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A Sanz

Publications and source records attributed to A Sanz.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Decreased protein kinase C activity is associated with programmed cell death (apoptosis) in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes.

Apoptosis of freshly isolated rat hepatocytes was induced by either the omission of fetal bovine serum in the culture medium or addition of the protein kinase C inhibitors polymyxin B or staurosporine. The time-course of DNA breakdown into oligonucleosome-sized fragments and the activity of protein kinase C was determined. Hepatocytes were found to be sensitive to bleomycin which induced a high degree of DNA breakdown even within 30 min incubation. Both staurosporine and polymyxin B induced DNA degradation in hepatocytes after three hours incubation, an effect that was partially prevented by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). After eight hours incubation, PMA failed to counteract this action and itself produced the apoptosis of rat hepatocytes. The results suggest the involvement of protein kinase C in hepatocyte survival.

Alkaloids

Diagnostic methods for African horsesickness virus using monoclonal antibodies to structural and non-structural proteins.

A panel of 32 hybridoma cell lines secreting monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) reactive with African horsesickness virus serotype 4 (AHSV-4) has been developed. Four of the MAbs recognized the major core antigen VP7, twenty recognized the outer capsid protein VP2 and eight reacted with the non-structural protein NS1. With the VP7-specific MAbs a rapid and sensitive double antibody sandwich immunoassay has been developed to detect viral antigen in infected Vero cells and in spleen tissue from AHSV-infected horses. The sensitivity of the assay is 10 ng viral antigen per 100 microliters. The NS1-specific MAbs allowed visualization by immunofluorescence of tubule-like structures in the cytoplasm of infected Vero cells. This can be very useful as a confirmatory diagnostic procedure. The antigenic map of the outer capsid VP2 protein with MAbs is also reported.

African Horse Sickness

Growth of the skeletal units of the rat mandible in acute renal failure experimental model.

A study of the effect of acute renal failure (ARF) on the growth of the skeletal units of the mandible was performed. Male Wistar rats weighing 35-40 g were assigned to three groups. One of the groups received a basal choline-deficient diet ad libitum. A second group was pair-fed with the first one and was given a basal diet supplemented with 0.35 g choline chloride/100 g of diet. The third group was fed a basal diet plus 0.35 g choline chloride/100 g of diet ad libitum and used as the normal control. Body length, renal function parameters and measurements of the mandible were recorded at the end of a 12-day period on the different diets. Food intake and body weight were recorded every day. Plasma urea and creatinine concentrations markedly increased over the first 12 days of exposure to a choline-deficient diet. Significant increases in urine volume and significant depressions in urine osmolality were also observed. The average body weight and body length gains for rats given the choline-deficient diet were lower than those of control rats. There were no significant differences between the average body weight and body length of pair-fed and normal rats. All skeletal measurements of the mandible of the choline-deficient group differed significantly from those of the control group. These differences varied between 7% and 30%. The skeletal units of the mandible of the pair-fed group did not differ significantly from ad libitum controls. This study suggests that this rat model can be used for the investigation of the different alterations observed in uremia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acute Kidney Injury

Fine mapping of canine parvovirus B cell epitopes.

In this report we describe the topological mapping of neutralizing domains of canine parvovirus (CPV). We obtained 11 CPV-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), six of which are neutralizing. The reactivities were as determined by ELISA and Western blot (immunoblot) analysis. VP2, the most abundant protein of the CPV capsid, seemed to contain all the neutralization sites. Also, an almost full-length genomic clone of CPV was constructed in the bacterial plasmid pUC18 to enable expression of CPV proteins. All the neutralizing MAbs recognized recombinant VP2 when it was expressed as a free protein in Escherichia coli but not when expressed as a fusion protein with glutathione-S-transferase. When two large fragments containing about 85% and 67% of the C terminus of VP2 were expressed, no neutralization sites were detected. When fusion proteins containing the N terminus were expressed, two linear determinants were mapped, one between residues 1 to 10 of VP2, and the other between amino acids 11 and 23. The peptide 11 GQPAVRNERATGS 23, recognized by MAb 3C9, was synthesized chemically and checked for immunogenicity, not being able to induce neutralizing activity. Although the antibody response in rabbits to all the fusion proteins was uniformly high, the anti-CPV response was very variable. Protein from pCPVEx11, which contains a T cell epitope (peptide PKIFINLAKKKKAG) present in the VP1-specific region as well as the B cell epitopes, seemed to be the most effective in inducing virus neutralization.

