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C Galabert

Publications and source records attributed to C Galabert.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Assay of human pancreatic lipase in biological fluids using a non-competitive enzyme immunoassay.

A sandwich enzyme immunoassay has been developed for human pancreatic lipase using polystyrene balls coated with specific IgG as the first antibody and peroxidase-labelled IgG as the second antibody. The detection limit was 0.5 microgram/l. Good parallelism was observed with the curves obtained from standard lipase and lipase present in serum, pancreatic juice and duodenal contents, demonstrating that the assay may be used to measure the level of the protein in different biological fluids. Mean values of lipase in human sera were 12.3 +/- 6.8 micrograms/l in adults and 4.5 +/- 2.7 in newborns. In all cases a good correlation was found in serum between the catalytic activity and the enzyme immunoassay. Lipase is detectable in amniotic fluids at the 18th week of pregnancy but at a very low level (0.95 +/- 0.32 microgram/l). In pancreatic juices, lipase concentration was 14.6% of the total protein content. A study on cystic fibrosis patients showed a poor correlation between blood pancreatic lipase concentration and fat malabsorption underlying the difficulty in assessing pancreatic function by the measurement of serum pancreatic enzymes. The use of the lipase assay in duodenal contents would permit better assessment of pancreatic function in patients presenting a severe or borderline defect in fat digestion and absorption.

Amniotic Fluid↗

The high lipid content of respiratory mucins in cystic fibrosis is related to infection.

Seven human bronchial mucins secreted by patients suffering from chronic bronchitis or from cystic fibrosis were prepared by exclusion from a Sepharose CL-2B column in 6 M guanidinium chloride. Their behaviour in CsBr density gradient centrifugation was compared. The mucin fractions were associated with peptides and lipids, the abundance of which decreases with the buoyant density. The lipid content of the mucin fractions appears to be related to the infectious character of the bronchial secretion and seems to be independent of cystic fibrosis. The content of fatty acids remaining after delipidation of mucin fractions from patients with chronic bronchitis or with cystic fibrosis also appears to be related more to the purulent character of the sputum than to cystic fibrosis or chronic bronchitis.

Bronchi↗

Rheological and transport properties of airway secretions in cystic fibrosis--relationships with the degree of infection and severity of the disease.

It has recently been suggested that in cystic fibrosis (CF), there is no rheological abnormality of airway secretions other than that associated with purulence, and that the apparent inhibition in the mucociliary transport rate might be partly due to a ciliary inhibitor present in these secretions. In order to ascertain this assumption, expectorated airway secretions were collected without salivary contamination in twenty-four CF patients and the rheological properties were measured. Using a photometric method, the effects of CF sputum samples were analysed on the ciliary beat frequency (Fm) of the frog palate, and we measured their mucociliary transport rate (TR). In all but one CF sputum, TR and Fm were lower than that of the control frog mucus (median TR: 18.7 and 11.6 mm min-1; median Fm: 12.3 and 11.3 Hz, respectively). In the eighteen patients in whom the rheological properties were outside the range for optimal mucociliary transport, the clinical Shwachman score was significantly (P less than 0.05) lower (median score: 66.2 points) than in the six patients with optimal rheologic properties (median score: 73 points). In the eleven CF patients with superinfection, the apparent viscosity (eta o) was significantly higher (P less than 0.01; median eta o: 24.4 Pa. s) and TR, expressed as a percentage of the reference value, was significantly lower (P less than 0.05; median Tr: 54.5%) in comparison with the values obtained for the thirteen non-superinfected CF patients (median eta o: 15 Pa. s and median TR: 66% respectively). The CF patients with markedly hyperviscous sputum (eta o higher than 30 Pa. s) exhibited a low Shwachman score.

Adolescent↗

Complex structure of human bronchial mucus glycoprotein.

Human bronchial mucus glycoproteins or mucins were isolated from the sputum of two patients by a method avoiding reducing agents and involving water extraction and gel filtration on Sepharose CL-2B in 6 M guanidinium chloride. The chemical analysis indicated approximately 25-40% lipid. The amino acid and carbohydrate analysis differ quantitatively from that of mucins purified after prior reduction of mucus. These fractions also have a higher proportion of aspartic and glutamic acids than that of the mucins from reduced sputum. These mucins are still contaminated by small amounts of peptides but do not seem to contain disulfide-attached cross-linking protein. Human bronchial mucins have a strong tendency to form aggregates except in 6 M guanidinium chloride. Electron microscopy performed with various procedures indicates the presence of both micelles and flexible threads measuring 200-1000 nm. Delipidation removes most of the micellar forms. Thereafter mucins appear mainly as polydisperse flexible extended threads and also as aggregates. These features of bronchial mucins do not fit with the generally accepted idea of mucin subunits linked by disulfide bridges (unless they are linked end to end) and alternatively favour a model where mucin molecules behave like filaments that could easily aggregate according to the solvent system (mucin concentration, absence of dissociating conditions).

