Disease relevance of Meconium

• Animals homozygous for the cftr disruption fail to thrive and display a range of symptoms including meconium ileus, distal intestinal obstructions, gastrointestinal mucus accumulation and blockage of pancreatic ducts [1].
• Normal human meconium has been shown to contain short-chain (C20-C22) bile acids and, recently, these compounds have been identified in sera of patients with cholestasis [2].
• Fetal distress, meconium, and motilin [3].
• The antibodies were then tested in radiobinding assays against a panel of 17 SCLC lines, 13 non-small cell lung cancer lines, 6 SCLC necropsy specimens, 13 neuroectodermal lines (melanomas, neuroblastomas, glioblastomas), 15 other human lines, the glycolipid extracts of SCLC, human meconium, and human red blood cells [4].
• This antibody was selected for the immunoaffinity purification of CEA and related antigens from colorectal carcinoma tissue, from spleen tissues, from bile, and from meconium [5].

Psychiatry related information on Meconium

• Recently, a method has been developed for the analysis of fatty acid ethyl esters in meconium as a biomarker of fetal alcohol exposure, potentially facilitating the future diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in situations where gestational alcohol consumption history is unknown [6].

High impact information on Meconium

• PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred fifteen consecutively enrolled infants (218 cocaine-exposed and 197 unexposed) identified from a high-risk, low-socioeconomic status, primarily black (80%) population screened through clinical interview and urine and meconium samples for drug use [7].
• To compare the efficacy of bulb and catheter suctioning of upper airway meconium in neonates, meconium labeled with technetium Tc 99m sulfur colloid was injected into the trachea and oropharynx of anesthetized kittens [8].
• Neither antibody bound to glycosphingolipids from human meconium, which have a type 1 (Gal beta 1----3GlcNAc) structure [9].
• Interleukin 8 was present in all meconium suspensions (480-3980 ng/L) [10].
• Cyclooxygenase-2 expression in human monocytes stimulated by meconium [11].

Chemical compound and disease context of Meconium

• The clinical suspicion of meconium ileus equivalent may be confirmed by meglumine diatrizoate (Gastrografin) enema, which in most uncomplicated cases also serves as treatment [12].
• BACKGROUND: Data on meconium bile acid composition in newborn babies of patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) are relatively scant, and changes that occur on ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) administration have not been evaluated [13].
• Some trials also indicate increased frequencies of meconium passage, neonatal acidaemia and caesarean delivery for fetal distress in women receiving higher doses of vaginally applied misoprostol [14].
• The meconium effect was not due to cellular toxicity as evaluated by vital dye exclusion, lactate dehydrogenase release, and PC synthesis [15].
• The effect of tolazoline on right-to-left shunting via a patent ductus arteriosus in meconium aspiration syndrome [16].

Biological context of Meconium

• In all cases, CF segregates with these gene probes; however, those with and those without meconium ileus differed in haplotype for CF chromosomes with respect to pJ3.11, which suggests that because of multiallelism (different mutations of the same locus) some CF patients present with meconium ileus and others do not [17].
• Angiotensin II receptor blockade inhibits pneumocyte apoptosis in experimental meconium aspiration [18].
• However, subsequent to meconium exposure, AMs had a reduced respiratory burst in response to stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate [19].
• Relation between meconium concentration of the cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine and fetal growth [20].
• METHODS: Meconium and stools from 37 neonates of various gestational ages were collected carefully, and stored at -20 degrees C, protected by aluminium foil [21].

Anatomical context of Meconium

• In the remaining 11 cases, in which the pregnancy was terminated, the diagnosis of CF was confirmed in the abortus by measurement of albumin and protease levels in meconium scraped from the fetal ileum [22].
• Immunochemical differences among carcinoembryonic antigen in tumor tissues and related antigens in meconium and adult feces [23].
• The development of the exocrine pancreas in infants with CF with and without meconium ileus diverges from the normal pattern: There is consistent lack of exocrine tissue before or a full-term birth, which persists throghout the age range of this study [24].
• Criteria giving evidence for cystic fibrosis in fetuses have been described: macroscopic observation of a typical meconium ileus, significant increase of albumin content in the meconium, and PAS-positive mucus-like material in some pancreatic acini [25].
• Tezosentan decreases pulmonary artery pressure and improves survival rate in an animal model of meconium aspiration [26].

Associations of Meconium with chemical compounds

• Preliminary characterization of the purified meconium antigen showed it to be a glycoprotein, migrating as an alpha-globulin and having a molecular size similar to that of CEA (Mr 185,000 versus 200,000) [27].
• The ratio of cholic acid to chenodeoxycholic acid was abnormally low in meconium (mean, 0.44; range, 0.19 to 0.74), and hyocholic acid constituted 19.3% of total bile acids [28].
• Lithocholic acid concentration in the meconium was not increased by UDCA treatment [13].
• We investigated the use of the phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor sildenafil, in its intravenous form, as a pulmonary vasodilator in a model of meconium aspiration syndrome [29].
• Meconium also prevented effective spreading of surfactant in a Wilhelmy balance system, and this inhibitory effect was counteracted by addition of ferric chloride [30].

Gene context of Meconium

• NCA-2 (meconium antigen) is very similar to CEA [31].
• Mouse ATF-2 null mutants display features of a severe type of meconium aspiration syndrome [32].
• Meconium aspiration stimulates cyclooxygenase-2 and nitric oxide synthase-2 expression in rat lungs [33].
• Endothelin-A receptor blockade and inhaled nitric oxide in a porcine model of meconium aspiration syndrome [34].
• Meconium administration markedly upregulated the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA, while cyclooxygenase-1 expression remained unchanged [35].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Meconium

• These two antigens together competitively inhibited cross-reacting antibodies against them in CEA radioimmunoassay and contributed to the measurement of meconium CEA levels which averaged 6 times higher than that determined with anti-CEA specific antibody [27].
• To characterize this ectopic form of ALP, four monoclonal antibodies were raised against D98/AH-2 ALP, and their binding with ALPs from D98/AH-2 cells, placenta, fetal intestine (meconium), adult intestine, and liver was compared using an electrophoretic titration procedure [36].
• Two antigens cross-reactive with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and distinct from the nonspecific cross-reacting antigen were identified in meconium by double immunodiffusion with a conventional goat anti-CEA antiserum [27].
• Monoclonal antibodies for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as a model system: identification of two novel CEA-related antigens in meconium and colorectal carcinoma tissue by Western blots and differential immunoaffinity chromatography [5].
• The result of the meconium drug screening was positive in 449 (44.3%) infants: 401 (39.6%) screening results were positive for cocaine, 71 (7%) positive for opiate, and 31 (3.1%) positive for cannabinoid [37].

References