PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

F Montiel

Publications and source records attributed to F Montiel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Infection and labor. VII. Microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity in spontaneous rupture of membranes at term.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency, microbiologic characteristics, and clinical significance of microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity in women with premature rupture of membranes at term. STUDY DESIGN: Amniocentesis was performed in 32 women with term premature rupture of membranes and amniotic fluid cultured for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and Mycoplasmas. RESULTS: The prevalence of positive amniotic fluid cultures was 34.3% (11/32). The most common isolates were Ureaplasma urealyticum, Peptostreptococcus sp., Lactobacillus sp., Bacteroides fragilis, and Fusobacterium sp. Clinical chorioamnionitis occurred only in one patient with a positive amniotic fluid culture. Her neonate had ophthalmitis. Three patients (9.4%) had endometritis. Among women who were delivered vaginally, those with a positive amniotic fluid culture had a significantly higher rate of endometritis than those with a negative culture (33% [3/9] vs 0% [0/20], respectively, p = 0.023). CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity occurs in approximately one third of patients with preterm premature rupture of membranes. Microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity is a risk factor for endometritis in women with term premature rupture of membranes.

Amnion

[Cervical and abdominal microbiology in infertile patients].

The microbiology of twenty-nine asymptomatic infertile women was evaluated prospectively. Samples were taken from the cervix and the endosalpinx during laparoscopy. Cultures for aerobes, anaerobes, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Mycoplasma, Ureaplasma urealyticum and Chlamydia trachomatis were performed. No association was found between the presence of germs in the abdomen or cervix and tubal abnormalities. History of previous IUD use was associated with tubal disease.

Abdomen

Presence of insulin receptors in cultured glial C6 cells. Regulation by butyrate.

The presence of insulin receptor and its regulation by butyrate and other short-chain fatty acids was studied in C6 cells, a rat glioma cell line. Intact C6 cells bind 125I-insulin in a rapid, reversible and specific manner. Scatchard analysis of the binding data gives typical curvilinear plots with apparent affinities of approx. 6 nM and 70 nM for the low-affinity (approx. 90% of total) and high-affinity (approx. 10% of total) sites respectively. Incubation with butyrate results in a time- and dose-dependent decrease of insulin binding to C6 cells. A maximal effect was found with 2 mM-butyrate that decreased the receptor by 40-70% after 48 h. Butyrate decreased numbers of receptors of both classes, but did not significantly alter receptor affinity. Other short-chain fatty acids, as well as keto acids, had a similar effect, but with a lower potency. Cycloheximide caused an accumulation of insulin receptors at the cell surface, since insulin binding increased and receptor affinity did not change after incubation with the inhibitor. Simultaneous addition of butyrate and cycloheximide abolished the loss of receptors produced by the fatty acid. In cells preincubated with butyrate, cycloheximide also produced a large increase in receptor numbers, showing that in the absence of new receptor synthesis a large pool of receptors re-appears at the surface of butyrate-treated cells.

Animals

Effects of cyclic AMP elevation on the levels of insulin receptors in glial C6 cells.

The regulation of the insulin receptor by cAMP has been examined in glial C6 cells. Incubation for 48 h with dibutyryl cyclic AMP produced a dose-dependent inhibition of 125I-insulin binding to the cells. Other agents that elevate intracellular cAMP levels such as forskolin and cholera toxin mimicked the effect of this cyclic AMP analog. With all compounds the maximal decrease of binding was found between 24 and 48 h and normally varied between 40 and 60%. Forskolin, cholera toxin and dibutyryl cyclic AMP also affected C6 cell proliferation, and the dose-response for decreasing the receptor was very similar to that observed for the inhibition of cell growth, suggesting a relationship between both phenomena. Scatchard analysis showed that cAMP did not produce major changes in the affinity of the receptor for insulin, but rather decreased receptor number. An accumulation of receptors at the cell surface was observed in the absence of de novo protein synthesis, since cycloheximide caused a significant increase in insulin binding to the cells. This inhibitor almost totally blocked the cAMP effect both when added simultaneously to the cells with the agents which increase cAMP and when added to cells pre-treated for 48 h with the same compounds.

Animals

In vitro susceptibility to 10 antibiotics of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) Staphylococcus aureus in Chile.

The in vitro activity of 10 antibiotics was determined for 231 strains of methicillin resistant (MRSA) Staphylococcus aureus. Oxacillin was a very good antibiotic to determine methicillin-resistance. Its agreement with methicillin-resistance was in all the strains tested. On the contrary, the correlation with nafcillin was established only in 95% of the strains tested. Cloxacillin and flucloxacillin are not good methicillin-resistance indicators. The strains tested against macrolides, such as erythromycin, and lincosamides, such as lincomycin and clindamycin presented a susceptibility of 68, 78, and 80%, respectively. All tested strains were susceptible to vancomycin.