Amino Acids↗

Detection of the cystic fibrosis protein by isoelectric focusing of serum and plasma.

We used the isoelectric focusing method developed by Wilson to analyze serum from individuals homozygous or heterozygous for cystic fibrosis. The presence of cystic fibrosis protein (CFP) was found in 37 out of 52 homozygous and 24 out of 34 heterozygous patients, which leads to a frequency of 71% for both families. Five out of 24 controls were found positive. The same study, performed on 26 plasma samples collected from the same patients, demonstrated that the detection of CFP is possible in plasma as well as in serum. Our results confirm the presence of a protein "marker" of CF in serum, but also underlines the lack of sensitivity of the isoelectric focusing technique to be used for diagnosis.

Blood Proteins↗

[Carotenoids: 1. Metabolism and physiology].

Carotenoids are a family of pigments with at least 600 members. They derive from lycopene after steps of cyclisation, dehydrogenation and oxidation. It is their chemical structure that determines their physiochemical properties and, in part, their biological activities. About 50 carotenoids can be found in human diet and about 20 of them have been found in plasma and tissues. There is no RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for carotenoids. Quantities of carotenoids in diet are difficult to estimate, partly because methods used for the establishment of food composition tables were not specific and sensitive enough. Also, given values do not always take into account variations due to season and region of culture. Absorption of beta-carotene in humans has been the subject of numerous studies but only very little is known about other carotenoids. In general, absorption depends on bioavailability from the food matrix and solubility in micelles. After absorption through passive diffusion, carotenoids follow the chylomicrons metabolism. They are taken up by the liver and released in the blood stream in lipoproteins (VLDL). Carotenoids with no-substituted beta-ionone cycles (alpha and beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin) have provitamin A activity. Highest activity has been found for all-trans beta-carotene. Not all steps of vitamin A biosynthesis and metabolism of other carotenoids have been clarified yet. Besides their provitamin A activity, carotenoids have numerous biological functions. They are efficient scavengers of free radicals, particularly of 1O2. In vitro they have been shown to protect LDL. However, results in vivo are inconsistent. Other functions include enhancement of gap junctions, immunomodulation and regulation of enzyme activity involved in carcinogenesis.

Absorption↗

[Measurement of carotenoids by high pressure liquid chromatography: from difficulties to solutions].

The measurement of serum carotenoids by HPLC has been largely improved during the last 10 years. However these techniques still require much time and skills, and direct application of published methods is rarely satisfying. We report here the difficulties that we met to transfer some HPLC methods described in the literature to our laboratories. We propose some solution to overcome the problems that we have encountered, our experience will perhaps help out other biologists. We reported also some results obtained in healthy populations.

Carotenoids↗

[Vitamins and aging].

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Age Factors↗

[Recent knowledge about intestinal absorption and cleavage of carotenoids].

Our knowledge about intestinal absorption and cleavage of carotenoids has rapidly grown during the last years. New facts about carotenoid absorption have emerged while some controversies about cleavage are close to end. The knowledge of the absorption and conversion processes is indispensable to understand and interpret the perturbations that can occur in the metabolism of carotenoids and vitamin A. Recently, it has been shown that the absorption of certain carotenoids is not passive - as believed for a long time - but is a facilitated process that requires, at least for lutein, the class B-type 1 scavenger receptor (SR-B1). Various epidemiological and clinical studies have shown wide variations in carotenoid absorption from one subject to another, such differences are now explained by the structure of the concerned carotenoid, by the nature of the food that is absorbed with the carotenoid, by diverse exogenous factors like the intake of medicines or interfering components, by diet factors, by genetic factors, and by the nutritional status of the subject. Recently, the precise mechanism of beta-carotene cleavage by betabeta-carotene 15,15' monooxygenase (EC 1.14.99.36) - formerly called beta-carotene 15,15' dioxygenase (ex EC 1.13.11.21) - has been discovered, and a second enzyme which cleaves asymmetrically the beta-carotene molecule has been found. beta-carotene 15,15' monooxygenase only acts on the 15,15' bond, thus forming two molecules of retinal from one molecule of beta-carotene by central cleavage. Even though the betabeta-carotene 15,15' monooxygenase is much more active on the beta-carotene molecule, a study has shown that it can act on all carotenoids. Searchers now agree that other enzymes that can catalyse an eccentric cleavage of carotenoids probably exist, but under physiological conditions the betabeta-carotene 15,15' monooxygenase is by far the most active, and it is mainly effective in the small bowel mucosa and in the liver. However the conversion of provitamin A carotenoids into vitamin A is only partial, and requires a satisfactory protein status.

Animals↗