Biomedical subjects

F Castellino

Publications and source records attributed to F Castellino.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1990

Interleukin-2 receptor expression in human mast cells and basophils.

Surgical human thymus, upper respiratory tract, lung and small and large bowel specimens were analyzed for the presence of interleukin 2 receptor (IL2-R)-positive cells. Histochemical (toluidine) and immunologic (anti-IL2-R monoclonal antibody) staining procedures revealed a distinct anti-IL2-R positivity in most of metachromatically staining cells. These positive cells were observed not only in tissues showing strong inflammatory reaction and mast cell hyperplasia, as in Crohn's disease, but also in those not histologically affected by pathologic conditions. This finding suggested that human mast cells, like T blast cells, express the p55 chain of IL2-R on their surface. To see whether IL2-R was being actively synthesized, a cell preparation rich in peripheral blood basophils (PBB), which are cells closely related to mast cells, was obtained. Ultrastructural analysis of PBB after indirect immunogold procedure revealed that the vast majority expressed the IL2-R. Moreover, the presence of intracellular reaction products in the cytoplasm of most membrane-positive PBB was indicative of active antigen synthesis. Furthermore, Northern blot analysis evidenced specific IL2-R mRNA in PBB, while its expression was augmented several times when PBB were cultured in the presence of stimulated T cell supernatant.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Effect of sulfurous (thermal) water on T lymphocyte proliferative response.

We studied the effect of sulfurous water thermal therapy on the phenotype and the proliferative response of peripheral lymphoid cells from ten subjects affected by chronic upper respiratory disease and from six suffering from articular and periarticular disorders. Sulfurous water (S-H2O) therapy did not modify the phenotype and function of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) nor did it modify systemic immunologic reactivity. A different result was obtained by analyzing the response to mitogens of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in cell cultures containing graduated amounts of S-H2O. These "in vitro" studies have shown an important dose-dependent inhibitory effect of S-H2O on mitogen induced T lymphocyte proliferation and on IL2 production. H2S present in S-H2O seems to be the primary component responsible for inhibition. Our results are consistent with a local immunosuppressive role of S-H2O, which may explain part of the observed therapeutic effect of inhalation therapy on upper respiratory allergic disorders.

Administration, Inhalation↗

PubMed1989

Effect of low doses of interleukin-2 injected perilymphatically and peritumorally in patients with advanced primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

For 10 days, four patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck received two daily injections of 100 units of natural IL-2, one around the tumor, the second near the tumor-draining lymph nodes. No side effects were observed. Histologic and ultrastructural examination of tumor and lymph nodes recovered at surgery showed that in many instances neoplastic cells were intermingled with numerous lymphocytes and eosinophils. Lymph nodes displayed hyperplasia of both cortical and paracortical areas and epithelioid venules infiltrated by lymphocytes and granulocytes. In a few cases, a decrease or disappearance of neoplastic lesions was also documented both clinically and histologically.

Aged↗

PubMed1989

The expression of functional IL-2 receptor on activated macrophages depends on the stimulus applied.

Human peripheral blood monocytes (Mo) synthesize prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) when activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This production is strongly enhanced by the addition of supernatant from phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-activated T cells. To evaluate the factor(s) responsible for this enhancement we studied the effect of several cytokines on the PGE2 metabolism. Recombinant interleukin-1 (IL-1) or recombinant IL-2 strongly enhanced PGE2 synthesis in LPS-stimulated Mo cultures, whereas recombinant interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) partially inhibited its production. To see whether the effect of IL-2 on Mo was due to the presence of IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) on the cell surface, flow cytometric analysis and electron microscopy were used to investigate IL-2R expression in unstimulated and stimulated Mo. Stimulated, but not resting, Mo displayed the p55 IL-2R chain on their cellular surface and associated with the polyribosomes of the rough endoplasmic reticulum in the cytoplasm. This finding strongly suggested that the p55 chain of the IL-2R was synthesized by activated Mo. To confirm this result, 125I-labelled IL-2 was bound under high- and low-affinity conditions and cross-linked to Mo cultured in the presence of LPS, IFN-gamma or IL-1. The cross-linked 125I-IL-2/IL-2R complexes were analysed by SDS-PAGE. Mo cultured with LPS, IFN-gamma and IL-1 expressed the p55 protein detected by low-affinity cross-linking, whereas only LPS-stimulated Mo displayed a barely detectable band with an apparent MW of 70,000 under high-affinity binding conditions. In addition, stimulated Mo were found capable of producing the soluble form of IL-2R. Finally, LPS-activated Mo only responded to the addition of IL-2 by an increase in PGE2 production, suggesting that the function of IL-2R on activated Mo is linked to the stimulus applied.

