Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Gil

Publications and source records attributed to J Gil.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Morphology and function of liver after intravenous and intraportal injections of the immunomodulating agent Propionibacterium granulosum.

An immunomodulator, cell walls from Propionibacterium granulosum strain KP-45 (PG), has been applied in rabbits to test its influence on morphology and function of liver cells. For investigation of distribution in internal organs, the PG preparation was 51Cr-labelled and injected i.v. into mice. Functional liver tests were performed in rabbits injected intravenously or intraportally with PG. Morphologic studies (light and electron microscopy) of liver sections were performed in mice and rats injected intravenously with PG, 1-60 d prior to liver examination. Intravenous or intraportal application of PG did not cause detectable clinical symptoms during the whole observation period (1-60 d). During the first 3-7 d, elevation of serum globulins and transaminases (SGOT, SGPT) were noted with reappearance of normal values after 14-20 d. 131I-labelled Bengal Rose injected into PG-treated rabbits was trapped mostly in the spleen, and to a smaller extent in liver, where radioactivity was significantly lower than in saline-injected control animals. 51Cr-labelled PG injected i.v. into mice were after 60-90 min localized preferentially in lungs and liver, where the radioactivity was much higher than in the spleen. Morphological studies revealed that 6 h following i.v. injection of PG, there appeared partial clearing of the hepatocyte cytoplasm and lowering of their basophilic content with enhancement of pinocytic activity of the hepatocytes. This was accompanied by enlargement of RES cells in liver with enhanced intracellular digestion, higher number of lysosomes and appearance of phagocytic vacuoles.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed1984

Reconstruction experience with myocutaneous and osteomyocutaneous skin flaps in oncological surgery of the head and neck.

Our experience in the field of oncological surgery of the head and neck enables us to present 26 cases operated upon, analysing the complications and the results, and suggesting immediate reconstruction using myocutaneous and osteomyocutaneous skin flaps due to their advantages as shown. We also present the different criteria considered in the choice of each of the three different flaps which our department uses.

Bone Transplantation↗
PubMed1984

The use of touch-sensitive screen in interactive morphometry.

We propose the use of a touch-sensitive screen as a tool to facilitate acquisition of data both in point counting and morphometric planimetry. It obviates the use of a 'correspondence image' required with many planimetric devices in which the means for data acquisition and display are separate. The touch-sensitive screen offers operational advantages over the light pen. The characteristics of this new graphical input device, its assembly and basic operational considerations are introduced and discussed.

Computers↗
PubMed1984

Early cell alterations induced by histamine and epinephrine in rabbit lung.

This study was concerned with the early effects on lung cells of infusion of 18 micrograms/kg histamine to the rabbit. For comparison purposes, other rabbits received a bolus of 0.4 micrograms/kg epinephrine. After administration, the lungs were immediately fixed by vascular perfusion of osmium tetroxide. In the group that received histamine, we observed selective alterations in the type I epithelial cells of the alveolar wall, consisting of localized thickening, increased number of cytoplasmic ribosomes, and homogeneity and increased electron density with reduction of the number of plasmalemmal vesicles. These alterations were quantitated; the vesicular load (no. of vesicles/cm2) was computed separately for each cell front of epithelial and endothelial cells. Epinephrine induced only edema in epithelial and endothelial cells, resulting in high electron lucency, thickening, and irregular cell profiles. We interpret the alterations seen in histamine-treated animals as reflecting uptake of histamine by the alveolar epithelium leading to an increased level of metabolic activity. Histamine induced no interstitial edema and no immediate reduction of capillary volume. The cellular edema related to epinephrine, a substance which is not taken up or metabolized by the lung, represented a form of cell injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

A morphometric study of the carotid body in chronically hypoxic rats.

We performed morphometric studies of carotid body in acutely and chronically hypoxic rats (inspired PO2 = 70 Torr, at sea level). Acute exposure was for the duration of about 10 min, and chronic exposure lasted for 28 days. We confirmed that the total volume of the organ increased by severalfold. At the light-microscopy level we found an enlargement of the volume density of the blood sinuses from 14 to 31% due to chronic hypoxia. The morphometric hematocrit increased from 39 to 70% paralleling changes in the conventionally measured venous hematocrit. These data do not show any specific plasma skimming in the carotid body blood vessels. With the electron microscope we found that the mean average volume of type I cells increased from 320 micron3 in controls to 1,120 micron3 in the chronically hypoxic rats without hyperplasia, whereas type II cells had increased in number without alteration in size. Qualitative observations revealed that the normal appearance of clusters of ovoid type I cells interspersed by capillaries had been transformed into a pattern of individual cells forming plates between expanded blood vessels with a large increase of contact area between the cells and vessels. Type II cells appeared to have proliferated without changes in individual size to cover the enlarged periphery of type I cells. The observed structural changes in the carotid body parenchyma and vasculature appear to be physiologically adaptive and provide further support for the idea that various elements in the organ are particularly sensitive to hypoxia.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

The connective tissue of the rat lung: electron immunohistochemical studies.

