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C Murcia

Publications and source records attributed to C Murcia.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Ovine serum and pituitary isoforms of luteinising hormone during the luteal phase.

The relative abundance of the different isoforms of pituitary and circulating luteinising hormone (LH) in ewes, at different times after the administration of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH), during the luteal phase of the oestrous cycle was investigated. Sixteen ewes on Day 9 of their cycle were divided into four groups (n = 4). The control group (T0) received saline solution; the remaining animals received 100 microg GnRH (i.m.) 30, 90 or 180 min (T30, T90 and T180, respectively) before serum and pituitary gland collection. Luteinising hormone polymorphism was analysed by chromatofocusing (pH 10.5-3.5). The LH eluted from each chromatofocusing was grouped on the basis of the following three criteria: (1) according to the pH of elution (pH > or = 10-3.5); (2) as either a basic (pH > or = 7.5), neutral (pH 7.4-6.5) and acidic (pH < or = 6.4) elution of LH of serum and hypophyseal origin; and (3) on the basis of distinct isoforms, of which 10 (A-J) were identifiable in hypophyseal extracts and four (A-D) were found in the serum. In general, the most abundant forms of LH in both the pituitary and serum, at all times, were basic. However, that proportion was greater in hypophyseal extracts (84 +/- 3%, 81 +/- 4%, 82 +/- 3% and 83 +/- 2% at T0, T30, T90 and T180, respectively) than in serum (51 +/- 5%, 48 +/- 10% and 54 +/- 6% at T30, T90 and T180, respectively). Neutral and acidic LH made up a larger proportion of the total LH in sera (neutral: 17 +/- 4%, 20 +/- 6% and 23 +/- 3% at T30, T90 and T180, respectively; acidic: 32 +/- 8%, 32 +/- 11% and 23 +/- 6% at T30, T90 and T180, respectively) than in the pituitary extracts (neutral: 4.0 +/- 0.7%, 10 +/- 4%, 7 +/- 2% and 5.0 +/- 0.5% at T0, T30, T90 and T180, respectively; acidic: 12 +/- 3%, 11 +/- 2%, 12 +/- 2% and 12 +/- 2% at T0, T30, T90 and T180, respectively) at all times. These data reveal that the relative composition of the LH present in the pituitary gland and the LH secreted into the circulation is different, with more neutral and acidic isoforms being secreted. The pattern of circulating LH isoforms changes between 30 and 180 min after GnRH peak induction, with a greater proportion of isoform C (eluting between pH 7.0 and 6.5) at T180 compared with T30 and T90.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

ATM gene expression is associated with differentiation and angiogenesis in infiltrating breast carcinomas.

UNLABELLED: The product of the ATM gene, mutated in the human genetic disorder ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) plays a key role in the detection and repair of DNA double-strand breaks. A-T is defined by progressive cerebellar ataxia, telangiectasia, sensitivity to ionising radiation and genomic instability with cancer predisposition. On the other hand, increased angiogenesis is essential for tumor growth and metastasis. The aim of this study was to investigate ATM expression in breast carcinomas and its relationship to neoangiogenesis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty-two breast tumors from 51 patients, 38 of them with concomitant in situ component (CIS), were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for the expression of ATM. CD34 expression was used for the morphometric evaluation of vasculature. ATM was positive in 1 to 10% of normal epithelial cells. ATM expression was reduced in 55.8% of infiltrating carcinomas, non-reduced in 34.6%, and increased in 9.6%. Expression of ATM in CIS was similar to the infiltrating component in 71% of cases and reduced in 23.7% of them. High-grade ductal infiltrating carcinomas showed lower ATM expression than low-grade ones. Reduced ATM expression also correlated with increased microvascular area. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced ATM expression in breast carcinomas correlated with tumor differentiation and increased microvascular parameters, supporting its role in neoangiogenesis and tumor progression in breast carcinogenesis.

Antigens, CD34↗
PubMed2005

Pattern of circulating luteinizing hormone isoforms during the estrous and luteal phases in Holstein heifers.

