PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Bruno Balbi

Publications and source records attributed to Bruno Balbi.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Hsp60 and Hsp10 down-regulation predicts bronchial epithelial carcinogenesis in smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND: The relation between smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer (LC) is an open field of investigation. A higher frequency of adenocarcinoma has been reported in patients with COPD. Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are implicated in tumoral cell growth and differentiation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of Hsp60 and Hsp10 in bronchial biopsies from smokers with COPD and in 10 lung cancer patients and to evaluate the association between Hsps expression and carcinogenetic steps of LC. METHOD: An immunohistochemical study was performed for Hsp60 and Hsp10 in bronchial biopsies from 35 COPD (postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV(1)]: 53 +/- 19% [mean +/- SD]) patients with a history of smoking (53 +/- 34 pack/years) and in 10 patients with adenocarcinoma or adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC). Immunopositivity was quantified in the bronchial epithelium and in specimens with ASC. RESULTS.: In smokers with COPD, 10 out of 35 patients had a normal bronchial epithelium (NBE), 12 showed basal cell hyperplasia (BCH), 5 squamous metaplasia (SM), and 8 dysplasia (Dy). It was found that 58 +/- 23% and 54 +/- 23% of NBE and 48 +/- 29% and 52 +/- 26% of BCH expressed Hsp60 and Hsp10, respectively; in contrast, only 3 +/- 3% and 3.6 +/- 2% of SM, 1.9 +/- 4% and 1.1 +/- 2% of Dy expressed Hsp60 and Hsp10, respectively. ASC specimens were negative for Hsps proteins. Interestingly, NBE also present at the edges of ASC specimens was negative for Hsps proteins. CONCLUSIONS: The loss of Hsp60 and Hsp10 immunopositivity is related to the development and progression of bronchial cancer in smokers with COPD.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2006

Physiological responses to arm exercise in difficult to wean patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of arm exercise with or without support of mechanical ventilation on breathing pattern, respiratory muscle pressure output, and ratings of dyspnea and arm discomfort in difficult-to-wean patients with COPD. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective, controlled, physiological study in a respiratory ICU. PATIENTS: Eight tracheostomized difficult-to-wean patients. INTERVENTION: Patients performed an incremental and an endurance arm exercise while breathing through a trach collar or while receiving pressure support ventilation. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Breathing pattern, mechanics, arterial saturation, heart rate, and subjective ratings of dyspnea and arm discomfort were measured at baseline, at the end, and 30 min after exercise. Exercise during pressure support ventilation was found to result in higher peak workload (incremental testing) than exercise during trach collar. Moreover, compared to incremental and endurance testing during trach collar, incremental and endurance testing during pressure support ventilation resulted in greater tidal volume, and lower respiratory rate, lower pressure output from the respiratory muscles, and lower work of breathing. Exercise-induced worsening of dyspnea and arm discomfort during trach collar was similar to the corresponding values recorded during pressure support ventilation. CONCLUSION: In tracheostomized difficult-to-wean patients with COPD arm exercise performed during unassisted respiration (trach collar) causes greater increases in respiratory rate and in respiratory muscle pressure output than arm exercise performed during pressure support ventilation. Exercise-induced dyspnea and arm discomfort are similar during assisted and nonassisted respiration.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Role of the chemokine receptors CXCR3 and CCR4 in human pulmonary fibrosis.

RATIONALE: The chemokine receptors CXCR3 and CCR4 have recently been described as playing a pivotal role in the mouse model of bleomycin-induced fibrosis. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the role of these receptors in human idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). METHODS: We studied 57 patients: 18 with IPF, 17 with non-IPF (nIPF), 12 with sarcoidosis, and 10 healthy control subjects. MEASUREMENTS: We evaluated the expression of CXCR3 and CCR4 in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) T lymphocytes by flow cytometry and the chemokine CXCL10, CXCL11 and CCL17 BAL concentration by singular immunoassay. MAIN RESULTS: Patients with IPF had a significantly lower CXCR3 and a higher CCR4 expression on BAL CD4 T cells compared with the other groups. Among patients with IPF, those treated with corticosteroids exhibited higher CXCR3 and lower CCR4 expression compared with untreated patients. CXCR3 expression correlated with BAL lymphocytes and CCR4 with BAL neutrophils and eosinophils. CXCL10 levels correlated with the expression of CXCR3 on BAL CD4 cells. CXCL11 was undetectable in almost all patients, whereas CCL17 was primarily detectable in patients with IPF. The percentage of BAL CCR4CD4 cells negatively correlated with DL(CO). The changes in the total lung capacity, VC, and of the alveolar-arterial PO2 gradient in patients with IPF and those with nIPF 6 to 12 mo after the first evaluation were associated with CD4CXCR3 percentage on BAL cells. CONCLUSIONS: We found an imbalance in CXCR3/CCR4 expression on BAL CD4 lymphocytes and reduced CXCL10 BAL levels in patients with IPF, suggesting a pivotal role of these molecules in IPF.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Exhaled volatile organic compounds in patients with non-small cell lung cancer: cross sectional and nested short-term follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive diagnostic strategies aimed at identifying biomarkers of lung cancer are of great interest for early cancer detection. The aim of this study was to set up a new method for identifying and quantifying volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled air of patients with non-small cells lung cancer (NSCLC), by comparing the levels with those obtained from healthy smokers and non-smokers, and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The VOC collection and analyses were repeated three weeks after the NSCLC patients underwent lung surgery. METHODS: The subjects' breath was collected in a Teflon bulb that traps the last portion of single slow vital capacity. The 13 VOCs selected for this study were concentrated using a solid phase microextraction technique and subsequently analysed by means of gas cromatography/mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The levels of the selected VOCs ranged from 10(-12) M for styrene to 10(-9) M for isoprene. None of VOCs alone discriminated the study groups, and so it was not possible to identify one single chemical compound as a specific lung cancer biomarker. However, multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that VOC profile can correctly classify about 80% of cases. Only isoprene and decane levels significantly decreased after surgery. CONCLUSION: As the combination of the 13 VOCs allowed the correct classification of the cases into groups, together with conventional diagnostic approaches, VOC analysis could be used as a complementary test for the early diagnosis of lung cancer. Its possible use in the follow-up of operated patients cannot be recommended on the basis of the results of our short-term nested study.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Downmodulation of CXCL8/IL-8 receptors on neutrophils after recruitment in the airways.

