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Biomedical subjects

V Bellotti

Publications and source records attributed to V Bellotti.

68 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

High-performance liquid chromatographic method for pharmacokinetic studies on the new anthracycline 4-demethoxydaunorubicin and its 13-dihydro derivative.

The anthracyclines are a group of antitumoral antibiotics with significant clinical efficacy. Among the new anthracycline derivatives, 4-demethoxydaunorubicin showed interesting biological properties in terms of both spectrum of activity and therapeutic index and was recently introduced in clinical trials. The present paper describes the analytical method developed to investigate the pharmacokinetics of this derivative. The method consists of the extraction of 4-demethoxydaunorubicin and its 13-dihydro metabolite from plasma with chloroform--1-heptanol (9:1) and re-extraction with 0.3 M phosphoric acid, separation by high-performance liquid chromatography and quantification by sensitive fluorescence detection. Plasma level curves obtained from cancer patients treated with the drug are shown.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1983

Biologic and clinical significance of red cell ferritin.

Red cell ferritin was measured in normal subjects and patients with disorders of iron metabolism, inflammation, liver dysfunction, impaired hemoglobin synthesis, and increased red cell turnover by means of radioimmunoassays with antibodies to liver (basic) and heart (acidic) ferritins. The normal mean values for basic and acidic ferritin were 8.9 and 22.7 altogram (ag)/cell, respectively. The red cell ferritin content reflected changes occurring in tissues both in iron deficiency and iron overload. Basic ferritin was more closely related to the body iron status than acidic ferritin, and the acidic/basic ferritin ratio was increased in iron deficiency and decreased in iron overload. The major factor determining the red cell ferritin content appeared to be the transferrin saturation, that is, the distribution of iron between monoferric and diferric transferrin. This is in keeping with recent data indicating a competitive advantage of diferric transferrin in delivering iron to erythroid cells. In addition, the red cell ferritin content was increased in thalassemic patients with normal iron status, appearing to be inversely related to the rate of hemoglobin synthesis. The determination of red cell ferritin, based on a commercially available basic ferritin assay, can have clinical application. It can be used for evaluating the adequacy of the iron supply to the erythroid marrow, particularly in patients with increased red cell turnover. Moreover, it may be useful in evaluating the body iron status in patients with hemochromatosis and liver disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dynamic of beta(2)-microglobulin fibril formation and reabsorption: the role of proteolysis.

Dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA) is caused by the deposition, in target tissues, of beta(2)-microglobulin (beta(2)M) in fibrillar conformation. Several reports indicate that fibrillar beta(2)M is chemically heterogeneous and such heterogeneity is partially related to the presence of truncated species of the protein. In association with the full-length species, a beta(2)M isoform lacking six N-terminal residues is present in all the samples of our collection of ex vivo fibrils. The pattern of proteolytic cleavage in amyloidosis and in other diseases is completely different, as demonstrated by the absence in fibrillar beta(2)M of the cleavage at lysine 58, which is contrary to that described in rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. The role of limited proteolysis of beta(2)M in the pathogenesis of the disease is uncertain. However, we have shown that the apparently minor modification of the intact protein, such as the removal of N-terminal hexapeptide, is capable of dramatically affecting its stability, protection from proteolytic digestion, and enhance its capacity to make in vitro amyloid fibrils. The structure, folding dynamic, and function of the truncated species of beta(2)M, peculiar of DRA, could shed new light on the mechanism of beta(2)M fibril formation and reabsorption.

Absorption↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gene expression of pyrogenic cytokines in Hodgkin's disease lymph nodes.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory cytokines released by either the neoplastic or reactive cells in Hodgkin's disease (HD) might mediate its peculiar clinical and histopathological features. We investigated by Northern blotting the gene expressions of the pyrogenic and inflammation-associated cytokines IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, TNF-beta (lymphotoxin) and IL-6 in 14 HD lymph nodes and studied their relation to systemic symptoms (B symptoms). METHODS: Two ug of poly(A)+RNA from 14 HD lymph nodes (8 from symptomatic and 6 from asymptomatic patients, of different histological type and disease stage) were subjected to agarose electrophoresis, Northern blotted and hybridized to the various cytokine cDNA probes. RESULTS: The inflammatory cytokines were expressed very heterogenously in HD, even in lymph nodes with the same histological type and with similar stromal inflammatory reactions. IL-1 beta was increased about 2 to 10 times in 5 of 8 lymph nodes from patients with B symptoms, whereas the other cytokines were heterogenously expressed in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Statistical analysis on densitometric values demonstrated that the difference in IL-1 beta expression between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients was significant (p less than 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: These results support the hypothesis of increased IL-1 levels in tumoral lymph nodes from symptomatic HD patients.

Cytokines↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Immunochemical characteristics of a particular cryoglobulin. A new cryoglobulin subgroup?

In a patient (BAR) affected by chronic active hepatitis we isolated a cryoglobulin constituted of polyclonal IgM (k and lambda) and a monoclonal IgG3 lambda. The IgM represented the antibody of the cryoglobulin complex. This type of cryoglobulin, where the monoclonal component is the antigen and not the antibody, cannot be correctly classified using the nomenclature of Brouet et al. (1) currently in use. In this patient a two-year follow-up excluded any clinical signs of cryoglobulin toxicity. The immunochemical and clinical characterization of other cryoglobulins similar to BAR could establish a new homogeneous group.

Blotting, Western↗