The pattern of distribution of circulating luteinizing hormone (LH) isoforms in cattle during estrus and the luteal phase was investigated. In each stage, the stage of the estrous cycle was synchronized in seven Holstein heifers with a prostaglandin analogue. After estrus was detected, blood samples were taken at 2-h intervals for 24h. In the luteal phase, animals received 250 microg i.v. of GnRH and blood samples were collected every 15 min for 5h. LH concentration in the samples was determined. Samples with the greatest LH concentration in estrus (pre-ovulatory peak) and those collected 60 min after GnRH administration (luteal phase) were analyzed by chromatofocusing, eluted with a pH gradient from 10.5 to 3.5. Eluted LH was grouped into basic (pH > or = 7.5), neutral (pH 7.4-6.5) and acidic isoforms (pH < or = 6.4) as well as by pH unit. In both phases, basic forms were the most abundant, and these were greater (P < 0.05) during the luteal phase (78.4 +/- 4.2%) as compared with during estrus (57.1 +/- 6.2%); the proportion of neutral and acidic isoforms in estrus (13.7 +/- 2.6%; 28.5 +/- 2.8%) was greater (P < 0.05) as compared with the luteal phase (3.0 +/- 0.7; 18.7 +/- 3.4). These results indicate that the relative proportion of LH isoforms secreted by the adenohypophysis differ by stage of estrous cycle. The addition of excess of NaCl to the column modifies the antigen-antibody binding in the RIA, and the proteins eluted are erroneously quantified as LH; this is an artifact of the technique.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Neuropsychological profile of a large kindred with familial Alzheimer's disease caused by the E280A single presenilin-1 mutation.

It was hypothesized that subjective memory complaints represent the earliest sign of dementia in carriers of the presenilin-1 (PS1) mutation. A total of 122 subjects (44 males, 78 females) were included in this study. Forty of them were positive for the mutation in the PS1 gene (mutation positive, MP) whereas 82 showed negative results (mutation negative, MN). Subjects were active, functionally normal, even though some of them complained of memory difficulties. Two groups of neuropsychological instruments were administered: (a) The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) neuropsychological test battery (Morris et al., 1989), and (b) some additional neuropsychological tests (Raven Test, Wechsler Memory Scale, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, Boston Naming Test, Naming of Categories, Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, Memory of Three Phrases, Knopman Test, Digit Symbol, and Visual "A" Cancellation Test). Performance in both groups was quite similar. In a secondary analysis, the MP group was subdivided into two subgroups: without and with memory complaints. When comparing both subgroups, a better performance in the first subgroup was found throughout the different subtests. Statistically significant differences were observed in the following test scores: Mini-Mental State Examination, Naming Test (Low Frequency), Memory of Words Test, Recall of Drawings, Wechsler Memory Scale (Logical Memory, Associative Learning, and Total Score), Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (Immediate Recall Condition), Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (Complex Ideational Material Subtest), Memory of Three Phrases Test, Serial Verbal Learning (maximum score and Delayed Recall), Knopman Test (First Trial, Second Trial, and Recall after 5 Minutes), Digit Symbol, and Visual "A" Cancellation Test (Additions). Results supported the hypothesis that memory complaints represent the earliest symptom of familial Alzheimer's disease. In addition to the memory difficulties, other minor cognitive impairments were also found, particularly, mild anomia, concentration difficulties and defects in the understanding of complex verbal material.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Effect of blood metabolites, body condition and pasture management on milk yield and postpartum intervals in dual-purpose cattle farms in the tropics of the state of Veracruz, Mexico.

