The positivity for QFT-GIT was higher than the positivity for TST, and QFT-GIT more accurately reflected the risk for LTBI. However, a further longitudinal study is needed in order to confirm that the QFT-GIT test can truly predict the development of TB after renal transplantation.

The IP-10 response to TB antigen may constitute a specific biomarker for TB infection, but does not by itself distinguish between active TB and LTBI. Serum IP-10 may enhance the diagnostic performance when used in combination with another marker.

Artificial bone substitutes have been developed using various biomaterials for use in medicine. Silk fibroin (SF) displays excellent mechanical properties and cell compatibility. Nonetheless, the mechanical properties of silk fibroin scaffolds used in artificial bone substitutes are weaker than those of natural bone, and silk fibroin is deficient as an osteogenic agent. This limits their effectiveness in bone tissue engineering. We added nano-hydroxyapatite (nHAp) particles to an existing cell-based artificial bone substitute with a silk fibroin scaffold, which will improve its mechanical properties and osteogenic efficacy, leading to significant bone regeneration. The mechanical characters of silk fibroin modifying with nHAp were measured by Atomic Force Microscopy Analysis, dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Porosity measurement, and Microcomputed Tomography. The proliferation and toxicity of a fibroin/dextran/collagen sponge (FDS) containing nHAp were evaluated in vitro, and its osteogenic efficacy was evaluated using nude mouse and rabbit radius defect models. The defect area was repaired and showed callus formation of new bone in the rabbit radius defect models of the nHAp-FDS-treated group, whereas the defect area was unchanged in the FDS-treated group. The nHAp-FDS manufactured in this study showed significant bone regeneration owing to the synergistic effects of the components, such as those due to the broad range of pore sizes in the sponge and protein adsorbability of the nHAp, which could be suggested as a better supportive material for bone tissue engineering.

Efficacy Of Ip-10 For The Diagnosis Of Tuberculosis 3 KoreaCorresponding author's email: zzaracat@yuhs.ac Background: IP-10 is a chemokines that is increased in monocytes and polymorphonucelar granulocytes after M.tuberculosis infection. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of IP-10 for the diagnosis of tuberculosis compared with IFN-γ.The study was carried out in Korea, the country with the intermediate TB burden in the world. We measured IP-10 in Method: supernatants from whole blood stimulated with mycobacterium tuberculosis specific antigens, serum IP-10 and Interferon -gamma release assay (IGRA). Samples were obtained from 20 patients with culture proven tuberculosis(TB), 20 household contacts and 20 healthy controls. Results: The cutoff points by a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis comparing active TB group and non-TB group was 119.5 pg/ml(AUC 0.976, ) for serum IP-10 and 7150 pg/ml(AUC 95% CI 0.93-1.02, P<0.001 0.982, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.02 P<0.001) for TB antigen dependent IP-10. TB antigen dependent IP-10 (IP-10 TB-Nil) were significantly increased in active TB and in latent TB infection group compared with non-TB group ( <0.05) P . However, there were no significant difference between active TB and latent TB infection. The significant difference in the levels of serum IP-10 were observed between active TB and latent TB infection ( =0.011). P Conclusion: serum IP-10 and TB antigen dependent IP-10 could be alternative marker to IFN-γ in the diagnosis with M.tuberculosis infection. Further study in diverse population is needed to confirm whether serum IP-10 can discriminate between active TB and latent TB infection. This abstract is funded by: None Am J Respir Crit Care Med 185;2012:A4732 Internet address: www.atsjournals.org Online Abstracts Issue

Objectives: Formononetin is one of the phytoestrogens that functions like a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM). In this study, we evaluated the effects of formononetin on endometriosis progression in vitro and in vivo. Materials and methods: After pathological confirmation, 10 eutopic and ectopic endometria were collected from patients with endometriosis. Ten eutopic endometria samples were collected from patients who did not have endometriosis. To determine the cytotoxic dose and therapeutic dose of formononetin, the concentration of 70% of the cells that survived after formononetin administration was estimated using a Cell counting kit-8 (CCK 8) assay. Western blot analysis was used to determine the relative expression levels of BAX, p53, pAKT, ERK, pERK, p27, and pSTAT3 in the eutopic endometria without endometriosis, eutopic endometria with endometriosis, and ectopic endometria with endometriosis as the formononetin concentration was increased. We confirmed the effect of formononetin on apoptosis and migration in endometriosis using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and wound healing assays, respectively. A mouse model of endometriosis was prepared using a non-surgical method, as previously described. The mice were intraperitoneally administered formononetin for four weeks after dividing them into control, low-dose formononetin (40 mg/kg/day) treatment, and high-dose (80 mg/kg/day) formononetin treatment groups. All the mice were euthanized after formononetin treatment. Endometriotic lesions were retrieved and confirmed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of p27 was performed. Results: We set the maximum concentration of formononetin administration to 80 μM through the CCK8 assay. Based on formononetin concentration, the expression levels of BAX, p53, pAKT, ERK, pERK, p27, and pSTAT3 proteins were measured using Western blot analysis (N = 4 per group). The expression level of pERK, p27, and pSTAT3 in eutopic endometrium with endometriosis tended to decrease with increasing formononetin concentration, and a significant decrease was noted at 80 μM. The expression of p27 in ectopic endometrium with endometriosis was also significantly decreased at 80 μM of formononetin. FACS analysis revealed that formononetin did not significantly affect apoptosis. In the wound healing assay, formononetin treatment revealed a more significant decrease in the proliferation of the eutopic endometrium in patients with endometriosis than in the eutopic endometrium without endometriosis. Relative expression of sex hormone receptors decreased with increasing formononetin doses. Although no significant differences were observed in the ER, PR-A, ERβ/ERα, and PR-B/PR-A, significant down-regulation of PR-B expression was noted after formononetin treatment at 80 μM. In the in vivo study, endometriotic lesions in the formononetin-treated group significantly decreased compared to those in the control group. The relative expression of p27 using IHC was highest in the control group and lowest in the high-dose formononetin treatment group. Conclusions: Formononetin treatment was shown to inhibit the proliferation of eutopic and ectopic endometria in patients with endometriosis through the regulation of p27, pSTAT3, and PR-B. In an endometriosis mouse model, formononetin treatment significantly reduced the number of endometriotic lesions with decreased p27 expression. The results of this study suggest that formononetin may be used as a non-hormonal treatment option for endometriosis.