Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Baldi.
The authors describe a rare case of peritoneal mesothelioma. Cytological, histological and immunohistochemical characterization of the tumor allowed the differential diagnosis from papillary carcinoma and suggested the diagnosis of leiomyoid mesothelioma.
The first cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor to be discovered was the p21 cdk interacting protein (a.k.a., WAF1, Cip1, CAP20, Sdi1, mda6). p21 expression may or may not be dependent on p53. This pathway also inhibits DNA replication by merit of p21's interaction with PCNA, but it has also been shown that this same inhibitory interaction with p21 does not affect PCNA DNA repair abilities. We assessed the immunohistochemical expression of p21 protein in 60 curative surgical resected non small cell lung cancers relating it to the expression of PCNA to clarify the contribution of the p21/PCNA pathway to the development of NSCLC. We did not find any relationship between PCNA and p21 expression. This last result may indicate that the mechanism by which PCNA controls the DNA repair is the most important activity of this protein during lung cancer progression and development, compared to its contribution to cell proliferation. In fact, this last event is strongly counteracted by p21 expression, which in this last case works as an inhibitor of PCNA expression. In conclusion this study highlighted the important role of the p21/PCNA pathway in lung carcinogenesis, pointing out the contribution of PCNA to the response to lung aggression and not only it's role as a proliferation index. Therefore, these results offer a background to further study to evaluate potential novel therapeutic approaches to lung cancer treatment.
PURPOSE: Apoptosis is considered a common pathological feature in acute myocardial infarction (MI) and heart failure; however its role in the later phases post MI has not been characterized. The goal of our study was to investigate by pathological examination human hearts at 20 to 30 days post MI and identify signs of ongoing cell apoptosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hearts were collected at autopsy from patients who died 20 to 30 days from the onset of MI (Cases 1 and 2). Gross anatomy and light microscopy examination of the hearts was performed to define the infarcted area and the infarct-related artery. The in situ end-labeling of DNA fragmentation (TUNEL) was performed to identify apoptotic cells and the apoptotic rate (AR) was calculated. RESULTS: There were no signs of acute necrosis in any of the specimens examined. A high number of myocardiocyte were positive at TUNEL examination in specimens obtained at sites of infarction, mean AR = 44%, but not in specimens derived from the same patients at regions remote from the MI, AR = 0. CONCLUSIONS: High grade apoptosis is present at sites of infarction and not in regions remote from the infarcted area in the later phases post MI. These data support persistent myocardiocyte loss and identify a possible explanation of progressive left ventricular dysfunction in the subacute phases of MI.
A case of benign, cystic intrapulmonary teratoma occurring in the right lobe of a 22-year old female is described with grossly and microscopically findings. The connection between the tumor and the segmental bronchus, together with the absence of germ cell neoplasms in other locations, clearly established the true intrapulmonary nature of the lesion. The unusual finding of thymic tissue within the wall supports the possible origin from the third pharyngeal pouch.
Recently, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the detection of circulating tumor cells has been suggested as a potential technique for staging cancer. In this report, 43 melanoma patients (including 4 in situ melanoma patients) were tested for tyrosinase mRNA in blood by RT-PCR. All patients had melanoma thinner than 1.5 mm (stage I). Circulating melanoma cells were detected in 8 (18.6%) out of 43 MM patients tested: 5 (16.1%) of 31 patients with melanoma thinner than 0.76 mm and 3 (42.8%) out of 7 patients with melanoma thicker than 0.76 mm. Moreover, in the tyrosinase-negative group we found only 4/31 patients (13%) with histologic signs of regression, but in the tyrosinase-positive group, 3 out of 8 patients (37.5%) showed, at histologic examination, signs of regression. At the time of this analysis all the patients enrolled (tyrosinase-negative and tyrosinase-positive ones) were free of disease, probably due to the short median time of follow-up after the inclusion in the study. The presence of regression is an important cause of melanoma understaging and the tyrosinase test could represent an effective tool in order to achieve a realistic staging in this subgroup of melanoma patients. Probably, maximum sensitivity of the diagnostic RT-PCR approach to monitor MM patients with either localized or advanced disease could be achieved by using additional markers expressed with high frequencies in melanoma. We propose that one such marker could be the sign of regression.
Fifteen patients with a stenosis of the internal carotid artery superior than a 70% were studied in order to analyze the effects of TEA on the ocular hemodynamics. Analysis was made by ophthalmodynamography and electrofunctional studies. An improvement of the ocular hemodynamics was found, particularly by ophthalmodynamography and visual evoked potentials.
BACKGROUND: After marrow transplantation, the interaction of helper T lymphocytes from the donor with the patient alloantigens leads to cellular activation and release of IL-2 as initial events of the graft versus host reaction. A method for assessing the size of the pool containing allospecific helper T cells capable of producing IL-2 could be applied in the selection of better donors for marrow transplantation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: PBMC are added to replicate sets of wells each containing various amounts of EBV-LCL cells and PHA. After culture for some days the supernatant is removed from each well and added to IL-2 dependent CTLL-2 line. The proliferation of the CTLL-2 line is assessed by pulse labeling with 3H-thimidine. The precursor frequency of cell capable of producing IL-2 per ml/blood is estimated from the minimum X2 regression of the function of non-responding wells plotted as logarithmic function of the number of PBMC added per well. RESULTS: Approximately 30-40% of PBMC are found to produce IL-2 under the following conditions in culture: the optimal PHA concentration is 1.25 micrograms/ml, the optimal number of stimulator EBV-LCL cells is 1 x 10(3) and 3 days of culture are required. CONCLUSION: Here we report a rapid and quantitative technique of limiting dilution analysis that can estimate the frequency of peripheral blood mononuclear cells capable of secreting interleukin-2 following interaction with specific alloantigen.
