Our aim was to verify whether the presence of antibodies to HCV envelope protein might mark the occurrence of liver damage, as recently suggested in the literature. Sera from 104 patients (62 male, 42 female) were tested: 84 were positive and 20 were negative to a second generation enzyme immunoassay for anti-HCV antibodies; 51 patients had mild chronic liver disease (44 chronic hepatitis, seven steatosis), 43 had liver cirrhosis (superimposed by hepatocellular carcinoma in 18) and ten were asymptomatic anti-HCV positive subjects with normal liver function tests. Besides, all sera were tested by means of an enzyme immunoassay for the presence of serum antibodies to the synthetic peptide S24A (SIYPGHVSGH RMAWDMMMNW SPTA) derived from amino acids 307-330 of HCV polyprotein. Anti-S24A antibodies were detected in 40/84 sera positive and 1/20 negative at anti-HCV testing (Pearson chi 2 12.29; p = 0.005). Among anti-HCV positive sera, no significant difference existed in anti-S24A status with regard to clinical evidence of liver disease, ALT concentration or HCV RNA positivity. Thus, anti-S24A antibodies are detectable in approximately half of HCV-positive sera, but they do not seem to add significant clinical information to existing tests or to be useful as putative markers of viraemia.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Serum tissue polypeptide antigen in chronic pancreatic disease. Does hepatic damage have any influence?

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Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Trypsin/creatinine clearance ratio and serum immunoreactive trypsin in digestive and pancreatic diseases.

The behavior of trypsin/creatinine clearance ratio (Ctr/Ccr) and serum immunoreactive trypsin (IRT) was evaluated in a total of 168 subjects with pancreatic cancer, chronic pancreatitis and non-pancreatic digestive diseases. Amylase/creatinine clearance ratio (Cam/Ccr) and serum amylase levels were also evaluated in order to establish their possible relationship with Ctr/Ccr and IRT values. Elevated Ctr/Ccr and IRT values were observed in several patients with pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis. Abnormal IRT and Ctr/Ccr values were found in 28.2 and 4% of non-pancreatic digestive diseases, respectively. IRT and amylase serum levels showed consensual modifications, while Ctr/Ccr showed a behavior different from that of Cam/Ccr. Liver damage seems to play a role in increasing serum IRT levels of patients without pancreatic involvement, while the increased Ctr/Ccr seems to depend on other factors, for instance renal tubular dysfunction.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Thyroid hormones in tissues from human embryos and fetuses.

This study was intended to quantify T3 and T4 in various human tissues at different stages of gestation as a contribute in the evaluation of the role of thyroid hormones in fetal development, particularly before the maturation of fetal thyroid function. Moreover, for a better comprehension of the influence of thyroid hormone status in tissues, the study was extended to adults. Embryonic specimens were obtained from voluntary abortions between 6 and 12 weeks of gestation, fetal and neonatal specimens from fetuses and neonates between 15 and 36 weeks of gestation after spontaneous abortion or stillbirth, and adult specimens from men (age range: 45-65 years) after death for cardiovascular diseases. Thyroid hormones were measured by the method of Gordon and coworkers. In embryos T3 and T4 were measured in limbs, carcasses, brain and liver: considering all values measured in the period 9-12 weeks, a mean concentration of 0.11 ng/g for T3 and 1.28 ng/g for T4 was obtained. In pooled limbs of 6-8 weeks T3 was barely measurable (0.01 ng/g). In the carcasses there was an increase in T3 and T4 concentrations of 40 and 20 times respectively from the 9th to the 12th week, when thyroid follicles organization takes place. In fetuses and adults T3 and T4 were measured in brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung, skeletal muscle and skin (mean concentrations: 0.86 ng/g for T3 and 7.44 ng/g for T4 in fetuses and neonates; 1.36 ng/g for T3 and 12.75 ng/g for T4 in adults). Hormones concentration increased with gestational age; the T3/T4 ratio increased until 22-24 weeks, when the prevalent increment in T4 occurs. T3 concentration up to 30 weeks was generally higher in tissues than in cord serum of the corresponding age. During the last month of gestation T3 increment was faster in serum. T4 level was always predominant in serum. In conclusion, T3 and T4 have been detected in the limbs of embryos before the onset of thyroid hormone secretion. Concentrations were 1/150 and 1/70, of the normal maternal blood values respectively. It is conceivable that these hormones are of maternal origin, and the question of whether such small quantities may play a role in fetal development is open.

Brain↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cortisol in human tissues at different stages of life.