Amino Acid Sequence

[Experience with an enteral diet with fiber and a high fat content in ICU patients with glucose intolerance].

The use of EN in diabetics is problematic due to the rapid absorption of the nutrients and difficulties in controlling glycemia. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical tolerance and effects of a special diet for patients unable to tolerate glucose on glycemia and insulin requirements, containing 50% of its caloric intake in the form of fats (mainly monounsaturated fatty acids) and a high fibre content. This diet was used on a group of Intensive Care patients with stress diabetes, comparing it to a high protein diet in terms of Nitrogen Balance and evolution of circulating proteins. 35 patients admitted to Intensive Care with traumas or sepsis were studied. The patients received EN for a period of 14 days. They were divided into two groups at random. Group A received a high protein diet and Group B the special diet for patients with intolerance to glucose. In Group A, the levels of glycemia and insulin requirements were significantly higher than those of Group B. There were no significant differences in albumin, transferrin, prealbumin and RBP levels in both groups. Cholesterol levels remained normal, although on day 14 they were higher in Group B patients. Group A patients had higher triglyceride levels. The nitrogen balance was only higher on days 6 and 7 in Group A patients, with and accumulated Balance for the 14 days of 11.54 +/- 3.5 g. In Group A compared to 6.24 +/- 2.63 g. in Group B. Clinical tolerance to the diet was satisfactory, with the usual problems in critical patients.

Adult

[Percutaneous and surgical gastrostomies: our clinical experience in enteral nutrition].

Percutaneous gastrostomy (PG) was performed on 18 patients and 11 patients were subjected to surgical gastrostomy (SG) in the HCU of Zaragoza from October 1990 to November 1991. Involvement of the high digestive tract was the most common finding: 11 patients had CA of the oesophagus and stomach, 2 suffered from extrinsic pressure of the oesophagus due to metastatic adenopathy of a lung and breast tumour and 9 patients had CA of the larynx with total dysphagia. Another less common indication in our series, although still of great importance, was a severe involvement of the CMS, which made oral nutrition impossible due to functional dysphagia. Due to the long-term nature of this pathology, feeding by nasogastric tube was not considered. This was the case of 4 patients. The duration of enteral nutritional in the patients' home was 112.8 +/- 61 days with PG and 37 +/- 26 days with SG (p: 0.007). The incidence of complications was 33% in PG and 73% in SG, and for both techniques, the most common complication was blockage of the tube. Percutaneous gastrostomy is a simple technique, with no surgical risks involved, but with the benefits of traditional surgical techniques which, despite the small number of cases recorded, has very few complications both with regard to placing and afterwards, and also enables the patient to receive nutrients earlier than would be the case with traditional surgical techniques during prolonged periods at the patient's home.

Aged

[The prevalence of malnutrition in hemodialysis].

Uremic patients undergoing hemodialysis are often catabolic and malnourished. To treat malnutrition effectively, a preliminary nutritional assessment is needed. In a group of 61 chronic uremic patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis, the authors evaluated the nutritional status with the following indices: 1) assessment of the somatic fat and protein compartments by means of anthropometric measurements (body mass index: BMI, triceps skinfold thickness: TST, and arm muscle circumference: AMC); 2) assessment of the visceral protein compartment (serum albumin); 3) assessment of cell-mediated immunity by means of skin tests and 4) assessment of the dietary intake of nutrients with dietary diaries. BMI and TST were subnormal in 57 and 72% of patients, respectively. CMB and albumin were normal in most. The protein intake was normal, whereas the energy intake tended to be low. Correlations were observed among different anthropomorphic measurements and dietary intake of nutrients. We conclude that there is a tendency to caloric, and in a lower degree protein malnutrition in our patients.

Aged