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Biomedical subjects

M Lungu

Publications and source records attributed to M Lungu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Antifungal properties of lectin and new chitinases from potato tubers.

We have purified from potato tubers, the lectin STA devoid of chitinase activity and two chitinases devoid of lectin activity. Both enzymes are 16 kDa glycoproteins, and probably belong to a new family of plant chitinases. The respective antifungal properties of lectin and chitinases were studied by following their effects against early developmental stages of Fusarium oxysporum, a fungal potato pathogen. Here we demonstrate that: (1) lectin does not inhibit mycelial growth but irreversibly inhibits conidia germination and alters the germ tubes; and (2) chitinases block mycelial growth as well as conidia germination and lyse germ tubes.

Antifungal Agents↗

The presence of complement fixing antibodies to Rous sarcoma virus (Schmidt-Ruppin strain) in patients with various forms of neoplasia.

The presence in men of antibodies to Rous sarcoma virus, an oncogenic virus of avian origin, was demonstrated. The highest antibody incidence was found in patients with various forms of cancer (34.4%, as against the value of 12% recorded in blood donors); these patients also showed an increased antibody level - 1/64 titers were detected in 43 out of 7 patients. The possibility of a human infection with animal oncogenic viruses is discussed, without excluding the hypothesis of a paraimmune reaction.

Antibodies, Viral↗

Studies on the presence of viral antibodies in patients with various forms of malignant neoplasia.

The study of viral antibodies in 6714 sera demonstrated that the level of antibodies to infectious viruses was the same in cancer patients as in controls. However, the patients with various forms of neoplasia showed a considerable percentage and high antibody levels to viruses with oncogenic potential for animals (adenovirus, SV40, Rous virus) or involved in human carcinogenesis (herpes virus).

Adenoviridae↗