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Biomedical subjects

A Rodríguez

Publications and source records attributed to A Rodríguez.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Antigenic specificity of porcine T cell response against foot-and-mouth disease virus structural proteins: identification of T helper epitopes in VP1.

The contribution of each of the viral capsid proteins of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in the T cell response of vaccinated pigs has been studied. Viral polypeptides, VP1 to VP4, were expressed as fusion proteins in Escherichia coli, and were used to stimulate peripheral blood mononuclear cells of vaccinated animals. Significant, dose-dependent responses to whole virion were detected in the seven animals analyzed and, in five of them, responses to recombinant polypeptides VP1, VP2, and VP3 were noticed, VP4 was recognized only by one of the pigs. Among the responder animals, VP1 and VP3 induced the higher proliferative responses. The patterns of recognition of a nested set of VP3 fragments expressed as fusions in E. coli were different among the animals studied and were consistent with the presence of different T cell epitopes on the protein. Likewise, three of the four VP1 fragments induced significant responses and were differentially recognized by each of the animals tested. Partially overlapping synthetic peptides spanning VP1 amino acids 41 to 209 were used to identify T cell epitopes in this protein. The significant responses obtained in three of seven additional FMDV vaccinated outbred pigs analyzed revealed the existence of at least 11 different T cell epitopes distributed throughout the sequence studied, which were distinctly recognized by each of the responder animals. A peptide corresponding to a relevant B cell antigenic site, around amino acids 140-160, was shown to stimulate lymphocytes from two of the responder animals. Thus, the results obtained indicate that different T cell epitopes of capsid proteins VP1 and VP3 are recognized by pig populations. The different patterns of recognition of recombinant polypeptides and synthetic peptides observed among outbred animals support an important contribution of genetic restriction, probably mediated by MHC genes, to the individual T cell response in swine.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Presumed occlusion of posterior ciliary arteries following central retinal vein decompression surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Sectioning of the posterior scleral ring has been advocated in the treatment of central retinal vein occlusion. We reviewed cases in which this surgery apparently produced sectioning or closure of the short and long posterior ciliary arteries that resulted in a triangular area of choroidal ischemia and permanent chorioretinal lesions. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Clinic-based vitreoretinal referral practice. PATIENTS: Four eyes of three patients whose ages ranged from 17 to 53 years underwent sectioning of the posterior scleral rings as treatment for central retinal vein occlusion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Findings from complete ophthalmologic evaluation. RESULTS: All patients had either an oval or a triangular area of choroidal ischemia nasal to the optic disc and had permanent chorioretinal lesions. CONCLUSIONS: Valid basis for performing this operation requires further investigation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Ethylene regulates the expression of a cysteine proteinase gene during germination of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).

Synthetic oligonucleotides corresponding to conserved regions of cysteine proteinases were used as primers in the RT-PCR amplification of a fragment of cDNA corresponding to a region of a cysteine proteinase gene expressed during germination of chickpea (cac for Cicer arietinum cysteine proteinase). The identity of the PCR-amplified fragment was confirmed by sequencing and the fragment used as a probe to investigate the pattern of cac gene expression during germination and its hormonal regulation. The corresponding transcript is undetected in the seed during embryogenesis and before imbibition, being detected 24 h after imbibition. Ablation of the embryonic axis before imbibition results in a dramatic decrease in the amount of transcript detected. Expression of the cac transcript in excised cotyledons is restored in the presence of aqueous extracts from embryonic axes and also by incubating the excised cotyledons in 1 mM ethephon. Experiments with various known inhibitors of ethylene action indicate that ethylene activates the expression of cac gene in the cotyledons of chickpea during normal germination.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Immunogenicity of non-structural proteins of foot-and-mouth disease virus: differences between infected and vaccinated swine.

