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Biomedical subjects

D Testa

Publications and source records attributed to D Testa.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Potassium depletion myopathy: a clinical and morphological study of six cases.

Acute myopathy in conditions associated with endogenous or drug-induced potassium loss has been reported. We describe six patients with potassium depletion myopathy (P-DM). The clinical picture included flaccid muscle weakness without sensory loss, myalgia, polyuria, and polydipsia. All the cases had markedly increased serum creatine kinase (CK) levels. The most consistent pathological characteristics were phagocytosis of degenerating muscle fibers plus fiber regeneration. Atrophy of type 2 fibers was observed. Vacuoles and vesicular elements originating from T-tubules were also encountered. The clinical manifestations and morphological changes had reversed after potassium repletion. Both constriction of vascular smooth muscle and cellular energy failure may be pathogenetic factors in P-DM.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

[Bone marrow culture in patients treated with Ticlopidine].

Bone marrow cells obtained from 15 patients treated with Ticlopidine (500 mg/day) for a month, and from 20 matched controls were cultured in agar. GM colonies and clusters were counted after 7 and 14 days of culture. CFU GM were slightly decreased in the patients treated by Ticlopidine. In 8 patients, in which the bone marrow was cultured on a second occasion 3 months latter, a slight increase in the inhibition of CFU GM was observed. It could be due to the mechanism of action of the drug (by an increased synthesis of PGE1) and not to a toxic side effect. The few cases of reversible agranulocytosis reported in the literature might be due to the inhibition of myelopoiesis in patients with medullary reserves already impaired.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Cloning with tandem gene systems for high level gene expression.

A method has been devised for increasing the copy number of a gene (or genes) cloned into a plasmid while minimizing the size of the plasmid. If n copies of a transcriptional unit are cloned, including the promoter, coding region and terminator, the size of the plasmid will increase by n times the total size of the unit. However, if we borrow the concept of polycistronic operon and sandwich n structural genes, each with its own ribosome binding-site, between a promoter and a transcription terminator, there will be a space saving equivalent to n-1 promoters and n-1 transcription terminators. We have constructed plasmids in which an E. coli lipoprotein promoter is followed by 1 to 4 human leukocyte interferon genes and a transcription terminator. The applications of this method in genetic engineering are discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1984

[Radioimmunological assay of alpha-fetoprotein in maternal serum and intrauterine fetal growth retardation].

Maternal plasma alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was measured in fifteen women during first-mid-third-trimester of pregnancy. In three of these pregnacies by means ultrasound was relevable a condition of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). AFP was assayed by a double-antibody radioimmunoassay and values were compared with the median value of the normal range for the particular week of pregnancy. Plasma AFP levels were significantly higher in one subject with IUGR than in other patients.

Female↗
PubMed1984

Abnormal auditory evoked potentials in Déjérine-Sottas disease. Report of two cases with central acoustic and vestibular impairment.

Two cases of hereditary motor sensory neuropathy type III (Déjérine-Sottas disease) examined by audiological, vestibular and electrophysiological methods are reported. In both cases there were signs of vestibular and acoustic central pathway involvement, shown by vestibular examination and by the study of auditory evoked potentials. The presence of central involvement in this hereditary neuropathy suggests central as well as peripheral myelin alteration.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Cloning of eukaryotic genes in single-strand phage vectors: the human interferon genes.

Using oligonucleotide probes with defined sequences, we have selected clones from a human lymphocyte cDNA library which represent human leukocyte (HuIFN-alpha) and fibroblast (HuIFN-beta) interferon gene sequences. Double-stranded f1 phage DNA was used as the vector for initial cloning of cDNA. Clones carrying interferon gene sequences were identified by hybridization with the oligonucleotide probes. The same oligonucleotide probes were used as primers for dideoxy chain termination sequencing of the clones. One HuIFN-alpha clone, 201, has a nucleotide sequence different from published HuIFN-alpha sequences. Under control of the lacUV5 promoter, the 201 gene has been used to express biologically active HuIFN-alpha in Escherichia coli.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1984

Complicated migraine in AS hemoglobinopathy.

Neurological manifestations have been rarely described in sickle cell trait carriers. Almost all the patients up to now reported are black and young of age. An adult white man is reported, with AS hemoglobinopathy, affected by complicated migraine, who developed acute occlusion of two middle cerebral artery branches, with persistent neurological deficit. The possible significance of this association is discussed.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗
PubMed1983

Polyclonal lymphadenopathy presenting as plasma cell leukemia with reversible renal insufficiency.

A case is reported of an elderly patient with generalized lymphadenopathy who, at presentation, showed a blood and bone marrow picture suggestive of plasma cell leukemia, polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia restricted almost exclusively to IgA, and severe renal insufficiency. Treatment with melphalan and prednisone produced a complete remission that lasted only 1 month. A second partial remission was obtained, but the patient eventually died of heart failure. The pathological picture of the lymph nodes and spleen was intermediate between that of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy (AIL) and of the plasma cell type of giant lymph node hyperplasia (Castleman's disease). The hypothesis is presented that AIL, Castleman's disease and many other polyclonal lymphadenopathies recently described in immunodeficient or elderly patients, including the present case, represent a continuous spectrum of lymphoproliferative disorders due to abnormal responses to various stimuli.

Acute Kidney Injury↗
PubMed1982

[Radioimmunologic and radioreceptor analysis of human chorionic gonadotropin for the diagnosis and control of ectopic pregnancy].

The authors report here their studies on the use of a radioreceptor assay study of HCG for the diagnosis and management of ectopic pregnancy. Seven blood samples were collected before, during and three days after the surgical intervention; their HCG content was assayed with a radioreceptor method and the results were compared with those of radioimmunological method. The radioreceptor assay, with a sensitivity of 200 mUI/ml, has provided 85% reliability in detecting pregnancy, the radioimmunoassay the 100%. A case of ectopic resorbing pregnancy showed a HCG content of 25 mUI/ml (RIA) and a RRA negative; the low concentration of hcg caused the negativity of RRA, the sensibility of which is too low in this case. A deeper analysis of the technical results shows some possible sources of error.

Chorionic Gonadotropin↗
PubMed1982

Cellular origin and interactions involved in gamma-interferon production induced by OKt3 monoclonal antibody.

OKT3 monoclonal antibody, a human T cell mitogen, induced interferon production by cultured mononuclear cells at 10(-11) M concentrations. Interferon was secreted only under conditions wherein OKT3 was mitogenic, and production was correlated with cell proliferation. Thus, like mitogenesis, interferon secretion reached a peak 3 days after OKT3 stimulation, was inhibited by a factor(s) in human serum, and required 1000 times higher concentrations of Fab and F(ab')2 fragments of OKT3 for induction. The interferon was most likely of "gamma" (immune) type, because pH 2 and 56 degrees C treatments denatured it, whereas anti-alpha or -beta interferon antibodies did not. Mononuclear cells were fractionated into subpopulations that contained OKT4+ cells (helper/inducer T cells), OKT8+ cells (cytotoxic/suppressor T cells), and OKM1+ cells (monocytes) by combining sheep red blood cell rosetting and complement-mediated lysis using monoclonal antibodies against specific cell types. Both OKT4+ and OKT8+ cells proliferated upon OKT3 stimulation with the absolute requirement of OKM1+ cells. However, OKT4+ cells plus OKM1+ cells were necessary for the secretion of interferon. Studies with selective pretreatments with mitomycin C suggested that gamma-interferon was secreted by the OKT4+ cells and that the OKM1+ population subserved an accessory function.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

[2 cases of biliary ileus].

