Rapid processing of renal glomeruli for electron microscopy.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to H Helin.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A 26-year-old man developed pneumonia, hepatitis and biopsy-verified acute tubulointerstitial nephritis coinciding with a rise and fall of complement-fixing antibodies to Mycoplasma pneumoniae. M. pneumoniae antigenic material and complement (C3) in the renal interstitium were shown by immunohistochemical techniques. A causal relationship between M. pneumoniae infection and the renal lesion is suggested.
An improved fine needle is described for aspiration of kidney glomeruli. The needle, with a sharp inner edge 0.43 mm in diameter, is less traumatic than ordinary percutaneous kidney biopsy needles. Electron microscopy of specimens aspirated from kidneys of normal rabbits showed well-preserved glomeruli. Twenty-two of twenty-six specimens obtained from human kidneys by fine-needle aspiration contained glomeruli. Electron microscopic study of specimens aspirated from 12 patients showed that the needle provides adequate tissue for the diagnosis of diffuse glomerular diseases. The use of the fine needle widens the scope for studying the relation between glomerular fine structure and renal symptoms in many conditions in which conventional methods would not be justified.
Electron microscopic study of solitary glomeruli obtained by aspiration with a modified fine needle is of clinical value in the diagnosis of various renal diseases. The small size of the needle makes it less traumatic than an ordinary percutaneous biopsy needle and therefore suitable for use in situations where a conventional biopsy is for some reason considered undesirable.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
We investigated the effects of maternal gestational corticosteroid therapy on placental xenobiotic and steroid metabolizing enzymes at term in 20 glucocorticoid/betamethasone treated (with various doses) and control (n=10) women. A single dose of betamethasone (12 mg i.m. twice at a 24-h interval) was given to 15 mothers at risk of preterm delivery to prevent respiratory syndrome in their premature newborns. Five mothers were treated more than once. The gestation time in mothers receiving the glucocorticoid therapy varied from 22-38 gestational weeks. Compared with controls, a significant decrease in placental aromatase activity (53.6+/-18.0 pmol/mg/min versus 119+/-30 pmol/mg/min, P=0.0007) and placental CYP19 mRNA content (by 50 per cent ) was observed in mothers treated with glucocorticoids. Also the formation of androstenedione (13.2+/-8.1 pmol/mg/min, steroids versus 30.03+/-5.2 pmol/mg/min, controls, P< 0.001), using testosterone as the substrate, and 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase (P< 0.05) and 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (P< 0.09) were slightly decreased in the glucocorticoid treated compared to control patients' values. The changes were not dependent on the number of treatments or the time between treatment and delivery. Our results demonstrate that even a single dose of glucocorticoid given to expectant mothers is associated with diminished placental steroid hormone and xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes at term. Further studies are needed to assess whether these changes affect the well-being of the fetus and its later development.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Proliferative and apoptotic activities, as well as p53 protein expression, of ten untreated primary prostate carcinomas that showed extremely poor response to hormonal therapy (primary androgen independent prostate carcinomas) were compared with the stage- and grade-matched primary tumor specimens with favorable response to hormonal therapy (androgen dependent prostate carcinomas). The mean proliferative activity measured by Ki-67 immunohistochemistry was slightly higher in the primary androgen independent prostate carcinomas (8.70+/-5.24) than in the androgen dependent prostate carcinomas (7.09+/-2.68; p=0.27). The mean apoptotic activity by in situ end-labeling technique in the primary androgen independent prostate carcinomas (0.96+/-1.03) was less than half of that in the androgen dependent prostate carcinomas (2.75+/-0.98; p=0.0001). Ten percent of the androgen dependent prostate tumors showed p53 protein expression, whereas 30% of the primary androgen independent prostate tumors were immunopositive for p53 (p=0.30). In summary, we have shown that apoptotic activity in the primary androgen independent prostate carcinomas is significantly lower than in the matched androgen dependent prostate carcinomas while the proliferative activity remains unaffected. These results suggest that primary androgen independent prostate carcinomas may have genetic properties, such as inactivation of the p53 gene, that enable them to escape apoptosis caused by androgen ablation.