Non-structural as well as VP1 recombinant proteins of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) produced in E. coli, have been used to study the specific antibody response of infected or vaccinated swine. An analysis of sera from infected pigs, using a direct ELISA, showed that polypeptide 3ABC (spanning non-structural proteins 3A, 3B and 3C) was the most antigenic among the recombinant proteins studied and allowed specific detection of FMDV infected swine from the second week after the infection. The sensitivity of this assay was comparable to that obtained when the whole FMDV was used as ELISA antigen. Conversely, use of polypeptide 3ABC did not allow detection of significant levels of antibodies in sera from vaccinated animals. This differential pattern of ELISA reactivities offers a promising approach for the distinction of infected from vaccinated pigs. In addition, a highly specific and sensitive method of diagnosis for FMDV replication was achieved using an immunoblotting assay which detected antibodies against the 3ABC polypeptide.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Direct PCR detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

A PCR assay for the detection and characterization of foot-and-mouth disease virus was developed. The procedure allows RT-PCR amplification following direct adsorption of viral suspensions to microtiter plates, avoiding previous steps of phenol-extraction or heating. Using this procedure, FMDV-specific (based on 3D gene sequences), as well as serotype-specific (based on VP1 gene sequences) amplification were achieved for viral samples of serotypes A, O and C, either from cell culture supernatants or from lesions of infected animals. The assay allowed detection of around 15 PFU, being 500-fold more sensitive than a conventional indirect ELISA. This new method constitutes a simple, rapid and efficient alternative for the diagnosis and characterization of FMDV by PCR.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Effect of Penicillium chrysogenum on Lignin Transformation.

A strain of Penicillium chrysogenum has been isolated from pine forest soils in Tenerife (Canary Islands). This strain was capable of utilizing hydroxylated and nonhydroxylated aromatic compounds, in particular cinnamic acid, as its sole carbon source. In an optimum medium with high levels of nitrogen (25.6 mM) and low levels of glucose (5.5 mM), it was able to decolorize Poly B-411 and to transform kraft, organosolv, and synthetic dehydrogenative polymerisate lignins. After 30 days of incubation, the amount of recovered kraft lignin was reduced to 83.5 and 91.3% of that estimated for uninoculated controls by spectrophotometry and klason lignin, respectively. At the same time, the pattern of molecular mass distribution of the lignin remaining in cultures was changed. The amount of organosolv lignin recovered from cultures was reduced to 90.1 and 94.6% of the initial amount as evaluated by spectrophotometry and klason lignin, respectively. About 6% of total applied radioactivity of OCH(3)-organosolv lignin was recovered as CO(2) after 30 days of incubation, and 18.5% of radioactivity from insoluble OCH(3)-organosolv lignin was solubilized. After 26 days of incubation, 2.9% of C-beta-dehydrogenative polymerisate and 4.1% of C-ring-dehydrogenative polymerisate evolved as CO(2).

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

Bordetella bronchiseptica pneumonia in a patient with AIDS.

Bordetella bronchiseptica is recognised as a respiratory tract pathogen in many mammalian species, but has rarely been implicated in human infection. A case is reported of pneumonia caused by B bronchiseptica in a patient suffering from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1994

[Campylobacter fetus, an infrequent microbe, as a cause of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in cirrhosis].

Campylobacter fetus has been implicated in the etiology of sepsis and bacteriemias in immunosupressed subjects. In a few cases, it has also been reported to be responsible for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in cirrhotic patients. We describe the clinical picture of a woman with terminal liver cirrhosis who had bacteriemia and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis caused by this agent. We argue about the history of cleansing enemas and their probable role in the development of the infection. We stress the excellent response to the antibiotic treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[Cerebral abscesses. The clinical and evolutionary aspects of 17 cases treated surgically].

Seventeen cases of cerebral abscesses undergoing surgery were reviewed, underlying the characteristics of predisposing factors, infectious sources, microbiological and radiological studies, as well as clinical and evolutive aspects. The average age of the patients was 34 years, with a higher incidence in the second (35%) and sixth (22%) decades. The young patients (< 40 years) showed a greater frequency of adjacent infectious sources (83%) and the older patients (> 40 years), distant infectious sources (75%). The average time gap between the onset of symptoms and the diagnosis was 7 +/- 13 days. CAT showed in all the patients typical hypodense images with a peripheral ring; three patients had multiple abscesses and the remainder, single abscesses. In 12 patients (70.5%), microbiological cultures were positive, 3 (25%) for aerobe germs, 7 (50.3%) for anaerobe germs, 1 (8.33%) for multiple germs and 1 (8.33%) for fungi. Eleven patients underwent surgical drainage, four of which required latter exeresis. Six other patients underwent exeresis as the only surgical treatment. One patient died and the remainder showed a positive evolution. The hospital length of stay was 42.3 +/- 52.3 days. The most frequent sequela was the epilepsia present in 23.5% of the patients. Our findings are similar to the results of recent works, although in our series, there is a higher frequency of anaerobe germs. No differences were observed between the surgical techniques used nor between the past and current antibiotherapy patterns.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

[Pseudotumor pancreatic tuberculosis].