Successful enterotomy and the removal of large calculi blocked in the small intestine in two cases of biliary ileus are reported. The aetiopathogenesis, clinical picture and treatment of this form are also described. In the first case, the calculus was discovered about 1 metre from the Treitz fascia, in the second, about 1 1/2 metres from the ileocaecal valve.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Systemic carnitine deficiency with peripheral nerve involvement morphological and biochemical study.

The patient, a 31-year-old woman, suffered from a weakness of the proximal muscles which subsequently worsened involving the spinal and neck muscles. During the hospitalization, the patient displayed a "burning feet" syndrome. Lab tests showed a moderate increase in CPK, Aldolase, SGPT, SGOT, lactic and pyruvic acids. Needle EMG was interpreted as "myopathic" but a marked reduction of sensitive action potentials was also detected. Muscle biopsy showed neutral lipid accumulation in muscle fibers, many small angular fibers, probably denervated ones were also evident. A liver biopsy showed fatty accumulation in hepatocytes. Free carnitine was extremely reduced in muscle and liver and just below normal level in plasma while there was a tenfold elevation of long-chain carnitine esters in plasma too. The mechanism by which carnitine deficiency can cause both neural and muscular alterations and in particular the role of carnitine in glucose metabolism is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

[Polyacrylamide gel disc electrophoresis in the study of cerebrospinal fluid proteins in inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system Preliminary results].

The present study was designed to evaluate the potential of polyacrylamide disc electrophoresis of CSF proteins as an adjunct to laboratory diagnosis of neurological inflammatory diseases. The results of polyacrylamide and cellulose acetate electrophoresis of 42 CSF samples from control subjects and patients with various inflammatory diseases of CNS are presented. A comparison between results from both techniques is made. The polyacrylamide disc electrophoresis has been found valuable in the study of liquoral proteins with particular attention to gammaglobulins because this resolving power is superior to the other method. However, the Authors emphasize the importance of distinguishing the genetically determined proteins and haptoglobins and of the use of specific criteria in interpretation of a CSF protein pattern.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins↗
PubMed1980

Unique mode of transcription in vitro by Vesicular stomatitis virus.

In addition to the five mRNA species and 47 nucleotide long leader RNA synthesized by purified virions of vesicular stomatitis virus, at least three discrete low molecular weight RNA species having approximate chain lengths of 28, 42 and 70 nucleotides can be detected in vitro. Each of these RNA species displays a unique and characteristic T1 fingerprint profile and contains (p)ppAA as its 5' terminus. By partial sequence analyses, two of the small RNA products, 42 and 28 bases long, were found to contain 5' terminal sequences identical to those in the N and NS mRNAs, respectively. Ultraviolet inactivation studies demonstrate that each of these RNA species has a target size in agreement with its molecular weight indicating independent initiation. Kinetic studies show that the small RNA species are synthesized within 1 min, while mRNA chain completion occurs later in the sequential order N-NS-M-G. These results indicate that viral mRNA synthesis occurs in vitro by multiple initiations at different promoter sites on the genome RNA, and that the elongation and completion of the individual mRNAs depend on prior transcription of 3' proximal genes. We present a model for viral mRNA synthesis in vitro.

Base Composition↗
PubMed1980

In vitro synthesis of the full-length complement of the negative-strand genome RNA of vesicular stomatitis virus.

Under the normal conditions of in vitro RNA synthesis, the virion-associated RNA polymerase of vesicular stomatitis virus synthesizes five monocristronic mRNAs and a 48-nucleotide-long leader RNA that represents the exact 3'-terminal region of the genome RNA [Colonno, R. J. & Banerjee, A. K. (1978) Cell, 15, 93-101]. When the transcribing core was preincubated with ATP and CTP, reisolated, and then incubated in the presence of the beta, gamma imido analogue of ATP (AdoPP[NH]P) and the three normal ribonucleoside triphosphates, the full-length complementary strand of the genome RNA was synthesized in vitro. The results suggest that specific phosphorylated states of regulatory proteins may control transcription in vitro to generate the full-length plus strands.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