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A Becciolini

Publications and source records attributed to A Becciolini.

86 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Cell kinetics and biochemical parameters in breast cancer.

The study analyzes biochemical and cell kinetic parameters to characterize solid tumor growth in humans. The concentrations of polyamines, CEA, the thymidine labeling index (T.L.I.) and the mitotic index (M.I.) were determined on fragments of neoplastic tissue from 18 patients with breast carcinoma. Urinary polyamines were evaluated in the same patients. Two groups of patients were distinguished according to the median value of the with high T.L.I., M.I. and tissue polyamines were significantly higher than in the group with low T.L.I., whereas tissue CEA was lower, though in a not statistically significant way. Urinary polyamines showed no variations between groups. These preliminary results showed that T.L.I. levels were higher in patients who relapsed during a 4-year follow-up than in patients achieving complete remission and remaining disease free. Results concerning polyamine concentration showed that the tissue polyamine level in breast carcinoma indicated proliferative activity, but this does not seem to be valuable for current prognostic purposes.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relationship between cytosol TPS, TPA and cell proliferation.

The serological tumor marker tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) and the more recently identified tissue-specific polypeptide antigen (TPS) have been reported to be indicators of the proliferation rate of the tumor. In the present investigation we compared the cytosol level of the two markers with the proliferative activity of the tumor measured using the 3H-thymidine labelling index. The preliminary results presented here show that higher TLI is associated with lower cytosol levels of both TPA and TPS. TPA and TPS in the cytosol were significantly associated. These findings are in agreement with the previously demonstrated association between high TPA cytosol levels and better prognosis in breast cancer. Further studies are ongoing in order to: 1. confirm these findings in a larger patient series; 2. investigate any possible prognostic indication provided by TPS; 3. evaluate any possible biological meaning of the negative association between TPA/TPS and TLI in the cytosol of breast cancer.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Quantitative changes in the goblet cells of the rat small intestine after irradiation.

In order to evaluate the process of cell differentiation in the crypt of the rat small intestine the goblet cells were quantitatively studied in controls and after irradiation of the abdomen. The effect of a single dose, administered at 4 different times of the day, and multiple daily fractionations (MDF) of 6 and 12 Gy with different doses per fraction and different time intervals, were compared. Both regimens caused an initial increase of the goblet cells (both in absolute and relative terms), followed by a decrease and finally return to nearly control levels. After MDF the increase was more marked and the return to a normal level occurred earlier than after the single dose.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cell proliferation and differentiation in the small intestine after irradiation with multiple fractions.

Qualitative and quantitative morphologic changes in rat small intestine were studied after abdominal exposure to multiple fractions of gamma radiation. One group of animals received 3 X 2 Gy with one fraction every 4 hours. Another group received two courses of this type with a 16 hour interval between the courses (total dose 6 X 2 Gy). A marked decrease in the number of crypt epithelial cells, and in mitotic and labelling indices, was observed up to 24 to 36 hours after the end of both regimens. Repair and recovery occurred within 72 hours after the end of the last exposure, and the epithelium regained normal morphology. At 1 and 4 hours after the end of the treatment the frequency of S-phase cells along the crypt was greatly reduced and at the following intervals labelled cells occupied the region where differentiation occurs in control animals. During recovery labelled cell distribution showed a gradual return to normal. No substantial differences between the effects of total doses of 6 and 12 Gy were shown except for a greater reduction in crypt epithelial cells at the early time intervals after the larger dose.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Time-dependent sensitivity of rat CFU-GM to total body irradiation.

BACKGROUND: It has been shown that the light-darkness cycle affects the proliferative activity of the hemopoietic system, possibly acting on the distribution of the cells in the cell-cycle phases at different hours of the day. This could determine time-dependent modifications in ionizing radiation damage to hemopoietic progenitors. METHODS: In this study the influence of the irradiation time on the radiosensitivity of rat CFU-GM was assessed by in vitro clonogenic assay. Rats were exposed to 3 Gy gamma rays at four time points (00:00, 06:00, 12:00, 18:00 hours). Bone marrow CFU-GM cultures were performed at various intervals ranging between 12 hours and 45 days after irradiation and compared with unirradiated controls. RESULTS: A marked decrease of femoral CFU-GM was observed in the five days following total body irradiation, regardless of the irradiation time point. From this interval on all the irradiated groups showed an increasing proliferation of CFU, which was particularly evident in the group irradiated during the day light period. At the latest intervals (45 days) the post-acute damage to hematopoietic progenitors lacked any evidence of time dependence. CONCLUSIONS: With the experimental model used, time scheduling does not seem to affect markedly either the acute depletion of CFU-GM in the 5 days following total body irradiation or the late consequence to the CFU-GM compartment.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cell kinetics in breast cancer.

In breast cancer the study of prognostic factors has been well developed during last years and many biologic and biochemical parameters have been analyzed. Cell kinetics parameters demonstrated the capability to select patients with different risk of evolution of the neoplasia and in some cases treatment protocols are established by means of proliferation rate. The present study deals with the determination of Thymidine Labelling Index in breast tumors mostly T1-T2 with negative lymph nodes. Results demonstrated that the proliferative activity is higher in younger patients, in T2 cancers compared to T1, and in ductal infiltrating forms compared to the other more frequent histotypes. A significant correlation has been observed between TLI and nuclear grade. The preliminary analysis of the prognostic value of TLI has been two performed using an experimental cut off that is able to discriminate groups of patients with overall survival rate of 67% and 88%, depending on the different proliferative activity of the tumor.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Proliferative activity in normal colon mucosa and tumor tissue: clinical implications.

