Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S R Aparicio.
In vitro toxicity of sera from 10 MS patients was followed for up to 3 years. Myelinotoxicity and cytotoxicity measured as radiolabel release from rat cerebellar explants were almost continuously higher in than in controls while peaks of radiolabel release were associated with the emergence of new clinical signs in the MS patients.
The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are characterised by dysplastic marrow and cytopenia. Clinically detectable bleeding is uncommon and usually attributed to thrombocytopenia. We have investigated some aspects of haemostatic function in 17 patients with MDS and compared the results with findings from 17 control patients matched for age and sex. No specific disorder of blood coagulation or fibrinolysis was identified. The main abnormalities observed in the patients were: prolongation of the bleeding time which was greater than could be explained on the basis of thrombocytopenia in 13 patients; absent, or severely impaired platelet aggregation in response to collagen in 7 patients; impaired platelet production of malondialydehyde when stimulated with collagen and abnormal release of 14C-5 hydroxytryptamine in 5 patients; and abnormalities of ultrastructure in all 5 patients whose platelets were viewed by electron microscopy.
Undifferentiated malignant cells in a Warthin's tumour (adenolymphoma) were studied by light and electron microscopy. The ultrastructure of these cells indicated that they were poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma arising from the glandular component of the Warthin's tumour. Some differences between this case and previous ultrastructural studies are described.
A simple, rapid, economic and reliable method was used for visualization of internal structure of soft tissues by fracturing paraffin embedded samples at room temperature. The same sample which was used for light microscopy was then fractured for SEM. Most of the cellular and extracellular details are exposed without any need of special equipment. The technique preserves the architecture of tissues and can be used in routine diagnostic pathology.
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The effect of the intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) on uterine haemostasis was studied at various stages of the menstrual cycle in a series of 46 patients by light- and electron-microscopy and by following the distribution of an infusion of 51Cr-labelled autologous platelets. The endometrium in contact with the IUCD in the majority of cases showed grooving with atrophy and mild chronic inflammation in the surrounding tissues. The adjacent stroma also showed increased vascularity and occasional foci of haemorrhage but the increased blood loss associated with the presence of the IUCD could not be attributed to mechanical erosion or stromal blood vessels by the device. During menstruation the presence of an IUCD does not appear to inhibit the formation of fibrin/platelet thrombi although both in control and IUCD patients there was a striking paucity of platelet/fibrin thrombi in circumstances where their formation should be enhanced. In contrast to other workers we have not observed that gaps or breaks in the endothelial lining of endometrial blood vessels occur with any greater frequency in patients fitted with an IUCD. The principal mechanism by which uterine haemostasis is achieved remains to be established.
Uterine fluid was collected from a group of normal patients and a group of patients with menorrhagia. Heparin-like activity was detected in 34 out of 38 samples using an anti-Xa heparin assay. The heparin-like activity in uterine fluid was inhibited by adding the heparin antagonist hexadimethrine bromide to the assay. Concentrations of fibrinogen-fibrin degradation products (FDPs) were measured in five samples of uterine fluid. FDPs in the concentration detected had no effect on the anti-Xa assay. Heparin-like activity was higher in the group with menorrhagia, although the differences were not significant. Heparin-like activity increased throughout the menstrual cycle and decreased during menstruation, suggesting a possible cyclical variation in activity. There was no correlation between mast cell numbers in the endometrium and myometrium and heparin-like activity in uterine fluid and no correlation between the numbers and the stage in the menstrual cycle. In a few patients with intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUCDs) heparin-like activity was increased.
Immunofluorescence techniques failed to reveal evidence of anti-tumour antibody in the sera of patients with basal cell carcinima. Although the presence of such antibodies has previously been associated with the absence of metastasis in malignant melanoma, other explanations for the low metaststic potential of basal cell carcinoma should be sought.
The nature of the stationary band of alkaline phosphatase, which occurs on starch gel electrophoresis of sera from patients with biliary obstruction, has been examined. Stationary alkaline phosphatase was eluted from Sepharose 4-B gel close to the void volume and together with the plasma membrane enzymes, nucleotide pyrophosphatase and 5'-nucleotidase, and with lipoprotein-X. Electron microscopy of concentrates of stationary alkaline phosphatase, prepared by ultracentrifugation and gel filtration, showed large (0.3--1 mum diameter) and small structures (30-70 nm diameter) by negative staining. The activity of the stationary alkaline phosphatase was associated in fixed sections with particles of about 10 nm X 40 nm resembling those of lipoprotein-X. It is suggested that the stationary alkaline phosphatase does not move into starch gel during electrophoresis because it is particulate. In agar electrophoresis the alkaline phosphatase which was stationary on starch gel moved towards the cathode with lipoprotein-X.
