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Biomedical subjects

W Weber

Publications and source records attributed to W Weber.

At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

[Postmortem exsiccation of the fingertips--results of a systematic quantitative and qualitative experimental study].

To date there have been no results published on qualitative and quantitative time-related changes with regard to desiccation of human fingertips post mortem. The fingertips of 52 hands from 36 corpses were qualitatively examined soon after death (2-6 h) to 120 h post mortem. The quantitative investigations were confined to the tips of the middle fingers. The width of three adjoining ridges of the skin was measured in four defined areas of the middle fingertips, and photographs were taken at intervals of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 20, 26, 32, 44, 50, 60, 72, 84, 96 and 120 h p.m. Concerning the qualitative test results, four time-related stages were classified macroscopically and by a pocket lens (X25). Desiccation stage IV correlates to the period 72 h after death in bodies found in apartments. Besides the rough, wrinkled, and brown or black surface of the fingertips, microwrinkles of the epidermis occur on the skin ridges, which have so far not been described. The quantitative results did not show any changes in the width of the skin ridges, independent of age, sex, right or left hand.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Apolipoprotein E3-Leiden. A new variant of human apolipoprotein E associated with familial type III hyperlipoproteinemia.

A variant of apolipoprotein E, denoted apo E3-Leiden, has been identified in a 41-year-old male suffering from type III hyperlipoproteinemia with xanthomatosis. Apo E3-Leiden focus in the E3 position. In contrast with normal apo E3, apo E3-Leiden is defective in binding to the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor and does not contain cysteine as evaluated by cysteamine treatment of very low density lipoprotein followed by isoelectric focusing and conventional protein staining and by amino acid analysis. On sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, apo E3-Leiden displays an electrophoretic mobility intermediate to that of normal apo E3 and apo E2 (Arg158----Cys). The mother and four siblings of the proband also have apo E3-Leiden and hyperlipoproteinemia type III; three of them with xanthomatosis. Two siblings do not show apo E3-Leiden in their VLDL fraction and do not have hyperlipoproteinemia type III. In the VLDL fractions of all affected family members only the presence of apo E3-Leiden could be detected after cysteamine treatment and isoelectric focusing followed by conventional protein staining. However, isoelectric focusing of cysteamine-treated sera followed by immunoblotting, using anti-apo E antiserum as first antiserum, demonstrates the presence of low amounts of normal apo E3 in addition to apo E3-Leiden in serum of the affected family members. These results indicate that all affected family members are heterozygotes E3/E3-Leiden and suggest that in this family type III hyperlipoproteinemia is transmitted as a dominant trait.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

[Heterogeneity of breast cancer].

Breast cancer is in many aspects a heterogeneous disease. This becomes also evident in family studies. The families of 116 women with breast cancer with 50 years and less at diagnosis were compared to than of 161 breast cancer patients with 51 years and more with respect to breast cancer in the relatives. Younger breast cancer patients had more second degree relatives with breast cancer. Probands with a positive family history were on the average 10 years younger than probands with a negative family history. A positive family history increases breast cancer risk by 4.3 times for first degree relatives and by 2.3 times for second degree relatives in comparison to the general population. These results point to an etiological heterogeneity of breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Impaired DNA-repair synthesis in lymphocytes of breast cancer patients.

UV-C light induced DNA-repair synthesis was studied in unstimulated lymphocytes of 41 female patients (aged 33-83 years) with invasive breast cancer and of 27 healthy women (aged 37-68 years). As a parameter for the determination of the DNA-repair synthesis the incorporation of [3H] thymidine was taken in the presence of 2 mM hydroxyurea (HU). The [3H] thymidine incorporation levels were reduced in 20 of the 41 patients and in only 3 of the 27 controls. This difference between the two groups was significant. An impaired DNA-repair synthesis might be involved in the etiology of breast cancer in some patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

[Computed tomography of lung contusion. An experimental study].

A new experimental model has been developed to determine whether computed tomography has any advantages for the investigation of lung contusions. In 27 dogs, chest wall deformation was produced at speeds varying from 17.3 m/sec to 45.7 m/sec, leading to lung contusion. After the injury, 27 out of 27 (100%) CT examinations demonstrated the contusions, but only nine out of 24 (37.5%) were seen on conventional radiographs. In contrast to conventional radiography, which either failed to show the presence of a contusion, or which under-estimated the extent by more than one cm, in more than half the cases CT agreed with the pathological findings in more than 90%. No lung contusions were found at autopsy which had not been demonstrated by CT.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Polarization optic investigations on the anatomy of the bladder neck and the vesical fundus in women.

