X Bossuyt

..We describe three monoclonal IgM paraproteins for which nephelometric IgM quantification generated inaccurate results...

..In conclusion, automated capillary zone electrophoresis with Capillarys provides for reproducible, rapid, and reliable serum electrophoresis...

..5) or pentamerization of IgM M-proteins. Therefore, other causes for discrepancies should be investigated...

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..Automated systems for image acquisition and interpretation of indirect immunofluorescence-based tests are increasingly used. The diagnostic performance of such automated approach in untreated patients has not been reported...

..Historically, ACA were detected by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) on HEp-2 cells and confirmed by immunoassays using recombinant CENP-B. The objective of this study was to evaluate a novel CENP-A peptide ELISA...

..The reader will be provided with a summation and an understanding of CZE-specific interference...

..We report age-related reference intervals for capillary zone electrophoresis for children between 1 and 14 years of age...

..This report describes a nephelometric assay for measuring complement 3d (C3d)...

..This review aims to make laboratory professionals and clinicians more familiar with the basic concepts that deal with the clinical performance characteristics of a laboratory test...

..Pancreatic antibodies and newly identified anti-microbial antibodies (anti-outer membrane porin C, anti-I2, and anti-flagellin) are also reviewed...

..This minireview gives a survey of interfering substances, including iodinated contrast agents and antibiotics...

..Intramicrosomal UDP-GlcNAc stimulates influx of UDP-GlcUA and thereby enhances delivery of UDP-GlcUA to the catalytic center of UGT in the ER lumen...

..We describe a survey on the detection of anti-SSA antibodies using a commercial substrate that overexpresses SSA...

..We conclude that CZE offers a clinically reliable alternative to AGE and CAE and has the advantages of automation, higher precision, and faster turnaround time...

..The sensitivity for detection and identification of oligoclonal banding by capillary electrophoresis was inferior to immunofixation...

..In the other cases, no differences between the manual methods and the semiautomated method were seen with respect to paraprotein identification...

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..This effect was more pronounced with the Beckman reagent than with the Behring reagent in all three nephelometers and was independent of the type of instrument (fixed-time vs rate nephelometry)...

..In conclusion, the presence of the typical 'distinctive' SS-A pattern on IF using the HEp-2000 slides is highly specific for the presence of autoantibodies to SS-A and has a sensitivity of 88% for detecting these antibodies...

..The combination of tests is probably more powerful, although, clinical subgroups still need to be defined. The usefulness of these markers in indeterminate colitis needs to be studied prospectively...

..The association is much weaker in patients belonging to mixed families. ASCA is a stable marker and is not a secondary phenomenon due to increased intestinal permeability...

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..Although agreement between and within assays is good, caution is important when absolute values are used. Standardization of ASCA measurements is greatly needed...

..Use of two tests for detection of RF is not recommended. One test for detection of RF together with a more specific test, such as antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide, is suggested...

..Recently, new ELISA based immunoassays have become available for the detection of anti-PM/Scl and anti-RNA Pol-lII antibodies...

..Glutamine and vitamin C could, hypothetically, prevent the negative effects of strenuous exercise on the immune function, but further studies are needed to demonstrate and explain these effects...

..However, currently, they have no place in the diagnostic work up. Their real promise may lie in their use as surrogate markers of complicated aggressive disease as shown in various retrospective studies, but prospective data are lacking...

..We diagnosed a new case of a clonal T-LGL proliferation in a 6-year-old girl presenting with severe neutropenia and pure red blood cell aplasia (PRCA)...

..We evaluated the ImmunoCAP technique for measurement of IgG specific to Aspergillus fumigatus and pigeon antigens...

..In conclusion, the 5' nuclease assay using MGB probes is useful for large-scale screening of point mutations/polymorphisms, even when they are in close proximity...

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..Moreover, the consistency of the measurements is better. A major disadvantage for statistical analysis, however, is that the Attractor program has not been adapted for non-parametric data...

..6%. Interestingly, 48.5% of patients do not show antibodies against ASCA or pANCA. Most of these patients remain diagnosed with IC during their further clinical course, perhaps reflecting a distinct clinicoserological entity...

..We observed two main staining patterns, both of which were present in IBD and were associated with specific phenotypes of the disease...

..pneumoniae or soluble pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides. In conclusion, our findings provide evidence for a versatile role of IgM memory B cells in T-independent and T-dependent immune responses...

..We studied whether and to what extent immunologic and genetic factors are associated with increased susceptibility to respiratory infections...

..Examples of electrophoretic patterns are given...

..We evaluated whether a strategy that is based on screening with ELISA or fluoroenzymeimmunoassay (FEIA) is an accurate alternative to screening with indirect immunofluorescence (IIF)...