Aim of the work was to measure the cortisol level in human tissues at different stages of life, by means of radioimmunoassay and by chromatography. Viable samples of 13 different tissues were obtained during surgical intervention from 30 to 70 years old patients of either sex. Mean tissue cortisol concentration was 78 +/- 35 ng/g, ranging from 20 +/- 10 ng/g in the thyroid to 124 +/- 76 ng/g in the kidney. Similar values were measured in the corresponding tissues from not decayed corpses, so that paired values could be mediated. However the pancreas, and corrupted autopsy tissues, gave nil or exceedingly high cortisol concentration values; in some cases, opposite extreme values were measured in different organs of the same body. Cortisol concentration was also measured in 11 sound different tissues of spontaneously aborted or stillbirth fetuses, between 16 and 36 weeks of gestation. Mean value was 63 +/- 27 ng/g, ranging from 30 +/- 25 ng/g in the liver to 104 +/- 52 ng/g in the lungs. Also in fetuses nil or exceedingly high cortisol values occurred in altered tissues. One hundred and fourteen samples of limbs and carcasses of 7 to 12 gestational weeks embryos, obtained from voluntary abortions, were also examined: 20% gave nil result, in the remaining mean cortisol concentration was 32 ng/g. In 33 samples of embryos' mixed viscera, RIA and chromatography gave unreliable exceedingly high values. The nil and the exceedingly high values measured in the altered autoptic tissue specimens were inconsistent with the cortisol blood level measured in the patients, as were those measured in embryonic tissues with the acknowledged blood and adrenals cortisol levels at that stage of life. Thus cortisol may be measured by RIA and by chromatography in sound tissues, while the values obtained in the pancreas, in corrupted tissues, and in embryonal viscera do not represent the hormonal milieu, but are likely artifacts due to impeachment of the diagnostic system.

Adrenal Glands↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Skin-photosensitizing properties of Zn(II)-2(3), 9(10), 16(17), 23(24)-tetrakis-(4-oxy-N-methylpiperidinyl) phthalocyanine topically administered to mice.

A Zn-phthalocyanine derivative bearing four 4-oxy-N-methyl-piperidinyl peripheral substituents has been formulated in an azone-containing gel for topical administration and its potential as a photodynamic therapy agent has been investigated. The phthalocyanine displays an intense absorbance in the 680 nm range and shows a high photosensitizing activity toward a model biological substrate (N-acetyl-L-tryptophanamide). Upon administration of 20 microg cm(-2) onto the dorsal skin of Balb/c mice, maximal phthalocyanine concentrations (ca. 64.2 ng mg(-1) of skin) are reached at 1 h after the deposition. The photosensitizer appears to be localized in the epidermal layers, since (a) no detectable amounts of phthalocyanine are recovered from the mouse blood and liver; and (b) upon photoactivation with a diode laser at 675 nm, only the epidermis is heavily damaged, as shown by histological and ultrastructural analysis. The photodamage is largely of inflammatory nature and an essentially complete healing of the damaged skin is observed at 72 h after the end of the phototreatment. The minimal phototoxic dose for 20 microg cm(-2) photosensitizer and 675 nm irradiation is found to be (150 mW cm(-2)-120 J cm(-2)) or (180 mW cm(-2)-100 J cm(-2)).

Administration, Topical↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Human milk components cross-reacting with antibodies against bovine beta-lactoglobulin.

The human whey components cross-reacting with antibodies raised against bovine and/or equine beta-lactoglobulin were screened systematically. The milk of six women on a normal diet was collected within 72 h of confinement and whey components were fractionated by high-speed size exclusion chromatography and reversed-phase techniques. The fractions which were immunoreactive in double diffusion experiments with antisera anti-bovine and/or equine beta-lactoglobulin were subsequently purified by native PAGE and then electroblotted on Pro-blott membrane (Western blotting). Pro-blot membranes were stained in parallel with Coomassie and by immunostaining using antibodies against bovine and/or equine beta-lactoglobulin as first antibody solution. The immunoreactive bands were cut out from the membrane and N-terminally sequenced; all the immunoreactive components were clearly identified as human beta-casein or its (mainly tryptic) fragments. The strong antigenic similarity between human beta-casein and beta-lactoglobulin (bovine and equine) might be of immunological importance; it could mean that breast-fed neonates risk being sensitized to beta-lactoglobulin irrespective of the presence of cow's milk in the mother's diet.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Antagonists of the GPIIb/IIIa platelet receptor].

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Acetates↗