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Biomedical subjects

F Bistoni

Publications and source records attributed to F Bistoni.

250 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Microbial growth and air pollution in carbonate rock weathering. Preliminary results of a in situ experimental study.

Preliminary results on limestone weathering caused by air pollution and microbial colonization are presented in this study. Outdoor exposure experimental assays were performed on Scaglia limestone samples. Samples were exposed in two areas in Perugia (Italy) that differ for degree of urban air pollution. At different times of exposure, ranging from 1 to 12 months, microbial contamination and textural modifications of sampled surfaces were evaluated by microbiological procedures, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. After one year of exposure a significant fungal colonization and the presence of weathering products (i.e. gypsum) were detected on sampled surfaces.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Some experimental data on the seroprophylaxis of tetanus].

The survival time of tetanus heterologous antitoxins, crude or digested, has been controlled by indirect haemagglutination (I.H.A.) and neutralization tests in guinea pigs and rabbits. Digested antitoxins are demonstrable in guinea pigs up to the 8th day, in rabbits only during the first day. They reach the highest level 24 hours after the injection: tested with I.H.A. show a good correlation with the quantity of injected antitoxin. In the sera of three wounded subjects, treated with Ig or digested horse antitetanic serum, after 24 hours the I.H.A. test was negative, while the neutralizing antibody titer was equal to 0.1/0.01 I.U./ml. These contrasting results are probably due to circulating Fab' gragments from decaying tetanus antitoxins.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Tetanus prevention with vaccine and with vaccine plus heterologous immune serum: serum antibody levels in the rabbit].

Haemagglutinating antibodies have been assessed in rabbits undergoing active- passive immunization against tetanus. The animals received 6 injections of horse immune serum, 400 UI/kg, and A1PO4 adsorbed toxoid, 0.35 Lf/kg, every 30th day. One the 5th day, after the first injection, E.A. antibodies appeared, at low levels, as a result of a passive immunization. Thereafter the tests became negative, up to the 70th day, when an active immunization emerged, with a 25 days delay in comparison with controls. Neutralization test in vivo behaved in the same way. The results stress once more the need to give up the use of heterologous immune sera in tetanus prophylaxis, in active-passive immunization as well. Arguments adding force to this point of view are: the sensibilization against heterologous proteins, the very low (if any) passive protective action, and, last not least, the delay in the emergence of active immunization: the only reliable shield against tetanus.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Resistance induced by concanavalin A and phytohaemagglutinin P against tetanus toxin in mice.

The effect of concanavalin A (ConA), phytohaemagglutinin P (PHA) and Limulus polyphemus haemocyanin (LPH) on the lethal activity of tetanus toxin (TT) is reported. C3H mice treated s.c. with ConA or PHA but not with LPH from 48 h before to 12 h after s.c. TT challenge showed a significant increase in median survival time compared to control mice inoculated with toxin alone. This protective effect was also obtained when PHA or ConA was administered by the i.p. route, TT being injected s.c. In further studies, mice treated with ConA or PHA by different routes (s.c., i.p. or i.v.) were challenged s.c. with graded minimal lethal doses of TT, with or without i.p. administration of horse antitetanus serum (HATS) 24 h after toxin inoculation. The mice treated with ConA or PHA + HATS showed a significantly increased survival rate and a higher percentage of cured mice with respect to control animals treated with lectins alone. In contrast, the mice challenged with TT and treated with HATS alone did not show any increased survival with respect to untreated controls. Sera from ConA- or PHA-treated mice were unable to neutralize the TT. Immune depression in mice by total-body irradiation (400 R) did not abolish the protective activity of the lectins. These results show that in vivo treatment of mice with ConA or PHA but not with LPH can protect against the lethal effects of TT.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Use of potassium chloride hypertonic saline solution (3M KC1) for extraction of soluble antigens from Candida albicans].

Soluble antigens have been obtained from Candida albicans cultures of different age treated with hypertonic salt solution (3M KC1). The antigens reached against anti-Candida immune sera in double diffusion agar test, also after adsorption of immune serum on Candida cells. Electron microscopic pictures revealed a marked reduction of the outer layers of 3M KC1 extracted cells.

Antigens, Fungal↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Hemagglutinating activity of Candida albicans culture extracts].

3M KC1 extracts of Candida albicans cultures display a haemoagglutinating activity on human and sheep red blood cells. The haemoagglutinins, may be lectins in nature, behave like antigens being fully inhibited by anti-Candida immune serum. The latter lyses human red blood cells sensitized with 3M KC1 Candida albicans extracts. Human and animal red blood cells react against Candida albicans hypertonic salt solution extracts, in double diffusion agar tests, and give one or more precipitation lines. The interpretation of the results is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Identification of a 105 kilodalton Cryptococcus neoformans mannoprotein involved in human cell-mediated immune response.

In the present study, using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blot techniques, the patterns of proteins extracted from C. neoformans yeast cells were analysed. A major 105 kilodalton (kDa) antigen that binds to Concanavalin A and cross-reacts with anti-mannan antibodies was identified. The 105 kDa mannoprotein, highly expressed in the acapsular mutant of C. neoformans with respect to the encapsulated strain, is involved in the lymphoproliferative response of T lymphocytes to Cryptococcus-sensitized monocytes.

Antibodies↗