of asthma is likely to depend on a complex interaction between environmental and genetic factors. Several groups have suggested the gene of the IL-4 receptor alpha chain (IL4R) as a candidate gene for the development of asthma, although association with single polymorphisms has shown contradicting results. Objective We chose to analyse IL4R gene haplotypes and assess their possible relevance in susceptibility to asthma and to certain clinical phenotypes. Methods IL4R gene haplotypes were analysed, based on the three markers C-3223T, Q551R and I50V, using the expectation-maximization algorithm, in 170 atopic asthma patients and 350 controls, all adult Swedish Caucasians. Results Our data showed significantly higher levels of soluble IL-4R (sIL-4R) in asthma patients compared with controls (P<0.0001). Furthermore, we showed a significant association between the IL4R haplotype containing the alleles T-3223, V50 and R551 (TVR) of the IL4R gene, and susceptibility to atopic asthma, with a frequency of 6.5% in the patients compared with 1% in the controls (P<0.0005). A subgroup of patients with heterozygous or homozygous state for the T-3223, V50 and R551 alleles, also had lower levels of sIL-4R in their circulation compared with patients with homozygous state in the C-3223, I50 and Q551 alleles (P<0.05) and showed less severe asthma according to lung function test (P<0.05). Analysis of single markers showed the T-3223 IL4R allele to associate with lower serum levels of sIL-4 receptor (P<0.0001) and patients carrying the T allele also had more symptoms of active asthma (wheezing, P<0.01; coughing, P<0.05 and breathing difficulties, P<0.01). Conclusion Our data suggest that asthmatic patients with low levels of sIL-4 receptor may represent a genetically distinct subgroup of atopic asthma. TVR haplotype analyses confirm the importance of IL4R as a candidate gene for susceptibility to asthma. This finding may have implications for the understanding of the pathogenesis of asthma and possibly for the development of more specific therapies.
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10. |
- Korotkova, Marina, 1954, et al.
(author)
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Dietary n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratio in the perinatal period affects bone parameters in adult female rats.
- 2004
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In: The British journal of nutrition. - 0007-1145. ; 92:4, s. 643-8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PUFA and their metabolites are important regulators of bone formation and resorption. The effect of PUFA on bone growth may be especially striking during the perinatal period. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of diets with different n-6:n-3 fatty acid (FA) ratios during the perinatal period on bone parameters in the adult offspring. During late gestation and throughout lactation, rat dams were fed an isoenergetic diet containing 70 g linseed oil (n-3 diet), soyabean oil (n-6+n-3 diet) or sunflower-seed oil (n-6 diet) per kg with n-6:n-3 FA ratios of 0.4, 9 and 216, respectively. The offspring were weaned onto an ordinary chow and followed until 30 weeks of age. Bone parameters were analysed using peripheral quantitative computerised tomography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Femur length and cortical cross-sectional bone area and bone mineral content were significantly higher in the n-6+n-3 group than in the other groups. Cortical bone thickness in the n-6+n-3 group was increased compared with the n-3 group, but most cortical bone parameters did not differ between the n-3 and n-6 groups. The results suggest that regulatory mechanisms were influenced by the n-6:n-3 FA ratio early in life and not compensated for by the introduction of an ordinary diet after weaning.
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