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Biomedical subjects

E Martini

Publications and source records attributed to E Martini.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Veno-venous bypass in experimental liver transplantation: portal-jugular versus caval-portal-jugular.

This study was undertaken to compare the changes in physiologic variables caused by the use of two different types of pump-assisted veno-venous bypass during experimental liver transplantation. The experiments, performed on female pigs weighing 30 +/- 2 kg, were divided into two groups depending on the bypass used. During the anhepatic phase a pump-assisted portal-jugular (PJ) bypass was used in Group 1 (n = 8) at a flow rate of 15 ml kg-1-min-1, while a pump-assisted caval-portal-jugular (CPJ) bypass was used in Group 2 (n = 8) at a flow rate of 20 ml kg-1-min-1. Intraoperative haemodynamics, pulmonary gas exchange, haematological and serum biochemical parameters were evaluated. Postoperative animal survival rate and complications associated with the bypass used were evaluated. Mean pulmonary artery pressure (Ppa) and pulmonary vascular resistance (Pvr) showed significantly different behaviour in the two groups, whereas the remaining parameters all showed the same trend. Thus an earlier and more substantial increase in Ppa and Pvr values was found in Group 1 when compared to Group 2 during the anhepatic phase. The different behaviour shown by Group 1 may depend on the release of circulating vasoactive substances generated following pelvic venous congestion caused by the temporary clamping of the inferior vena cava. In conclusion, this study indicates that the pump-assisted CPJ bypass is more suitable than the pump-assisted PJ bypass. Furthermore, in order to obtain better results it should be used routinely in porcine liver transplantation.

Anesthesia, General↗
PubMed1989

Purification to homogeneity of the major "4S" PAH binding protein from "non responsive" DBA/2N mouse liver by affinity chromatography.

DBA/2N is a genetically non responsive inbred strain of mice in which administration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) does not induce microsomal monooxygenase activity. DBA/2N mouse liver cytosol contains a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-binding protein that sediments, in a sucrose gradient, at 4S ("4S" PAH-BP). Its binding kinetic and physicochemical properties indicate that this protein is practically indistinguishable from the "4S" PAH-BP identified and characterized in liver cytosol of rats and other PAH responsive rodents including C57 B1/6J mice. "4S" PAH-BP was purified to homogeneity from DBA/2N mouse liver by ammonium sulfate fractionation of the cytosol, followed by Sephadex G-200 chromatography and, finally, affinity chromatography using 1-aminopyrene-Sepharose 6B. This procedure yielded about 50 micrograms of protein from 50-60 g of mouse liver, with a recovery of 18%. "4S" PAH-BP as a complex with 3H-(benzo-a-pyrene) was more than 99% pure. A single band was seen on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under non denaturing conditions. H-BaP comigrated with the protein band. 3H-BaP bound to the protein was displaced by PAHs with a specificity identical to that obtained using crude cytosol. On electrophoresis in SDS gels, the purified protein migrated as a single protein band with an apparent molecular weight of 40,000.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

"4S" polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon binding protein. Its role as a benzo(a) pyrene cytosolic carrier to the microsomes of DBA/2N mouse liver.

Rodent liver cytosol and other biological systems contain two proteins that bind polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in a non covalent manner and that sediment at a different rate when centrifuged on sucrose gradient. The role of the smaller protein ("4S" PAH-BP) was studied. When DBA/2N mouse liver homogenate was incubated with 3H-BaP, most of the radioactivity was found in the microsomal subcellular fraction. The cytosol binding activity apparently decreased but reincubation of the cytosol with the radioactive ligand completely restored "4S" PAH-BP activity. The microsomal uptake of 3H-BaP can be studied in a reconstituted system in which microsomes are incubated with radioactive benzo(a)pyrene in the presence of crude cytosol. In these conditions the microsomal uptake rate of 3H-BaP increased with the temperature and at 37 degrees C ten minutes were required to reach the plateau. When cytosol was substituted by HEDG buffer, the amount of radioactivity found in the microsomes decreased drastically. 0.2 microM was the benzo(a)pyrene concentration required to saturate the microsomes. When microsomes were incubated with ammonium sulfate cytosolic fractions or with homogeneously purified "4S" PAH-BP, the 3H-BaP uptake was restored and reached the maximum with 3 micrograms/ml of purified protein. The radioactive benzo(a)pyrene bound to microsomes was oxidated in the presence of NADPH regenerating system. The oxidated products were discharged from microsomes only when "4S" PAH-BP was either present during the incubation or added at its end. Thus, this protein is able to transfer benzo(a)pyrene to the microsomal metabolization sites and to facilitate the release of oxidized products and, presumably, bind them.