A 59 year-old male with a toxic syndrome an a pancreatic pseudotumoral mass. Two pancreatic fine needle aspiration cytologies were negative. Liver and pancreatic surgical biopsies showed a chronic granulomatous tuberculous inflammation. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated in the gastric juice; the urine and sputum cultures was negative. Tuberculostatic treatment with Rifampicin, Isoniazid and Ethambutol was effective. We emphasize the importance of the histological diagnosis in all of pancreatic mass.

Antitubercular Agents↗
PubMed1994

[Ascitic peritonitis due to Candida albicans].

We report a case of spontaneous peritonitis due to Candida albicans, in a diabetic patient with alcoholic liver cirrhosis, ascites, gastrointestinal bleeding from esophageal varices, sepsis, renal failure and encephalopathy. These factors, added to prolonged antibiotic therapy and instrumental manipulations, could have resulted in the colonization by Candida, usually described in secondary peritonitis, but perhaps underdiagnosed in cirrhotic patients with spontaneous peritonitis and severe multiorgan failure.

Ascites↗
PubMed1994

[Larsen syndrome: multicenter study of 12 new cases. Diagnosis, planning and results of treatment].

Larsen's syndrome is characterized by the association of congenital knee, hip and elbow dislocations, characteristic facial abnormalities, joint hyperlaxity, and other inconstant malformations. A review is made after description of 12 new cases from a multicenter study. A partial modification of diagnostic criteria is proposed, based on the analysis of the frequency and localization of the deformities. Radiological aspects, surgical indications, clinical evolution, complications and late results are presented, with emphasis on lower extremity problems. Good clinical results are more remarkable in the children treated early. Periodic follow-up is obligatory for good therapeutic results.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1994

[Primary antiphospholipid syndrome. Clinical course features of 24 cases].

OBJECTIVES: Describe the clinico-evolutionary characteristics of cases of primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPLS) diagnosed at our center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective study of all patients with circulating anticoagulant type lupus (AL) (62 patients) and/or anticardiolipin antibodies (ACLA) found in our center since 1981 and 1988, respectively. TTPA, Kaolin's test (KT), and Russel's viper venom time (RVVT) and ACLA type IgG and IgM by ELISA: Only those patients meeting the criteria for PAPLS are included. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients were diagnosed with PAPLS: Eleven patients were from the enlarged TTPA group, 11 of the total with positive ACLA, and two by KT and abnormal RVVT. As for gender, 18 were women. In the past three years, 19 patients were diagnosed. The diagnostic criteria were from the very beginning: venous thrombosis in nine patients, arterial thrombosis in four, aborted repetitions in three, and plateletopenia in eight. Six patients presented pulmonary thromboembolism, the cause of death in one patient. Thrombopenia was manifested in the evolutionary course of 14 patients, only one of which being severe. Two patients have died (one of them from neoplasia), and two others have had antiphospholipid antibodies become negative. Seven patients remain without treatment, the others undergoing anti-aggregating or anti-coagulant treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Plateletopenia, alone or accompanied by other symptoms, is the most common alteration of PAPLS in our area, followed by venous thrombosis which caused death by pulmonary thromboembolism in one patient. Arterial thrombotic events and aborted repetitions are by no means infrequent.

Abortion, Habitual↗
PubMed1994

[Intestinal tuberculosis in patients with and without HIV infection].

GOAL: To Study the main characteristics of intestinal tuberculosis (ITB), comparing patients with and without infection by HIV (HIV and non-HIV, respectively). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The clinical records of patients diagnosed of this disease in the past five years in our center, were retrospectively reviewed. We used as inclusion criteria the histological and/or microbiological corroboration of the intestinal anatomical piece or the bacteriological and/or histological corroboration of tuberculosis at any other location with clinical and radiological signs compatible with intestinal affection. Two groups were established according to the serological results for HIV: HIV and non-HIV. RESULTS: We studied seven cases, three of them infected by the HIV. The mean age of HIV patients was 23 years, whereas the mean age of non-HIV patients was 49 years. Three non-HIV patients referred pulmonary tuberculosis when they were young. The interval between the onset of symptoms and the diagnosis in HIV patients was 45 days, ranging in the non-HIV patients between one month and four years. All the patients had abdominal pain. Six patients, including three HIV, had fever and constitutional syndrome. Thoracal radiography showed tuberculosis activity, bacteriologically demonstrated, in a HIV patient and in a non-HIV patient. Except one HIV-patient, the remainder were laparotomized. In all the HIV patients, intestinal tuberculosis was suspected upon admission, but this was not the case in the four non-HIV patients. CAT was the most useful of all the supplementary explorations conducted. Retrospectively, only four laparotomies were justified, although before this procedure, four patients were incorrectly oriented, one of them infected by the HIV. All the patients showed a good response to an specific treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Laparotomy is still a frequent diagnostic method. The characteristics of the HIV patients are similar to the ones of the non-HIV patients. The main differences are: younger ages and shorter time of evolution until diagnosis in the HIV group, and evidence of former or current pulmonary tuberculosis in the non-HIV group.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Stimulation of IL-2-activated natural killer cells through the Kp43 surface antigen up-regulates TNF-alpha production involving the LFA-1 integrin.

