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Biomedical subjects

F Cassani

Publications and source records attributed to F Cassani.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Hepatitis C viraemia in adults with type 2 autoimmune hepatitis.

Sera from 14 patients with type 2 autoimmune hepatitis (anti-LKM1 positive) were investigated for evidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Antibodies to HCV were detected in 13 patients by both commercial and "in-house" ELISAs and also by a second generation recombinant immunoblot assay. Nine of the 13 (69%) anti-HCV positive patients were shown to be viraemic by a polymerase chain reaction-based assay for serum HCV RNA. Neither anti-HCV nor serum HCV RNA were detected in any of 6 controls with primary biliary cirrhosis or in 39 healthy blood donors. These findings strongly suggest a role for HCV in the pathogenesis of type 2 autoimmune hepatitis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

IgA antiendomysial antibody test. A step forward in celiac disease screening.

Serum IgA antiendomysial antibodies (EmA) were found in 61 (87%) of 70 adults and children with untreated celiac disease, whereas IgA antigliadin antibodies (AGA) and IgA R1-antireticulin antibodies (R1-ARA) were positive in 71% and 47%, respectively, of the same patients. Two of the nine untreated celiacs negative for IgA EmA showed positivity for IgA AGA. While IgA AGA and R1-ARA disappeared in all the celiacs tested one year after gluten-free diet, IgA EmA persisted at low titer in seven (18%) of these 38 subjects, although the jejunal biopsy showed a complete regrowth of jejunal villi. All the disease control patients as well as the blood donors tested were always negative for the three IgA antibodies. Our results state that the search for both IgA EmA and AGA gives the best results in the screening of celiac disease, since the positivity for at least one of these two antibodies allows identification with a 100% specificity of the 90% of untreated celiac patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Anti-nuclear antibodies of primary biliary cirrhosis recognize 78-92-kD and 96-100-kD proteins of nuclear bodies.

The specificities of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) reacting with multiple nuclear dots (MND-ANA) present in about 15% primary biliary cirrhosis sera were studied by Western blot analysis with nuclear fractions from a human cell line. Reactivity with two broad bands of 78-92 kD and 96-100 kD of the insoluble fraction was present exclusively in MND-ANA-positive sera. Antibodies eluted from these proteins specifically retained the immunofluorescence reactivity of MND-ANA. Immunomorphological analysis by a pre-embedding technique revealed that the antibody specifically binds to nuclear regions resembling in size and number nuclear bodies. Since these structures are absent in immature rate endometrial cell and can be induced by diethylstilbestrol, we tested MND-ANA by immunofluorescence on cryostat sections of uteri from hormone-treated and untreated immature rats. A strong reaction of nuclear dots was observed predominantly in endometrial cells of hormone treated rats. We thus conclude that MND-ANA present in primary biliary cirrhosis sera are directed against 78-92-kD and 96-100-kD nuclear proteins located in nuclear bodies.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Serum non-organ specific autoantibodies in human immunodeficiency virus 1 infection.

Serum samples from 66 seropositive subjects (56 with a history of intravenous drug abuse), including asymptomatic carriers and patients with persistent generalised lymphadenopathy (PGL), AIDS related complex (ARC), and AIDS, were tested by indirect immunofluorescence on rat tissue sections and HEp-2 cells for the presence of antibodies to nuclei, smooth muscle, intermediate filaments (anti-IMF) and microfilaments (anti-MF). Counterimmunoelectrophoresis was also used to detect antibodies to extractable nuclear antigens. Smooth muscle antibodies with the V pattern or antinuclear antibodies, mainly of the speckled type, or anti-IMF, occurred in 35 cases, being widely distributed in all groups. Such an autoantibody response resembles the "viral" autoimmunity described in various infectious diseases and in particular that of non-A, non-B post-transfusion hepatitis. Autoantibodies may be of some prognostic relevance, as the prevalence of smooth muscle antibodies V increased as the disease progressed (asymptomatic carriers 20%, those with PGL 29%, those with ARC 47%, and those with AIDS 63%. In the PGL group autoantibody positivity correlated with the presence of skin anergy. The fact that autoantibodies were more frequently detected in patients with circulating immune complexes suggests that these can contain autoantibodies and the corresponding autoantigens.