Ammonium Sulfate↗
PubMed1989

[Lymphocyte surface antigens in the peripheral blood. Detection by flow cytometry. Applications to the immune system in clinical practice].

A flow cytometer enables observation of single cells providing morphological characterization of the cell and identification of cell markers. The cells pass a detection point where they are striked by a sharply focused beam. Light scattering by the cells gives informations about size and granularity. Detection of fluorescence emission permits identification of fluorescent tag such as antibodies. Flow cytometric analysis of immunologic phenotyping allows interpretation of weak fluorescence intensity and detection of two antigens on a single cell with dual fluorescence analysis. Evaluation of B and T cells and their subclasses from whole blood preparations, provides informations of immunological status. Immunophenotyping at the clinical level has been used in a variety of human diseases; immunophenotypic changes have been observed in congenital and acquired immunodeficiency syndromes and auto-immune disorders.

Antigens, Surface↗
PubMed1989

Defibrotide in extracorporeal circulation on healthy rabbits.

Defibrotide, a partially depolymerized DNA fraction obtained from mammalian lung, was found to have significant antithrombotic and fibrinolytic activities. On the basis of this evidence defibrotide could be of clinical value during hemoperfusive treatment. The present study was designed to evaluate the biological tolerance of this technique in a model of extracorporeal circulation, using an original Silastic apparatus, with defibrotide (0.83 mg/kg-1/min-1 after a 50 mg/kg-1 bolus injection) and heparin (0.66 IU/kg-1/min-1 after a 400 IU/kg-1 bolus injection) in ten rabbits (Group 1) and heparin only in ten others (Group 2, control group). In this study defibrotide produced a significantly lower pressure inside the circuit compared to the control group and gave a protective effect against those pathological changes which appeared during extracorporeal circulation and that may be considered omens of a state of shock. However the use of defibrotide in addition to heparin seemed to have a poor effect on platelet and leukocyte count alterations during application of this technique.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Biliary tract complications in orthotopic liver transplantation: an experimental study in the pig.

The results of 56 consecutive orthotopic liver transplants in the pig were reviewed to determine the incidence of primary biliary tract complications. There were 8 biliary tract complications in 56 grafts (14.2%) directly responsible for death. End-to-end choledochocholedochostomy (ee-CC) was the most frequently used technique (40 cases) with 4 technical failures (10.0%). Choledochojejunostomy with a Roux-en-Y jejunal loop (RYCJ) was used in 9 cases with 2 technical failures (22.2%). Side-to-side choledochocholedochostomy (ss-CC) was used in 7 cases with 2 technical failures (28.5%). Biliary leak and stenosis were the most common complications. End-to-end choledochocholedocostomy appears to be the most suitable and easy biliary reconstruction in the pig but possible gross disparity in the sizes of the donor and recipient ducts may represent and adverse factor.

Anastomosis, Roux-en-Y↗
PubMed1989

Ecological memory assessment in normal aging. A preliminary report on an Italian population.

Forty-eight healthy volunteers were administered a computerized battery of "ecological" memory tests simulating real life everyday tasks and actions such as recalling people's names or telephone numbers. The group was dichotomized according to recent criteria proposed by a NIMH study group. Younger individuals (below 50 years of age) always showed better performances than those over 50. Although the learning curves were significantly lower for the older subgroup, the forgetting rate did not differ, suggesting that most of the memory complaints of the elderly might be attributable to the initial encoding phase of the memorizing activity rather than to a retrieval problem. It seems that easy distractability and inefficient strategic elaboration of incoming information are also, at least in part, responsible for the memory problems associated with normal aging. This article reports preliminary findings of a normative and representative Italian population sample.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

[Early anomalies of CD4 and CD20 lymphocyte cycles in human immunodeficiency virus].

