Aim of the study. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have been reported to participate in many pathological processes, which points at NET concentration in blood as an important indicator of the body condition. When studying NETs, their blood concentration is usually evaluated indirectly, which has a number of shortcomings. We aimed to measure directly the amount of NETs as integral structures, using blood smears as a most suitable tool for clinical practice, and to carry out measurements of NET levels in blood of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with necrotic suppurative complications to elucidate the usefulness of this assay. Materials and methods of the research. NETs were quantified by counting in standardized blood smears stained with Romanovsky dyes. Results. The mean level of circulating NETs in the blood of patients was higher than that in healthy subjects. Blood NET concentration in healthy persons and patients with high levels of NETs increased as glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) concentration increased in the blood. In other patients, NET concentration decreased as HbAlc increased. Elevated NET levels and a direct correlation between NETs and HbAlc were observed in patients with phlegmon, large-area infected wound, lower leg gangrene, suppurative mediastinitis. In other patients, the prevailing lesions were infected wounds, abscesses, finger gangrene. Conclusion. This pilot study demonstrated the usefulness of measurement (using blood smear) of circulating NET concentration in the blood as a clinical parameter that would help to estimate patient’s condition, to predict the duration of post-surgical wound healing and the probability of complications in the form of thrombosis in T2DM.
The resistance of native and circulating modified low-density lipoproteins from human blood to spontaneous and polyethylene glycol-induced association was studied by recording light transmission fluctuations. Circulating modified low-density lipoproteins were less resistant to association than native low-density lipoproteins. Polyethylene glycol-induced association of low-density lipoproteins was irreversible. Our results suggest that atherogenic activity of circulating modified low-density lipoproteins is associated with their increased predisposition to irreversible association.
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