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Biomedical subjects

B Maraviglia

Publications and source records attributed to B Maraviglia.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Alteration of the passive electrical properties of lymphocyte membranes induced by GM1 and GM3 glycolipids.

The electrical conductivity of normal human lymphocyte suspensions has been measured in the frequency range from 10 kHz to 100 MHz, where a well-pronounced conductivity dispersion occurs, caused by the surface polarization at the interface between the cell membrane and the extracellular solution. We have investigated the alteration of the passive electrical properties of the cytoplasmatic cell membrane induced by two different gangliosides (GM1 and GM3) inserted, at various concentrations, into the outer leaflet of membrane double layer. The alterations observed in the dielectric parameters (the membrane conductivity and the membrane permittivity) derived on the basis of a 'double-shell' model, result in an overall increase of the ion permeation across the membrane and an enhanced polarizability of its hydrophilic region for both gangliosides investigated. The relevance of these alterations is discussed.

Cell Membrane

Spin-lattice relaxation in murine tumors after in vivo treatment with interferon alpha/beta or tumor necrosis factor alpha.

1H NMR spin-lattice relaxation times (T1) were measured in vitro and in vivo in Friend leukemia cell tumors during subcutaneous tumor growth in syngeneic mice and after in vivo administration of either purified murine interferon alpha/beta (IFN) or recombinant tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF). Untreated tumors exhibited monoexponential T1 relaxation independently of tumor age at least until Day 16 after implantation. Histological examinations showed that under these conditions tumors were highly homogeneous and substantially free of necrotic areas. Peritumoral administrations of either IFN or TNF did not significantly alter the tumor relaxation properties at early stages of inhibition of tumor growth. The longitudinal relaxation decay became instead clearly biexponential at later stages (more than 7 days of IFN treatment or 2 days after TNF administration). While the T1 relaxation behavior could be unequivocally correlated with the presence of necrotic areas in these tumors, it could not be considered as an early marker of the altered growth capability, induced by administration of either IFN or TNF.

Animals

Lee-Goldburg solid-state imaging.

A new approach to solid-state imaging (SSI) is presented. The method relies on narrowing the resonance line using the Lee-Goldburg sequence. The technique is easy to implement in practice and may find widespread applications in materials science.

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Partial cerebral ischemia assessed by "in vivo" 31P NMR spectroscopy in rats.

31P NMR spectroscopy was used to assess the cerebral ischemia status in rats by measuring the relative levels of phosphate metabolites. Partial cerebral ischemia was induced in 49 rats by reversible occlusion of the carotid arteries. Rats were intubated and mechanically ventilated on a hypoxic gas mixture. Physiological parameters such as temperature and arterial pressure were strictly controlled during the experiments. 31P spectra were acquired at 7 T during basal observation, for 15-20 min after the induction of ischemia, and for 1 hr after reperfusion. Depletion and increase in PCr and Pi levels, respectively, were already observable in the collected spectra within few minutes after the onset of ischemia. No appreciable changes were found in the ATP levels.

Animals

Immiscible fluids permeability by T1 imaging.

Soil pollution by hydrocarbon compounds is an important part of the more general pollution problem. Some analogies with research problems encountered in studies of oil reservoirs in rocks suggested to us the opportunity to study the pollution dynamics by imaging the spatial distribution of the pollutant in a wet soil model by an NMR imaging technique. Some preliminary results using T1-weighted imaging are reported here.

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Study of proton spin-lattice relaxation variation induced by paramagnetic antibodies.

A murine anti-human melanoma monoclonal antibody fragment was labeled with gadolinium and its proton relaxation efficiency compared to controls at frequencies ranging from 2 to 300 MHz. Relaxation time variations were about 30-40% in 10-15 microM solutions. The labeled fragment showed proton relaxation enhancement relative to free gadolinium, while preserving its immunoreactivity. A tentative labeling of a melanoma pellet by means of the fragment, just at the borderline of a minimum expected T1 variation, gave no detectable difference.

Animals

Bilayer rigidity of the erythrocyte membrane2H-NMR of a perdeuterated palmitic acid probe.

Perdeuterated palmitic acid was intercalated into the human erythrocyte membrane and its motion studied by dueterium nuclear magnetic resonance (2H-NMR). From analysis of temperature dependent changes in the 2H-NMR spectra and from an analysis of derived moments we conclude that the acyl chains of the erythrocyte lipids do not exhibit a detectable phase transition.

Deuterium

Detection of erythrocyte membrane structural abnormalities in lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency using a spin label approach.

The membrane fluidity of erythrocytes from patients with Lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency was studied by means of electron spin resonance. The temperature dependence of the separation of the outer extrema of the spectra of 2-(3-carboxy-propyl)-4,4-dimethyl, 2-tridecyl-3-oxazolidinyloxyl spin probe was monitored for normal, presumed carrier and clinically affected subjects. The temperature profile of controls was significantly different from that of the presumed carriers and the clinically affected individuals. The results show that the compositional abnormalities previously noted in erythrocyte membranes from patients with LCAT deficiency are associated with alterations in the physiocochemical state of the membrane. An investigation of the spectral lineshapes below 10 degrees C allowed a distinction to be made at the membrane level between clinically affected subjects and clinically normal heterozygous carriers. Alterations in the temperature dependence of elec-ron spin resonance parameters may provide a sensitive index of red cell membrane alterations in pathological states of generalized membrane involvement.

Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy