[Cryptococcal infection of the central nervous system and blindness as its sequela].
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
E Alvarez
Publications and source records attributed to E Alvarez.
Pindolol induces a rapid improvement of depressed patients treated with serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
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Adult↗
Inhibitory activity of soluble IL-2R in sera, ascites and culture supernatants from murine leukaemic cells.
The effect of sera from mice bearing a T cell lymphoid leukaemia (LB) and the supernatants from short term cultures of the tumour cells were studied on cell proliferation using syngeneic and allogeneic normal and tumour cells. An inhibitory activity was demonstrated in 24-48 h supernatants of LB cells in culture and disappeared after 4 days of culture. Inhibitory activity was cytostatic but not cytotoxic and was non-specific since it inhibited the growth of both syngeneic and allogeneic normal and tumour cells. Such activity was found in the 10(5)-1.3 x 10(5) M(r) serum fraction after a Sephacryl S200 chromatography. Though sensitive to protease, trypsin or neuraminidase treatment, which indicated its glycoprotein nature, it remained stable after heating or freezing-thawing cycles as well as after alkaline, acid or hyaluronidase treatment. Addition of exogenous IL-2 abrogated inhibitory activity. ELISA showed the presence of soluble IL-2R both in LB conditioned medium and in above serum fraction. It is demonstrated that the inhibitory factor, soluble IL-2R, is produced by LB leukaemia cells, then secreted into blood and ascitic fluid or released into culture supernatants. Soluble IL-2R exerts inhibitory activity blocking cell proliferation and modulating immune response by binding to free IL-2.
Animals↗
Catabolism of lysine in Penicillium chrysogenum leads to formation of 2-aminoadipic acid, a precursor of penicillin biosynthesis.
Penicillium chrysogenum L2, a lysine auxotroph blocked in the early steps of the lysine pathway before 2-aminoadipic acid, was able to synthesize penicillin when supplemented with lysine. The amount of penicillin produced increased as the level of lysine in the media was increased. The same results were observed in resting-cell systems. Catabolism of [U-14C]lysine by resting cells and batch cultures of P. chrysogenum L2 resulted in the formation of labeled saccharopine and 2-aminoadipic acid. Formation of [14C]saccharopine was also observed in vitro when cell extracts of P. chrysogenum L2 and Wis 54-1255 were used. Saccharopine dehydrogenase and saccharopine reductase activities were found in cell extracts of P. chrysogenum, which indicates that lysine catabolism may proceed by reversal of the two last steps of the lysine biosynthetic pathway. In addition, a high lysine:2-ketoglutarate-6-aminotransferase activity, which converts lysine into piperideine-6-carboxylic acid, was found in cell extracts of P. chrysogenum. These results suggest that lysine is catabolized to 2-aminoadipic acid in P. chrysogenum by two different pathways. The relative contribution of lysine catabolism in providing 2-aminoadipic acid for penicillin production is discussed.
2-Aminoadipic Acid↗
Unrelated placental blood for bone marrow reconstitution: organization of the placental blood program.
The usefulness of placental/umbilical cord blood as a source of stem cells for marrow reconstitution of HLA-matched siblings has now been extended to the unrelated-donor setting. The need for HLA-matched donor tissue makes it essential to have available a frozen inventory of ready-to-use placental blood units. The New York Blood Center's Placental Blood Project, designed to evaluate the practical feasibility of unrelated placental blood transplantation, consists of four basic modules: collection of placental blood, maternal samples and donor data, accession and testing for genetic and infectious disease markers, freezing placental blood units, and data organization and retrieval. Additional modules include a computerized HLA matching algorithm and organization of data about patients requiring transplantation, which may be best taken up by organ-sharing organizations in the future. In this report, we describe the organization and discuss the methods and overall experience after collecting the first 1,000 units and supplying the tissue for the first two unrelated-donor placental blood transplants.
Adult↗
[Chemoembolization and posterior liver transplantation as therapeutic strategy for hepatocarcinoma].
Orthotopic Liver Transplantation (OLT) is the only surgical approach to non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but, so far its results has been poor. During 41 months 112 patients underwent 123 OLT, nine of them had HCC over cirrhosis with a mean age 60 years. The etiology of cirrhosis was: alcohol in 1 and viral hepatitis in 8. Child's grade: A in 4, B in 5. HCC was: 5 cm or less in 5 and more in 4. According pTNM staging: I in one, II in 5, II in 2 and IVb in 1. Differentiation degree: low in 1, moderate in 4, and well in 3 (one case with complete necrosis after embolization). Eight patients were previously embolized with lipiodol, adriamycin and gelfoam, obtaining central necrosis without viable features in periphery. There were no postoperative deaths, and all the patients were discharged from the hospital. During follow up, 3 recurrences were observed, one massive with death of the patient after 6 months, and the other was surgically removed (segmentectomy V, VI) after 4 months after OLT without recurrence at 18 months of resection. In the third case a focal lesions was detected in the U.S. and T.C. study, 4 months after OLT, but in wasn't possible to obtain a biopsy because its posterior location; no treatment was made, and she's alive today. In conclusion, OLT is a good surgical option for non resectable HCC complicating cirrhosis if the patient is adequately selected. Chemoembolization has a good local effect, obtaining tumoral necrosis, but it does not decrease the posterior growth of the tumor in other localizations.