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..The currently available literature on IgG3 deficiency is reviewed with specific emphasis on the peculiarities of the IgG3 subclass, the clinical relevance of IgG3 deficiency as well as the therapeutic options...

..A shift towards a Th2 cytokine profile is present in FGID, while the cellular immunophenotype remains largely unchanged. Further research is indicated and could provide new therapeutic strategies for these disorders...

..In this article we describe the indications, the method used to measure antibodies to capsular pneumococcal polysaccharide and the way the results have to be interpreted...

..In this family the father developed Crohn's disease (CD) after moving from Morocco to Belgium and successively 4 of his 8 children subsequently developed CD. There was no previous history of familial CD...

..Skin and immune system appear to be especially sensitive targets of impaired PS function and may need careful monitoring if gamma-secretase inhibitors are envisaged for treating AD...

..Our aim was to evaluate the technical performance and diagnostic accuracy of four commercial IgG anti-DGP assays...

..The sensitivity of serum IFE plus FLC was comparable to the sensitivity of serum IFE plus urine IFE. The specificity of serum IFE plus FLC, however, was lower than the specificity of serum IFE plus urine IFE...

..In summary, our data provide evidence that the antibody response to caps-PS is generated independently of CD1 expression...

..There is no direct relation between capture and uptake of caps-PS serotype 14 by Sign-R1 and the initiation of the anti-caps-PS antibody production in mice...

..We examined whether the use of test result interval-specific likelihood ratios (LR) could improve the clinical interpretation of serum FLC kappa/lambda ratio for the diagnosis of malignant plasma cell disorders...

..The 4-1BB-4-1BBL interaction is not involved in the antibody response to soluble caps-PS. The influence of the 4-1BB-4-1BBL interaction in the immune reaction to S. pneumoniae Serotype 3 depends on the experimental system used...

..CONCLUSIONS: Overall diagnostic performance of IgA tTG assays is acceptable and comparable among the different assays, but numerical values differ. Standardization is needed...

..In conclusion, we demonstrate that 1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) has an inhibitory effect on the IgG2a antibody response to caps-PS serotype 3, and that this effect was mediated trough IL-12...

..Two patients developed drug-induced lupus erythematosus. Antinuclear antibodies were associated with the female sex and skin manifestations...

..The serum should cryoprecipitate at 4 degrees C for at least 3 (preferably 7) days. The cryoprecipitate should be washed and resolubilized at 37 degrees C for further analysis...

..We evaluated the technical performance and diagnostic accuracy of 6 ELISAs for the detection of antibodies to citrullinated protein/peptide antigens...

..Complement C4 was decreased in 61% and 55% of the patients classified as type II and type III compared to 16% of the patients that were negative for cryoglobulins and 9% of the diseased controls...

..The mutation in the promotor region likely contributed to the decreased transcription as demonstrated by a luciferase reporter assay...

..Taken together, these data strongly suggest a role of T lymphocytes and CTLA-4 in the regulation of the antibody response to caps-PS...

..alpha-Enolase has been proposed as a target antigen in IBD. We evaluated the prevalence and diagnostic value of anti-alpha-enolase antibodies in IBD and related disorders...

..In summary, our data provide evidence that T lymphocytes contribute to the regulation of the anti-caps-PS immune response in a CD40L-dependent manner...

..In contrast to previous reports, we found no association between Fcgamma-RIIA genotype and invasive pneumococcal disease...

..The XMAP pneumococcal immunity panel appears useful for identifying individuals with a low response to the unconjugated pneumococcal vaccine...

..We investigated whether taking into account IgA anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody concentration (IgA anti-tTG) and total IgA concentration could improve clinical interpretation of serologic testing for celiac disease (CD)...

..This is the first demonstration that the human immune response to caps-PS, which is markedly regulated by T lymphocytes, is dependent on the CD40-CD40L interaction...

..On the other hand, the -221 and -550 promoter allele distribution and the prevalence of the combined MBL structural and promoter -221 variant alleles were not significantly different between the patient group and the control group...

..Between-laboratory variability remained stable over time. Analysis of individual laboratory performance indicated that some laboratories markedly improved their results...

..We hypothesized that the presence of ASCA and NOD2/CARD15 mutations could predict increased health care cost in CD...

..Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is well tolerated and efficiently cures the profound immunodeficiency associated with autosomal-dominant anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia with immunodeficiency...

..Data from the Belgian Cystic Fibrosis Registry consistently show that in one of the seven reference centres, the prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is half that observed at the national level...

..About 2% of childhood episodes of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) are recurrent, and most remain unexplained...