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Biomedical subjects

K Berry

Publications and source records attributed to K Berry.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Prevalence of pedigrees suggestive of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer among a community sample of women eligible for screening mammography.

OBJECTIVE: To determine from a large cohort of women eligible for screening mammography, the number who would meet criteria for genetic testing for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). METHODS: Detailed personal and family cancer histories, obtained from 6,682 women aged 50-80 years randomly selected from communities in Washington State, were matched to the Amsterdam criteria, Bethesda guidelines, and Japanese criteria for HNPCC. RESULTS: One (0.015%) respondent met the Amsterdam criteria, 2 (0.035%) met the Japanese criteria and 5 (0.075%) met the Bethesda guidelines. CONCLUSION: Using the time of presentation for initial mammography as an opportunity to screen for HNPCC would detect very few families at high risk for this condition.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Specialist ventures: new business partnerships with hospitals.

Hospital-physician partnering, a proposition perpetually loaded with opportunities and dangers, remains one of the key strategies for hospital-based organizations pursuing network- and integrated system-oriented strategies. Developing and pursuing well-thought-out models for partnerships with specialists is key to a successful outcome.

Delivery of Health Care, Integrated↗
PubMed1996

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line, MDAPanc-28, with features of both acinar and ductal cells.

CONCLUSION: We established a new human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line, MDAPanc-28. Studies on this new line indicate that it expressed both acinar and ductal gene products suggesting that the patterns of gene expression in the pancreatic adenocarcinoma from which this cell line arose have features similar to those of the protodifferentiated cells hypothesized by Rutter and his colleagues for the developing pancreas (1,2). BACKGROUND: The cell line arose from a tumor that, like most pancreatic adenocarcinomas, was ductal on the basis of its histological appearance. METHODS: Once the cell line was established in culture, they were subjected to cytogenetic analysis and tested for their ability to grow in nude mice. RNA from the cells was analyzed by Northern blot analysis and PCR of reverse transcribed cDNA for the expression of both acinar and duct cell gene products. DNA was analyzed for the presence of mutated K-ras at codon 12. RESULTS: The cell line expressed trypsin and ribonuclease RNA, which are considered to be acinar cell markers, and carbonic anhydrase II (CAII), which is considered to be a duct-cell markers. The histological appearance of xenografts in nude mice was similar to that of the tumor from which the cell line was established. The chromosome number varied between 46 and 60.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1994

Anti-Fas on nonhematopoietic tumors: levels of Fas/APO-1 and bcl-2 are not predictive of biological responsiveness.

Fas/APO-1 is a cell surface protein known to trigger apoptosis in a variety of cell types upon specific antibody binding. Although extensively studied on normal and malignant hematopoietic cells, little is known about Fas/APO-1 on nonhematopoietic cells. In the study presented here, we have examined Fas/APO-1 expression and function on 11 human tumors of nonhematopoietic origin. By flow cytometric analysis, Fas/APO-1 was expressed on 10 of the 11 tumors at levels comparable to those previously reported for lymphoid cells sensitive to the cytolytic effects of anti-Fas. Despite abundant cell surface expression, only 4 of the 10 Fas-positive tumors were sensitive to the cell-killing effects of anti-Fas. Moreover, anti-Fas enhanced the growth of 2 of 10 Fas-positive tumors. Additional studies using cycloheximide demonstrated that de novo protein synthesis was required for anti-Fas-triggered growth stimulation and, at least in one case, was responsible for the resistance to antibody-induced apoptosis. The biological effects initiated by anti-Fas engagement, however, were not correlated with endogenous bcl-2 expression. This report documents that: (a) Fas/APO-1 is widely expressed on cultured nonhematopoietic tumors; (b) the inherent susceptibility to anti-Fas-induced apoptosis is not correlated with expression of the Fas/APO-1 protein; (c) Fas/APO-1 engagement can result in growth enhancement; and (d) protective/growth-promoting proteins other than bcl-2 may contribute to the diverse spectrum of biological effects induced by anti-Fas engagement of the Fas/APO-1 protein.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1994

Hippocampal synaptic pathology in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Immunostaining of synaptic terminals was studied in the hippocampus of 26 patients who had surgical resections for intractable temporal lobe epilepsy. Two monoclonal antibodies (EP10 and SP12) reactive with distinct synaptic antigens were used on paraffin-embedded tissues. The results indicated qualitative reductions on synaptic terminals in CA4 and other regions where cell loss is reported. The inner molecular layer of the dentate gyrus was observed to have increased synaptic immunostaining. Synaptic terminal loss in CA4 and redistribution in the molecular layer were most frequent in cases with hippocampal sclerosis. However, both forms of synaptic pathology were also noted in most cases where the pathological findings were classified as indefinite, and in some cases associated with mass lesions of the temporal lobe. These results support the importance of neuronal loss and synaptic reorganization as possible mechanisms of illness in epilepsy. They also indicate that synaptic immunostaining may be a useful adjunct to routine neuropathological diagnostic techniques.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Traumatic tear of tela choroidea resulting in fatal intraventricular hemorrhage.