Aged↗
[Complications of varicocele embolization: adhesion of the intravascular catheter during infusion of bucrylate].
The introduction of percutaneous occlusion techniques to manage a varicocele has made possible the control of the process with success rates similar to those obtained with conventional surgery. Its efficacy and minimal invasive nature, although not entirely risk-free, are responsible for its expansion. Contribution of one case of adhesion of the intravascular catheter to the underlying spermatic vein wall during infusion with isobutyl cyanoacrylate (bucrylate) as embolization material, an event which forced immediate surgical removal.
Adult↗
[Exposure to organophosphate insecticides among greenhouse workers in the Basque Country].
BACKGROUND: This study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the impact on health produced by the use of organophosphorus pesticides in greenhouses. METHODS: A representative sample of workers with high exposure to organophosphorus pesticides was taken in Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa, provinces where cultures under plastic are very extended. Forty four workers were interviewed to collect information about symptoms and signs related to past exposures. Blood samples were taken from 36 of these workers to measure the level of cholinesterase activity, before and after exposure to these pesticides. RESULTS: Fifty two per cent referred some signs and symptoms after use of pesticides. Nevertheless, no significant decrease in cholinesterase activity was observed, nor could any significant relationship between cholinesterase activity and the way to apply the pesticides. CONCLUSIONS: The exposure to organophosphorus pesticides, at the range studied in this group of workers, does not constitute today an important health risk.
Agricultural Workers' Diseases↗
Respiratory burst reaction changes with age in rat peritoneal macrophages.
The respiratory burst reaction, estimated as O2.- production, has been studied in rat peritoneal macrophages of different age (3, 12 and 24 months). To stimulate NADPH oxidase, the enzyme responsible for the respiratory burst, various stimuli that act in different ways have been used: PMA (phorbol myristate acetate), Con-A (concanavalin A) and N-FMLP (N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine). All produced a decrease in response with age, with that from PMA being the greatest. The PMA-induced decrease in the O2.- production may be related to the inactivation of NADPH-producing enzymes such as glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase that we have found with age. Glutathione reductase, an enzyme that participates in the maintenance of the redox status in the cell, also showed an age-related decrease. Enzymes that participate in oxygen species scavenging, such as glutathione peroxidase and Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, did not change with age, although an age-related decrease in catalase activity was found.
Aging↗
Age-dependent modification of lipid composition and lipid structural order parameter of rat peritoneal macrophage membranes.
The effect of aging on the lipid composition and fluidity of rat peritoneal macrophage membranes has been determined using young (3 months), mature (12 months) and aged (24 months) Wistar rats. In the aged animals, total phospholipid decreased significantly (P < 0.05), whereas cholesterol increased (P < 0.01), with an age-dependent increase in the molar ratio of cholesterol/phospholipid. The most marked change in phospholipid content was the significant (P < 0.001) age-dependent increase of phosphatidylserine and cardiolipin and the significant decrease of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol. During aging there was a considerable decrease in arachidonic acid and docosapentanoic acid (about 50% in both cases). In contrast, an increase in the levels of oleic, linoleic and docosahexanoic acid was observed. Steady-state fluorescence polarization using 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene as the probe was used to estimate the lipid structural order parameter of macrophage membranes. There was a highly significant (P < 0.001) age-dependent increase in the lipid structural order parameter, which correlated well with the increased molar ratio of cholesterol/phospholipid in the membranes isolated from aged animals. The data suggests alteration in membrane lipid-protein interactions in aging, and are consistent with the hypothesis of the aging process.
Aging↗
The isopenicillin-N acyltransferase of Penicillium chrysogenum has isopenicillin-N amidohydrolase, 6-aminopenicillanic acid acyltransferase and penicillin amidase activities, all of which are encoded by the single penDE gene.
The isopenicillin-N acyltransferase of Penicillium chrysogenum catalyzes the conversion of the biosynthetic intermediate isopenicillin N to the hydrophobic penicillins. The isopenicillin-N acyltransferase copurified with the acyl-CoA:6-aminopenicillanic acid (6-APA) acyltransferase activity which transfers an acyl residue from acyl-CoA derivatives (e.g. phenylacetyl-CoA, phenoxyacetyl-CoA) to 6-APA. Other thioesters of phenylacetic acid were also used as substrates. An amino acid sequence similar to that of the active site of thioesterases was found in the isopenicillin-N acyltransferase, suggesting that this site is involved in the transfer of phenylacetyl residues from phenylacetyl thioesters. Purified isopenicillin-N acyltransferase also showed isopenicillin-N amidohydrolase, penicillin transacylase and penicillin amidase activities. The isopenicillin-N amidohydrolase (releasing 6-APA) showed a much lower specific activity than the isopenicillin-N acyltransferase of the same enzyme preparation, suggesting that in the isopenicillin-N acyltransferase reaction the 6-APA is not released and is directly converted into benzylpenicillin. Penicillin transacylase exchanged side chains between two hydrophobic penicillin molecules; or between one penicillin molecule and 6-APA. The penicillin amidase activity is probably the reverse of the biosynthetic acyl-CoA:6-APA acyltransferase. Four P. chrysogenum mutants deficient in acyl-CoA:6-APA acyltransferase lacked the other four related activities. Transformation of these mutants with the penDE gene restored all five enzyme activities.