Biological Factors↗

PubMed1989

The role of arachidonic acid metabolite PGE2 on T cell proliferative response.

We have examined the role of cyclooxygenase and lipooxygenase-derived metabolites of arachidonic acid (AA) during T cell activation. One of the major products of cyclooxygenase activity is prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). As is known, macrophages (Mo) are the main PGE2 producer cells among the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBL) and can be induced to release PGE2 during T cell activation. On culturing PBL with T cell mitogens such as phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or monoclonal antibody OKT3, the levels of PGE2 produced by Mo were positively correlated with the entity of the T cell mitogenic signal. During T cell activation, subcellular factors able to provide positive or negative signals on the Mo PGE2 production are released in culture. We observed that recombinant IL2 strongly enhanced PGE2 synthesis in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated Mo culture, while recombinant interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) partially inhibited its production. Moreover, purified IL1 induced PGE2 synthesis in resting Mo and increased its production when Mo were activated by LPS. The PGE2 released during T cell activation seems to have no effect on T cell mitogenesis, since the addition of cyclooxygenase inhibitors did not influence the proliferative response of mitogen stimulated T cells. However, the addition of PGE2 to OKT3 stimulated PBL at the beginning of the culture period inhibited the proliferative response in a dose-dependent manner. Its addition had no effect on PHA-stimulated PBL cultures. The PGE2-dependent inhibition of OKT3-induced T cell proliferation declined progressively from about 50-10% as the addition of PGE2 was delayed from 0 to 24 hr.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Biological Factors↗

PubMed1988

Alterations in thymocyte subpopulations in Down's syndrome (trisomy 21).

To correlate the histologically observed thymic abnormalities with the cellular immunodeficiency found in Down's syndrome (DS), thymus fragments and thymocyte suspensions from 14 noninstitutionalized DS subjects were studied. Histologic examination and immunohistologic studies using an anticluster of differentiation (CD) 1 monoclonal antibody showed a contracted cortex due to cortical thymocyte depletion. When DS unselected thymocytes were phenotyped, a significant reduction of CD3-, CD1-, CD4-, and CD8-positive cells was found as compared to controls. To evaluate if the deficient expression of these markers was due to the reduction of thymocyte subsets identifiable on the basis of their physical properties, we separated DS unselected thymocytes into 10 fractions by continuous Percoll density gradient centrifugation. DS thymuses were almost completely devoid of high density thymocytes. Since in normal thymus, these cells correspond to small CD1+, CD4+, CD8+, and 50% CD3+ cortical thymocytes, their absence may explain the unrestricted reduction of markers on DS unfractionated thymocytes. Furthermore DS thymuses appeared to be enriched in CD1+ first fraction (Fr1) low density thymocytes of the Percoll gradient. Fr1 CD1+ cells constitute the main spontaneously proliferating pool in normal human thymus. When the spontaneous proliferating activity of DS Fr1 was compared to that of the control, a significant reduction was observed. This reduction associated with the absence of high density thymocytes, with the reduction of cells expressing alpha- and beta-chains of the T cell receptor and in conclusion with the lymphocyte depletion, suggests that in DS thymuses there is a deficient expansion of immature T cells resulting in a reduction of the various thymocyte subpopulations, including the thymocyte pool able to differentiate into functionally mature T cells.

Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte↗