The potential evoked at the surface of the cerebral cortex of a guinea pig, by stimulation of the contralateral forepaw, usually consists of an initial double positive wave whose waveform remains unchanged during rapid stimulation. In a guinea pig with experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) the response is attenuated at low frequencies of stimulation. Observations were also made on animals with experimental allergic neuritis (AEN). These animals showed a peripheral specificity for decreased conduction velocity, but have normal cortical evoked responses. Histological studies were undertaken in parallel with the electrophysiological studies and the concordance and discordance between the two is discussed. We conclude that there is no evident correlation between the severity of the electrophysiological effects and the histological lesions. An attempt was also made to induce an immunological challenge in guinea pigs, in the same way that EAE and EAN is produced, by the injection of synaptosomes. No clinical signs or alterations in the histology or electrophysiology of the animals were seen. A discussion is included on the elucidation of the site of action of EAE by discriminating between the direct effects on myelin and synapses and by the indirect effects of myelin damage on synapses. No firm conclusion is reached and the matter is left for further analysis in the subsequent paper. Finally, the neurophysiological alterations, demonstrated in the EAE and EAN situations, are discussed in terms of a humoral factor possibly acting on the myelin sheath and indirectly affecting synaptic function. This matter is further discussed in the subsequent paper.
It has been suggested that demyelination cannot account for all of the observed clinical symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), in particular the rapidity of onset and remission of the disease, and attention has been focussed on the role of the synapse in 'demyelinating diseases'. In the present paper we have attempted to resolve the fundamental question of the site of action of a demyelinating disease, experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), by the use of cultures of neonatal rat cerebellum. Electrophysiological and morphological development in these cultures run hand-in-hand, and in the first few days in vitro there is a 4-5 day period when synapses are both seen ultrastructurally and known to be functioning but before the onset of myelination. The serum from guinea pigs with EAE was added to these cultures at different stages during their development and the morphological and electrophysiological effects observed. An abolitionary effect on the bioelectric activity of the culture was only observed when the serum was added to mature, myelinated cultures. Also the same active sera had no effect on synaptic activity before myelination had occurred. We conclude that the synaptic blocking effect occurs only when myelin is destroyed.
Light and electron microscopical changes were studied in 23 valvular homografts and six pig aortic heterografts, which had been inserted into patients for lengths of time varying from three days to 54 months. Prior to insertion, eleven of the homografts had been sterilised by beta-propriolactone and freeze-dried, the other twelve had been sterilised by gamma-radiation. The morphological changes in the freeze-dried group were characterised by moderate to severe structural changes including gross vacuolation, fibrinoid degeneration and calcification in the absence of any significant cellular events. It is concluded that the structural changes were due to physico-chemical degradation of the collagen due to improper preservation of the graft, prior to insertion. The morphological changes in the homografts treated with gamma-radiation were fewer and less severe in that there was less vacuolation of the matrix, less fibrinoid degeneration and no examples of calcification. Clear-cut examples of graft regeneration were never observed in either group, but the significance of minor cellular infiltrates in two of the gamma-irradiated grafts is discussed in terms of abortive regeneration. The heterografts showed moderate to intense cellularity, predominantly of macrophages. It is postulated that graft rejection phenomena are responsible for the graft failure in this group.
Rats were killed at various time-intervals up to 48 hr after a single large dose of paracetamol (3 g per kg) and their livers examined by light and electron microscopy. In general, this revealed glycogen depletion, loss of ribosomes, and cytoplasmic matrix swelling commencing 3-6 hr after administration which in centrilobular hepatocytes progressed to frank coagulative necrosis at 12-24 hr. Midzonal cells showed more prominent aqueous swelling with besiculation of the endoplasmic reticulum, and in some cells, gross hydropic vacuolation.
The binding of normal human serum, purified IgG and IgG fragments to central nervous tissue was studied by the anti-globulin consumption (AGCT) and immunofluorescence (IF) techniques. In the AGCT, F(ab')2 fragments failed to react, whereas IgG and Fc fragments did so. In IF experiments, the binding was localized to myelin sheaths, glia and neurons; Fab monomers at a protein concentration of 1-3 mg/ml dod not react with the tissue, but purified Fc fragments at 0-0625 mg/ml did. The binding is neither tissue- nor species-specific. Lipid and protein extraction procedures indicated that the factor responsible for binding to myelin was basic protein. It was concluded that the binding of normal IgG to central nervous tissue is medicated by the Fc part of the molecule.
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