Anti-Bacterial Agents

Short chain fatty acids modulate nuclear receptor and extranuclear L-triiodothyronine levels in glial C6 cells by different mechanisms.

After incubation with [125]T3, the amount of radioactivity associated with the nuclear receptor and extranuclear compartment increases in glial C6 cells previously exposed to millimolar concentrations of butyrate. These actions of the fatty acid are accompanied by an inhibition of cell division, as shown by the decrease in [3H]thymidine incorporation or total DNA content per culture. Isobutyrate produced a similar effect at concentrations higher than 2 mM, whereas between 0.5-2 mM it increased the receptor content without affecting either extra-nuclear hormone or DNA. For both fatty acids there was a close parallelism between the dose-response curve for the inhibition of turnover of [3H]acetate from the histones and the increase in receptor levels. In contrast, a different dose dependence was found for the increase in extranuclear T3 levels, which suggests that the latter is caused by a mechanism other than histone acetylation. The increase in extranuclear T3 levels correlated better with the decrease in DNA and the accumulation of the chromosomal protein H10, which is thought to be related to the inhibition of cell proliferation. This suggests a relationship between the increase in extranuclear T3 and the inhibition of DNA synthesis. However, other agents, such as glucocorticoids or cAMP, which also inhibit C6 cell proliferation, were ineffective in increasing not only the receptor but also the extranuclear hormone. These findings show that the effect of short chain fatty acids on the receptor is not a consequence of the inhibition of cell replication, and that this inhibition could be related to, but is not sufficient per se for causing the increase in extranuclear T3.

Acetates

Down-regulation of thyroid hormone nuclear receptor levels by L-triiodothyronine in cultured glial C6 cells.

L-Triiodothyronine (T3) produced a time- and dose-dependent depletion of nuclear thyroid hormone receptor levels in C6 cells, a rat glioma cell line. Receptor number diminished by 30-40% after a 48 h incubation with concentrations of T3 that saturate the nuclear receptor. The nuclear binding curve obtained in cells incubated for 48 h with T3 was shifted leftward of the curve obtained after a 3 h incubation, which indicates an apparent increase in receptor affinity after long-term incubation with T3. However, this change probably represents a further equilibration of the hormone, since the dissociation rate from the nuclei was similar in C6 cells after long- and short-term incubation with T3. The effect of T3 was further demonstrated in C6 cells incubated with short-chain fatty acids. Butyrate and isobutyrate increased receptor levels, and T3 partially decreased the response to these compounds. These findings suggest the existence of a desensitization process by which C6 glial cells would be protected against an excess of thyroid hormone.

Animals

Effects of iopanoic acid on thyroid hormone receptor, growth hormone production, and triiodothyronine generation from thyroxine in pituitary GH1 cells.

We have studied the effect of iopanoic acid (IOP), a radiographic contrast agent which inhibits T4 to T3 conversion, on thyroid hormone nuclear receptors, GH response to T4 and T3, and T4 5'-monodeiodination in GH1 cells, a rat pituitary cell line. IOP at concentrations higher than 10 microM inhibits iodothyronine binding to the nuclear receptor without changing the dissociation constant (Kd) (0.1 nM for T3 and 1 nM for T4), and reduces the GH response to 50 nM T4, 5 nM T3, or the combined effect of T4 and glucocorticoids. These results could be explained by an inhibition of protein synthesis which was reduced by more than 50% by 50 microM IOP. By contrast, nontoxic concentrations of IOP did not change the GH response to different doses of T4 ranging from 1 nM to 50 nM. We also examined T3 generation from T4 and found that the intracellular T3 levels of cells incubated with 50 nM T4 were almost as high as those of cells incubated with 5 nM T3 which induces a full GH response. Intracellular T3 levels were markedly reduced in the cells incubated with T4 and IOP, but GH production was not reduced despite these differences in T3 levels. Additionally, more than 40% of the nuclear receptor was occupied by T3 in cells incubated with T4, whereas more than 90% was occupied by T4 in cells receiving the same amount of T4 with 5 microM IOP. Our results suggest that the effect of T4 on GH production by GH1 cells could be attributed to an important extent to the T3 generated from it, whereas when T4 monodeiodination is strongly inhibited, most of the biological activity is a result of intrinsic T4 activity.

Animals

Glucocorticoids regulate insulin binding in a rat glial cell line.