Research was conducted on typical smallholder farms with dual-purpose cattle (DPC) (Bos indicus x B. taurus) in the coastal north-central area of Veracruz, Mexico. The study was divided into two phases. The aim of the first phase was to investigate the effect of blood metabolities, body condition and pasture management on milk yield and postpartum intervals, in order to investigate if the former are suitable indicators of the reproductive and nutritional status of DPC. One hundred and sixty-five calvings of crossbred cows were recorded from January 1992 to November 1994 on 12 small farms. Milk samples were collected twice a week for progesterone analysis. Blood samples and BCS were taken once a month. However, in Phase II emphasis was placed on the effect of pasture management upon reproductive and productive performance of DPC. Records of four farms were obtained from June 1995 to November 1996. Stocking rates were 0.40, 0.87, 0.35 and 1.5 cows/ha for farms A, B, C and D, respectively. Farms A and C used a slow rotation while B and D used a rapid rotation. In Phase I, the changes in BCS during the last month of pregnancy and first month postpartum did not correlate (p > 0.05) with milk yield or reproductive performance. Blood the metabolite profiles were not consistently related to productive or reproductive variables. The effect of farm and season was significant (p < 0.05) on most of the response variables and low productivity on overstocked farms lead to the conclusion that the low reproductive performance of DPC was linked to poor pasture management. During Phase II, farms A (FA) and D (FD) produce more milk than the others. Days to first service, days open, and calving interval were similar for farms B (FB) and C (FC), highest for Farm A, and lowest for Farm D. The forage availability mean was above the critical range of 6-8 kg of dry matter per 100 kg of liveweight (kg DM/100 kg LW) in all farms (range from 6.1 +/- 5.0 to 21.1 +/- 11.2 kg DM/100 kg LW). Farm D had the highest stocking rate (1.5 cows/ha), a rapid rotation (10 paddocks), a good forage availability (7.1 +/- 3.9 kg DM/100 kg LW) with a good quality for a tropical pasture (11.6 +/- 2.4% crude protein), and an economic energy supplementation. These results suggest this type of management could be more widely employed to improve the productivity of DPC on smallholder farms in the Mexican tropics.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1997

Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia associated with acute Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.

A patient with bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) associated with acute Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection is described. Although mycoplasmas have occasionally been associated with bronchiolitis obliterans, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first well-documented case of BOOP associated with M. pneumoniae infection. The diagnosis of BOOP was made by open-lung biopsy after fiberoptic transbronchial biopsy proved nondiagnostic. Corticosteroid therapy was administered and a dramatic improvement was observed; the patient remained without complaints during a 3-year follow-up period.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

Progesterone metabolism during storage of blood samples from Gyr cattle: effects of anticoagulant, time and temperature of incubation.

Ten Gyr cows with a functional corpus luteum were used to evaluate the effects of time and temperature of incubation of blood samples on progesterone (P4) concentrations detected in plasma or serum. From each cow, a blood sample was collected into a flask containing no anticoagulant, another into an heparinized flask and a third into a flask containing sodium fluoride. The blood from each flask was divided into 46 aliquots. One of them was centrifuged within 5 min of collection. The remaining 45 aliquots were divided into three groups and kept at three different temperatures: 4 degrees C, 17 degrees C, or 37 degrees C. For each anticoagulant, aliquots from every cow and incubation temperature were centrifuged every 30 min for 6 h, and then at 8, 12 and 24 h. Plasma or serum were separated immediately after centrifugation and were kept frozen at -20 degrees C until assayed for progesterone. The mean initial concentration of P4 in serum (8.3 ng/ml) significantly diminished (P<0.05) to 6.7 ng/ml after 5 h of incubation at 4 degrees C, 3 h at 17 degrees C, or 2 h at 37 degrees C. In plasma from heparinized blood the initial concentration (7.8 ng/ml) declined significantly after 6 h of incubation at 4 degrees C, 2 h at 17 degrees C, or 1 h at 37 degrees C. Sodium fluoride used as anticoagulant prevented the degradation of P4 since the initial concentration of P4 (6.7 ng/ml) never declined during incubation at either 4 degrees C or 37 degrees C; the only significant reduction occurred after 24 h of incubation at 17 degrees C.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

[Peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Morphologic, immunophenotypic and immunogenotypic studies of 10 cases].

We describe the histopathology, immunophenotype and immunogenotype of 10 cases of peripheral T-cell lymphoma. The majority of patients showed disseminated disease at the time of diagnosis. From a histopathological view point the cases were classified into 5 types: T zone lymphoma (4 cases); Lennert lymphoma (2 cases); pleomorphic lymphoma, small all type (2 cases); pleomorphic lymphoma of medium-sized cell type (1 case); pleomorphic lymphoma of large cell type (1 case). In most of them the neoplastic cells demonstrated a mature T-cell phenotype: CD3+, CD4+, CD8-, CD43+, CD45RO+, CD45RA-, CD20- and surface immunoglobulins. All cases studied displayed gene rearrangements for the T-cell receptor beta chain while the immunoglobulins genes remained in germinal configuration. Antibodies against the human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I were not found in the 9 samples studied.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Verrucous carcinoma of the vulva. A clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of five cases.

