Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P Mastroeni.
A new ELISA test using the purified Listeria monocytogenes-derived antigen LM 84 Ag is described together with its application in the diagnosis of listeriosis. Fifty-seven human sera were titrated by the ELISA and the complement fixation method and compared for specificity and sensitivity. The problem of possible cross-reactions with other antigens is discussed.
A modified dot-immunobinding assay is described for the rapid, specific and reliable screening of human sera for Toxoplasma gondii immunity status. This simple, rapid and sensitive assay proved to be a practical diagnostic technique since it can be performed in 3 hours employing a small amount of antigen (0.3 micrograms/microliters).
It is generally accepted that mononuclear phagocytic cells are of crucial importance in defence against viral infections. Using a method of "in vitro" differentiation from human blood monocytes to macrophages, the interactions between human monocyte-macrophage with herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2, adenovirus type 17, coxsackie virus B type 4, poliovirus type 1 and ECHO virus type 2, are reported. In all viruses tested on monocytes, the infection of the cells was very poor according to the data of specific immunofluorescence and of the residual infectivity. In the macrophage stage all viruses tested were able to infect the cells.
We have examined the interaction of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeled E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with human T lymphocytes by means of cell flow cytometry, in an effort to establish the type and the conditions of this interaction. Our results indicate that the interaction of LPS with human T lymphocytes is optimal at 37 degrees C. This interaction is rapid and reaches the maximum after 5 minutes and is followed by endocytosis. Our results show that sodium azide and trypsin treatment does not affect LPS- human T cell interaction, suggesting a nonspecific lipid-lipid interaction.
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Intravenous injection of S. sonnei LPS (640 mcg/kg) and of Y. enterocolitica LPS (1280 mcg/kg) elicited a decrease in mean arterial pressure and heart rate in urethane anaesthetized rats. The bradycardia reached a maximum when hypotension had already reverted, thus suggesting direct and independent effects on the vessels and on the heart.
Six widely used commercial systems for Enterobacteriaceae identification (API 20 E, API 10, Enterotube, Enterotube II, Micro-ID and Minitek) were evaluated at the same time by testing 611 organisms. Conventional media were used for comparison. API 20 E, Enterotube II and Micro-ID were highly accurate and identified about 91% of the strains to the species level. The remaining organisms required additional tests and only a small minority was misidentified. Percentages of correct identification to the species level were 87.2 for Enterotube, 74.9 for API 10 and 67.1 for Minitek. Enterotube, Enterotube II and Micro-ID were, in our hands, the easiest systems to operate.
Endotoxins of Pasteurella multocida, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Shigella sonnei, when given in a single intravenous injection in the rat, showed antidipsogenic effects on drinking behaviour stimulated by 48 h water deprivation, or by intracerebroventricular injection of carbachol (250 ng). In water deprived rats, the antidipsogenic effect was dose related. When drinking was induced by carbachol, endotoxins showed a very long-lasting inhibition. The effect was neither a consequence of behavioural alterations, nor due endotoxin peripheral vasodilatating properties.
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The effects of Listeria monocytogenes treatment on some functions of peritoneal macrophages in tumor-bearing rats were evaluated. In particular phagocytosis and intracellular killing of Escherichia coli and Candida albicans and chemotactic response to activated serum were studied in untreated and treated animals. Different restoration of macrophage functions, depressed in tumor-bearing rats, was obtained by treatment with whole formolinated L. monocytogenes or its crude extract.