Association between elevated neutrophil defensin levels and endometritis.
(25/185)
The role of host defenses in the pathogenesis of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) remains largely uncharacterized. The antimicrobial peptides defensins are important components of innate host defense. To explore the relationship between neutrophil defensins and upper genital tract infection, 377 women who were at risk for PID were enrolled in a study. Women infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, or Chlamydia trachomatis had higher median levels of neutrophil defensins (human neutrophil peptides 1-3) in the vagina than did uninfected women. Neutrophil defensins were strongly associated with the presence of endometritis after the analysis was controlled for the presence of sexually transmitted diseases. Vaginal neutrophils were associated with endometritis only in the presence of elevated defensin levels, which highlights the importance of neutrophil activation, rather than the presence of neutrophils alone, in this inflammatory process. Neutrophil defensins appear to participate in the host defense in ascending pelvic infection and the pathogenesis of PID. (+info)
TNF contributes to the immunopathology of perforin/Fas ligand double deficiency.
(26/185)
Perforin (pfp)/Fas ligand (FasL) double-deficient mice have previously been shown to be infertile, lose weight and die prematurely due to tissue destruction caused by a significant inflammatory infiltrate of monocytes/macrophages and T cells. Herein we have compared disease progression in mice additionally deficient in the inflammatory mediator TNF. Unlike pfp/FasL double-deficient mice (TNF+/+ pfp-/- gld), mice lacking functional TNF, FasL and pfp (TNF-/- pfp-/- gld) were comparatively fertile, with the majority of mice not suffering severe pancreatitis or hysterosalphingitis in the first 5 months of life. The mean lifespan of TNF-/- pfp-/- gld mice was 217 +/- 79 days compared with 69 +/- 10 days for TNF+/+ pfp-/- gld mice and the majority of moribund TNF-/- pfp-/- gld mice appeared to die as a result of severe pancreatitis, suggesting that loss of TNF was not completely protective. At 8 weeks of age, characteristics associated with the gld phenotype, such as expansion of B220+ CD4- CD8- T cells, lymphadenopathy and hypergammaglobulinemia were comparable between TNF+/+ pfp-/- gld and TNF-/- pfp-/- gld mice, although the lymphoid organs of TNF+/+ pfp-/- gld mice contained greater numbers of B220+ CD4- CD8- T cells, macrophages and T cells. We conclude that TNF is necessary for the full manifestation of immune dysregulation caused by pfp/FasL-deficiency, in particular in the early and overwhelming tissue infiltration and destruction caused by inflammatory cells. (+info)
Seroprevalence and comparison of isolates of endometriotropic bovine herpesvirus-4.
(27/185)
Sixty-eight cases of suppurative, ulcerative endometritis associated with Bovine Herpesvirus-4 (BHV-4) in postparturient dairy cows (62 Holsteins and 6 Jerseys, mean age 4.2 years) were confirmed by a combination of histopathology, fluorescent antibody assays, electron microscopic evaluation of uterus, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All cases occurred in the 3- to 28-day postpartum period, and histologic lesions among various cows were consistent when compared with postpartum interval. The endometrial lining epithelium was necrotic and ulcerated from 3 to 7 days postpartum, with only mild inflammation in the lamina propria and submucosa. From 1 to 4 weeks postpartum, the ulcers were confluent to diffuse. Epithelium was replaced by fibrinonecrotic, suppurative mats, resulting in severe bacterial pyometra by day 24. Seroprevalence to BHV-4 in one dairy with a history of 18 mortality cases was 36% (107 of 296). In a random sample of 8 cows from this herd, none had serologic titers in blood sampled 2 weeks prepartum, but 3 of 8 seroconverted with significant titers of 1:8 to 1:16 at 2 weeks postpartum. By 10 weeks postpartum, all 8 cows returned to negative serologic status. Two of 6 cats from the premises also had positive titers. Random serum samples taken from 480 dairy cattle at sale barns indicated 76 (16%) were positive by serum neutralization. Clinical signs, postparturient timing, and histologic lesions were very similar to those previously reported in Belgium with BHV-4. But sequence analysis of PCR products of the glycoprotein B region of 4 separate field isolates of endometriotropic BHV-4 suggests these field isolates were more closely related to the North American nonvirulent strain DN-599 than to the endometriotropic European strain V. (+info)
Evaluation of the field application of PCR in the eradication of contagious equine metritis from Japan.