A 39-year-old man was rendered comatose after being struck repeatedly on the head in an altercation. After admission to the hospital, he had computed tomographic scan evidence of diffuse intraventricular and subarachnoid hemorrhage as well as cerebral edema. He shortly thereafter became "brain dead" and life-support systems were discontinued the following day. At autopsy, he had a swollen brain as well as evidence of intraventricular and subarachnoid hemorrhage. No aneurysm or other grossly obvious cause for the hemorrhage was detected. There was, however, a small laceration of the lateral wall of the right lateral ventricle in the region of the caudate nucleus and thalamus, the choroid plexus was detached bilaterally, and the fornices were separated from the corpus callosum. Microscopically, there was further evidence of disruption of the lateral wall of the lateral ventricles, with fragments of ependymal lining mixed in with choroid plexus as well as blood between the fronds of the choroid plexus, and blood dissecting along the wall of the lateral ventricle deep to the ependyma. These findings were felt to be consistent with the recently proposed thesis that tears of the tela choroidea, as part of a so-called inner cerebral trauma, might produce intraventricular and subarachnoid hemorrhage, which, in this case, proved to be fatal.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Synergism between human monocyte chemotactic and activating factor and bacterial products for activation of tumoricidal properties in murine macrophages.

Chemotactic factors regulate the recruitment of monocytes-macrophages to inflammatory sites and neoplastic tissues. The purpose of this study was to determine whether MCAF also influences the activation of C3H/HeN macrophages to become tumoricidal. Several metastatic and nonmetastatic clones of the K-1735 murine melanoma cells syngeneic to C3H/HeN mice were transfected with expression vectors containing the human MCAF gene or control DNA. Tumor cells producing high levels of MCAF were significantly lysed by macrophages treated with LPS, whereas parental or control transfected cells were not. Control-activated macrophages incubated with both IFN-gamma and LPS lysed all the melanoma cells regardless of MCAF production. Pretreatment of macrophages with MCAF significantly enhanced their response to low concentrations of LPS, muramyl tripeptide, and a synthetic bacterial LPP, as measured by lysis of murine melanoma cells. These data suggest that in addition to being a chemotactic factor, MCAF can prime macrophages to respond to endotoxins and other bacterial products and therefore may regulate several levels of macrophage-tumor interactions in situ.

Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine↗
PubMed1993

Origin of CD4-CD8-B220+ T cells in MRL-lpr/lpr mice. Clues from a T cell receptor beta transgenic mouse.

Abnormal development of T cells in the thymus is thought to be related to autoimmune disease and the expansion of the unusual CD4-CD8-B220+ peripheral T cel subset that results in lymphadenopathy in MRL-lpr/lpr mice. Although we and others have previously shown that rearranged TCR-transgenes alter T cell development in the thymus and abrogate lymphoproliferative disease in lpr mice, the origin and developmental pathway of the LN CD4-CD8-B220+ T cells has not been fully elucidated. We therefore undertook the systematic analysis of the effect of a TCR-beta transgene on the production and differentiation of (lymph node) LN T cells and the production, differentiation, and release of thymocyte T cell populations. In nontransgenic mice, there was increased proliferation of CD4-CD8-B220+ T cells in the LN of adult MRL-lpr/lpr mice compared to MRL(-)+/+ mice, as measured by in vivo BrdU labeling. These proliferating LN T cells were greatly reduced by thymectomy of adult MRL-lpr/lpr mice 1 wk before bromodeoxyuridine labeling, indicating that recent thymic emigrants or factors were required to sustain proliferation. In the thymus, there was increased production and accumulation of CD4+CD8+TCRdull thymocytes in nontransgenic MRL-lpr/lpr compared to MRL(-)+/+ mice. As the rate of maturation from CD4+CD8+TCRdull to CD4+CD8+TCRbright was the same (6%) in both MRL-lpr/lpr and MRL(-)+/+ mice, the accumulation of the immature population in the MRL-lpr/lpr mice could not be due to a maturation defect. However, there was a decrease in apoptosis and intrathymic death of CD4+CD8+TCRdull thymocytes in MRL-lpr/lpr compared to MRL(-)+/+ mice. Introduction of the TCR-beta transgene into lpr/lpr mice normalized the proliferation of T cells in the LN. In the thymus, the TCR-beta transgene resulted in a dramatic increase in maturation efficiency and a reduction in apoptosis in MRL(-)+/+ mice. These data suggest that the TCR transgene inhibits lymphoproliferation by reducing the production of "neglected" CD4+CD8+TCRdull thymocytes that will undergo Fas Ag-mediated apoptosis. They further suggest that in lpr mice, which express a mutated Fas Ag, the "neglected" thymocytes are able to continually escape to the periphery, where they proliferate.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Neuropathology of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS): report of 39 autopsies from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Neuropathological findings from 39 acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) autopsies of primarily neurologically symptomatic patients and 7 brain biopsies from AIDS patients performed at St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia are reported. Autopsy findings included human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV)-type multinucleated giant cell (MNGC)-associated encephalitis seen in 17 patients, toxoplasmosis in 7 patients, and cytomegalovirus encephalitis and/or microglial nodule-associated nuclear inclusions in brain parenchyma in 9 patients. Central nervous system lymphoma was identified in 11 autopsy patients and in 4 of 7 brain biopsies. Infectious processes including HIV encephalitis were seen in 10 of 11 autopsied patients with lymphoproliferative lesions in the brain parenchyma, while 40% of patients without lymphoma had HIV-type MNGC or opportunistic infections. CNS lymphoma was not significantly increased in incidence in patients with a clinical history of zidovudine treatment, but increased duration of survival after the diagnosis of AIDS was associated with increased incidence of lymphoma in both untreated and zidovudine-treated patients. Patients displaying HIV MNGC within microglial nodules had a shorter mean duration of survival after diagnosis of AIDS than those patients with HIV encephalitis with dispersed MNGC, white matter vacuolation, and gliosis.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗
PubMed1991