On the basis of an investigation technique, not so far applied in the urinary bladder, whole-organ preparations were rendered transparent and examined at supramicroscopic magnifications. The results available so far with regard to the fiber structure of the neck of the bladder and the vesical fundus were checked in 12 female urinary bladders. The following results were obtained: (1) the structure of the posterior longitudinal muscle is confirmed, as already described previously; (2) an anterior longitudinal muscle almost symmetrical to the posterior longitudinal muscle is demonstrated, and (3) the fiber course of the base plate has so far been described as running in the form of a horseshoe around the urethra. We see that in their main portions the fibers cross under the margins of the deep trigonum, then change their direction and turn laterodorsally, thus acting subtrigonally in the median line. The construction of the investigation instrument and the investigation technique are described in detail. The investigation results are discussed in the context of anatomical and physiological knowledge.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Familial cancer: consequences for the oncological practice.

Pedigree data were systematically collected from patients with newly diagnosed malignant diseases in hospital outpatient services and private offices in Basel. Special efforts were made to verify every tumor diagnosis. The families of 380 adult cancer patients (greater than 16 years; 160 men and 220 women) were evaluated. The mean number of relatives per family tree was 33 (5.9 first degree) in men and 39 (6.4 first degree) in women. There were 29% of families with one, 11% with two, and 6% with three or more first-degree relatives who had cancer. In 6% of the families there was one or more first-degree relative with cancer of the same site as in the proband. Hereditary cancer syndromes were detected in several families. Fifty-four percent of all families showed no tumor occurrence in first-degree relatives. Our program clearly demonstrates that a carefully obtained family history can lead to the recognition of persons with high cancer risk in oncological practice.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Murine interleukin 1 stimulates alpha 2-macroglobulin synthesis in rat hepatocyte primary cultures.

In rat hepatocyte primary cultures recombinant interleukin 1 was found to stimulate alpha 2-macroglobulin synthesis, whereas albumin synthesis was decreased. Although recent experiments gave evidence that a hepatocyte-stimulating factor distinct from interleukin 1 must exist, we conclude that interleukin 1 exerts a direct effect on hepatocytes by inducing acute-phase protein synthesis.

Albumins↗
PubMed1985

[Comparison of tumor incidence in 251 first-degree relatives of 50 patients with colorectal carcinoma with those of the Basel population].

A tumor-centered family history obtained in 50 patients with colorectal carcinoma without polyposis coli revealed that first-degree relatives of such patients have a 3.6 times greater risk of developing colorectal carcinoma themselves. The simple and harmless family history method can be employed by any physician for the identification of healthy persons at high risk for colorectal carcinoma.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Unglycosylated rat alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor has a six-fold shorter plasma half-life than the mature glycoprotein.

The plasma half-lives of glycosylated and unglycosylated alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor-radioactively labeled with [35S]methionine in rat hepatocyte primary cultures - were determined in the rat. Unglycosylated alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor was synthesized by hepatocytes in the presence of tunicamycin. Media from hepatocytes containing 35S-labeled glycosylated or unglycosylated alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor were injected into the tail veins of rats. At different times after injection alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor was isolated from plasma by affinity chromatography with anti-alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor Sepharose. Radioactivity measurements revealed a plasma half-life of 170 min for glycosylated alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor and of 30 min for the unglycosylated form of the inhibitor.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Regulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor by phosphorylation.

The receptor for epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a glycosylated transmembrane phosphoprotein that exhibits EGF-stimulable protein tyrosine kinase activity. On EGF stimulation, the receptor undergoes a self-phosphorylation reaction at tyrosine residues located primarily in the extreme carboxyl-terminal region of the protein. Using enzymatically active EGF receptor purified by immunoaffinity chromatography from A431 human epidermoid carcinoma cells, the self-phosphorylation reaction has been characterized as a rapid, intramolecular process which is maximal at 30-37 degrees C and exhibits a very low Km for ATP (0.2 microM). When phosphorylation of exogenous peptide substrates was measured as a function of receptor self-phosphorylation, tyrosine kinase activity was found to be enhanced two to threefold at 1-2 mol of phosphate per mol of receptor. Analysis of the dependence of the tyrosine kinase activity on ATP concentration yielded hyperbolic kinetics when plotted in double-reciprocal fashion, indicating that ATP can serve as an activator of the enzyme. Higher concentrations of peptide substrates were found to inhibit both the self- and peptide phosphorylation, but this inhibition could be overcome by first self-phosphorylating the enzyme. These results suggest that self-phosphorylation can remove a competitive/inhibitory constraint so that certain exogenous substrates can have greater access to the enzyme active site. In addition to self-phosphorylation, the EGF receptor can be phosphorylated on threonine residues by the calcium- and phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C. The sites on the EGF receptor phosphorylated in vitro by protein kinase C are identical to the sites phosphorylated on the receptor isolated from A431 cells exposed to the tumor promoters 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate or teleocidin. This phosphorylation of the EGF receptor results in a suppression of its tyrosine kinase and EGF binding activities both in vivo and in vitro. The EGF receptor can thus be variably regulated by phosphorylation: self-phosphorylation can enhance tyrosine kinase activity whereas protein kinase C-catalyzed phosphorylation can depress enzyme activity. Because these two phosphorylations account for only a fraction of the phosphate present in the EGF receptor in vivo, other protein kinases can apparently phosphorylate the receptor and these may exert additional controls on EGF receptor/kinase function.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