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A Spiliopoulos

Publications and source records attributed to A Spiliopoulos.

113 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
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An improved method for isolation of microvascular endothelial cells from normal and inflamed human lung.

Microvascular endothelial cells (MVEC), which differ from large vessel endothelial cells, have been isolated successfully from lungs of various species, including man. However, contamination by nonendothelial cells remains a major problem in spite of several technical improvements. In view of the organ specificity of MVEC, endothelial cells should be derived from the tissue involved in the diseases one wishes to study. Therefore, to investigate some of the immunopathological mechanisms leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), we have attempted to isolate lung MVEC from patients undergoing thoracic surgery for lung carcinoma and patients dying of ARDS. The method described here includes four main steps: (1) full digestion of pulmonary tissue with trypsin and collagenase, (2) aggregation of MVEC induced by human plasma, (3) Percoll density centrifugation, and (4) selection and transfer of MVEC after local digestion with trypsin/EDTA under light microscopy. Normal and ARDS-derived lung MVEC purified by this technique presented contact inhibition (i.e., grew in monolayer), and expressed classical endothelial markers, including von Willebrand factor (vWF), platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1(PECAM-1, CD31), and transcripts for the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). The cells also formed capillarylike structures, took up high levels of acetylated low-density lipoprotein (Ac-LDL), and exhibited ELAM-1 inducibility in response to TNF. Contaminant cells, such as fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, or pericytes, were easily recognized on the basis of morphology and were eliminated by selection of plasma-aggregated cells under light microscopy. The technique presented here allows one to study the specific involvement and contribution of pulmonary endothelium in various lung diseases.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Surgery for lung tuberculosis and related lesions: change in clinical presentation as a consequence of migration of population.

In spite of better health care organization and improvement in medical treatment, the incidence of newly diagnosed cases of tuberculosis has not declined in our region as anticipated and a number of patients still require surgery for lung tuberculosis and related lesions. Thus 92 patients were operated in our institution during the 1972-1991 period. Indications for surgery were: medical treatment failures (13%), mass lesions of the lung (31%) and mediastinum (12%), complications of the disease (38%) or from previous operations (6%). The proportion of immigrants (47%) was significantly higher than expected from their relative number. They also had a tendency to have more advanced or complicated forms of disease (61% vs 49% in local natives). As a probable consequence of this, surgical resections were more aggressive in immigrants. The operative mortality was similar in both groups. This change of presentation of lung tuberculosis is a new challenge to our local strategy in treating this disease.

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