We have examined insulin receptor regulation by glucocorticoids in the C6 rat glioma cell line. Dexamethasone decreased insulin binding to intact cell monolayers in a dose and time-dependent fashion. The effect is maximal between 48 and 72 h with 50 nM dexamethasone that decreased binding by 40-60%. The natural steroid corticosterone produced a similar effect although it was less potent, and the antiglucocorticoid 17 alpha-methyltestosterone was ineffective in lowering the receptor and partially antagonized the effect of dexamethasone. Total number of binding sites was decreased by glucocorticoids, and when analyzed with a two-site model a 3-fold increase in the dissociation constant (Kd) of the low affinity site was also observed. In the absence of protein synthesis the receptor accumulates at the cell surface, since cycloheximide produced a large increase of insulin binding. Cycloheximide totally blocked the effect of dexamethasone when both compounds were added together to the cells suggesting that protein synthesis is necessary for the effect of the glucocorticoid. By contrast, in cells pretreated with dexamethasone, cycloheximide was unable to produce an increase in cell surface receptor, showing that glucocorticoids probably deplete not only membrane receptor but also total cellular receptor.

Animals

Modulation of thyroid hormone nuclear receptors by short-chain fatty acids in glial C6 cells. Role of histone acetylation.

We have studied the effect of butyrate and other short-chain fatty acids on thyroid hormone nuclear receptors in C6 cells, a rat glioma cell line. Exposure of C6 cells to butyrate leads to increased levels of L-triiodothyronine (T3) in the nuclear and extranuclear compartments. The rise in nuclear binding is not merely a reflection of the higher cellular hormone content, and Scatchard analysis of T3 binding to isolated nuclei reveals that butyrate increases receptor number without changing affinity. The effect on the receptor is quantitatively important: a 48-h incubation with 2 mM butyrate increases nuclear binding by 2-3-fold, and 5 mM butyrate by 3-5-fold. Other short-chain fatty acids were found to similarly influence both nuclear receptor and extranuclear T3 levels with the following potency: butyrate greater than valerate greater than propionate greater than acetate. On the contrary, ketone bodies were ineffective. Butyrate increases receptor levels by decreasing receptor degradation, since the apparent t1/2 of receptor disappearance increased by approximately 3-fold in cells incubated with 2 mM butyrate for 48 h. The regulation of receptor number might be secondary to an action of butyrate on regions of the chromatin to which the receptor associates. We then examined the effect of butyrate on histone acetylation. The fatty acid had little effect in increasing the level of multiacetylated forms of H3 and H4 histone when studied in acid-urea gels, but it markedly inhibited the turnover of [3H] acetate from the histone fraction. There was a striking similarity in the dose-response of butyrate for increasing receptor levels and inhibiting histone deacetylation. Furthermore, a very close correlation between receptor levels and [3H]acetate release was also found when different short-chain fatty acids were used. We thus conclude that the effect of butyrate on the receptor could be explained by a modification of the chromatin structure of C6 cells secondary to acetylation.

Acetates

Regulation of glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase activity by forskolin and dibutyryl cyclic AMP in the C6 glial cells.

We have compared the effects of norepinephrine, forskolin, and dibutyryl cyclic AMP (Bt2cAMP) on the regulation of the cytosolic enzyme glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) in the C6 rat glioma cell line. Forskolin and Bt2cAMP elicit a dose-dependent increase in the levels of the enzyme that was, however, unaffected by norepinephrine. The half-maximal effect of forskolin was obtained at 7-8 microM, and the effect was maximal at 30 microM. Dexamethasone at a 50 nM concentration produced a two- to sixfold induction of GPDH after 48 h. The combination of dexamethasone with forskolin or Bt2cAMP leads to an elevation in GPDH levels that is higher than that produced by one of the compounds alone. This potentiation is found when both agents are added together with or after the glucocorticoid. The increase in uninduced and dexamethasone-induced GPDH activity was blocked by cycloheximide and actinomycin D, indicating that de novo protein and RNA synthesis are required. The activity of cytosolic lactate dehydrogenase activity did not change after incubation with dexamethasone, but increased with forskolin or Bt2cAMP.

Animals

Identification and characterization of L-triiodothyronine receptors in cells of glial and neuronal origin.

High affinity-low capacity binding sites for thyroid hormone have been identified in the nuclei of glial (C6) and neuronal (Neuro 2A) cultured cells. Equilibrium dissociation constants, determined by Scatchard analysis, were very similar in both types of cells (0.2-0.3 nM). The relative affinity of hormonal analogs was also similar: the affinity for T3 was lower than for triiodothyroacetic acid and higher than for T4 or tetraiodothyroacetic acid. The sedimentation coefficients obtained by gradient centrifugation of nuclear receptor extracted with 0.4 M KCl or excised by micrococcal nuclease digestion were 3.5 S and 6.5 S, respectively. These results suggest that the thyroid hormone receptor is not restricted to neuronal cells, but also appears in cells of glial origin.

Animals