The study deals with the analysis of proliferative activity in colon carcinomas and adjacent normal appearing mucosa, evaluated with in vitro 3H-Thymidine and autoradiography. In the colonic mucosa no significant differences in 3H-Thymidine Labelling Index (TLI) were observed in relation to the distance of the sample from the neoplasia. The distribution of S-phase cells along the crypt length is low at the bottom, increases rapidly with a maximum within the lower 25% and decreases in the highest positions. When the proliferative activity is increased there is the possibility of expanding the proliferative compartment towards the luminal region of the crypt. The division of the crypt into 5 parts makes it possible to identify 2 different patterns: the first with a very high TLI in the lower fifth, then a sharp decrease and without labelled cells in the highest parts; the second with labelled cells present also in the luminal fifth. These 2 aspects are characteristic of specimens with the lowest and the highest TLI values respectively. The analysis of TLI in colo-rectal cancers shows that cell kinetics parameters are not related to clinical and histopathological features such as sex, age, Dukes and TNM stages and grade of differentiation.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection].

Many studies have shown a strong correlation between CIN and HPV infection. Molecular biology has allowed identification of types of HPV which seem to be connected, more frequently than others, to dysplastic lesions. Physical state of HPV-genome seems to play an important role in the development of cervical cancer. In this study the HPV-genome has been searched in tissue specimens obtained from 34 women affected by CIN II and III. All patients underwent laser conization. Immediately before treatment, colposcopically directed biopsies of the cervical lesion and of the areas with no colposcopically apparent disease were taken and on these samples, HPV-DNA has been searched, isolated and analysed for HPV types and physical state. Histologic examination on cones showed 6 cases of CIN II (3 with HPV), 24 cases of CIN III (14 with HPV), 1 microinvasive carcinoma and 3 with no residual lesion. Southern blot analysis detected HPV-DNA in 4 cases of CIN II (16.7%) and in 20 cases of CIN III (70.6%). In 50% of CIN II and 85% of CIN III HPV 16 DNA has been found and in the remaining 50% of CIN II and 15% of CIN III HPV 31 DNA has been detected. All CIN II and 14 cases of CIN III showed episomal HPV-DNA. Integrated HPV-DNA has been found in 3 cases of CIN III and the other 3 cases of CIN III showed both integrated and episomal HPV-genome. Integrated form has been noticed only for HPV 16 type. In no case of colposcopically normal tissue has HPV-DNA been found. These data seem to confirm the strong correlation between HPV 16 type, which often has integrated form, and CIN III strengthening the hypothesis of its potential oncogenic action.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

3H-thymidine labelling index (TLI) as a marker of tumour growth heterogeneity: evaluation in human solid carcinomas.

Many studies deal with the analysis of cell kinetic, cytogenetic, biochemical and molecular cell biology parameters to identify prognostic factors relating to tumour growth but all methods use only a small part of the total tumour mass. This study is devoted to the analysis of the heterogeneity of the growth of human solid tumours assaying proliferative activity by means of 3H-thymidine labelling index (TLI) in a fixed number of samples collected in different areas of the lesion (larynx and colon cancers), or in different lesions of the same subject (breast and bladder cancers). Each sample (at the macroscopic level) was divided into small fragments (at the microscopic level) and proliferative activity was determined. The analysis of variance for hierarchical designs demonstrated that in all cases a high component of the variance is attributable to the subjects and to the fragments whereas the variance attributable to the different areas is very low. The heterogeneity of proliferative activity displays a higher focal variability among the fragments (microscopic level) compared with that among areas (macroscopic level) within subjects, provided an adequate number of fragments and cells are counted. In multiple synchronous carcinoma of the bladder the wide variability of proliferation among the single lesions demonstrated that it is necessary to analyse all the tumours in a subject because each one is characterized by a different cell growth potential.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of irradiation at different times of the day on rat intestinal goblet cells.

Quantitative changes in jejunal goblet cells were studied in control and whole body irradiated rats using PAS-Alcian blue staining of crypt sections. A circadian dependence was observed when control animals were killed at different times during the light/dark cycle. Irradiation with 3 Gy produced a 2-3-fold increase within 36 h in goblet cells relative to controls, followed by a reduction to very low levels. There was a return to pre-treatment levels later than was observed for the columnar cells. The present results on the pattern of response of goblet cells and those of brush border enzyme activity are consistent with the hypothesis that ionizing radiation can influence differentiation. In fact during the first hours after irradiation an early induction of differentiation is evident while during the early repopulation phase columnar cells prevailed relative to the goblet cells. Only at later times were normal differentiation patterns seen. Groups of animals exposed to the same dose of radiation at different times of the day showed similar general patterns of behaviour even if the group irradiated at midnight showed a more marked and longer lasting injury.

Animals↗