Abnormal thymocyte development and production of autoreactive T cells in T cell receptor transgenic autoimmune mice.

Development of a C57BL/6-+/+ TCR transgenic mouse containing the rearranged TCR alpha- and beta-chain specific for the Db + HY male Ag results in production of a nearly monoclonal population of early thymocytes expressing the Db + HY reactive TCR. These thymocytes are autoreactive in H-2Db male mice and undergo clonal deletion and down-regulation of CD8. To study the effect of the lpr gene on development of autoreactive T cells, these transgenic mice were backcrossed with C57BL/6-lpr/lpr mice. T cell populations in the thymus and spleen were analyzed by three-color flow cytometry for expression of CD4, CD8, and TCR. The thymus of TCR transgenic H-2b/b lpr/lpr male mice had an increase in percent and absolute number of CD8dull thymocytes compared to TCR transgenic H-2b/b +/+ male mice. However, there was not a complete defect in clonal deletion, because clonal deletion and down-regulation of CD8 was apparent in both +/+ and lpr/lpr H-2Db HY+ male mice compared to H-2Db HY- female mice. The phenotype of splenic T cells was almost identical in TCR transgenic +/+ and lpr/lpr males with about 50% CD4-CD8- T cells and 50% CD8+ T cells. However, there was a dramatic increase in the SMLR proliferative response of splenic T cells from TCR transgenic lpr/lpr males compared to TCR transgenic +/+ males. To determine the specificity of this response, spleen cells from TCR transgenic lpr/lpr and +/+ mice were cultured with irradiated H-2b/b and H-2k/k male and female spleen cells. T cells from TCR transgenic C57BL/6-lpr/lpr male mice had an increased proliferative response to H-2b/b male spleen cells compared to T cells from TCR transgenic C57BL/6(-)+/+ male mice, but both lpr/lpr and +/+ mice had a minimal response to irradiated H-2b/b female or H-2k/k male or female stimulator cells. The splenic T cells from TCR transgenic lpr/lpr mice also had an increased specific cytotoxic activity against H-2b/b male target cells compared to TCR transgenic +/+ mice. These results demonstrate that there is a defect in negative selection of self-reactive T cells in the thymus of lpr/lpr mice and a defect in induction or maintenance of clonal anergy of self-reactive T cells in the periphery of lpr/lpr mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Hepatic hemangioblastoma. An unusual presentation in a patient with von Hippel-Lindau disease.

We report a case of multiple capillary hemangioblastomas of the liver occurring in a patient with von Hippel-Lindau disease and a history of previous cerebellar and spinal hemangioblastomas. Although rare examples of this tumor have previously been recorded in the pancreas, kidney, and urinary bladder, this appears to be the first recorded case with hepatic involvement. The histology and immunohistochemical appearance of this neoplasm are identical with those of the cerebellar tumor. We believe it represents a separate primary neoplasm rather than metastatic disease.

Adult↗