AIDS-Related Complex↗
PubMed1990

Anti-actin antibodies: a new test for an old problem.

Smooth muscle antibodies with anti-actin specificity are commonly regarded as markers of autoimmune liver disease. However, there are interpretational problems because different techniques have been used for their identification and therefore the results are difficult to compare. The present paper reports the results of a new method for the identification of anti-actin antibodies (indirect immunofluorescence on cryostat sections of liver from rats chronically injected with phalloidin). The results have been compared with those obtained by four other techniques: demonstration by immunofluorescence of kidney peritubular reactivity (SMAT), of anti-microfilament antibodies (on HEp-2 cells and vinblastine-treated peripheral blood mononuclear cells) and counterimmunoelectrophoresis with purified muscle actin as antigen. The new method proved to be the most sensitive and specific. Furthermore, its reproducibility was found to be high, the interpretation easy and the cost low. The clinical significance of anti-actin antibodies in patients with chronic liver disease is also discussed.

Actins↗
PubMed1990

Type 2 autoimmune hepatitis and hepatitis C virus infection.

The prevalence of serum antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) was assessed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 46 patients seropositive for liver-kidney microsomal antibody (anti-LKM1), the marker of autoimmune hepatitis type 2. 43 had chronic hepatitis (with histological confirmation in 34) and 3 were seropositive for anti-LKM1 without clinical or biochemical evidence of liver damage. The overall prevalence of anti-HCV was 78.2% or 86.1% in patients with chronic hepatitis--a similar prevalence to that reported in patients with chronic non A, non B posttransfusion hepatitis. HCV infection may lead to altered expression of the hepatocellullar LKM1 target antigen, with loss of tolerance and appearance of anti-LKM1 in serum.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Prevalence and significance of abdominal lymphadenopathy in patients with chronic liver disease: an ultrasound study.

Enlarged abdominal, mainly periportal, lymph nodes were detected by real time ultrasonography in 19% (42 of 227) of patients with chronic liver disease who had no evidence of tumor, upper gastrointestinal carcinoma, or lymphoproliferative disorder. Computed tomography, performed in 15 cases, always confirmed the sonographic findings. Lymph node biopsies from two patients showed reactive hyperplasia. Lymphadenopathy occurred more frequently in autoimmune (primary biliary cirrhosis, autoimmune, and liver-kidney microsomal antibody-positive chronic hepatitis: 33, 25, and 22% of cases, respectively) than nonautoimmune disease (cryptogenic, alcoholic, and hepatitis B virus-related chronic hepatitis: 16, 12, and 10% of cases, respectively) (p less than 0.005). Four of five patients with mixed polyclonal cryoglobulinemia or monoclonal gammopathy had lymphadenopathy. In 125 patients, including 25 with lymphadenopathy, who were monitored for a median period of 25 months, the ultrasonographic pattern remained unchanged. Abdominal, presumably benign, lymphadenopathy may accompany chronic liver disease, especially when prominent immunological features coexist. This should be kept in mind for the correct interpretation of such an ultrasound finding.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1989

Serum antibodies to thymus epithelial cells in non-A, non-B and cryptogenic chronic liver disease.