Acyltransferases↗
An ordered collection of Bacillus subtilis DNA segments cloned in yeast artificial chromosomes.
A collection of 772 Bacillus subtilis DNA segments was obtained by cloning in yeast artificial chromosomes. The B. subtilis inserts of 288 clones were mapped by hybridization using as probes 65 cloned genes and 188 isolated insert ends. In this way, 59 inserts were ordered in four contigs that cover > 98% of the B. subtilis chromosome. This ordered collection is now available for further genetic and physical analysis of the B. subtilis genome.
Bacillus subtilis↗
Effects of the antidepressant drug tianeptine on plasma and platelet serotonin of depressive patients and healthy controls.
We have examined the effects of a single 12.5 mg dose and of 12 weeks treatment up to 37.5 mg daily with tianeptine, a new antidepressant drug that potentiates in vivo the uptake of serotonin (5-HT). On day 0, tianeptine reduced plasma 5-HT concentration. This acute effect occurred also on subsequent examination days. However, long-term treatment tended (P < 0.06) to increase basal plasma 5-HT concentrations, in covariation with decreases of MADRS (Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale) and HARS (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale). Platelet 5-HT increased only in elderly patients, probably due to the higher plasma concentration of the drug in this group than in younger patients. These results show that the acute effects of therapeutic doses of tianeptine are consistent with an enhancement of the 5-HT uptake. However, long-term treatment does not result in a decreased plasma 5-HT, as might be expected from the acute effects of the drug.
Adult↗
Effect of cicaprost on the progression of diabetic nephropathy in uninephrectomized streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
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Albuminuria↗
[Perinatal Streptococcus agalactiae infections. Clinical epidemiological study and evaluation of a prevention program].
BACKGROUND: To prove both the importance of SGB (group B streptococci) as a cause of perinatal infection and the efficacy of a prophylactic treatment in pregnant women with cervicovaginal colonization by SGB. METHODS: Retrospective study of 197 third trimester pregnant women who were carriers of SGB (155 received intrapartum prophylaxis) and of 44 patients with SGB infections during pregnancy, post-partum and neonatal periods. RESULTS: No neonatal sepsis was detected in the group of SGB carrier mothers who received antibiotic prophylaxis. In carrier pregnant women who did not receive prophylaxis, one case of neonatal sepsis by SGB was detected and a greater prevalence of intrapartum fever, and neonatal infection with negative cultures was observed. SGB was frequently isolated as a cause of early sepsis and neonatal meningitis (13 cases), intraamniotic infection (12 cases) and puerperal endometritis (8 cases). In 45% of the patients with perinatal infections by SGB, the cervicovaginal culture performed in the third trimester of pregnancy did not detect the presence of SGB. CONCLUSIONS: The administration of intrapartum ampicillin to pregnant SGB carriers permits the prevention of perinatal infections by this microorganism in a great number of patients, although the possibility of late colonization, which may not be detected during pregnancy, stil remains.
Ampicillin↗
Cloning and expression in Escherichia coli of a phoA gene encoding a phosphate-irrepressible alkaline phosphatase of Zymomonas mobilis.
The Zymomonas mobilis phoA gene, encoding a phosphate-irrepressible alkaline phosphatase (ZAPase), was cloned and its expression was studied in phoA mutants of Escherichia coli. The ZAPase was recovered in the soluble fraction of E. coli. The enzyme was synthesized constitutively and its synthesis not repressed by phosphate, unlike the phoA gene of E. coli. The phoA gene of Z. mobilis was mutagenized by Mini Mu PR13 and the mutated gene crossed into Z. mobilis in order to obtain phoA mutants by reverse genetics. Although Z. mobilis mutants with Mini Mu PR13 integrated in the chromosome were obtained, none had an allele replacement for none was defective in ZAPase.
Alkaline Phosphatase↗
Determination of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide and thiazole-4-carboxamide-adenine dinucleotide in human leukocytes by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.
A high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for cellular nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide and thiazole-4-carboxamide-adenine dinucleotide is presented that is appropriate for analysis of these dinucleotides in extracts of Ficoll-purified human leukemic cells. The separation, which is effected by reversed-phase chromatography, is highly reproducible and the limit of quantitation is as low as 10-15 pmol. The stability of these compounds in neutralized perchloric acid extracts is addressed and the applicability of the procedure to clinical specimens is demonstrated.
Adenine Nucleotides↗
Quantum metric spaces as a model for pregeometry.
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Journal Article↗