Ricerc@Sapienza

For the diagnosis of anti-MAG polyneuropathy the commercial ELISA manufacturer currently recommends a cut-off of 1000 Bühlmann Titer Units (BTU). We analyzed sera from 80 anti-MAG neuropathy patients and 383 controls (with other neuropathies or healthy controls) to assess the ELISA sensitivity and specificity at different thresholds. A better combination of sensitivity/specificity was found at a threshold >1500 BTU than at >1000 BTU. The best value of specificity was obtained at threshold >7000 BTU.

INTRODUCTION: Noninvasive assessment of corpus atrophic gastritis (CAG), a condition at increased risk of gastric cancer, is based on the measurement of pepsinogens, gastrin, and Helicobacter pylori antibodies. Parietal cell autoantibodies (PCAs) against the gastric proton pump (ATP4) are potential serological biomarkers of CAG. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of PCA and pepsinogen I tests in patients with clinical suspicion of CAG with the histopathological evaluation of gastric biopsies as reference standard.

INTRODUCTION:
Noninvasive assessment of corpus atrophic gastritis (CAG), a condition at increased risk of gastric cancer, is based on the measurement of pepsinogens, gastrin, and Helicobacter pylori antibodies. Parietal cell autoantibodies (PCAs) against the gastric proton pump (ATP4) are potential serological biomarkers of CAG. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of PCA and pepsinogen I tests in patients with clinical suspicion of CAG with the histopathological evaluation of gastric biopsies as reference standard.

Objectives: Anorexia represents a common and debilitating clinical problem in patients with several forms of cancer, in particular lung cancer, but its mechanisms are not completely understood. Recently, the caseinolytic-protease-B (ClpB) homologue protein, produced by common gut bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, was identified as an antigen-mimetic of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH), an anorexigenic neuropeptide. ClpB was previously detected in human plasma and displayed satietogenic properties; however, its possible relevance to cancer anorexia has not yet been investigated.

OBJECTIVES: Circulating autoantibodies targeting the H+/K+-ATPase proton pump of gastric parietal cells are considered markers of autoimmune gastritis, whose diagnostic accuracy in atrophic body gastritis, the pathological lesion of autoimmune gastritis, remains unknown. This study aimed to assess autoantibodies against ATP4A and ATP4B subunits of parietal cells H+, K+-ATPase in atrophic body gastritis patients and controls.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most frequent complication of pregnancy; around 10% of GDM cases may be determined by autoimmunity, and our aims were to establish the role of autoimmunity in a population of Sardinian women affected by GDM, to find predictive factors for autoimmune GDM, and to determine type 1 diabetes (T1D) auto-antibodies (Aabs) together with glucose tolerance after a mean 21.2 months of follow-up.

Growing evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a key role in beta-cell metabolism, proliferation and apoptosis, and in immune system functions, all processes involved in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes.
In the context of diabetes, particular attention has been focused on miR-375, which has been studied most extensively as a putative biomarker of beta cell death. Although dysregulated miRNA profiles have been identified in type 1 diabetes patients, results are inconclusive.