The ultrastructural distribution of specific connective-tissue components in the normal rat lung was studied by electron immunohistochemistry. Three of these components were localized: type I collagen, fibronectin and laminin. Type I collagen was present not only in major airways and vascular structures, but also in alveolar septa. Laminin was found in all basement membranes, and only in basement membranes, demonstrating once more that this glycoprotein is an intrinsic component of the basement membrane. Fibronectin was found free in the interstitium and on the surfaces of collagen fibers. The basement membranes of bronchial, glandular and endothelial cells of large vessels lacked fibronectin; however, capillary endothelial and occasionally epithelial alveolar basement membranes contained some fibronectin in an irregular, spotty distribution. This localization suggests that in the lung, as in other tissues, fibronectin is not an intrinsic component of the basement membrane, but rather a stromal and plasma protein. Only basement membranes in the alveolar parenchyma contained "trapped" plasma fibronectin.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Immunotherapy of chronic active viral hepatitis B with propionibacterium granulosum.

12 HBsAg-positive patients with chronic active hepatitis B were treated monthly with cell walls (5 or 10 mg) of Propionibacterium granulosum KP-45 (PG) intravenously administered for a period of 6-10 months. The clinical state was evaluated according to an arbitrary 6-grade scale based on serum biochemical tests, HBV markers and the morphology of liver biopsy samples. Intravenous administration of PG was well tolerated, and no serious side effects were observed. All patients exhibited complete or partial normalization of biochemical parameters and HB5AG and DNA-polymerase levels were decreasing after 6 months of therapy. Prior to treatment, HBeAG was detected in 9 patients, in 4 of whom seroconversion occurred with appearance of anti-HBeAg. Excellent results were seen in 3 patients and beneficial results in a further 3 patients; signs of improvement were seen in 5 patients, and only one patient did not react in a clearly positive way. In 11 of these patients, before and during treatment, isolated peripheral blood lymphocytes were investigated for their ability to show rosette E formation, their reactivity to phytomitogens (PHA, ConA), and their suppressor T lymphocyte activity. In five patients interferon levels were investigated.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1984

Methods in laboratory investigation. Digital reversal and enhancement of negatives in video-based interactive morphometry.

We describe a system for the digital reversal of negatives in interactive morphometry. Minimum requirements, in addition to a high-resolution black and white video camera and monitor, are a readily available digital video frame store and a computer system as simple as a microprocessor-based personal computer. In a video-based analysis system, the addition of a digital image memory device and computer obviates the time and expense of photographic processing of the large number of negatives to positive prints required for an appropriate sampling size in morphometry. Additionally, the enhancement of digital images to recover details in the negative is feasible. This study represents a part of a continuing effort to develop an efficient, interactive morphometry system that encourages the use of a large number of random samples by simplifying processing.

Biometry↗
PubMed1983

Isolation of lamellar bodies from rat granular pneumocytes in primary culture.

A lamellar body fraction was isolated from rat alveolar granular pneumocytes in primary culture by upward flotation on a discontinuous sucrose gradient and compared with a similar fraction isolated from lung homogenates. Lamellar bodies from granular pneumocytes were free of detectable contamination with either succinate dehydrogenase or NADPH-cytochrome c reductase. There was an enrichment of acid phosphatase activity, which, based on distribution of enzyme activity on the gradient, did not appear to be a contamination from other fractions. The lamellar body fraction of granular pneumocytes yielded approx. 1 microgram protein/10(6) cells with a phospholipid-to-protein ratio (mg/mg) of 9.6 +/- 0.4 (n = 7). Composition with respect to total phospholipids was 71.0% phosphatidylcholine (disaturated phosphatidylcholine, 45.2%), 8.4% phosphatidylglycerol and 12.8% phosphatidylethanolamine. Palmitic acid comprised 66% of the fatty acids in phosphatidylcholine and 34% of those in phosphatidylglycerol. The lamellar body fraction from granular pneumocytes was similar to that from whole lung with respect to phospholipid-to-protein ratio and phospholipid composition and showed only minor differences in fatty acid composition. Ultrastructurally, lamellar bodies showed generally intact limiting membranes and lamellated structure. Lamellar bodies from granular pneumocytes showed occasional multinucleated whorls which were not seen in those isolated from lung homogenates. This study describes a method for preparing a homogeneous fraction of intact lamellar bodies from small amounts of material (6 X 10(7) granular pneumocytes). The yield on a per cell basis was higher when compared with a similar preparation from whole lung, although overall yield is small, due to loss of cells during the cell isolation procedure. This preparation may be useful to evaluate the role of lamellar bodies in the synthesis and secretion of lung surfactant by isolated granular pneumocytes.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1983

Number and distribution of plasmalemmal vesicles in the lung.

