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Three rapid methods for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis were compared: one immunofluorescence test and two enzyme immunoassays. Cervical and urethral specimens were obtained from 75 women in an outpatient clinic for therapeutic abortions and from 50 women in a sexually transmitted disease clinic. Urethral specimens were also obtained from 154 men in the same clinic. One hundred and nineteen cervical and 272 urethral specimens of a total 391 specimens were tested by the three methods. The direct immunofluorescence test detected Chlamydia trachomatis in 8 % and the two enzyme immunoassays in 10 % and 12 % of the patients. The sensitivity of the immunofluorescence test was 76 % compared to 91 % and 80 % for the two enzyme immunoassay tests. All three tests had a specificity of 99 %. Dilution experiments confirmed that one immunoassay test, Chlamydiazyme, detected most of the positive specimens. The rapid and easily automated enzyme immunoassays are a valuable complement to the culture technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archiv für Dermatologische Forschung is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Archiv für Dermatologische Forschung is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We investigated the effect of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) on skin equivalents. Keratinocytes from involved and uninvolved skin from psoriatic subjects and from healthy subjects were grown on preproduced dermal equivalents (DE) containing fibroblasts from healthy skin or psoriatic lesions. Healthy keratinocytes were added when the dermal equivalents were either 22 days (DE(22)) or 37 days old (DE(37)) and psoriatic keratinocytes when the dermal equivalents were 28-52 days old (DE(28-52)). The skin equivalents were cultured for 11 days in a serum-free medium, and then with or without 500 U/ml IFN-γ for 6 days. The expression of markers associated with differentiation and proliferation were investigated by immunohistochemistry. Differentiation was assessed by computed scores for the expression of cytokeratin 16, involucrin, filaggrin and the receptor for epidermal growth factor. The differentiating effect of IFN-γ on healthy keratinocytes grown on DE(37) was significantly stronger than on psoriatic keratinocytes grown on DE(28-52). In healthy keratinocytes, the differentiating effect of IFN-γ was significantly stronger in skin equivalents containing DE(37) than in those containing DE(22). The proliferation rate, i.e. the percentage of Ki-67 keratinocytes in the basal layer, was studied in healthy keratinocytes grown on DE(22). In these cultures IFN-γ increased the proliferation rate in the presence of psoriatic fibroblasts but not in the presence of healthy fibroblasts. HLA-DR expression was induced only in healthy keratinocytes grown on DE(22). We conclude that the influence of IFN-γ on epidermal differentiation and proliferation is influenced by the origins of both the keratinocytes and the fibroblasts. These findings suggest that interactions between keratinocytes and fibroblasts might be involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The skin equivalent (SE) has been validated as a model for studies on proliferation of keratinocytes. SEs were prepared from normal skin by implanting punch biopsies on dermal equivalents consisting of fibroblasts in a collagen matrix. The outgrowths were measured by planimetry. An immunohistochemical investigation with antibodies against markers associated with proliferation was performed on frozen sections from SEs during outgrowth at 3-6 days (SE6) as well as after completion of outgrowth at 21 days (SE21). Biopsies from normal controls and from uninvolved and involved skin in psoriatic patients were also studied. The antibodies used were Ki-67, cytokeratin 8.12, and antibodies against the receptors for epidermal growth factor (EGFr) and transferrin (TFr). The increase in area was linear during the first 7 days of culture and usually reached the edges of the dermal equivalent at this time. In SE6 TFr was expressed in the basal part of the outgrowth while the other markers were not observed. In SE21 and in psoriasis there was abundant epidermal staining of Ki-67-positive nuclei and cytokeratin 8.12 was detected in the suprabasal part of the epidermis. EGFr and TFr were seen in the basal layer in SE21. In the psoriatic lesions these receptors were found both in the basal and suprabasal layers. The lack of proliferation markers in SE6 indicates that the initial increase in the area of keratinocytes is due to migration from the punch biopsies. Increased cell proliferation is present in SE21, a finding in common with psoriasis and wound healing. The skin equivalents should therefore be an appropriate model for studies on these phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archives of Dermatological Research is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Archiv für Dermatologische Forschung is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Diabetologia is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)