We have previously described that a mAb directed against a surface dimer (Kp43) expressed by NK cells was able to regulate cell proliferation, enhance the cytotoxicity of IL-2-activated NK cells, and activate phospholipase D. In this work we have analyzed the ability of the anti-Kp43 mAb to regulate the production of TNF-alpha. Our results show that the stimulation of IL-2-activated NK cells with soluble anti-Kp43 mAb or its F(ab')2 activated the secretion of the cytokine, inasmuch as this effect is associated with the induction of cellular aggregation. The intensity of the Kp43-mediated stimulation varied among different IL-2-activated NK cell samples. Even in those instances where the anti-Kp43 mAb alone could not detectably enhance TNF-alpha production, it displayed a synergistic effect combined to a soluble anti-CD16 mAb, which on its own did not efficiently activate cytokine production. The anti-Kp43 mAb also cooperated with a phorbol ester, although it did not modify the TNF-alpha production triggered by a Ca2+ ionophore. The anti-Kp43-mediated effect, which required the preactivation of cells with IL-2, was inhibited by cycloheximide and actinomycin D and was associated with an increase in the levels of TNF-alpha-specific mRNA. It is noteworthy that the Kp43-mediated production of TNF-alpha was partially inhibited by anti-CD18, anti-CD11a and anti-ICAM-1 mAb that blocked LFA-1-dependent cellular interactions, which impaired NK cell aggregation and, moreover, was dependent on the presence of extracellular Mg2+, thus suggesting that the leukocyte integrin is involved in the activation process triggered through Kp43.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1993

Absence of mutagenicity of benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloids in somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster: comparison with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene and chrysene.

The wing somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) of Drosophila melanogaster was used to study the mutagenic potential of three benzo[c]phenanthridines with antileukemic properties, fagaronine, nitidine and O-methylfagaronine, as compared with that of two structurally related aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons: 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene and chrysene. Although toxic to larvae, the benzo[c]phenanthridines and chrysene gave negative or inconclusive results while 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene was found to be highly mutagenic and recombinogenic as previously reported. These results suggest that the alkoxy groups and the quaternary nitrogen of the benzo[c]-phenanthridines may reduce or eliminate their mutagenicity in spite of their similarity to methylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMed1993

Transient inhibition of foot-and-mouth disease virus infection of BHK-21 cells by antisense oligonucleotides directed against the second functional initiator AUG.

The antiviral activity of antisense oligonucleotides corresponding to different regions of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) genome has been assessed in BHK-21 cells. The locations of the oligonucleotides used were: (i) two regions within the internal ribosome entry site (IRES), involved in the regulation of the translation initiation of the viral polyprotein; (ii) each of the two functional initiator AUGs; (iii) an internal sequence of P2A gene; and (iv) a region at the 3' end non-coding region. Cytoplasmic microinjection of oligodeoxyribonucleotides and oligoribonucleotides complementary to the second AUG resulted in a transient inhibition of viral VP1 expression in infected cells. Significant inhibitions, ranging from 35 to 52%, were obtained at 5 h post-infection using oligonucleotide concentrations of 125 microM and higher. The extent and duration of this inhibition seemed to be mediated by both a rapid transport to the nucleus and the short half-life of the oligonucleotide. This inhibition of FMDV protein synthesis was correlated with a reduction of virus yield of about 50%, as observed after the addition to the cell culture of an oligodeoxyribonucleotide phosphorothioate complementary to the second AUG.

Animals↗