Antibodies against thymus epithelial cells (anti-TEC) and the basal cell layer (BCLA) of squamous epithelia have been described in association with HDV-related chronic liver disease (CLD). Data are lacking on their presence during nAnB virus infection. Sera from 51 patients with nAnB post-transfusion hepatitis, including acute and chronic cases diagnosed during a prospective study on candidates for cardiac surgery, and 167 with various forms of CLD were tested for the presence of anti-TEC and BCLA using indirect immunofluorescence on human thymus and rat forestomach sections. Both antibodies mainly occurred in nAnB, HDV and cryptogenic CLD (anti-TEC: 51%, 47% and 42%; BCLA: 29%, 38% and 31%, respectively). The prevalence of anti-TEC in nAnB CLD turned out to be higher than that recorded in alcoholic, HBV-related, autoimmune, liver and kidney microsomal antibody positive CLD and primary biliary cirrhosis (p ranging from less than 0.03 to less than 0.0004). Two monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) to cytokeratins gave a pattern superimposable on that of spontaneous anti-TEC (both Mabs) and BCLA (only one). Antibodies against epithelial constituents, presumably targeting cytokeratin-associated antigens, occur not only in HDV CLD, as previously reported, but also in nAnB CLD, where they might represent a diagnostic aid, due to the unavailability of reliable serological markers of nAnB infection. The close similarity of anti-TEC and BCLA status between nAnB and cryptogenic CLD suggests a nAnB etiology of at least a proportion of chronic liver patients at present scored as cryptogenic.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1988

Counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) for the detection of anti-liver-kidney microsome (LKM) antibodies in the sera of patients with chronic liver disease.

A counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) test for the detection of liver-kidney microsome specific antibodies in human sera is described. By testing different subcellular preparations the LKM antigen was found in the membranes of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum subfraction. The antigen was sensitive to trypsin digestion and behaved as an anionic protein in the experimental conditions used in the test. All sera positive for LKM in immunofluorescence gave a precipitin line of identity while none of the control sera gave a positive reaction. The CIE titers ranged between neat and 1/4096. A significant correlation was observed between the LKM titers obtained in immunofluorescence and those obtained in CIE. Moreover, by absorption experiments, it was concluded that the antigen preparation reactive in CIE was able to abolish the immunofluorescence pattern of LKM positive sera on rat liver and kidney sections. The LKM target antigen, although previously considered a structural protein of microsomal membranes, was shown to solubilize spontaneously during the isolation of microsomal membranes. Counterimmunoelectrophoresis appears to be an appropriate test for anti-LKM antibodies in human sera.

Autoantibodies↗
PubMed1987

An autoantibody profile in primary sclerosing cholangitis.

A high frequency of a variety of autoantibodies has been found in sera from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). The prevalence of all types of autoantibodies in PSC was significantly higher than that in healthy controls and patients with isolated inflammatory bowel disease. The titres of the antibodies were rather elevated, particularly in females, and most of them were IgM. The most frequent type of antinuclear antibody was the 'homogenous' type, which is a marker of many autoimmune diseases. The overall prevalence of the antibody was 35%, whereas in female patients it reached 67%. No correlation was found between autoantibody positivity and any clinical parameter. The present findings support the hypothesis that immunological factors may be relevant in PSC.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗
PubMed1987

Precipitating antibodies to rabbit thymus extractable antigens in chronic liver disease: relationship with anti-actin antibodies.

Using counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE), serum antibodies to rabbit thymus extractable antigens were detected in 15% (38/259) of patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) of various aetiologies and 33% (41/124) of patients with miscellaneous connective tissue diseases (CTD). A remarkable diversity of precipitating systems was apparent among cases with the two classes of disorders. All the five systems found in CLD (XR, XR2, SS-B, XR3, XR4) were associated mostly with immunological hepatic disorders. In the 52 autoimmune hepatitis cases, XR was mainly detected (29%), whereas in the 82 primary biliary cirrhosis patients the whole spectrum of reactivities was represented (XR: 11%, XR2: 10%, SS-B and XR3: 2% each, XR4: 1%). XR proved to be closely associated with smooth muscle antibodies (SMA, detected by indirect immunofluorescence on rat kidney sections) both qualitatively and quantitatively. Since all SMA positive sera with anti-actin specificity (SMAT, SMAG) were XR positive and purified actin could absorb out XR CIE reactivity, the hypothesis is made that a cross-reaction occurs between XR antigen and actin epitope(s).

Actins↗