(28/185)
The effectiveness of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a field application test for the eradication of contagious equine metritis (CEM) was evaluated. Seven-thousands five-hundred and thirty-four genital swabs were collected from 4,026 Thoroughbred broodmares and stallions in Japan to test "high risk" horses as well as for general surveillance testing from 1998 to 2001. Bacterial isolation as well as PCR testing of original specimens and cultured specimens was performed for detection of Taylorella equigenitalis from genital swabs. As a result, T. equigenitalis was detected in 12 mares and 1 stallion by PCR, although the bacteria were isolated from only 2 of the PCR-positive mares. CEM-infected and carrier horses were treated by a combination of chemotherapy and surgery. Subsequent follow-up testing over a 3-year period did not detect T. equigenitalis. It was demonstrated that PCR testing was more sensitive than isolation as a method for the detection of T. equigenitalis from genital swabs of horses in the field. It was therefore suggested that a combination of PCR testing and treatment were useful measures in the eradication of CEM from Japan. (+info)
The role of oestrogen in the control of ciliated cells of the human endometrium.
(29/185)
The incidence of ciliated cells in the human endometrium was determined. Conditions associated with an excess of oestrogenic activity were characterized by an increased incidence of ciliated cells, whilst oestrogen deficiency was associated with decreased numbers. When endometrium was cultured, addition of oestradiol-17 beta caused an increase in the ciliated cell population. (+info)
Mammary neoplasia in a closed beagle colony.
(30/185)
The incidence rate of mammary neoplasia in a large colony of beagles and the relationship to internal skeletal and/or liver radiation, age, relatively late ovariectomy (4 years and older), endometritis, parity status, and adrenal weight were examined. Of these various factors, age was the only condition that was clearly correlated with changes in the mammary tumor incidence. The rate became significant at approximately eight years of age and increased progressively throughout the older age classes. Among the female dogs, the incidence of mammary cancer was higher than that of any other form of spontaneous malignancy. (+info)
Myometrial inflammation in human delivery and its association with labor and infection.
(31/185)
The presence of inflammation in decidual and myometrial samples as defined by histopathologic examination and the association between the myometrial inflammation and different maternal infectious morbidity and labor-related clinical variables were evaluated in 648 consecutive women who underwent cesarean section at various gestational periods. Altogether, 1,205 histologic (559 decidual and 646 myometrial) samples were studied. In normal pregnancies, myometrial inflammatory lesions were detected rarely before parturition, indicating their abnormality in these cases. After ruptured fetal membranes with advanced cervical dilatation and in patients with clinical chorioamnionitis, myometrial samples commonly were infiltrated by leukocytes, up to moderate and marked densities. Moderate to marked myometrial inflammation showed no diagnostic value in high-risk term parturients for the prediction of postoperative endometritis. Our study is the first to show the frequency of myometrial inflammation in nonselected consecutive pregnant women and, thus, is important for better understanding the myometrial inflammatory response during human parturition. (+info)
Effect of intrauterine bacterial infusions and subsequent endometritis on prostaglandin F2 alpha metabolite concentrations in postpartum beef cows.
(32/185)
Multiparous Angus and crossbred Angus cows were used to determine the effect of induced endometritis on plasma concentrations of 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGFM) and progesterone (P4) and on duration of the estrous cycle of treatment. Beginning on the day of calving (d 0), blood samples were collected on alternate days. On three consecutive days, ranging from d 8 to 14 of the first postpartum estrous cycle, uterine horns were inoculated transcervically with either 3 x 10(9) colony forming units (cfu) of Actinomyces pyogenes and 1.5 x 10(9) cfu of beta-hemolytic Escherichia coli (treated; n = 9) in sterile PBS or with sterile PBS alone (control; n = 9). Samples of uterine fluid were collected by transcervical aspiration twice weekly from just before the start of each series of inoculations until the end of the experiment. Endometrial biopsies were collected transcervically between d 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 after inoculation. Based on clinical observations and results of bacterial cultures, all treated cows developed acute uterine infections. Controls did not develop uterine infections. Endometrial biopsies indicated that there were no significant diffuse or focal cellular reactions in response to the infection. The interestrous interval was greater (P less than .0003) for treated (27.7 +/- 1.0 d) than for control (20.6 +/- 1.0 d) cows, but P4 concentrations were similar between the two groups. Mean PGFM concentration and PGFM profiles were similar (P greater than .10) between treated and control cows before bacterial infusions. Bacterial infusions increased mean PGFM concentration (P less than .0001) and changed the shape of the PGFM profile (P less than .02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) (+info)