Circadian variations in the number of circulating lymphocytes and their subpopulations have been observed in healthy subjects. These cyclic changes are characterized by a trough at 8:00 a.m. and a peak at midnight. Using multiple peripheral blood samplings, we were able to confirm that this cycle applied to CD4 T-cells (helpers) and to B-cells (CD20). No cycle of CD8 lymphocytes was observed. In a second stage, for greater comfort of the patient the number of samplings was reduced to two: one at 8:00 a.m. (trough) and one at midnight (peak). This method enabled us to calculate the amplitude of lymphocytes cycles in 18 controls and 74 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive patients. In asymptomatic HIV carriers the amplitude of CD4 cycles was normal in 6/26 cases and that of B-cell cycles in 2/17 cases. In the group of asymptomatic HIV carriers the mean amplitude of the cycles was much less reduced than in the other two groups. These results incite us to believe that the loss of the CD4 T-cell cycles is an early sign of HIV infection antedating the decrease observed in the number of these cells.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Disappearance of CD4-lymphocyte circadian cycles in HIV-infected patients: early event during asymptomatic infection.

Circadian variations have been observed in peripheral blood lymphocyte counts in normal subjects; they usually reflect variations in absolute CD4-cell count. For this population, nadir occurs around 0800 h (basal value) and the peak value occurs at midnight (1.6 times the 0800-h value). This cycle is thought to be of major importance in the efficacy of the immune response because it expresses the migration of lymphocytes into lymphoid organs.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Disappearance of CD4 lymphocyte circadian cycles after autologous bone marrow transplantation.

Circadian variations are observed in CD4 lymphocyte count in healthy people. Samples taken of the basal value occurring around 08.00 hr and peak value at midnight made it possible to define the range of cyclic variations. Movement of lymphocytes seems important in accounting for the observed circadian variations. CD4 circadian cycle amplitudes were investigated in 12 patients with autologous bone marrow transplantation. Cycle abnormalities were observed in 7 patients. Two of them had a normal CD4 lymphocyte count. It was therefore possible for functional abnormalities in CD4 lymphocytes to be detected in patients with a normal CD4 count. Because of these results, we are of the opinion that the evaluation of CD4 lymphocyte cycle might be a more sensitive test than the absolute CD4 count itself.

Bone Marrow Transplantation↗
PubMed1987

Light microscopic, immunocytochemical and ultrastructural study of a case of Sertoli cell tumor of the testis.

A case of testicular specialized gonadal stroma tumor was evaluated by histologic, ultrastructural and immunohistochemical techniques in a young adult male patient. The neoplastic cells were organized in cords or tubular structures delimited by a basement membrane. The ultrastructural findings suggested a diagnosis of a partially differentiated Sertoli cell tumor. This was also supported by the presence of a vimentin rich cytoskeleton, which is normally present in Sertoli and Leydig cells. The tumor cells did not secrete steroid hormones, as suggested by clinical findings, as well as by hormonal, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural observations.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Serum and CSF cholinesterase activity in various kinds of dementia.

The activity of acetyl- and butyrylcholinesterase was determined in serum and CSF of controls and patients suffering from different types of dementia. A statistically significant decrease in the activities of both esterases was observed in CSF of demented patients, however, primary degenerative and vascular dementia did not differ in their CSF cholinesterase levels. Compared to age-matched controls the serum butyrylcholinesterase activity was also significantly lowered in the overall dementia group. No typical serum and CSF cholinesterase isoenzyme pattern was found for dementia or any of its subgroups. It is concluded that the cholinesterase levels reflect metabolic alterations associated with dementia as a collective group but cannot be used for differential diagnosis of subgroups.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1987

Brief information on an early phase-II study with deprenyl in demented patients.

Eleven elderly female patients (73-88 yrs) suffering from senile dementia of Alzheimer type (7 cases) and from multi-infarct dementia (4 cases) were treated with (-) deprenyl (Jumex) for 3 and 6 months respectively. Improvement was most frequent in SDAT patients and most pronounced as regards self-care, short-term memory, mental alertness and uncooperativeness.

Aged↗