BACKGROUND: CXCL8/IL-8 is the most significant chemokine for neutrophils, and CXC chemokine receptor (CXCR) 1 and 2 are its 2 receptors, which are downmodulated by CXCL8/IL-8 and endotoxin on activated neutrophils. OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the expression of the CXCL8/IL-8 receptors and the activation marker CD11b on neutrophils in peripheral blood and in the site of airway inflammation. METHODS: The flow cytometric expression of CXCR1, CXCR2, and CD11b was evaluated on peripheral blood and induced sputum neutrophils in patients with nonsevere asthma with greater than 60% sputum neutrophils, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and in healthy control subjects. RESULTS: Asthmatic patients and patients with COPD had comparable expressions of CXCR1, CXCR2, and CD11b on peripheral blood and sputum neutrophils. Compared with control subjects, the peripheral neutrophil expression of CXCR2 was lower in patients with COPD ( P = .03) and that of CD11b was higher in asthmatic patients and patients with COPD ( P < .02 and P < .002). The expression of the CXCL8/IL-8 receptors on sputum neutrophils was markedly lower than on peripheral blood neutrophils ( P < .0001). The downmodulation of CXCL8/IL-8 receptors was also present in healthy control subjects but less than that seen in asthmatic patients. The difference between peripheral blood and sputum expression of CXCL8/IL-8 receptors correlated with serum CXCL8/IL-8 levels. In asthmatic patients the expression of CXCR1 and CXCR2 on sputum neutrophils negatively correlated with sputum neutrophils. CONCLUSION: In neutrophilic asthma the expression of CXCL8/IL-8 receptors on peripheral and sputum neutrophils is similar to COPD and negatively correlated with the inflammatory infiltrate in the airways. The downmodulation of CXCL8/IL-8 receptors detected in the airways should be taken into account for an eventual therapeutic inhibition of these receptors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Physiological effects of meals in difficult-to-wean tracheostomised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate effects of meals in difficult-to-wean tracheostomised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases during spontaneous breathing or Inspiratory Pressure Support. DESIGN: Prospective, crossover, randomised, and physiological study. SETTING: Weaning centre. PATIENTS: Sixteen COPD undergoing either decreasing levels of pressure support or increasing periods of spontaneous breathing. MEASUREMENTS: Each patient underwent monitoring during a 30-min procedure, during and after meals either under pressure support or spontaneous breathing on two consecutive days. Inductance plethysmography was used to monitor respiratory rate and tidal volume. Tidal volume by a flow transducer, arterial oxygen saturation, pulse rate, end-tidal CO2(,) and dyspnoea by a visual analogue scale were also assessed. RESULTS: ANOVA analysis showed a significant increase under spontaneous breathing for respiratory rate (P<0.001) and for end tidal CO(2) (P<0.03) induced by the meals. Inspiratory pressure support was associated to significantly greater tidal volume (P<0.001), lower respiratory rate (P<0.032), lower respiratory rate/tidal volume (P<0.001), and lower pulse rate (P<0.047) than spontaneous breathing. Under spontaneous breathing but not under pressure support a statistically worsening in meal-induced dispnoea (P<0.001) was found. CONCLUSIONS: In tracheostomised difficult-to-wean COPD patients: 1) under unassisted breathing, meals may induce an increase in respiratory rate, end-tidal CO(2), and dyspnoea; 2) inspiratory pressure support ventilation prevents dyspnoea from worsening during meals.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

MVarallo: a new M(Like) alpha 1-antitrypsin-deficient allele.

A 73-year-old never-smoker woman with chronic bronchitis, increasing dyspnoea, and airflow limitation with a FEV1 of 49% of predicted value had low serum level of alpha-1-antitrypsin (69 mg/dL, normal range 150-350). Isoelectric focusing showed an Mlike pattern. Direct sequencing showed, in the second exon, a particular DNA alteration localized between codon 41 and codon 51: a region of 30 base pairs (bp) was completely deleted and substituted by a 22-bp sequence. The resulting loss of 8 bp yields, in the second exon, a 70-71 stop codon. This new Mlike variant was denominated MVarallo from the site where it was discovered.

Aged↗