Vesicles in the lung, particularly in capillary endothelial and squamous alveolar epithelial cells, are membrane differentiations that form a system of impressive aggregate size. Strong evidence from electron microscopic tracer studies indicates that they have the potential of acting as a transendothelial transport mechanism, but their precise level of activity and the significance of vesicular transport as a pathway different from hydraulic permeability have not been clarified. It has been proposed that vesicles may form either permanent or transient transcellular channels. The relative significance of vesicles as passage sites compared to the leaky intercellular endothelial junctions awaits clarification. Quantitation of individual cell size and number of vesicles reveals that in both endothelial and epithelial cells more than 70% of the total plasma membrane is located in vesicles. Coated pits and vesicles are readily identifiable in all cells of the lung parenchyma, although they are much less frequent than noncoated vesicles. These are important because they have been identified in cell biology as sites of receptor-mediated endocytosis and therefore offer the basis for the presence of a system of selective permeability and/or uptake of substances by the lung, which, so far, has not been explored.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

A 2.5-year follow-up of local immunotherapy of advanced stomach and intestinal adenocarcinoma with Propionibacterium granulosum.

Intratumoral injections of 10 mg cells walls from Propionibacterium granulosum strain KP-45 (PG) were applied in 14 patients with advanced, metastatic stomach (five cases) and colorectal (nine cases) adenocarcinoma. Each patient had his own "twin" control. All patients received no other anticancer treatment, except analgetics and/or palliative surgery. Treatment with PG resulted in partial regression of tumors accompanied by improvement of the clinical state of these patients as well as the reappearance of normal values in blood count biochemical parameters. In each pair of twin cases, survival of the PG-treated patient was longer than the untreated control. The mean survival of PG-treated patients was 23.5 months (4 of 14 patients being still alive after 2.5 years follow-up), while all control patients died with a mean survival period of 6.4 months. The difference between these two patient groups of about 17 months is significant (p greater than 0.01).

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1983

Secretion of Weibel-Palade bodies observed in extra-alveolar vessels of rabbit lung.

We fixed rabbit lungs by perfusion of osmium into the pulmonary artery and examined in light and transmission electron microscopy a large number of extra-alveolar vessels with a diameter of 0.1-0.25 mm, with emphasis on Weibel-Palade bodies (endothelial specific granules). Weibel-Palade bodies are organelles specific to endothelial cells. Their function is unknown, but they are useful markers for identification of endothelial cells in culture. We were able to observe release of the content of these bodies into the vascular lumen; this indicates that they are secretory.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Alveolar epithelial lesions induced by angiotensin in rabbit lungs.

We slowly administered a bolus of 10 micrograms/kg of angiotensin II in saline to anesthetized rabbits. Their lungs are fixed by vascular perfusion of fixatives 2-3 minutes after the end of the infusion. Electron-microscopic examination of the lung parenchyma did not reveal signs of hemodynamic edema, but several epithelial alterations were observed that could be interpreted as the result of incorporation of plasmalemmal vesicles into the plasma membrane: these included undulating membrane profiles, transcellular channels formed by coalescing vesicles, and/or deep infoldings of the cell membrane. These appear to have the capability of causing demarcations in the cellular cytoplasm of Type I epithelial cells, which result in cell fractionation and localized destruction of the squamous alveolar epithelium, which leads to denudation of the basement membrane from the air side. These epithelial lesions were often associated with intracapillary platelet-fibrin aggregates, and cell destruction was most apparent in the presence of substantial amounts of fibrin. Morphologic signs of damage of the capillary endothelial cells existed but were less pronounced; in particular, there was no endothelial denudation under the platelet aggregates.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed1983

Ethanol, hepatocellular organelles, and microtubules. A morphometric study in vivo and in vitro.

The effects of chronic ethanol intoxication on hepatic microtubules are controversial. We, therefore, designed a morphometric study to examine ethanol-induced alterations in microtubules in vivo and in vitro. Using a computer-assisted point-counting system we determined the volume, surface, and length densities of hepatic microtubules, in addition to those of other hepatic organelles. Consistent with previous qualitative descriptions, chronic ethanol feeding caused increases in the volume and surface densities of mitochondria and microsomes. These changes account, in part, for the increased protein content of hepatocytes after chronic ethanol consumption. However, there was no effect on the volume, surface, or length densities of hepatic microtubules, nor on their calculated radii. The structure of isolated bovine brain microtubules after polymerization in vitro was not changed by ethanol or its metabolites, acetaldehyde and acetate. These data indicate that neither chronic ethanol intoxication nor the presence of ethanol, or its metabolites, affects the number or structure of microtubules.

Animals↗