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A case of acute obstruction of the duodenum in an aged patient due to aorto-mesenteric squeezing is described. An account of the anatomopathological features, symptomatology, radiological diagnosis, and treatment of this condition is presented. Duodedenojejunostomy is the operation of choice, but it must be adjusted to the local and general anatomopathological situation.
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After a review of the anatomopathological aspects of benign stomach tumours, 16 clinical cases are presented with an analysis of the more significant clinical and diagnostic features and the treatment employed.
A rare case of primary myxoid liposarcoma of the mesentery was observed and a detailed description of the clinical case and the operation performed is presented. In conclusion the clinical and diagnostic aspects of such tumours are analysed with emphasis on the major anatomical and pathological features.
Over a 30-year period (1963-1993), 12 patients out of 2091 renal allograft recipients (0.5%) were identified for an acute colonic complication. They were 7 males and 5 females with a mean age of 43 years. The mean elapsed time from transplantation to symptoms was 55 months. Peritonitis was diagnosed in all cases, requiring an emergency laparotomy in 6 patients (50%); delayed surgery was possible in 4 patients (33%) after failure of conservative treatment. One patient (9%) was operated electively later on while the last patient died before any surgery from sepsis after diffuse bowel ischaemia. Aetiology included complicated diverticulitis in 9 instances (75%), one colon perforation caused by faecal impaction, one cytomegalovirus colitis and one bowel ischaemia. Another patient died postoperatively after colon resection for perforated diverticulitis. The use of cyclosporine since 1985 did not reduce the incidence of colonic complication. In conclusion aggressive medical support and early surgical exploration are mandatory for renal recipients presenting with an acute colonic complication.
A case of fatal acute intoxication in a 4-month and 20-day-old male infant from an overdose of theophylline (Paidomal) drops retard is described. Apart from the usual symptoms caused by theophylline overdose, severe obstructive tubular nephropathy was also observed.
We investigated the PCNA immunoreactivity in 35 specimens of malignant mesothelioma and 20 specimens of mesothelial hyperplasia in order to evaluate the usefulness of this parameter in differentiating between these two mesothelial proliferations, and to determine whether PCNA has any prognostic significance in mesotheliomas. Eleven of the 35 investigated malignant mesotheliomas displayed up to 25% of positive cells for PCNA expression. The remaining 24 specimens showed high percentages of positive cells ranging from 26% to 95%. All specimens of reactive hyperplasia had less than 25% of PCNA positive cells. The difference between malignant mesothelioma and mesothelial hyperplasia for PCNA immunoreactivity was statistically significant (p < 0.01). A positive relationship was also found between PCNA expression level and the overall survival of those affected by malignant mesothelioma (p = 0.0032). Our results suggest on important role for PCNA in differentiating diagnosis of mesothelial proliferations. It remains unclear whether PCNA expression truly correlates with the proliferation rate of the malignant mesotheliomas and with the overall survival of patients affected by this neoplasm.
We evaluated tissues for the overexpression of p53 protein in 35 malignant mesotheliomas and 20 reactive pleural hyperplasias, obtained from open biopsies or pleurectomies. Of the 35 neoplasms investigated, 30 (85.7%) displayed positive nuclear staining for p53. No staining was seen in any specimens of hyperplasia. We found no significant statistical difference in p53 expression when we compared p53 overexpression in the different histological subtypes of mesotheliomas. Moreover, p53 overexpression did not correlate in a statistical manner with survival. We conclude that p53 overexpression is a frequent feature of pleural mesothelioma and is useful for routine differentiating between malignant and non-neoplastic mesothelial alterations. The reason for p53 overexpression in mesothelioma, however, remains to be determined.
DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, a synthetic form of vitamin E, is routinely given as a dietary supplement to cattle. In this study we assessed the relative bioavailability of three formulations of DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate in a kinetic study of plasma alpha-tocopherol in four Italian Friesian dairy cows, following intraruminal administration of a gelatin capsule containing 5,000 IU of DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate. A Latin square design was used so that each animal received all formulations: (A) adsorbed on silica, (M) microencapsulated and (O) in oil form; 5,000 IU of DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate was also administered intraperitoneally. The treatments were given following a 2-week period on a diet having no vitamin E supplementation with an interval of 8 days between each administration. Blood samples were collected at 0, 1, 10, 11, 21, 30, 48, 72, 96 and 168 h after each administration. The mean initial plasma alpha-tocopherol concentration (CO) was 2.38 +/- 0.57 micrograms/mL. Maximum plasma concentrations (Cmax) of alpha-tocopherol, adjusted for pretreatment values, were 3.90 +/- 0.13, 3.29 +/- 0.13 and 4.07 +/- 0.19 micrograms/mL, following administration of the A, M and O forms, respectively. The length of time required to obtain the maximum concentration (Tmax) in plasma was 57.5 +/- 7.8, 76.8 +/- 8.9 and 73.1 +/- 14.1 h, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 503.3 +/- 63, 620.25 +/- 108.5 and 465.4 +/- 38.7 micrograms.h/mL for A, M and O forms, respectively. Administration significantly increased the plasma alpha-tocopherol levels in all cases; however the A and M formulations had a lower elimination rate than the O form.