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Biomedical subjects

E Ruoslahti

Publications and source records attributed to E Ruoslahti.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources

Carcinoembryonic antigen and alpha fetoprotein in malignant tumors of the female genital tract.

Circulating carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in 53 patients with carcinoma of the ovary, 16 patients with other malignant genital tumors, and 31 women with nonmalignant diseases of the genital tract. The serum CEA concentration was elevated (greater than 5 ng/ml) in 11 patients with ovarian cancer, 2 patients with endometrial cancer, 1 patient with carcinoma of the cervix, and 1 patient with a benign embryonal cystic teratoma. Elevated CEA levels were found only in patients with advanced malignant disease, while early stages were associated with normal CEA concentrations. AFP levels were normal in all but 1 patient. Both CEA and AFP levels were markedly raised in a case of advanced genital carcinoma arising probably from the ovary. Ascitic fluid of another patient with ovarian cancer contained a high concentration of CEA, giving an identical reaction in immunodiffusion with CEA from colon cancer. The present results indicate that while the increased expression of carcinofetal components takes place in some malignant tumors of the female genital tract, it is usually a late phenomenon.

Alpha-Globulins↗

Distribution of fibroblast surface antigen: association with fibrillar structures of normal cells and loss upon viral transformation.

The localization of a cell type-specific, soluble fibroblast surface antigen (SFA) was studied by immunofluorescence and by scanning electron microscopy of the same cells. The antigen had an uneven distribution forming streaks on chick embryo fibroblasts. It was localized to membrane processes and ridges, with a diameter of 50-200 nm. The processes extended from the periphery of the cells to the substratum or to other cells. Trypsin treatment completely removed detectable amounts of SFA. The antigen was detectable within 1 h after trypsin-treated cells were reseeded. The reappearance of SFA correlated with the restoration of membrane processes. Fibroblasts transformed by Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) showed loss of all or most SFA. When normal cells were transformed without subcultivation and trypsinization a fibrillar extracellular network of SFA remained under the transformed fibroblasts while the cells themselves were negative in immunofluorescence. When fibroblasts infected by RSV mutants were transferred to nonpermissive temperature for transformation new SFA was detected within 2 h. These data lead us to propose that loss of stabilizing and anchoring effect of SFA molecules in fibrillar cell surface structures may be critical in altered growth control and malignant transformation.

Animals↗

Serum alpha-fetoprotein: diagnostic significance in liver disease.

Raised serum alpha-fetoprotein levels measured by radioimmunoassay were found in 19 out of 24 (79%) patients with primary liver cancer and in 32 out of 311 (10%) patients with other liver diseases. The rise was transient in cases of hepatitis and a transient rise was also seen after alcohol intake ceased in two patients with cirrhosis. alpha-Fetoprotein levels exceeding 500 ng/ml were 30-50 times more common in primary liver cancer than in other liver diseases. A rise in level seems to reflect the extent of liver regeneration in liver diseases other than primary cancer.

Biopsy↗

Mitogenic effect by lipopolysaccharide and pokeweed lectin on density-inhibited chick embryo fibroblasts.

The B lymphocyte mitogens, bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), pokeweed lectin, and tuberculin, induced proliferation in density-inhibited monolayer cultures of chick embryo fibroblasts. The stimulation was seen both as an early increase in sugar uptake and cell volume and later as an increase in thymidine incorporation and cell number. The concentration of LPS maximally stimulating fibroblasts was remarkably low, about 0.1-1 ng/ml. LPS preparation with very different sugar chains gave quite similar results indicating that the architecture of the hydrophilic carbohydrate part is not critical for the mitogenic effect.

Animals↗