The clinicopathologic features of five cases of verrucous carcinoma of the vulva and their staining pattern with antikeratin monoclonal antibodies AE1 and AE3 were compared with those of conventional squamous cell carcinoma. Two patients had local recurrences but none died of the tumor. AE1 and AE3 antibodies stained the entire epithelial thickness in both verrucous and squamous cell carcinoma, but in the former the positivity was uniform and homogeneous everywhere, while in squamous cell carcinoma the positivity was extremely disorganized and patchy. The pattern of expression of monoclonal antibodies AE1 and AE3 confirms that verrucous carcinoma is an extremely well-differentiated squamous neoplasm in contrast to squamous cell carcinoma, which is heterogeneous from a viewpoint of differentiation.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Use of monoclonal anti-actin as a megakaryocyte marker in paraffin wax embedded bone marrow biopsy specimens.

Monoclonal anti-actin was used as a marker of megakaryocytes in Zenker's fixed, paraffin wax embedded bone marrow tissue, using an immunoperoxidase staining method. Twenty bone marrow samples were studied, including controls, and different myeloproliferative and myelodysplastic syndromes. The results were compared with those obtained using factor VIII related antigen (F VIII RAg) immunolabelling. Anti-actin is as good a marker for megakaryocytes as anti-FVIIIRAg and is potentially clinically useful when morphological identification is difficult, when bone marrow aspiration is unsuccessful, or when quantitative evaluation of tissue sections is required.

Actins↗
PubMed1986

Pathologic findings in the oviducts of mares.

Oviducts from 325 mares were evaluated macroscopically, and oviducts from 124 mares were evaluated microscopically. Two hundred and eighty-five (87.69%) of the mares had at least 1 macroscopic lesion and 116 (93.54%) had at least 1 microscopic lesion. The most frequently seen macroscopic lesions were adhesions, paraovarian cysts, and thick fibrous bands. Microscopically, intraepithelial cysts, slight, focal lymphocytic infiltration in the infundibular-ampullary region, and proteinoid material in the oviductal lumen were the most common findings. In general, the proximal segments of the oviduct were more affected than were the distal segments. Forty-nine (90.74%) of the 54 pairs of oviducts collected from pregnant mares had at least 1 macroscopic or microscopic lesion.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Incidence and clinical significance of anti-ENA antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus. Estimation by counterimmunoelectrophoresis.

Eighty-two patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were investigated for the presence and significance of serum antibodies to Extractable Nuclear Antigen (ENA) and its major components, RNP, Sm and SS-B (or Ha). The counterimmunoelectrophoresis assay allowed independent detection and measurement of antibodies to the different components. Forty patients had anti-ENA antibodies, 25 (30%) were of anti-RNP type alone or anti-RNP associated with anti-Sm, and 12 (15%) were of anti-RNP type alone. Anti-ENA antibodies distinguished a subset of patients with less common incidence of renal disease, positive Coombs test, anticoagulant serum factors and high titres of anti-DNAds antibodies, with higher incidence of Raynaud's phenomenon, swollen hands, hypergammaglobulinemia and high titres of antinuclear antibodies with speckled pattern on immunofluorescence. SLE patients with anti-RNP antibodies had in addition a high frequency of normal complement values. All but one SLE patient with only anti-RNP antibodies fulfilled at least four or more criteria for the diagnosis of SLE. We conclude that anti-ENA antibodies in SLE patients are associated with a low prevalence of nephritis and a clinical and laboratory profile similar to that of the MCTD syndrome. These findings demonstrate the difficulty of inferring rigid differences between MCTD and SLE. The MCTD syndrome probably represents only one segment of the whole clinical spectrum of SLE.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